Tag: Bible

Here Comes the Judge, Part 2

The Court Proceeding

The Charge  

HIGH TREASON!  You are charged with High Treason against God.  A very serious charge… not against your country but against God! The Savior will be the judge.

It’s the Creator against His creatures. (Sinful) The defendants are the humans that God made and God the creator is the prosecution.

Jesus is the judge.  Not the Father, but the Lord Jesus. The Father entrusts Jesus to judge.  Whom He hath ordained & raised from the dead.

The defendants:

           Moral man- the heathen, they enthrone human reasoning and dethrone divine revelation.  Becoming consciously irreligious and consequently irrational. Basically it’s their darkened heart. He becomes conceited and foolish, or rather- very stupid.

           Pagan man- the hypocrite, thinks other people’s sins are worse than their own.  They compare themselves to others and think they are high and mighty.  They flatter themselves but foolishly are measuring themselves to the wrong standard. God’s standard of measurement is the Law and the sin of the hypocrite is that of being indignant at the shortcomings of others while being indulgent of his own. The hypocrite places himself on very thin ice. He faces the judgement of God himself.  “But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; who will render to every man according to his deeds.” (Romans 2: 5-6)

            Religious man- the Hebrew, False religious systems enslave people both sensually and spiritually.  All were charged with High Treason. This is the man with a powerless religion. Mere orthodoxy in religion does not make a person more acceptable to God. Having access to an open Bible will greatly increase a person’s responsibility in the sight of God.  A persons access to the truth will increase their accountability to the truth. “For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.” (V.13) “The Truth shall set you free!”

Let’s review the detailed indictments: (V. 21-32)

First Indictment – (V.21) Ingratitude, not thankful for creation or redemption. And Pride, they had a heart problem.  Thankful people are not prideful and a lack of thanks leads to Apostacy.  Self-will and Pride both seem to be severe sins in the Bible. Lucifer and Adam had those traits. The Antidote for Pride is Thanksgiving.

Second Indictment– (V.22) An unsanctified philosophy, insolent fools- professing themselves as wise they became fools- morons. It’s a fool that says in his heart, there is no God. Let’s face it folks people are right now further away from God now than ever before. Man is self-sufficient. God is dead they say. But there is a reckoning coming.

Third Indictment– (V.23) They turned away from God and preferred idols. Man, birds, beasts and creeping things. They made God like man. They thought of God in terms of man.  They sought to bring God down to man’s level. It was man seeking to corrupt God.

Fourth Indictment– (V.24-27) Sexual Perversions, homosexuality, lesbianism, vile affections, everything under imagination… “God also gave them up to uncleanness [or filthiness] through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonor their own bodies between themselves: for they changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshiped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed forever.” (Rom 1:24-25).

Fifth Indictment– (V.28-32) Incorrigibility, a reprobate mind, not convenient, depraved. “For this cause God gave them up to unnatural affections: for even their women did exchange the natural use for that which is against nature: and likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men doing that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was necessary. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are [unspeakable,] not convenient, [not proper]” (Rom 1:26-28)

  1. Fornication
  2. Wickedness- (Mentioned 360 times in the Bible.)
  3. Covetousness- (the one of the 10 Commandments impossible to keep)
  4. Maliciousness- (unusual cruelty)
  5. Envy- (unlawful desire of something or someone)
  6. Murder- (the only sin that can never be forgiven by the victim)
  7. Debate- (contention or strife)
  8. Deceit- (bait or snare)
  9. Malignity- (harbored hatred)
  10. Whisperers- (secret slander- “devil” means “to slander”
  11. Back Biters- (open slander)
  12. God haters.
  13. Despiteful- (insolence and insulting)
  14. Proud- (with a swagger)
  15. Boasters- (in word)
  16. Inventors of Evil- (torture and evil intentions)
  17. Disobedient to Parents- (The beginning of Anarchy)
  18. Without understanding- (Blindness of the heart and “darkened” Eph 4:18-19)
  19. Covenant breakers- (their word is worthless)
  20. Without natural affection- (without love)
  21. Implacable – (2 Tim. 3) (unforgiving, unsparing and unappeasable)
  22. Unmerciful

No one has an excuse. All are guilty before God.  As John said, man is “condemned already”, “He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (John 3:18) 

The Jury

            Conscience of man (1:19) – Conscience is a goad but not always a guide. The conscience must be educated and monitored by the Word of God.

“Because that which may be known of God is manifested in them; for God hath shown it unto them.” (Rom 1:19) God has inscribed certain things into our hearts. We know what is right and we know what is wrong. God has shown it unto us. That’s what the word manifested means. We have Intellect- we know whether an action is right or wrong.  We have Sensibility – what would I like to do about it?

