I'm back (I think)

Someone asked me the other day why I didn't have a blog.  They said there are some people that want to hear what I have to say.  Maybe it's my way of just saying what I think.  Or maybe it is my weird sense of humor.  After all I have used comic strips in the past to make a spiritual point.  

Whatever the reason, I did have a moderate following on my blog before.  But I haven't posted since 2013.  Why?  One big reason was parenthood.  

I knew having a kid would change my life but there is no way I could have imagined how much so.  But the answer isn't quite that simple.  I quit blogging because life got quite busy.  

Currently, I serve as Associate Pastor for Berea Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Arkansas.  I handle most of the administrative and educations duties. 

I also currently serve as the President of the AT&T Veterans Employee Resource Group, an employee driven 501(3)c volunteer organization.  

And I work full time and keep up with the house my wife and I bought several years ago and spend time caring for, teaching, and playing with 3-year old son.

I know, excuses excuses.  But there are only so many hours in the day for fixing and eating dinner with my son (wife works late evenings), updating websites, answering emails, prepping Bible studies, packing for work and school the next day, etc.  Don't get my started on chores around the house.

But I decided to try taking on a blog again.  I transitioned it from an old email I don't use any longer to the Google account I use for all things Google.

It's almost 9:00 PM now.  Got home not long ago from an evening at my parent's.  Dinner and some family time...just enjoying our day off for Labor Day.  My son is tucked in bed and my wife is curled up reading.  I'm tired so this first "I'm back" blog is gonna be short.

Before I go though, let me say this.  I've changed a lot since the last blog post.  Learned a lot in just the last two years about life, parenting, and more.  I'll try to share a variety of experiences and thoughts that may appeal to a broader audience.

So for tonight, let me give you a quick thought I had after talking to someone at work last week:

Parent's should be coaches, not referees.  Parent's need to stop just blowing a whistle when your child commits a foul and get personally involved in the game.  

You can shape your child a lot more by demonstrating character and morality than by just punishing them when they try to figure it out on their own and fail.

6 Questions Pro-Choicers won't (can't) answer

1.  If you are "pro-choice" then why do you not want the female to view an ultra-sound, hear the heartbeat, or know the "fetus" will likely experience pain during an abortion so she can make an informed choice?

2.  Again if it is all about choice, then why does the father, who was equally involved in the conception, have no choice?

3.  In the case of rape, incest, etc...what was the baby's crime that warrants the death penalty?

4.  In the case of "imminent danger" to the mother's life...doctor's not only recommend abortion as an option but often insist (and sometimes force) abortions...if women are to be expected to abort their unborn babies when their life is at risk, should we not also insist they allow their born children to come to harm and even die when intervening could pose a threat to the mother's life?

5.  If we use the loss of vital signs like brain activity, heart beat, etc to determine death has occurred, why do we not also use these same vital signs to determine life has occurred?

6.  If "pro-choicers" are so concerned about women's health, why do they fight any law that requires abortion clinics to meet the same standards as general doctor's offices, hospitals, etc?

They typically won't answer these questions because they can't.  The pro-death movement is not based on fact or reason and it is driven, among other things, by money and the desire to escape natural consequences for ones reckless actions.  I once had a pro-choicer telling me I was approaching my debate with him "too logically."

My wife tried to share her pro-life views and, more importantly, her faith in Christ with someone who had once been very close to her.  This individual responded with anger and bitterness and spewed hateful word and profanity at my wife for her stance.  I truly believe much of this explosive response comes from a deep rooted guilt....

This individual had chosen to have an abortion because her doctor convinced her without it, she would die.  I am confident inside she knows that it was her job to protect the babies life...not the babies job to protect hers.  Deep inside I am sure she feels guilt and shame.  But her mind has been deluded with the lies and her eyes blinded to her need for forgiveness...and to the reality of just how readily available forgiveness is through Christ.

We need to continue to ask the questions they can't answer...to make people think before they choose a path that is irreversible and has tragic life-long consequences.  In our quest to protect the children, let's not forget we need to protect the mother's too...and to help those who made the wrong choice find peace and forgiveness.

Driving forces behind the abortion epidemic

I have often been asked this question by church members and pro-lifers: “How did abortion get so deeply rooted in our culture?  How did we manage to let it go this far?”  Abortion is not new.  There is evidence that man resorted to this vile act early in his history; however, we've seen this carried to heights that is almost unfathomable.  There are many contributing factors to abortion, but I contend there are three main movements that pushed us to the extremes we see today.

