A different Perspective on 9-11-2011 By Stan Butler

  I saw this Post from accordingtothebook.blogspot.com

 it touched me. i thought i'd post it here

On 9-11-2001, 2,976 people lost their lives when the hijacked planes flew into the twin towers, the pentagon and a Pennsylvania corn field. It was horrible. It was at first unbelievable. It was an attack on America by an enemy. The enemy was found to be Muslim terrorists, and it was war being declared. It hurt every American to the core. It made us angry at this senseless loss of life. 2,976 lives snuffed out, many of which went out into a Christ-less eternity. Since that time, steps have been taken to see that attacks or deaths of this magnitude hopefully will never happen again in the United States.  Every year on the anniversary of 9-11-2001, the news media, large corporations, small businesses, civic organizations, and yes…even churches make a big ado about what happened on that date.

Absolutely nothing can be done to change that tragic day and its events. But there is something that’s happening today and every day that we can do something about. There is something happening today that we can change. See if you don’t agree.

We aren’t hearing enough about another war that’s being waged. What we aren’t hearing enough about is the magnitude of loss of life daily by another enemy. Satan kills on average: 6,744 people each and every day in the U.S. alone. That’s not making people mad, especially Christians. That’s not shocking people as the loss of life on 9-11-2001 did. But that’s 2,461,560 souls each year slipping out into eternity and most without Christ. That’s 27,077,160 souls since 9-11-2001. Where is the Christian outcry? Where is the Christian concern? Where are the steps being taken by the church to see this doesn’t happen?

I ask you to honestly answer these two questions: 1) When was the last time you or I asked a total stranger if he or she was a Christian?  2) When was the last time a total stranger tried to share the love of Jesus with you?   Then I ask again: Where’s the Christian concern. What is it going to take to get God’s army to go to battle?  How many millions have to die without Christ before Christians will speak out for Jesus and try to win this battle?

All those that died on 9-11-2001 went to work that morning thinking that it would be “just another day at the office,” so to speak. The same holds true for the cashier that checks you out at the grocery store each day. The same holds true for the waitress that serves you a bowl of beans at the restaurant. What if you were the last person they spoke to before going out into eternity? What if they went out into eternity without Christ? Would that cause you concern?

I’m asking those that read and “hear” this perspective to make a commitment not to pass up the opportunities that God gives us to witness. I’m asking those that hear this perspective to pray that God will place people in their path that need to hear the message about His dear Son, and then I’m asking them to pray for increase. That’s my perspective on 9-11-2001.

Courageous

 

 Pardon me if you see my thoughts flying everywhere when I do reviews. I get excited after watching a good movie.

From the same director/producer of Facing the Giants and fireproof comes Courageous. It took me this long to watch it though (its obvious its since 2011) and it had been in my lappy for a while.

I have one word for you.

IT’S A MUST SEE, GO WATCH IT!!

Okay…, two words, sorry. But if you’ve watched ‘Fireproof’ and ‘Facing the Giants’, then I don’t need to talk much because it speaks for itself.

It taught me some lessons in life though (love movies that I can learn from at least, even after all the action. Good should be able to triumph over Evil at the end)

-stand tall for what you believe IN. Go the extra mile for that God you believe in and let people know your stand…, even if it costs you something valuable as a job.

In the movie, it cost this guy a job He’d been eager to get in order to provide for his family but Yet….

I don’t wanna spoil the movie for you. Lots happened y’know. The good, the bad, the ugly, but there was something else I noticed..

BEAUTIFUL CINEMATOGRAPHY…as in, gosh, it deserves a best picture. You get to see this at the end of the movie though.

You want a movie that will make you laugh, cry and smile apart from 3 idiots, inspire you and won’t leave you confused on the first watch e.g Inception . Not saying it’s a bad movie o, lol, but I went to the cinemas to see the movie and I was left with a question mark. Maybe it was my mood or something but after a few explanations from my brother, I started fixing the puzzles.

How come guys understand Sci-Fi’s and movies like this better than girls? Don’t even start with the Videogames. At least I’m trying. #wink#

 So well, Courageous is a must see, uplifting, inspiring and most important of all, leaves a mark/trail of God behind to follow.

