Slaying The Giants In Your Life



Dr. David Jeremiah's Turning Point ministry is covering the topic of how to slay the giants in your life. Yesterday, the television broadcast covered the giant of worry.

David Jeremiah.org: Slaying the Giants in Your Life. To watch the entire sermon, click on "Watch Now - This Week's Broadcast."

Excerpt:

Slaying the Giants in Your Life
ABOUT THE CURRENT TELEVISION SERIES
Are you riddled with guilt? Does loneliness have hold of your heart? Are you falling prey to temptations? If we let our guard down spiritually for just a second, Satan is quick to attack. Sin and doubt slowly seep into our hearts until one day we realize their overwhelming weight. But God gives us the strength and grace we need to claim victory!
read more...

Are you riddled with guilt? Does loneliness have hold of your heart? Are you falling prey to temptations? If we let our guard down spiritually for just a second, Satan is quick to attack. Sin and doubt slowly seep in to our hearts until one day we realize their overwhelming weight. But God gives us the strength and grace we need to claim victory!

In Slaying the Giants in Your Life, Dr. Jeremiah teaches how we can overcome 12 specific giants of adversity that are most common today. Learn from King David and his encounters with fear, guilt, and resentment. Be encouraged by the prophet Nehemiah and his fight with discouragement. Discover how the apostle Paul stood strong against the giants of loneliness and failure. And learn from Jesus Christ how to battle worry and anger.

Tune in to Turning Point Television this month as Dr. Jeremiah teaches from the lives of these biblical truth warriors and shares personal stories from his own life and others today who have overcome these common but crippling adversities. God’s Word arms us with all the weapons we need to defeat attacking foes. Are you ready to stand against the giants that seek to terrorize you?

The giant of worry is one that we all suffer from. Who can't find something in their own lives to worry about? Whether is health issues, money problems, marital conflicts, problems with children, inability to find a job in this economy, the wrong direction that our country is headed under Obama's failed policies (just to name a few) - what person can claim that they have no worries to deal with?

I think that the message of this sermon is the message found in Scripture. Jesus said it best when he told us:

Jhn 16:33 "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will [fn] have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."

(16:33) NU-Text and M-Text omit will.

When we believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and we know Jesus personally as the Lord and Savior of our lives, then no matter what happens in this fallen, temporary, finite world we live in won't EVER keep us from having the peace that Jesus speaks of. Why? Because we know that Jesus has "overcome the world" by the greatest act in human history! When we confess our sins and repent, open our hearts to Jesus Christ and inviting Him in to dwell with us in the form of the Holy Spirit, and allow Him to guide us into all understanding through God's written Word, the Bible, then we have what it takes to gain the peace that surpasses all understanding!

This doesn't mean that we don't work while in the word. Jesus told us to watch, wait and work until he comes back to receive his own and bring us to the place he has prepared for us. We know it will be a magnificent day!

Jesus speaking:

Jhn 14:2 In my Father's house are many mansions: if [it were] not [so], I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.


Jhn 14:3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, [there] ye may be also.


Jhn 14:4 And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.


Jhn 14:5 Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?


Jhn 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.


Jhn 14:7 ¶ If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.

I love the notes that are included in my Life Application Bible - NIV Version:

This is one of the most basic and important passages in Scripture. How can we know the way to God? Only through Jesus. Jesus is the way because he is both God and man. By united our lives with his, we are united with God. Trust Jesus to take you to the Father, and all the benefits of being God's child will be your.

Jesus says he is the only way to God the Father. Some people may argue that this way is too narrow. In reality, it is wide enough for the whole world, if the world chooses to accept it. Instead of worrying about how limited it sounds to have only one way, we should be saying "Thank you, God, for providing a sure way to get to you!

As the way Jesus is our path to the Father. As the truth, he is the reality of all God's promises. As the life, he joins his divine life to ours, both now and eternally.

Jesus is the visible, tangible image of the invisible God. He is the complete revelation of what God is life. Jesus explained to Philip, who wanted to see the Father, that to know Jesus is to know God. The search for God, for truth and reality, ends in Christ. (See also Colossians 1:15; Hebrews 1:1-4.)

Hat tip:

David Jeremiah.org

The Blacksmith's Shop

After reading just a few of the short articles in Max Lucado's first book, On the Anvil, I can certainly see why he has become one of the most read and beloved inspirational Christian authors over the past two decades!

The introduction of the book sets the stage for everything else that follows. His presentation is an awesome allegory that explains what harm sin has done to our souls and how our Master, Jesus Christ, calls us out of that "junk pile." Lucado demonstrates that Jesus uses certain tools to shape us towards our calling in life.

The Blacksmith's Shop

In the shop of a blacksmith, there are three types of tools.

Outdated,

Broken,

Dull,

Rusty.

They sit in the cobwebbed corner, useless to their master, oblivious to their calling.

There are tools on the anvil:

melted down,

molten hot,

moldable,

changeable.

They lie on the anvil, being shaped by their master, accepting their calling.

There are tools of usefulness:

sharpened,

primed,

defined,

mobile.

They lie ready in the blacksmith's tool chest, available to their master, fulfilling their calling.

Some people lie useless:

lives broken,

talents wasting,

fires quenched,

dreams dashed.

They are tossed in with the scrap iron, in desperate need of repair, with no notion of purpose.

Other lie on the anvil:

hearts open,

hungry to change,

wounds healing,

visions clearing.

