Bienvenidos! Welcome!

Welcome to our blog page. After spending about five years serving as missionaries in Guatemala we are now in Minot, ND working at planting a Spanish church. We encourage you to check out the different information on this site. Thanks to all who have supported us with their prayers, thoughts, and finances. We couldn´t do it without you.

God Bless...

the Goedkers
Telephone: 218-331-8168701-500-9951
davidgoedker@hotmail.com; sherrigoedker@hotmail.com



The MOST IMPORTANT Question...

If you died RIGHT NOW, today, are you SURE that you would spend eternity in heaven? The Bible says that we can be sure where we will spend eternity right now. The Bible says, "all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Rom 3:23). Sin is defined as transgression of the law (1 Jn 3:4). The Law (i.e. 10 Commandments) is God's standard of goodness. If we can keep the commandments, we can enter heaven. BUT, we must keep ALL of the Commandments and NEVER fail (Jam 2:10). Have you ever lied? If so, you are a liar in God's eyes. Ever stolen anything, the value makes no difference. If you have, you are a thief. The Bible also says that if we hate someone we are murderers and if we have ever looked with lust we are adulterers at heart. As you can see, it is impossible to keep the Law. The Bible says that "the wages of sin is death..." (Rom 6:23). Because we have sinned we have earned the wages of death and must pay for our sins forever in the Lake of Fire, Hell (Rev 21:8). God is just and thorough. He will judge every sin, even our thoughts and the secret intentions and motives of our hearts. God requires perfection in order to enter heaven and He will not let sin enter. Remember the story of Jesus on the cross when Jesus cried out saying " My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" (Mat 27:46). Do you know why He said that? For all of eternity the Father and Son had a close intimate relationship. But when Jesus was on the cross, the Bible says that all our sins were placed upon Jesus (1 Pet 2:24). God the Father turned His back on His only son. Why? Because of sin. Not Jesus' sin, He had no sin. It was for OUR sin that was upon Jesus that the Father turned away. Now, just think of what will happen to YOU if you die in your sins if the Father turned His back on His only Son Jesus who had no sin of His own. This is very bad and sobering news. It would appear at this point that there is no hope, that we are all doomed. But wait! There's more... God doesn't want ANYONE to go to hell (Jn 3:16). This is the reason that Jesus came to earth. God showed His loved to us in that "while we were yet sinners, Christ died FOR US" (Rom 5:8). In other words, we owed a sin debt that we could not have paid and Jesus satisfied it by shedding His own blood on the cross as a payment for us on our behalf. He satisfied the just demands of a holy Law. This is a free gift (Eph 2:8-9). We can not earn it. We can not buy it. We can not do anything in order to obtain it. BUT, we must turn from our religion, our good works, and everything that we have trusted in to help us get to heaven and we must turn to God. The Bible says, "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved" (Rom 10:9). It's like this: You are walking along living life your own way when suddenly you realize you are a sinner on your way to spend eternity in hell. You stop, turn to God and say, "I am a terrible sinner. I deserve to go to hell forever. I am sorry God and realize that you are right and I am wrong. Please forgive me. I put all my trust and hope in the shed blood of Jesus Christ to wash away my sins. I believe that He paid for ALL of my sins and I believe that You accepted His payment by raising Jesus from the dead. Thank you God for salvation. Amen." At that very moment the Bible says that you are passed from death unto life (Jn 5:24). Please know that the prayer does not save you. It is the fact that you are putting your faith and trust in the saving and cleansing power of the blood of Jesus Christ for your salvation based on the promise of God's Word, the KJV Bible. Please don't delay. Think about the reality of these things and call upon the name of the Lord today for your salvation and forgiveness of sins (Rom 10:13). May God bless you.