Evolutionary ideas: The very groundwork for the explosion of the abortion industry was laid when Darwin’s ideas of evolution became more widely accepted.  There are several serious implications if we begin to consider evolution as truth.  (1) If evolution is true, the Biblical account of creation is either false or allegorical (2) If the creation story is false, then all of Scripture becomes unreliable and questionable at best and at worst it is all a giant hoax (3) If the creation story is allegorical, then we can start accepting compromises such as gap theories and long-day theories but (4) if we accept these compromises, we still have to accept death came before Adam’s sin and therefore sin did not come into the world by one man and therefore (5) Salvation did not come into the world by one Man.  Now your entire Bible has been shred and the Gospel torn out.  Furthermore, if God did not create man and woman as a special creation in His own image and we are all here by chance or accident, there is no value to life and therefore no reason why we shouldn't be able to end a life as we please.

Free love and the sexual revolution:  Webster’s defines free love as “the doctrine or practice of having sexual relations or living together without legal marriage or continuing obligation.” Marriage was seen as a form of bondage.  Free lovers did not believe there should be laws or absolutes when it came to matters such as marriage, birth control, adultery, etc.  This movement aided in the destruction of the Christian idea of marriage and family.  Marriage between one man and one woman is sacred because it is a depiction of Christ’s union to His bride, the church.  Webster’s defines the sexual revolution as “a drastic relaxation in general standards of sexual behavior.”  Those caught up in the U.S. sexual revolution of the 1960’s lived by the motto “Make love, not war” and “if it feels good, do it.”  There was only one serious problem with this concept….unwanted pregnancy.  This was especially problematic for men of notable positions in society or business and the wealthy men of society – they couldn't have unwanted children, especially from their one-night stands, ruining their reputation or being a burden to their fame and fortune. 

The feminist movement: Evolutionary ideas, the sexual revolution, and the second wave of the feminist movement in the U.S. were the perfect storm for abortionists.  The feminist movement grew from wanting proper treatment of women and equality in human rights to wanting to tear down anything that may distinguish male from female.  A woman had to be able to do anything and everything a man could do.  What is the one thing a man could do in the area of the sexual revolution that a woman couldn't do?  Walk away from an unwanted pregnancy….unless….the woman could “abort” the pregnancy. Abortion became a necessity so that second wave feminists could fully participate in the free love sex revolution and be able to “escape” the consequences just like a man could.  The ideas of free love and feminism are very closed tied together and pour on the de-valuing of human life through the evolutionary idea that we are just an accident, and abortion is not only acceptable but it is desirable. 

How do we combat the vile unrestrained murder of millions (billions?) of babies?  First we affirm the Bible is true, the 6 day creation story of Genesis is literal, that there is a Divine Creator to whom we are accountable, that man and woman are created special and in the image of God, and that all human life is precious and to be protected.  We have to view sex, marriage, and human life the way God views it.

Bold Answer to Question over Abortion

We have long been debating the "what if's" in this country when it comes to abortion.  We've all seen the discussions in society.

 "Well, maybe partial birth abortions are a bit much...but what about early ones when the baby is so small and hasn't fully developed...maybe that isn't so bad."

"What about if the women is raped...is it really fair to make her have the baby?  What about incest...wouldn't it be wrong to have that baby."  

A member of my own family, who I loved dearly but was unfortunately on the wrong side of this particular issue, once told me she would rather see a baby aborted than to be born with major birth defects that would make their life more difficult.

Many in the medical field are working on tests that would allow parents to test for all sorts of diseases and genetic defects so they can determine whether or not the baby would live.

God's Word makes it clear that life in the womb is life and it is precious and should be protected.  I will not get into politics here, but I do want to recognize one politician for speaking boldly, despite the possible votes it may cost him.  

I don't think I could sum up the reason we don't need to look for loops holes and allow abortions in the "what if" situations better than he did, other than to say God didn't provide any loop holes.

Check it out:

Oh Be Careful Little Eyes

O be careful little eyes what you see

O be careful little eyes what you see

There's a Father up above

And He's looking down in love

So, be careful little eyes what you see

As a child, I remember singing that song. It goes on to say be careful little ears what you ear, little hands what you do, little feet where you go, little mouth what you say. How we live our life is strongly influenced by what we see and hear, and then where we go and what we participate in.

