Parable of the talents. Use your voice to receive promotion.

Message I sent to my Facebook group.

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“In a surprise move after hours of tumultuous negotiations, the House Rules Committee, very early Saturday morning, approved rules for debate on the pro-abortion health care bill. Although it appeared Speaker Nancy Pelosi would deny one, it allows a vote on an amendment to remove abortion funding.

Pelosi’s hand appeared to have been forced when pro-abortion House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer announced earlier in the day that she did not have enough votes to pass the bill because of objections from pro-life Democrats.

The committee okayed a Rule that allows the House to vote on the Stupak amendment, offered by pro-life Rep. Bart Stupak, a Michigan Democrat, to the health care reform legislation.”
Read the full article here – http://www.lifenews.com/nat5629.html

Hey everyone,
As you can see from above there is now going to be a vote on the Stupak-pitts amendment. An amendment that will actually stop abortion funding in the health care bill. It is important you call your member of the house and ask him/her for a “yes” vote on the Stupak amendment. You can find out who your representatives are by going here – http://www3.capwiz.com/afanet/dbq/officials/ Just type in your zip code and it will give you their numbers.

I just called mine today. I actually tried calling my representative and my senators this morning at both their local and Washington offices. When I first tried 5 of the mailboxes were full and the sixth one wouldn’t go through. I tried again this afternoon and finally got through to my representative at his Washington office. If you’re nervous about calling and have never done anything like that before, or maybe you don’t really understand all the political talk DON’T LET THAT STOP YOU FROM CALLING!! It’s really easy, I’ll explain everything you need to know. It’s your representative’s job to represent you before congress!! How can they represent you if they don’t know what your opinions are? All you do is this – after you call the number you’ll get a message telling you that you’ve reached so in so’s office. The message will ask you to leave your name and number and a message. When it beeps just leave a message saying, “I would like to ask representative __________ to vote “yes” on the Stupak-pitts amendment, and that they would use the full weight of their influence and position to ensure that federal dollars are NEVER used to fund abortions.” OR whatever you want to say. If a live person answers they’ll say, “__________’s office how can I help you?” And just tell them that you want to leave a message for your representative requesting a yes vote on the Stupak amendment, and that they would do everything in their power to protect the sanctity of life and keep abortion funding out of the health care bill. And then they’ll tell you thank you for calling and let you know that they’ll pass the message along.

That’s it. Simple as calling your best friend and leaving a message. No debating, no complicated questions, just leaving a message. Super simple. No reason every single one of you can’t call. And you pronounce Stupak “Stew pack” in case you were worried about that. Lol. Cuz I know some of you probably were, cuz I was. I didn’t want to sound like an ignorant kid that didn’t know how to pronounce the man’s name. And if you have any other questions I would be more than happy to answer them.

Also, I have to vent for a minute and say that it REALLY bothers me when people my age, young adults (I‘m 23), ignore events like this and just assume the older generation will deal with it. 1 Timothy 4:12 says “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.” We’re supposed to be LEADING this fight! Don’t just tune out every time you hear something political. Be involved in your world. God gave you a voice! Don’t squander that gift by refusing to use it for His glory! Don’t you remember the parable of the talents? Matthew 25:29 “For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance.“ God is a VERY wise investor, and those who yield a high return and use the “talents” that he has given them He will give more too. If you use your voice and influence for Him than He will be sure to give you more influence and a more impactful voice. People have said to me, “but really, what difference is my one phone call going to make?” But I say to that Matthew 25:21 “He who is faithful with little will be faithful with much.” If you will use your voice even when you think it’s unimportant and won’t make a difference, than God will bring you to a place where your voice does make a difference. When He sees that you will be faithful with what you currently have He will give you more. Every person really does count and make a difference.

And even if the bill still passes with abortion funding in it at least we will know that the blood of the innocent is not on our hands. That we did everything in our power to stop it, that we raised our voices in opposition. That we refused to let those babies die without a fight. I would rather fail while daring greatly than join those with “cold and timid souls who have never known neither victory or defeat.”

“It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly…who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who have never known neither victory or defeat.”
-Teddy Roosevelt

Which group will you be in? The critic or the one in the arena?

Living to destroy God’s loneliness,
Chris Ulery

http://www.CHPHMinistries.com

http://www.ChrisUlery.com

Abortions Covered In Health Care Reform

This is another call to action i made to my Facebook group concerning the new health care bill.  Please help me get this message out by forwarding it to as many people as possible.

To view or join the group go here. http://www.facebook.com/chrisulery?ref=name#/group.php?gid=10168895951

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Hey everyone!
It’s been quite a while since i wrote all of you and i hope all of you are doing well! I’ve been on the road the majority of the summer and have been really busy and haven’t had a lot of time to write. It’s been a great summer tho, i hope it has been for you as well.

The reason i’m writing you now is because it is again a crucial point in our nation’s history and it is imperative that we as pro-life believers stand up to defend innocent lives. All that is required for evil to prosper is for good men (or women) to do nothing. How can we call ourselves Christians and refuse to take a stand and fight for the things that our precious Jesus holds dearest to His heart? We MUST make our voices heard!

If your wife/girlfriend/husband/boyfriend (whatever you have) was having the people they love threatened you would lay down your life to defend them. It is our responsibility as the bride of Christ to do the same for Him. The bottom portion of this email will explain to you how to take the steps to make a difference. It is an email copied and pasted from Bound4Life (http://bound4life.com/blog), Jay Sekulow (http://aclj.org/), and Don Wildmon (http://action.afa.net/). I would recommend getting on their mailing lists if you’re not already.

Please don’t just read this email and then delete it doing nothing. It is our responsibility to fight! Lives are literally at stake, don’t let their blood be on our hands! We can make a difference if we will choose to step out of our comfort zones to do so. If you don’t understand all the legal stuff that’s alright. You do understand that Congress is pushing for national healthcare coverage that includes mandatory coverage for abortions. As long as you make it clear that you want abortion services removed from mandatory coverage than that is all you need to understand. Just call them and say that. You don’t have to understand anything else to call. Besides, everything you would need to understand is included in the bottom portion of this email if you will just take the time to read it. The bill is a death decree.

