;)
Washington state's House of Representatives has passed a bill to legalize gay marriage by a vote of 55-43.Note: this is not the Israeli government's official position, but rather a plea for action that represents much of the Israeli public.
]]>Here's a quick excerpt from the article:
]]>That’s right: Muslim-friendly Bibles.
Included in the controversial development is the removal of any references to God as “Father,” to Jesus as the “Son” or “the Son of God.” One example of such a change can be seen in an Arabic version of the Gospel of Matthew produced and promoted by Frontiers and SIL. It changes Matthew 28:19 from this:
“baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit”
to this:
“cleanse them by water in the name of Allah, his Messiah and his Holy Spirit.”
I've decided to use this blog to post my thoughts. Anyone who really cares can drop by anytime. Please leave me a comment if you like or click here to email me directly. And please pass on the word that I'm going to be posting regularly here.
Thanks!
]]>My Facebook account should be permanently deleted in about ten days. The Google stuff isn't so easy. I have multiple gmail accounts, a YouTube account, etc. If you have any account with Google they will use the data in the account, and all programs attached to it, to 'help give you a better online experience'.
What makes this a real pain is that I just bought a Droid phone. Since it's a Google OS, gmail (and probably other stuff) is permanently embedded in the thing. I'm going to have to call Google to get directions on how to make it 'blind', along with the GPS, etc.
I'm certainly not the only one that's concerned about this. I called Verizon and they're trying to help me make my phone 'invisible'.
I'll add anything I find out here.
Have a pleasant day. ;)
]]>;)
I was working away this morning doing my normal daily routine and this thought hit me: "When did people stop thinking for themselves?"
The thought was strong enough that I stopped what I was doing and just sat there, thinking about it.
If you read much of what I write there is usually an underlying frustration that motivates me to put it down on digital paper. The question, "When did people stop thinking for themselves?" illuminates one of those unspoken frustrations.
God gave every man and woman a brain, intelligence, common sense, reason, imagination, the ability to think, certain skills and passions, along with memory so it can be stored. Throw in a conscience as well and you've got a powerful package at your disposal. He expects you to use them to educate yourself and formulate your own opinions and draw your own conclusions.
]]>Obama inherited some difficult financial problems but he told everyone he knew how to solve them. Apparently his idea was to spend more than all the previous Presidents combined (trillions), and give multiplied billions to companies run by contributors that didn't have a prayer of success. In his mind, that's OK.
It didn't work, and our country and the world's financial future is bankrupt. Literally. Many nations of the world want to replace the dollar as the reserve currency. Most people don't know how devastating that would be to our economy.
From the beginning, his design has been to strip us down until we're 'equal' with the rest of the world. He doesn't believe that we are an exceptional nation with exceptional people. But he does believe that we don't deserve all the riches we've worked so hard for. He's going to take it and give it all away. He must fancy himself some sort of Robin Hood in reverse.
]]>When you walk with God, and you ask to see what He sees, and to feel what He feels, one can be overwhelmed with sorrow. Jesus Himself was described as "a man of sorrows" so it seems fitting that His people would be also.
I live in a nation where my God-given right to pursue 'happiness' is stated in the Declaration of Independence, but it does not guarantee that I will be 'happy'. The intent of our Founders was to provide a nation where everyone had the freedom to pursue their life's vision. Even so, that freedom is but a shadow of what God has provided to each person through Jesus Christ.
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Like many good things, however, time can become a tyrant. God desires to teach us how we can tame the time tyrant and make time work for us. His desire is that we live and walk as Jesus did, where time does not rule us, but we surrender to His timing.
Each day seems to present time pressures that can create stress and anxiety within us. Jesus warned us about this and exhorted us to deal with today and let tomorrow take care of itself. He wasn't saying we shouldn't plan, per se, but not to trust in our plans or let our plans rule us. We are to walk as Jesus did.
Satan, on the other hand, does everything he can to use time against us...
]]>Girl Scouts link to Planned Parenthood
]]>Then we're told that Wall Street is the cause of all our problems. The Federal Reserve tells us they will solve the monetary problems. The Europeans tell us that Europe's problems are because of our problems.
We're told that we need to drastically change our diets or we're all going to die of heart attacks or strokes. We're told that root canals cause cancer and all manner of various diseases.
We're told one thing about vaccines and then we're told another thing that completely contradicts that.
We're told that the Republicans want to give us dirty water, polluted air, and that old people should be left to die. We're told that Democrats are the party of the people.
We're told that perfectly qualified people are not qualified for serving at the highest levels of our government. We're told that homosexuals are not perverting God's design for the continued extension of the human race. We're told that they are normal and that the rest of us are bigots.
We're told that if a white man criticizes a black man he's a racist, but if a black man criticizes a white man he has every right to since the white man is the genesis of all the black man's problems. We're told that the 'media' has ethics.
We're told that everything visible and invisible happened by a complete accident and that somehow, given enough time, everything just evolved out of 'it'.
We're told that God doesn't belong in the public discourse, prayer is illegal in schools, football games, or city council meetings. And, of course, we're told that babies aren't human beings and can be systematically murdered in the womb, partially out of the birth canal, or even after birth if certain defects can be detected.
We're even told that men read Playboy for the articles.
Jesus said, "You've heard it said, but I tell you the truth."
Maybe we should give Him a listen. We might learn something.
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Go on a walk with God each day and you'll see things, and experience things, that are not available to those who don't. Seeing through His eyes, listening with His ears, speaking what He wants to speak, He allows you to participate in His divine nature. He will share unseen, unspoken things with you; His Spirit to your spirit.
People ask me: "If it's so wonderful, why don't more people walk with God?" I wonder if they really want the answer. It's because people want God to walk with them; they really don't want to walk with Him. They want God to empower their good works and good ideas rather than doing the works that God designed for them to do that day. They are far more interested in what they can accomplish rather than how much closer to Him they can become.
