Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Isaiah 61 and Luke 4
I will be back later for additional comments.
In Christ,
Christine
*******
Isaiah 61 and Luke 4
(C) By Sothenes
“And he (Jesus) came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,”-Luke 4:16-17
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.”-Luke 4:18-19
“And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.”-Luke 4:20-21
Jesus is quoting from Isaiah 61 and he stops quoting at the comma. Jesus said,”This day is this scripture filled in your ears.”
“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord,…”-Isaiah 61:1-2a
The part Jesus didn’t quote from Isaiah 61:2 is:
“, and the day of vengeance of our God;…” and there is a third part that Jesus doesn’t quote which is “…to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified. And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations.”-Isaiah 61:2b-4
If Jesus had kept reading, He couldn’t have said,”This day is this scripture filled in your ears.” Jesus has already come once and the second coming is not to make peace but it is to come after the destruction in the tribulation to “comfort all that mourn” and to “give them beauty for ashes” because “they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities…”
These passages are a roadmap for what has come and what is to come. The first event was (Isaiah 61:1) the coming of the messiah. The second event is the “day of vengeance of our God” (Isaiah 61:2B) and the third event is the restoration of the cities after the tribulation (Isaiah 61:4) when Messiah returns.
Israel has already rejected their Messiah because they were looking for a deliverer who was going to take off the shackles of Rome. Jesus came as a deliverer for men’s sins (Isaiah 61:1 “to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;” He stopped at that comma because that is where His earthly ministry ended. The next event is “the day of vengeance of our God”. Since Israel has already rejected their Messiah, there comes another to claim to be the deliverer to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity and that is the anti-Christ but they don’t know how to read their Bible and they aren’t looking at how God punctuated the verse because Hebrew doesn’t have commas. You can’t have a suffering servant (Isaiah 53:5) at the same time as a ruling King.
“Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. For, behold the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.”-Isaiah 26:20-21
Sunday, January 29, 2006
Genuine Person or Fake Persona?
Over time, I think that those who are just a blogging parody eventually give themselves away. Either that or others give their motives away. One clear give-away to those involved in presenting a fake persona is when an entire blog (with several months of posts and comments) is suddenly deleted. Another give-away is when the people posting comments start questioning whether or not the blog owner is genuine. Sometimes the bizarre comments give us clues as to the motives of the blogger. I recently witnessed such an exchange between several commentors and a blogger named, "Maureen."
Maureen first posted at my blog when I wrote a blogpost called, "A USC Football Experience." Here is a copy of her post and my reply:
Maureen commented:
Dear Christine,
I've been visiting your site recently -- I'm always on the look out for fellow Christians in this fallen age -- but I have been very disappointed by several aspects of your blog. To put it bluntly, I do not think you show a proper submission to Christ, and you do not properly glorify his name on this blog. You talk about your family more than you talk about the Lord, and you idly boast of the licentiousness of your children. You glorify in "bread & circuses" of sports that the modern pagan authorities (under the direction of the prince of this world) have given us to distract us from our Christian mission. Furthermore, this website has become a meeting-place for rebellion against God, as pagans, Satanists, and homosexuals come here to spew forth their rhetoric against our Creator and Father. As a Christians, we are told to put on the full armour of the Lord and shun these criminals and rebels against the Holy Spirit. It is one thing to sin against the Law which God has given us; it is another thing to reject the gifts of the Spirit when the Word of God's grace has been made manifest. I believe that the people who hate God and speak against His name have already committed the sin against the Holy Spirit, which Jesus tells us is the one unpardonable sin.
Since you allow such blasphemy to reign unchecked on this website, I have to ask: Is your salvation truly secure? You seem to be a woman of immense pride, without the signs of Christian modesty which a lady cultivates when she is meek and submissive to her husband. I really wonder whether I can call you a sister in Christ. I half suspect that you are a false convert, crying out "Lord, Lord" without an understanding of your utter depravity in the Lord's eyes. You see, Christine, we are all unbelievable sinners, absolutely worthless and stinking wretches. We all have the penalty of death upon our heads. If it were not for God's amazing grace, in choosing a fortunate elect from out among us at the dawn of time, we should all be consigned to hell.
You have very few of the signs of election upon you. In your dress (and in the dress of your daughter, whom you wantonly display by your side), you are just as immodest as pagans and harlots of modern America, a land which has abandoned its Lord, and which is paying the penalty for its fornications. I'll be praying for you and your visitors, and I hope that you will begin to turn this site around and begin to use to glorify God, and not yourself. As it stands now, you are in danger of being erased from the Book of Life, which the Lord in his justice uses to secure our salvation. Whether you are among the elect or not, your website should be used to steer other Christians away from the works of Satan.
"Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?"
(Matthew 23:33)
To God be the Glory,
Maureen
My reply:
Hello Maureen,
Welcome to my blog (I think). That is what I usually say when people who visit here are upset with what I have posted.
My blog is a "conversational" kind of blog that happens to be written by me, a sinner saved ONLY by the sacrificial blood of Jesus Christ at the cross through the grace and mercy of God the Father.
Romans 12:1-2 instructs us:
Living Sacrifices to God
12I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
I write about many different topics here; including a few posts about my family. I write about current political and social events and movements and how such events should be "filtered" and seen through the truth of the Word of God.
My way of using the spiritual gifts of God may differ from yours.
Serve God with Spiritual Gifts
3 For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. 4 For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. 6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; 7 or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; 8 he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.
You are entitled to your own personal opinion of me. That's what free speech is all about, isn't it? I have allowed all types of people to post here (including any or all sinners in need of the Savior) as long as they do not curse or blaspheme the name of the Lord.
I'm not sure how long you have been reading my blog, but if you delve into the posts a bit further back you may get answers to your questions regarding your opinion of whether or not you could (or, more accurately would want to) call me a sister in Christ.
What you call "distraction of our Christian mission" is called having fun with the family. Attending a football game doesn't make me a pagan just as attending a church doesn't make one a Christian. Repentance, forgiveness, mercy, grace, faith and love through the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit of God in the heart is what truly matters in order to be reconciled to God.
During his ministry on earth, Jesus entered into the houses of many different kinds of sinners. A hated tax collector, for one. He came to the aid of an adulterous woman who was about to be stoned by a throng of men. They were ultimately shamed into dropping their stones when Jesus told them, "he who is without sin may cast the first stone." Jesus visited with the woman at the well who was involved in fornication because she was living with a man to whom she was not married.
Behave Like a Christian
9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. 10 Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; 11 not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; 12 rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; 13 distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. 16 Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.
17 Repay no one evil for evil. Have* regard for good things in the sight of all men. 18 If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. 19 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord. 20 Therefore
"If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
If he is thirsty, give him a drink;
For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head."*
21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Footnotes:
12:19 Deuteronomy 32:35
12:20 Proverbs 25:21, 22
(bold emphasis above added)
The purposes of Jesus Christ are not finished when one of his own is forgiven. Not at all. He wants us to be healed and share such healing with others who are brokenhearted and currently held captive by the darkness of the evil one. We are called to share the Good News of the Gospel with sinners and plant seeds pointing to the saving grace of Jesus Christ to help them find the Spirit of Life instead of remaining in the spirit of despair -
Isaiah 61:1-3 (NKJV)
The Good News of Salvation
61"The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me,
Because the Lord has anointed Me
To preach good tidings to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives,
And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord,
And the day of vengeance of our God;
To comfort all who mourn,
3 To console those who mourn in Zion,
To give them beauty for ashes,
The oil of joy for mourning,
The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
That they may be called trees of righteousness,
The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified."
