Reconcile

Scripture:
Matthew 5:23 "So if you are presenting a sacrifice at the altar in the Temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, 24 leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God.

We all know we are to forgive those who wrong us. But did you know that if anyone has something against you it is up to YOU to attempt to reconcile? In the scripture Jesus says that if you are at the altar and you remember someone has something against you then you are to leave and take care of it. Jesus says don't even come to the altar to worship me if you know someone has something against you! That's pretty strong! Are you at odds with anyone? Do they think it's your fault? It doesn't matter! You are the one who should attempt to reconcile. No one can do it for you. Jesus doesn't say if you remember someone has something against you send your brother to talk to them, he says for you to go and reconcile. And, he says to do it before you even try to come worship him.

Arguments Creationists Shouldn't Use

I see numerous forwards and bulletins from my fellow Christian friends we "shocking" evidence of creation. And while there is plenty of good solid evidence for it there is plenty so called evidences that should be avoided. Not only because it is not the truth, but also because any athiest in the know will pick them apart. Answers in Genesis was nice enough to compile these in an article. Click and read on:

Answers in Genesis: Arguments Creationists Shouldn't Use

Jesus is Alive

It can be demonstrated that there is good evidence to conclude that Jesus did raise from the dead.

His deciples were absolutely sure this man was who he said he was, that is until he was arrested and put on a cross. At this point they not only were doubtful that Jesus was the son of God, but they feared for their lives. They feared that being associated with him would mean that they were next to die.

However, every one of Jesus's deciples died, or was exciled in the case of John, while preaching that Jesus was the Son of God. What would cause these men, who were too afraid for their lives to even associate with Jesus turn around and be willing to die for the message of Jesus? Something had to confirm to them that Jesus was the Son of God. They were expecting the Messiah to overthrow the Roman government and set up his kingdom, and yet after seeing Jesus arrested and crucified what could possibly convince them a dead man was in fact the Messiah? It's only reasonable to conclude that Jesus himself, alive and resurrected, standing before them would be enough to convince them he was the real thing.

It would not be reasonable to say that these men just made the whole thing up. Many people die for causes they believe in, but not many people would die for a story they knew they madeup.
One of them would have eventually cracked under the preasure. Only seeing the resurrected Jesus in the flesh would have motivated these men to go out and be willing to die to tell the world that Jesus is Lord!

Jesus is alive and waiting for you to repend and believe!

The Prodigal Son

I thought I would follow the last blog, which was very stern, with a change of pace and write a blog concerning God's love. When most people think of God they think of an old man sitting on a throne without a smile on his face, waiting to smite sinners at every change he gets. This of course is not the picture Jesus painted for us. He painted a picture of a loving father waiting for his Child to come home. Read the following from Luke 15:

"11

To illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story: "A man had two sons. 12 The younger son told his father, 'I want my share of your estate now before you die.' So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons."

Let's pause here to examine this further. This child wanted his father's inheritance now before his father was dead. In asking for it before his death it was as if he were telling his father, "I want your money and I'm tired of waiting for you to die. I wish you were dead now so I could have it but since you aren't I want it now." It was one of the most disrespectful things he could said to his father.

13 "A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living. 14 About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve. 15 He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs. 16 The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything."

Let's pause here again. He wasted his riches on wild living. Literally he waste it on partying and prostitutes. He was so poor he got a job feeding pigs. For a Jew of this time period nothing was more degrading as pigs were unclean and they weren't even suppose to touch them. Yet he was so hungry he'd be glad to eat the leftovers from the pig's feed.

17 "When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, 'At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger! 18 I will go home to my father and say, "Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, 19 and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant."'

20 "So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. 21 His son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.'

Let's pause again. His father was a wealthy man who wore long robes. In order to run to his son he would have had to lift his robes. This would have been undignified of a man of his social standing. Yet when his son returned he was glad to do it! This is a beautiful picture of Jesus. Even though Jesus is God he hung on a cross for us which was surely something less than dignified for the God of the universe. Yet he was glad to do it! And he watches for us to come home to him like a father waiting.

22 "But his father said to the servants, 'Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. 23 And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, 24 for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.' So the party began.

