And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work. (2 Corinthians 9:8)
Jesus said, "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." (John 10:10).
This well-known promise is sometimes interpreted by some (prosperity preachers) to mean that the Christian life would be full of material prosperity and happiness. The words "abundantly," "abounding," and similar terms all come from the Greek word, which does mean "abundant." But it can also apply to sorrow, as well as happiness.
The Christian's life should be abundant in good works, because of God's saving and keeping grace that He has shown so abundantly toward us. Having been "stablished in the faith," we are to be "abounding therein" (Colossians 2:7). We should also "abound in love." "And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you" (1 Thessalonians 3:12).
But, Saints, we may also experience much sorrow and difficulty in this life. Paul was a good example. "...in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft" (2 Corinthians 11:23). We may abound in poverty. For the Christians at Philippi, for example, "in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality" (2 Corinthians 8:2) Our sufferings can always be aleviated by God's abounding grace. "For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ" (2 Corinthians 1:5). Our God of all grace "is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us" (Ephesians 3:20).
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Bible Study Scripture References for Dec. 21, 2008
Patience_Sue: 1 Chronicles 16:12 Remember his marvelous works that he hath done, his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth;
Danny-n-Lisa: 1
Danny-n-Lisa: good
Patience_Sue: hello
Patience_Sue: 1 Chronicles 16:12 Remember his marvelous works that he hath done, his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth;
Patience_Sue: 1 Chronicles 16:23 Sing unto the LORD, all the earth; show forth from day to day his salvation.
Patience_Sue: 1 Chronicles 16:24 Declare his glory among the heathen; his marvelous works among all nations.
Patience_Sue: 1 Chronicles 16:25 For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised: he also is to be feared above all gods.
Patience_Sue: 1 Chronicles 16:26 For all the gods of the people are idols: but the LORD made the heavens.
Patience_Sue: 1 Chronicles 16:27 Glory and honour are in his presence; strength and gladness are in his place.
Patience_Sue: 1 Chronicles 16:28 Give unto the LORD, ye kindred of the people, give unto the LORD glory and strength.
Patience_Sue: 1 Chronicles 16:29 Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.
Patience_Sue: 1 Chronicles 16:30 Fear before him, all the earth: the world also shall be stable, that it be not moved.
Patience_Sue: Leviticus 19:4 Turn ye not unto idols, nor make to yourselves molten gods: I am the LORD your God.
Patience_Sue: Exodus 20:1 And God spake all these words, saying,
Patience_Sue: Exodus 20:2 I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
Patience_Sue: Exodus 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Patience_Sue: Exodus 20:4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
Patience_Sue: Exodus 20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
Patience_Sue: Exodus 20:6 And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
Patience_Sue: Acts 15:20 But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.
Patience_Sue: Acts 15:19 Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God:
Patience_Sue: Acts 15:20 But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.
Patience_Sue: Exodus 32:4 And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
Patience_Sue: Exodus 32:5 And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to the LORD.
Patience_Sue: Ezekiel 14:1 Then came certain of the elders of Israel unto me, and sat before me.
Patience_Sue: Ezekiel 14:2 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Patience_Sue: Ezekiel 14:3 Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I be enquired of at all by them?
Patience_Sue: Ezekiel 14:4 Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the LORD will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols;
Patience_Sue: Ezekiel 14:5 That I may take the house of Israel in their own heart, because they are all estranged from me through their idols.
Patience_Sue: Ezekiel 14:6 Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Repent, and turn yourselves from your idols; and turn away your faces from all your abominations.
Patience_Sue: Ezekiel 14:7 For every one of the house of Israel, or of the stranger that sojourneth in Israel, which separateth himself from me, and setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to a prophet to enquire of him concerning me; I the LORD will answer him by myself:
Patience_Sue: Ezekiel 14:8 And I will set my face against that man, and will make him a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from the midst of my people; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
Patience_Sue: Ezekiel 14:9 And if the prophet be deceived when he hath spoken a thing, I the LORD have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand upon him, and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel.
Patience_Sue: Ezekiel 14:10 And they shall bear the punishment of their iniquity: the punishment of the prophet shall be even as the punishment of him that seeketh unto him;
Patience_Sue: Ezekiel 14:11 That the house of Israel may go no more astray from me, neither be polluted any more with all their transgressions; but that they may be my people, and I may be their God, saith the Lord GOD.
Patience_Sue: Acts 15:20 But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.
Patience_Sue: Revelation 2:14 But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.
Patience_Sue: Revelation 2:20 Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.
Danny-n-Lisa: 1
Danny-n-Lisa: good
Patience_Sue: hello
Patience_Sue: 1 Chronicles 16:12 Remember his marvelous works that he hath done, his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth;
Patience_Sue: 1 Chronicles 16:23 Sing unto the LORD, all the earth; show forth from day to day his salvation.
Patience_Sue: 1 Chronicles 16:24 Declare his glory among the heathen; his marvelous works among all nations.
Patience_Sue: 1 Chronicles 16:25 For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised: he also is to be feared above all gods.
Patience_Sue: 1 Chronicles 16:26 For all the gods of the people are idols: but the LORD made the heavens.
Patience_Sue: 1 Chronicles 16:27 Glory and honour are in his presence; strength and gladness are in his place.
Patience_Sue: 1 Chronicles 16:28 Give unto the LORD, ye kindred of the people, give unto the LORD glory and strength.
Patience_Sue: 1 Chronicles 16:29 Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.
Patience_Sue: 1 Chronicles 16:30 Fear before him, all the earth: the world also shall be stable, that it be not moved.
Patience_Sue: Leviticus 19:4 Turn ye not unto idols, nor make to yourselves molten gods: I am the LORD your God.
Patience_Sue: Exodus 20:1 And God spake all these words, saying,
Patience_Sue: Exodus 20:2 I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
Patience_Sue: Exodus 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Patience_Sue: Exodus 20:4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
Patience_Sue: Exodus 20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
Patience_Sue: Exodus 20:6 And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
Patience_Sue: Acts 15:20 But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.
Patience_Sue: Acts 15:19 Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God:
Patience_Sue: Acts 15:20 But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.
Patience_Sue: Exodus 32:4 And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
Patience_Sue: Exodus 32:5 And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to the LORD.
Patience_Sue: Ezekiel 14:1 Then came certain of the elders of Israel unto me, and sat before me.
Patience_Sue: Ezekiel 14:2 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Patience_Sue: Ezekiel 14:3 Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I be enquired of at all by them?
Patience_Sue: Ezekiel 14:4 Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the LORD will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols;
Patience_Sue: Ezekiel 14:5 That I may take the house of Israel in their own heart, because they are all estranged from me through their idols.
Patience_Sue: Ezekiel 14:6 Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Repent, and turn yourselves from your idols; and turn away your faces from all your abominations.
Patience_Sue: Ezekiel 14:7 For every one of the house of Israel, or of the stranger that sojourneth in Israel, which separateth himself from me, and setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to a prophet to enquire of him concerning me; I the LORD will answer him by myself:
Patience_Sue: Ezekiel 14:8 And I will set my face against that man, and will make him a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from the midst of my people; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
Patience_Sue: Ezekiel 14:9 And if the prophet be deceived when he hath spoken a thing, I the LORD have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand upon him, and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel.
Patience_Sue: Ezekiel 14:10 And they shall bear the punishment of their iniquity: the punishment of the prophet shall be even as the punishment of him that seeketh unto him;
Patience_Sue: Ezekiel 14:11 That the house of Israel may go no more astray from me, neither be polluted any more with all their transgressions; but that they may be my people, and I may be their God, saith the Lord GOD.
Patience_Sue: Acts 15:20 But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.
Patience_Sue: Revelation 2:14 But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.
Patience_Sue: Revelation 2:20 Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
A CHRISTMAS CONVICTION
A Christmas Conviction
by Christine McCoy December 2008
Tinkling lights and essence of Pine
Popcorn balls and Auld Lang Syne
Nativity scenes and Barbie dolls
Oh Holy Night and Deck the Halls!
Presents to buy and cookies to bake
Cards to mail out and decorations to make.
Cantatas, fruitcakes and kids on Santa's lap
Mingling Holy, hype and Hell as one -we didn't see the trap.
The house was cleaned from bottom to top
No prayers today we could not stop.
Family coming in -put the Bible away
No religious preaching during their stay!
Caroling, caroling through the snow
The truth of the matter we did not know
Over the river and through the dell
we were laughing all the way- to Hell.
Where comes from all the fa la la?
the gluttonous self indulgence and hoop-la?
From the pit of Hell it came with a plan,
to steal the hearts and souls of man!
Here is the quandary-though I know the truth
I feel myself drawn to the delights of my youth.
Succumbing to pressure from family and friends
I find myself tempted to return again.
Somewhat wistful and feeling strangely sad
deprived of ornaments, candy canes and the things I had.
Let me lean on You Jesus and fill me just the same,
Knowing it's not when you were born but why
by Christine McCoy December 2008
Tinkling lights and essence of Pine
Popcorn balls and Auld Lang Syne
Nativity scenes and Barbie dolls
Oh Holy Night and Deck the Halls!
Presents to buy and cookies to bake
Cards to mail out and decorations to make.
Cantatas, fruitcakes and kids on Santa's lap
Mingling Holy, hype and Hell as one -we didn't see the trap.