As you read this you are feeling prompted to do something to make a difference. Don’t ignore that or say “Someone else will do it.” ALL of us are needed right now. The rest of this email will explain what you need to do. Forward this on, write blogs, send messages, start threads, etc, whatever it takes to get awareness out there about this issue. Martin Luther King Jr. said this, “In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” Let’s not be one of Jesus’ “silent friends.” TAKE ACTION NOW!

“Storm the gates ye proud and strong. Are we not invincible?”

Living to destroy God’s loneliness,
Chris Ulery
http://www.CHPHMinistries.com
http://www.ChrisUlery.com
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From Bound4 Life:

Bullying Blue Dogs: Rep Waxman Twists Arms and Morals

Time is now. There is a 39 day window to make a difference before Congress returns after Labor Day, September 8th 2009

Much prayer has gone up in recent weeks for the House Blue Dogs to take a stand against the taxpayer-funded abortion mandate in this current health care reform bill. When a proposed bi-partisan amendment to reinsert “Dornan Amendment” language (prevents tax dollars from paying for abortions) was repeatedly blocked in the Appropriations Committee, it became apparent to everyone in the pro-life movement that an ominous freight train of death was rolling into the nation with an agenda cleverly shielded from the eyes of the American people.

Negotiations
Then a glimmer of hope was seen last week when the seven Blue Dog Democrats on the Energy and Commerce Committee began to take a stand on the issue. There were negotiations over their concerns, but last Friday the meeting exploded in anger as the Blue Dogs walked out on the Committee meeting declaring to the media that Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) had been negotiating in bad faith. Rep. Charlie Melancon (D-LA) went on to say, “I’ve been lied to. We have not had legitimate negotiations. Mr. Waxman has decided to sever discussions with the Blue Dogs who are trying to make this bill work for America.”

A Seeming Step Forward
Yesterday, Thursday, July 30th 2009, the Energy and Commerce Committee allowed a vote on an amendment to the Health Care Bill stating:

Health care legislation moving through Congress may not impose requirements for coverage of abortion, except in limited cases.

Extraordinarily, the amendment passed, and things seemed positive for moment. But the step forward was to be short-lived. Despite objections Chairman Waxman invoked special House rules to FORCE THE AMENDMENT TO A SECOND VOTE late Thursday night only after putting pressure on a couple of the committee members. Rep. Zack Space (D-OH), who had not voted the first time, voted “NO” on the amendment, and Rep. Bart Gordon (D-TN) changed his yes vote to “NO” giving Waxman his 1-vote majority.The amendment to prevent your taxpayer dollars from funding abortion was defeated 30-29.

Battle Lines
This is an outrage but it serves a vital function. It exposes the fact that the upper echelon of House leadership has a clear agenda to advance and expand the abortion industry. It demonstrates that they will do whatever it takes to ensure it’s success. The White House has not ruled out government-funded abortions yet, and they will be hand-picking the panel of medical experts that will make the decision. The battle lines over taxpayer-funded abortion have been made abundantly clear. In spite of the fact that 71% of Americans oppose government-funded abortion, agenda-driven bureaucrats are doing everything they can to move the freight train of death forward and running over anything and anyone that dares to get in their way. This bill is designed to “bail out” Planned Parenthood and the abortion industry at a time when the majority of Americans self-identify as “pro-life.” Take action now during August Recess to stop this death agenda that would be the greatest expansion of abortion since Roe v Wade.

Take Action:
1. You must call your Representatives and Senators during Recess and attend town hall meetings to tell them NOT to support the current health care reform bill. Be sure to tell them that you don’t want taxpayer-funded abortion.
2. California, Tennessee and Ohio residents should call Rep. Waxman, Rep. Gordon and Rep. Space to let them know that:
A. You don’t want your tax dollars to pay for abortion in a government take-over of health care, and…
B. They made the WRONG decision in voting in Committee to support it. (Tell Waxman he should not have undone the “YES” vote on the amendment. Tell Gordon he should not have changed his vote.)

1. Henry Waxman- (323) 651-1040 CA, (202) 225-3976 DC
2. Bart Gordon- (202) 225-4231
3. Zack Space- (202) 225-6265

3. Pray for the Blue Dogs. NOTE: Not all of them are pro-life.
A. Pray for boldness to stand up against political pressure seeking to advance the abortion agenda and undermine their conscience.
B. Pray that they would have a revelation of the sanctity of human life in the womb and fight to defend it.

4. Pray that the voice of Planned Parenthood would be silenced in the halls of Congress and that the will of the Lord would be clearly heard.

Take A Stand

Folks, retweets and email forwards aren’t enough! You must aggressively start to talk about this yourself. Start your own discussions, your own Facebook threads, MySpace bulletins and blogs, letters to your local newspaper editors and comments on political blogs. Attend town hall meetings with your Representatives and engage in public debate. Talk to your pastor. Address your church. Organize church prayer groups. The time is NOW. You have 39 days to make a difference before Congress returns after Labor Day on September 8th.

READY, SET, GO!

Matt Lockett
Director- Bound4LIFE & JHOP DC

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From American Center for Law & Justice:

As a committed member of the ACLJ, I urge you to take a bold stand today on behalf of life by contacting your Senators immediately.

As you know, Congress is pushing for national healthcare coverage that includes mandatory coverage for abortions. As a result, abortion would be considered a ”health benefit” in both government and private insurance plans … that’s EVERY health insurance plan in America, including YOURS.

This is reprehensible! The American Center for Law and Justice is demanding that Congress insert a critical exemption – REMOVE abortion services from mandatory coverage. And we need you to take action by getting personally involved!

Stand with the ACLJ to keep abortion services out of national healthcare legislation. Call Senator Pryor and Senator Lincoln immediately at the numbers we’ve provided for you below.

Decisions about this issue in the coming weeks are essential to the future of the pro-life movement – and, more importantly, the millions of unborn babies killed as a result of any insurance-covered abortion.