They welcome the painful pounding of the blacksmith's hammer, longing to be rebuilt, begging to be called.

Others lie in their Master's hands:

well tuned,

uncompromising,

polished,

productive.

They respond to their Master's forearm, demanding nothing, surrendering all.

Wow! What a metaphor for describing one's journey towards salvation in Jesus Christ! Can you relate to this in your own life? I sure can!

I thought long and hard about where I am on that "tool" list. I think that I am halfway between still "lying on the anvil" and "lying in the Master's hands." The Holy Spirit's leading has helped me to be well tuned to God's Word, and uncompromising in it's application to life today. However, I need to confess and admit that the Lord is still working on me to be "polished" and "productive."

There are people whom I know who are definitely well tuned, uncompromising, polished, productive. People like John MacArthur, Dr. David Jeremiah, various Christian authors like Max Lucado, Pastor Miles McPherson...to name a few. I see them preach from the pulpit. I hear about their missionary work. I read their awesome books. Yes. They are polished and productive and able to reach out and encourage other Christians to do the same.

In Chapter One, Lucado shares what it is like to be in "the pile of broken tools."

To find me, look over in the corner of the shop,

over here,

behind the cobwebs,

beneath the dust,

in the darkness.

There are scores of us,

broken handles,

dulled blades,

cracked iron.

Some of us were useful once, and then...many of us never were.

But, listen, don't feel sorry for me.

Life ain't so bad here in the pile...

no work,

no anvils,

no pain,

no sharpening,

And yet, the days are very long.

Are you broken too?

Do you think God might be calling you "off the pile"? What would that require of you?

When I first read that, I though that Lucado was speaking about the unsaved. Then, I realized that he was speaking about Christians!!

"Some of us were useful once, and then...many of us never were."

Ouch!! Convicting words...Amen?? The rest of the article includes the portion that I had included in a previous post.

We are all somewhere in the blacksmith's shop.

We are either on the scrap pile,
IN THE MASTER'S HANDS ON THE ANVIL,
Or in the tool chest.

Some of us have been in all three.

In this classic collection of inspirational reading, best-selling author Max Lucado takes us on a tour of the blacksmith's shop - examining every tool and looking in every corner, from the shelves to the workbench, from the water to the fire...

And I'm sure that somewhere you'll see yourself.

Yes. I have seen myself as all three kinds of tools - useless, longing to be rebuilt and called, and responding to the Master's forearm.

Perhaps the "polished" and "productive" part is included in the process of sanctification? It is a lifetime journey...is it not?

I think that Christians can have their moments of being polished and productive. However, attaining true excellence in such an area is something to continually strive for. We don't want to rest upon any "laurels" now do we?

I used to feel guilty when I felt like I wasn't doing as much as I have witnessed my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ were doing for the Lord. I would think to myself, 'am I too lazy'? What else should I be doing? As Pastor Miles often says, "Do Something!"

Reading Lucado's next paragraph helped me.

We'll discover what Paul meant when he spoke of becoming "an instrument for noble purposes." And what a becoming it is! The rubbish pile of broken tools, the anvil of recasting, the hands of the Master--it's a simultaneously joyful and painful voyage.

I realized that to be an instrument of noble purposes requires constant "becoming." We have never "arrived," so to speak.

I have felt both the pain of Christian evangelism, as well as the simultaneous joyfulness along the way of this voyage. Of course, I am so blessed to live in the U.S. where pain and suffering is minimal compared to the persecution that Christians endure in much of the rest of the world. Therefore, to whom much is given, much is required.

For those who make the journey -- who leave the heap, enter the fire, and dare to be pounded on God's anvil--a grand privilege awaits: to be called one of God's chosen instruments.

SEE YOU IN THE SHOP

I'm willing...are you?

Stand Firm Against Corruption

C-Span occasionally broadcasts "Student-cam" videos via it's T.V. station. They give awards for the good ones that they deem as important. This morning, I watched a "third place" winner that was about the same-sex "marriage" issue. To the student's credit, they did include interviewed segments from both students and adults who were able to state their objections based on moral, religious and biblical reasons. However, as expected, the liberal view "won out" at the end of the video.

No surprise!

These students have obviously been through the public school's "desensitization," "jamming," and "conversion" propaganda which is masterfully detailed and explained in David Kupelian's first chapter of "The Marketing of Evil: How Radicals, Elitists, and Pseudo-Experts Sell Us Corruption Disguised as Freedom.

Chapter One excerpts:

Rondeau explains Kirk and Madsen's techniques of "desensitization," "jamming," and "conversion" this way:

"Desensitization is described as inundating the public in a "continuous flood of gay-related advertising, presented in the least offensive fashion possible. If straights can't shut off the shower, they may at least eventually get used to being wet." But, the activists did not mean advertising in the usual marketing context but, rather, quite a different approach: "The main thing is to talk about gayness until the issue becomes thoroughly tiresome." They add, "[S]eek desensitization and nothing more. … If you can get [straights] to think [homosexuality] is just another thing – meriting no more than a shrug of the shoulders – then your battle for legal and social rights is virtually won."

This planned hegemony is a variant of the type that Michael Warren describes in "Seeing Through the Media" where it "is not raw overt coercion; it is one group's covert orchestration of compliance by another group through structuring the consciousness of the second group."

