Sol ran into some OSU football players while we were on campus

Turkey Bowl 2008

Turkey Bowl Rain Delay - Now Begins at Noon, No Chili

Parents and Students,

Due to inclement weather the Chili Cook-off will be postponed on Saturday until a later date. However the Turkey Bowl flag football will continue starting at noon with registration. We will still play until 3 pm rain or shine because that is how football goes 

I still want to enjoy the chili so please give me your thoughts about having the Chili Cook-off in conjunction with Christmas Overflow December 14. Thanks!

Please pass this information to everyone who you know might be involved so that all are informed.

Firm in Faith: Isaiah speaks with Ahaz

I recently began to read through the book of Isaiah once again. In the seventh chapter of Isaiah the prophet is delivering a message from God to King Ahaz, of Judah. The Assyrians had just overtaken the Philistines and were turning there sights on the areas of Syria, Israel, and Judah. King Rezin of Syria had made a mutual agreement with Israel to ally in opposition to the impending Assyrian attack. The two asked for Ahaz to join them, and upon the refusal declared war together on Judah.

To say the least this left Ahaz and Judah shaking in their boots with nowhere to turn and that is when Isaiah shows up. He tells Ahaz that he is not to align with Syria and Israel because they will be swept away by Assyria. The real threat is Assyria and the Lord will protect Judah if they will trust Him alone. Then the Lord tells Ahaz through Isaiah, "If you are not firm in faith you will not be firm at all." - Isaiah 7:9b

In other words, if you do not believe and trust me then whatever footing you think you have is nothing but a figment of your imagination. If you align with Israel and Syria to avoid war and to fight against Syria, the very people you trust will really be your destruction.

This is a great word for myself! Whatever I trust in more than the provision and care of my Lord is merely a figment of my imagination and can have the same fate as did Israel and Syria in that day. The Lord is unchanging and never failing. My faith must be strong in him in order to be firm at all.

In relation to student ministry, the Lord has reminded me that we are teaching students to become strong in the faith by faithfully proclaiming the love, holiness, and justice of an unchanging and completely trustworthy Lord. Many times students are taught how to fix a faulty faith when in all honesty we are teaching them some aspects of the faith for the first time. It is not that they know and are deliberately disobeying (which is sometimes the case) but more often are simply ignorant of the way the Spirit of God through the Word of God can change their mind and transform their life as they see God with more clarity responding in stronger faith.

May all the students at Richland Creek grow firm in their faith so that they may be firm in the face of adversity and be successful in the face of challenge. May the Lord grant me clarity and knowledge in the way I discern needs and communicate life transforming truth through the power of the Holy Spirit, along with all the teachers in the student ministry.

The image above is of Tiglath-pileser III the King of Assyria at the time of this event around 734 BC.

Good News from Election Day

Many arguments will be given and news correspondents and their guests will debate the issue, but a victory in the liberal California for traditional marriage is not to be missed. Below is an excerpt from an article in the Baptist Press.

Calif. passes Prop 8, a landmark pro-family win; Ariz. & Fla. also adopt marriage amends.
Posted on Nov 5, 2008 | by Michael Foust

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (BP)--California voters Tuesday overruled the state Supreme Court's ruling legalizing "gay marriage," and in the process handed the nationwide pro-family movement one of its most significant victories ever.

With 95 percent of results tabulated, Proposition 8 -- a constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman -- led by 52-48 percent and a margin of 400,000 votes out of nearly 10 million cast.

The amendment reverses the high court's landmark May decision and serves as the biggest setback yet for homosexual activists in their goal of legalizing "gay marriage" nationwide.

It is the first time that voters in a state have overturned a court's decision on the issue. The amendment reads, "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California."

"When one looks at the demographics of California, if traditional marriage can win in California, it can win in any of the 50 states when it's put to a vote of the people," Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, told Baptist Press.

The victory was but one of four "gay rights" ballot initiatives where conservatives were victorious. Florida adopted a marriage amendment -- passing it 62-38 percent and surpassing the necessary 60 percent supermajority -- while Arizona passed its own marriage amendment, 56-44 percent, two years after citizens there had become the first state to defeat an amendment.

Three-fifths (30) of the states now have adopted a marriage amendment.

A Good Read on the Election

Albert Mohler's Blog

A vote for suicide or misguided compassion?

In the wake of a historic election most media coverage and talk rightfully surrounds the election of the next President of the United States. But the shift to a Democratic president has, in my opinion, more to say about frustration in the economy and other political issues and less to say about the shift in American culture. But a vote in the state of Washington speaks volumes of our culture change.

On the Fox News Website it states, "In Washington, voters gave solid approval to an initiative modeled after Oregon's "Death with Dignity" law, which allows a terminally ill person to be prescribed lethal medication they can administer to themselves. Since Oregon's law took effect in 1997, more than 340 people -- mostly ailing with cancer -- have used it to end their lives."

It is now legal for persons in Washington to gain access and administer themselves drugs that will kill them. Legal Suicide? This is state number 2 to allow such a law by the people. Make no mistake this is suicide and it is wrong. It is wrong for a person to take a life whether someone else or their own without proper cause. It is only in the hands of a government to properly enact war, justice, and protection and individuals to defend against threats of life and limb. But to grant a doctor the legal right to prescribe drugs for the purpose of ending life without proper cause and individuals the legal access to drugs for the purpose of ending their own lives is scary at best.

I would hope the vote is evidence of a misguided compassion for those suffering from terminal situations rather than a shift in opinion of the cultural definition of life, but I fear that it is not. This is only evidence that our culture is quickly moving towards a prideful worldview where our opinion of who lives or dies exceeds and is not to be submitted to our Creator God. In a way choosing to legalize suicide is another way our culture is saying no to God and His sovereign rule.

We must be a compassionate people but not at the expense of truth and obedience to Jesus Christ the Truth himself.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Proverbs 3:5