The house was cleaned from bottom to top
No prayers today we could not stop.
Family coming in -put the Bible away
No religious preaching during their stay!
Caroling, caroling through the snow
The truth of the matter we did not know
Over the river and through the dell
we were laughing all the way- to Hell.
Where comes from all the fa la la?
the gluttonous self indulgence and hoop-la?
From the pit of Hell it came with a plan,
to steal the hearts and souls of man!
Here is the quandary-though I know the truth
I feel myself drawn to the delights of my youth.
Succumbing to pressure from family and friends
I find myself tempted to return again.
Somewhat wistful and feeling strangely sad
deprived of ornaments, candy canes and the things I had.
Let me lean on You Jesus and fill me just the same,
Knowing it's not when you were born but why
Bible Study Scripture References for Dec. 14, 2008
Alert: This is a G rated room intended for a General Audience including minors. Offensive language is not permitted.
Alert: A weekly Bible Study for those who are coming out of the apostate institutional church system. This is a G Rated room.
BobbiLyn: Welcome to http://www.apostasywatch.com/ Sunday morning live Bible study and fellowship.
BobbiLyn: Jer 6:10 To whom shall I speak and testify, that they may hear? behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken: behold, the word of Jehovah is become unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it.
BobbiLyn: Jer 6:11 Therefore I am full of the wrath of Jehovah; I am weary with holding in: pour it out upon the children in the street, and upon the assembly of young men together; for even the husband with the wife shall be taken, the aged with him that is full of days.
BobbiLyn: Jer 6:12 And their houses shall be turned unto others, their fields and their wives together; for I will stretch out my hand upon the inhabitants of the land, saith Jehovah.
Jer 6:13 For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them every one is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely.
BobbiLyn: Jer 6:14 They have healed also the hurt of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.
BobbiLyn: Jer 6:15 Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore they shall fall among them that fall; at the time that I visit them they shall be cast down, saith Jehovah.
BobbiLyn: Jer 6:16 Thus saith Jehovah, Stand ye in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way; and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls: but they said, We will not walk therein.
BobbiLyn: Jer 6:17 And I set watchmen over you, saying, Hearken to the sound of the trumpet; but they said, We will not hearken.
Jer 6:18 ¶ Therefore hear, ye nations, and know, O congregation, what is among th
BobbiLyn: Jer 6:19 Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not hearkened unto my words; and as for my law, they have rejected it.
BobbiLyn: Jer 6:20 To what purpose cometh there to me frankincense from Sheba, and the sweet cane from a far country? your burnt-offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices pleasing unto me.
BobbiLyn: Jer 6:21 Therefore thus saith Jehovah, Behold, I will lay stumbling-blocks before this people; and the fathers and the sons together shall stumble against them; the neighbor and his friend shall perish.
BobbiLyn: eb 9:23 ¶ It was necessary therefore that the copies of the things in the heavens should be cleansed with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.
BobbiLyn: Heb 9:24 For Christ entered not into a holy place made with hands, like in pattern to the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear before the face of God for us:
Heb 9:25 nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place year by year with blood not his own;
BobbiLyn: Heb 9:26 else must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once at the end of the ages hath he been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
Heb 9:27 And inasmuch as it is appointed unto men once to die, and after this cometh judgment
BobbiLyn: Heb 9:28 so Christ also, having been once offered to bear the sins of many, shall appear a second time, apart from sin, to them that wait for him, unto salvation.
actioncross: Mat 2:1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,
actioncross: Mat 2:2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.
actioncross: Mat 2:9 When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.
actioncross: Mat 2:10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.
actioncross: Mat 2:11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.
actioncross: Mat 2:16 Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men.
actioncross: Jer 10:2 Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.
actioncross: Jer 10:3 For the customs of the people [are] vain: for [one] cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe.
actioncross: Jer 10:4 They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.
actioncross: Jer 10:5 They [are] upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also [is it] in them to do good.
actioncross: Jer 10:6 Forasmuch as [there is] none like unto thee, O LORD; thou [art] great, and thy name [is] great in might.
actioncross: Jer 10:7 Who would not fear thee, O King of nations? for to thee doth it appertain: forasmuch as among all the wise [men] of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, [there is] none like unto thee.
actioncross: Jer 10:8 But they are altogether brutish and foolish: the stock [is] a doctrine of vanities.
actioncross: Jer 10:9 Silver spread into plates is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the workman, and of the hands of the founder: blue and purple [is] their clothing: they [are] all the work of cunning [men].
actioncross: Jer 10:10 But the LORD [is] the true God, he [is] the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation.
actioncross: Jer 10:11 Thus shall ye say unto them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, [even] they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens.
Alert: A weekly Bible Study for those who are coming out of the apostate institutional church system. This is a G Rated room.
BobbiLyn: Welcome to http://www.apostasywatch.com/ Sunday morning live Bible study and fellowship.
BobbiLyn: Jer 6:10 To whom shall I speak and testify, that they may hear? behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken: behold, the word of Jehovah is become unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it.
BobbiLyn: Jer 6:11 Therefore I am full of the wrath of Jehovah; I am weary with holding in: pour it out upon the children in the street, and upon the assembly of young men together; for even the husband with the wife shall be taken, the aged with him that is full of days.
BobbiLyn: Jer 6:12 And their houses shall be turned unto others, their fields and their wives together; for I will stretch out my hand upon the inhabitants of the land, saith Jehovah.
Jer 6:13 For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them every one is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely.
BobbiLyn: Jer 6:14 They have healed also the hurt of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.
BobbiLyn: Jer 6:15 Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore they shall fall among them that fall; at the time that I visit them they shall be cast down, saith Jehovah.
BobbiLyn: Jer 6:16 Thus saith Jehovah, Stand ye in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way; and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls: but they said, We will not walk therein.
BobbiLyn: Jer 6:17 And I set watchmen over you, saying, Hearken to the sound of the trumpet; but they said, We will not hearken.
Jer 6:18 ¶ Therefore hear, ye nations, and know, O congregation, what is among th
BobbiLyn: Jer 6:19 Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not hearkened unto my words; and as for my law, they have rejected it.
BobbiLyn: Jer 6:20 To what purpose cometh there to me frankincense from Sheba, and the sweet cane from a far country? your burnt-offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices pleasing unto me.
BobbiLyn: Jer 6:21 Therefore thus saith Jehovah, Behold, I will lay stumbling-blocks before this people; and the fathers and the sons together shall stumble against them; the neighbor and his friend shall perish.
BobbiLyn: eb 9:23 ¶ It was necessary therefore that the copies of the things in the heavens should be cleansed with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.
BobbiLyn: Heb 9:24 For Christ entered not into a holy place made with hands, like in pattern to the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear before the face of God for us:
Heb 9:25 nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place year by year with blood not his own;
BobbiLyn: Heb 9:26 else must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once at the end of the ages hath he been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
Heb 9:27 And inasmuch as it is appointed unto men once to die, and after this cometh judgment
BobbiLyn: Heb 9:28 so Christ also, having been once offered to bear the sins of many, shall appear a second time, apart from sin, to them that wait for him, unto salvation.
actioncross: Mat 2:1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,
actioncross: Mat 2:2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.
actioncross: Mat 2:9 When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.
actioncross: Mat 2:10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.
actioncross: Mat 2:11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.
actioncross: Mat 2:16 Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men.
actioncross: Jer 10:2 Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.
actioncross: Jer 10:3 For the customs of the people [are] vain: for [one] cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe.
actioncross: Jer 10:4 They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.
actioncross: Jer 10:5 They [are] upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also [is it] in them to do good.
actioncross: Jer 10:6 Forasmuch as [there is] none like unto thee, O LORD; thou [art] great, and thy name [is] great in might.
actioncross: Jer 10:7 Who would not fear thee, O King of nations? for to thee doth it appertain: forasmuch as among all the wise [men] of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, [there is] none like unto thee.
actioncross: Jer 10:8 But they are altogether brutish and foolish: the stock [is] a doctrine of vanities.
actioncross: Jer 10:9 Silver spread into plates is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the workman, and of the hands of the founder: blue and purple [is] their clothing: they [are] all the work of cunning [men].
actioncross: Jer 10:10 But the LORD [is] the true God, he [is] the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation.
actioncross: Jer 10:11 Thus shall ye say unto them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, [even] they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Occupied Territory
"But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light."
(1 Peter 2:9)
In our ongoing struggle for both survival and victory in this world, we do well to recognize that we are in enemy territory. While it is true that our Captain created the world -- indeed, "all things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made" (John 1:3) -- sacrificed His life to redeem it, and will reign over it for eternity, it is also true that "the whole world lieth in wickedness" (1 John 5:19), occupied by "the prince of this world" (John 12:31), "the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience" (Ephesians 2:2).
The fact that we are surrounded by such darkness should come as no surprise, for before we were rescued by His grace, we too were part of the darknesss -- indeed, we had to be called out of it. John the Baptist came "to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace" (Luke 1:79). Furthermore, as Christ taught, "men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil" (John 3:19).
This confrontation overshadows mere human conflict, however, "for we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places" (Ephesians 6:12). But praise God, we have been called "out of darkness into his marvellous light" as described in our text. Although we may be still in the world, our King has "delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son" (Colossians 1:13). "In him was life; and the life was the light of men" (John 1:4).