So make your voice heard today. Without a specific exemption, abortion will be a part of mandatory coverage under universal healthcare.

Uphold the sanctity of life! Call Sen. Pryor and Sen. Lincoln today and urge them to keep abortion services out of national healthcare legislation. Thank you.

* Senator Mark Pryor: (202) 224-2353
* Senator Blanche Lincoln: (202) 224-4843

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From American Family Association – Don Wildmon:

My friend Gary Bauer has proposed some questions for you to ask your Senators and Representative about ObamaCare. I’m asking all AFA supporters to get a group together and go to your Senators and Representative offices and ask these questions. Most Senators and Representatives have Townhall meetings in their district during their August break. Get the schedule and attend the meetings. Urge others to do the same. Have different groups at different locations to ask these questions to make sure the Congressman is consistent.

Here are Gary’s recommendations. Yesterday, President Obama conceded that there probably won’t be a vote on healthcare reform until “the end of September or the middle of October.” That means you have August to attend town hall meetings with your representative and senators, stop by their congressional offices, write letters to the editor and educate your friends and family members about the dangers of socialized medicine. To help you in that effort, we’ve produced a short list of key concerns and questions, which are copied below. Please share this report with like-minded folks and those who may be undecided and willing to listen. Thank you for everything you do to defend our shared values in your community!

1. ABORTION
Pro-choice groups, like NARAL and Planned Parenthood, are demanding that abortion be covered in any healthcare reform bill. In a recent interview with Politico, Laurie Rubiner, vice president for public policy and advocacy at Planned Parenthood, defends this demand by saying, “the alternative would be slashing benefits for millions of women who currently have [private] coverage for abortions…” In addition, key administration officials refuse to rule out abortion coverage. When asked on Fox News Sunday whether taxpayer money would go to pay for abortions, White House Budget Director Peter Orszag replied, “I am not prepared to say explicitly that right now. It’s obviously a controversial issue, and it’s one of the questions that is playing out in this debate.”

Pro-life senators on the Senate’s Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee forced a roll call vote on the issue when Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) attempted to add an amendment to the healthcare bill that would, in her words, “include women’s health clinics that provide comprehensive services…deemed medically necessary or appropriate.” She admitted that such “health clinics” would include Planned Parenthood. The pro-life amendment to prohibit funding of abortion lost 11-to-12.

Question for your Congressmen: Will you oppose any healthcare reform bill that uses my tax dollars to pay for abortions?

Is Kris Allen a “dying star” ?

This is a message I sent to my FB group.  You can view and join the group here.

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=10168895951

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With all of the current excitement within the Christian community right now about Kris Allen I felt the desire to share a video with you. It is a song called “Dying Star” by Jason Upton whom is one of my favorite “artists.” This song was one of my favorite songs for a very long time. I hope that you will take a minute to watch the video and let the message touch your heart. I didn’t create the video, i just found it on Youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaQdCLZJLPU

Also, I would like to ask all of you to pray for Kris Allen. He has been thrust onto the world’s stage and will be put under immense pressure to compromise. Many of the decisions he will make in the next few days will be a cross roads decision for him. Pray that He will acknowledge who the true Star is and choose to glorify Him and not himself. That kind of fame could easily cause a person to lose focus and track of why they have been put there. I’m not necessarily saying that God was responsible for causing Kris to win. . . I don’t know. All I know is that Kris now has an opportunity to make a huge impact in this world for Christ if he can stay focused on doing so. And we can help him do that with our prayers. The bible says the prayers of a righteous man availeth much.

This kind of influence, fame, and power will either destroy the life, marriage and ministry that Kris had, or it will be the ultimate opportunity to do more with it than he ever dreamed possible. Lets pray for him that it’s the latter.  America needs to start destroying its idols, not making more of them.  Let’s pray that Kris doesn’t become an idol in his own eyes or anyone else eyes.

For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Matthew 16:26

Living to destroy God’s loneliness,
Chris Ulery
http://www.CHPHMinistries.com
http://www.ChrisUlery.com

And ps, if you’re not already familiar with music and ministry of Jason Upton i strongly recommend you check him out.

I need a hero.

A blast sent to my Facebook group “Represent Christ with your Facebook” on April 2.  It’s an impassioned plea for you to become who you were born to be.  You can join the group by clicking here.

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Hey everyone,

It’s 4 in the morning but my heart is burning again and I need your attention for a few minutes.

I’m a huge Lord Of The Rings fan. Including the “Silmarillion” and “The Hobbit.” I own the collectors extended edition of all the movies, own all the books (and have read them multiple times), as well as owning other LOTR memorabilia. I even purchased a replica of the Sword of Elindel that was used in the movie. (Aragorn’s sword) But I don’t like the story of the LOTR trilogy simply because it was a well written entertaining novel. I like and relate to the story because it is actually a more accurate glimpse into reality than this tangible reality that we live in every day that seeks to lull us asleep. I know that LOTR is classified as fantasy, but I would describe it as the ultimate reality.

It’s easy to get caught up in the busyness of every day life. School, work, shopping, social life, etc. But there is so much more to life than Monday – Friday 8 to 5 and getting a paycheck. The truth is you were born into a battle, a battle over the eternal fate of every living soul. Your story here on earth has a beginning and an end, and it will be remembered for eternity. There are no second chances, no redo’s – just the story of what you chose to do with your time on earth. For good or for evil. For God or for self. And what you choose to do with your brief years here on earth will determine your placement upon entering eternity. And I don’t just mean Heaven or Hell, but that most certainly included.

I love to watch movies and read books like LOTR that remind and hint at the glory and splendor that man was created for. It is not vanity or pride to desire that. In fact we should desire that. It’s what we were created for. We were created in the image of God and are called “kings and priests” that will “rule WITH Him.” Don’t get me wrong, not OUR glory, for all glory belongs to God alone. However, I have heard it said that the glory of God is man fully alive. I don’t know that I fully agree with that, but I would agree that man fully alive brings God glory. And the nobility, valiancy, honor and splendor that is illustrated by the stories of the kings of old is how God originally intended man to be. It is appropriate to desire it. The simple minded, shallow, apathetic, “responsible”, unadventurous, boring, vain, and selfish image of man that is so often presented as the “norm” in today’s society is a perversion of what man was intended to be. . . . But there is hope.

