Spotlight church-House Of Prayer-Newark, Texas Part II

Why the Holy Ghost wants control of your heart

by R. Douglass Mahaffey

      For Christians, the belief of a Holy Trinity is the existence of three distinct holy persona being one Triune God. Even though the New Testament has no formal doctrine of the Trinity and contains no explanation of such, it does speak of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. The New Testament does not become tritheistic; meaning it does not talk of three gods or even two. The Shema (or first two words of a section of the Torah) of the Old Testament belongs to the New Testament.
      There are Christian denominations that do not share this doctrine. They are called "non-Trinitarians." For Pentecostals and other Christians, the Holy Ghost is the third person of the Holy Trinity; Father, Son and Holy Ghost, and is Almighty God. The House of Prayer-Newark, like other Pentecostal churches, see the Holy Ghost as the convictor of sins and the comforter in times of trials and tribulations, such as personal or global tragedies, sickness, hardships, loss of loved ones or catastrophes that try the faith and appear as valleys that the Christian goes through.
      James 1:1-6 says, "1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.
² My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;
³ Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
⁴ But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.
⁵ If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
⁶ But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed."
      It's those times in the valleys that the Holy Ghost can move in and take over a situation to grow our faith when we seek God's perfect holy will. It isn't necessarily because of anything one may have done to quench the spirit. It is all to often that this is the opinion of those who witness trials that a brother goes through.
      The Apostle John wrote in Chapter 9 about the day that Jesus healed the blind man on the side of the road. His disciples were all to quick to judge the man and asked Jesus if it was his or his parent's sin that caused his blindness. John writes, "¹ As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. ² His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
³ “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. ⁴ As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. ⁵ While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
      The Holy Ghost was in Jesus as He walked the earth and performed the miracles that He did. The power that He possessed, was the same power that He gave to his disciples at the Day of Pentecost, or 50th day after His Ascension. He left His Holy Ghost as a comforter to act in His stead, even though, it was God Himself in all three persons, because He is Omni-present (meaning that God is everywhere at once).
      At House Of Prayer-Newark, the power of the Holy Ghost is just as present today as it was at the Day of Pentecost, with one miracle after another in 2013 being witnessed. Now that 2013 is coming to a close and we are ringing in the New Year, 2014, on behalf of Pastor Rick Neathery, it is our prayer corporately that the Holy Ghost reveals itself to you and yours in a big, big way. What a blessing it is to come to a point in your life where God proves to you that He will supply all of your needs according to His riches in Glory. Many people from House Of Prayer are walking testimonies that God will do for you what He said He will.

                                                 Pastor Rick and Sister Julie Neathery
                                                      House Of Prayer-Newark.
                                               Photo Courtesy of Rick Neathery.

R. Douglass Mahaffey - Founder and Publisher of The Wise Conservative.
     
           

Spotlight Church - The House Of Prayer-Newark

Championing the movement of the Azusa Street Convention

by R. Douglass Mahaffey

      Just off the main highway F.M. 718 in Newark, Texas, The House Of Prayer-Newark is tucked away on an old County Road 4859. Pastor Rick Neathery has been pastor of the church for a year-and-a-half, with wife, Julie Neathery and Daughter, Bethany, and her husband, Tim Anderson, the music worship and messages delivered can get energetic, yet thought-provoking and can set a soul on fire for God when the Holy Ghost shows up for church.
      The music service is Christ-centered, with rock/country infused Christian standards, as well as contemporary song. Pastor Neathery is the preacher, as well as worship leader, and can jump from keyboards to lead or rhythm guitar at a moment's notice as the Holy Ghost leads him. Lead singers, Julie Neathery and Bethany Anderson bring the vocals full circle in this musically-talented/spirit-filled family, with Tim Anderson, Yogi Ramirez, and R. Douglass Mahaffey delivering the percussive sounds. Harold Norris sings Tenor, Regina Meredith sings Alto. Steve Meredith plays acoustic guitar, Angela Finch sings back up vocals and plays Bass. R. Douglass Mahafey plays tambourine and sings bass, and last, but certainly not least, Brother Stan Nowlin plays classic electric lead guitar. It is a very full sound that is technically managed by Noel Finch, husband to bassist, Angela Finch.
      The Neathery/Anderson family also make up what is the Christian Country Band, Victory Road, along with Angela Finch on Bass and Harold Norris singing tenor harmony vocals. Victory Road is well traveled in the North Texas area and Oklahoma regions of "The Bible-Belt." Neathery and Norris both once performed along side two other rather well known Christian artists of the North Texas area, Cleve and A.J. Clark of Alvaredo Road Show, an upcoming Nashville Gospel Music duo.
      The House Of Prayer is a Pentecostal place of Spirit-filled worship, that, because of the historical event of the Azusa Street Convention on 1906 in Los Angeles California, is home to a Pastor who preaches what he practices, and doesn't apologize for the times that the Holy Ghost comes upon him and inspires him to deliver God's message in a time where the Gospel of Jesus Christ is not a very Popular one. His main focus is based on a determination to reach others for Christ and lead in the development of a healthy prayer life.
      Pastor Neathery once said, "You show me a person with a drama-filled life, and I'll show you a person with no prayer life."
      2013 has come and gone, and there have been many trials that have hit the Neathery family, as well as other members of The House Of Prayer. From bouts with cancer, Bell' Palsy, near loss of sight, partial paralysis of one church member, hosts of aliments that have almost taken its toll on the church, the one thing that remains is a faithful prayer life of its families. God has been invited into those circumstances and healing has been an ever-present reminder that "the fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."-James 5:16.
      The House Of Prayer-Newark is located at 257 County Road 4859 Newark, TX 76071. Worship Service times on Sunday are at 10:45 a.m., right after Sunday School at 10:00, taught by Brother Stan Nowlin. Sunday evening service begins at 6:00 p.m. and Thursday night service begins at 7:00 p.m., directly after the Thursday night fellowship dinner (AND BOY, THE PEOPLE IN THIS CHURCH COOK!).
      Speaking of prayer life though, if you are in Wise County and are looking for a good church that loves and teaches love, call the church at (817) 489-3638 to find out more about the church's location, directives and ministries that The House Of Prayer-Newark (HOP-N) has to offer. Come and join them in service for the Lord and learn how to enrich your prayer life and your search for God's will of your life. Go to the church's website at http://houseofprayernewark.org/Home_Page.html