Best Part of the movie;

We are inviting any man whose heart is willing and courageous to join us in this resolution. In my home, the decision has already been made. You don’t have to ask who will guide my family b’cos by God’s grace I will…..

So where are you men of Courage?, where are You fathers who fear the Lord, its time to rise up answer the call God has given to you and to say

I will, I will, I will

And the soundtrack just tops it all. Gave me so much goose pimples..

Hope this post was short enough..LOOL…before drama queen and ay yab me again..

Is it only what you see YOU Know and believe?

 Have you ever asked God for something and you didn’t get any response or rather, you got more or less than what you expected and then, you’re beginning to feel somewhat disappointed, angry and depressed.

I have. And then, you begin to sound like that man in the bible that was comparing himself to the sinner.

Here goes;-

Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ”God, I thank you that I’m not like other men-extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector, I fast twice a week, I give tithes of all that I possess

And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast, saying,  ‘God be merciful to me a sinner!’’

“I tell you this man went down to his house justified rather than the other, for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled and he who humbles himself will be exalted.’’ Luke 18v9-14

Well, my point here is have you ever gotten to a stage in your life when you know you know you’re serving God..as in big time. You know you deserve at least some things from God as a follower and then you whine..”Oh God, I don’t drink..sobs…, I don’t smoke..more sobs coupled with a little anger, I don’t sleep around, I don’t cheat, I don’t do all those stuffs sinners and unbelievers do and yet, you’re not even doing anything for me, you’re leaving me here to rot or allowing people to wonder where my God is…Why cant you do something that will make people know that I serve a true and living God?!!!ehn..why..oh why!!! And then, if you’re likely to sink into depression at this stage of your life, then, that’s an icing on the cake for you but most times, you can go around looking moody most especially after your whining to God,(cos God will definitely not answer that kind of Prayer)…the instruction was to ASK…, not whine

He goes further to say-

“If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone?, Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish…

If you then, being EVIL, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy spirit to those who ask Him?’’Luke 11v11-13

From the passage above, what I was made to understand goes like this…

“just because I didn’t give you what you asked for doesn’t mean it’s not the best for you. Just because you see others lavishing in wealth and carrying Louis Vuitton, Gucci, cool blazers, Paris Hilton shoes…, snapping delicious delicacies to show on facebook, and any other social media just to make you envious and wonder where is your life actually going without stuffs like that doesn’t mean I don’t have you in mind or I didn’t give you the best.”

Sometimes we look at our lives and wonder why God would even allow somethings to happen to HIS OWN…as in, you’re even vexed and wondering If God loves you at all and you just don’t understand somethings anymore but read that above passage again…”if your own earthly father cannot give you a snake when you ask for fish, haba now!!!!...is it God(all good, all sufficient and all gbogbo e)that will now give you the opposite…(rephrased)

Just because it’s not what you’ve always dreamed of or it isn’t better than what your mates have or flaunt around you doesn’t mean it isn’t the best one for YOU!....YOU are different, YOU are unique..

Well, Mister or Miss X may be earning more than you…who cares, God has given you something better than what you asked for even if you don’t know it. You don’t even know what Miss X is going through with all the material things she possesses…, and you don’t even know how each person generates wealth for themselves.

Or do you bear the same surname or come from the same biological source?

And so, what YOU don’t know the source OR you’re not even sure of or you don’t even know how everything comes to play, ALL YOU see is PHYSICAL manifestation, you don’t know the kind of water that has passed under the bridge for her. You don’t even know her time schedule..

If you were to be in her shoes, Can you do what she’s doing..Do you even know how many men she has to sleep with, how many strings she has to pull or whatever she has to do?...i’m sure that’s a HELL No!! for you.

And so, what you have and know how to do (prayer), please do it well. Keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking. It’s not easy, so many distractions, so many things will try to pull you away but that’s why we have Jesus.

Like my mum was telling me a story one time like that about a man that had to be carrying sacrifices at night to the graveyard just to get wealth. N gbati o le gbe ebo, kuku se e ti o le se(meaning, when you know you cant carry sacrifice/ritual to the graveyard or do what the worldly people are doing to get wealth, do what you can do best, which is the right way NOT a shortcut…PRAY!!!)