Friday, May 4, 2012

Guatemalan President wants to end Drug Wars

Guatemalan president Otto Perez Molina recently called for an end to the war on drugs. According to the Costa Rican newspaper Tico Times, Perez proposed "decriminalization of illicit drugs as an alternative to the bloody wars being fought with drug traffickers." Online news mag Take Part stated that, "In the time of Drug War, more than 100,000 people have been killed across Mexico and Central America in the service of feeding the U.S. appetite for recreational substances." The U.S. is the leader of illicit drug use. A 2008 CBS news report stated that "Despite tough anti-drug laws, a new survey shows the U.S. has the highest level of illegal drug use in the world." But although the U.S.A. is the "beneficiary" of the illegal drugs, it is the Mexicans, Guatemalans, and other Central American residents that reap most of the fallout. According to Wikipedia, Guatemala currently has one of the world's highest per capita murder rates at 39 which is 8 times higher than the USA rate. Perez sees the futility behind the so-called "War on Drugs." It breeds violence and breaks up families. One area that the U.S.A. still leads the world in is per capita prison population. According to Wikipedia, the U.S. rate per 100,000 is 730. Much of that is due to illegal drug use by those caught with small quantities. Wikipedia states alarmingly that "Perhaps the single greatest force behind the growth of the prison population [in the U.S.A.] has been the national 'war on drugs.' The number of incarcerated drug offenders has increased twelvefold since 1980. In 2000, 22 percent of those in federal and state prisons were convicted on drug charges." From working with inmates for a number of years, I have seen the firsthand damage incarceration has done to families because of the "war on drugs." It only tears them apart. Furthermore, it educates the non-violent on how to be better criminals when they are released. Perhaps it is time to ask the question "Who is really benefiting from this war?" It is time to follow the money. According to DrugSense.org "The U.S. federal government spent over $15 billion dollars in 2010 on the War on Drugs, at a rate of about $500 per second." Where does all that money go? The "war on drugs" is BIG Business. During the prohibition, there was much violence. Remember the 1920's and the organized crime that came out of the prohibition? We realized that the prohibition of alcohol was a failure and ended it eventually. What is the difference between that and the "war on drugs?" Alcohol is addictive, it impairs one's ability to drive, it sometimes leads to violent behavior, etc. However, many "illegal" drugs affect a person to a lesser degree or not at all in the aforementioned categories. The main point is that taking drugs and/or alcohol is a moral choice and each adult must have the right to decide for himself. Finally, it should be noted that, as far as safety goes, legal prescription drugs result in more annual deaths than illegal drugs. According to an article on NaturalNews.com, "the FDA admits that 100,000 people die every single year as a result of taking FDA-approved pharmaceutical drugs." However, in an article in DivineCaroline.com entitled The Truth About Drug Use (Illegal and Legal), the author states that "According to statistics there are 18,000 over dose deaths in this country due to illegal drug use in this country every year. Approximately 54,000 includes deaths from drug related illnesses, some include aids, hepatitis, TB." Therefore, the total of annual illegal drug deaths is approximately 72,000. In other words, the odds are better to die by ingesting the legal drugs than the illegal. And I would guess that the FDA figure does not include the long-term affects that shorten people's lives or lower their quality of life. I know of one individual who is suffering from an incurable disease which was brought on by ingesting too many prescribed antibiotics. While I am NOT for taking illegal drugs NOR for drinking alcohol, I am for the choice. This was not the case several years ago. But now I recognize the "war on drugs" is perhaps more dangerous that the drugs themselves. I furthermore, see the ingestion of drugs and/or alcohol as a moral decision. And if it is a moral decision it falls in the area of the responsibility of the church. Yes! It is the responsibility of each saved person to change the culture by seeking and saving (i.e. evangelizing) the lost. When there is a true "heart change" by someone hearing and receiving the Gospel of Jesus Christ, a "change of heart" about taking drugs or drinking alcohol will naturally follow. It is not the government's job to "change hearts," it is the church's job. Let's admit that the "war on drugs" has failed like the prohibition of alcohol and assume our responsibility in society as Christians and change hearts through spreading what Christ has done. 

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Are YOU evil?

If you KNOW something is evil, and DO nothing about it, you are COOPERATING with evil. If you COOPERATE with evil, you are PARTICIPATING with evil. If you PARTICIPATE with evil, you are DOING evil. If you DO evil, You ARE evil. In a court of law you would be PROSECUTED. Don't think for one moment that willful ignorance is a valid defense. Not asking questions amounts to giving permission for evil. Today there is no lack of evil in this world. But many Christians are burying their heads in the proverbial sand through sports, entertainment, and other self-interests. They are either unaware or are willfully ignorant of what is actually going on in the world. They expect our government to solve all the moral issues of the day including alcoholism, drug addiction, poverty, etc. But morals absolutely can not be legislated. It is OUR RESPONSIBILITY to change the hearts and minds of the people through the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is NOT the responsibility of the government. Once the heart is changed, changed morals will follow. But too many Christians involve themselves in the political process in order to effect this change and neglect their first duty; to preach the gospel to every creature. IF you are a Christian, DO something. Look around. Ask questions. What seems to be is not necessarily so. Read your Bible! Prophecy is being fulfilled in front of our very eyes each day. Just because you will be raptured before everything gets really bad does not mean that you should neglect your primary responsibility; to seek and save the lost. Go! Do something! Make your life count for something bigger than your self. One day you will stand before God and give account for what you did, or didn't do, while on earth. If that doesn't make you tremble, perhaps it is time to ask yourself if you are really saved. May God bless you as you go about HIS business.

The Crash of the Dollar will Fulfill Bible Prophecy...

The Bible talks about 10 economic unions that will form in the last days (Dan 2 & 7;Rev 13 & 17) like the European Union. This is coming to pass before our very eyes. There are 10 ecomomic unions already planned, the USA, Canada & Mexico being one of them. One way to cause this union to come to pass is by destroying the dollar. Many countries have already backed away from using the dollar as a standard. It is just a matter of time before the dollar crashes and we see hyperinflation with all of the bailouts from the Bush and Obama presidencies and the Quantatative Easing measures of the current administration that have taken place in the recent few years. One way to protect yourself financially is to change your dollars into silver or gold. I believe that silver will outperform gold due to the lower cost and greater ability for the masses to obtain it. Please go to Silversaver to find out how you might protect your assets during these difficult times. "Lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh." (Luke 21:28)

Are YOU 100% Sure That You Will Go To Heaven When You Die?