When we come to the father after coming to our senses and coming to the cross God treats it as a time of celebration. He doesn't condemn you for what you did, he celebrates the fact that you've turned away from your sinful lifestyle to come to him. Even if you think you're the lowest of the low and there is no way God could ever love you, he loved you enough to send Jesus to die. And if you come to him he will welcome you with open arms and a smile on his face because he loves you. He'll lift up his robes and run to you!

Examine yourself

How do you know you're saved? If you are not a Christian then this blog is not for you. But if you believe yourself to be saved then it is. Many will misunderstand.Some might get angry.And, forgive me in advance for not sugar coating it. And believe me when I say I'm preaching to myself as well.

It is important to ask yourself this question. The bible commands that we do:

2 Corinthians 13:5 "Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith....."

And Jesus himself said that there would be many who would proclaim his name, but not be saved, and that you would know the true believers by their fruits:

Matthew 7 Beginning in verse 15:"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? 17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.

21"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' 23 And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'

Look closely how Jesus speaks here. The lost man is repeating Lord twice when he speaks. In English if we want to emphasize something we say it louder, or put it in all caps, but the Hebrew style was to repeat it. So this was not only a man who believed he was saved, but he was putting emphasis on calling Jesus Lord. He was the type who was open and radical. In modern times he'd be the type to wear Christian t-shirts and have fish on his car. He was openly vocal about Jesus, and yet Jesus says he was lost.

So how do you know you are saved? Is it because you feel saved in your heart? What does scripture say about that?

Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?

Does it just seem right?

Prov 16:25 There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death

Is it because a preacher told you you were saved? Is it because you prayed a prayer and asked Jesus in your heart? And then, you looked around at all the other people sitting next to you in Church and you compared your life to theirs and when your life wasn't any worse than theirs you determined if they were saved you were ok too? What makes you think they're saved? Where in the bible does it say if you repeat a prayer after a preacher that you are automatically saved? Don't get your theology from a T-shirt or catchy song!

Praying a prayer does not save you. There are no magic words to get in to heaven. You are saved because when you prayed that prayer you repented and believed. Salvation only comes by faithin Jesus.

So how do you know that you are saved? Look above again at Matthew 7. Jesus says you'll be known by your fruit.A good tree can't produce thorns, and a thorn bush can't produce figs.

He says he who does the will of His father will be saved. Is this a message of salvation by works? NOT AT ALL! The one who does the will of the father does so as evidence of salvation, not to earn salvation. He doesn't do so by his own efforts but because when he met Jesus he was changed and was never the same. He was given a new nature and hates the things God hates. He walks the narrow path, and when he strays God snatches him back. When he sins he hates his own actions because God hates them. He cannot go astray and remain there because God won't let him. He repented, believed and continues to always because he is God's child.

Notice in Matthew 7 that the lost person uses many gifts of the spirit as evidence that he should be saved, but they were not. God never uses gifts as evidence, once again read the verse. You will be known by your fruit. So examine yourself and be sure your are in the faith. Don't compare yourself with others to determine your salvation, but to scripture instead. Your own church is full of people who come every week and sing praises to the Lord and believe their last breath here is their first breath with the Lord. But, sadly they are mistaken. Don't believe you were saved because a preacher told you you were after repeating a prayer but do so because when you prayed a prayer it reflected your repentant heart and you believed in the name of Jesus. You can KNOW you're saved. But KNOW you are saved for the right reasons!

Pro-life logic

I want to start off by saying if you are a mother who has experienced abortion then this blog is not ment to belittle you. It's aimed at the people who lied to you and told you abortion was harmless and that the person growing inside you wasn't human. For you there is grace and forgiveness in Jesus Christ.

I heard a logical approach to being pro-life on the radio the other day and I agree with it. It is logical to believe that the pro-life movement is the truth. To illustrate we take the 4 differences between an unborn fetus and a newborn baby and evaluate each one.
The first difference is size.
Is an unboard fetus smaller than a newborn baby? Yes it is. Does this make a fetus less than human? Of course not. There are alot of people who are shorter than me. They are not less than human. Size makes no difference in determining humanity. If it did any dwarf or young child could be considered less human than larger people.
So size can not logically be a factor in considering a fetus less than human.