*******
Then, in reply to a post about the war in Iraq, Maureen stated:
Anna and Christine,
I'm sorry but I don't see how the name of Christ Jesus is glorified by this war in Iraq. I don't see how George Bush is any better than the baby-killing DEMON-crats he ran against. He is supposed to be a Christian and yet he never talks about Jesus in the public square. He has even praised Islam as a "religion of peace" and continues to support the atheist leaders of England and Japan. In my opinion Iraq should be completely wiped out and claimed in the name of the LORD JESUS CHRIST -- or else we should abandon it to the barbarians who curse God in the name of the demon-sultan "Allah". God will purify that nation of blasphemers. As it is I believe Bush acts like an atheist, and he has even cultivated "friendships" with many well-known sodomites, who should be shunned as predators on American youth. I believe this entire war and presidency has been fomented by international bankers who put Judaism above Christ & country, and sodomy and sin ahead of the Bible.
I don't believe for a second that Israel is on our side. This is the same nation that murdered Christ and will try to do so again. We in America need to retreat from a fallen world, establish a kingdom for the Lord to claim at home, and wait patiently for HIS return. George Bush is not our savior -- far from it!
It is high-time CHRISTIANS formed their own party and routed the CRIMINALS and false converts of the "two" political parties. They are both ONE party - for Satan!
*******
My reply:
Maureen,
I am too tired to respond to your entire post right now. However, I cannot let your comment about Israel "murdering Christ" stand.
Note these verses:
Jhn 10:15 As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.
Jhn 10:17 Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.
These verses tell us that Jesus laid his life down WILLINGLY, and of his own accord. He could have called legions of angels to rescue himself from that cross. He choose to die for our sins so that we could be reconciled to God the Father.
If you choose to blame anyone, Maureen, guess what? You would need to blame yourself! You would also need to blame me! You would also need to blame EVERY SINNER (and that's EVERYONE - remember - all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God) that ever walked the face of the earth!
I will get to the rest of your post tomorrow.
One more thing. When you perceive and speak of others, such as myself, at your blog as a 'false prophet', in reality, perhaps you should first look into the mirror.
I take what I do, say and post as a Christian believer very seriously. True believers with the Holy Spirit of God indwelling them know that the Spirit would not lead them to do, say or write in a way that is contrary to the Bible. God's Word is perfect, but I am not. Because we are all human and imperfect, we have the standard of God's Perfect Word in the Bible to hold us all accountable!
I have friends here who are also Christians and they help to keep me accountable in what I write. Even then, when rebuked by a Christian friend, it is done through love. When I make a mistake, I admit it and correct it. However, what I see happening at your blog is worse (IMO) than any mistake or misstep that I may have done here. What I see is you tearing down others rather than lifting them up. The Bible tells us to encourage one another in Christ. This is as it should be when one is a fellow Christian believer.
It is the accuser of our souls who does the opposite. This is the typical ploy of the Enemy of our souls. He comes along and twists Scripture; mocks and belittles the true followers of Christ. Are you getting the picture here or do I need to be more direct?
When a person comes along and shares Bible verses, but does not share any love for fellow believers, something is wrong. Perhaps the following verse applies to you:
1Jo 4:1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
I pray that you will examine your motives here and at your own blog. If your motives are pure and of God, then you are welcome to continue posting. I will then take it to mean that perhaps you might be new in the body of Christ and need much more Bible study.
If your motives are only to steal, kill the witness of others, and/or destroy their walk with Jesus Christ then I pray that in the name of Jesus Christ you are sent away. You and your minions have no power here.
*******
Maureen commented:
Christine,
I think you are trying to say that I am of the party of Satan. I can't believe that a true Christian would assault my faith so brutally as that. Christine, I am simply a woman in a fallen world, trying to live out the Word as truthfully as I can. In the end all of the material things of this life will count for NOTHING -- that is why it is so important to ensure that the PURE WORD of God is defended and proclaimed. That is what the point of my blog is -- an attempt to counter some of the watered-down Christianity you find all over the world -- even I'm sad to say on this website. I live a life of TOTAL fidelity to the Lord. I live and worship in the sound of the Word. I live a life of seclusion with my family -- my father is a pastor, my brother is a missionary, and my nephew Zachariah is our resident genius and help-mate. We have all dedicated ourselves to total chastity, and my brother and my nephew and myself have lived our virginity to this day, that we may be among the first fruits of the Lord. I admire my father so much because he realises that he has the mark of cain upon him for his lawfully contracted fornications, yet he proclaims the warning that unchastity -- even in the heart -- will lead to spiritual death. For lust is no other than blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, for which there can be no redemption. The Lord alone is sovereign and He will save those among the whoremongers whom He so chooses. In our time, it is our task to plead with LOVE that all who are on the path to fornication shall seek the loving light of the Lord.
I'm sorry that my words were unfeeling and mispoken. I long to cultivate a sisterhood with you in the sight of the Lord - a mutual learning experience, perhaps? There is but one God and I am not He, but I worship Him and I don't see how my words of warning and counsel could be false, if they have come from the Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior. Please pray for my sins Christine as I continue to pray for yours. I have been villified and attacked and slandered all within a few days of using the Internet and I am afraid that that is simply the burden we who follow the Lord must bear.
God bless you, Christine, and may you continue to grow in the love and wisdom of the Lord.
Yours in Christ,
Maureen
*******
I neglected to get back to her post and address the rest of her unscriptural comments. Her last post showed much confusion:
My sister in Christ--
I often feel wieghted down in worries that I am not good enough for our dear Lord Jesus Christ. I know I am burdened with many sins, many impurities, and many thoughts of lust or hate. I seek to purify myself of these iniquities -- yet I am ever burdened by the dangers of hell, the devil's endless temptations. I believe that I am of the elect, but I fear in my heart the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit which could send me into the flames of Gehenna. I have known so many Christians who committed the unpardoble sin -- without even realizing it. That is why I am communicating with people in this modern fashion to help them steel themselves in the truth and wisdom of the Word of God.
How much persecution can I take for His name's sake? I would take it all, and spare Him -- yet I know I am not strong enough.
In God's hands,
your sister Maureen
*******
Because I sincerely hoped that Maureen was being genuine, I posted this reply:
Dear Maureen,
I know that it may seem easy to say and hard to do, but Jesus tells us not to be so burdened.
Have you read my post called, Debt We Owed But Could Never Pay?
Maureen said: "I believe that I am of the elect, but I fear in my heart the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit which could send me into the flames of Gehenna."
Also, please see Once Saved Always Saved? I think that the Scriptures shared in that post might help to ease your fears in this area.
Because we are still human beings and sin and evil are available to us in this world, we may, unfortunately, fall prey to them. But God will forgive us when we repent of them.
Once we belong to Jesus, He never lets us go!