John D. Morris
(1 Peter 2:9)
In our ongoing struggle for both survival and victory in this world, we do well to recognize that we are in enemy territory. While it is true that our Captain created the world -- indeed, "all things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made" (John 1:3) -- sacrificed His life to redeem it, and will reign over it for eternity, it is also true that "the whole world lieth in wickedness" (1 John 5:19), occupied by "the prince of this world" (John 12:31), "the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience" (Ephesians 2:2).
The fact that we are surrounded by such darkness should come as no surprise, for before we were rescued by His grace, we too were part of the darknesss -- indeed, we had to be called out of it. John the Baptist came "to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace" (Luke 1:79). Furthermore, as Christ taught, "men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil" (John 3:19).
This confrontation overshadows mere human conflict, however, "for we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places" (Ephesians 6:12). But praise God, we have been called "out of darkness into his marvellous light" as described in our text. Although we may be still in the world, our King has "delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son" (Colossians 1:13). "In him was life; and the life was the light of men" (John 1:4).
John D. Morris
Friday, December 12, 2008
Bible Study Scripture References for Dec. 12, 2008
Alert: This is a G rated room intended for a General Audience including minors. Offensive language is not permitted.
Alert: A weekly Bible Study for those who are coming out of the apostate institutional church system. This is a G Rated room.
BobbiLyn: Welcome to http://www.apostasywatch.com/ Friday night live Bible study and fellowship.
BobbiLyn: Joe 1:1 ¶ The word of Jehovah that came to Joel the son of Pethuel.
Joe 1:2 Hear this, ye old men, and give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land. Hath this been in your days, or in the days of your fathers?
BobbiLyn: Joe 1:3 Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation.
BobbiLyn: Joe 1:4 That which the palmer-worm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath the canker-worm eaten; and that which the canker-worm hath left hath the caterpillar eaten.
BobbiLyn: Joe 1:5 Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and wail, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the sweet wine; for it is cut off from your mouth.
BobbiLyn: Joe 1:6 For a nation is come up upon my land, strong, and without number; his teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he hath the jaw-teeth of a lioness.
BobbiLyn: Joe 1:7 He hath laid my vine waste, and barked my fig-tree: he hath made it clean bare, and cast it away; the branches thereof are made white.
Joe 1:8 ¶ Lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth.
BobbiLyn: Joe 1:9 The meal-offering and the drink-offering are cut off from the house of Jehovah; the priests, Jehovah's ministers, mourn.
Joe 1:10 The field is laid waste, the land mourneth; for the grain is destroyed, the new wine is dried up, the oil languisheth.
BobbiLyn: Joe 1:11 Be confounded, O ye husbandmen, wail, O ye vinedressers, for the wheat and for the barley; for the harvest of the field is perished.
BobbiLyn: Joe 1:12 The vine is withered, and the fig-tree languisheth; the pomegranate-tree, the palm-tree also, and the apple-tree, even all the trees of the field are withered: for joy is withered away from the sons of men.
BobbiLyn: oe 1:13 Gird yourselves with sackcloth, and lament, ye priests; wail, ye ministers of the altar; come, lie all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God: for the meal-offering and the drink-offering are withholden from the house of your God.
BobbiLyn: Joe 1:14 ¶ Sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the old men and all the inhabitants of the land unto the house of Jehovah your God, and cry unto Jehovah.
Joe 1:15 Alas for the day! for the day of Jehovah is at hand, and as destruction from the Almighty shall it come.
BobbiLyn: Joe 1:16 Is not the food cut off before our eyes, yea, joy and gladness from the house of our God?
Joe 1:17 The seeds rot under their clods; the garners are laid desolate, the barns are broken down; for the grain is withered.
BobbiLyn: Joe 1:18 How do the beasts groan! the herds of cattle are perplexed, because they have no pasture; yea, the flocks of sheep are made desolate.
Joe 1:19 O Jehovah, to thee do I cry; for the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and the flame hath burned all the trees of the field.
BobbiLyn: Joe 1:20 Yea, the beasts of the field pant unto thee; for the water brooks are dried up, and the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness.
BobbiLyn: Re 13:11 ¶ And I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like unto lamb, and he spake as a dragon.
BobbiLyn: Re 13:12 And he exerciseth all the authority of the first beast in his sight. And he maketh the earth and them dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose death-stroke was healed.
BobbiLyn: 1Co 15:47 The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is of heaven.
BobbiLyn: 1Co 15:48 As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.
BobbiLyn: 1Co 15:49 And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
BobbiLyn: Ro 8:6 For the mind of the flesh is death; but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace:
Ro 8:7 because the mind of the flesh is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can it be:
Ro 8:8 and they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
BobbiLyn: Re 13:13 And he doeth great signs, that he should even make fire to come down out of heaven upon the earth in the sight of men.
BobbiLyn: Re 13:14 And he deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by reason of the signs which it was given him to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast who hath the stroke of the sword and lived.
BobbiLyn: Re 13:4 and they worshipped the dragon, because he gave his authority unto the beast; and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? And who is able to war with him?
BobbiLyn: Ro 8:29 ¶ For whom he foreknew, he also foreordained to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren:
Alert: A weekly Bible Study for those who are coming out of the apostate institutional church system. This is a G Rated room.
BobbiLyn: Welcome to http://www.apostasywatch.com/ Friday night live Bible study and fellowship.
BobbiLyn: Joe 1:1 ¶ The word of Jehovah that came to Joel the son of Pethuel.
Joe 1:2 Hear this, ye old men, and give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land. Hath this been in your days, or in the days of your fathers?
BobbiLyn: Joe 1:3 Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation.
BobbiLyn: Joe 1:4 That which the palmer-worm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath the canker-worm eaten; and that which the canker-worm hath left hath the caterpillar eaten.
BobbiLyn: Joe 1:5 Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and wail, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the sweet wine; for it is cut off from your mouth.
BobbiLyn: Joe 1:6 For a nation is come up upon my land, strong, and without number; his teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he hath the jaw-teeth of a lioness.
BobbiLyn: Joe 1:7 He hath laid my vine waste, and barked my fig-tree: he hath made it clean bare, and cast it away; the branches thereof are made white.
Joe 1:8 ¶ Lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth.
BobbiLyn: Joe 1:9 The meal-offering and the drink-offering are cut off from the house of Jehovah; the priests, Jehovah's ministers, mourn.
Joe 1:10 The field is laid waste, the land mourneth; for the grain is destroyed, the new wine is dried up, the oil languisheth.
BobbiLyn: Joe 1:11 Be confounded, O ye husbandmen, wail, O ye vinedressers, for the wheat and for the barley; for the harvest of the field is perished.
BobbiLyn: Joe 1:12 The vine is withered, and the fig-tree languisheth; the pomegranate-tree, the palm-tree also, and the apple-tree, even all the trees of the field are withered: for joy is withered away from the sons of men.
BobbiLyn: oe 1:13 Gird yourselves with sackcloth, and lament, ye priests; wail, ye ministers of the altar; come, lie all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God: for the meal-offering and the drink-offering are withholden from the house of your God.
BobbiLyn: Joe 1:14 ¶ Sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the old men and all the inhabitants of the land unto the house of Jehovah your God, and cry unto Jehovah.
Joe 1:15 Alas for the day! for the day of Jehovah is at hand, and as destruction from the Almighty shall it come.
BobbiLyn: Joe 1:16 Is not the food cut off before our eyes, yea, joy and gladness from the house of our God?
Joe 1:17 The seeds rot under their clods; the garners are laid desolate, the barns are broken down; for the grain is withered.
BobbiLyn: Joe 1:18 How do the beasts groan! the herds of cattle are perplexed, because they have no pasture; yea, the flocks of sheep are made desolate.
Joe 1:19 O Jehovah, to thee do I cry; for the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and the flame hath burned all the trees of the field.
BobbiLyn: Joe 1:20 Yea, the beasts of the field pant unto thee; for the water brooks are dried up, and the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness.
BobbiLyn: Re 13:11 ¶ And I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like unto lamb, and he spake as a dragon.
BobbiLyn: Re 13:12 And he exerciseth all the authority of the first beast in his sight. And he maketh the earth and them dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose death-stroke was healed.
BobbiLyn: 1Co 15:47 The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is of heaven.
BobbiLyn: 1Co 15:48 As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.
BobbiLyn: 1Co 15:49 And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
BobbiLyn: Ro 8:6 For the mind of the flesh is death; but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace:
Ro 8:7 because the mind of the flesh is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can it be:
Ro 8:8 and they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
BobbiLyn: Re 13:13 And he doeth great signs, that he should even make fire to come down out of heaven upon the earth in the sight of men.
BobbiLyn: Re 13:14 And he deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by reason of the signs which it was given him to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast who hath the stroke of the sword and lived.
BobbiLyn: Re 13:4 and they worshipped the dragon, because he gave his authority unto the beast; and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? And who is able to war with him?
