President Obama Called to be Courageous

Powerful call for President Obama to be courageous from Dr. John Piper of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, MN.

Song with a Message of Truth

This was sent to me from Paula Dilbeck, a friend from Dalton, GA. This song has a great message about true worship.

From Fox News: "President Obama signed the executive order one day after the 36th anniversary of the landmark Roe v. Wade Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortion in all 50 states." Read the whole story here.

I was saddened tonight when I heard the news that President Obama signed an executive order that will force me and all tax-payers to pay for abortions world wide. He has kept his promise to kill the most vulnerable in our world and he's making me pay for it. Tony Perkins said this is an attack against the impoverished of the world.

Denny Burk commented on his blog: "At the debate last year at Rick Warren’s church (and elsewhere), Obama promised to support measures to reduce abortions. He’s been in office for four days, and his first action vis a vis abortion ensures that abortions will increase worldwide. What’s worse, he is making American taxpayers foot the bill for infanticide abroad. Any “pro-life” person who is still willing to defend this president as a friend of the pro-life cause is delusional."

President Obama Immediate Attack on Family Values

From Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council

24 Hours -- A World of DifferenceAmericans watched on television as President Bush's jumbo jet soared out of sight yesterday--and with him, a long record of protecting the unborn. Although the Obama administration is a little over 24 hours old, the new President has already set to work undoing years of pro-life and pro-family policy.

Minutes after Obama took the oath of office, the transfer of power was made complete on the White House website. The page, once home to a host of family values, now welcomes an extreme collection of anti-life, anti-woman, and anti-family agendas. Under the caption "civil rights," Obama pledges to fight for nationwide civil unions, repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act, homosexual adoption, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, expanded "hate crimes," and over 1,100 costly same-sex benefits. He promises to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" as well as block a federal amendment to preserve marriage. In exchange for the support of groups like Planned Parenthood, the abortion business is also due for a rich payoff from the 44th president, including his support of abortion-on-demand, more funding for "family planning" programs, embryonic stem cell experiments, and tax-funded abortion.

This city may have changed overnight, but our values are enduring. We will continue to advance faith, family, and freedom in the next four years.

Commentary Give Away

My son is giving away this commentary. Go to his blog here to put your name in the selection. He is going to give it away on Monday.

Kurt Warner poised for another miracle

From Baptist Press

Kurt Warner's autobiography is titled, "All Things Possible: My Story of Faith, Football and the Miracle Season." Warner is at the center of yet another miracle season, leading his underdog Arizona Cardinals to their first-ever Super Bowl appearance.

Warner's Arizona Cardinals turned in their third upset in as many weeks Jan. 18, shocking the Philadelphia Eagles, 32-25, on a late-game drive engineered by the outspoken Christian NFL veteran.

The Cardinals now will face the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLIII on Sunday, Feb. 1, at Raymond James Field in Tampa. The Steelers qualified for the NFL title game with a 23-14 victory over the Baltimore Ravens.

Warner wrote the autobiography after leading the St. Louis Rams to their first Super Bowl title in 2000. Now, nearly a decade later, the 37-year-old signal caller is taking another first-time team to pro football's biggest game, but he still hasn't forgotten his power source."

I never get tired of saying it," he told a stadium full of Cardinals fans and a national TV audience after the Jan. 18 NFC playoff victory. "I want to thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for allowing me to be here and do the things I do."

Warner also was the subject of a book on his Christian faith after the Super Bowl win with the Rams titled, "First Things First." On Sunday, Warner said anew that he tries never to forget to give glory to God in even the most unlikely of circumstances."

You knew I'd say that," Warner told Fox broadcaster Terry Bradshaw in his brief testimony following the game.

With two weeks to prepare for the most watched sporting event of the year, it could shape up for another worldwide media showcase for Warner and other NFL Christians to share their faith to tens of millions of people.

The Cardinals team chaplain is Baptist youth minister Chad Johnson, who serves at the Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church in downtown Phoenix. Kevin Jordan from Athletes in Action is the Steelers' team chaplain.

The Oddest Game in High School Football History

Grapevine Faith High School Football Team and Parents exemplify what it really means to be salt and light in the world. Read this story By Rick Reilly ESPN The Magazine. Be ready to wipe away a tear or two.

They played the oddest game in high school football history last month down in Grapevine, Texas. It was Grapevine Faith vs. Gainesville State School and everything about it was upside down. For instance, when Gainesville came out to take the field, the Faith fans made a 40-yard spirit line for them to run through.

Did you hear that? The other team's fans?

They even made a banner for players to crash through at the end. It said, "Go Tornadoes!" Which is also weird, because Faith is the Lions. It was rivers running uphill and cats petting dogs. More than 200 Faith fans sat on the Gainesville side and kept cheering the Gainesville players on—by name.

"I never in my life thought I'd hear people cheering for us to hit their kids," recalls Gainesville's QB and middle linebacker, Isaiah. "I wouldn't expect another parent to tell somebody to hit their kids. But they wanted us to!"