This principle should apply to what we watch on TV and the movies we watch, along with many other aspects of our life. I am not saying a Christian should necessarily avoid all secular music, TV, movies, etc - unless they feel called by God to so. But we must use our ability of discernment, which is given to all believers through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, when deciding what to expose ourselves, and our children, to.

What we watch and what we filter out will often depend on the individuals role in their family and the church and the level of their maturity and understanding of Scripture. Please don't misunderstand me, I am not saying that being spiritually mature and knowledgeable in doctrine and Scripture gives you free reign to watch filth.

However, sometimes a film comes along that portrays Christianity or God in a manner that can be dangerous to the church and the spiritually mature and doctrinally sound leaders need to watch or at least be very aware of the film so they can teach their flock and warn them of the dangers.

I recently became aware of one such film that I recommend Christians, especially parents and church leaders, be cautious of. It is called the Golden Compass. Some of the animations looked similar to the Narnia movies, particularly the polar bear, and the movie seemed interesting so we began to watch it.

It wasn't long into the movie when I realized something wasn't right.  Everyone in the movie had a "demon" that followed them around and interacted with them...and some of the demons were portrayed as cute fuzzy playful animals. They also seemed to promoting the rebellious characters in the movie as the heroes.

So I did a little research. Turns out, the movie is based on one of the books in trilogy by Philip Pullman called "His Dark Materials." A quick overview of the book would go like this...God isn't really the creator...He just somehow came out of the "dust" and was the first angel...He told all the other angels to follow He created them...and when He got old and weak he faced a rebellion from the other angels and from mankind.

By the time the trilogy is over, God is dead and two of the characters of the story re-enact the story of the garden of Eden, only this time it saves the universe rather than condemns it. One thing that makes the story so deceptive is the fact that it does make you think of C.S. Lewis and the Narnia story...but that is no accident. Pullman despised C.S. Lewis and said of the Narnia books are "one of the most ugly and poisonous things I have ever read," with "no shortage of … nauseating drivel."

Not convinced that Mr. Pullman is an enemy of Christianity? What if I told you another of his books is entitled "The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ"? One of the press statements about the books reads like this:

In Pullman’s work, Jesus is a charismatic, honest speaker, who believes that the kingdom of God is imminent. Christ, on the other hand, has an eye to posterity, to the need for an organized church and to the requirements of history. “He knows that human beings, being what they are, need structures, they fall into bureaucracy. He knew that the kingdom never was going to come,” said Pullman. See this review and others here

It is important for us to remember that not all things fun, not all things popular, not even all things made for children are things we should watch, listen to, or expose our children to.

Characteristics of a Godly Mother

Adapted from Mother's Day Sermon: May 8, 2011
Associate Pastor Jeff Rudd

Introduction: There has been enough said about mother’s over the years to fill an entire library. Everyone has their own idea of what a mother should and shouldn’t be, and many men and women have tried to pay tribute to the women that raised them, others have blamed their mother’s for the wrong they’ve done in their own lives. Here are some things one writer said his mom taught him:

• To appreciate a job well done when she said "If you're going to kill each other, do it outside - I just finished cleaning!"
• Religion when she said "You better pray that will come out of the carpet."
• Time travel: "If you don't straighten up, I’m going to knock you into the middle of next week!"
• Logic: "Because I said so, that's why."
• Irony: "Keep laughing and I'll give you something to cry about."
• The science of osmosis: "Shut your mouth and eat your supper!"
• Contortionism: "Will you look at the dirt on the back of your neck!"
• Weather: "It looks as if a tornado swept through your room."
• How to solve physics problems - "If I yelled because I saw a meteor coming toward you; would you listen then?"
• The circle of life - "I brought you into this world, and I can take you out."

One of the things I always remember my mom trying to teach me was to appreciate what I had in life along with concern and compassion for others. However, it wasn’t always an easy task for her. One time when I didn’t eat something on my plate, she told me there were kids starving in Africa that would be happy to have what I refused to eat. I replied, I’m sure with a sweet grin on my face, that she should pack it up and mail it the kids in Africa. 

On a serious note, Washington Irving once said “A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts.”

Today, in honor of Mother's Day, which we just celebrated, we are going to take a look at what God’s word says about His standards for a mother and the characteristics of a godly wife and mother.