"Structuring the consciousness" of others? If that phraseology is uncomfortably reminiscent of various mind control and brainwashing tales you might have heard over the years, don’t be surprised. Manipulating the emotions and thereby restructuring the thoughts and beliefs of large numbers of people is what modern marketing is all about.

"Jamming," explains Rondeau, "is psychological terrorism meant to silence expression of or even support for dissenting opinion." Radio counselor and psychologist Dr. Laura Schlessinger experienced big-time jamming during the run-up to her planned television show. Outraged over a single comment critical of homosexuals she had made on her radio program, activists launched a massive intimidation campaign against the television program's advertisers. As a result, the new show was stillborn.

But perhaps the highest-profile example of jamming occurred after the 1998 murder of University of Wyoming freshman Matthew Shepard. Lured from a bar, robbed and savagely beaten by two men, Shepard died five days later of head injuries. In the frenzied, saturation media coverage that followed, the press and homosexual activists singled out conservative Christians as having created a "climate of anti-gay hate" in which such a brutal act could happen.

NBC's Today show took the lead, focusing on a Christian ad campaign running at the time that offered to help homosexuals change their orientation. Reporter David Gregory narrated: "The ads were controversial for portraying gays and lesbians as sinners who had made poor choices, despite the growing belief that homosexuality may be genetic. … Have the ads fostered a climate of anti-gay hate that leads to incidents like the killing of Matthew Shepard? Gay rights activists say the ads convey a message that gay people are defective."

And in a now-infamous interview, Today's Katie Couric asked Wyoming Governor Jim Geringer: "Some gay rights activists have said that some conservative political organizations like the Christian Coalition, the Family Research Council and Focus on the Family are contributing to this anti-homosexual atmosphere by having an ad campaign saying if you are a homosexual you can change your orientation. That prompts people to say, 'If I meet someone who's homosexual, I'm going to take action to try to convince them or try to harm them.' Do you believe that such groups are contributing to this climate?"

Consciously or not, the media were following Kirk and Madsen's playbook to the letter, discrediting anyone who disagreed with the homosexual agenda by associating them with lowlife murderers. In reality, none of the Christian groups smeared by NBC had ever condoned mistreatment of homosexuals – in fact, they had explicitly condemned it.

As if to add even more shame to the whole-hog jamming of Christians after the Shepard murder, in 2004 a comprehensive new investigation by ABC News 20/20 concluded that homosexuality very likely wasn't a factor in Shepard's murder, but rather Shepard had been targeted for his money.

So much for desensitization and jamming. But what about "conversion"? Here, Kirk and Madsen announce defiantly:

"We mean conversion of the average American’s emotions, mind, and will, through a planned psychological attack, in the form of propaganda fed to the nation via the media. We mean "subverting" the mechanism of prejudice to our own ends – using the very processes that made America hate us to turn their hatred into warm regard – whether they like it or not."

Transforming another person’s hatred into love ("warm regard") is the object of classic brainwashing. As Kirk and Madsen explain:

"In Conversion, we mimic the natural process of stereotype-learning, with the following effect: we take the bigot's good feelings about all-right guys, and attach them to the label "gay," either weakening or, eventually, replacing his bad feelings toward the label and the prior stereotype. … Whereas in Jamming the target is shown a bigot being rejected by his crowd for his prejudice against gays, in Conversion the target is shown his crowd actually associating with gays in good fellowship. Once again, it's very difficult for the average person, who, by nature and training, almost invariably feels what he sees his fellows feeling, not to respond in this knee-jerk fashion to a sufficiently calculated advertisement."

We're talking about some serious messing around with Americans' minds here. Do the homosexual activists thus engaged really know they're deceiving the public, or are they convinced they're just telling the truth?

"It makes no difference that the ads are lies," write Kirk and Madsen, "not to us, because we're using them to ethically good effect, to counter negative stereotypes that are every bit as much lies, and far more wicked ones."

See that? Kirk and Madsen brazenly admit that "it makes no difference that the ads are lies."

But it gets even worse!

The flip side of this "celebrity endorsement" tactic consists of associating all detractors of the radical homosexual agenda with negative images of universally despised tyrants and lowlifes. "After the Ball" lists some of the negative images with which opponents should be associated – including "Klansmen demanding that gays be slaughtered or castrated," "hysterical backwoods preachers, drooling with hate," "menacing punks, thugs and convicts who speak coolly about the 'fags' they have bashed," and a "tour of Nazi concentration camps where homosexuals were tortured and gassed."

Indeed, says Rondeau, "perhaps the most menacing focus of the campaign is the special treatment reserved for the religious dissenters. The strategy is to 'jam homohatred by linking it to Nazi horror.'"

Kirk and Madsen explain the leverage gained by this nasty technique:

"Most contemporary hate groups on the Religious Right will bitterly resent the implied connection between homohatred and Nazi fascism. But since they can't defend the latter, they'll end up having to distance themselves by insisting that they would never go to such extremes. Such declarations of civility toward gays, of course, set our worst detractors on the slippery slope toward recognition of fundamental gay rights."

Homosexual activists love to compare their opponents with Adolf Hitler and Nazis, apparently undaunted by the fact that, according to William L. Shirer's twelve-hundred-page "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich," widely regarded as the definitive book on Nazi Germany, "many of the early Nazis" were homosexuals.

