Articles
If you need a reminder, Mr. Phelps was the leader of the Westboro Baptist church. They have become infamous for their professedly hate-filled anti-gay stance and inflammatory posters seen especially when they have picketed the funerals of fallen American soldiers.The central issue around which this controversy revolves remains whether we as a nation will accept as normal the practice of homosexual...
1.Start by praying, remembering that Jesus said, “Blessed are the Peacemakers” and not “Blessed are the argument winners”. If you make it a contest, you’ve lost already.2.Respect each other. Never mock or demean the other person in any way.3.Turn down the volume. Exercise some self-control.4.Keep it private; never in public, never in front of the kids, never publicize it.5.Identify and address the...
There has been a lot of talk concerning Social Security that has a lot of folks in a lather. The government is suggesting a variety of ways to save it or make it more profitable.Some groups want to abolish it in favor of private plans, others suggest delaying retirement or having part of the S.S. payments put into private funds. With the bulk of the population rapidly approaching retirement, it’s ...
I watched a father escort his two young sons into school the other day, with a kid hanging on each arm. The man was walking but the boys were both skipping all the way to the door. As I watched I thought, "there goes two happy kids. they are full of the joy of life." Then I thought about myself and I could not picture me skipping anywhere for anything.Upon further consideration I realized I do hav...
There are steps and stages of departures from Deity, of courting carnality, and dealing with the Devil, until total apostasy is embraced. The gravitation from fully believing in God and His Word to gross godlessness may be so gradual that it is both deceptive and dangerous. The Devil patiently moves one’s mind from Truth to toleration, with baby steps of departure, until the Fatherhood of God is e...
It seems that the surest way to secure your fifteen minutes of fame in America these days is to declare to the world that you’re gay. Homosexuals are literally tripping over each other in order to be the first in their respective fields of endeavor to “come out” and thereby clinch their spot in the Gay Hall of Fame. Whether it be in sports or politics, entertainment or academia, being gay now come...
Both views (all views) of origins rely on faith.The first two laws of thermodynamics, however, respectively argue against the ideas that matter is eternal and that it increases in complexity or gains organization with time. Organization does not occur by accident but by intent. Even given the assumption that organization occurred, if left on its own, it would soon become disorganized without conti...
Likely by now you have heard the news about a temple of Satan in New York vying to place a statue of Satan on the grounds of the Oklahoma capitol building.Consider the Preamble to the State Constitution of Oklahoma:“Invoking the guidance of Almighty God, in order to secure and perpetuate the blessing of liberty; to secure just and rightful government; to promote our mutual welfare and happiness, w...
Paul charged Timothy: “Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity” (I Tim. 4:12 NKJV). A parallel to this passage is Midline Maxius, a young lady in Haiti, who has been one of the “Hope For Haiti’s Children” for the past 12 years. Midline’s father and mother were too poor to care for her, resulting in Midline being...
Magnets fascinate me. I certainly don't understand everything about them. Their invisible magnetic field can be seen working, whether generating electricity or levitating a train! Magnetic forces may be tiny or larger than the earth. Its magnetic field extends from the earth's inner core well into outer space, reflecting excess solar radiation and causing the Northern and Southern lights. Its forc...
Sound exciting? But what if your adventure is something that you did not expect, or even want?Joseph went on an adventure, didn’t he? Sold into slavery while just a teen he went through a series of what I would definitely call “life changing events” to eventually be made the second most powerful man in the world. Joseph said in the end “God meant it for good in order to bring about this present re...
Robert George has been overseeing IBC, one of Choctaw’s outreach programs for 22 years. IBC has had a host of volunteers that have mailed out thousands of lessons and Bibles. Many souls have come into our Lord’s Kingdom because of IBC. Now at 80 Robert and Viola have had to retire because of health reasons.The elders at Choctaw do not want to see a great mission work like WBS stop. It is our desir...
Time moves on and that helps us to see how our lives change. Two of our faithful and dedicated men have resigned from serving as deacons and the responsibilities that went with those assignments. One of these men is HAL BARNES. HAL has served this church for around 15 years. One of his assignments was that of maintaining the baptistery and that service has been very well accomplished. Also, ...
The earthquake woke me up. I was napping last Saturday noon trying to ward off a nasty head cold when the 4.5 quake, centered in Jones, OK, rattled me out of a feverish sleep. At that same moment my wife, Lise, came to the bedroom door to inform me that Charles Branch had died… two seismic events in a single moment. Dr. Charles Branch, noted neurosurgeon, father of five, elder in the L...
Ever been in awkward situations where we would like to say something to someone but just don't know what to say. A death in a family, and you would like to offer condolences but you just don't know what to say. You find a person you know has developed an incurable illness...and you don't know what to say. Maybe it's a suicide, a divorce, or a parent with a "problem child" - a wayward b...
Dave Stone told about a mother who called up to her son to get out of bed. “’It’s time to get ready for church.” He yelled back, “Mom I’m not going.” She said ‘Why?’ He replied, ‘The people are mean to me and the service is boring. Why should I go?’‘I’ll give you two reasons,’ she shouted. ‘One, you’re 40 years old; and two, you’re the preacher!’”¹That preacher had Jonah’s mindset. Masses of peopl...
It sounds good to those of us in leadership here at Choctaw.We believe that a full-time or at least a part-time man on staff whose focus would specifically be ministering to our young families and young people could prove to be a great asset.We live in an age when the security of our families and the innocence of our children are under attack. Dysfunction and divorce are rampant. Drugs...
It has been said "that if we don't learn from history we are bound to repeat it". Just look back throughout history and you will easily this statement is verified. That includes Biblical history. The "father of lies", Satan, has been busy changing history through his lies since the dawn of mankind in the garden. By twisting the scriptures, he caused man to sin against God a...
God has given national governments the responsibility to “bear the sword” for the purpose of keeping order by punishing evil. Jesus’ apostle Paul made this very clear in Romans 13:1-5 calling governments (including the Roman government) God’s “deacons” whose intended purpose is to “bring wrath on the one who practices evil”.Obviously some abuse power. Such abus...
Have you thought about heaven lately? Paul was emphatic in Colossians 3:2, as he wrote: “Set your mind on things that are above, not things that are upon the earth.” The verb “set” (phroneite from phroneois an imperative that means to seek or strive for, to be intent on—cf. J.H. Thayer’s, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, p. 658). Have You been that dedicated—concerned—having “seek...