I. Her Trustworthiness: Proverbs 31:11-12

1. Husband does not maintain a jealous guard over her
2. Husband does not lock up his valuables (common in ancient days)
3. Wife has access to the family resources
4. Wife demonstrates loyalty to husband in by bringing good to him

II. Her Behavior: Proverbs 31:13-24

1. She provides food and clothing (verse 13-15)  We see this as an act of meeting physical needs; however, Jesus saw those that diligently worked to provide food and clothes as engaging a spiritual act of worship. Matt 25:34-36 says “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me”
2. She properly manages their resources (verse 16). While we may sometimes find mom’s efforts to squeeze the last bit of mustard out of the jar or scoop the last bit of laundry detergent out of the box as silly or annoying, Jesus saw such efforts as godly stewardship. In Matt 25:20-21 Jesus, near the end of the parable of the talents, says “And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, Master, you delivered to me five talents;here I have made five talents more. His master said to him, Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.”
3. She is busy and provides for her family (verse 17–18)
4. She cares for others (verse 20-21). That desire for mom to always protect, nurture, and provide for even those outside of her family, even at the expense of meeting her own needs and desires at times, is seen as archaic and foolish; however, once again this is one of mom’s spiritual acts of worship. Proverbs 19:17 says “Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed.”

III. Her Character: Proverbs 31:25-26

1. She finds strength and confidence in the Lord (verse 25). Psalm 121: 1-2: I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. The greatest example that I have of one lifting their eyes to the hills for daily help is my mom, who each morning did a much better job at spending time with her Lord than I ever did. She knew each day there would be a struggle between what the world would try to convince her she needed and wanted in her life and what God had called her life to be, and she understood that she could only win that battle by admitting how weak and frail she was and allowing the strength and confidence to come from Christ.
2. She teaches wisdom with mercy and kindness (verse 26). Proverbs 6:20-22 speaks of the importance of a mother’s teaching: "My son, keep your father's commandment, and forsake not your mother's teaching. Bind them on your heart always; tie them around your neck. When you walk, they will lead you; when you lie down, they will watch over you; and when you awake, they will talk with you.

IV. Her life: Proverbs 31:27-31

1. Her children call her blessed: one of the greatest joys for a mother should be for her children to grow up and praise her as their source of wisdom.
2. Husband praises her and in his eyes she surpasses all others.
3. She views holiness and virtue as far more important and desirable than charm and beauty.
4. The labor she does for her family and for others brings praise to her and ultimately exalts her Lord and Savior as these are acts of love for others and worship of Jesus Christ.

Conclusion: Billly Graham once remarked that “Only God Himself fully appreciates the influence of a Christian mother in the molding of character in her children”. Sadly, millions of children right now don’t know the love
trustworthiness, provisions, character, and love of a mother or a father. In closing today, I want to share with you how you can help. 

The first way, obviously, is to be kind of wife and mother God called you to be. The second is to teacher other women how to do the same. But there are other opportunities I want to discuss with you today…the opportunity to support two ministries that has become very dear to me and my wife - Holt International and the Arkansas Baptist Children's Homes.  

Holt International is a Christian organization that works to find and support permanent families for children who are orphaned, abandoned or separated from families, or at serious risk of separation. This work is an expression of God's compassion for children. Holt is a global leader in providing services and advocating for the best interest of children, setting the highest ethical practices.  They are dedicated to carrying out God's plan for every child to have a permanent, loving family.  

My wife and I have had the joy of supporting a precious child now for several months and recently received word that he has bee adopted by a loving Christian family in the United States. We recently received information on the child we will be supporting now that our first one has been placed with a permanent family.  For only $30 a month you can help provide the food, shelter, clothing, and attentive care needed to meet a child's basic needs.  

The ABCHomes website says "The Arkansas Baptist Children’s Homes and Family Ministries (ABCHomes) is a non-profit agency of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention. Through residential childcare and counseling services, ABCHomes is seeking to be the foremost provider to children and families in crisis in Arkansas.

Since its’ founding in 1894, ABCHomes has been ministering to and meeting needs of some of the states most vulnerable. Today, ABCHomes provides a safe, secure home for an average of 320 children and youth each year, as well as provides about 2,300 counseling sessions a year."

Please visit the websites for ABCHomes and Holt International for more information on how you can help.

I leave you with this from James 1:27: Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

Loving through Operation Christmas Child

My last few posts have been a bit intense so today I wanted to share something lighter but something very important to me and my wife.  I want to tell you about Operation Christmas Child.

