Gulf Coast Inland Residents: EVACUATE!

day 1: 1,000 barrels of oil a day.
(oh wait, that was wrong, sorry, didn't carry the one).
day 1: 5,000 barrels of oil a day.
(ummm...scientists all over the world have different calculations? oh, well how much oil IS gushing into the Gulf of Mexico?)
day 1: 1-4 million gallons of oil every day.
(Yay! We finally got our facts straight!)

Ian MacDonald, a biological oceanographer at Florida State University, said he believed, after studying NASA data, that about one million gallons a day were leeching into the sea, and that the volume discharged has already well exceeded the 11 million gallons of the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster, widely regarded as the world's worst marine pollution incident. By high estimates, every 3 days is another Exxon Valdez in the Gulf of Mexico.

The well that BP had just about finished before it exploded was what is called a "deep oil" well. While it is true that the floating oil rig was almost a mile above the drill head, the oil that they tapped was yet another 30,000 feet (over 5 miles) under the ocean floor. Yes, that's aptly named "deep oil"! The deposit of oil they were tapping into has been described as the second largest oil deposit ever -- anywhere -- even when one considers Saudi Arabia, the Russian discoveries and Iraq. This oil deposit has been estimated to have the potential to yield 500,000 barrels of oil per day for from 10 to 15 years!

Of course BP came to the rescue with a chemical dispersant that breaks up the oil into the water. I am simply astonished by this. The chemical being used (Corexit 9500) is 10 times more toxic than the oil itself--it has to be to even begin to break down the stingy petroleum molecules. But of course, this only broke up the gigantic lakes of oil into gigantic ponds of oil, clouds that stretch 10-20 miles, hovering at about 2,000 feet above the ocean's floor. This is literally a floating cloud of death to all life because it has zero oxygen content. And guess what, even fish need oxygen to breathe! Seriously, what do you think is going to happen when the water mixed with Corexit 9500 evaporates & rains down on our shores?

Let's not mention that it's the greatest hurricane season in decades which extends from June 1st to November 30th. Can you imagine a hurricane of oil hitting the coast? Any hurricane that enters the Gulf of Mexico will disperse the surface oil to parts unknown. There is no predicting which coastlines could be coated with crude oil. Any Gulf hurricane will impede and stall cleanup efforts as well as vastly expanding the geographic footprint of the spill. Cleanup cost could multiply exponentially.

Parts of Alaska is STILL cleaning up from the Exxon Valdez disaster, can you imagine what kind of impact this will have?

Let's certainly not mention how this will effect the economy. The ripple effect of this debacle will emanate around the world for years. Entire industries will likely go bankrupt. There will literally be no end to the lawsuits which will surely follow, and the sky rocketing prices of insurance.

And why on earth would we even suggest that inhabitants along the coast will have to evacuate? We are the U.S. of A. after all! Uncle Sam has got you! What's that Katrina? You talkin' shmack over there in the corner about our land of the free? Don't forget when THAT evacuation occurred. Everything was gridlocked for hours upon hours. A mass exodus on this scale will make every major highway a parking lot, even if it is done in phases.

But evacuation will have to declared sooner rather than later, because of the toxic approaching fumes & threat of hurricanes. Move over Mad Max, welcome to the Oil-apocalypse.

Why am I even ranting about this? I feel compelled to tell you all to PRAY! This situation is no joke. I believe many agencies (media & governmental) are actually playing this catastrophe down (as to not cause wide-spread panic) while they prepare their backup plan.

Which by the way, could be nuclear. Believe it or not, a controlled nuclear explosion is not off the table. Barack Obama has sent five nuclear experts to tackle BP's Gulf of Mexico oil leak. Mr Obama, standing with Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, center, and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, left, delivers remarks in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington following his closed meeting with his Cabinet and other senior administration officials on the ongoing effort to stop the BP oil spill. The five-man team -- which includes a man who helped develop the first hydrogen bomb in the 1950s -- is the brainchild of Steven Chu, President Obama's Energy Secretary.