But this is not about truth. It's about manipulation. In a sense, modern psychology-based marketers understand people better than people understand themselves. They use emotional threads to tie their "product" (in this case, homosexuality) to preexisting positive attributes in the consumers' mind. And in a cultural-political campaign like this, they also successfully tie all who oppose their agenda to preexisting negatives, such as Nazis. The net effect of this conditioning can be so powerful over time that ultimately one's prior beliefs – based on experience, religious training, conscience, and common sense – are overwhelmed and replaced as a result of successive waves of emotion-driven reprogramming.

Still, one wonders how the press could allow itself to be used in such a blatantly propagandistic way and in pursuit of such a subversive agenda. And make no mistake, the "gay rights" agenda, which includes indoctrinating kindergartners with pro-homosexual propaganda and legalizing same-sex marriage, is extraordinarily subversive to America's foundational values and institutions.

For the answer to that question you have to realize what's happened to the news media in recent years.

As you no doubt already know, the establishment press is oriented far to the left of the American mainstream, as study after study for the past three decades has documented beyond rational dispute. But did you know that, in addition, a major homosexual presence has emerged in the "mainstream" media, especially since the dawn of the 1990s?

Indeed, part of the mobilization that occurred in the wake of the 1988 War Conference was the recognition that the news media represented the prime tool for changing the hearts and minds of Americans.

And if getting your message before the media was the name of the game, how much better would it be to actually be the media?

Yes people...they are the media as the teens' winning "student-cam" video demonstrates. The desensitizing, jamming, and conversion techniques have worked. They have created a mind-set in many young people in such a powerful way that their support for anti-traditional family morals and values has mindbogglingly become complete. They have been so thoroughly brainwashed by the gay agenda propaganda that they cannot even see how such manipulation and "structuring of the consciousness" has taken them over. Others have successfully sold them corruption disguised as "freedom" and thus, have convinced them through techniques that are none other than...complete mind control.

Yes indeed! The radicals, elitists, and pseudo-experts have sold us corruption disguised as freedom. However, in order to get their way, homosexual activists have also taken away the freedom of association rights of religious people, organizations, and charities to be able to conduct business in the manner and moral convictions that they formerly had, and expressed, for decades.

Are you skeptical? Can you not believe that this is true?

I have a perfect example to show you today.

This morning, I received an email from Matt Daniels of Alliance for Marriage.org. He will be presenting a series of articles based on a new study that shows the tragedy of the radical homosexuals anti-marriage movement and the devastating effects that their agenda is having against faith-based family organizations.

Here is the first segment:

New Study Shows Tragedy of Anti-Marriage Movement


Century-Old Catholic Adoption Agency Shuttered

MERRIFIELD, VA – Radical activists intent on destroying marriage cloak their campaign in sympathetic rhetoric, but excerpts from a new study released today by the Alliance for Marriage Foundation (AFMF) showcase the devastating effects of redefining marriage in law. From the forced closure of a 100-year old adoption program run by the Catholic Charities of Boston, to the father who was jailed for asking when same-sex marriage would be taught in school so his child could avoid the lesson, to, the new study highlights actual results from governments which have changed marriage and family law. AFMF will release selected excerpts of the new study in the coming weeks and post the entire study online at allianceformarriage.org in the near future.

“The anti-marriage movement has shrewdly disguised its campaign with civil rights rhetoric, but it’s time to take off the mask. Destroying marriage is indeed a civil rights issue, because it robs the rights of the majority of Americans who know marriage is between a man and woman. Orphans have rights, children have rights, and parents have rights. Gays and lesbians are free to live as they choose, but they don’t have a right to redefine marriage for our entire society,” said Niger Innis, National Spokesman for the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), one of the oldest and largest civil rights organizations in the country.

The following is the first in a series of excerpts from the AFMF study, “The Tragedy of the Anti-Marriage Movement.”

Massachusetts Laws Force Closure of Adoption Agency at Catholic Charities of Boston

For 103 years, Catholic Charities of Boston ran one of the most widely-respected and leading private adoption agencies in the state. That all changed after Massachusetts became the first state in the country to recognize same-sex marriage officially.

“In a stunning turn of events, Archbishop Sean P. O’Malley and leaders of Catholic Charities of Boston announced yesterday that the agency would end its adoption work, deciding to abandon its founding mission, rather than comply with state law requiring that gays be allowed to adopt children,” reported The Boston Globe newspaper on March 11th, 2006.

“This is a difficult and sad day for Catholic Charities,” said the Rev. J. Bryan Hehir, president of Catholic Charities of Boston. “We have been doing adoptions for more than 100 years.”1

“It’s a defeat for religious freedom,” said C.J. Doyle, executive director of the Catholic Action League. “Not only does the church and society, but the church is allowing itself to be marginalized.”*

The Rhode Island Catholic newspaper, summarized the forced closure in the following fashion:

“For more than a century, Catholic Charities ran the largest adoption agency in the state. When gay marriage was legalized, the change rippled through the Massachusetts legal code. The diocesan-run adoption agency, which operated with a state license, was then forced to reconsider its entire mission. They needed the state license to provide adoption services, but they could not have the license if they practiced any kind of discrimination. Suddenly, the Catholic Charities’ moral view against gay marriage (which meant they would not place children with gay married couples) became a form or marriage discrimination.

“Rather than abandon their moral compass the diocese decided to get out of the adoption business altogether. Several members of Boston's Catholic Charities resigned over the decision. A religious exemption to the law was put before the state legislature, and failed. In the end, it seemed, nobody won. Not the diocese or Catholic Charities. Not even the gay marriage supporters who wanted the Catholic agency to respond to the new law by placing children with gay married couples. And certainly not the many children who would have been placed in homes had the agency not been forced to shut down.”**

*Patricia Wen, “Catholic Charities Stuns State, Ends Adoptions,” The Boston Globe, March 11, 2006.