BobbiLyn: Ro 8:29 ¶ For whom he foreknew, he also foreordained to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren:
Everlasting Arms
“God-the eternal God-is himself our support at all times, and especially when we are sinking in deep trouble. There are seasons when the Christian sinks very low in humiliation. Under a deep sense of his great sinfulness, he is humbled before God till he scarcely knows how to pray, because he appears, in his own sight, so worthless. Well, child of God, remember that when thou art at thy worst and lowest, yet “underneath” thee “are everlasting arms.” Sin may drag thee ever so low, but Christ’s great atonement is still under all. You may have descended into the deeps, but you cannot have fallen so low as “the uttermost”; and to the uttermost he saves. Again, the Christian sometimes sinks very deeply in sore trial from without. Every earthly prop is cut away. What then? Still underneath him are “the everlasting arms.” He cannot fall so deep in distress and affliction but what the covenant grace of an ever-faithful God will still encircle him.
The Christian may be sinking under trouble from within through fierce conflict, but even then he cannot be brought so low as to be beyond the reach of the “everlasting arms”-they are underneath him; and, while thus sustained, all Satan’s efforts to harm him avail nothing. This assurance of support is a comfort to any weary but earnest worker in the service of God. It implies a promise of strength for each day, grace for each need, and power for each duty. And, further, when death comes, the promise shall still hold good. When we stand in the midst of Jordan, we shall be able to say with David, “I will fear no evil, for thou art with me.” We shall descend into the grave, but we shall go no lower, for the eternal arms prevent our further fall. All through life, and at its close, we shall be upheld by the “everlasting arms”-arms that neither flag nor lose their strength, for “the everlasting God fainteth not, neither is weary.”
- Charles Spurgeon
The Christian may be sinking under trouble from within through fierce conflict, but even then he cannot be brought so low as to be beyond the reach of the “everlasting arms”-they are underneath him; and, while thus sustained, all Satan’s efforts to harm him avail nothing. This assurance of support is a comfort to any weary but earnest worker in the service of God. It implies a promise of strength for each day, grace for each need, and power for each duty. And, further, when death comes, the promise shall still hold good. When we stand in the midst of Jordan, we shall be able to say with David, “I will fear no evil, for thou art with me.” We shall descend into the grave, but we shall go no lower, for the eternal arms prevent our further fall. All through life, and at its close, we shall be upheld by the “everlasting arms”-arms that neither flag nor lose their strength, for “the everlasting God fainteth not, neither is weary.”
- Charles Spurgeon
Revelation 3:17
Revelation 3:17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
During the course of Israel's history, her great sin was trying to get the best from both worlds. They claimed to believe in God but they did not obey Him. They honored Him with their lips but their hearts were far from Him. They left God in the background while they went about their everyday lives, ignoring the warnings from the prophets to repent and turn back to God. This is idolatry.
The church in Laodicea is committing the same sin. It is a very subtle form of idolatry. A member of this church is turned inward. He may claim to be a part of the body of Christ, but his worship is self-centered. This is idolatry!
True worship is a bowing down to God. Laying all "my" wants and desires on the altar daily. These are the burdens that keep us from doing God's perfect will in our lives. If we truly seek to follow Him, we will do as Jesus instructed: Luke 9:23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. Luke 9:24 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.
Taking up that cross is a hard thing; but the reward is great. This is a burden, indeed. But remember also what Jesus said: Matthew 11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. Matthew 11:30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Diana Kukk
During the course of Israel's history, her great sin was trying to get the best from both worlds. They claimed to believe in God but they did not obey Him. They honored Him with their lips but their hearts were far from Him. They left God in the background while they went about their everyday lives, ignoring the warnings from the prophets to repent and turn back to God. This is idolatry.
The church in Laodicea is committing the same sin. It is a very subtle form of idolatry. A member of this church is turned inward. He may claim to be a part of the body of Christ, but his worship is self-centered. This is idolatry!
True worship is a bowing down to God. Laying all "my" wants and desires on the altar daily. These are the burdens that keep us from doing God's perfect will in our lives. If we truly seek to follow Him, we will do as Jesus instructed: Luke 9:23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. Luke 9:24 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.
Taking up that cross is a hard thing; but the reward is great. This is a burden, indeed. But remember also what Jesus said: Matthew 11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. Matthew 11:30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Diana Kukk
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Monday, December 8, 2008
The Song of Creation
"Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding. . . When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?"
(Hib 38L4-7)
It is significant that there was singing at the very time of creation The "morning stars" of this verse are, by Hebrew poetic parallelism, the same as the "sons of God" who were present when God "laid the foundations of the earth." Similarly, "sang together" is parallel with "shouted for joy."
It is thus beautifully appropriate to sing of the glories of God's creation, for angels were doing this even before Adam and Eve were created! The first actual human song mentioned in the Bible, however, was the thanksgiving song of Moses (Exodus 15:1-21), composed and sung by Moses and the children of Israel after their deliverance from Pharaoh and the waters of the sea.
Finally, it is significant that the last song mentioned in the Bible is "the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb" (Revelation 15:3), sung in heaven by "them that had gotten the victory over the beast" (v. 2). This presumably refers back to the original song of Moses, since the deliverance from Pharaoh was, spiritually, a type of their triumph over the beast, the great world ruler in the end times. However, it must now be combined with the song of the Lamb, probably the "new song" of the saints at the Lamb's throne in Revelation 5:8-10, praising the Lord for their redemption through His blood, shed in substitution for their sins.
These should surely be the three major themes of Christian music, for these are the main themes of the Bible's songs. It is fitting that they should refer to the past, present, and future works of Christ -- His mighty work of creation in the beginning, His gracious work of sustenance in the present, and His glorious work of full redemption in the future.
Henry M. Morris
(Hib 38L4-7)
It is significant that there was singing at the very time of creation The "morning stars" of this verse are, by Hebrew poetic parallelism, the same as the "sons of God" who were present when God "laid the foundations of the earth." Similarly, "sang together" is parallel with "shouted for joy."
It is thus beautifully appropriate to sing of the glories of God's creation, for angels were doing this even before Adam and Eve were created! The first actual human song mentioned in the Bible, however, was the thanksgiving song of Moses (Exodus 15:1-21), composed and sung by Moses and the children of Israel after their deliverance from Pharaoh and the waters of the sea.
Finally, it is significant that the last song mentioned in the Bible is "the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb" (Revelation 15:3), sung in heaven by "them that had gotten the victory over the beast" (v. 2). This presumably refers back to the original song of Moses, since the deliverance from Pharaoh was, spiritually, a type of their triumph over the beast, the great world ruler in the end times. However, it must now be combined with the song of the Lamb, probably the "new song" of the saints at the Lamb's throne in Revelation 5:8-10, praising the Lord for their redemption through His blood, shed in substitution for their sins.
These should surely be the three major themes of Christian music, for these are the main themes of the Bible's songs. It is fitting that they should refer to the past, present, and future works of Christ -- His mighty work of creation in the beginning, His gracious work of sustenance in the present, and His glorious work of full redemption in the future.
Henry M. Morris
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Bible Study Scripture References for Dec. 5, 2008
BobbiLyn: Welcome to http://www.apostasywatch.com/ Friday night live on-line Bible study and fellowship.
BobbiLyn: Ho 5:1 ¶ Hear this, O ye priests, and hearken, O house of Israel, and give ear, O house of the king; for unto you pertaineth the judgment; for ye have been a snare at Mizpah, and a net spread upon Tabor.
BobbiLyn: Ho 5:2 And the revolters are gone deep in making slaughter; but I am a rebuker of them all.
Ho 5:3 I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hid from me; for now, O Ephraim, thou hast played the harlot, Israel is defiled.
BobbiLyn: Ho 5:4 Their doings will not suffer them to turn unto their God; for the spirit of whoredom is within them, and they know not Jehovah.
Ho 5:5 And the pride of Israel doth testify to his face: therefore Israel and Ephraim shall stumble in their iniquity; Judah also shall stumble with them.
BobbiLyn: Ho 5:6 They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek Jehovah; but they shall not find him: he hath withdrawn himself from them.
Ho 5:7 They have dealt treacherously against Jehovah; for they have borne strange children: now shall the new moon devour them with their fields.
BobbiLyn: Ho 5:8 ¶ Blow ye the cornet in Gibeah, and the trumpet in Ramah: sound an alarm at Beth-aven; behind thee, O Benjamin.
Ho 5:9 Ephraim shall become a desolation in the day of rebuke: among the tribes of Israel have I made known that which shall surely be.
BobbiLyn: Ho 5:10 The princes of Judah are like them that remove the landmark: I will pour out my wrath upon them like water.
Ho 5:11 Ephraim is oppressed, he is crushed in judgment; because he was content to walk after man's command.
BobbiLyn: Ho 5:12 Therefore am I unto Ephraim as a moth, and to the house of Judah as rottenness.
BobbiLyn: Ho 5:12 Therefore am I unto Ephraim as a moth, and to the house of Judah as rottenness.
BobbiLyn: Ho 5:12 Therefore am I unto Ephraim as a moth, and to the house of Judah as rottenness.
BobbiLyn: Ga 1:6 ¶ I marvel that ye are so quickly removing from him that called you in the grace of Christ unto a different gospel;
Ga 1:7 which is not another gospel only there are some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.
BobbiLyn: Ga 1:8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach unto you any gospel other than that which we preached unto you, let him be anathema.
Ga 1:9 As we have said before, so say I now again, if any man preacheth unto you any gospel other than that which ye received, let him be anathema.