R. Douglass Mahaffey - Founder and Publisher of The Wise Conservative.

       

Who are the 144,000?

Twelve thousand sealed from each tribe of Israel

by R. Douglass Mahaffey

      I once had a man of Hispanic decent knock on my door and asked me if I had ever heard of the prophesy of the Revelation of God. I told him that I had, that I was a child of God and I had given my heart to him in 1992. He asked me if that was when I joined the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witness. I told him that I had not, that I made Jesus Lord of my life and was a Christian who, at the time, went to a Baptist church.
      He then proceeded to tell me that unless I was a member of the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witness, I would not be one of the 144,000 that would make it into heaven. I then did what every non-Jehovah's Witness in America would do. I bid him good day and closed the door. I missed an opportunity to utilize scripture to show this man where he had been misled.
      Revelation 7 tells us that John sees four angels in a vision, standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth so that no wind blows anywhere on the earth. Then he saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God. The angel cried with a loud voice to the four angels, who were there to hurt the earth and sea.
      The fifth angel told the other four angels not to hurt the earth, the sea or the trees until they had sealed the servants of God on their foreheads. John then heard the number of them which were sealed was one-hundred-forty-four thousand of all the tribes of Is'-ra-el; the tribe of Ju'-da, Reu'-ben, Gad, A'ser, Nep'-tha-lim, Ma-nas'-ses, Sim'-e-on, Le'-vi, Is'-sa-char, Za-bu'-lon, Jo'-seph and Ben'-ja-min were all sealed, twelve-thousand from each tribe.
      Had I had the knowledge then, that I have now about the 144,000 sealed, I could have gotten my Bible and showed this gentleman where the church that he had put his faith in had misled him. First of all, our faith should never be put in a church or a preacher, but in the God who established His church and called the preacher to send the message. How else will people hear, unless God calls someone (a preacher) to tell them.
      This man was not Israeli descent, he was Hispanic. I later found out that these men will also be virgins, who pure in heart, will be the last people after the rapture, during the tribulation, who will tell the people in the deepest, darkest parts of the earth, who haven't heard the gospel. These will all be males too. This man was married, had three children with him. He was not a virgin, Jewish male. He had been lied to. The Bible tells us that there will be people in the last days who will twist and pervert the gospel and try to pass off a lie to lead others astray. The Bible says not to let them darken your door-step, neither bid them God's speed. II John 1:10.
      In the case of the new Christian, this is very important to adhere to, which, at the time, I was. When we are babes in Christ and the grace of salvation is new to us, it is easy to get confused and mix words that won't help the matter. God has equipped those who are mature in their Christianity and their growth in the spirit, who can handle such a situation. The best thing to do is ground yourself in the word and make sure you know the difference between false teachings and teachings that are Holy Ghost inspired.
     On the other side of that, I have also been approached by people in spirit filled services and was told (before being Baptized in the Holy Ghost) that if I didn't have the gift of speaking in tongues, that I wasn't a Christian. That man was obviously misled as well. That's probably the reason why that church didn't last. It's foundation was not based on grace through faith, but rather works. Salvation comes first, to the accepting heart. Then the gifts of the Holy Ghost follow afterwards.
      It is best to stay grounded in the Word or God and have a good prayer life. The best way to tell that a Christian doesn't have a good, strong prayer life is if they transplant from one church to the other due to doctrine. I should know, I have been guilty of that in the past. The Word of God is the cornerstone as to which growth in our knowledge and discernment of the truth comes from. The truth is in there and it is up to us to seek after it. When inspiration comes to us by way of the Holy Ghost, the truth will be seen in our daily walk. We won't have to walk around touting that we are Christians. Others will see in in our witness and example we set.
       So, if someone comes and knocks on your door talking about being the 144,000, ask them if they are virgin, Jewish males. If not, break open your Bible to Revelation 7 and lead them in the right direction. Then take them to Ephesians 2:8-9 "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the grace of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."
      If a Jehovah's Witness works (or any man's works) could save them then God would have never had to leave His perfect heaven and come down to the earth and be crucified for our sins. That salvation is free. Grace paid the price and became the sacrificial lamb to cover our sins completely with His blood. We have no other way unto heaven, but through Jesus.

R. Douglass Mahaffey - Founder and Publisher of The Wise Conservative.

Protecting our Bill of Rights

The sleeping giant called the Church needs awakening

by R. Douglass Mahaffey

There are 52 furious fourth-grade students in Prosper, Texas who attend Grace Christian Academy, due to the political correctness, or in my opinion political ignorance of the policies of the North Texas Veterans Administration System. The students worked hard on creating a kind gesture in the form of Christmas cards to hand out to wounded and sick veterans at the Dallas VA Hospital.

