I have recently had conversations with some men as I was street preaching concerning Bible doctrine. As I began quoting Scripture they asked what about the Greek? As I explained that the King James Authorized Version of 1611 is a perfect and inerrant translation both these men went to the Hebrew on something they said was different from the English. I looked these words up in a lexicon and found that these young men had been sold a bill of goods and that the King James was right. So it occurred to me that if the Greek and Hebrew are so important to understanding the Bible then why do most native Greek speakers reject the Scriptural salvation of faith and follow a religion of works and rituals? Why do most native Hebrew speakers reject Jesus as the Christ? Why do sinners hid behind these languages to justify their sin? If I take a King James and show it to a child and explain that it is the very word of God and show him the verses on salvation they almost always will believe and receive Christ as their Saviour. Let me show an adult who believes that the Bible I have in my hands is God’s Word and he will forsake sin. Confuse a person with the Greek and Hebrew and he will remain in darkness. Remember that God is not the author of confusion, and where the word of a King is there is power. My final authority is the simple English found in the King James Authorized Version of 1611. I can hold it in my hands I can read it with my eyes and can go to it’s author Almighty God for understanding. Where is your final authority?

On the 17th many people were celebrating St. Patrick’s Day. Of course the Patrick they were thinking of was a recreation of a true saint reinvented in Roman Catholic clothing. In Patrick’s writings he makes no mention of the pope or snakes or lighting a Paschal fire. He does mention the Gospel, frequently quotes Scripture, baptising adult believers and fighting sin. So why do people want to celebrate his life by drinking green (and regular) beer or drowning the shamrock in a glass of whiskey? In an earlier post I proved from the Scripture that Jesus never drank booze and no one has tried to refute it. I will now stand up for the true Patrick who would have preached against all the boozing and debachary that goes on in his name.

  If you want to know the true Patrick it can only be found in his writings, the Confession and Letter to Coroticus. The later writings were an attempt to bring the Celtic church under the sway of the Roman church, accomplished by the Norman English invasion. So put down the bottle and pick up the Bible, push away tradition and do some research, pray and seek God’s face, and oh what a difference it will make!

Recently I went to a dentist after many years of avoiding it. My wife and young sons had already seen him a couple of weeks before. The receptionist noticed that I was the father and first off told me what wonderful children and how well behaved they were. Then when I saw the hygienist she told me how pleasant my children were. Then the dentist also told me how much they enjoyed my children.

Now my children are far from perfect and I make plenty of mistakes but I would like to offer some insight into training up children. First notice the Scripture says train up not bring up. Training is supervised repetition. My children say Yes sir yes ma’am as natural as most say yeah, because of constant repetition and correction. Next remember that the end goal is to produce children that will please God, for all things were created for his pleasure.

With these two things in mind how do you achieve the goal? First read the Bible and pray to see what kind of person pleases God. Then live it. Children learn more in an hour of watching than a life time of listening. Next be sure you and your spouse are in total agreement. If children see division they will divide and conquer. Next limit outside influence such as T. V., Internet, friends and most importantly public school. The ideal is home schooling with the wife at home. If you want the children to have your values and beliefs and manners you must be the main influence in their lives. And Dad sit down and talk to them talk to them talk to them. Listen to them and give them guidance. And make it a point to correct behavior not merely punish it. Most parents only punish children because they have either lost their temper or been embarrassed. Correct them at home in love, patience and firmness  then you won’t be embarrassed much in public. Don’t allow your children to watch shows where children are ill mannered or the hero children save the day by disobeying parents. Remember that each child is an individual and treat him as such. Make home joyful. While you are the parents and not their buddies you are also not their enemies. God wants the home to be Heaven on Earth. This doesn’t happen by provoking them to wrath and mistreating your spouse. Make them read so they can engage in intelligent conversation. This coupled with manners will make your child a delight to speak to. Finally eat at least one meal together at the table with no electronic distraction. Companion comes from Latin and means with bread. You learn manners at the table. You become friends at the table. You get to understand each other at the table. You thank God for providing at the table.

Of course if you need advice ask. Look for some one with good children and see how he does it and get a few pointers. Then see if it works for you, if it doesn’t try some thing else. But start young! A teenager who is not connected and trained is a tough row to hoe. God bless.

In the Amarillo Globe News January 21, 2018 page A6 an article gives the recommendations of National Academy of Sciences Engineering and Medicine to help reduce drunk driving fatalities. Among these are lowering the blood alcohol limit, increasing the alcohol tax, and making alcohol less convenient by limiting hours days it can be sold. As I have stated before the CDC also recommend limiting outlets where booze can be obtained. Any honest person knows that there is no such thing as responsible drinking for, as the Bible says, wine deceives. So Texas is behind the times because the voters of this state are increasing access to this form of legal dope yet not increasing the tax to cover the cost of its damage to our communities which far exceeds tax revenue. And now Canyon has changed zoning so that tattoo parlors and smoke lounges can come in. Of course soon marijuana will be legalized and who knows what next from a generation of mind numbed voters.