We have a Conscience- what should I do about it? The question is what shape is your conscience in?

An evil conscience, “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.” (Heb. 10:22)

A defiled conscience, “Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.” (Titus 1:15) – “guilty”

A weak conscience, ” Howbeit there is not in every man that knowledge: for some with conscience of the idol unto this hour eat it as a thing offered unto an idol; and their conscience being weak is defiled.” (1 Cor. 8) A bit immature- don’t have all the facts.

A good conscience, ” And Paul, earnestly beholding the council, said, Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.” (Acts 23:1) – This is what we want.

A seared conscience, “Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron.” (1 Tim. 4:2)  This is the worst.

What a devastating day it will be when God calls into the light all the hidden works of darkness. We all have guilty secrets, things we have done which we should not have done and things we didn’t do that we should have done. Those secrets will not be overlooked or forgotten by God.  One day it will all be exposed.  “In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.” (Romans 2:16)

               The Will– what I am going to do about it.

The deeds of man- good deeds cannot save anyone. “Who will render to every man according to his deeds” (Rom 2:6)

“But I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the Day of Judgment”. (Matt. 12:36)

“And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire” (Rev. 20: 11-15)

The Works of God. The invisible God is revealed through His creation and the Heavens declare the Glory of God. (Rom. 1:19-20

The Law of God. “For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law; For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves.” (Rom. 2: 12-14)

We have seen the charge, looked at the  defendants, the indictments and the jury.

Join me next time as we look at the defense and continue in

the Trial of the Ages.

God bless you all,

The Tubthumper.

Gotta Serve Somebody, God Fearing Beer Drinking- Part 6

There is a line of the Guinness genealogical path that has been deeply committed to God.  It’s the descendants of John Grattan Guinness who was Arthur’s youngest son.  It has continued through the years and spurred a book written by Frederic Mullally called, “The Silver Salver: The Story of the Guinness Family.”  The book almost makes the rest of the clan look like rogue pagans. In reality, however the family was pretty much a God fearing Guinness story all together.  The Reformers changed the artificial lines between what was sacred and what was secular and showed that men were sent into the world by God to use their God-given skills to His glory.  This Protestant work ethic can be found all throughout the Guinness line beginning with the greatly reformed and faithful original Arthur Guinness and on through his descendants. They looked at their craft of brewing as being done as a holy offering because it was a craft they pursued within the service of the Lord.  They certainly never saw themselves as secular.  They looked upon themselves as having a calling. They were in God’s ministry of industry and trade.  They performed the work with the Reformation ideal that everything they did was done for God. They strived to please God with all they did.

There was of course a line of Guinness’s that were in-fact missionaries and ministers but we shouldn’t look at them as any more connected to God than the others. The great truth of Christianity is that a banker or a baker can serve just as important a role for God as a priest or pope. So the Guinness story has a base of Christianity and shows that spirituality was involved in their success.  It was the center of all the good they have done in the world.

HenryI would like to introduce the youngest son of the first Arthur.  To make a long story short he grew up and joined the army.  While John Grattan Guinness was in the army and in foreign lands he heard the Christian truth from men that he admired. He heard it from military men that fought mightily by day and worshipped Christ by night. They shared their faith with Captain John Guinness while together and John wrote home that he had become “born again.”  John married and he and his new wife became one as husband and wife and also in spiritual matters.  John returned home in 1824 sick and exhausted after a number of difficult and trying years.  His wife returned with him but died two years after. John tried to work in the family business which was also in the whiskey business at the time.  Having become an evangelical he was now a teetotaler, drank no alcohol and believed all men should do the same so John resigned from his position at the brewery.

 John met a widow named Jane Lucretia D’Esterre who also had a rough past and had found faith in Jesus Christ during a sermon at St. George’s Church in Dublin. The love between the two them became a cure for wounds life had hit them with. They married in 1829 and the first five years a happy life. In 1835 when John was 52 and Jane was 38 they had a son together.   His name was Henry.  Henry Grattan Guinness was a gift from God while his parents were in their later years.  He became such a man of God and full of faith that he would be mentioned with the likes of Dwight Moody and Charles Spurgeon as one of the greatest preachers of the day. He had a soul searching life as all young men do but when Christ found him this is what he wrote, “The future was lighted with hope. The gates of glory and immortality opened to my mental vision and there shone before me an interminable vista of pure and perfect existence in the life to come. It was the marriage of the soul; the union of the creature in appropriating and self-yielding love with Him who is uncreated eternal love.”  He was a man on fire for Christ. On his 21st birthday he wrote in his diary, “my only passion is to live preaching and to die preaching; to live and die in the pulpit; to preach to perishing sinners till I drop down dead.” He became such a great preacher that in 1857 he was preaching at Moorfields Tabernacle in London which had been George Whitfield’s home church. He went on to preach in France, Switzerland, Wales and Scotland bearing much fruit. He eventually returned to Dublin with much acclaim.  It was a Guinness who was now drawing national acclaim during a time when all the well-known, “Protestant preachers of the time were weighted against each other like professional boxers.”