As we become more and more like Jesus, through sanctification, we find that sin doesn't have the power over us like it once did before we were born again. We will never be perfect while here on this earth, but we are forgiven, according to God's promises in the Bible. When we mess up, fail to please God or backslide into a sinful behavior, we become convicted within our hearts. We can come back to God through confession and repentance. Just like the story of the prodigal son, He welcomes us back with loving arms.
There are different schools of thought regarding whether one can lose their salvation after conversion. From what I have read and studied, the Bible tells me that as saved Christians, we can lose rewards and will have to answer for any such transgressions before the Lord. But the Bible doesn't teach that we can lose our salvation. Some theologians and denominations might disagree with me on that, but when Jesus said, "It is finished" while on the cross, I believe Him!
Charles Stanley has several great books. One is called, "When the Enemy Strikes; The Keys to Winning Your Spiritual Battles."
Hope this helps.
Have a blessed Christmas!
Christine
*******
I had a glitch while posting this and some of the original post was erased! I will try to recover it tomorrow!
For now, what do you think about the blogger named, "Maureen?"
Genuine person?
Fake Persona?
True Christian?
Confused Christian?
Just a parody for fun?
Other?
*******
Update: 1/30/06 1:00 pm PT
Seems that other people appear to be wondering about the former blogger named, "Maureen." You can see that her blog name has already been taken over by a person named "Dan."
There seem to be some questions floating around about whether or not "Dan" was actually "Maureen" all along (he denies it).
Then, there are links that state otherwise (warning...some very vulgar language at the links). Proceed to investigate at your own discretion. The New "Dying in Christ" blogspot. The same people who used to post at Maureen's blog are now posting there...very interesting...
Saturday, January 28, 2006
What's Cascioli's Motivation for Jesus Trial?
We could surmise several reasons. An obvious one could be that a silly childhood rivalry has surfaced its ugly head in adulthood. But that is probably much to simple to ascertain. Besides the fact that this Cascioli clown is an atheist, what I think is truly telling about his motivation here is that he wants to draw attention to, and sell more of his crummy little blasphemous book! Cascioli wants to sell his work of fiction as the truth!
Hey! It worked for that James Frey character! Just turn the tables around a bit. Frey created a work of fiction and when he couldn't find anyone willing to publish the book, he decided to pass it off as "truth" by lying about himself and others in a slimy and false account of his life! He duped Oprah into leading millions to purchase the book through her book club. The result? He sold over 3 million copies!
So, since Cascioli's limited audience of atheists would not get many of his books sold, perhaps he decided to bring some extra publicity and attention to his book through this stupid and crazy trial. Maybe he could get some Christians duped into purchasing his book?
Bottom line? His motivation is probably money. Ta da! And the truth shall set us free!
There has probably been several bloggers who have already made this connection. I haven't had the time to read many on this topic yet. But wouldn't you agree that the trial publicity in order to sell more of his dopey book to earn a lot of money could be his true motivation in all this?
Stirring up some controversy to make some money seems to be a logical pagan thing to do, so why should we not presume that one of Cascioli's motives was just that? He wanted to peddle more of his disgraceful books so he set up this priest in a phony, truly asinine trial! This so-called judge sounds more like a whiny two-year old starving for attention than a judge that deserves any respect whatsoever.
No skeptic or atheist (in their right mind) bothers anymore to contend that Jesus Christ was not an historical person. Jesus of Nazareth is as established a figure as any other individual in human history. If you decided that there was not enough evidence to prove His existence, then you'd have to question the existence of Caesar and Aristotle and a thousand other well-known figures from the past.
Usually, skeptics just stick to challenging the reality of the resurrection. But with five hundred documented accounts of respected individuals who saw our Lord and Savior after He was raised from the dead, wouldn't this amount of testimonies pass the test in a court of law? These were people who could have easily been challenged, even persecuted, for what they said. But in the face of adversity, they stuck to their stories.
As we know, some of them were men who ran away the moment Jesus was arrested, a bunch of men who denied His name when they honestly believed He was the Messiah sent by God. but it was this same group of cowards who, three days after the crucifixion, rose up with a new power and conviction and a total commitment to the Christ they had betrayed with their actions. They were the same men who preached His gospel throughout the whole world. They were mocked and tortured and killed for what they preached. People who once ran away when Christ was crucified would not typically endure such things if what they had seen could just be labeled as a myth. And, if Christ had died and stayed in the grave, these men long since would have been forgotten in the march of time.
Plus, there is contemporary evidence that stands up to contemporary standards. Dr. Simon Greenleaf was considered the world's greatest authority on legal standards of evidence.
As his "Testimony of the Evangelicals" begins:
"Dr. Simon Greenleaf, one of the principle founders of the Harvard Law School, originally set out to disprove the biblical testimony concerning the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He was certain that a careful examination of the internal witness of the Gospels would dispel all the myths at the heart of Christianity. But this legal scholar came to the conclusion that the witnesses were reliable, and that the resurrection did in fact happen.
There is also historical, manuscript, and archaeological evidence as well that to any unbiased person is proof beyond a reasonable doubt that christianity is based on historical facts. I hope you enjoy Dr. Greenleaf's examination of the internal evidence of the gospel writers."
Friday, January 27, 2006
Narrow Is The Biblical Worldview Way
Perhaps that is why Jesus told us in Matthew 7:14 - "Because strait [is] the gate, and narrow [is] the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it."
I do agree with most of the letters received by Dr. Laura (below) which helps explain the reasons for this. However, my own experience with many biblically-based Christians in my former Bible study group is that they have eliminated cable, satellite and sometimes even regular T.V. from their households! It is like they are living in a "cocoon" of their own making...keeping out all the anti-God, perverse morality of the secular world.
Trouble is, they are unaware that their Judeo-Christian values and beliefs are being taken away one by one by the radical leftists judges making unprecedented decisions that are not based on the traditional interpretations of our U.S. Constitution, but are based on their radical evolutionary beliefs which take the original meanings out of context in order to support their moral relativistic views.
I don't think that Christians should live in isolation from the world. They shouldn't live in imitation of it either. We must learn the principle of insulation which tells us not to be infected by the world, but to infiltrate the world.
Romans 12:1,2 (NKJV) - I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
1 Corinthians 6:19,20 (NKJV) - Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.
Matthew 28:18-20 (NKJV) - 18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go *therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." *Amen.
Jesus gave us the Great Commission as a commandment, not a suggestion! This requires action!
Sacrifice is complete dedication to God. Worship is a moment by moment dedication and always transforms us. Jesus wants us to go out and make disciples...not imitate the world and it's desires nor isolate ourselves in our own little cocoon of protection, but to infiltrate the world with the Gospel. Part of this infiltration is to take action against the secular movement to push God out of the public square and the attempts to eliminate His commandments on how we should live. We should do all that we can to "use every part of our bodies to give glory back to God because he owns it." (see 1 Corinthians 6:20 [LB] )
What I found most disturbing about our current Supreme Court is that even a "moderate" Supreme Court judge like Sandra Day O'Connor now believes that we should follow the beliefs and constitutions established in Europe for guidance in judicial matters in the United States. Such views are often diametrically opposed to our Judeo-Christian worldview and ethics. If we were to be led down such a road as Europe has followed, we'd be in big trouble!
Thank God that judge Alito, (who will interpret law according to the original meaning(s) of the Constitution and would not ever go to European judicial opinion) will soon replace her on the Supreme Court.