   Also the news reported a record long drought of 107 days and counting. At Anchor of Hope we have always said When the County Votes Wet God Votes Dry. Look at the history and learn. Right before the local option elections there is an abundance of rain to show God’s blessings and then the rain is restrained to show His displeasure. In conclusion- repent. Avoid as much as possible places that sell booze and work to give booze the boot!

I Kings 19:18 Yet have I left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto
Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.

With this election I am very disappointed as a patriot at the low turn out. As a parent I am disappointed that very few care about an issue which will affect our children for decades to come. As a pastor I am disappointed at the lack of action from the Christians. But success is never certain and failure is never final. The battle is not over nor will be as long as there is a breath in my body. To the Christian who may read this I would like to offer these words of encouragement. Several years ago a race track interest wanted to get county subsidy to build a track after off track betting was legalized in Texas. All the pastors of this town showed up to oppose this and gambling and spoke directly on this subject to the media. You saw bumper stickers saying “Just say Whoa” and the election was defeated. This can be done again, booze can be voted out the same way it was voted in. And we must fight back! The enemy said vote yes so we don’t have to have another election, but be sure there will be another. The lovers of money will want liquor stores next then bars and who knows what next. Remember that Wal-Mart is  in litigation with the State of Texas to be allowed to sell hard liquor in all its stores in this state. I believe that many Christians did not vote because they felt the election was already lost, that no one would vote with them. But remember this election was decided by less than 300 votes, and Canyon has churches that have that many voters. In the last election over 1000 people voted against booze and had a similar margin. If we will band together and SHOW UP AT THE POLLS we can beat this. We can make this city an oasis of water in the midst of alcohol. Pray. Talk to your friends. Get a fire in your soul. You are not alone, you are not isolated. God has others who oppose this sin and awaits your action. Will you join together and get the victory? Remember “Where there is no vision the people perish.”

Much has been said about the athletes refusing to honor the American flag so I thought I would throw in my two bits. I my father and several relatives have served under that flag, I in the United States Navy. While the America of today is much different that the America I enlisted in it is still my country.

     Once my daughter was preforming at the old high school here in Canyon for a Christmas production. The very last thing they did was take a large V.A. American flag and unroll it over their heads which took up the entire gym floor. As they started to unroll Old Glory I immediately stood to my feet . I didn’t see anyone else do it and felt a little uncomfortable standing alone but since it was the right thing to do I remained standing. Soon I saw people across the gym begin to stand then people next to me til all who could stand were standing.

After the performance my daughter told me I was the first to stand up. Then she said “See Daddy you made a difference.” And that is what I still want to do. Even if I stand alone for the King James Bible of 1611, even if I stand alone against Liquor, even if I stand alone on Bible doctrine, even if I street preach alone I want to stand to the end and make a difference. Success in this world means nothing. I don’t care what others think of me for I know what they think of my Lord. The only thing that is important is “Well done thou good and faithful servant. 

As we approach another election on the local option I would like to remind voters of the failure of the 21st amendment. Most people have heard that prohibition was a failure but history does not bear that out. With the exception of 4 heavy population centers crime went down during prohibition, and the crime increase is attributed to illegal EUROPEAN immigration. Banks in cities were opened as saloons closed down. Both alcohol induced psychosis and cirrhosis of the liver decreased. Cities were able to sell their jails and divorce and domestic abuse decreased. It is to be remembered that the reason the 18th amendment was introduced was because of the unbelievable drinking rate of the time. Only recently has the United States returned to the pre-Prohibition rate and America has a lower drinking rate than Europe. Thomas Edison testified before congress that after Prohibition was passed his employee’s wives no longer came to him asking for an advance on the paycheck because their husbands now took the whole check home instead of to a bar.

Now let us look at the 21st which repealed the 18th. 88,000 deaths per year because of alcohol and many times more than that in injuries like falling off of ladders. Children either go hungry or depend on tax payers to feed them while their parents go to the liquor store. Domestic violence, rape. and divorce and plain old shacking up and splitting up, single parenting have skyrocketed. And of course since the youth see the hypocrisy of their parents, now calls are being made for the legalization of  street dope.  Cancer, heart problems, high blood pressure, alcohol induced psychosis, cirrhosis of the liver, overflow hospitals and mental wards. And the tax revenues are far less than the tax expenditures that are made to answer these problems. The CDC recommends as a help to decrease these problems to lessen the density of alcohol outlets. But God has a better plan, Look not upon the wine when it is red. Be not among winebibbers. Be not drunk with wine. Vote no to booze and Vote no to the Devil. Glorify God by turning out to vote no. Even if the election is lost to us that vote will be registered in Heaven with a well done at the judgment seat. Thank you for your time ad attention and your no vote.