Henry became one of the best known preachers in the world. He had incredible success in the lands north of Ireland and then he toured through the United States.  It was a time when the U.S was troubled over slavery and states’ rights.  He preached 9 sermons a week for many months.  Exhausted he returned to England for some rest and while preaching at a church he met Fanny Fitzgerald.  They were married on October 2, 1860. Although he felt he was now with his soul mate the following years were difficult and lined with turmoil and opposition. This was during the time when he took an antislavery and anti-alcohol stance. Still he preached on while travelling the world.

There was turning point in the Guinness family as Henry joined Hudson Taylor and trained missionaries in England to join Taylor in China. They began training school called Stepney Institute. The school later became known as the East London Institute for Home and Foreign Missions. Before long the support was so strong that land and buildings were donated to become Harley College.  The college was so successful it became a model for Moody Bible College in the United States.Harley College

Henry became an accomplished author as well. He wrote the best-selling book, “The Approaching End of the Age in Light of History, Prophecy and Science” as an answer to Darwin.  His work earned him the Doctor of Divinity and also resulted in is being elected to the Royal Astronomical Society.  He wrote more than 20 books and among them was, “Light for the Last Days,” published in 1886. It was a prophetic writing that came true and he also in that writing predicted the 1948 event when Israel once again became a nation. Henry was not alive to enjoy the pleasure of the role his writings played because he died in 1910 as a very revered man. Henry’s children all went on to do great things for God and the long line of the faithful Guinness’s would continue.  The grandchildren yielded Christian ministers, missionary medical doctors, Christian schoolmasters, Royal Air Force chaplains and missionaries to Asia to name a few.

How is it that ten of Arthur Guinness’s children would have a birth-line of devoted Christians that would move nations due to their faith?  Could it have been something that began within the very first Arthur Guinness’s heart? Could it have been fostered by those early Sunday schools? Whatever it was and is, it continues through time. A historian wrote, “The Guinness family had the brewers and the bankers, but neither of them could match, in adventurousness and energy, the deeds of the ‘Grattan’ Guinness’s, spurred as they were not by materialistic ambition but by a deeply felt, inherited faith in what they believe to be the civilizing power of the Bible.

This will end my review of “The search for, God and Guinness.”  Once again I recommend you read Mr. Mansfield’s book and fill in the details.Mansfield

Sorry for the length of this one, but in closing this last post reminded me of Bob Dylan’s song of which I will include his lyrics here:

“Gotta Serve Somebody”

You may be an ambassador to England or France
You may like to gamble, you might like to dance
You may be the heavyweight champion of the world
You may be a socialite with a long string of pearls.

But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You’re gonna have to serve somebody,
It may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody.

Might be a rock’n’ roll adict prancing on the stage
Might have money and drugs at your commands, women in a cage
You may be a business man or some high degree thief
They may call you Doctor or they may call you Chief.

But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You’re gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody.

You may be a state trooper, you might be an young turk
You may be the head of some big TV network
You may be rich or poor, you may be blind or lame
You may be living in another country under another name.

But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes
You’re gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody.

You may be a construction worker working on a home
You may be living in a mansion or you might live in a dome
You might own guns and you might even own tanks
You might be somebody’s landlord you might even own banks.

But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes
You’re gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody.

You may be a preacher with your spiritual pride
You may be a city councilman taking bribes on the side
You may be working in a barbershop, you may know how to cut hair
You may be somebody’s mistress, may be somebody’s heir.

But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes
You’re gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody.

Might like to wear cotton, might like to wear silk
Might like to drink whiskey, might like to drink milk
You might like to eat caviar, you might like to eat bread
You may be sleeping on the floor, sleeping in a king-sized bed.

But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You’re gonna have to serve somebody,
It may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody.

You may call me Terry, you may call me Jimmy
You may call me Bobby, you may call me Zimmy
You may call me R.J., you may call me Ray
You may call me anything but no matter what you say.

You’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You’re gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody.

The Guinness’s chose to serve God.  Who do you serve?

May God be with you and bless you,

The Tubthumper

PS: One last post added by surprise.  CLICK HERE TO JUMP TO THE FINAL.