The next difference is level of development.
Is a fetus less developed than a newborn child? Yes it is. Does this make a fetus less than human? Not at all! A 4 year old child is less developed than a 14 year old. Is the 4 year old child less human than the 14 year old? Of course not. People are born with underdeveloped limbs and organs. Are they less human than someone who is born whole? Of course not. You continue to develope for a good part of your life outside the womb. Does this mean you aren't fully human until you stop? Not at all.
So, Level of development is not a logical factor in deciding if a fetus is less than human.

The next difference is environment.
The fetus is in the womb, while a newborn child is outside the womb. Does this make it less than human because it has not yet changed it's location? We change our location every day, going to work, getting in the car, going outside, coming inside. At no time does our change in location make us less than human. In that case does a 7 inch journey down the birth canal magically transform a non-human mass of flesh into a newborn person? Of course not.
Environment can not logically be a factor in deciding if a fetus is less than human.

The final difference is level of dependency.
A fetus is depended on it's mother's body and can not be seperated from it, while a newborn needs only milk and a diaper. Does this make it less than human? A newborn is more dependand than a 10 year old child. Is the newborn less than human? There are elderly, and severly injured people who depend on machines and medication, are they less than human? Is a person not a person when the person's body is no longer self sustaining? Of course not.
So level of dependency is not a logical factor in determining if a fetus is human.

Therefore, there is no logical reason to call a fetus less than human. And if the fetus can not be proven to be less than human, then killing it is murder.

Why did God make the tree?

In the book of Genesis we read the following:
Genesis 2:8-17

8 Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. 9 And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

10 A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters. 11 The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 (The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin and onyx are also there.) 13 The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush. 14 The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Asshur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.

15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die."

Why did God, if He expected Adam and Eve not to eat the fruit from the tree, did He put it there in the first place? This is a question sceptics and believers have asked since time began. The answer, however is not a hard concept. God put the tree in the garden to give mankind freedom of choice. God made us to love, but He also made us to love him back. But, what kind of love could we have for God if we had no other choice? True love requires a choice. Without the freedom of choice true love is rendered void. The type of love God requries is the type of love we all want, the love that loves Him when we don't have to. If there were no tree in the garden Adam and Eve would have had no choice but to love God. And that is not true love.

The Desires of your heart

Psalm 37:4 Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.

This is a very misunderstood and misused verse. But what exactly does it mean? If you were to ask a prosperity preacher what it means he'd probably tell you that God has an Escalade and a big house out there just for you. That of course is not what it means. It's much deeper than that. If you delight yourself in the LORD what will the desires of your heart be? They will be things pertaining to the LORD. Things pleasing to him. Your pleasure will be in him and he will give you the things your heart desires. Things such as, but not limited to, getting closer to him. Knowing him more intimately, Godly wisdom, etc.
But, If you delight yourself in the Lord, repent of your sins and surrender to Jesus as Lord he will give you the most important thing your heart (with the help of the Holy Spirit) desires. Eternal Salvation! And that is much more valuable than an Escalade!

Sin means man has to die.

Since time began the big question has been asked. If God loves us why do people die? Does a loving God want mankind to suffer and die? Before sin man didn't suffer and die. There was no death. The truth is death is the very way God shows us his love and mercy.
In the book of Genesis God had this to say after man had first sinned:

Genesis 3:22 And the LORD God said, "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever."

Why was it so important that Adam must not be allowed to eat from the tree of life and live forever? Does God not want Man to live forever? We know that's not true at all. A very well known verse, a verse even non-believers usually know by heart says otherwise.

John 3:16"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

So why was it so important that man must not be allowed to eat this fruit that would cause him to live forever? Was it to punish man? Maybe partially, but not completely. There are other very important reasons! The first reason is that if man could not die then Jesus could not have died on the cross. God is not only a God of love but of justice. If Christ could not have died to take the penalty for the sins of man then man would have lived eternally in a state of sin that could never be justly penalized. This is something a just God could never allow. The second reason is that God does want us to live forever, but God does not want us depending on a piece of fruit to give us eternal life. Rather than have us live eternally in sin apart from Him, He wants us to live eternally in a relationship with Him and to depend on Him for our eternal life. What a truely lowley state we'd be in. Imagine the world as it is today with all it's problems. Now imagine it could never end. No one would ever die. Men like Hitler and Nero would still be alive today. Sure they would not be murderous, but still just as evil.
Instead God has allowed death to enter in to the world. And one day, those who enter in to eternal life by His plan will live in a world where there is once again no death. And it will be a world free of sin and evil.
So it was because of His grace and mercy God allowed death to exist, not in spite of it. And if you repent of your sins and ask Jesus to be your Lord and savior you will have eternal life HIS way.