Walking with God requires a submitted mind, soul, and body. Walking with God requires humility and the wisdom that comes from it. Walking with God requires a soul that finds the wonder it in; the very fact that one can walk with God!
Walking with God requires a person to be dedicated to His Word. It requires the desire to discern His nudges and hear His still, small, voice. It requires a heart that is wholly His, and one who will allow God's Spirit and power to manifest Himself in and through them.
Walking with God demands that we allow Him to change us, to become more like Him, every day.
Walking with God demands that we stop doing our thing and begin to do His thing, as He leads. All the time. It's called obedience.
Pretty simple, isn't it? Die to yourself and live for Him, and for others. Anything else is a waste of time.
He's calling you...
]]>My new laptop won't load my profile and it looks like I'll have to reinstall Windows which will wipe the hard drive. (No comments from the Mac users.) Because of this I have to sit on my horrible office chair and work on my new office PC, which is a problem because I have a lot of web work to do (with deadlines). Oh yeah, the new PC makes horrible sounds when I play any audio file on it.
My new couch recliner broke. My son-in-law came over and we opened it to the reclining position until Dania can fix it next week. I got up a minute ago and purely by reflex I relocked it. Arg...this is a heavy couch.
Because of the couch issue my back is flaring up again.
Someone rammed a shopping cart into the rear-side of my car and left a memorable imprint.
Our carpenter finally was able to get our floor moulding done and now the floor squeaks like crazy. He did do a great job painting the house, however. :)
The bird feeder broke.
And, we're praying for some folks very close to us (nuff said).
I'll stop there. Lesson: stuff breaks, things go wrong. What a revelation. The life we live down here is very fragile. If our life was all wrapped up in all this stuff I'd be a wreck. But, watching my grandson play football this morning...
These light and momentary trials are nothing compared to the glory to be revealed when He returns. If you're not a believer that won't make much sense, but it does to me.
Rejoice, and again I say, rejoice!
]]>I love to learn, and, I care about people. Because I care about others, I love to share what I learn with them, if it will benefit them. I'm not interested in meddling, being over zealous or overbearing, I just get excited about what I learn, how it helps me to 'see the light', and I want to share it with those who want to learn.
I really struggle when a person, or group of people, have given up learning and they don't want to hear anything that might be different than their entrenched world view. They have literally given their soul to their existing conclusions, in all arenas of life. They have not been trained to deal with what's coming at them and they go into another world, a world of make believe.
The other day a friend told me I had a special ability to learn. Maybe you have it, too. All my life it's been a real pain. It has nothing to do with being 'smarter' than others, it has to do with being trained to observe, to learn, to gain insight, to listen to the Holy Spirit, to be taught by God. It's the ability to remain a student, but ever gaining in discernement.
"But solid food is for full-grown men, for those whose senses and mental faculties are trained by practice to discriminate and distinguish between what is morally good and noble and what is evil and contrary either to divine or human law." ~ Hebrews 5:14
The burden can become quite heavy when you 'see' the evil that's going on around you and 'nobody' gets it, they don't see it or sense it. You begin to feel like Elijah: Is there anyone left that cries out to God for discernment? But, isn't this where God would say, "Sure there are. So why don't you take my yoke... My burden is easy."
Of course it is! If the burden begins to buckle your knees it's the sure sign God hasn't brought you to the place of strenth to carry it! He wants you and I to let Him carry it until He makes us strong enough to do it.
This world needs those that can discern good and evil, those who will not shrink back when attempting to warn others. Both the church, and the world, need those whose character has been molded through suffering, to discern good from evil, and speak the truth in love. We need more Fathers.
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In an interview published Saturday to mark 50 years of Christian Broadcasting Network, Chairman Pat Robertson said he liked Mitt Romney’s politics and saw the Mormon presidential candidate as an “outstanding Christian".
To read some very basic differences between Christianity and Mormonism, click here.
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Earlier today it was announced that Amanda Knox was aquitted of murder in Italy. I haven't followed this story very closely, but what I did know about it led me to believe that this kid was innocent. I wept when I heard she was to be set free.
My reaction caught me off guard. Why was I weeping? The simple answer is freedom. I have a tough time knowing people are in bondage, especially if it is unjustified. People around the world are in prison for no reason at all. I guess when I heard Amanda was freed it touched that part of me that wants to see every innocent person freed, and the guilty find their way to repentence.
The famous verse, John 3:16, is God's desire to see mankind set free from it's bondage to sin and death. He saw the chains that bound us to darkness and sent His son, Jesus Christ, to illuminate our need for a Savior. And not just that, but to provide that Savior so that we could be free!
If the Spirit of God is within you, you will want everyone you know and meet to have this same freedom. It is the ultimate freedom a man can have. And, he can have it simply by believing.
It's time to dust off the old Bible and to start reading it again. Why? Those who wrote it were inspired by the Holy Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom!
]]>Over the past year many things have had to be backburnered but I need to get them done before the end of the year. Please pray that this will all come together. :)
As always, thank you for praying for my family and me.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
]]>For those who regularly attend our church (Church on The Rock), this is life as usual, with one exception. I've said what's on my mind all along: I'm going to preach whatever God tells me to preach. I don't, however, make a point of sending my sermons to the IRS.
At COTR there won't be any major emphasis on this today, but, I do encourage pastors (or anyone for that matter) all over the world to preach the Gospel. Preaching the Gospel is a direct command from God and overrules any command by anyone else. At the same time, Jesus said to be wise as serpents and gentle as doves, so seek wisdom and insight from the Holy Spirit for your particular location and situation (referring to those in hostile places), but preach it.
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