Operation Christmas Child, a ministry of Samaritan's Purse, strives to "demonstrate God's love in a tangible way to needy children around the world, and together with the local church worldwide, to share the Good News of Jesus Christ."

You can be a part of this by doing something very simple...packing a shoe box.  You take an empty shoe box or a small plastic container, determine whether your gift will be for a boy or a girl and the child’s age category, fill the box with a variety of gifts, and drop the box off.

Our church, Berea Baptist Church, collected 30 shoe boxes for OCC in 2009 and funded the shipping for all but 7 of those boxes.  In 2010, we were able to up that number to 50 boxes.  This year, we decided to collect an item each month to spread the expense over the year and we are on course to fill 100 shoe boxes this year.  Last year 8 million children around the world received shoe boxes because of the efforts of individuals and groups from several nations

If you would like more information about OCC or how you can become involved, visit the Operation Christmas Child website or contact your local church to see if they support OCC, or if you prefer, you may support BBCJax in our efforts to fill shoe boxes.  

My wife, Sarah, is currently collecting yarn to crochet small handmade stuff animals for the boxes.   If you would like to help her in her efforts, please visit her blog at  http://crochetbysarah.blogspot.com and leave a comment on her blog or email me.  If you would like to more information about our collection efforts or how you can help, feel free to email me at jeff.rudd@bbcjax.net.  

Most of all, pray for OCC and all of the children that will be blessed by a simple but powerful gift and find a way to become involved.

Ministry-To-Children.com

First of all, before I introduce you guys to an awesome ministry, I want to thank Tony at SBCVoices.com for listing my blog on the SBC Blog Directory.  I truly appreciate his help as I try to build my blog into a ministry that can truly promote discipleship, family values, ministry opportunities, and more and help reach others to Christ and teach the Word to believers that may follow my writings.

In response to my email to him, Tony responded and also brought this ministry to my attention.  Anyone that knows me well or has looked at the first few posts on my blog knows that I love kids and I am passionate about doing all I can to make sure children know the love of God.  So when I took one look at Tony's site, Ministry-To-Children.com, I knew I had to share it with others. 

Ministry-To-Children.com is full of coloring pages, crafts, lesson ideas, games, and much more - all for free.  Please check out Ministry-To-Children.com and let Tony and those working with him on the site know how much you appreciate this valuable free resource.

Our little My Diem Danh

I wanted to introduce those that read my blog to our second sponsored child, My Diem Danh.  My lives in Vietnam and was born on February 13, 2008, one day before my wife and I celebrated our 4 year anniversary.  

My is the youngest of 2 children.  Both of her parents work to support the family but they make very little, so the family lives in a boarding house and Holt International has offered to pay for daycare for My for a year so the family can save on childcare expenses and hopefully save to provide a better living condition for the family.

My is generally healthy with no medical concerns at this time. She eats and sleeps well and has a full set of teeth.  She is able to balance on her tiptoes momentarily, is walking and running more smoothly, and can ride a tricycle.  She can also feed herself and carry things to her mom when asked.  She understands most directions well and can sing some short children songs.

Please pray for My Diem Danh and for her family, and that the assistance Holt is providing will enable them to keep their family together.

Our little Gyeong-heum

One verse that I try to live my life by is James 1:27: "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world."  One of the many wonderful things about my wife is the incredible love her and I share for children.  

Because of the heart we share for children - especially the forgotten, neglected, sick, or needy little ones - my wife and I knew exactly what we needed to do, without speaking a word, when we were introduced to Holt International during a HolyHomes seminar by Clay and Renee Cross.  Holt International is a Christian organization dedicated to "finding and supporting permanent, loving families for children who are orphaned, abandoned or separated from families, or at serious risk of separation."  

Individuals can support Holt International by agreeing to sponsor a child for just $30 a month.  The small monthly gifts provides food, shelter, clothing and attentive care to meet your sponsored child's basic needs.  My wife and I looked at each other and we could take we were thinking the same thing....this was an opportunity we could not pass on.

My wife and I chose our first child report from Holt International , little Gyeong-heum, a precious little fella that was born in Korea on February 27, 2010.  We sponsored him for several months, until we found out last week that he has been adopted by a loving Christian family in the U.S.  The joy of knowing that God used us and our small gift to dramatically change the life of this precious lil boy is indescribable. 

I am looking forward to sharing more about Holt International, and the next precious child we will be sponsoring.  May all of the glory and praise be to God our Father for His great love and His total sufficiency in our lives.