The President has charged the men with finding solutions to stop the flow of oil. But no one can be absolutely certain if this would work in searing the tear shut on the ocean floor bed.

Wake up saints! It is time to pray! I encourage all of you to research this yourself & seek the Lord's direction on what you personally need to do about it all.

For some, it's time to EVACUATE!

Drinking The Fox News Kool-Aid?

WAKE UP! Fox News does NOT represent Christianity!
So many Christians have jumped on the Fox News Band wagon--really giving credence to the media's caricature that all Christians are interested in taking a stand for our beliefs through political means.

But check this out..Jesus wants to transform America through the advancement of His Kingdom through our witness in word, action & power. The Kingdom of God is NOT advanced through your vote. Now that may be a shocking statement. I'm certainly not saying you shouldn't vote, but I am most definitely saying that your vote does NOT promote the kingdom of God as Jesus preached & demonstrated it.

If we wanna see real political, moral, economic, sociological change in the US we gotta advance the Kingdom of God. We have to tell people how to enter it through true repentance, how to live in it through obedience & Spirit empowerment and then how to advance it. Our battle is not a political one, it is a spiritual one! The battle is fought & won in the heavenlies and THEN realized in our world. Stop with the Tea Parties & throw a prayer meeting. I doubt that would make it on Fox News. Cause why pray? We are called to "ACTION" we are told. I can assure you, your actions will get the attention of a few, and may even produce some changes in the social landscape that actually look similar to Christian values. But at the end of the day you are only putting makeup on a corpse. America is DEAD without the gospel, and can only be resurrected through the life changing message of Jesus Christ.

Has it ever occurred to anybody that Fox News could actually be part of a two headed monster? The masses lock themselves politically to one side or the other thinking their side will win with enough arguing. But perhaps we are playing right into the enemies hands. Fox News becomes the rogue antagonist against the liberal agenda, & the Daily Show with Jon Stewart becomes the voice of young liberal America. And while we are locked into the latest political flash in the pan the enemy is stealing the soul of America-the people you work with, live with, play with, go to church with.

Don't drink it!

The Distance Between Faith to Faith

Romans 1:17
"For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.""

I love it when I have great seasons with God of worship, prayer & service. It's like I feel Him everywhere I go. There is a sense of Godly satisfaction that lifts up my soul, giving me courage, persistence and joy.

But then suddenly, I don't feel that satisfaction. I feel like the floor has been ripped from underneath me. Before I felt like I could climb any mountain, but now I'm looking to hide in the nearest cave!

God spoke to me this morning & reminded me that the righteous ones live by faith. I suppose I define "faith" as: living in obedience to God's word even when I don't feel it. I think God often allows us to feel the excitement & exuberance of being connected to Him at times, and that elation often makes obedience seemingly easier. But he also calls us to obedience, especially when the "feeling" is gone, to see if we are serious about obtaining righteousness. Because righteousness only comes through this strange mental & spiritual resolve: FAITH.

So if your spiritual life is bland right now, you will for sure be tempted to do something else to spice it up. God is calling you to be consistent. To follow Him. To obey even though there might be a "shortcut to happiness" that just "happens" to fall in your lap. If you want to see the righteousness of God, hang on, because it really is revealed from "faith to faith".

Shut Up With The Shut Up

Psalm 145
9 The LORD is good to all;
he has compassion on all he has made.
10 All you have made will praise you, O LORD;
your saints will extol you.
11 They will tell of the glory of your kingdom
and speak of your might,
12 so that all men may know of your mighty acts
and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.

When was the last time you opened your mouth gave God some credit? This passage is talking about observing what God has done, & then sharing that with others, especially believers.

In large part, God remains hidden, unseen. It is as though a heavy curtain is draped over Him. He has chosen this because He desires that we, His saints, pull the curtain back through our testimony. God is revealed through the words of praise & gratitude you are ascribing to Him to someone else.