**Emily Donohue, “Same Sex Marriage Would Have Disastrous Effects on Churches,” The Rhode Island Catholic, March 13, 2008.


The Alliance for Marriage and Alliance for Marriage Foundation are non-partisan coalitions whose Board of Advisors include Rev. Walter Fauntroy — the DC Coordinator for the March on Washington for Martin Luther King Jr. — as well as other civil rights leaders, religious leaders and national legal experts.

David Kupelian has sounded the alarm bells regarding this volatile issue. Are Christians going to just sit by and let this happen?

He concludes the chapter:

We defend our own corruption at great peril. And if defending that corruption becomes a national movement, as it has with our cultural and legal adoption of the "gay rights agenda," we're all in serious trouble.

In truth, most homosexuals experience guilt and conflict when they first discover homosexual urges. Thus there is a strong temptation – especially in today's pro-"gay" culture – for them to "resolve" the conflict by giving in to the compulsion and affirming, "It's okay to be gay."

But if they do, there is just no way out for them. For this reason, the most loving stance for others to take is not to serve as enablers of self-destructive and immoral compulsions, but to stand in patient but firm opposition. In other words, we need to side with the afflicted person's conscience. In America, we've done the opposite.

"“Hating the sin but not the sinner," the classic Christian expression for loving your struggling neighbor by nonjudgmentally disagreeing with his errant behavior, actually has great power – more than we realize. By resisting the temptation to hate, yet still standing firm against what's wrong, God's love is able to come through that obedient "neutral zone."

We started this journey into the world of "gay rights" with the poignant words of former congressman Robert Bauman, who said: "I did not choose to be homosexual. I would change my sexual orientation if that were within my power." Sadly, we've failed Bauman and millions suffering with similar sexual problems by glorifying and pandering to their dysfunction and pretending it's normal.

In the end, we have to ask ourselves which is worse – the previous era in America, when homosexuals were reviled and driven underground? Or today's America, when the pendulum has swung so far in the other direction that those in the grip of powerful self-destructive compulsions are fawned over and lionized as heroes?

Either way, because the rest of us have failed to find real love, they remain victims.

*******

Another case of moral corruption :

The awful details regarding the polygamy compound that was raided is getting worse by the day!

Court Documents Show Polygamist Sect Married Girls at Puberty

Excerpt:

Court documents said a number of teen girls at the 1,700-acre compound were pregnant, and all the children were removed on the grounds that they were in danger of "emotional, physical, and-or sexual abuse." Nearly 140 women left on their own.

"Investigators determined that there is a widespread pattern and practice of the (YFZ) Ranch in which young, minor female residents are conditioned to expect and accept sexual activity with adult men at the ranch upon being spiritually married to them," read the affidavit signed by Lynn McFadden, a Department of Family and Protective Services investigative supervisor.

McFadden said the girls were spiritually married to the men as soon as they reached puberty and were required to bear children. A spiritual marriage is one recognized by the FLDS church, but lacking a state marriage license. Texas law prohibits polygamy and the marriage of girls under 16.

"Spiritually" married? Sounds more like demonically married! There isn't anything truly, nor legitimately, spiritual (at least not God-ordained in the spiritual sense) about what was going on at that compound! It is plain and simply overt and perverted sexual abuse of women and children!!

A Letter to Refute

Dear Friends,

I found this awful, riddled-with-biblical-interpretation-errors "letter of the week" over at WorldNetDaily and decided to post it here so that we can contribute to the refutation of it.

I will be working on my response, but please feel free to address any, or all of the statements that you feel led and prepared to refute!

In Christ,
Christine

*******

The Bible is a house of cards

Posted: April 04, 2008
1:00 am Eastern

© 2008 (WorldNetDaily)

I read and enjoy WND every day, but I'd like to respond with a critical view to Jonathan Falwell's "Was Jesus a liar?" commentary.

Mr. Falwell criticizes Barack Obama because Mr. Obama said something that implies he believes non-Christians can be "children of God."

But, Mr. Falwell opines, the problem is that "such sentiment is not what the Bible teaches. According to God's Word ...," etc., etc., etc.

News media recently reported that Mr. Obama mentioned in a speech that he is not impressed with certain "obscure" passages from Paul's epistles. Therefore, Mr. Obama cherry-picks verses from Scripture. That is, he believes some Bible passages that seem reasonable to him; he decides not to believe verses that don't seem reasonable to him.

Combine these two stories – 1) Mr. Obama's sentiments about parts of the New Testament that St. Paul wrote and 2) his remarks that Jews and Muslims can be children of God – and we see Obama marching to a different drum.

That is, he is apparently not marching in step with fundamentalist Christians.

Further, not surprisingly, Mr. Falwell exhibits fundamentalist tendencies in his editorial.

For example:

He declares that Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever. Why? Because the Bible says Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever.


He says the counsel of the Lord stands forever. Why? Because a verse in the book of Psalms says the counsel of the Lord stands forever.


He notes that "if we follow Christ, we cannot then mold the Bible to fit our needs; treat Jesus as simply a 'good man'" or "embellish the Gospel with man's ideas."