We have to begin to believe in the bigger picture, to believe that heroes really do exist and that bravery and adventure aren’t just for the movies. We have to begin to understand that the peril and urgency of the moment is even greater than a movie like LOTR can portray. Every single one of us was created with a divine purpose that it is imperative that we discover and fulfill. As a Christ follower It is NOT YOURS to DECIDE what to do with your future, but it is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to DISCOVER what you were created for. Only in that will you ever truly find fulfillment.

It is possible for even one person to change the course of history. Do you believe that? If not than you have already lost the battle. That’s what satan wants you to believe. You, even alone, have the ability to make a difference. You MUST believe that. I could name a long list right now of lone men/women that changed the world. . . and you have the power to become one of them. When the earth as we know it has come to an end and all that remains of it are the stories of how we lived our lives, what will your story be? Will it be characterized by selfishness and vain ambition, apathy and disinterest, or will you rise to the occasion and allow the world to see what God can do with even one man or woman fully devoted to Him.

The signs of the times are obvious. I think that soon we will be entering a time when there will be a great need for heroes. Valiant men and women willing to stand against the greatest darkness of our time and raze up a standard against it. Already millions of potentially unborn lives are calling out pleading for someone to fight for them. Already untold thousands of young ladies are trafficked for sex all the while praying in the deep watches of the night that God would send someone to save them. Already there are starving and abandoned children all across the globe desperate to be loved and cared for. And already there are billions of lost and broken souls on a one way path to an eternity in Hell. Already the need is great and it is still growing. Once we’ve reached the end of all things and have entered into our eternity, what will history say of what YOU chose to do against such darkness? Make your story one worthy of eternity. I cannot stress enough the urgency of the hour. You MUST find your place. There is no time to waste.

I’m sending out a call, to every man and woman that NOW is the time for action. We must make straight the path for the Lord, beginning with our own lives. I believe that a great wave is coming. And that only those that have prepared their lives will be able to ride it. All others will be crushed by it. I’m not trying to be a fearmonger but simply trying to express that NOW is the time to get your life in order. There are some in this group that the Lord has been dealing with you to cut off certain relationships. You need to do that sooner rather than later. Others have just been playing games – sleeping around, getting drunk, partying. That has to stop. Confess the secret sins, quit pretending. Destroy the double life. The wages of sin is death and it will destroy you if you don’t repent. God has an infinitely better and more fulfilling plan for you full of purpose.

All of us need to take stock of our lives and begin to work at getting every part of it lined up in accordance to the word of God. “He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed.”- Matthew 21:44 You cannot have this world and God. “But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve. . . But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” – Joshua 24:15 This world has nothing for you. God will use those that forsake all and follow Him in a way greater than they could have ever dreamed or imagined. He is the rewarder of those that diligently seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6) Those that do answer the call should prepare to be promoted.

The adventure begins today. The peril, battles, adventure, heroism, and urgency taken from the scenes of LOTR is actually a more accurate description of life than the time clock at your work. Don’t forget that. I used to wish that I could just jump into the T.V. and become a part of the movie until one day when I realized that I was already living in an epic adventure. And that the importance of my quest was actually greater than Frodo’s or Aragorn’s and that my life carried just as much purpose. You were born for such a time as this. “For if you remain silent at this time. . . you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?” Esther 4:14

I implore you to discover what it was you were created for, and then to throw yourself wholeheartedly into accomplishing your purpose. “Put aside the ranger, become who you were born to be.” This world needs passionate people, and the Lord is looking for His heroes. You now have permission to become one of them.

“Storm the gates ye proud and strong, are we not invincible?”

Living to destroy God’s loneliness,
Chris Ulery
http://www.CHPHMinistries.com
http://www.ChrisUlery.com

Invite your friends to become a part of this group of forerunners willing to send out a clarion call through the darkness. And if you feel this message should be read by someone you know please forward it on.

Valentines Day Encouragement

Okay, i was a little late on the upload of this one, but this was a blast i sent out to my FB group on Valentines Day.

Hey everyone!

Happy Valentines Day! I know this day can be a hard day for some of us so I wanted to encourage you. Plus, it’s been a while since I talked with you all and I just wanted to check in with everyone and see how you are all doing, and catch you up with me. So drop me a line and let me know what‘s up. I used to talk to some of you quite often but communication has kind of died down lately. Hope everything is going well.

I’ve found myself in a very exciting time recently. God has been very good to me. Right now I am touring with a band called Newfire and we are opening for a band called FFH that has decided to get back together after a two year break. I have moved to Tulsa, OK from Little Rock, AR and have gotten plugged into a church called Victory Christian Center. Which has to be in the top 3 coolest churches in the nation. It’s amazing. There seems to be an unending supply of completely amazing people there. God has given me a very nice place to live, a good close circle of friends, and I get to travel around the nation and (soon to be) world ministering with Newfire. I’m getting to meet a lot of new people, make new friends, and do a lot of things that I have dreamed about doing ever since I was 12. But there is a reason I’m telling you all this. And here’s why.

This particular season in my life happens to be a very happy and easy one. BUT, not to long ago I was going through a very lonely and pretty difficult time emotionally. It seemed like all of my friends were getting married, getting exciting career opportunities, or moving away to college and doing all sorts of fun things. I, on the other hand, felt like I was the only single guy left in Benton, AR doing the same ol’ boring routine, still living with my parents. I would get up, go to work, come back home and do nothing. . . And then do it all over again the next day. I didn’t have a life AT ALL. I hardly ever went and hung out with friends, the majority of them had moved away, and the ones that hadn’t were always busy or married. I remember seeing a sticker that said, “I love my computer, all my friends live in it” and thinking that pretty much described my life. Lol. I felt very forgotten, rejected, and unimportant. I really felt like I was getting left behind while everyone else was moving on with life.

