A Truly Christian Holiday

The First Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving, many people in the world will get together with friends and family, sit around a big table crammed with food, stuff themselves, and then leave, being very full and happy because they didn’t have to spend money to feed themselves. This is not the greatness of Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is a holiday that many people in the world view as an excuse to eat, eat, and eat some more.

Last night, at our church‘s normal mid-week service time, we congregated for a special Thanksgiving service. A time to lift up our hearts in Thanksgiving to God, as a church, and as individuals. Many people in our church were unashamed to express their thanksgiving to God in countless ways. The most prominent thanksgiving last night was the blessing of God in granting us a new building of our own. We have been renting space every Sunday for countless years and were nearly shut down because we had so few coming each week, but God did a mighty work, and He brought us more people, a new a pastor, a new building, deacons, and elders. To simply say thank you to God for such a blessing as this would be utterly insufficient.

Almost 400 years ago, a small group of Christians landed on the shores of America, seeking to worship God freely and to advance His Gospel. They went through countless trials during their first winter, yet they persevered and were preserved. A year later, in September, they had lodgings, food, and friendship with the neighboring indians. They had much to be thankful for, and set aside not one, but several days of time to congregate with the indians to eat, hunt, compete, and, most importantly, to be eternally grateful to God for His mercy in preserving them.

This holiday truly is a Christian holiday. Regardless of the food, the company, the conversation, and the enjoyment of simply being together, we must be thankful to God. And even though this day is only one special day of 365 to give thanks, we ought to give thanks every day for every blessing God has given to us.

May your Thanksgiving be filled with hope, joy, peace, and great thanks to God for all that He has done!

Sorry…

After the recent hectic schedule around my place, I have had very little to no time to spend on things other than school work. I apologize for not posting this earlier, but I hope to be posting more often sometime in the future, although I do not know if it will be the near future.

Matt from Solus Cristus

Husbands and Wives a No-No in CA

Real Marriage

As many of you are well aware, California has been slowly deteriorating (who hasn’t) in regard to the issue of marriage. Aside from the fact that it is now legal for homosexuals to be married in that state and be recognized as a ‘real’ marriage, there is now another problem. I was unaware of this change in the state process in regard to marriage until today.

Apparently, California has changed the titles on the marriage license from ‘Bride’ and ‘Groom’ to ‘Party A’ and ‘Party B’. This is utterly ridiculous in and of itself, regardless of what Scripture has to say. Seems as if there were two others who thought the same way and crossed off these two changes and replacement with the true titles Bride and Groom. Unsurprisingly, someone caught wind of it, and California will not recognize their marriage if they left the license in this way.

In the Beginning, ME…!?!

Your Evolution Creation

In the beginning…

Well, most Christians hopefully would be able to complete this phrase correctly, but not for those computer gamers who love to be in control of everything. Yes, now you can be god and control the evolution of the entire race of aliens and/or creatures of your choice. You are god.

This is nothing new, but it is certainly approaching ultimate of the direction computer and video gaming has been going. Being able to blast things and even other humans to bits and not have even a single prick of conscience. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am not calling all video/computer games evil. I like them myself, but I still keep them to a minimum.

The way the article puts it, you are “playing [g]od”. Ms. Schlueter also comments on this:

Without bloodlust, most video games wouldn’t leave the shelf. Additionally, Americans have much practice at playing God as they have aborted 50 million babies in the womb and counting. When the true God is replaced with MAN the creator, MAN the predestinator, MAN the savior, carnage is the only possible outcome. God is not mocked.

9/11 Tribute and Truth

9/11 Attack Remembrance

It is amazing how well so many people will remember a single moment in their lives that is often of no importance, but only seven years after these attacks, we have a democrat looking for the President’s office who wants to remove our military force from Iraq, and allow the terrorists to bring the war to American shores once they have breathing room. America, as a whole, has nearly forgotten 9/11.

Many people often look at this horrendous event in our country’s history and ask, “How would a loving God…”, and then then look at the Christians and ask them to answer that question. It is with heavy heart that I say that most Christians don’t understand how the question is to be answered. This event was indeed decreed by God before the foundations of the earth and was given as a reminder to Americans that we are mortal men and not sovereign gods. Only God alone is sovereign, and He has the right to kill me in my sleep for all of my horrid rebellion and iniquity that I have committed against Him alone.

I will never forget this day, nor the great sacrifices our military heroes have made to protect these shores, and, to be perfectly honest, I think that we need another 9/11 to remind many Americans that God is sovereign and man is but dust in the wind.

Prayer Update

Here is an update for my deacon. He is now out of the hospital and is doing much better. Thank you for your prayers. Please continue to pray that he will be able to have a transplant very soon, since he has been put on the transplant list.

Thanks!

Matt from Solus Cristus

Feel Free

This is very off the beaten path right now, but I wanted to make sure that everyone is free to comment any thoughts or questions you have after reading and-or skimming a post. I enjoy hearing from everyone, but I will establish a few rules:

1. Feel free to comment, but make sure your comment is on topic.
2. Any vulgarity or obscene language found will be instantly deleted without question or regard for content.
3. I do not, repeat, do not guarantee a reply, but I will try to reply as often as I can.

Hope everyone listens!

In Christ,

Matt from Solus Cristus

Favorite Spurgeon Quote (one of, at least)

I came across this quote by Spurgeon from Pyromaniacs and I couldn’y help but simply laugh and say, : Yeah, I guess that is really true, isn’t it?” Hope you enjoy it as well.

“We are invited, brethren, most earnestly to go away from the old-fashioned belief of our forefathers because of the supposed discoveries of science. What is science? The method by which man tries to conceal his ignorance.”

“How To Meet the Evils of the Age” chapter 4 in An All-Round Ministry.

Here is the full page of Spurgeon on Pyro.

Also, I would also please ask for your prayers as well. This evening, I was tearing down at my church after prayer meeting and I caught my finger im a folding table (the kind that rolls when you fold ir in half), and I am currently recovering from pain as well as typing this message with my left hand (with lots of typos along the way). I play piano very actively as a competitor in competitions as well as fory church. Please pray for a speedy recovery and very litte damage done. Thanks!

Much Needed Prayer

Friends and readers,

I will continue my series with Watson, but before I do, I must ask for much needed prayer. One of the deacons in my church has a serious bone disease called osteogenesis imperfecta (which is better known as ‘brittle bone disease’). This means that he can easily break a bone doing just about anything, including sneezing or coughing. Over the last year or so (maybe longer), this disease has been causing him extreme pain. He is also dealing with a failing liver and weak kidneys, and he has been hospitalized multiple times in the last several months. His liver has deteriorated so significantly that he is in critical need of a transplant. My church has been blessed because of him, especially in regards to the website he created and maintains for us. Unfortunately, nobody else at the church has the knowledge required to run the entire church website, and the knowledge I have in yet insufficient. (He also ran his own Calvinist blog for several years, but he was forced to shut it down because of his extreme condition. You can visit it here.)

Again, please lift him up in prayer today. It always the best thing to do.

In Christ,

Matt from Solus Cristus

Cool Church Hazards

Since Ms. Ingrid is so much better at this than I am, here is the link to a recent post about how ‘innovative’ ideas of the ‘modern church’ go bad. Here’s the link…