My bottom-line question for Mr. Falwell: Why not? Of course we can do those things. I do at least two out of three of them every day.

There is life beyond fundamentalism. God exists beyond (and in spite of) fundamentalist Christianity.

The Achilles' heel of fundamentalist Christianity is the Bible itself and the long and convoluted history of its coming to be considered (by Bible literalists) the infallible writing of God himself.

The fundamentalist assumes something that is in no way a proven fact: that the Bible is the error-free Word of God.

A study of the origins of Scripture reveals that – contrary to fundamentalists' hope against hope – it is little more than a house of cards.

Indeed, the Bible contains writings that are inspirational and uplifting. But it as well includes accounts of murder, mayhem and immortality by supposedly righteous and godly folks and even God himself. In other words, it paints a picture of God (and followers of God) that makes him out to be a petty, jealous, irascible tyrant.

I do not doubt God's existence. But, when I began to wake up to the precarious state of the "proofs" of the veracity of the Bible, a startling thought slapped my consciousness upside the head:

Does the real God, the one who stands quite apart from the nonsense of the Old and New Testaments (and the nonsense of the tenets of any religion), care if we think he is the self-contradictory, ill-tempered Yahweh? Does it make any difference if we hold onto a distorted, perverted view of the One Infinite Creator?

Yahweh's counterpart in the New Testament is sometimes better behaved, but not always. Yes, Jesus commendably advises loving one's enemies and turning the other cheek. But, especially in the book of Revelation, the Savior will blast you with supernatural nuclear force after the pre-millennial Second Coming if you dare to cross him, if you fail to believe and follow the precise formula that conservative Christians hold to in the name of the Christ of the Apocalypse, Gospels and Epistles.

Here's an interesting exercise for people who are not afraid to travel where the quest for eternal truth leads them:

Investigate the mess that is the biblical canon and listen in on the many interesting debates (readily accessible via the Internet) of conservative Christians with Bible skeptics.

Yes, you can read Josh McDowell or N.T. Wright and their reasonable-sounding standalone arguments apart from any reasonable context. But read their debates with Bible critics instead. The conservative Christians have an abysmal success rate during such professionally moderated discussions.

Mr. Falwell's method of arriving at conclusions is properly to be called circular reasoning.

If you want to prove the veracity of the Bible, you simply cannot credibly do it by citing only the Bible in your arguments. You must do it by relying on your God-given powers of reason, the existence of the universe itself and logical philosophical arguments based on premises that originate outside the Bible. Otherwise your arguments do nothing but run around in circles. Otherwise we can prove that any book is the one and only Word of God that happens to make that outrageous claim on one of its pages.

I want to close by saying that I have not written this letter with the purpose of criticizing Mr. Falwell. I'm sure he is a genuinely compassionate man who has an obvious desire to do what God wants him to do.

But what if God is less than happy with the way Falwell and many others have blindly followed, and then enshrined and worshipped, a collection of writings that – if we can back up from them a moment – can easily be seen to be myth, legend, mistakes and, in many cases, outright hoaxes.

A good place to start: Bart Ehrman's excellent books, such as "The Orthodox Corruption of Scripture," and Albert Schweitzer's series on the quest for the historic Jesus.

My reply to Mr. Falwell's question "Was Jesus a liar?":

Probably not. But we can't know for sure because we have no reliable record of what he did and said or even credible proof that he was an actual historic figure. (Maybe he was; maybe he wasn't.)

J.D.
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HT: WorldNetDaily

The Salt of the Earth

Friday, March 14

A Tasty Preservative

You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? Matthew 5:13a

Recommended Reading

1 Timothy 4:12-16

In ancient cultures, salt was so valuable that it was often used as a medium of exchange. Not only did salt add flavor to food, it was valued as a preservative. Animal flesh was dried and salted in order to keep it from spoiling—to preserve its life-giving nutrients until it was consumed.

When Jesus told His disciples that they were the "salt of the earth," they would have immediately recognized the metaphor. But they probably had to think about its implications. The flavor they were to add to the world speaks of the abundant life Jesus came to give (John 10:10). But their role as a preservative required deeper understanding. Without the spiritual presence of God in this world, darkness would quickly overtake everything. When the church is raptured from the earth in the future, evil will have its way (2 Thessalonians 2:1-12). But as long as Christians are on earth, the Holy Spirit is working through them to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment (John 16:8-11)

By living for Christ today, you add abundant flavor to this world and hold back the darkness so that more might believe.

We are the salt of the earth . . . not the sugar. Our ministry is to truly cleanse and not just to change the taste. Vance Havner

Read-Thru-the-Bible

Judges 5:1 - 7:25

HT: Turning Point Ministries

So, Edwards Is Out

I have noticed that several bloggers out there thought that Edwards was out of the race a long time ago. He is now expected to make it official.

The buzz is that he's not going to immediately endorse either of the two remaining Democratic candidates.

Smart man.

He knows he has some bargaining power now and I'm sure that he'll make the most of it.

There is something that I have wanted to say about Edwards and his ad nauseum references to "tax breaks for the rich."

[Caution, you are about to enter the Talk Wisdom rant zone.]

Each time he spoke at a rally, the man just irked me no end!

That man is missing several facts that are quite important to share.

First. People who have worked their way up the ladder of success in this country should pay their fair amount of taxes; but they shouldn't be expected to give 60 - 80% of it to the government. That's just crazy! That's not fair. That's robbery. Even 50% is too much. Perhaps the super rich deserve to pay that. But if the Dems had their way I shudder to think where the cut-off might be.