God became the only thing I had. I started hanging out with Him all the time because He was the only person I had to hang out with. Every day I would go to Tyndall Park and walk around for hours just talking to Him. I had nothing else to do. But through that process I began to really fall in love with Him. And it was during those intensely lonely days that I really developed a passion for the Lord, and that was also when the whole vision for CHPHM and my life was given to me and fleshed out. I would never want to experience the hurt and loneliness that I went through during those times again, however, I would not exchange the things that the Lord taught me during those times for the world. Every time I preach, every time I lead worship, or even every time I minister one on one it is out of that place of intimacy that I developed during those lonely days of just Him and me. And I realized that God had me in that place for a reason. He was after something. . . My heart. I’m not saying that God caused any of the bad things that happened to me to happen, cuz He didn’t. But He does want us to come to the place where we realize that He is ALL we need. We don’t need to be popular, we don’t need a girlfriend, we don’t need to be touring, we don’t need a socially impressive job, NO! ALL we need is Him. And God used that lonely time in my life to teach me that. When every other “crutch” in my life was removed God was the only thing I had to lean on.

But the thing is that God wants to be our only “crutch” all the time, not just when things are bad. It’s easy when cool things start happening in our life to sort of put God on a shelf and forget about Him (that deeply hurts Him) But when we do that it proves that God was not really our source in the first place. But that all the “things” were. Now I’ve got a lot going on, but I still spend quality time with God every day. Not because there’s nothing else to do, but because I WANT to. Because I got addicted to Him during the lonely times. Now I have to fight to create time to spend with God. But I make sure I do. Because He is my source, not all the things happening around me. I don’t want to be the person that only loves God during the bad times and when I need His help. No, God is my everything during the bad times AND during the good times. He IS my good time. I want you to pay very close attention to what I’m about to say next. So focus – What we do during the hard times of our life will determine how high we can excel during the good times of our life. If the only time you love God is when there is nothing else going on and times are bad, well . . . Just keep in mind that God is relentlessly pursuing your heart and so He knows how to get you into a position to seek Him . . . But it is how we react to life when it is hard that will determine how far God will take us in the good times.

“God is the rewarder of those that diligently seek Him.” That verse is so true. If you will diligently seek God during the lonely and hard seasons of your life, than I PROMISE you will be greatly rewarded for it. So after spending two years of my life in this “wilderness” season of just me and God – All of the sudden out of the blue a guy calls me that I met ONE time in a small Podunk town called Paren (sp?) at a small church camp in Arkansas nearly 7 years ago!! He had come across my website and found my number on it. So he calls me up, tells me he is going on tour with Warren Barfield (an Essential Records artist) and wants me to go on tour with him as drummer. And then the rest is history. Now I live in Tulsa constantly surrounded by amazing people and friends and always meeting new ones, with new and exciting plans being told to me daily. Loneliness for me is now just a memory. That is part of the reward for me because I diligently chose to seek God during the hard times instead of get bitter.

So let me encourage you, if this Valentines day you feel forgotten, lonely, and unimportant, let me remind you that there is a lover that is relentlessly pursuing your heart. So let Him have it. I promise you will never regret it. And the reward will be greater than anything you can imagine.

Okay I’m done. Have a good day. And FYI – I will be appearing with Newfire on “The Harvest Show” on the 19th on Lesea Broadcasting at 9-10am ET. Tune in if you feel like it.

Okay I gotta go catch a plane, I’ve got a Kung Fu Panda party tonight with my friends in Nashville, TN. Woot woot. And if you want to have a good laugh I just started a new group that you should join. Nothing to take to seriously or anything, but if you like to laugh this group is for you. It’s called Extreme Ironing. Here’s the link. http://www.facebook.com/s.php?k=100000004&id=50047178313&gr=2&a=7&sid=789a2e0c6fae69079df4b7d20a7817ed#/group.php?gid=50047178313.

Living to destroy God’s loneliness,
Chris Ulery
http://www.CHPHMinistries.com
http://www.ChrisUlery.com

Christ as lover? What?

This is a note I just sent out to my Facebook group about what it means to destroy God’s loneliness and to know Christ as a lover.  You can check out the group by clicking here.

Hey everyone,

As I sit down to write this it is a very late Monday night.  But I had to get out of bed to start writing as my heart once again is burning with a message from the Lord.  The Lord is desperately wanting to reveal Himself in a new way in these last days.  Christ is wanting desperately for His people to know Him as a lover, for us to be His bride.  I know this doesn’t make sense to a lot of people so let me explain. There are many different types of relationships that we can have with God, depending on the person of the Godhead we are referring to (God, Jesus, Holy Spirit).  The three relationships being 1) the child of God (knowing God as our father), 2) being the bride of Christ (Knowing Jesus as our lover), and 3) being a student of the Holy Spirit (knowing the Holy Spirit as our counselor, comforter, and best friend).

The relationship type burning on my heart at this moment is the one that I think is most neglected, misunderstood, and unfortunately rarely experienced by the church. (and when I say church I mean the body of Christ as a whole).  The relationship type I’m referring to is knowing Christ as our lover (being the bride of Christ.)  Many people get weirded out when they hear that Jesus is supposed to be our lover . . . Especially guys. Lol.  But it’s not weird at all when you actually begin to understand it.

The Bible teaches that since Jesus paid the price for our sins on the cross that we can now BOLDLY come before the throne of grace.  And of course if the Bible says it it’s true.  We as the children of God can now boldly come before God even with all our junk, baggage, and sin because Christ has made us righteous.  We don’t have to change anything to come before God the Father.  When we come to Him, being in His presence will change us – not vice versa.  But that is the first step, that is knowing God as Father.  And that will get us to Heaven.  But the Father desires for us to also know, and marry, his son Jesus.