 

To Act or Not: Should we use the Acts Church as the guide?

church-model080211A lot of people these days believe the church should be trying to do exactly what the early church did in Acts. This is actually where all the small group craze came from.  Much of the church growth movement is keyed on this principle as well. So do I think mimicking the Acts Church is how we should do things? Yes and no… You see, the Bible has a lot of information on what God wants the Church to do. We have Acts but we also have Ephesians, Timothy, Titus and more. Let us look at this closer beginning with some points about Acts.

There is no question , the early church gave a good model. Acts 2:47 says, “Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.” Some experts have estimated the church in Jerusalem had over 100,000 members. That is larger than many cities.

There are many important principles to follow for Church government. Here are ten examples:
1) Churches should rely on the Holy Spirit’s power. “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” (Acts 1:8) Church members should have the Lord Jesus controlling their lives. They must let the Holy Spirit take control. Leaning on the Holy Spirit is mostly what is needed.
2) Churches today must nurture a warm fellowship. “And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. And all that believed were together, and had all things common.” (Acts 2:42-44) With a warm, loving and inviting environment new Christians can be loved and grow in the word.
3) Church members must meet together to study the Bible. “And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.” (Acts 2:46-47) They used the temple courts and they met house to house. Both types of meetings occurred. So we must meet at church and we must break bread together and study in our homes.
4) Churches must expand the vision of God. He is in Control. “And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is.” (Acts 4:24) We already know the Church will survive and Satan is already defeated. Fear thou not because we have all the resources and strength we need. “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (Matthew 16:18) Christ will build His church!
5) Churches must harness the power of prayer like they did in Acts. From the beginning there has been a spiritual battle going on. Spiritual battles are fought on our knees. Jesus said, “This house will be a house of prayer.” Our Church is to be a house of prayer. In Acts it says, “they prayed” 48 times. Churches need to pray like they prayed in Acts. Churches need God’s power to make us different from the world. (Acts 1:3-4, 14)
6) Churches should be united, generous, loving, and charitable. Our church should be a giving church. The church in Acts was a giving church. “And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all. Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold.” (Acts 4:32-34) We all need to be united and with one mind. Our church should be the place that the needy are cared for. We should learn how to sacrifice for others like the early church did. We should be a powerful testimony to our community. (Acts 2:44-45)
7) Churches must involve everyone in ministry. We find in Acts chapter 6 how this was done. The apostles found men that were specifically shaped and called for ministry. An example is ‘Greek men to minister to Greek widows.’ No one pastor can do everything. God and the Holy Spirit gifts the entire church. The Pastor feeds the flock through preaching and teaching. The rest is up to others. Our churches need to be able to help people discover their Spiritual gifts and then plug them in. The early church sent people out on mission is the community to add to the growth. Don’t allow people to come and just sit on the sidelines. Use the talents and gifts they bring. Not just any people can minister, however, as the position of Deacon is to be filled with men who are currently full of the Holy Spirit. Not one that was filled at one time, but one filled with the Holy Spirit now. Deacons can bless the body and they can bless the Elders by allowing the Elders to devote more time to the Bible and to prayer. Deacons are “hands on” – somewhat a “Buildings and Grounds” people. As they grow they could be appointed to Elder positions. God wants leaders full of the Holy Spirit, wisdom, unity, prayer and to stand in agreement. God raises these people up.
8) Churches need to read the Bible and be devoted to the word. It should be heard from the pulpit, it should be read, it should be memorized and it should be meditated on. The only thing that can change lives in our churches today is the Gospel and the Word of God. We need to be devoted to reading the Bible. (Acts 2:14-40)
9) Churches should love and worship with joy. In the early church they practiced Koinonia. What that means is they would fellowship with one another. They were committed to one another and loved one another. Our church members need to protect, care and help one another unlike the world. We also should celebrate Christ together. Church should be enjoyable and we should express our emotion in Church letting go and worshiping with joy. (Acts 2:42, 46-47)
10) Churches should be reaching out to the community for Jesus Christ. The early church reached people for Christ daily. “And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation. Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.” (Acts 2:40-41) Evangelism is commanded and we are told to be a witness throughout the world.

Can it work to try and mimic the Acts Church? In the next post I will give you my opinion and expand on what I think we should doing with our church structure.

To go part 2 just click HERE. 

In Christ,

The Tubthumper

 

_____________________________________________________

Steve Davis, Spiritual Leadership Examples from the Book of Acts., http://http:www.stevedavis.org/12%20examples%20from%20the%20book%20of%20Acts.html
Rick Warren, How to Have an Acts Church, http://www.christianpost.com/news/how-to-have-an-acts-church-42320/ (accessed May 1, 2014).