Second. Edwards never seems to recognize that many of these "rich" CEO's, Corporate Executives, and small business owners donate very generously to various charities. I wonder. Has Edwards ever looked into that fact? Doubt it.

Third. The fact that many of these people provide jobs for so many others seems to escape his mind. Not only do they provide employment opportunities at their places of business, but many most likely pay monthly fees for services at their homes. They may not be under employment at the corporations they lead, but think about all of the landscapers, pool service people, pet sitters, housekeepers (I would love that one!!), home improvement contractors, etc. that they pay for services rendered at their homes.

Fourth. Without mentioning any names, I can say that I know of people who have gorgeous homes, expensive cars and enjoy many luxuries in this life. However, they have worked their butts off to earn such things. Many people, including Dems like Edwards, probably have no idea how much money, time, and mentoring efforts that such people have generously given away over the years. Do such thoughts ever enter into their minds? Doubt it.

I know of several people who have given, and/or raised tens of thousands of dollars for worthy causes such as Big Brothers & Big Sisters, The Boys and Girls Clubs, the YMCA, and various health care organizations.

Did Edwards ever do any research about this? Probably not. He is the type of man who has an agenda that he likes to spread about the country in order to garner votes from certain people who may have the same ideology that he has. I truly think that this is very regrettable. He attempts to divide this country with his negative and unpleasant combative attitude.

I know some personal stories about people whose families had financially struggled early on in their lives. In one case, a young teenager used a small, walk-in closet as his bedroom when his ill father's condition forced the family to move in with relatives. Did they mooch off of the government in order to get back on their feet? No. Families used to help related families when they were in dire straits. With so much divorce going on nowadays, it is a rare thing for families to remain intact. It is truly a sad state of affairs.

Fifth. Even though the traditional family is under attack at an alarming rate these days, there is still the fact that Christian churches often do come to the rescue of the downtrodden. Why didn't Edwards ever talk about that? I have seen hundreds of examples of Christian families generously donating money, food, clothing, shelter, Christmas gifts for children etc.; to those in need. Some of these families are very wealthy and donate thousands. Others, are not that wealthy but give what they can. In either example, it is the giving attitude that counts, not necessarily the amount of money given.

Sixth. The controversy over Edwards using a false claim that "thousands of homeless vets are being left out on the streets and under bridges" was just downright dishonest. Yes, our system is not perfect. Yes, there is room for improvement. Yes, some people fall through the cracks. However, Edwards never mentioned the fact that there is help available and some, if not most, make their own individual decisions to refuse that help.

The causes for their homelessness could be varied. Some, unfortunately, are drug addicted. Some are alcoholics. Some are mentally ill. Some just don't want the help. Some would rather panhandle than get help. Like the guest who works with veterans and appeared on Bill O'Reilly's show stated, "We can't drag them in if they don't want help." The same could be said for some of the homeless in the general public, too.

I once had a few discussions with a police officer who worked with getting help for the homeless. He admitted that some just refuse to come off the streets; even if the opportunity presents itself. They go to a shelter at night when it is cold, and then go back out during the day. They get food at soup kitchens and various church organizations that distribute food.

There are a lot of really good people who help others in this country. Many of them happen to be either well off or rich. But if we would take Edwards' pronouncements seriously, we would be left to believe that people (especially the "rich") are selfish, uncharitable, stingy, and uncaring about others down on their luck.

Seventh. The "rich" people that Edwards habitually rails against often donate lots of used clothing, household items, tools, bikes furniture...you name it...to Goodwill, the Salvation Army, AmVets and other organizations. Many people are employed as a result of such donations. Clothes that aren't resold or given away here are shipped to third world countries. Where is Edward's praise for such generosity? Answer: no where to be found.

Who usually gets praise for helping others? Celebrities. The super-wealthy. People like Oprah or Bill Gates, for example. Don't get me wrong...they deserve the recognition. But how about a clap of the hands for the ordinary Americans out there who work very hard at their jobs to earn good money to support their families and never take a cent of aid or handouts from the government? How about giving just a tiny bit of recognition for those who faithfully, and habitually contribute to churches, charities, medical research and various children's organizations both here in America and around the world? Don't they deserve more than condemnation from those like Edwards and his ilk?

Stepping off the soapbox now.

HT: Outside the Beltway

See this post too!

Stepping Out In Faith

Stepping out in faith can sometimes be a dangerous thing to do. We can never know how a person (or, as in the case of the story below), a group of people may react to our attempts to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with them.

I received an email notification this morning which had a link to a website that shared a unique, yet awesome story. It truly shows that God can use anyone, and anything, to reach the lost for Jesus. Even a man who had suffered through a difficult childhood.

The following story genuinely demonstrates the wisdom and knowledge found in the words of Jesus Christ Himself:

"...With men [it is] impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible." (see Mark 10:27)

Christine

*******

From: All Things Possible Ministries

Dear Friends:

I am writing this letter to you from a view of 32,000 feet. That's right, flying in the jet stream going home after another fast and action packed trip! Flying over head, I've always been inspired by the view of the farmland and their crops. And, when seeing the farms, with their red and golden fields ready for the harvest, I am reminded of our work.

Our work of reaching America's hurting youth, the ones that are most often incarcerated, is definitely not something Eileen and I ever planned or saw ourselves doing.

