Blessed Beyond Measure

Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.
(Psa 127:3-5)

When considering the blessings that the Lord gives to His people, there is nothing in this life that compares with the blessing of children.

As parents, children are a constant reminder of our relationship with our Father. They are dependent on us. They are in constant need of training and discipline. We love them unconditionally. They are naturally self centered, but it brings joy to our hearts when we see them have consideration for others. We are thrilled when they reciprocate the love we show to them. Yet, we go on loving and caring for them even when they don’t show it.

Children build a multigenerational heritage and allow us to take dominion over the land and over the society in which we live. The birth rate on average in the U.S. is just slightly over 2.0 children per household. This is a stagnated birth rate. We are barely replacing ourselves as we pass on. There is much corruption in our land that severely needs reformation. This won’t happen on its own. It takes a populace that cares about its Christian heritage and is willing to stand up to all the sodomites and feminists that would seek to destroy our country. When Christians declare that God is the giver of life and resist all efforts at “controlling” their birth rate, it will not take long before we can take over key leadership positions in our government and make a real difference. For out of sheer numbers, we can carry the majority in just a few short years. We shall truly be able to speak with the enemies in the gate.

Children are the only thing in this life that we can take with us to Heaven. What a vile thing it is to trade the blessings of children for the luxuries of this life! Quite literally, it is the trading of our “birth right” for a mess of pottage, as Esau did so long ago. Our society feels that they must have all the highest quality “stuff” and children are a hindrance to this goal. Day Care is quite expensive. If we were to have more than one or two children, then it would cost more to care for them than what Mom earns. We couldn’t let that happen, could we? Wake up Church! The cars, the boats, the televisions, the lake homes, the whatevers will all burn up some day. They will perish. But those eternal souls God has entrusted to our care will live forever. Yet sadly, even professing Christians fail to see this truth. They see children only as an expense. It never occurs to them that children are an asset. They are most definitely a spiritual asset. Very often, they can be a financial asset as well. In days of old, children worked together to prosper the family. If we would make this our goal once again, then suddenly the most wealthy families would be those families who have the largest amount of children, working to create a lasting business that they know they will inherit someday.

I say all this to lead up to my joyous announcement. We have recently found out that we are expecting our seventh blessing from the Lord! Not everyone has rejoiced with us in this news. Yet, we are undaunted. God’s blessing abounds within our family. It is possible for a single income family to raise seven (or more) children these days. It all boils down to a matter of priorities.

Our little blessing should arrive sometime around the first part of November 2007. He or she will be born into a family with three older brothers and three older sisters. This little baby will have a mother and a father who have desired him from before he was ever conceived. We are the recipients of God’s greatest blessings that He ever gives His people in this life.

What Concord Hath Christ with Belial?

And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,
(2Co 6:15-17)

This Sunday, April 8, is known throughout the world as “Easter.” Have you ever stopped to ask yourself, “Why?” What does “Easter” mean anyway? If you do a word search with your Bible software, you’ll find just a single reference to it in the King James Bible in Acts 12:4. However, the Geneva Bible as well as most other translations rightly translate this as “Passover.” The word, “Easter” (actually unbiblical) comes from the name of the goddess “Ishtar.” Surprisingly enough (not really), Ishtar was the supposed goddess of fertility. Easter falls on the Spring equinox when the length of the day and the night are equal. The length of the days continue to increase until the middle of summer, when the days start decreasing in time until the day and the night are equal again at (guess) Winter solstice (or Christmas...sound familiar?). Thus, all the supposedly “Christian” symbols of new birth that allegedly point to the resurrection of Christ are, in reality, symbols of the fertility goddess, Ishtar. Why bunnies? Why eggs? I ask you once again, “What concord hath Christ with Belial?”

Has God marked out a single day where we are to annually celebrate the risen savior? I say, NO! The risen savior is glorious enough that we are to live every day to His glory! Additionally, God has given us 52 days a year, specifically to set aside our work and to spend time in focused worship to our risen savior! The Lord rose from the dead on the first day of the week. This Christian Sabbath *is* the ongoing celebration of both His birth and His resurrection. Yet, the world has taken these events and subscribed them to pagan holidays, and relegated the acknowledgement of them to just two days a year. The devil, conniving as he is, has worked to insure that not only do Christians fail to acknowledge Christ’s birth and resurrection on the Lord’s Day. But he has also managed to get them to acknowledge these events on established pagan holidays and compromise their faith by denigrating it with pagan symbols. The Church has not eschewed them as they ought. Rather, they have embraced these symbols and formed traditions surrounding them. Contrary to popular opinion, it isn’t “cute” to watch your little three year old daughter running around in her ruffled dress picking up colored Babylonian fertility symbols all in the name of celebrating Christ’s resurrection.

So, let me encourage you to go to church this Sunday (like most professing Christians), but if you can find one, visit an assembly where this Lord’s Day will be like every other Lord’s Day this year. Avoid the pagan compromise and the Romish tendency to form it into a high, holy day, not commanded by God.