The laws of science point to a creator

The laws of science point to a creator.
Law #1 of Thermodynamics states that matter and energy can not be created nor destroyed.
Law #2 basically states that all matter and energy runs down. It wears out. It increases in Entropy and becomes useless.

Because of Law #2 we can logically assume the universe had a beginning. If it did not all matter and energy in the universe would have ran down eons ago and there would be nothing but useless energy and matter floating around the cosmos.

So, the Universe MUST have had a beginning, That which had a beginning requires a cause, but matter and energy can not be created.
Therefore the cause of the universe must have been able to defy the laws of Thermodynamics and create matter and energy.
Since we have never observed anything in the universe which can naturally create matter and energy the only logical conclusion would be that a deity powerful enough to call forth matter and energy from nothing exists and created the universe.

God himself requires no origin because he is not a physical being. Not being composed of matter he requires no beginning. Only that which has a beginning requires a cause. He has always existed. No matter what you believe something or someone has to have always existed. It is illogical based on the 2nd law of Thermodynamics to believe that the universe has always existed.

This argument is based on scientific fact. While you may find those who sit around trying to come up with ways something can come from nothing with no help from God you'll always find that their ideas are just that, Ideas. They can not be backed up with fact.

Science in the bible

There is reference to a medical condition in the bible what would have gone unnoticed for the past 2000 years because until now it was not possible to know about it.
Read Mark 8:22-26
This passage tells of Jesus healing a blind man. When he first heals the blind man he says he can't see very clearly. That people look like trees walking. Now until modern times that didn't mean much. But, because of modern medical science we can infact repair the human eye and cure blindness. People who have never seen in their lives will have a condition known as Agnosia. This condition exists because the pathways in the brain have not grown to accommodate vision. Their brains have never "learned" to see.
When Jesus first healed this blind man he very briefly suffered from Agnosia. Then Jesus healed his Agnosia and the man could see clearly. It would have been impossible for Mark to have known about Agnosia when he wrote this account because 2000 years ago blindness could not be cured by medical science. The full meaning of this passage is only clear in modern times. This suggests that the bible is true.

Abortion

Due to the graphic nature of the following images I've placed them in links.
Click the images at your own risk.
It's come to my attention lately that the Democrats in DC have been trying hard lately to make partial birth abortion legal. Well what are the facts we know about abortion?

At 24 days the baby's heart starts to beat.
At 6-7 Weeks brain waves are detected.
At 21 Weeks the child can live outside the womb, although it requires intensive care.

Etc. Etc.

If the Liberal left were to have their way a child in the womb could be put to death at any stage as long as the child has not yet exited the womb alive. Personally I find that barbaric.

This is what an aborted child looks like at 9 weeks. Mind you the baby's heart was beating and it had brain waves.
(Image) Aborted baby at 9 weeks

However, what the liberals want now is to reverse the ban on partial birth, or late trimester abortions. There are two major methods of performing this act. The first, which was developed during the Nazi's durring World War II, involves injecting the uterus with salt water poisoning the child. It's interesting to note that during this procedure the child struggles until it dies. The salt usually burns the skin causing a reddish appearance. This method is not widely used anymore due to the fact that sometimes the baby survives.
Here is what a dead baby looks like after it's been killed in this manner:
(Image) Dead baby aborted with Salt Poisoning.

But, The method commonly used, and outlawed, to abort late term pregnancy involves delivering the child up to its neck, cutting a hole in the baby's skull and sucking out its brain.

The method in which the following child was killed is unknown, but if the liberals were to have their way the following image would be perfectly legal:
(Image) Dead baby. Aborted at 7 months.

Here is an image explaining the procedure of partial birth abortion:
(Image) Explaining partial birth abortion. Notice the dead child in the last pane.

Take a good look at these pictures. Can you honestly look at these pictures and tell me that this is a good idea? That this should be legal? That a woman should have the right to do this to her own child? That the images above are NOT of human beings? That these babies were NOT murdered? Think twice next time you cast a vote. If you vote for a liberal than this could be what you're voting for.

The heavens proclaim the glory of God.