Representatives from the VA told the fourth grade teacher that they could bring the cards to hand out to the veterans as long as they didn’t reference Christmas (in other words they had to say, “Happy Holidays,” or “Season’s Greetings,” or something of the like), could not be religious in nature and could not include any Biblical scriptures. I bet passages from the Quran would have been okay though.  

It is long over due for the church to wake up. In fact, over the last 21 years of my Christianity, I have heard cliche` after cliche` explaining that very need. No more cliche`s; it’s time for action. 

My say on the subject is this; there needs to be a “Million-Man-March on the steps of the Capitol Building in Washington D.C. in the next coming months of 2014. If I’m the one that has to call for it, set it up, organize and lead it, then so be it. There will either be a Million-Man-March or a One-Man-March on the steps of the Capitol Building in Washington D.C. I don’t know the date or the time as of yet, but I am doing it. MARK IT DOWN!

The march will be a peaceful one with the message: "We Will Carry Out The “Great Commission!” 

God told us to go into all the world and make disciples of all nations, Baptizing them in the name of the Father, The Son and Holy Ghost. That was no more a request than the 10 Commandments were suggestions. 

The Bible clearly defines the consequences of a nation not seeking out and following the will of God. Blessed is the nation that makes its Lord the God of the universe. It doesn’t get more clear than that., despite the differences in points-of-view in this country. 

My own friends on my Facebook are very diverse, with different beliefs and all sorts of walks of life. I have yet to be told that sharing Christ with my blog on my Facebook page was offensive. It’s as easy as this; if the truth of God’s word offends you, you have just as much right to click on the “Back” button and continue surfing, as I have to post my Christian Conservative blog in the first place. 

For the kids, there was no “Back” button on their cards. Their efforts were completely shut down and flat out denied. Their voices were silenced from wishing these veterans a Merry Christmas and sharing their faith as that God of the universe commanded them to do. 

For these kids, the rights and freedoms that these veterans were wounded for and for the sake of Jesus, who is the reason why we celebrate Christmas in the first place, I am calling on the Christian churches of this nation, regardless the denomination, to stand up and assist me in organizing the march and telling Congress, the Senate, the cabinet and this President of the United States that we are serious! We are here in the name of God and we will defend our rights to carry out “The Great Commission” of Jesus Christ!

R. Douglass Mahaffey - Founder and Publisher of The Wise Conservative. 

Unto us a Child is born

The virgin born Son of the Living God

by R. Douglass Mahaffey

The Messiah that was to come into the world to save all of humanity from the deceiver, Satan, was prophetically foretold by the Prophet Isaiah. Isaiah wrote that unto us, a child was born and the governments would be upon His shoulders. He was to be born of a virgin and would be in the lineage of King David. His name would be called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 

For some reason, people believed then as they do now, that the Messiah would come and did come to do away with the law, so that the grace of God abounds. Paul wrote in Romans 3, that God forbid we live in such negligence toward sin. 

Jesus came so that the law would be fulfilled. Therefore, we are not under the pressure of laws, but under the grace that living according to the law gives us, if we make Jesus Lord of our lives. 

John, the Apostle wrote that ‘in the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God and the Word was God. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us (Jesus).’ John goes on to say that the world knew Him but knew Him not. They saw the carpenter’s son that moved to Nazareth when He was a young boy. 

Luke actually told the story that we now refer to as  ‘The Christmas Story.” In the days of Caesar Augustus, a decree came to all the people that the nations of the world should be taxed. Rome was the dominating empire and those who followed after one another as emperor were looked at as gods. So the tax was to pay tribute to Caesar.

So it was ordered that every family went to their hometowns to be counted for the census for taxation. Joseph had been betrothed to marry Mary, who was a virgin, but through the power of the Holy Ghost, became pregnant. 

Joseph considered divorcing Mary because of possible infidelity, The angel of God came before Joseph and explained that the baby she was carrying was the Messiah that Isaiah spoke of in the prophesy because Mary had won God’s favor. 

So when it was almost time for Jesus to be born, Joseph put Mary on donkey-back to make the estimated 80 mile trip to Bethlehem, because Joseph was from there in the house of David.  (Side note: When King David was a boy tending Jesse’s sheep, he did so in a place that he later wrote about in the 23rd Psalm, “Yea through I walk through the Valley of The Shadow of Death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me.” This same valley, between Jericho and Bethlehem, according to tradition in Jerusalem, is a place that Mary stopped to rest on hers and Joseph’s long journey from Nazareth.)

When Mary and Joseph arrived in Bethlehem, the city was filled with people who had come to register for the census as Augustus had commanded. Therefore, there was no room for them in any of the inns in the town. Joseph talked to an inn owner who told Joseph of the stable that was available next to his inn. There were animals in the stable, but the manger could be cleaned out so that the couple would have a place to lay their newborn baby.

I know you’re asking yourself, “What? The Creator of the Universe was born in a feed troth in a smelly stable where horses, cows and sheep ‘do their business?’”

Most definitely! See, Jesus didn’t come as a military conqueror as the Jews would have liked. They only wanted to get the Romans out of their business so they could continue corrupting the Jews and leading them away from the one God sent to save them. The Pharisees were the immediate law of the Jews and kept them under a tight fist, that is, when the Romans weren’t looking. 

Jesus came as a humble servant of man, who was there to do the will of His father who sent Him. He came to teach the Jews that they were to love their enemies and pray for those that spitefully used and mistreated them. It was a very inconvenient message for that time, as well as today. The truth usually is. 