And just like a natural marriage requires faithfulness, loyalty, and devotion to operate properly so does our marriage to Christ.  Over and over again through out scripture the Bible references us as being the “Bride of Christ” and Ephesians 5 actually paints a picture for us of how natural marriage is to be a picture of the relationship we are to have with Christ.  The intimacy that a husband and wife experience with each other is the same kind of intimacy that Christ desires to share with us.  Intimacy is what destroys loneliness, and that is why we are here. (to destroy God’s loneliness) There is no greater love than the selfless love experienced in a covenant marriage relationship.  And it is that depth of relationship that Christ wants to experience with us.

There is a scripture in the bible that says “For many are called, but few are chosen.”  To really understand the context of that scripture you need to read the first part of Matthew 22.  I used to always wonder what that scripture meant until one day I realized it was referring to our marriage to Christ.  Paraphrased it means, “Many are called to become the Bride of Christ, but few are chosen because few will first choose Him.”  The Message translation actually says, “Many get invited; only a few make it.” When you read in Matthew 22 about  the parable of the marriage feast the King is symbolic for God the Father, and the son is of course symbolic of Jesus.  Basically its saying that God is hosting the wedding ceremony for Jesus. When a man shows up for the wedding ceremony dressed in the wrong attire the King actually has the man thrown out into the outer darkness. . . . Point being, there is a requirement to be at Christ’s wedding ceremony.

I know sometimes it may seem like I’m preaching just a lot of do’s and don’ts.  A bunch of rules and laws.  And many times I’ve been accused of being legalistic.  And sometimes men do preach legalism and falsely label it holiness.  However, Jesus does require that His bride walks in holiness.  For the Bible says, “He is coming back for a pure and spotless bride.” Some translations say, “A bride without spot or blemish.” Not an unfaithful slut.  Men, think about what you want your bride, or future bride to be like.  Do you want her to be faithful, do you want her flirting and ogling all over other men?  No, of course not!  Do you think Christ is any different?  Would it hurt you if your bride was unfaithful to you and was cheating on you with someone else?  Well it’s hurts Christ even worse when we cheat on Him with the ways of the world because He loves His bride even more than you love yours.  This is about loyalty in a romantic relationship.

I don’t pursue purity and holiness because it’s the right thing to do.  I pursue purity and holiness because I know that when I sin it hurts Christ.  I don’t view it as sinning against a law, I view it as deeply hurting my intimate lover.  Christ once said through a prophet, “When you hate sin because it HURTS ME – then it will lose its grip on you. When you hate sin because it displeases ME – its hold diminishes.”  I’m simply trying to point out that holiness is not about rules, it is about relationship.  We have to hate sin because it hurts our lover!  It’s not about will power, or mere discipline. None of us has the will power to withstand evil.  It is about love.  Passionate romantic love.  The Bible says, “If you LOVE me than keep my commandments.” It is much easier to sin against a law than it is to sin against our lover. It is only by the grace of God that we can receive the love required to live as the bride of Christ.  But if we will simply spend time in His presence than we will receive the grace necessary to be His bride and DESTROY HIS LONELINESS!!

Many people don’t understand the whole “Living to destroy God’s loneliness” thing.  But just as a man can become lonely waiting for his bride to come, Christ can become lonely while the very bride he came to rescue ignores Him and pursues other lovers.  If you would like to understand and read more about what it means to “destroy God’s loneliness” than please go to http://www.CHPHMinistries.com and click on the “Vision” tab, and then read the “How it began” section.  There I explain in much greater detail what it means to destroy God’s loneliness.

If you are struggling with a habitual sin the greatest advice I can give is to simply start spending quality time with Jesus, even if you’re struggling and bound up in a lot right now.  As you spend time with Him you will get to know Him.  And to know Him is to love Him, and once you fall in love with Him you will be on the path to freedom as your desire to protect His heart from pain begins to outweigh your desire for sin.  Remember, His grace is enough.

Living to destroy God’s loneliness,
Chris Ulery

http://www.CHPHMinistries.com

http://www.ChrisUlery.com

Hymn to Hitler (‘08 Elections)

In Germany, when Hitler came to power, it was a time of terrible financial depression. Money was worth nothing. In Germany people lost homes and jobs, just like in the American Depression in the 1930s, which we have read about in Thoene’s Shiloh books.

In those days, in my homeland, Adolph Hitler was elected to power by promising “Change.”

He blamed the “Zionists” around the world for all our problems. He told everyone it was greedy Zionist Bankers who had caused every problem we had. He promised when he was leader, the greedy Zionist bankers would be punished. The Zionists, he promised, would be wiped off the face of the earth.

So Hitler was elected to power by only 1/3 the popular vote. A coalition of other political parties in parliament made him supreme leader. Then, when he was leader, he disgraced and expelled everyone in parliament who did not go along with him.

Yes. Change came to my homeland as the new leader promised it would.

The teachers in German schools began to teach the children to sing songs in praise of Hitler. This was the beginning of the Hitler Youth movement. It began with praise of the Fuhrer’s programs on the lips of innocent children. Hymns in praise of Hitler and his programs were being sung in the schoolrooms and in the playyard. Little girls and boys joined hands and sang these songs as they walked home from school.

My brother came home and told Papa what was happening at school. The political hymns of children proclaimed Change was coming to our homeland and the Fuhrer was a leader we could trust.

I will never forget my father’s face. Grief and fear. He knew that the best propaganda of the Nazis was song on the lips of little children. That evening before he said grace at the dinner table, he placed his hands upon the heads of my brothers and me and prayed the Living Word upon us from Jeremiah 1:4-5…

‘Now the Word of the Lord came to me, saying,
“Before I formed you in the
womb I knew you,
and before you were born I
consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet to
The nations.”

Soon the children’s songs praising the Fuhrer were heard everywhere on the streets and over the radio. “With our Fuhrer to lead us, we can do it! We can change the world!”  Soon after that Papa, a pastor, was turned away from visiting elderly parishioners in hospitals. The people he had come to bring comfort of God’s Word, were “no longer there.”

Where had they vanished to while under nationalized health care? It became an open secret. The elderly and sick began to disappear from hospitals feet first as “mercy killing” became the policy. Children with disabilities and those who had Down syndrome were euthanized.