A good question would be why God made other planets and did not put life on them. It's true what the Bible says in Psalm 19:1:

The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship.

So what do the planets declare about God? Sure their gravity keeps us in place but what else? They show us just how special the earth is! If the planets weren't there how long would it have taken for us to realize that the earth has to be a perfect distance from the sun? Or, that it has to be the right size, and have the correct gases in our atmosphere to support life?
If we were close like mercury we'd be too hot. If we were larger we'd have too much gravity. If we were smaller we might be like Mars.
Surely the heavens do proclaim the glory of God!

Why is Hell forever.

A very good question some people ask is why Hell is forever. They wonder why God can't just send them there for a little while and then let them out, or why their penalty has to be so harsh. In a previous blog we covered that when we sin, even a small sin, we aren't just being penalized for lying or stealing, but for disobeying the perfect word of God. God is infinite. God's word is infinite. Therefore, if we disobey his word then the penalty is infinite. Even though we are not infinite we still owe an infinite debt. Therefore we must pay for it infinitly. That is, forever. But the good news is that because Jesus IS God He was able to pay the infinite debt in your place once for all. The debt is payed in full by the only one able to pay an infinite debt. His love was willing to pay that debt! Come to him today, tell him you repent (turn away) from your sins and ask him to be your Lord (master) and Savior and to forgive your sins because He has payed the sin debt!

The parable of the parachute

Kirk Cameron gets the credit for this one.

There was once a man on an air plane. A stewardess tells the man he needs to wear a parachute. When the man asks why she tells him that if he puts on the parachute it will make his flight better. The man doesn't understand why wearing a parachute will make his flight better but puts the parachute on anyway. He instantly realizes that he can't sit up straight in his seat. All the other passengers are laughing at him for wearing this parachute and the stewardess who told him about the parachute comes by and spills hot coffee all over him. Angry and bitter about the parachute the man stands up and yells, "I thought you said this would make my flight better!!??!!" and throws it off.

A few rows down another stewardess gives another man a parachute. She tells him that he needs to wear the parachute because the plane is going to crash and in any moment he will have to jump. The man puts on the parachute. Even though he can't sit up straight in his seat and all the other passengers laugh at him he clings to his parachute. Even after the stewardess spilled hot coffee all over him he still clung tightly to his parachute because he knew it was his only hope to survive the coming doom. In fact he was greatful for the parachute and looked forward to the end of his flight.

Many people become disapointed with the Christian life because they were told they needed Jesus because Jesus would make their life better but t, and surely he does give us abundant life! But, after they become saved they're faced with hard times or hateful church people who "spill hot coffee" on thier hearts. But, we do not become saved to get a better life. We do so to survive the fall. All of the apostles were either killed or exiled for their faith, but their joy came from knowing that Jesus loved them and saved them from the fall.

Why is sin such a big deal?

First of all with all these blogs I don't want anyone to think that I'm setting myself up as a perfect sinless person. I'm not. Not by a long shot.

With that out of the way I'll get to the point! :)

I've derived this from something Paul Washer once said. To understand why sin is a big deal to God, even small sins one must understand the magnatude of sin.

God commanded the universe to exist out of nothingness. It obeyed him.
God commanded entire gallaxies to go where they should, and they went.
God commanded enormous stars where to hang in the heavens and they obeyed him.
God commanded mountains to rise and valleys to fall and they obeyed.
God commanded the ocean to stop and allow the dry land to appear. It obeyed him.

Then, God turned to man and said come to me and man said "NO!".
Mankind is the only creation that has ever disobeyed the word of God, the same word that created the universe. That is a big deal!

I'm not so bad. Why do I need Jesus?

Alot of people think that they're good enough to go to heaven. They say that they're sins aren't so bad and that there are murderers or rapists who are much worse. Surely God would send me to heaven compared to them!

First of all we need to establish that yes, you are a sinner and deserve God's judgement. Let's take just the Ten Commandments as our standard. God's law is more than just the Ten Commandments, but we'll use it for our purposes. I will present the Commandments in question form so that you man use them as a mirror for yourself.
1. Have you ever lied? Probably. I have.
2. Have you ever stolen? Probably. All though I can't think of an example I probably have.
3. Have you ever commited adultery? Jesus said if you look at a woman to lust after her you have commited adultery in your heart. What man has not done this?
4.Have you ever coveted? Most people have looked at what their neighbor has and wished it belonged to them.
5. Have you ever taken God's name in vain? If you've used his name in any other manner other than talking to Him or about Him you have.

