Charlie Leroy Vaughn

My grandfather, known as "Gramps" to us, died this morning from a heart attack. He was a godly man and was blessed with 94 years of life. Jesus saved Gramps when he was young and was truly his Lord and Savior. Gramps probably knew more hymns than anyone I knew. In fact, he was constantly picking a hymn for Jennifer to play that she had never heard of! Of course, he seemed to think that was funny, but I'm not sure about her...haha. Gramps was "old-school" in that he never questioned whether or not the Bible was God's Word..."of course, it's God's Word, that's what it says, isn't it?" He taught me at a very young age to enjoy sorghum syrup, cane syrup, cured hams, and all those other old country foods. And to this day...I still eat that stuff...He also taught me the importance of being faithful to God. And yes, I know Gramps was not perfect, but he took his relationship with the Lord seriously. He loved the Lord, his family, and his church. He also loved his wife, "Maw-Maw." They had been married 70 years and 8 months. Now I worry about her and how she will respond to this sudden change (she is 92). Well, I don't know if any of this makes sense, and I don't really feel like going back over it to proof read it, but I do know that Gramps loved God and his family. And we loved Gramps. I'm so happy to have all the memories I do of him...but I'm sad that he's gone. I'm going to miss him a lot, but I do know that one day I will see him again for Jesus Christ is my Savior too!

Also, check out my uncle's blog (Robert's Vaughn - Seeking The Old Paths) to see more about my grandfather.

[If you would like to know how to have Jesus as your Lord and Savior, check out this web page www.ebenezermbc.com. Click on the salvation tab and read the Scriptures and explanations listed.]

Truth Or Dead?

To most Americans, questioning the truthfulness of another person's religious view is showing intolerance. While intolerance in the past dealt with bigotry or prejudice, the postmodern usage of the word has come to mean simply disagreeing with anyone else's beliefs. In other words, according to postmodernists, to question another's view is to invade and pillage a different cultural context - or a different "reality" - than our own. Strangely, though, postmodernists grant one exception to this universal prohibition against intolerance. They teach that it is okay to question and even denounce the religious views pejoratively labeled "fundamentalism." They argue that those they label fundamentalists are unacceptable because they subscribe to universal truth claims. {Excerpts taken from The Death Of Truth by Dennis McCallum.}

While I will not get into a debate concerning the "logic" (if that is what you want to call what postmodernists do...) that is used to defend such teachings, we, as believers, need to be aware that such thinking has permeated our society. In fact, many churches have fallen prey to such teachings. For example, many "Christians" think that it does not matter what you believe concerning salvation, just so long as you are sincere or a good person. Well, that is incorrect. After all, you can be "sincerely" wrong! The Bible does not allow for such ideas in the area of salvation. Jesus taught that salvation is through faith (repentance and belief/trust in Jesus Christ), and there is no other way. There are many other examples, but for the sake of time, I will not dare try to list them all. And while there are areas we have freedom to debate and strive to understand, there are certain universal truths that we cannot change, no matter how hard we try.

So, I say it's time we stop backpedaling and start fighting for the truth. We need to fight for the truth in our families, communities, and churches. We need to fight for the faith against such pompous teachings as that of postmodernism. We must fight the good fight and be found faithful. Yet, how do we fight the fight without being hypocritical and condemning? We love others as God loves them, sacrifice for others as Christ sacrificed for all, and be faithful to God's calling in our life.