SeattlePaulK777: amen
BobbiLyn: 1Co 1:18 For the word of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us who are saved it is the power of God.
BobbiLyn: 1Co 1:17 ¶ For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not in wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made void.
BobbiLyn: Ps 7:11 God is a righteous judge, Yea, a God that hath indignation every day.
BobbiLyn: Ps 5:6 Thou wilt destroy them that speak lies: Jehovah abhorreth the blood-thirsty and deceitful man.
BobbiLyn: Joh 15:19 If ye were of the world, the world would love its own: but because ye are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
BobbiLyn: Lu 9:57 ¶ And as they went on the way, a certain man said unto him, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.
Lu 9:58 And Jesus said unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the heaven have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.
BobbiLyn: Lu 9:59 And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.
Lu 9:60 But he said unto him, Leave the dead to bury their own dead; but go thou and publish abroad the kingdom of God.
BobbiLyn: Lu 9:61 And another also said, I will follow thee, Lord; but first suffer me to bid farewell to them that are at my house.
Lu 9:62 But Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.
BobbiLyn: Mt 10:34 Think not that I came to send peace on the earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.
BobbiLyn: Mt 10:35 For I came to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law:
Mt 10:36 and a man's foes shall be they of his own household.
BobbiLyn: Mt 10:37 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
Mt 10:38 And he that doth not take his cross and follow after me, is not worthy of me.
BobbiLyn: Mt 13:20 And he that was sown upon the rocky places, this is he that heareth the word, and straightway with joy receiveth it;
BobbiLyn: Mt 13:21 yet hath he not root in himself, but endureth for a while; and when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, straightway he stumbleth.
BobbiLyn: Mt 13:22 And he that was sown among the thorns, this is he that heareth the word; and the care of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.
BobbiLyn: Mt 10:39 He that findeth his life shall lose it; and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.
BobbiLyn: Joh 1:17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
BobbiLyn: Ga 3:24 So that the law is become our tutor to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
BobbiLyn: Ac 2:36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly, that God hath made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom ye crucified.
BobbiLyn: Ac 2:37 ¶ Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and the rest of the apostles, Brethren, what shall we do?
BobbiLyn: Ac 2:38 And Peter said unto them, Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
BobbiLyn: Ac 2:39 For to you is the promise, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call unto him.
BobbiLyn: Ac 7:51 ¶ Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Spirit: as your fathers did, so do ye.
BobbiLyn: Ac 7:52 Which of the prophets did not your fathers persecute? and they killed them that showed before of the coming of the Righteous One; of whom ye have now become betrayers and murderers;
BobbiLyn: Ac 7:53 ye who received the law as it was ordained by angels, and kept it not.
BobbiLyn: Ac 7:54 ¶ Now when they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth.
BobbiLyn: Ac 7:55 But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,
Ac 7:56 and said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God.
BobbiLyn: Ac 7:57 But they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and rushed upon him with one accord;
Ac 7:58 and they cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.
BobbiLyn: Mt 24:24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.
Mt 24:25 Behold, I have told you beforehand.
BobbiLyn: Mt 24:26 If therefore they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the wilderness; go not forth: Behold, he is in the inner chambers; believe it not.
Mt 24:27 For as the lightning cometh forth from the east, and is seen even unto the west; so shall be the coming of the Son of man.
BobbiLyn: Ho 5:1 ¶ Hear this, O ye priests, and hearken, O house of Israel, and give ear, O house of the king; for unto you pertaineth the judgment; for ye have been a snare at Mizpah, and a net spread upon Tabor.
BobbiLyn: Ho 5:2 And the revolters are gone deep in making slaughter; but I am a rebuker of them all.
Ho 5:3 I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hid from me; for now, O Ephraim, thou hast played the harlot, Israel is defiled.
BobbiLyn: Ho 5:4 Their doings will not suffer them to turn unto their God; for the spirit of whoredom is within them, and they know not Jehovah.
Ho 5:5 And the pride of Israel doth testify to his face: therefore Israel and Ephraim shall stumble in their iniquity; Judah also shall stumble with them.
BobbiLyn: Ho 5:6 They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek Jehovah; but they shall not find him: he hath withdrawn himself from them.
Ho 5:7 They have dealt treacherously against Jehovah; for they have borne strange children: now shall the new moon devour them with their fields.
BobbiLyn: Ho 5:8 ¶ Blow ye the cornet in Gibeah, and the trumpet in Ramah: sound an alarm at Beth-aven; behind thee, O Benjamin.
Ho 5:9 Ephraim shall become a desolation in the day of rebuke: among the tribes of Israel have I made known that which shall surely be.
BobbiLyn: Ho 5:10 The princes of Judah are like them that remove the landmark: I will pour out my wrath upon them like water.
Ho 5:11 Ephraim is oppressed, he is crushed in judgment; because he was content to walk after man's command.
BobbiLyn: Ho 5:12 Therefore am I unto Ephraim as a moth, and to the house of Judah as rottenness.
BobbiLyn: Ho 5:12 Therefore am I unto Ephraim as a moth, and to the house of Judah as rottenness.
BobbiLyn: Ho 5:12 Therefore am I unto Ephraim as a moth, and to the house of Judah as rottenness.
BobbiLyn: Ga 1:6 ¶ I marvel that ye are so quickly removing from him that called you in the grace of Christ unto a different gospel;
Ga 1:7 which is not another gospel only there are some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.
BobbiLyn: Ga 1:8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach unto you any gospel other than that which we preached unto you, let him be anathema.
Ga 1:9 As we have said before, so say I now again, if any man preacheth unto you any gospel other than that which ye received, let him be anathema.
SeattlePaulK777: amen
BobbiLyn: 1Co 1:18 For the word of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us who are saved it is the power of God.
BobbiLyn: 1Co 1:17 ¶ For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not in wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made void.
BobbiLyn: Ps 7:11 God is a righteous judge, Yea, a God that hath indignation every day.
BobbiLyn: Ps 5:6 Thou wilt destroy them that speak lies: Jehovah abhorreth the blood-thirsty and deceitful man.
BobbiLyn: Joh 15:19 If ye were of the world, the world would love its own: but because ye are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
BobbiLyn: Lu 9:57 ¶ And as they went on the way, a certain man said unto him, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.
Lu 9:58 And Jesus said unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the heaven have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.
BobbiLyn: Lu 9:59 And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.
Lu 9:60 But he said unto him, Leave the dead to bury their own dead; but go thou and publish abroad the kingdom of God.
BobbiLyn: Lu 9:61 And another also said, I will follow thee, Lord; but first suffer me to bid farewell to them that are at my house.
Lu 9:62 But Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.
BobbiLyn: Mt 10:34 Think not that I came to send peace on the earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.
BobbiLyn: Mt 10:35 For I came to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law:
Mt 10:36 and a man's foes shall be they of his own household.
BobbiLyn: Mt 10:37 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
Mt 10:38 And he that doth not take his cross and follow after me, is not worthy of me.
BobbiLyn: Mt 13:20 And he that was sown upon the rocky places, this is he that heareth the word, and straightway with joy receiveth it;
BobbiLyn: Mt 13:21 yet hath he not root in himself, but endureth for a while; and when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, straightway he stumbleth.
BobbiLyn: Mt 13:22 And he that was sown among the thorns, this is he that heareth the word; and the care of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.
BobbiLyn: Mt 10:39 He that findeth his life shall lose it; and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.
BobbiLyn: Joh 1:17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
BobbiLyn: Ga 3:24 So that the law is become our tutor to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
BobbiLyn: Ac 2:36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly, that God hath made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom ye crucified.
BobbiLyn: Ac 2:37 ¶ Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and the rest of the apostles, Brethren, what shall we do?
BobbiLyn: Ac 2:38 And Peter said unto them, Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
BobbiLyn: Ac 2:39 For to you is the promise, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call unto him.
BobbiLyn: Ac 7:51 ¶ Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Spirit: as your fathers did, so do ye.
BobbiLyn: Ac 7:52 Which of the prophets did not your fathers persecute? and they killed them that showed before of the coming of the Righteous One; of whom ye have now become betrayers and murderers;
BobbiLyn: Ac 7:53 ye who received the law as it was ordained by angels, and kept it not.
BobbiLyn: Ac 7:54 ¶ Now when they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth.
BobbiLyn: Ac 7:55 But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,
Ac 7:56 and said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God.
BobbiLyn: Ac 7:57 But they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and rushed upon him with one accord;
Ac 7:58 and they cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.
BobbiLyn: Mt 24:24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.
Mt 24:25 Behold, I have told you beforehand.
BobbiLyn: Mt 24:26 If therefore they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the wilderness; go not forth: Behold, he is in the inner chambers; believe it not.
Mt 24:27 For as the lightning cometh forth from the east, and is seen even unto the west; so shall be the coming of the Son of man.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
KNOWING AND TRUSTING
In my reading this morning I came across this devotional which is a confirmation of our ladies' bible study last night on Pal Talk. Our dear sister, Helen, (A Seed Sower) was given a word from the Lord and numerous scriptures that gave us comfort in knowing and trusting our Lord. He will never abandon us or leave us. He is our Good Shepherd who leads us and feeds us all our spiritual food and He gives us living waters to drink and He fights our enemies of doubt and fear and gives us comfort when we seek Him. He will finish the work that He began in us. All we need do is trust and obey Him.