What a powerful thought. We really are like stained glass windows, a unique patch-work of colored glass, that illuminate as His glory shines through us. This radiant glow leaves the hearer in awe of God's majesty, strength, love & mercy as your testimony is still ringing in their ears.

So shutup with the shutup. Time to speak up.

Ewwww...I Think I See God In That MESS!

1 Timothy 1:16 "But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who believe on him & receive eternal life."

Usually when we hear a preacher man declare, "I'm the worst of sinners..." we roll our eyes & say, "WHAT? You only prayed 4 times today instead of 6?!? Oh puh-lease!" But for reals, Paul actually was way worse than I ever was, & probably most of you reading this.

Before his conversion, he was actually persecuting those who claimed to follow Jesus. I don't mean he was posting angry blogs either. He was using the Roman military, with full support of the Sandhedrin (Jewish ruling body) to round up, imprison, and even execute Christians (Acts 7, Galatians 1:13). In fact, Paul was responsible for the very first Christian martyr, Stephen (Acts 8:1). Back in those days, Paul actually thought he was doing God's work in accordance with Jewish law. Little did he realize that he was actually working against God's plan for the world.

If you have been trying to define the word "irony" lately, then look no further than to the story of Paul's conversion found in Acts 9. Jesus himself confronts Paul as he is on his way to Damascus, to of course, persecute more Christians. If there where angels standing nearby on that road during Jesus' confrontation, I bet they were avoiding eye contact whispering under their breath, "AWKWARD....!" The truth is revealed to Paul, and after several days of wrestling with this profound reality, that Jesus is the promised messiah, Paul becomes a Christian himself. And as we read later in Acts, the persecutor becomes the persecuted.

God chose Paul I think in part because He wanted to demonstrate the extent of His mercy & grace. The new Paul would send a message to the world and especially to other believers, "If I can not only forgive Paul, but also make him a an apostle, don't you think I can do the same for you?"

So many of us have parked our faith & are gazing at the scenery because we think we are disqualified from serving or leading. God is super patient. Remember Paul the next time you are beating yourself up because of that old sin. Think of God's unlimited grace, extended to a big pile of mess. Rejoice that your mess ain't near as big as his, so maybe God can catapult you to places even greater than the Apostle Paul!

Rolling Out The Red Carpet For Satan!

"Do not let the sun go down while you are angry, and do not give the devil a foothold" (Eph 4:26-27, NIV)

Check out that word, "foothold". What exactly does it mean to give the devil a "foothold"? The greek word is a difficult one to translate into English, making an explanation necessary. It can mean, "place, opportunity, license, foothold".

If you combine these various translations, you come up with "legal right." In other words, this sin of holding on to anger gives the devil a legal right to come into your life to lie, steal, cheat, deceive--you know, add fuel to your angry fire. Other sins can also give Satan license to come into your life, extending his influence over the influence of the Holy Spirit.

Conversely, choosing obedience rolls out the red carpet for the Holy Spirit, allowing Him to do what He does best, provide wisdom, conviction, discernment, and power. The cameras are out & flashing. The limo has just pulled up. Who is gonna roll out of that car as the main red carpet attraction in your life?

Nothing Better Than a Juicy Christian Conspiracy Theory About Aliens!

This guy thinks the Nephilim, or giants, mentioned in the Bible are the cause of the UFO/alien phenomenon. He's awesome! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCk4VMTGme4

Here I Stand

At the end of his life, the Old Testament Prophet, Samuel, stood before his congregation of hundreds of thousands of Israelites and said, "Here I stand. Testify against me in the presence of the LORD and his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Whose donkey have I taken? Whom have I cheated? Whom have I oppressed? From whose hand have I accepted a bribe to make me shut my eyes? If I have done any of these, I will make it right.”

Amazingly, the crowd responded,

4“You have not cheated or oppressed us,” they replied. “You have not taken anything from anyone’s hand.”

I want to be able to look at the people I have served at the end of my ministry and ask for such an evaluation. Before God & man, I want to be found guiltless.