No shortcuts to wealth because it ends up costing more than you ever imagined. If you don’t pay for it, your generation would. Ever wondered why people sell their souls to the devil? Even The devil tempted Jesus with the same offer But HE refused to take the shortcut and went the way of the CROSS!

Imagine if he had taken a shortcut…hmmmm, that’s the end of the story for mankind. It’s not what we’re saying NOW that we’ll be saying.

 Jesus said.."what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses HIS SOUL?''

He who has Jesus has everything beloved ones of God. Godliness with contentment is great gain.

It shouldn’t be Seek wealth first, then Jesus can be added to it, but IT IS:-

“seek ye first the kingdom of God, then all others(e.g wealth, hubby, clothings etc)will be added unto you.’’

So with this in mind, I hope you can be strong and be of good courage…

and because the Lord is at your right hand, you shall not be moved. Read the word, believe it and Live it.

Call it for What it IS

 I was watching a movie with my brother sometime ago when the Word ‘Fornication’ was mentioned in the movie and we burst out laughing. Anytime we remember the scene where the word was mentioned, we would laugh again.

I later asked him why it was funny since it sounded like a ‘serious matter’ and we came to the conclusion that “Sex sounded tusher when used instead of ‘Fornication.’

The World calls it Sex because it sounds tush and acceptable ‘sort-of’ but fornication sounds too….”harsh and old-fashioned.’’ Calling it for what it is makes one look like a sinner

But isn’t that what the Bible calls fornication?...Why not call it for what it is

Another incident happened when I was having a conversation with my cousin since He’s the Clubbing/Partying type and so he displayed a picture I wasn’t too comfortable with where he posed beside a girl who was barely wearing anything…(just a bra and panties did the job). I told him I didn’t like the picture and he looked unperturbed.

I further probed him with this question. ‘’What if ‘I’ was ‘that’ girl standing next to you pulling that same stunt, how will you feel if you saw a pix of me like that?’’

Omo!!...you need to have seen his reaction, including vague threats

“You cant try it!.., I’ll Kill you!!!’’

He actually said He was going to Kill me, and yet isn’t ‘that’ girl another person’s sister or sibling?

And then, I wondered, isn’t it still the same thing?

Why was he now seeing it differently just because I put myself in the girl’s shoes, and I was his ”family”

Isn’t she also a woman who deserves to cover up herself and think deep or rather know better?

Because I believe if she Knew better and stopped listening to the world, the devil and her flesh and search for the Truth, she wouldn’t be posing beside my cousin, barely wearing anything.

Let’s call it for what it is please……

There was another conversation I had with someone about a man having concubines even after marriage and I’m sure most men have this mentality too.

He said he felt it was okay and I queried him that it wasn’t okay. Ahnn ahnn

What is wrong is wrong

I further went on to ask if it was a woman involved, isn’t it the same thing?

And he was like..”naah, it’s not the same thing.’’

Well, excuse you, it is!!...but people will look at her that she’s an ‘ashewo’(prostitute).

He tried to justify the reason that society would see her as a loose woman et al, but for men, it’s still understandable and I’m like…”chai!!!...How will we develop when men and society keep thinking like this?’’

What about the man?...isn’t he an ashewo too?

I told him point blank that “God sees both as Adultery, be it man or woman’’

What is wrong is wrong!.Sin is Sin, be it man or woman. The Bible did not say Man’s sin is overlooked but woman..”haaa!!..you don enter am.’’ Anything born of woman, be it man or woman is regarded as same…

Or was it not Adam and Eve that got banished from Eden?

‘’Equality rights activist’’, you may call me, but same noni as far as I’m concerned

Back in School, we had a discussion about the prevalence of HIV in Nigeria and Africa and we began to have arguments that Africans are still more conservative about Sex when compared to other countries but When the Lecturer went on to state facts, we had to agree with her with a sad nod.

Reason;-In a country like Nigeria, when a man marries and stays at home with his wife for too long, he is considered A woman wrapper or someone who doesn’t know how to enjoy Life and so he is convinced by His friends that Life is quite richer and pleasurable outside marriage and so having concubines is not seen as a big deal at all

I mean, why settle for ordinary salad, when you can have Fruit Salad?!!SMH!!!!!!