The “Gift” came into the world to basically save it from itself. The contrite and self-centered heart is one that is like beast that is hard to tame. It is hard to convince a person that it is holier to give up one’s life so that other’s may see the love  of God through their actions when a person’s first instinct in a crisis situation is to save their own life by throwing others under the bus. 

But still, the “Gift” came to give life, and life more abundantly than most people are used to living. What do you want for Christmas this year? That’s a good question considering the unlimited possibilities we have as a civilization. As for me and my house, we choose Christ, the reason for this Christmas season to begin with. 

R. Douglass Mahaffey - Founder and Publisher of The Wise Conservative. 

What Phil was referring to

Sharing to what scripture says about sin

by R. Douglass Mahaffey

       On Wednesday, December 18, GQ Magazine broke a story in which Phil Robertson, the star and head of the A&E reality television series “Duck Dynasty” was asked by a reporter as to what his views of the homosexual lifestyle was in regards to his devout Christian beliefs. 

Robertson said, “Start with homosexual behavior and just morph out from there — bestiality, sleeping around with this woman and that woman and that woman   and those men.” 

What Robertson was meaning in his comment was that homosexuality is the gateway lifestyle to the deviant, a lot like the gateway drug that marijuana was to a crack, meth, heroin or cocain addict. None of which is behavior that God calls us to. 

He sent His Son, Jesus to die for our sins, yes. But that doesn’t give us a license to sin because Jesus didn’t come to abolish the law, but that through Him it might be fulfilled. I am covered by the blood of Jesus, which was the covenant of the New Testament. However, even Romans 1 talks about the homosexual lifestyle and what costs come with it. Verse 28 says, “Who knowing the judgement of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only to those that do it, but those that have pleasure in them that do them.” -Paul’s Holy Spirit-inspired  words, not mine.

The self-centered assumption that a Christian shouldn’t have a problem with the LGBT community  forcing their views on the rest of us and then expect us to refer to their lifestyle as normal, is a dangerous thought process to invoke in today’s society, especially when Congress and the Senate are trying to legislate such ideology. 

Sharing what God says in His word about our flippant attitude toward any sin (not just homosexuality) is what God called us to do. How else will a lost, dying, hell-bound person hear the word, unless God sends a preacher (Which Phil is) to tell them. 

Here is my theory about what happened. GQ called A&E to set up an appointment for an interview with Phil Robertson. A&E talked the reporter to ask Phil about his Christian beliefs on sin and homosexuality. If you recall, (if you heard about this happening in the news), A&E talked to the Robertsons and said that they were getting a lot of complaints from viewers about the Robertsons praying and involving God in their episodes. 

A&E asked if the Robertsons would stop putting that content on their show. Phil, the spokesman for the family, said that if they couldn’t involve prayer or God in the show, that there would be no show. A&E re-signed them for another season because due to the astronomical ratings that Duck Dynasty affords A&E, it would have been bad for business to not re-sign them. 

The GQ reporter asked Robertson the line of questioning regarding his Christian beliefs toward homosexuality. Robertson, being the outspoken Christian that he is, who believes in the First Amendment rights to free speech that the LGBT community also enjoys, answered that line of questioning, not based on hate, but with what lines up with the word of God.

GQ ran and tattled to GLAAD, GLAAD went viral with their outbursts that Robertson spouted hate speech toward the LGBT Community (which he did not). Therefore, to save face with an organization and a community that A&E champions the cause of, A&E suspended Robertson indefinitely. 

This whole situation was a conspiracy, in my opinion, to take the head of the Robertson family off of the show about the duck call company, Duck Commander, that Robertson started in his garage.

Now this is just my speculative opinion, but if you read John 8, it almost 100 percent mirrors the story of the prostitute that was brought before Jesus by the Sanhedrin to test Jesus. In this analogy, A&E and GQ represent the Sanhedrin. GLAAD  represent the other man that the Sanhedrin did NOT bring before Jesus. Phil Robertson loosely represents the prostitute (in A&E’s and GQ’s failed attempt for self righteousness). and we, the Christian community, standing up for Robertson, represent Jesus, who used scripture to rebuke the Sanhedrin. The LGBT community represent the Jews that had amassed around the prostitute, ready to throw stones. 

Now, in this analogy, let me explain that I don’t believe that Robertson was caught in any sin. That is the difference between him and the prostitute. He was baited, in my opinion, by the GQ reporter and A&E, to answer the line of questioning, because they knew that he would answer it in a way that would arouse and incite rage from the crowd, ready to stone him. 

The prostitute in John 8 was baited by the other man in the equation that nothing happens to, into sinning. That happened so that the Sanhedrin would have a chance to test Jesus in yet another failed attempt to prove that Jesus was a false profit. 

In the passage, Jesus ignored the crowd’s chant for her stoning. He bent down and scribbled in the sand. Many theologians speculate as to what he was scribbling. I have heard one theory that He was writing a law from Leviticus that says if a person baits another person into sinning, then they are just as guilty as the one they baited. That might be possible, but I won’t be so arrogant as to say that was definitely what he was writing. Let’s not give way to semantics. 

But let me say this with great humility and reserve; I pray that the LGBT community, GLAAD, A&E and GQ one day soon are introduced to my God before it is too late for them. My other prayer is that when they have had the truth revealed to them through this, they realize that surrendering to Him does not bind them to a life of ducking and dodging rules. It offers them freedom, with chains broken and no longer a slave to the master they have served in this situation. That slave is the very sin that Phil Robertson was referring to in his comment. 