I'm not sure what it will take for Christians to rise up against these very things that will one day take away our "freedom of religion" and Judeo-Christian heritage and values and replace it with "freedom from religion" and moral relativistic pagan living. But I choose to do my small part in every way possible. My website, and discussion forum, and this blog are dedicated to alerting Christians to the dangers we face due to activism by such groups as the ACLU, anti-traditional family groups, abortion-rights, the radical homosexual activist groups and their agenda, perversion groups like NAMBLA, pornography, anti-American groups, Islamic terrorist groups and those who support them financially.
In the past and on occasion now, I also speak out through letters to the editor in my local newspaper, posting on internet message boards, and talking with teens via AOL instant messenger.
One thing that I want to stress to my fellow Christian believers. It is more important now than ever before to support pro-family groups and Christian lawyer organizations that continually fight for restoring Biblical values in our nation and courtrooms. Donations to the Alliance Defense Fund and the ACLJ (American Center for Law and Justice) are essential and I would encourage anyone reading this to give what they can.
These organizations are fighting to keep our rights and defeat those of the liberal left-wing agenda from turning our nation into a modern Sodom and Gomorrah.
Keep our nation in prayer!!
We desperately need God's guidance today, more than ever before!!
Christine
*******
Below, are copies of letters written to Dr. Laura back in 2004. You will notice that most were in response to the Kobe Bryant scandal.
Dr. Laura: "What scares and demoralizes me the most is that as a people, Americans do not express unified outrage anymore. Kobe Bryant – an admitted adulterer and accused rapist – gets a standing ovation from an adoring crowd at a basketball game; hallowed halls of higher education subvert the very meaning of education to give forums to perverts, racists and gender hostilities (which is the definition of a black / Hispanic / women's / whatever studies curriculum) and biased, leftist, anti-Western Civilization courses ... and nothing happens.
I then asked the question: "Why is that?" I would like to be able to tell you that I received hundreds, even thousands, of answers considering the millions who read WorldNetDaily.com. I received 23 – well thought out, but only 23.
Leah, from Ohio, brought up a point I've made many times on my radio program:
"Decent people are busy at home and at work doing the things that decent people do in a decent life. I wonder how many of the (leftist) activists are home with their children after school every night, helping with homework, taking them to piano practice, fixing a warm supper for their husbands who work long hours, holding the baby through the night when he has a fever? Most of the men and women I know who hold more conservative values have a hard time leaving their children in day care, or letting them "veg" in front of the television while mom and dad do "more important" things. Most of us know what self-sacrifice means, and put the needs of our family and others first. Most of the people who would applaud Kobe Bryant are good at putting themselves first. And, maybe they're willing to look the other way when Kobe Bryant does what he does because they don't want to feel guilty for whatever they're doing ... I wish there were a better answer, but I think there are just too few conservative-thinking people who have the time to devote to fighting the cultural battles in a big way."
Marcia, from California, believes that the liberal domination in public education has brainwashed our children to see the government as the source of all things – instead of family or God: "I contend that liberalism is a religion ... a composite religion that is distinctly anti-Judeo-Christian and anti-biblical worldview. The liberals lead the "church-state separation campaign," while at the same time they create more reliance on the "Church of the Liberal Government." The public-education system is this "church's" biggest ministry."
Gale, from California, summed it up in three points:
"(1) ... because the majority have lost their sense of right and wrong – black-and-white morality is gray to them.
(2) ... because the 'fight has become too big, and they don't know how to unify, and
(3) ... because morality is unpopular. There can be repercussions for standing up for good. Dr. Laura, you have been beat up, slandered, demeaned, stomped on, kicked off television and every other thing possible. Most people just don't have that kind of stamina. I thank God every day that you have been strengthened to endure it all for me."
As if to confirm Gale's fears, Kelly from Idaho, wrote:
"In 1993, I had the audacity to author and lead a statewide ballot measure here in Idaho that would have prevented all state tax monies from being spent to promote the teaching of homosexual behavior as healthy and normal in the public schools ... by reading the media accounts, I was the new token state bigot overnight. I simply thought that I was nothing more than a concerned father and husband who desperately wanted to pass the cultural baton on to the next generation in better shape than I received it. I patiently repeated over and over that we are to love all people, including homosexuals, but that homosexual behavior should ... not be celebrated by forced tolerance PC campaigns ... after doing media interviews an average of literally three hours daily during the last months of the campaign, it is my firm belief that the average person lives in complete fear of incurring the wrath of the local editorial board. "Heaven forbid my personal reputation getting trashed by the local paper" is definitely the order of the day. This foxhole mentality has got to end nationally or we will continue to be intimidated into submission by a handful of left-wing nuts who must go home at night in complete glee at the level of control they wield over the masses."
Jo Marie wrote that:
"The 'experts' from sociology to psychology have convinced too many of us that judging and expressing moral outrage is 'bad,' because it hurts people's feelings."
Elizabeth confirms that:
"As a society, we have misinterpreted the "Judge not, and ye shall not be judged" Luke 6:37 part of the New Testament to mean we are not to point out evil and wrong doing . With this mentality, most are unwilling to speak out against what they believe to be wrong."
Linda expressed that:
"The moral foundation of this country is being kicked out from under it ... With God out of public discourse, people have lost confidence in their ability to tell right from wrong (moral relativism being the official religion of the public schools)."
As if to summarize all of the above, Michael, says that:
"The short answer is: indoctrination, intimidation and the breaking down of the human spirit to the point where people have a slave mentality of not challenging their masters (i.e., mass media, higher educational officials, and to some extent, the government)."
Dr. Laura Schlessinger is the best-selling author of books focused on successful relationships, parenting ideas, morality and personal ethics. She may be contacted by fax at (818)461-5140, or by writing: Dr. Laura Schlessinger; P.O. Box 8120; Van Nuys, CA 91409.
Thursday, January 26, 2006
Independence and Peace or More Terror?
This news isn't good for either Israel or the U.S., however, we shall see what happens from here.
One thing is for certain. Hamas must renounce the part of their platform that calls for the destruction of Israel. They must cease and desist from sending suicide/homicide bombers into Israel.
President Bush was absolutely correct when he announced at his news conference this morning that Hamas must change in light of these elections. The U.S. will not negotiate or work with terrorists. Period. I totally agree. The proverbial ball is in Hamas' court and what they do with it will determine where the Roadmap for Peace goes from here.
If Hamas continues on their evil and corrupt path, their government will then fall into the category of a terrorist state. If they change their ways and embrace democratic policies and a government that displays peaceful ways toward Israel and the U.S., then they can join the growing community of new democracies (along with Afghanistan and Iraq) and work toward a free and peaceful Middle East region.
I dislike being negative on this issue, but I am worried that Hamas will not change it's terrorists ways or tactics towards Israel. Why do I feel this way? The two links here will show why I have much skepticism. The end of Aaron Klein's article accentuates my suspicions:
Still, the terror chief said he will not amend the official Hamas charter, which calls for the destruction of Israel by "assaulting and killing," and rejects all peace talks with the Jewish state.
I am keeping the beloved Holy Land of Israel in my prayers.
More to come...