Going from living the island lifestyle in Hawaii to responding to an invitation to go on staff with "Focus on the Family" and then finally being put right in the middle of a ministry reaching our nations incarcerated youth is quite the journey. I want to share with you how we founded All Things Possible Ministries.

It started on a Friday "date night" when my bride and I were leaving a mall in Colorado Springs in 2003. That is when a carload of very loud and rowdy gang bangers pulled up next to us with music blaring. It was one of those times when you clearly sense the Holy Spirit impress you to do something. It was in that moment; stopped at a light, I knew I was suppose to share Christ with these kids.

I asked Eileen to roll down her window, in our very intimidating minivan, and I leaned over and yelled at them to pull over into a parking lot. They ignored me at first and probably thought I was nuts. The second time I got their attention by asking them if they were afraid of an old man? That worked! They abruptly pulled over and piled out ready to "get it on". Eileen, near full term with our fourth child, simply bowed her head in the seat and prayed for the safety for her ADHD husband of 15 years.

Well, we met half way and I stopped them by telling them I was a master of martial arts and that the current reigning United States Nation Karate Champion was a young man I had trained. They all looked at me like I was crazy, so I told them at the red light I could see the guy in the back seat was holding a Bali song or Butterfly knife. The knife opened from the middle, to expose the blade and I told them to let me show them how to properly open and close this martial arts weapon. By the grace of God, and my wife's "emergency phone call to God" from the van, they did not attack me. Rather they retrieved the knife from under the back seat, (it was illegal) and allowed me to perform a short but convincing demonstration by twirling, flipping, opening and closing the knife faster than a switch blade.

The Holy Spirit's prodding in my spirit worked because now I had the platform. Their attention was captured and God allowed me the opportunity to share the story about the real Master, Jesus Christ and what He did on the Cross for their and my sins.

Three of the four youths responded openly to the truth of a loving God who made a way for them. It was a miraculous and happy ending! Well, yes and no.

To my shock the fourth young man, (who I'll call Joe) had really big and wild looking hair. It was waving in the air and as he approached he began spewing filthy profanities at me, the likes of which would make a sailor blush. Joe then started attacking Jesus, the Bible, and screaming there is no way that God could be a loving Father. Joe vehemently rejected the message and threaten me to such an extent that his friends had to physically restrain him and calm him down.

Joe asked me why, if God was so loving, did he allow him to be raised in a family who has only known the gang life and has been made to suffer all his 15 years of living?


STOP!

I hope at this point you're asking yourself what would you do in this situation?

Many of you might say, "Victor, don't pull over a group of gang members!", and I would say, "I agree, unless you knew God was directing you."

But here is where the story really gets interesting. I told Joe that the truth remained the same. God is a loving God! He is righteous and He does desire, more than anything for him to repent and to surrender his life to "The Master". So Joe could fulfill all God had planned for his life; which is the same for all of us "a future and a hope" as He says in Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)
This young and deeply hurting angry young man shouted his last obscenities and stomped away. The remaining three actually apologized for him and then thanked me for caring enough to share with them. We then slapped hands (the street way) and we each went our own way.

Over?

Not in God's economy as He always works things in His perfect timing.

Fast forward three months when I am asked by a great brother and warrior in Christ to come to a youth prison and share my story and do a martial arts demo. I did. To our surprise there were 75 youths in this facility and sitting on the very back row was that "big hair" kid, Joe. That's right! I was both shocked and amazed to see him sitting on the back row. I went on to perform a weapons demo in which I unfortunately hit my assistant in the chin with the nunchucks. Whoops! This guy bled profusely and yet allowed me to take another swing and accurately knock the pencil out of his mouth; needless to say I had the full attention of all the youth, the guards and even the Warden.

With rapt attention I went on to share about the goodness and faithfulness of the Lord in my life in the midst of hardship as a kid growing up. Well to my shock and delight when I gave an opportunity for these harden, hurting, angry youth to receive forgiveness from the Lord Jesus; 53 of the 75 stood to signify their need to be forgiven and their desire to follow Jesus!

Truly the signet ring seal of the Lord was embossed on my heart when the kid in the back row "big hair" stood to surrender to Christ Jesus. I walked to the back and he looked at me and I asked "Do you remember me?" He said, "Yeah." Then I asked him, "Why today?" and I will never forget what this old man of 16 years said.

"Mister I am tired of living my life on my own and you said Jesus could live in me and help me"

Do you see why we do what we do?

A.T.P. reaches into a bountiful harvest field. A field that Satan has convinced most of us is a waste of our time and resources. He wants us to be afraid of these kids. But we know that God loves them and that Jesus came to seek and save that which is lost. Just like the one sheep, the Good Shepherd left the ninety nine to go after the one. We are following his example by doing the same.

Our future in 2008 looks to be an incredible year of opportunity! There are several creative projects on the calendar that only the Lord could have ordained and given us favor for. With faithful national and international saints covering us with prayer we can only win more youth for Him!

Thank you very, very much for making the sacrifices in prayer and financially you've made to partner with us. Together may we fulfill that which the Master has called us to do.

Because of Him, because of them,

Victor and Eileen Marx

All Things Possible Ministries, PO BOX 21568 Waco, Texas 76702
www.atpministries.org

HT: Laiglesforum

Mat 19:26 But Jesus beheld [them], and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.

Mar 9:23 Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things [are] possible to him that believeth.

Mar 10:27 And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men [it is] impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.