R. Douglass Mahaffey - Founder and Publisher of The Wise Conservative.

The Salvation Army Red Kettle Campaign

Where the concept originated that has brought relief to Americans for 120 years

by R. Douglass Mahaffey

The Salvation Army is looking for volunteers this holiday season to serve as bell ringers for its annual fund-raiser, as patrons at busy department stores and grocery stores participate in the organization’s most needy time of the year. 

The annual fund-raiser starts in November on Black Friday, and ends December 24 (Christmas Eve). 

Volunteers from church groups, youth groups, athletes, cheerleaders, Sunday school classes, businesses and individuals volunteer all over America to ring the bell for the Salvation Army. 

The bell ringers have been a steady mainstay at retail stores and shopping malls in America for over 100 years. The tradition began in 1891 when Captain Joseph McFee, a sailor from Liverpool, England, wanted to feed the poor at Christmas time. 

He recalled seeing a red kettle on the docks, called “Simpson’s Pot,” when he was a young sailor. People would toss coins into the kettle to raise money to feed the poor. He set a red kettle out  at the Oakland Ferry Landing in San Francisco with a sign that read, “Keep the pot boiling.”

McFee was able to raise the money needed to feed the poor that Christmas. News of the successful fund-raiser spread so far that in 1897, enough money was raised to feed 150,000 people for Christmas. In 1901 he raised enough to hold a sit down dinner at New York City’s Madison Square Garden for Christmas. 

Today, money collected in the red Salvation Army kettles is used to help the needy, the sick, the aged and other less fortunate, especially during the holiday season from Thanksgiving to Christmas.

Every dollar raised is donated to community charities in the towns in which the money is collected. Money is given to help food banks, low-budget community clinics, assistance with utilities or housing. Every dollar donated counts. 

     This year, I have seen people singing at the red kettle, dancing, playing a trumpet, all the way to cheer leading to attract patrons to donate loose change to a few dollars as they pass the volunteers. 

I have volunteered twice this year at the Walmart in my community. They desperately need people to step up and donate their time, their smile and their Christmas cheer to continue the effort that Captain Joseph McFee began over 120 years ago. There is still time to volunteer by going to the Salvation Army's website at http://www.salvationarmy-usa.org/usn/volunteer.

R. Douglass Mahaffey - Founder and Publisher of The Wise Conservative.

Who do ‘THEY’ think they are

A thought provoking point-of-view to self thought

by R. Douglass Mahaffey

They said in the 50s that smoking wouldn’t kill you.  They say you should keep your friends close and your enemies closer. They say a person needs just three things in life to be happy; someone to love, something to do and something to hope for.

Just who are ‘they’ and who made them the experts on everything? There is a ever-present force in the world that wants to control and drive the destiny of mankind. Some call them the illuminati. Some call them field specific experts, usually reputable scientists. Some call that driving force ‘the powers that be’. Either way you look at it, ‘they’ want the mass populating to just accept what they tell you and go on like there is no alternative out there, to their say in things. 

The Bible says Romans 1 that from the beginning of mankind, God made His existence known and manifest inside of man, so they are without excuse when they stand before Him in judgement. People may ask, “Well what about the indigenous tribes in the deepest jungles of Africa who have never heard of God?” 

  Who are we to make that assessment? The scriptures in Romans 1 are very clear that God is no respecter of person. All were created with the basic common knowledge that there is a creator. It’s when we try to rationalize and use logic, or apply what theories we have been taught in school by so called “educators”, that we  limit God to what is physically possible. God moves and works in the supernatural, and has no boundaries of physical or absolutely scientific. 

It is sometimes hard to wrap our minds around things that we can’t see, touch or hear. It isn’t always completely our fault either. It’s easy for the influence of others to overtake our thought process and cloud our judgement, because they make it sound so logical and believable. 

They have just used mind control to inhabit their beliefs into another person’s life. However, God sent His Holy Ghost on the earth to break through the confusion  often times created by man to bring truth to expose a lie. The only problem we create for ourselves in this process is again, we limit our understanding to what is physical.
God’s ways are not our ways and His thoughts aren’t our thoughts. His word is truth set afire in a dark, evil world, which will break through the confusion and bring about clarity when we open our hearts to what the spirit has to reveal to us. It is then that clarity of His will for our lives is seen through the truth, which was already created in us to begin with. 

So the next time someone shadows the truth with what the experts claim, think about it for yourself. If it doesn’t line up with God’s word, reject it, for the opinions of the so called “experts” is yet another tool the enemy uses to deceive us from seeking the truth within the word of God. 

R. Douglass Mahaffey - Founder and Publisher of The Wise Conservative 

Grieving the Holy Spirit

When your child doesn’t come to you for help

by R. Douglass Mahaffey

     

     My dad used to jokingly tell me, if you are ever out and about and you get arrested, don’t come crying to me. He was joking of course... I hope. Then there were times that he would tell me when I legitimately needed him, but didn’t turn to him, “Why didn’t you come to me when the problem started?” 

Often times we’re guilty of doing the same thing to God by not going to Him in prayer when we find ourselves in a jam. In Ephesians 4, the Apostle Paul specifically instructs us not to grieve the Holy Ghost  by not making Him our first point of contact in a crisis situation.