1/27/06:
I have always liked and agreed with Benjamin Netanyahu and his policies regarding Israel. I knew in my heart of hearts that giving any land over to the Palestinians was a huge mistake!
Christine
*******
Likud Chairman Benjamin Netanyahu says following Hamas victory in PA elections ‘state of Hamastan – an offshoot of Iran - has been established before our eyes; we cannot reach an understanding with Hamas, as their main goal is to annihilate Israel’
In this article, Bibi states, "This event (elections) has produced an extreme Islamist country; the hands of all its leaders are stained in blood,” he added.
“Today is the day for soul-searching, because the writing was on the wall. The free withdrawals from Gaza and the northern West Bank gave Hamas a winning card.”
As to the speculations that Hamas will become more moderate now that it has won the elections, Netanyahu said, “This is what they said about the ayatollahs when they took control over Iran."
“We cannot reach an understanding with Hamas, as their main goal is to annihilate Israel. We must return to the Likud’s policy of deterrence,” he concluded.
Israel Rules Out Talks with Hamas Leaders
Hamas, Fatah Supporters Clash
Hamas Victory Clouds Peace Outlook
Hamas Victory Draws Mixed Reactions
Hamas Government to be New Taliban?
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
Clash Over A Prayer
They didn't want to hear anything in a prayer that might make them have to face the fact that they have had a complacent attitude in allowing the horrible sin called abortion to go on for 33 years.
They didn't want to hear anything in a prayer that might make them have to face their need for repentance.
They didn't want to hear anything in a prayer that might make them have to face the fact that they need to humble themselves before a Holy and Righteous God and ask for forgiveness.
Tom Swartley, a minister at First Christian Church in Elm Creek. Standing at the front of the legislative chamber with his comments broadcast statewide, Swartley asked God for forgiveness for abortion, which he called a, "33-year-long nightmare."
"We go to work and school and come home and watch TV while genocide, infanticide and homicide is being committed against our own children," he said.
Swartley also asked forgiveness for "teaching the religion of evolution to our young citizens."
"We put our children in the same category as other mammals and then we wonder why some act like animals," he said.
Wow. No wonder one of the senators ran out absolutely enraged and furious!
Omaha Senator Ernie Chambers, who makes it a point not to be present during the daily prayer, rushed from his first-floor office up the stairs to the chamber in time to criticize the remarks shortly after they were completed.
"I have not been as enraged and furious in the Legislature as I am this morning," said an obviously upset Chambers.
Chambers, who described Swartley's prayer as divisive, insulting and wrong, renewed his call to do away with the morning prayer altogether. If Chambers doesn't get his wish you can bet your bippy* that "praying about moral issues" will certainly be stricken from that chamber's future prayers!
But I wonder. What if the person conducting the prayer had been from a progressive, liberal church and had stated the opposite in ideology? What if he had praised God for a "woman's right to choose" or "that Intelligent Design theory is being rejected" in many states? Would there have been such a firestorm of protest? I doubt it.
Ah yes. The "feel good" approach to prayer. Sounds like the philosophy of many liberal, progressive churches that do not bother to "teach Jesus Christ and Him crucified." Need an example? Visit this false gospel site. I checked their "witness" and "about" page and the only thing that I could find about Jesus was a short blurb that read, "In Luke 10, as Jesus prepares to end his ministry..." There was nothing about the cross of Christ, the need for repentance and forgiveness of sins through His shed blood, or the need to ask Christ into their hearts for salvation."You don't bring that kind of subject," Cudaback said of Swartley's prayer. "You're here to make us feel good."
If you are currently attending such a church, my advice is to run! We are to Beware the Crossless Gospel!
Back to the prayer feud.
I know what some will say here. The legislative chamber is not a church and this type of prayer was inappropriate. But was it? Where are the laws that promote such things as abortion and 'evolution only' created? If someone doesn't agree, why can't they express it in a prayer? Is it right to censor a prayer simply because someone might have their conscience seared by it? It's free speech, isn't it?
As Mr. Swartley contends, he wasn't endorsing a candidate or political party. He had read the guidelines sent in a letter from the clerk's office inviting him to deliver the prayer, and he didn't think praying about abortion would be in violation.
Get ready. Those guidelines will now definately change! Can't have anyone's moral convictions disturbing those who lack them!
"I feel bad about the turmoil, but I don't feel bad about my convictions, which are based on the Bible," Mr. Swartley said.
If I had been there and had the chance, I would have run off and handed out copies of Jill Stanek's article. But people like this guy Chambers would most likely not even read past the title. I envision him as the kind of person who would just tear it to pieces and throw it away. Wouldn't want to ruin his day with what Jill reveals in her article about the terrible and awful truth concerning the further consequences of abortion:
"It would seem to be the greatest irony of abortion, that the foremost tool feminists say will facilitate women's equality with men is actually the foremost weapon used to kill them.
It's another one of those anti-life dichotomies.
While abortion proponents in San Francisco were shouting, "You don't care if women die!" to pro-life marchers last Sunday, abortion proponents in India were slaughtering 1,370 girls via abortion the same day.Meanwhile, a 2002 UNICEF study concluded that 74 million women in South Asia are "simply missing," with as many as 50 million from India. Sex slave and marriage trafficking in the region is "booming," according to the Child Rights Information Network.
USA Today reported that by 2020, 40 million unmarried Chinese men will comprise "more than the current female population of Taiwan and South Korea combined."
USA Today quoted the Chinese magazine Beijing Luntan predicting that "such sexual crimes as forced marriages, girls stolen for wives, bigamy, visiting prostitutes, rape, adultery ... and weird sexual habits appear to be unavoidable."*******
*On the lighter side, anyone here old enough to remember where that term came from and what show made it famous?
Monday, January 23, 2006
Choose Life, Your Mother Did
The term "pro-life" is devastatingly convicting of what abortion actually destroys. Abortion destroys LIFE! The bumper stickers that say, "Choose Life, Your Mother Did" is also convicting. And, Doug Powers has presented this same idea in his new column over at World Net Daily. He writes:
The hypocrisy and moral relativism of the pro-death camp is shamefully painful and obvious."Participants in the party for the 33rd anniversary, despite differing races, creeds and nationalities, have one thing in common: Their parents didn't abort them. It's that kind of touching common bond that makes the pro-abortion movement such a close-knit kinship. For a political activist group trying to increase in size and strength, perhaps there's a lesson in there. Just think how many more pro-abortionists there would be at these rallies if more people were like their parents and didn't have abortions."
Now, watch how many pro-choice people who read this blog come over here and rant and rave AGAINST that previous statement. Well, maybe not since I wrote that last one.
They want to hide the fact that they ARE pro-death when the reality of what abortion does comes to light. Pro-life people can be proud of their stand because it is a positive statement that describes a positive result for the life of the forming baby in the womb. Our message is also life-affirming for the mothers! They will not endure the devastating physical effects (or death!) that an abortion can bring upon them. They will not have to suffer with the emotional pain, guilt, sorrow, and grief that often arises after having an abortion.
I am currently reading Janet Folger's book entitled, "The Criminalization of Christianity." You can go to her website and read the first chapter. In chapter six, she shares the story about Greg Cunningham.