If you’ve ever noticed, when there’s strife in a family and the families come together to settle, the woman is told to overlook and might even have to go on her knees for the man afterward

After all, He’s the “MAN’’ of the House

N.B; I’ve witnesses such incidents and it sickens me to the stomach

If it was a woman involved, they’ll call her a Harlot and all sorts of names till kingdom comes

Do you remember the story of the adulteress in the Bible whom those Men “dragged” to Jesus in the bible because they were ready to stone her to death before Jesus gave them a big “ela!’’ and they started dropping their big stones

I remember, he said. ”let him who has not sinned cast the first stone’’

Did you ever wonder in the whole scenario WHERE ON EARTH WAS THE MAN?

Adultery involves two people and so where was the man that committed the Act with her

It shows How impartial and upside-down the society sees things

 Extracts

A white Lie is a Lie, you may call it something else, but it’s definitely NOT the truth!

It’s just a little Sex before marriage, no penetration……Well, bad news, It’s STILL SEX

It’s just preambles…foreplay before sex…NO intercourse..walahi…etc…swear all you want…   ehnnn…IT is SEX

It’s just a little cash or material which is not yours…, C’mon!!!..need I spell it OUT for you

It’s just a Little Lie to cover up my ass…, nothing more…well tell that to Pinocchio.

It’s just a little gossip, it’s not like I’m giving the full detail of everything…and so on

Have you tried telling a Lie to cover up something and then the Lies keep getting bigger and bigger till it’s so obvious you’re Pinocchio Part 2 and people can’t even tell when you’re telling the truth and when you’re lying?

Lets be honest with ourselves, A lie will keep leading to other lies and so why build a Legos of Lies when it can be smashed by a handful of truth

There’s no two-ways about it, the truth will surely prevail someday somehow

Have you tried tasting a chocolate piece especially when you're on a diet or rather, you're watching your calorie intake? tasting it doesn't stop there, you end up eating all of it

And so, like my chocolate, don’t bother tasting or biting into it at all cos once you’re in, it takes the grace of God to crawl out.

Don’t let that word  ”little” be your integrity gauge and deceive you. 

Don’t let The “Comparison” Gauge be that either

  

n.b; its the little things that have the tendency to kill you slowly cos it makes you get familiar with sin, and then you keep doing it till your conscience becomes seared and you don't even feel remorseful for any wrong you do.

But Let Jesus be your integrity Gauge…cos there is no ‘little sin’’ in His eyes.

"You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed before men is an abomination in the sight of God...Luke 16v15

And I bet you once you’re in Jesus(Truth) and You in Him, Like the Tree supplies water to the branches so that they bloom, you’ll never wither or fade away, but will stand…

Like a tree planted by the rivers of water…that brings forth fruits in it’s season, Whose leaf shall not wither, and whatever He does shall prosper. Psalm 1v3

Celebrating God in their Lives; CastingCrowns

 

1. Casting Crowns

 The first song I heard that drew them to me was "Who am I?''
My picks;-   Voice of truth
                     Who am I
                    While you were sleeping
                    Until the Whole World hears
                    East to West

Music and Lyrics

Lord, I want to feel your heart
And see the world through your eyes
I want to be your hands and feet
I want to live a life that leads

Ready yourselves, ready yourselves
Let us shine the light of Jesus in the darkest night
Ready yourselves, ready yourselves
May the powers of darkness tremble as our praises rise

Until the whole world hears, Lord, we are calling out
Lifting up your name for all to hear the sound
Like voices in the wilderness, we're crying out
And as the day draws near
We'll sing until the whole world hears

Lord, let your sleeping giant rise
Catch the demons by surprise
Holy nation sanctified
Let this be our battle cry

Ready yourselves, ready yourselves
Let us shine the light of Jesus in the darkest night
Ready yourselves, ready yourselves
May the powers of darkness tremble as our praises rise

I want to be your hands and feet
I want live a life that leads
To see you set the captive free
Until the whole world hears

And I pray that they will see
More of you and less of me
Lord, I want my life to be
The song You sing

Until the whole world hears, Lord, we are calling out
Lifting your name up for all to hear the sound
Like voices in the wilderness, we're crying out
And as the day draws near
We'll sing until the whole world hears...........Casting Crowns(until the whole world hears)