Man Jailed for holding Bible Studies, right or wrong?

This is all over the news lately.

Father of six faces 60 days behind bars for hosting Bible study in his OWN home against city rules.

If you have been following my blog you know I am a professed Christian.  Just for the record right up front, I think this preacher is wrong.  He is seriously wrong.  While the entire world is increasing in acts of rebellion and anger at authority I believe a man of God should be setting an example for the world.  Romans 13 says, “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God.”

I especially believe one who claims to be a preacher which comes with a high level responsibility outlined by the Lord should be submitting to authority and showing the world how a Christian lives differently.

“The longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth, that God governs in the affairs of man; and if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid?”, Benjamin Franklin.

To all my fellow Christians, be careful, the world is watching us.

Read the news release and then I will continue:  screen-shot-2012-07-07-at-4_52_55-pm-1341694836

A Phoenix man who held weekly Bible studies at his home has had the book thrown at him over the religious gatherings. Michael Salman (pictured at right) has been sentenced to two months in jail and more than $12,000 in fines because the group sessions at his home were against the city’s building code, Fox News Radio reported.

“They’re cracking down on religious activities and religious use,” Salman told Fox News Radio. “They’re attacking what I as a Christian do in the privacy of my home.”

Vicki Hill, Phoenix’s chief assistant city prosecutor, said religious freedom had nothing to do with it and that it was a matter of public safety.

“Any time you are holding a gathering of people continuously, as he does – we have concerns about people being able to exit the facility properly in case there is a fire,” Hill told Fox News Radio. “It came down to zoning and proper permitting.”

Since 2007, The Salman family has fought to say the building in their backyard is for private worship, but Phoenix officials say its run as a church, and not up to code.

The battle between Salman and the city of Phoenix is a longstanding feud. Hill said that Salman’s neighbors complained of the gatherings back in 2007 because they were causing too much traffic congestion. Originally, about 15 people would attend the Bible studies, Fox News Radio reported.

But that number began to grow, and that’s when Phoenix officials sent Salman a letter saying that his living room gatherings were in violation of the city’s building codes.

When he didn’t stop hosting the groups, the Phoenix Fire Department broke up a Good Friday gathering Salman was hosting at his home in 2008 in which there were as many as 20 people in the backyard.

Salman then decided to construct a 2,000-square-foot building in his backyard and move the gatherings there. He said that he applied for and was granted the appropriate permits for the building. Hill, however, said that the permits Salman received were for converting his garage into a game room.

Finally, in 2009, a dozen cops raided Salman’s home and charged him with 67 code violations for hosting the gatherings. Since then, the courts have sided with the city, saying that Salman was using the building as a church and, therefore, was subject to city zoning laws.  “He built a structure that he said wasn’t a church that is, in fact, a church,” Hill told Fox News Radio.

“The state is not saying that the Salmans can’t run a church or have worship services at the location,” read a Jan. 4, 2010, Arizona court ruling. “But the state is saying that if they do so, they must do it properly and in accord with fire and zoning laws.”

Salman doesn’t buy the court’s argument and has claimed that Phoenix officials are discriminating against him for his religious beliefs.

“If I had people coming to my home on a regular basis for poker night or Monday Night Football, it would be permitted,” he told Fox News Radio. “But when someone says to us we are not allowed to gather because of religious purposes – that is when you have discrimination.

Salman’s attorney is appealing the ruling and Salman’s sentencing, but unless a federal court intervenes, Salman will begin serving his sentence on July 9.   End of news release.

Ok, so this man and his followers have garnered the attention of the entire United States.  I wonder if he is proud of the scene he is making.  The officials said publicly they didn’t care if Mr. Salman ran a church there as long he goes through the proper channels.

Christ said that Christians are to be the “light of the world” and the “salt of the earth” (Matt. 5:13-16). They are always to shine as outstanding examples to the world. This includes a humble willingness to cheerfully obey all civil governments under which they find themselves.  I have reviewed enough of this case to know that this preacher is holding regular and consistent meetings to preach and study the word of God and to fellowship together.  (Sounds like a church)  I reviewed photos of his property and there is a cross in front marking the property clearly for all to see and there is a pulpit in the meeting room. (Looks like a church) I usually say if it looks like duck, walks like duck and quacks like a duck, it’s a duck.  I have no idea why this man is rebelling against the city ordinances and crying discrimination but it looks to me as though he is wrong.  Besides, didn’t anyone tell him that once you become a child of God the persecution would begin?

Continued…  Click here to read part 2.

“The Tubthumper”