God desires to be there to help us when the going gets tough. That’s what any father’s desire is for his children. God put our dads in a leadership role as head of and responsibility barer of the family. Traditionally, it is the man who proposes marriage to the woman he has chosen. By doing so, the father is taking on the responsibility role as the person accountable for everything in his family. 

When a family is torn apart by divorce, the father is usually the one to be separated from his family. Even in most cases of adultery where the father was not the guilty party, he is still the one that leaves the rest of the family, leaving the children to cope with life without a father. 

It is still possible to see the pieces of the family put back together again, if God is allowed into the situation to bring about healing of the marital and parental relationship.

In instances where he was the one guilty of the affair, thinking that healing is impossible is the first step in quenching the Holy Ghost from bringing about true change, repentance, and resolving the issue at hand to fit back the pieces of the broken model that God instituted and ordained. 

In the instance of a child doing poorly on a test, and not coming to his or her parent to ask for help in something that they don’t understand, the child can also grieve the Holy Ghost. Not allowing the person that God trusted to be the parent and help out in times of confusion or misunderstanding, is a huge step on the way to a division in trust, respect and hope of the parent/child relationship growing to one that pleases God. 

No one has ever been completely perfect in their lives. Even the professionals with years of training and God-given talent make errors in performance, judgement and morality. It is not a shameful thing to go to the Father when one needs help with an issue they are facing. 

Our friends fail us. Our family fails us. Even the churches we go to don’t always have all the answers and resolution to problems we face. God is a prayer away. Show me a person who is good at bringing others down around them due to their problems, and I will show you a person with no prayer life and no faith in God. If they would only turn to Him and trust His way in all of life’s circumstances, they will not only see a miracle come to them, but the people  around them won’t have to ask if they go to church. They will see the goodness of God in that person through the life they live.

A man was buying a soda one day at a supermarket. He paid with a $20 bill. He saw the clerk inspect the bill to make sure it wasn’t fake. She performed all of the tests that she was trained to do. Before she put the bill in the drawer, she took a tissue and rubbed the dollar bill with it. Inspecting the tissue, she put it in the drawer and gave the man his change and receipt. 

The man was perplexed. He said, “Ma’am, I know you have all the inspection tests that you have to run on the dollar bill, but I didn’t understand the reason for the tissue test.”

The clerk said, “Well sir, I was checking to see if the print of the dollar bill smeared on the tissue Yours did, so that was how I knew it was real. The real thing rubs off.”

If we allow God to help us in time of need, and if we maintain a healthy prayer life, and we stay fed in God’s word and line our lives up with His word, God’s goodness in us will rub off onto others around us. 

R. Douglass Mahaffey  - Founder and Publisher of The Wise Conservative.

God has a standard

Yet we blame him for the decisions we make

by R. Douglass Mahaffey

      For years now, I’ve heard people criticizing God for what people in His church do. Just because someone says that they are doing something in Jesus’ name, doesn’t mean that He honors what they do. One quote you will read on my blogs time and time again, is that if someone’s actions, words, and beliefs that they promote don’t line up with the word of God, then His blessings will allude them, and He certainly isn’t to blame for their ignorance.

        I read a news story today of yet another teacher who had been involved in an inappropriate relationship with one of his students. This man was also a youth leader at his church in Wiley, Texas. I read comment after comment of people who blame God, or even the idea of God. They were condemning of the man as well. 

As wide spread as this type of atrocity is these days, and as rampant as the sinful nature is, one would be arrogant to believe or proclaim that it would never happen to them. First of all, no one knows if the girl in this situation was making it up to cause trouble. That’s not always the case. In fact, nine times out of ten, I would venture to say that the adult was most likely guilty. But we don’t know because we weren’t there. 

It’s one thing to post a comment on a news story that one reads on the Internet. They are hidden. No one knows who they are and never will. It’s another to be a parent of the victim in this type of case, or the spouse or family member of the alleged offender and have to live with what they did and still be a family member or spouse after the smoke cleared and the punishment was handed down from the judge. 

When we make comments that push the blame on God, asking, “Why  would God allow that to happen,” or,  “Where was God in this matter?”, we are definitely barking up the wrong tree. God was right i the midst taking names and placing the proper judgement on the guilty. I will say in this case, that if the teacher was guilty, he was found out. If the girl is making it up, as one commenter suggested, then the truth will come out and it’s best to leave the judging and condemning to the only perfect one there is, who is qualified to judge them. 

To say that in my flesh, I don’t agree with the severity of some of the comments, would be a lie. In my flesh, I wish true punishment for the guilty. But in my spirit, I am reminded to pray for everyone involved. Alas, sometimes, the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak, as Paul wrote in his Epistle. 

The bottom line is this; we can never be sure that we are above doing things of this nature. Paul wrote in Romans 3:10-12, 10 “There is none righteous, no, not one. 11 There is non that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. (God seeks us). 12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; (Again, Paul repeats), there is non that doeth good, no not one.” 

We in and of ourselves can do no good thing, because the flesh is weak. But through Christ Jesus, who conquered the flesh, sin, death, hell and the grave, we are found innocent in His righteousness if we are standing in His holiness on the day of judgement. For the sins of the world, we can not blame God, because mean listened to his flesh and chose to do evil, even after God warned us that we would surely die. 

That was not the way God intended it to be. Sinful nature of man chooses evil, even when God has given us a way out of temptation. 

That still small voice that Christians hear when met with temptation that says, “Hey, you know God isn’t going to like that, and you will be robbing yourself of His blessings if you go through with it,” that’s the Holy Spirit trying to give you an out from temptation to follow through with sin. If we go through with it anyway, we can’t blame the devil, he get’s too much credit for what we do anyway. We certainly can’t blame God, because as I’ve written before, God is not the author of confusion. 