"And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek thee." (Psalm 9:10)
When one really knows the name of the Lord, that one will surely come to trust Him. How could anyone fail to trust God and to believe His Word, when they know Him to be the Almighty Creator (Elohim), the self-existing One (Jehovah), and the gracious Master (Adonai)? When they further learn that He is none other than Jesus Christ ("Anointed Savior"), surely they ought to believe and bow in thankful love, calling Him "Lord" by the Holy Ghost (1Corinthians 12:3).
The word for "trust" means "take refuge in." We can trust our Lord for protection from harm, from want, from all the attacks of the wicked one, and finally, from hell itself. That trust is well placed, because the Lord never forsakes those who truly trust Him. The Word confirms this truth over and over again. "(For the Lord thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers" (Deuteronomy 4:31). "I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread" (Psalm 37:25). These are glorious promises, always fulfilled -- that is, with one exception.
The only man who always fully trusted God, who was altogether righteous and who perfectly manifested the Father's name to His disciples and to the world -- that One was forsaken! "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" He cried, as He died on the cross (Matthew 27:46).
And it was because He was willing to be forsaken and to suffer hell itself in our place -- dying for our sins -- that God can make and keep His promise never to forsake anyone who seeks Him and puts their trust in Him, through Jesus Christ.
Henry M. Morris
"And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek thee." (Psalm 9:10)
When one really knows the name of the Lord, that one will surely come to trust Him. How could anyone fail to trust God and to believe His Word, when they know Him to be the Almighty Creator (Elohim), the self-existing One (Jehovah), and the gracious Master (Adonai)? When they further learn that He is none other than Jesus Christ ("Anointed Savior"), surely they ought to believe and bow in thankful love, calling Him "Lord" by the Holy Ghost (1Corinthians 12:3).
The word for "trust" means "take refuge in." We can trust our Lord for protection from harm, from want, from all the attacks of the wicked one, and finally, from hell itself. That trust is well placed, because the Lord never forsakes those who truly trust Him. The Word confirms this truth over and over again. "(For the Lord thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers" (Deuteronomy 4:31). "I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread" (Psalm 37:25). These are glorious promises, always fulfilled -- that is, with one exception.
The only man who always fully trusted God, who was altogether righteous and who perfectly manifested the Father's name to His disciples and to the world -- that One was forsaken! "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" He cried, as He died on the cross (Matthew 27:46).
And it was because He was willing to be forsaken and to suffer hell itself in our place -- dying for our sins -- that God can make and keep His promise never to forsake anyone who seeks Him and puts their trust in Him, through Jesus Christ.
Henry M. Morris
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
COMMITMENT TO GOD
"Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him, and he shall bring it to pass." (Psalm 37:5)
Frustration must come as the saints of God battle with evil forces. The pain and pressure of tourment is nonetheless real as these evil "devices"...(Is 32:7 "Also the schemes of the schemer are evil; He devises wicked plans to destroy the poor with lying words, even when the needy speaks justice." )...take their toll on the people of God.
The Lord will destroy the plans of the wicked... (Psalm 33:10
"The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect.")
...but while those plans are active, they can cause much hurt.
Nevertheless, we must maintain trust in the Lord and commit our lives to Him if we are to be victorious. The unusual Hebrew word galal used here is more often translated as "roll on" or "roll with" something. It seems to imply a unity in the commitment, that the committed one is bound up in the actions or activities of the thing or person committed to -- we "roll on" or "roll with" the Lord in our "way."
Paul spends much of his letter to the Philippians describing the link between the Creator-Savior and the mind, heart, and lifestyle of the Christian who has given his life over to God. "Being confident of this very thing," Paul says, "that he which has begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ" (Phillippians 1:6). We are to "work out" [our] own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure" (Philippians 2:12-13).
While admitting that he had not yet "attained," Paul was so focused on the work of the Kingdom that he was "forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:13-14). God's promise to "bring it to pass" is conditioned on our being committed to His sovereign will for our "way".
Henry M. Morris, III, D.Min.
Frustration must come as the saints of God battle with evil forces. The pain and pressure of tourment is nonetheless real as these evil "devices"...(Is 32:7 "Also the schemes of the schemer are evil; He devises wicked plans to destroy the poor with lying words, even when the needy speaks justice." )...take their toll on the people of God.
The Lord will destroy the plans of the wicked... (Psalm 33:10
"The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect.")
...but while those plans are active, they can cause much hurt.
Nevertheless, we must maintain trust in the Lord and commit our lives to Him if we are to be victorious. The unusual Hebrew word galal used here is more often translated as "roll on" or "roll with" something. It seems to imply a unity in the commitment, that the committed one is bound up in the actions or activities of the thing or person committed to -- we "roll on" or "roll with" the Lord in our "way."
Paul spends much of his letter to the Philippians describing the link between the Creator-Savior and the mind, heart, and lifestyle of the Christian who has given his life over to God. "Being confident of this very thing," Paul says, "that he which has begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ" (Phillippians 1:6). We are to "work out" [our] own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure" (Philippians 2:12-13).
While admitting that he had not yet "attained," Paul was so focused on the work of the Kingdom that he was "forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:13-14). God's promise to "bring it to pass" is conditioned on our being committed to His sovereign will for our "way".
Henry M. Morris, III, D.Min.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Thoughts on Psalm 118:5 - 8
Psalm 118:5 - 8
5In my anguish I cried to the LORD,
and he answered by setting me free.
6The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?
7The LORD is with me; he is my helper.
I will look in triumph on my enemies.
8It is better to take refuge in the LORD
than to trust in man.
He set me free from trusting man and instead it is better to take refuge in the Lord.
When I cried out in anguish He answered by setting me free. The Lord is with me; He is my helper.
I was looking for my circumstances to change. I was looking for help from man. All the while it was the Lordwho was with me. He was my helper. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man.
Shouts of joy and victory resound in the tents of the righteous. The Lord is my righteousness!
Too many Christians believe that we need only to avoid the things that we think can hurt us, or interfere with our walk with Christ. Only the Lord knows what we should avoid in life to remain close to Him, and safe from the enemy.
So may we look to His holy word and not to our own understanding.
If the Bible says that something offends God, then we should strive to avoid it.
5In my anguish I cried to the LORD,
and he answered by setting me free.
6The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?
7The LORD is with me; he is my helper.
I will look in triumph on my enemies.
8It is better to take refuge in the LORD
than to trust in man.
He set me free from trusting man and instead it is better to take refuge in the Lord.
When I cried out in anguish He answered by setting me free. The Lord is with me; He is my helper.
I was looking for my circumstances to change. I was looking for help from man. All the while it was the Lordwho was with me. He was my helper. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man.
Shouts of joy and victory resound in the tents of the righteous. The Lord is my righteousness!
Too many Christians believe that we need only to avoid the things that we think can hurt us, or interfere with our walk with Christ. Only the Lord knows what we should avoid in life to remain close to Him, and safe from the enemy.
So may we look to His holy word and not to our own understanding.
If the Bible says that something offends God, then we should strive to avoid it.
Monday, November 24, 2008
A Heart Condition
"The heart [is] deceitful above all [things], And desperately wicked; Who can know it? (Jer. 17:9)
The Law shows us our sin but does not give us the power to subdue it. In fact the Law only “doth revive, put strength into, and increase it [sin] in the soul.”
As the Law reveals our holy Creator and his perfect standard (with its inward and outward demands for conformity), we are filled with anguish and terror at who we are and the condemnation we deserve.
Charles Spurgeon has made this comment on the human heart, “There is nothing one half so worthy of abhorrence as the human heart. God spares from all eyes, but his own, that awful sight, a human heart; and could you and I but once see our heart, we should be driven mad, so horrible would be the sight.”
Only the gospel is able to sweep and subdue the heart so that King Jesus can begin his reign in it.
The Law shows us our sin but does not give us the power to subdue it. In fact the Law only “doth revive, put strength into, and increase it [sin] in the soul.”
As the Law reveals our holy Creator and his perfect standard (with its inward and outward demands for conformity), we are filled with anguish and terror at who we are and the condemnation we deserve.
Charles Spurgeon has made this comment on the human heart, “There is nothing one half so worthy of abhorrence as the human heart. God spares from all eyes, but his own, that awful sight, a human heart; and could you and I but once see our heart, we should be driven mad, so horrible would be the sight.”
Only the gospel is able to sweep and subdue the heart so that King Jesus can begin his reign in it.
Friday, November 21, 2008
OBAMA'S PASTORAL COUNSELLOR IS A HOMOSEXUAL EPISCOPAL BISHOP
(Friday Church News Notes, November 21, 2008, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143)
The following is excerpted from “Will There Be an Activist Pastor to the Next President,” Virtueonline.org, Nov. 16, 2008: “A conservative Christian activist says it’s a sad omen for the Obama administration and the United States that Barack Obama has been seeking guidance from the Episcopal Church's first openly homosexual bishop.
The Times of London reports that the president-elect sought out New Hampshire homosexual bishop Gene Robinson for advice three times during his presidential campaign.
Robinson, whose ordination in the Episcopal Church has caused a deep rift within the Anglican Communion, was reportedly sought out by Obama to discuss what it feels like to be ‘first.’ Robinson notes in their three private conversations, Obama voiced his support for ‘equal civil rights’ for homosexuals and described the election as a ‘religious experience.’