People whispered, “Maybe it is better for them now. Put them out of misery. They are no longer suffering…And, of course, their death is better for the treasury of our nation. Our taxes no longer must be spent to care for such a burden.”

And so murder was called mercy.

The government took over private business. Industry and health care were “nationalized.” (NA-ZI means National Socialist Party) The businesses of all Jews were seized. (Perhaps you remember our story in Berlin on Krystalnacht in the book Munich Signature)

The world and God’s word were turned upside down. Hitler promised the people economic Change? Not change. It was, rather, Lucifer’s very ancient Delusion leading to Destruction.

What began with the propaganda of children singing a catchy tune ended in the deaths of millions of children. The reality of what came upon us is so horrible that you in this present generation cannot imagine it.

Our suffering is too great to ever tell in a book or show in a black and white newsreel. When I spoke to Bodie about some of these things, she wept and said she could not bear to write them. Perhaps one day she will, but I asked her, “who could bear to read our suffering?”

Yet with my last breaths I warn every Christian and Jew now in the name of the Lord, unless your course of the church in America is spiritually changed now, returning to the Lord, there are new horrors yet to come.

I trembled last night when I heard the voices of American children raised in song, praising the name of Obama, the charismatic fellow who claims he is the American Messiah. Yet I have heard what this man Obama says about abortion and the “mercy killing” of tiny babies who are not wanted.

There are so few of us left to warn you. I have heard that there are 69 million Catholics in America and 70 million Evangelical Christians. Where are your voices? Where is your outrage? Where is passion and your vote? Do you vote based on an abortionist’s empty promises and economics? Or do you vote according to the Bible?

Thus says the Lord about every living child still in the womb…

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you…”

I have experienced the signs of the politics of Death in my youth. I see them again now.

Christians! Unless you stand up now, you will lose your freedom of religion. In America priests and preachers have already lost their freedom to speak openly from their pulpits of moral danger in political candidates. They cannot legally instruct you of which candidate holds fast to the precepts of scripture! American law forbids this freedom of speech to conservative pastors or they will lose their “tax exempt” status.

And yet I have heard the words of Obama’s pastor damning America! I have heard the words of Obama damning and mocking all of you in small towns because you “Cling to your religion…” But I am a woman whose name is unknown.. My life is recorded as a work of fiction. I have no fear of reprisal when I speak truth to you from the pages of a book. (Though the Zion Covenant books are mocked and condemned by the Left in America.) I am an old woman and will soon go to be with my Lord. I have no fear for myself, but for all of you and for your children, I tremble.

I tremble at the hymns to a political leaders which your children will sing at school. (Though even now a hymn or a prayer to God and our Lord Jesus is against the law in public school!) Your vote must put a stop to what will come upon America if Barrack Obama is elected.

I pray you will personally heed this warning for the sake of your children and your grandchildren. Do not be deceived.

The Lord in Jeremiah 1:7-8 commands every believer to speak up!

“Do not say, ‘I am only a youth,’ for to all whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of them for I am with you, declares the Lord!”

I am in Prayer for you, and for the Church!
Spoken to you in the authority of Jesus the Christ,
the Name Above All Names,
Lori Kalner

See You At The Pole 08

This morning my roommate Josh and I got to lead worship for a “See You At The Pole” event in Sapulpa Oklahoma. It was an elementary school and it was their first time to ever have a “See You At The Pole.” It was AWESOME! We opened in prayer, then had a time of worship, and then broke up into three groups to pray for 1 of 3 things that the organizer had on her heart to pray for. They were “Faculty and Staff”, “Military”, and unfortunately I don’t remember the third one. There were about 40 people or so there. Maybe a little over including parents and teachers.

It was really special for me to get to be a part of leading worship for a “See You At The Pole” event. I attended “See You at the Pole” every year from middle school through high school – and then I attended even after I was out of school to video tape them. So I was very glad I got to be a part of this one as well. It is just so awesome to me that all across the country students get to gather at their SCHOOL flag pole to PRAY. In this day and age (with all the political correctness and tolerance garbage) that is a very massive thing. I am so thankful to the Lord for it. Thank you Jesus!!

The lunch lady invited Josh and I inside after we were finished with the event for a hot breakfast: pancakes on a stick. It was awesome. It was my first time to be back in a school cafeteria in 4 years. I’d actually missed it. We got to sit and eat with all of the elementary school students. It was a marvelous time. All of the 5th grade girls thought we were the stuff. They told us we looked like the Jonas brothers. HA! Which I hope that I don’t really, but I think that coming from that age bracket it is probably a compliment. Lol.

Tonight NewFire played at “That Free Thing” a SYATP after party and evangelistic event where ten different churches came together to worship. It was AWESOME as well. I had a whole lotta of fun and met some really cool folks. And I had an awesome chili dog. It was worth mentioning. Anyways, I’ll have footage of that event up soon in the “NewFire Tour Vlog Series.” So stay tuned! God bless.

Get Real! Confessions of a local church.

I recently preached a sermon at a church here in my hometown of Benton, AR entitled “Get Real!”  (The sermon from that morning is available for free download here.  www.CHPHMinistries.com/media.html)  In the sermon I basically shared all my “deepest darkest secrets” about my past and how God taught me to get free of my addictions through the power of public confession.  I was really worried about preaching and sharing my testimony to this particular congregation because most of them were in their 40’s, 50’s, and 60’s and had been attending church for decades.  I figured the content of my sermon would not be very relevant to people that seemingly had it “all together.”  I was wrong.

Before service started I had attached little yellow sticky notes to the back of all the chairs.  At the end of the sermon I invited everyone to fill out the #1 thing that was coming between them and their walk with God.  Then I had them bring the sticky notes up to the front and lay them at the foot of the cross as a symbolic gesture that they were committing to do whatever it required to get freedom, including public confession.  Here are some of the responses I received.

A large percentage of the congregation was struggling with:

Masturbation

Pornography

Sexual immorality

Others wrote responses like:

Dishonesty

Deceitful lips

Stealing

Hatred

Unforgiveness

Gluttony

And then of course there were the more “churchy” responses which I had naively expected would be the majority coming from an older “christianese” crowd.