Then there's Greg Cunningham, who came to a university in Miami with his Genocide Awarness Project (GAP), which places huge posters depicting forms of genocide throughout history next to pictures of another set of victims - unborn babies. He had to put barricades around his displays because strudents have tried to cut, mangle, and destroy them. Here's a quote from the school paper the day I visited: "Whoever these people are, they should be shot."Nice...huh. We see the stark reality of ideological censorship going on at college campuses through just this one example. Imagine if such a thing were said about another group. That would be a hate crime!
Last night, I was contemplating how many minds would immediately be changed if this nation had a pro-life day on TV. Imagine the reactions of millions of teenagers, (especially those who haven't been brainwashed yet by Planned Infanticidehood) as they witness actual sonograms of babies in the womb at various stages of development. They would see how perfectly formed the babies are and know that the lie often spouted by the pro-death camp is just that...a big fat lie! They would forever be changed by seeing that a fetus isn't just a "blob of tissue."
Imagine the horror they would experience if they were to see the film "Silent Scream" which depicts what actually happens to the baby being killed during an abortion. Most teens who become unintentionally pregnant and cannot raise the child themselves, would most likely choose adoption over abortion.
Imagine the joy they would experience when they view pictures of a surgeon in the process of a delicate operation designed to correct the effects of spina bifida on a fetus in the womb. How precious to view that tiny life instinctively latching onto the surgeon's finger as though the baby and Dr. Bruner are "holding hands."
Pro-life day on TV. A day when we could celebrate the demise of Roe vs. Wade and place that ugly, evil death-to-babies decision into the trash heap of history. It's only a dream right now, but one day I pray that it will become a reality.
Doug ends his excellent article with similar thoughts:
"The pro-life movement has made great strides, as the abortion rate continues to decline every year. Perhaps when and if Roe v. Wade reaches its 50th, the legality will be almost a moot point.
If this should be the case, the pro-abortion marches for Roe v. Wade's golden anniversary will turn out to be the first funeral procession in history where nobody died."
Sunday, January 22, 2006
Jesus Certainly Valued Children
You covered me in my mother's womb.
14 I will praise You, for *I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.
Isaiah 44:24 (NKJV) Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, And He who formed you from the womb: "I am the Lord, who makes all things, Who stretches out the heavens all alone, Who spreads abroad the earth by Myself;
Jeremiah 1:5 (NKJV) Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations."
Psalm 127:3 - (KJV) Lo, children [are] an heritage of the LORD: [and] the fruit of the womb [is his] reward.
Matthew 19:13-15
Jesus Blesses Little Children
(Mark 10:13-16; Luke 18:15-17)
13 Then little children were brought to Him that He might put His hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them. 14 But Jesus said, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven." 15 And He laid His hands on them and departed from there.
Jesus certainly valued children, as the following commentary tells us:
LITTLE CHILDREN BROUGHT TO CHRIST.
15. infants--showing that some, at least, of those called in Matthew ( Mat 19:13 ) and Mark ( Mar 10:13 ) simply "little" or "young children," were literally "babes."
touch them--or, as more fully in Matthew ( Mat 19:13) , "put His hands on them and pray," or invoke a "blessing" on them ( Mar 10:16 ), according to venerable custom ( Gen 48:14, 15 ).
rebuked them--Repeatedly the disciples thus interposed to save annoyance and interruption to their Master; but, as the result showed, always against the mind of Christ ( Mat 15:23, Luk 18:39, 40 ). Here, it is plain from our Lord's reply, that they thought the intrusion a useless one, as infants were not capable of receiving anything from Him. His ministrations were for grown people.
16. But Jesus--"much displeased," says Mark ( Mar 10:14 ); and invaluable addition. said--"SUFFER THE LITTLE CHILDREN TO COME UNTO ME"--"AND FORBID THEM NOT," is the important addition of Matthew ( Mat 19:14 ) and Mark ( Mar 10:14).
What words are these from the lips of Christ! The price of them is above rubies.
But the reason assigned, "FOR OF SUCH IS THE KINGDOM OF GOD," or "of heaven," as in Mat 19:14 , completes the previous information here conveyed; especially as interpreted by what immediately follows: "AND HE TOOK THEM UP IN HIS ARMS, PUT HIS HANDS UPON THEM, AND BLESSED THEM" ( Mar 10:16 ).
It is surely not to be conceived that all our Lord meant was to inform us, that seeing grown people must become childlike in order to be capable of the Kingdom of God, therefore they should not hinder infants from coming to Him, and therefore He took up and blessed the infants themselves. Was it not just the grave mistake of the disciples that infants should not be brought to Christ, because only grown people could profit by Him, which "much displeased" our Lord?
And though He took the irresistible opportunity of lowering their pride of reason, by informing them that, in order to enter the Kingdom, "instead of the children first becoming like them, they must themselves become like the children" [RICHTER in STIER], this was but by the way; and, returning to the children themselves, He took them up in His gracious arms, put His hands upon them and blessed them, for no conceivable reason but to show that they were thereby made capable, AS INFANTS, of the Kingdom of God. And if so, then "Can any man forbid water that these should not be baptized which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?" ( Act 10:47 ).
(Commentary by David Brown)
Saturday, January 21, 2006
Unafraid of Condemning the Death of Innocents
*******
ABORTIONS HAVE SIMPLY GOT TO STOP
Abortion survivor Gianna Jessen, now 25 years old, was aborted but did not die. Her mother was 7 months pregnant when Planned Parenthood in Southern California advised her to have a late-term abortion by having a solution of saline injected into the mother's womb. It burns the baby inside and out and the mother delivers a dead baby within 24 hours.
Gianna remained in such a solution for 18 hours and was delivered alive on April 6, 1977, at an abortion clinic. There were young women in the room who had already been given their injections and were waiting to deliver dead babies. When they saw Gianna, they experienced the horror of murder. Due to lack of oxygen supply during the abortion, Gianna lives with cerebral palsy.
Gianna appeared before Congress in support of the Born Alive Infants Protection Act of 2000 and said, "When the freedoms of one group of helpless citizens are infringed upon, such as the unborn, the newborn, and disabled and so-called 'imperfect,' what we do not realize is that our freedoms as a nation and individuals are in great peril. A murderous spirit will stop at nothing until it has devoured a nation."
The Protection Act was passed overwhelmingly, with 370 votes, but 15 congress people voted against it. These 15 people apparently believe that children born as a result of botched abortions should be allowed to suffer pain for three to seven hours and left to die a miserable death for lack of medical care because they were earmarked for termination.
Are some American people so cold-hearted they do not find this abhorrent?
Fox News analyst Bill O'Reilly exposed the identity of the 15 people on his show and was appalled that anyone could vote against such a bill. O'Reilly's guest was Jill Stanek, a nurse who testified before the Senate and said, "Abortion is a cancer that is literally killing America. It is killing our children while it is killing our consciences. It began when we took God out of our decision-making and proclaimed that the little beings growing inside of women were 'products of conception' and not children. Who should be surprised that we keep pushing the envelope so that now we are aborting these products of conception alive?"
Does a woman who seeks an abortion have the right to a dead baby, no matter what? The National Abortion Rights League thinks so. This demonstrates the abortion-rights lobby's infanticide agenda. They called the Infants Protection Act bill an "anti-choice assault." Given their mission, we can see why. If a baby born alive moments after an attempted abortion has a right to life, why did it lack such a right moments before? And a week before that? A month?