Peter LaBarbera, president of Americans for Truth About Homosexuality, believes Obama’s consultations with Robinson show the true tenor of his upcoming administration. It looks like Billy Graham has been replaced by a gay bishop.”
The following is excerpted from “Will There Be an Activist Pastor to the Next President,” Virtueonline.org, Nov. 16, 2008: “A conservative Christian activist says it’s a sad omen for the Obama administration and the United States that Barack Obama has been seeking guidance from the Episcopal Church's first openly homosexual bishop.
The Times of London reports that the president-elect sought out New Hampshire homosexual bishop Gene Robinson for advice three times during his presidential campaign.
Robinson, whose ordination in the Episcopal Church has caused a deep rift within the Anglican Communion, was reportedly sought out by Obama to discuss what it feels like to be ‘first.’ Robinson notes in their three private conversations, Obama voiced his support for ‘equal civil rights’ for homosexuals and described the election as a ‘religious experience.’
Peter LaBarbera, president of Americans for Truth About Homosexuality, believes Obama’s consultations with Robinson show the true tenor of his upcoming administration. It looks like Billy Graham has been replaced by a gay bishop.”
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
North Korea Enraged by Launch of Gospel Gas Balloons
Communists see Christian messages by thousands blanketing countryside
By Bob Unruh
© 2008 WorldNetDaily
Christians launching a balloon to carry thousands of Gospel tracts over North Korea, where they are then dropped to residents
North Korean officials are infuriated by leaflets that have been floated over the communist nation's secured borders and dropped from plastic bags attached to gas-filled balloons, and one organization behind the effort says there's good reason the atheists in power are upset – the pamphlets are carrying a Gospel message directly to the people.
Hundreds of thousands of leaflets have reportedly been distributed in just the past few months, and may have been the reason the North recently announced it would shut its border with the South. The North also has threatened to cut other communications, such as telephone lines, over the issue.
The leaflets have been attributed to "political" groups, but a spokesman for one organization sponsoring the effort said there's nothing political about it, and the tracts carry a message of hope directly to the North Korean people.
The spokesman and his organization, which spreads the Gospel around the world, couldn't be identified because of the potential for danger to affiliated activists who are dispatching the balloons.
But he told WND those who have fled government crackdowns on their faith inside North Korea are desperate to get the message of hope to their family, friends and communities behind the wall of communist information censorship.
"Each balloon carried 10,000 Gospel tracts, in three separate bags at the bottom that have a time release mechanism so that they drop at different times to spread the leaflets over a wider area," he described.
On one side, the leaflet cites a "great revival" that launched in Pyongyang in 1907.
"It began with a Bible study that took place in Changdaehyun church … Many Koreans came together to study the Bible, the written record of God's love for Korean people and the world," it says.
"Unfortunately, this study of the truth was stopped by Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-Il. They are not the first people to build big statues of themselves for people to bow down and worship. Throughout history, many leaders have claimed to be a god only to die later. The following is a true story from the Bible that took place thousands of years ago. It is about a man like Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-Il who thought he was even better than God Himself. But this story is also about 3 courageous men who knew who the real God was, and how they refused to bow down to someone who was only a man."
The pamphlet then describes Nebuchadnezzar's reign, his construction of a golden statue to himself and the refusal on the part of three Israelite captives to bow down before it.
The Bible records Nebuchadnezzer then had the captives thrown into a fire, but he saw four men, not three, walking around inside the flames, which did not hurt the men.
"There is only one who is the true Savior. Just as King Nebuchadnezzar died, so did Kim Il-Sung and one day so will Kim Jong-Il. But unlike these 3 men, the true God, Jesus Christ rose from the dead and lives," it continues.
"King Nebuchadnezzar had his people bow down and worship him, but God showed him that he was not a god. King Nebuchadnezzar had to bow down to the One True God. Everyone, including all the leaders in the world that have thought themselves to be God, will one day have to bow down to the One True God also. The Bible says that the name of Jesus, God's son, is above every name. At the name of Jesus every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord."
The Al-Jazeera network reported even the South Korean government was looking for ways to ban "activists" from sending "anti-North Korean propaganda" across the border between the two nations, apparently in an attempt to win favor with the North Korean powers.
Kim Ho-Nyoun of South Korea's unification ministry said he was reviewing whether there were "legal grounds" to halt the spread of the messages, which Al-Jazeera described as an "irritant" to North-South relations because of their "critical" message about North Korean leadership.
The Islamic network noted North Korean officials had been complaining about "debris," while the Korea Times said the government's previous attempts to discourage the spread of such messages have not been successful.
The pamphlet says, "The Bible tells us that 'God so loved the world that He sent His only Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish but will have eternal life" (John 3:16). We love God because He first loved us. God loved you so much that He sent His only Son to die to save you-and He rose from the dead and is watching over you today. That is why you have found this paper."
Although there may be "political" items also being dropped over North Korea, many of the items are evangelism-oriented, the ministry spokesman told WND.
"The good news of this story is that obviously it works," said the ministry spokesman. "If the leaflets weren't getting into North Korea, or weren't getting read by anyone, the North Korean government wouldn't be making a big deal about it."
North Korea long has had a record of banning Christianity and torturing and killing Christians. WND reported a Christian ministry launched a campaign seeking to have North Korean students who were caught reading the Bible freed from jail.
According to Free North Korea Broadcasting, a former vice-president of GumRung Co. of the Rodong Dang Labor Organization Department, reported the situation.
He escaped to the relative freedom of China to avoid arrest by the National Security Agency of North Korea and carried information about the situation with him.
"In March 2006, 200 Life Bibles and several hundred CDs were purchased in China and secretly placed in flour bags before being smuggled into North Korea," he reported. "This huge Bible smuggling case was headed by GumRung Co. employees who were influenced by Christianity in China and underground Christians in Nasun City."
He continued, "All the leaders have been arrested and are being severely tortured. If I am caught, I will be sent to a prison camp for political criminals. I didn't want to die in prison camp, so I escaped."
But detailed information from inside North Korea often is hard to obtain, many times coming only from those who have survived and escaped. WND previously reported on a North Korean who fled and said many North Koreans believe dictator Kim Jong-Il actually is a god.
By Bob Unruh
© 2008 WorldNetDaily
Christians launching a balloon to carry thousands of Gospel tracts over North Korea, where they are then dropped to residents
North Korean officials are infuriated by leaflets that have been floated over the communist nation's secured borders and dropped from plastic bags attached to gas-filled balloons, and one organization behind the effort says there's good reason the atheists in power are upset – the pamphlets are carrying a Gospel message directly to the people.
Hundreds of thousands of leaflets have reportedly been distributed in just the past few months, and may have been the reason the North recently announced it would shut its border with the South. The North also has threatened to cut other communications, such as telephone lines, over the issue.
The leaflets have been attributed to "political" groups, but a spokesman for one organization sponsoring the effort said there's nothing political about it, and the tracts carry a message of hope directly to the North Korean people.
The spokesman and his organization, which spreads the Gospel around the world, couldn't be identified because of the potential for danger to affiliated activists who are dispatching the balloons.
But he told WND those who have fled government crackdowns on their faith inside North Korea are desperate to get the message of hope to their family, friends and communities behind the wall of communist information censorship.
"Each balloon carried 10,000 Gospel tracts, in three separate bags at the bottom that have a time release mechanism so that they drop at different times to spread the leaflets over a wider area," he described.
On one side, the leaflet cites a "great revival" that launched in Pyongyang in 1907.
"It began with a Bible study that took place in Changdaehyun church … Many Koreans came together to study the Bible, the written record of God's love for Korean people and the world," it says.
"Unfortunately, this study of the truth was stopped by Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-Il. They are not the first people to build big statues of themselves for people to bow down and worship. Throughout history, many leaders have claimed to be a god only to die later. The following is a true story from the Bible that took place thousands of years ago. It is about a man like Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-Il who thought he was even better than God Himself. But this story is also about 3 courageous men who knew who the real God was, and how they refused to bow down to someone who was only a man."
The pamphlet then describes Nebuchadnezzar's reign, his construction of a golden statue to himself and the refusal on the part of three Israelite captives to bow down before it.
The Bible records Nebuchadnezzer then had the captives thrown into a fire, but he saw four men, not three, walking around inside the flames, which did not hurt the men.
"There is only one who is the true Savior. Just as King Nebuchadnezzar died, so did Kim Il-Sung and one day so will Kim Jong-Il. But unlike these 3 men, the true God, Jesus Christ rose from the dead and lives," it continues.
"King Nebuchadnezzar had his people bow down and worship him, but God showed him that he was not a god. King Nebuchadnezzar had to bow down to the One True God. Everyone, including all the leaders in the world that have thought themselves to be God, will one day have to bow down to the One True God also. The Bible says that the name of Jesus, God's son, is above every name. At the name of Jesus every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord."
The Al-Jazeera network reported even the South Korean government was looking for ways to ban "activists" from sending "anti-North Korean propaganda" across the border between the two nations, apparently in an attempt to win favor with the North Korean powers.
Kim Ho-Nyoun of South Korea's unification ministry said he was reviewing whether there were "legal grounds" to halt the spread of the messages, which Al-Jazeera described as an "irritant" to North-South relations because of their "critical" message about North Korean leadership.