Such as:

Not reading my Word enough

Not making God #1

However, there were very few of the “christianese” replies.  The majority of the replies dealt with a form of sexual immorality.  Namely, masturbation and pornography.  This explained to me why God had placed such a push on me to share what I did.

Everyone is pretending.

Okay, not everyone.  However I never would have guessed that response is the one that I would have received from a church where the main demographic is married couples over 40.  I think it is a window into the state of the western church as a whole.  The greatest tragedy is not people that have been Christians for most of their lives are still dealing with elementary issues, but it’s the cause of it.

Secrecy.  We’ve turned church into a costume party.

People have been trained that they have to put their best foot forward, pretending that every thing is under control.  They feel like they are a freak for going what they are going through.  They think that they are the only ones, that everyone else has it together and that they are just a “weak link.”  They don’t know that everyone else is just pretending too.  They’re scared to be found out, scared that they’ll be rejected and ridiculed for being human.  They are scared to show their weakness fearing that it will be preyed upon rather than lovingly mended.  And you know what?  Unfortunately there have been cases where ignorant but well intending people have done just that.  Rather than helping a brother in need, instead chose to finish him off with their judgmental and critical attacks and attitudes.

THIS IS NOT RIGHT!  We are supposed to be the hospital where broken people come to be healed.  NOT THE JUDGE AND JURY!  The church is the very place where people should be running to be mended and nurtured and helped out of their pit.  Instead it has become the number one place where people fear to let their true selves be seen.  We have to turn that around!  We should be attracting the hurting, broken, lonely and scared.  We should seek out the hopeless.  Not repel them with our self righteous and holier than thou attitudes.

AND WE START BY BEING REAL OURSELVES!  Don’t pretend to be perfect.  If you’ve got issues be real about it.  This will encourage and help others be the same.  It will show them that they are not alone in their fight.  We can’t expect to reach people while setting ourselves up on unreachable plateaus based in deceit.  We have to be reachable, we have to be real.  And that is where we will find the ability to truly walk in purity.  “Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective” (James 5:16)  “He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy” (Proverbs 28:13)

It is OUR responsibility to make sure the lost, hurting, and broken feel comfortable coming to us for help. If they are scared to come to us it is OUR fault.  And most of them are, because we’ve done a poor job being honest with the world.  I know that when I was first coming out with my sin seeking help that I was extremely fearful of rejection.  And that is just unfortunate.  There should always be a prevailing sense of unconditional love that smothers everything we do.  And perfect love casts out fear.

I encourage all of you to check out this testimony about public confession from Pure Life Revolution.

www.pureliferevolution.net/testimonies-mitchm.html

I applaud Church of the Burning Heart for their boldness and courage in confessing and taking the steps necessary to rid themselves of everything that would hold them back from Christ.

To visit the CHPHM media page and hear the audio from the service described above click on the image below.  The sermon is available for free download.  It is the sermon entitled “Get Real!”

www.CHPHMinistries.com/media.html

The Burn 24/7. Cool Jesus story.

So a couple of weeks ago my older sister Sarah tells me about this organization called “The Burn 24/7″ and how she is all jazzed about it and how it is amazing. lol. So she shows me the website. It is basically 24/7 worship just for the specific purpose of getting into God’s presence. There are 40 different Burn centers (or “furnaces” as they call them) across the US and also some in foreign nations. At these “Furnaces” they meet once a month and will go 72 hours straight night and day of doing nothing but worshipping. No one preaches, no one prays (they do in the congregation, but not corporately led from the microphone), it is just praise and worship to the King for the sole purpose of getting into His presence. They describe themselves as “presence junkies” and they describe the Burn services as hanging out in God’s living room. Here, check it out for yourself. There is a video on the front page.  www.burn24-7.com

Me and my sister both thought it was really cool. We noticed that there was one in Arkansas so we started contemplating how we could get involved with it. It looked like something that we would really love to be a part of. Shortly after that we heard about a prayer and worship event that some locals were putting together at the Little Rock River Market Amphitheatre with an IHOP team and a team from the Burn in Tulsa! We were really pumped about getting to meet and connect with the Burn team to see how we could get involved. Well, a couple of days before the event we heard that the Burn team had to cancel. We were a little bummed but still excited about the event. So we go.

I am minding my own business sitting on a bench in the amphitheatre worshipping the Lord when I see my sister waving me over. When i get to her she is talking to another woman. It ends up that it is the National Director for The Burn from the headquarters in Dallas!

This is what had happened before my sister called me over. The national director for The Burn (Tracey) was talking to the director of “Praise on the River” (the event that we were at) when she saw me. She asked the director, “Who is that over there in the yellow shirt?” My sister was standing close to them and overheard them. So she spoke up and said, “That my little brother.” Tracey asked, “Is he a minstrel?” My sister told her yes. So Tracey said, “Call him over here.”

When I got over there Tracey said, “Have you ever heard of The Burn?” I told her that my sister had told me about it. She went on to explain that she was the national director and was from the headquarters in Dallas, TX. She told me the reason that she had called me over was because when she saw me she had seen in the Spirit the same mantle on me that all of the worship leaders for The Burn carry! (Keep in my mind, I had never seen or met this lady before in my life and I thought that all the Burn people had cancelled)

She proceeded to ask me if i had ever considered doing music and worship for a living. I told her that i was going to be in a couple of months. After talking for a couple of minutes she invited me to get involved with The Burn and also invited me to lead worship for The Burn events. She told me that I could even do it while i was on the road. Stopping at different Burns across the nation!

So I went from just wanting to know how i could get in contact with someone at The Burn to being personally invited by one of the National Directors to lead worship at any Burn across the US! Just because she saw a mantle on me in the Spirit when she saw me at the event. Now that is an encounter that i could never have dreamed up or created on my own. God is so creative.

Tracey also talked and prayed with my sister about becoming a director for a Burn Center here in central Arkansas!

My sister and I are going to experience our first Burn service this week. I’m excited!