We've only covered half of the Commandments and so far we're probably 5 for 5.  Get the picture? If we continue you'll have to admit that you have violated most if not all of the 10 commandments and one point. If God is a perfect judge he will give you the judgement you deserve.

But you might be saying to yourself, well yeah. I'm guilty. But I'm still not that bad. I mean, I'm not a rapist or murderer or anything. Well my illustration might seem crude but it's effective.





Above are 4 cups of water. Cup #1 is perfectly pure. Cup #2 has a tiny dingleberry in it. Cup #3 has a great big turd in it. Cup #4 is pure diarrhea. Which one do you want to drink out of? Cup #2 isn't as bad as 3 or 4. Why not accept it and drink out of it? You'd only want to drink out of #1. Even though #2 isn't so bad it's equally disgusting to you as 3 and 4. That's how God looks at sin. You are either #2,#3 or #4. There was only one person who ever qualified as #1. That was Jesus Christ.
God loved you so much that he sent Jesus to take the penalty for your sins on the cross. When Jesus died on the cross he took all your sins on himself.
So God took all your filth and poored it on Jesus. Like this:



Even though Christ was pure he became sin for you. So when you repent of your sins and ask Jesus in to your life as your Lord and Savior you take on his purity, just as he took on your filth. He payed your penalty.
In a court of law if you were found guilty of violating the law and the judge told you to pay the fine, and you didn't have the money what would you do? You'd go to jail. What if while you were being taken to your cell someone you didn't know had sold all they had and came in and offered to pay your fine? You'd be greatful and accept it! You'd live your live with gratitude for that person's sacrifice. That's what Jesus did. He gave all he had to pay your fine. Repent and turn away from your sins. Accept the gift Christ payed for on the cross. Acknoledge him as your Lord and Savior. He loves you and has provided a way for you to escape your penalty!

DNA points to a creator

In the debate over origins there is no "proof" on either side because you can not test the past. However you can have evidence to point to your point of view. DNA Points to a creator. How? DNA contains information and is very complex. But it's not enough to simple say DNA has information and is complex. Anyone can randomly draw letters from a hat and eventually spell a word. But, That word is meaningless unless you speak english. Likewise the blueprints of DNA are useless unless they mean something. DNA has a "language". There are machinery in cells which know how to speak the language of DNA. They decode the blueprints in your DNA. However, The blueprints for building the machinery in your cells which read and decode DNA are encoded in your DNA. If you can't read the DNA then you can't build the machinery to read the DNA. To quote Answers in Genesis:

"DNA even contains the instructions to devise the cellular machinery to decode its instructions. Without a mechanism to decode the information, the DNA blueprint would be useless. Even if DNA had managed to evolve, as Egli believes, the decoding mechanism to read it would have had to evolve at precisely the same time. This scenario is impossible because the instructions for building the decoding unit are contained in the DNA itself."
From this article - http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/2007/02/28/dna-sweet-secret


So yes, DNA does show striking evidence for a creator.

NES Sound MOD

I Modded a US NES machine to make the enhanced audio in some Japanese games audible. Here is a PDF explaining the whole project.

http://johnslife.tripod.com/NES_pin_article.pdf

Hooters

Many of my fellow Christians think it's unbecoming to go to Hooters to eat. Well I decided to go, for my first time, and have decided it's no big deal depending on your struggles. While it's probably not going to become a regular place to eat for me it wasn't bad. The waitress outfits are no more revealing than a once piece bathing suit. If you've ever been to a public pool then you've seen more skin than at hooters. The waitresses in the advertisements are models. They do not depict an accurate image of the waitresses at the actual restaurant who are mostly skinny and flat chested. You see more butt cheek than you do "hooters" which is why I compare their outfits to one piece bathing suits. The food, while limited in variety, is very good. The wings are excellent and I tried the philly cheese steak. It was good. I also tried their crab legs, also excellent.

If you feel uncomfortable and blush at a public pool then Hooters will be a big deal for you. But, otherwise it's not a problem. Get your food to go if you feel the outfits inappropriate. Go for the wings. They're great!