And even though Faith walloped them 33-14, the Gainesville kids were so happy that after the game they gave head coach Mark Williams a sideline squirt-bottle shower like he'd just won state. Gotta be the first Gatorade bath in history for an 0-9 coach.

But then you saw the 12 uniformed officers escorting the 14 Gainesville players off the field and two and two started to make four. They lined the players up in groups of five—handcuffs ready in their back pockets—and marched them to the team bus. That's because Gainesville is a maximum-security correctional facility 75 miles north of Dallas. Every game it plays is on the road.

This all started when Faith's head coach, Kris Hogan, wanted to do something kind for the Gainesville team. Faith had never played Gainesville, but he already knew the score. After all, Faith was 7-2 going into the game, Gainesville 0-8 with 2 TDs all year. Faith has 70 kids, 11 coaches, the latest equipment and involved parents. Gainesville has a lot of kids with convictions for drugs, assault and robbery—many of whose families had disowned them—wearing seven-year-old shoulder pads and ancient helmets.

So Hogan had this idea. What if half of our fans—for one night only—cheered for the other team? He sent out an email asking the Faithful to do just that. "Here's the message I want you to send:" Hogan wrote. "You are just as valuable as any other person on planet Earth."
Some people were naturally confused. One Faith player walked into Hogan's office and asked, "Coach, why are we doing this?" And Hogan said, "Imagine if you didn't have a home life. Imagine if everybody had pretty much given up on you. Now imagine what it would mean for hundreds of people to suddenly believe in you."

Next thing you know, the Gainesville Tornadoes were turning around on their bench to see something they never had before. Hundreds of fans. And actual cheerleaders! "I thought maybe they were confused," said Alex, a Gainesville lineman (only first names are released by the prison). "They started yelling 'DEE-fense!' when their team had the ball. I said, 'What? Why they cheerin' for us?'"

It was a strange experience for boys who most people cross the street to avoid. "We can tell people are a little afraid of us when we come to the games," says Gerald, a lineman who will wind up doing more than three years. "You can see it in their eyes. They're lookin' at us like we're criminals. But these people, they were yellin' for us! By our names!"

Maybe it figures that Gainesville played better than it had all season, scoring the game's last two touchdowns. Of course, this might be because Hogan put his third-string nose guard at safety and his third-string cornerback at defensive end. Still.

After the game, both teams gathered in the middle of the field to pray and that's when Isaiah surprised everybody by asking to lead. "We had no idea what the kid was going to say," remembers Coach Hogan. But Isaiah said this: "Lord, I don't know how this happened, so I don't know how to say thank You, but I never would've known there was so many people in the world that cared about us." And it was a good thing everybody's heads were bowed because they might've seen Hogan wiping away tears.

As the Tornadoes walked back to their bus under guard, they each were handed a bag for the ride home—a burger, some fries, a soda, some candy, a Bible and an encouraging letter from a Faith player.

The Gainesville coach saw Hogan, grabbed him hard by the shoulders and said, "You'll never know what your people did for these kids tonight. You'll never, ever know."

And as the bus pulled away, all the Gainesville players crammed to one side and pressed their hands to the window, staring at these people they'd never met before, watching their waves and smiles disappearing into the night.

Anyway, with the economy six feet under and Christmas running on about three and a half reindeer, it's nice to know that one of the best presents you can give is still absolutely free.
Hope.

The Most Important Day

Most people think that the most important day of thier lives was something that happened in days gone by: The day they were born, the day they got married, the day they found that dream job. While these are certainly great days none of them can be considered the most important day. The most important day of any person's life is TODAY. Today is the only day we have within our grasp. Yesterday is gone and tomorrow is not guranteed of.

In John Maxwell's book, Today Matters, he quotes part of a poem by Dale Witherington. The poem, entitled, "The Lifebuilder's Creed" expresses the importance of today so well.

Today is the most important day of my life.
Yesterday with its successes and victories, struggles and failures
is gone forever.
The past is past.
Done.
Finished.
I cannot relive it. I cannot go back and change it.
But I will learn from it and improve my Today.

Today. This moment. NOW.
It is God's gift to me and it is all that I have.

Tomorrow with all its joys and sorrows, triumphs and troubles
isn't here yet.
Ineeded, tomorrow may never come.
Therefore, I will not worry about tomorrow.

Today is what God has entrusted to me.
It is all that I have. I will do my best in it.
I will demonstrate the best of me in it-
my character, giftedness, and abilities-
to my family and friends, clients and associates.
I will identify those things that are most important
to do Today,
and those things I will do until they are done.
And when the day is done
I will look back with satisfaction at that
which I have accomplished.
Then, and only then, will I plan my tomorrow,
Looking to improve upon Today, with God's help.

Then I shall go to sleep in peace . . . content.

Just a Thought for the new year.