Listen to that still small voice and choose to do what’s right. Don’t condemn another man for doing what any of us are capable of doing as well. Pray. Listen to the Holy Ghost. He will direct your paths. 

R. Douglass Mahaffey - Founder and Publisher of The Wise Conservative.

Who am I, and what's behind the name

An up close look at the publisher

by R. Douglass Mahaffey

          A man once said of himself, "To know me is to love me." I won't be so arrogant as to say that about myself. Everyone is entitled to their opinions and I have mine as well. I grew up on the tri-district line of Cy-Fair ISD, HISD, and Spring Branch ISD in Houston. As fate would have it, I lived in the house on Limestone Street that was the dividing line of all three districts. My house was in the Cy-Fair District. But I didn't start off by going to Bane Elementary as I was supposed to. Thank God my mother was made privy to the correct information, or my life would have turned out quite different; not necessarily worse, just different.
          I started Kindergarten at 4 years old at Benbrook Elementary. I was only there for two weeks when a mistake in logistics was made known to my mother. First of all, I was too young by only 13 days to begin school. Secondly, we didn't live in Houston School District. So, for a couple of years, my dad picked at me and called me a Kindergarten drop out. I thought for the longest that it was my fault because of my dad's non-stop teasing about it. My mother assured me that she was the one mistaken, but I was four and took my dad's teasing to heart about it.
          The next year, 1976, I began elementary at the right age and at the right school. I went to Bane Elementary for Kindergarten. My brother was a prodigy in those days, and went to a private Christian school that our church, Central Baptist owned, in the Spring Branch area. After Kindergarten, I joined my brother at Central Christian Academy. I was smart, but still average. I was picked on a lot on my block because of how small I was. I only weighed about 50 pounds until my second or third grade year.
          The one thing I loved was spelling tests. I loved getting home and having my mother drill me in spelling words. I would spell them all about ten times or so, then my mother would give me the definitions for all my spelling words and I would give her the word and spell it. I read over 260 books that first year in Mrs. Huffman's class. We had a bookworm program that I won a third place ribbon for. When it was time for the first grade spelling bee, I was ready. I went through all the words in the book that Mrs. Huffman had for us to spell. She had to start coming up with more words when we spelled through all the book.
          It was down to myself and a girl named Becky. We went back and forth. Soon, it was a contest, with all the boys rooting for me and all the girls rooting for Becky. After too long, Mrs. Huffman got all the teachers from second grade to sixth grade to come out to the area that we were having the spelling bee. They all gave words for us to spell. 45 minutes into the one-on-one tussle back and forth, Mrs. Huffman declared a tie. Becky and I both won co-first place trophies.
          I stayed at Central Christian Academy until the third grade. I developed a condition that affected my kidneys and spent three weeks in the hospital before the doctors could figure out what was wrong. I had a blocked ureter due to a narrow tube coming from my left kidney. They had to operate on me to unblock it. My mother was incensed because our pastor never came to see me in the hospital. He sent his deacons in his place.
          My mother called a pastor from Langwood Baptist Church in our neighborhood and he came to see me. She took us out of Central Christian Academy and sent me back to Bane Elementary in the fourth grade, and my brother to Dean Junior High in the seventh grade. I hated public schools except for the fact that there were more organized activities to get involved with like band, choir and drama. I wasn't very athletically inclined, and I had a nervous mother, so sports were out of the question, much to my dismay.
          I had a pretty good time at Bane with my grades and with making friends. Junior High was a much different beast. When I got to Dean Junior High, I pretty much expected to get beat up almost every day. It only happened physically about two or three times, and usually it was unprovoked by myself. I was treated like utter, complete garbage by a lot of people though, so I think getting beat up for no reason would have probably been better. Seven years I put up with getting kicked around verbally at school, at home by my brother, and even some of the guys at church targeted me because I wasn't athletic. They played basketball. I stunk at basketball back then and still do today.
          So there I was, stuck in a society that would rather spit in my face than give me a hand once in a while. I would show them though. I got really heavy into my acting and singing, as well as my percussive talents. I didn't do very well at my other classes, but I excelled in my elective classes. I still play the drums at church every chance that I get, I still act, (Seven films, 14 stage plays, 4 commercials, 1 music video and I currently play "The Blue Beacon" - Anti-Bullying Superhero on Keys Media TVs "Keys For Kiddos.") I sing when I'm not writing, working and when I'm not asleep. I love doing karaoke.
          In 1989, I enlisted in the delayed entry program of the United States Army. I graduated in June of 1990 and was dying to leave home and serve my country, or just be away from the life that I had long since grown to hate. I left for Basic Training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma on August 1, 1990. You guessed it! Iraq invaded Kuwait on August 2, 1990. Guess where I was headed in January of 1991? YUP! Saudi Arabia; Riyadh to be exact. I did good there. Our unit only lost one soldier, Specialist Emanuel Sapien, to a land mine.
          I was engaged to a girl back home that still had a year of high school left. After the war, I came home and spent most of my time with her. She seemed distant, but still loving. I went back to my unit in Germany that was deactivating and coming back state-side. In November of 1991, I came home on pass from my new unit in Oklahoma, and she broke up with me. I was crushed and devastated beyond belief. I turned to alcohol when I got back to Oklahoma. It had a huge affect on me and my First Sergeant saw it. When I got out of the Army, I went and got help from God and the Church.