More than 27 years ago the pro-life movement predicted that the tragic Roe vs. Wade decision would promote a horrific culture of death and lead to groups that approve of baby killing. We have a Supreme Court majority that voted to allow abortionists to deliver an unborn child's body until only the head remains inside of the mother, puncture the back of the child's skull with scissors, and suck the child's brains out before completing the delivery of a dead baby.
Professors like Princeton's Peter Singer and groups like NARAL deny that we are created equal and affirm a frightening concept which makes me shudder: that of a class of human being, including newborn infants, who are in effect non-persons and should be left to die after a botched abortion.
George F. Will said it well when he stated in Newsweek, "The tenet is that it is arbitrary, and morally and philosophically problematic, to say that a baby has no intrinsic dignity, and that its claim to respect for its life is contingent on its physical location or on whether it suits the convenience of anyone else. That tenet should, but does not, trouble (pro-abortion advocates or) the Supreme Court majority."
Christine Watson
Published on:
Saturday, October 28, 2000
North County Times
*******
MEET GIANNA AND READ HER STORY!
Gianna's Story
What type of abortion method did Gianna endure and miraculously survive from?
Salt Poisoning a.k.a. "Candy Apple Babies": Most often used after the first trimester (first three months). The abortionist injects a strong salt solution directly into the amniotic sac (fluid surrounding the baby). The baby breathes and swallows it, is poisoned, struggles, and sometimes convulses. It takes over an hour to kill the baby. The mother delivers the dead baby in a day or two (sometimes alive!).
Why "candy apple" babies? The corrosive effect of the salt solution often burns and strips away the outer layer of the baby's skin. This exposes the raw, red, glazed-looking subcutaneous layer of tissue. The baby's head sometimes looks like a candy apple.
See Photo (WARNING: GRAPHIC PHOTO DEPICTING THE AWFUL TRUTH ABOUT ABORTION).
Some have also likened this method to the effect of napalm on innocent war victims. This technique was originally developed in the concentration camps in Nazi Germany. (source: Abortion and Social Justice, NY: Sheed & Ward, 1972)
ANOTHER SALINE ABORTION PHOTO
(WARNING: DEPICTS UGLY TRUTH ABOUT ABORTION)
Ugly truth about abortion
Next, THE PHOTO THAT SOME DON'T WANT YOU TO SEE! BUT YOU MUST SEE THIS!!
(NOTE: THIS ONE IS ACTUALLY LIFE AFFIRMING!!!)
Forbidden Photo
WE RECEIVED GREAT NEWS ON JULY 19, 2002
Senate Approves Born-Alive Infants Protection Act In a surprise for pro-lifers, the U.S. Senate passed the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act yesterday by unanimous consent. The bill gives a legal definition of "person," "human being," "child," or "individual," to any live birth, including if it is born as part of an abortion, reported The Associated Press. In a press release by Concerned Women of America, Michael Schwartz, vice president for government relations, said, "It is good to see the Senate finally followed the will of the people to protect children born alive." The bill passed the House in March and is now headed to the White House.
This bill has been signed by President Bush. Thank God!
*******
Since I wrote that article and placed it on my webpage, a ban on the horrific procedure known as partial birth abortion also passed in Congress. Yet, liberal left judges who obviously have no conscience have been busy working, and, unfortunately, succeeding at striking down such legislation!!
Rogue judges in black robes with Nazi-like evil and cruelty take it upon themselves to decide that the most innocent and helpless of all of mankind should die in such a horrific manner!
It truly sickens me!!
There are two articles that you must read. The first is the chapter on abortion in David Kupelian's "The Marketing of Evil" book. The entire article is extremely chilling to read. One excerpt:
"In the strangest of ironies, Bernard Nathanson, perhaps the closest thing to being "the man who started it all" for the "pro-choice movement" – the Edward Teller of abortion – now spends his days trying to put the abortion genie back in the bottle. Like Norma McCorvey – who as the barefoot-and-pregnant "Jane Roe" was the pro-abortion plaintiff in the Supreme Court's momentous and fateful Roe v. Wade decision – Nathanson, also, is today dedicated to putting an end to what both now see as a national tragedy on a par with the Nazi Holocaust.
"Let me share with you my own personal perception of the abortion tragedy," Nathanson told one California audience:
I'm going to set it against my Jewish heritage and the Holocaust in Europe. The abortion holocaust is beyond the ordinary discourse of morality and rational condemnation. It is not enough to pronounce it absolutely evil. Absolute evil used to characterize this abortion tragedy (43 million and counting) is an inept formulation.
The abortion tragedy is a new event, severed from connections with traditional presuppositions of history, psychology, politics and morality. It extends beyond the deliberations of reason, beyond the discernments of moral judgment, beyond meaning itself. It trivializes itself to call itself merely a holocaust or a tragedy.
It is, in the words of Arthur Cohen, perhaps the world's leading scholar on the European Holocaust, a mysterium tremendum, an utter mystery to the rational mind – a mystery that carries with it not only the aspect of vastness, but the resonance of terror, something so unutterably diabolic as to be literally unknowable to us.
"This is an evil torn free of its moorings in reason and causality, an ordinary secular corruption raised to unimaginable powers of magnification and limitless extremity."
Another article is written about a group called Abortion Survivors.
At Survivors of the Abortion Holocaust website, you will see a brief video of those dedicated to rising up against this evil. There is also a counter of the millions of human babies that have been killed since the Supreme Court's infanticide decision labeled as "Roe vs. Wade."
David Kupelian ends his article and chapter in the book with these thoughts:
"Sometimes self-deception, like a rubber band, can be stretched only so far before it breaks or snaps back to normal.
When the Nazi Holocaust finally came to an end, Allied soldiers led the horrified German population – the law-abiding, government-believing, "reasonable and caring" people of the day – through the concentration camps. Newsreels of this guided tour show women crying convulsively, stunned men with heads bowed low in shock and dismay.
Filing past piles of emaciated corpses, the stench of death everywhere, an unspeakable horror permeated their souls. For all at once, they realized that the nagging doubt in the back of their minds – the secret fear that the rumors of genocide might actually be true, but which they had disbelieved, thinking such negative thoughts to be from the demon of disloyalty – had actually been the desperate cry of inner truth. The soft, velvety denial they had lived in vanished instantly, and in its place, the agony of guilt and betrayal.
Don't look down on these people. At least they faced their sins of omission and tacit complicity, having believed their leaders and ignored the urgings of their own conscience. They were forced to acknowledge the horror they had previously denied.
What about us? Will we one day tour through the wreckage of our own culture of death and weep?
Epilogue
"Women must have control over their own bodies."
"Safe and legal abortion is every woman's right."
"Who decides? You decide!"
"Abortion is a personal decision between a woman and her doctor."
"Who will make this most personal decision of a woman's life? Will women decide, or will the politicians and bureaucrats in Washington?"
"Freedom of choice – a basic American right."
The next time you hear these feel-good "pro-choice" marketing slogans, don't be surprised if a chill runs up your spine, as you realize more vividly than ever what they really mean. "
Visit La Shawn Barber's Corner for Blogs4Life/March for Life .