The Islamic network noted North Korean officials had been complaining about "debris," while the Korea Times said the government's previous attempts to discourage the spread of such messages have not been successful.
The pamphlet says, "The Bible tells us that 'God so loved the world that He sent His only Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish but will have eternal life" (John 3:16). We love God because He first loved us. God loved you so much that He sent His only Son to die to save you-and He rose from the dead and is watching over you today. That is why you have found this paper."
Although there may be "political" items also being dropped over North Korea, many of the items are evangelism-oriented, the ministry spokesman told WND.
"The good news of this story is that obviously it works," said the ministry spokesman. "If the leaflets weren't getting into North Korea, or weren't getting read by anyone, the North Korean government wouldn't be making a big deal about it."
North Korea long has had a record of banning Christianity and torturing and killing Christians. WND reported a Christian ministry launched a campaign seeking to have North Korean students who were caught reading the Bible freed from jail.
According to Free North Korea Broadcasting, a former vice-president of GumRung Co. of the Rodong Dang Labor Organization Department, reported the situation.
He escaped to the relative freedom of China to avoid arrest by the National Security Agency of North Korea and carried information about the situation with him.
"In March 2006, 200 Life Bibles and several hundred CDs were purchased in China and secretly placed in flour bags before being smuggled into North Korea," he reported. "This huge Bible smuggling case was headed by GumRung Co. employees who were influenced by Christianity in China and underground Christians in Nasun City."
He continued, "All the leaders have been arrested and are being severely tortured. If I am caught, I will be sent to a prison camp for political criminals. I didn't want to die in prison camp, so I escaped."
But detailed information from inside North Korea often is hard to obtain, many times coming only from those who have survived and escaped. WND previously reported on a North Korean who fled and said many North Koreans believe dictator Kim Jong-Il actually is a god.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
German Homeschooling Family Seeks Asylum in United States
PURCELLVILLE, Virginia, Nov. 18 /Christian Newswire/ -- A homeschooling family who recently fled Germany has filed for political asylum in the United States. "The persecution of homeschoolers in Germany has dramatically intensified," said HSLDA (Home School Legal Defense Fund) staff attorney Michael P. Donnelly.
"They are regularly fined thousands of dollars, sent to prison, or have the custody of their children taken away simply because they choose to home educate."
Uwe and Hannelore Romeike formerly of Bissingen, Germany along with their five children made it to the United States in August of this year. The family has settled in Eastern Tennessee where they have been warmly welcomed by local homeschool supporters and are being assisted by HSLDA. Uwe Romeike, a music teacher, and his wife Hannelore, are grateful for the support they have received from HSLDA and American homeschoolers.
"The freedom we have to homeschool our children in Tennessee is wonderful. We don't have to worry about looking over our shoulder anymore wondering when the youth welfare officials will come or how much money we have to pay in fines," said Mrs. Romeike. "We have received so much love and support," said Mr. Romeike. "Our children are no longer homesick. They are so happy to be homeschooled here. We left family members, our home, and a wonderful community in Germany, but the well-being of our children made it necessary."
"By supporting a political asylum application we will be able to shine the light of truth on this real and ongoing problem. A successful application will provide a path to safety for German homeschool families escaping persecution," said Donnelly. HSLDA, with support from the Alliance Defense Fund, has hired immigration attorney Will Humble of Houston, Texas to handle this groundbreaking case.
For more information about Germany's persecution of homeschoolers, visit www.hslda.org/germany.
Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) is a 25 year old, 85,000 member non-profit organization and the preeminent national association advocating the legal right of parents to homeschool their children.
Christian Newswire
"They are regularly fined thousands of dollars, sent to prison, or have the custody of their children taken away simply because they choose to home educate."
Uwe and Hannelore Romeike formerly of Bissingen, Germany along with their five children made it to the United States in August of this year. The family has settled in Eastern Tennessee where they have been warmly welcomed by local homeschool supporters and are being assisted by HSLDA. Uwe Romeike, a music teacher, and his wife Hannelore, are grateful for the support they have received from HSLDA and American homeschoolers.
"The freedom we have to homeschool our children in Tennessee is wonderful. We don't have to worry about looking over our shoulder anymore wondering when the youth welfare officials will come or how much money we have to pay in fines," said Mrs. Romeike. "We have received so much love and support," said Mr. Romeike. "Our children are no longer homesick. They are so happy to be homeschooled here. We left family members, our home, and a wonderful community in Germany, but the well-being of our children made it necessary."
"By supporting a political asylum application we will be able to shine the light of truth on this real and ongoing problem. A successful application will provide a path to safety for German homeschool families escaping persecution," said Donnelly. HSLDA, with support from the Alliance Defense Fund, has hired immigration attorney Will Humble of Houston, Texas to handle this groundbreaking case.
For more information about Germany's persecution of homeschoolers, visit www.hslda.org/germany.
Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) is a 25 year old, 85,000 member non-profit organization and the preeminent national association advocating the legal right of parents to homeschool their children.
Christian Newswire
Monday, November 17, 2008
Obama Wins, Muslims Divided
(An Iranian in Tehran sports a badge of Barack Obama. (AP: Hasan Sarbakhshian)
by Daniel Pipes
Philadelphia Bulletin
Ali ibn Abi-Talib, the seventh-century figure central to Shiite Islam, is said to have predicted when the world will end, columnist Amir Taheri points out. A "tall black man" commanding "the strongest army on earth" will take power "in the west." He will carry "a clear sign" from the third imam, Hussein. Ali says of the tall black man: "Shiites should have no doubt that he is with us."
Barack Hussein in Arabic means "the blessing of Hussein." In Persian, Obama translates as "He [is] with us." Thus does the name of the presumptive American president-elect, when combined with his physical attributes and geography, suggest that the End of Times is nigh – precisely what Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been predicting.
Back down on earth, the Muslim reaction to Obama's victory is more mixed than one might expect.
American Islamists are delighted; an umbrella group, the American Muslim Taskforce on Civil Rights and Election, opined that, with Obama's election, "Our nation has … risen to new majestic heights." Siraj Wahhaj, Al-Hajj Talib Abdur Rashid, the Council on American Islamic Relations, the Muslim Public Affairs Council, the Islamic Society of North America, the Islamic Circle of North America, and the Muslim Alliance in North America responded with similar exuberance.
Hamas, and Islamist movements in Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, India, Indonesia and the Philippines delighted in Obama's election. Robert Spencer of Jihad Watch generalizes that jihadists and Islamic supremacists worldwide showed "unalloyed joy." The New York Times finds public reaction in the Middle East mostly "euphoric." John Esposito of Georgetown University emphasizes the Muslim world's welcome to Obama as an "internationalist president."
But plenty of other Muslims have other views. Writing in Canada's Edmonton Sun, Salim Mansur found John McCain the "more worthy candidate." Yusif al-Qaradawi, the Al-Jazeera sheikh, endorsed McCain for opposite reasons: "This is because I prefer the obvious enemy who does not hypocritically [conceal] his hostility toward you… to the enemy who wears a mask [of friendliness]." Al-Qaradawi also argued that twice as many Iraqis died during Bill Clinton's two administrations than during George W. Bush's.
For tactical reasons, the influential Sunni sheikh Yusif al-Qaradawi wanted John McCain to win.
Iran's hardliners also favored a McCain victory (according to Iran's former Vice President Mohammad Ali Abtahi) "because they benefit more from enmity with the U.S., which allows them to rally the Islamic world behind their policies and at the same time suppress dissent at home." The Taliban took note of Obama's election promise to increase U.S. troops in Afghanistan, warning that, should he fulfill this plan, "jihad and resistance will be continued."
Iraqis are intensively divided about Obama's plan quickly to withdraw U.S. troops from their country. That plan, plus promises to end U.S. dependence on Middle East oil and to negotiate with Iranian leaders, rattled the leaders of Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf governments.
Some commentators argue that Obama cannot make a real difference; an Iranian newspaper declares him unable to alter a system "established by capitalists, Zionists, and racists." Predictably, the appointment of Rahm Emanuel as Obama's chief of staff confirmed Palestinian perceptions of an omnipotent Israel lobby. A commentator in the United Arab Emirates went further, predicting Obama's replication of Jimmy Carter's trajectory of flamboyant emergence, failure in the Middle East, and electoral defeat.
In all, these mixed reactions from Muslims suggest puzzlement at the prospect of a U.S. president of Islamic origins who promises "change," yet whose foreign policy may buckle under the constraints of his office. In other words, Muslims confront the same question mark hanging over Obama as everyone else:
Never before have Americans voted into the White House a person so unknown and enigmatic. Emerging from a hard-left background, he ran, especially in the general election, mostly as a center-left candidate. Which of these positions will he adopt as president? More precisely, where along the spectrum from hard- to center-left will he land?
Looking at the Arab-Israeli conflict, for example, will Obama's policies reflect Rashid Khalidi, the ex-PLO flak he befriended in the 1990s, or Dennis Ross, his recent campaign advisor and member of my board of editors? No one can yet say.
Still, one can predict. Should Obama return to his hard left roots, Muslim euphoria will largely continue. Should he seek to make his presidency a success by moving to the center-left, many – but hardly all – Muslims will experience severe disillusionment.
http://www.danielpipes.org/article/6017
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