          I am proud to say that I no longer have a problem with alcohol, because on July 13, 1992 I found a friend in Jesus. I had been in church my whole life, but I lacked the relationship with God that I needed to make my life complete. I had gotten into ice skating and playing hockey. One day, on my way to the ice rink for a drop-in game, I was on the bus and a homeless man got on in Downtown. He smelled bad, he had severely dirty clothes and long, shaggy hair. As he sat down, there were young people laughing at him and holding their noses. I was getting impatient with them to say the least.
          The bus was approaching the Salvation Army shelter and the man pulled the cord to signal for his stop. He got off, but tripped and hit the ground. The whole bus, minus myself, busted out laughing. I got off as well, because I had taken all of them I was going to. I offered him some money for some food. He turned it down and said that he had enough money to stay at the Salvation Army shelter. He told me that instead, he had something to offer me.
     He asked me if I was a child of the living God. I told him, "Sure, I go to Langwood Baptist Church. I sing in the choir there, I was the chairman of the events committee and I was a youth sponsor." "I, I, I, I."
          He stopped me and said that wasn't what he was talking about. He asked me, "Have you come to the point in your life where you realized that your sin offended God?"
          No one had ever asked me that before. I guess I had never thought about that. Needless to say, I missed my hockey game, because that homeless man, Don White, showed me in his Bible how God wanted people to desire to live in His will, not some flibberdy-gibbet wanna-be that played Christian on Sunday and then lived like the devil from Monday t Saturday. He wanted a person who was real with himself and everyone he faced.
          That started my ministry. I had already appeared in a music video, a film and two commercials. I stayed the course with my acting career until my two year modeling contract ended and I learned how to land my own gigs without the use of an agent. There was no sense in paying someone when I could do their job and perform as well. So I appeared in church plays, a couple of more films and one more commercial...then, I got married and put it on hold.
          I married a friend from the church I used to go to that owned the private school I went to. We lived in Katy, Texas and had two children. That marriage lasted all of about 10 1/2 years before we just grew apart. It ended in August of 2007 when I left just for what I felt was the right thing to do. (Keeping things private on that matter.)
     While spending the next four years on my own, I performed in about four or five more plays, was cast in three films that I actually got speaking parts in, and then came Facebook. I went to a church that was just down the street from where WWE's The Undertaker went to school at. I had a friend on Facebook that was a mutual friend of his. I sent him a friend request and he accepted it. One day, I saw a picture on his wall that I thought was interesting. I posted a comment on it about my Christian views of marriage. Later that afternoon, I got a private message from a girl on his friend's list named Lisa. She simply said, "Hello there."
          I saw that she was a friend of his. I asked her how she knew him. She worked as a security guard in Dallas at the Sportatorium where World Class Championship Wrestling was held in the 1980s and 90s. She knew the Von Erich's, Chris Adams, Gino Hernandez, and a lot of the famous wrestlers back then. That was how she met Mark (The Undertaker). We talked for a few weeks and I got restless one weekend and traveled by bus to Rhome, Texas up in Wise County, to meet her. We met for a few more weekends, and I felt it was right, so, I asked her to marry me. When you know, you know.
          On September 9, 2011, two months after I was divorced from my first wife, Lisa and I were married. (My first wife and I stayed separated for four years before she filed for divorce). I took Lisa back to Houston with me and we got married at the Civil Courthouse in Downtown in Judge Michael Engelhardt's courtroom. We stayed in Houston for exactly one year to the week of my moving Lisa to Houston. We decided to move to Rhome where she was from after her sister was arrested for criminal trespassing for crossing a railroad track in a field across the street from her home, instead of crossing at the intersection.
          Lisa and I moved to Rhome and immediately, I fought with City Hall and the Railroad company that owns the railroad she crossed, to have no trespassing signs installed where she crossed at. Most people don't even know that it is a crime to do so. I only found out a few years ago on a safety test when I was working for ExxonMobil. (I was laid off from ExxonMobil just 2 1/2 months after Lisa and I got married. Really good timing on that one. I was there 9 1/2 years).
          Six months later, after moving to Rhome, we found a place in Boyd; also in Wise County. I received a job working for Bridwell Publishing Company that publishes the Bridgeport Index and Chico Texan newspapers. Writing is a love of mine. I have written three feature length screenplays, one short screenplay, one pilot episode for a Christian Television Series idea, countless songs and poems, so naturally this was a job I would excel at. Not! I'm not from here, I don't know anyone here except the people that I go to church with and my wife's family, we are limited to such a small reporting area, the publisher doesn't compensate for fuel, doesn't give raises, doesn't pay sick pay or vacation time. WHAT WAS I THINKING??? I know, I'll go into business for myself writing a Christian Conservative Magazine.
          The Wise Conservative is named that because I have strong Christian Conservative views and because I live in Wise County. I didn't want to call it The Wise County Conservative, because there is already a newspaper in the county that has Wise County in its name. I didn't want people to get me confused, and I certainly didn't want them associating me with that particular publication, because they are the Bridgeport Index's main competitors. So, where it is a play on words, no it's not suggesting anything about my wisdom in comparison to anyone elses because I am still wrapped up in this fleshly body and am far from perfect.
          But, I believe that God has given me a message to share with as many people as I can with this blog. This blog is only experimental. I want to learn what I need to about this process before I invest a lot of money in an online magazine publication, because I want it to be successful; not for my sake, but for the sake of the Glory of God.

R. Douglass Mahaffey - Founder and Publisher of The Wise Conservative.