Friday, January 20, 2006
Love Edifies
I often have tried to fully understand God
Now I realize it is arrogance to try to do so
For what man, or men could possibly reason perfectly the almighty
Theories abound, but knowledge puffs up
So they argue back and forth with the same scriptures
In a vain attempt to convince each other
In foolishness they try to explain everything
So many attempts to know a comprehensive theory of God
But what do we really know?
Yet I see something marvelous
I don’t have to know everything
I only need to know one thing
That one thing is the key to everything
It is the secret to life
That one thing is
“the love of God”
Daily now I seek to see the scriptures in my life
For the word of God is living and active
Not just to study them, but to live them
To allow God to breathe life into them for me
I know the scriptures very well
But the scriptures themselves are not life, nor do they produce it
They are but a witness that testifies of the one who is life
John 5:39-40 (NIV) You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, {40} yet you refuse to come to me to have life.
So many times now has He breathed life into the scriptures for me
So many times now has He turned my knowledge upside down
Now I realize how little I know
Yet that one realization opens up the greatest door
It opens the door to walking by faith!
And that faith relies upon and works by one thing I know
Love
It is the anchor of my soul
God is love and love edifies
So I no longer am building myself on the things I learn
Instead I have learned one thing
Lean on Him to show me the way in all things
Trust He has the knowledge and wisdom and freely gives it
In this way I have embraced the first commandment
On which all the law and prophets hinge
Love God
That’s easy to do when you have faith in his love for you
When you have made it your life to know only one thing
The love of God
What else do you need to know?
Rocky Chambers
"Spend less time memorizing scriptures
and more time living scriptures"
Thursday, January 19, 2006
The Ugliness of Celebrating Sin
In an article titled No Christian Hoorays for Hollywood," Janice Crouse points out the fact that, "Once again, the media elites are proving that their pet projects are more important than profit."
"None of the three movies - Capote, Transamerica or Brokeback Mountain - is a box office hit. Brokeback Mountain has barely topped $US25million ($33million) in ticket sales.
"If America isn't watching these films, why are they winning the awards?"
Why indeed!
It is because the blueprint plan of Madsen and Kirk continues, to this day, to desensitize and jam their homosexual agenda upon mainstream America...a majority of whom, by the way, DOES NOT WANT THIS!
I was pleased to see my friend Stephen Bennett quoted in the article. If you haven't discovered his ministry and Straight Talk Radio yet, I urge you to begin listening and, if you can, financially supporting, the broadcasts online.
Gay activists are currently busy attempting to squelch this dedicated Christian man and his wife Irene from their freedom of speech rights by falsely labeling their Christian ministry outreach as "hate speech."
So typical...
Of course, this must mean that Straight Talk Radio's success with mainstream America has the gay activists angry.
GOOD!
I, for one, am very glad to hear that!!
It should come as no surprise that the HollyWEIRD Foreign Press couldn't bring themselves to acknowledge the huge box office success of The Chronicles of Narnia.
No.
Of course not!
Why?
Because it appealed to the majority of mainstream America?
Because it was a Christian-themed movie?
Because it didn't have any sex in it?
Because it was wholesome, entertaining, and friendly family fare?
How about all of the above?
The additional immoral subjects glorified by the trashy Golden? Globe voters aren't any better:
"Religious groups also pointed to the alleged political agenda of winners such as George Clooney, who won for his supporting role in Syriana, a film about the ethical pitfalls of the oil business; and Mary Louise Parker, who was rewarded for her performance in Weeds, a television comedy about a suburban mother turned marijuana dealer."
I'm so disappointed with Mary Louise Parker. I just loved her role in "Fried Green Tomatoes," but now she chooses to star in a TV show that pushes (pardon the pun) marijuana use as something humorous.
Yeah.
Right.
Rather than waking up and 'smelling the dope', she and others involved in such a stupid excuse for entertainment need to wake up and see the damage they are doing by promoting pot smoking to the teen audience!!
Yes. David Kupelian is exactly correct! The marketing of things evil is NOT always just for profit; it is often used to sell corruption. This group called the "Hollywood Foreign Press" is the absolute epitome of what David labels as, "radicals, elitists and pseudo-experts" who are intent on pushing their agenda, even to the detriment of the bottom line profit at America's box offices.
For shame!
And, get this:
"Other winners included Philip Seymour Hoffman, named Best Actor for his portrayal of the homosexual writer Truman Capote; and Felicity Huffman, the Desperate Housewives star who played a transsexual with a gay prostitute son in Transamerica. "
Other winners?? A transsexual with a gay prostitute son is considered a winning storyline? Give me a gay ole' time break!!
What's scary is that many Hollyweird actors and actresses just trudge along in lockstep with these corruption leaders.
I often wonder, don't they have minds of their own?
Or, are they just robots programmed to be ignorant, sinful and evil?
Even when one of the actors from Brokeback Mountain mentioned that he felt uncomfortable acting out a gay cowboy sex scene in the movie, he claimed that the reason must have been because he still has some "homophobia" to overcome.
Yeah right!
That's an indoctrination line right out of Kirk and Madsen's "After the Ball" manual for marketing the gay rights agenda! The actor just couldn't bring himself to admit or acknowledge that there is most likely a God-given reason for his aversion!
Stephen's latest broadcasts on the study of the book of Romans deals with such aversion and points out why God gave men and women a conscience to distinguish right from wrong. It is an excellent study and I urge everyone reading this to listen online !
So, in conclusion, let's count up all of the sins being celebrated with the sleazy Golden? Globe Awards:
1. homosexuality
2. bisexuality
3. adultery
4. lying
5. cheating
6. drug use
7. drug pushing
8. transexualism
9. prostitution
10. deception
11. divorce
12. disparaging Christian faith
And, I'll just take a wild guess that a movie or two included:
13. taking the Lord's name in vain
I'm sure that I left some out! If so, please post them!
This is good for America?
Never!!
It is just so ugly and sad!
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
God's Guidance
"The servant did not ask for a vision or miraculous event but for guidance through clear signs in natural circumstances. When has God guided you this way?"
This question was referring to the servant who was sent by Abraham with specific instructions about finding a wife for Isaac from their clan. Abraham didn't want Isaac to marry a pagan Canaanite woman, so the servant went back to Abraham's former home to find the right woman. It is an interesting account which brings us to the question, when has God guided you in a similar way?
I can look back now and see God's guidance throughout my life; even if I didn't see or realize His presence and guidance at the time. Generally, I would say that God has often guided me by placing certain people in my path at the precise times I either needed them to influence me towards faith in Him, or, when they needed my help and asked for assistance in a particular circumstance. I have already shared several accounts and stories regarding these experiences on this blog. I even shared what I deemed a miraculous event during my visit with my father at his deathbed. There is one more that I'd like to share, and I plan to prepare it for tomorrow's post.
Again, as I have previously said in the past sometimes I hesitate to share such incidents. I don't know why I hold back, but it probably has to do with the fear of ridicule. However, as was the case with the angel speaking to my dad at his deathbed, I found that others had similar experiences and once I shared, the they became willing to share their individual experiences with me.
In my discussions with other born-again, Bible believing Christians, I have found that no two testimonies are ever exactly the same. Whether a person came to Jesus Christ at a huge stadium event or in the privacy of their living room, each person's heart is ministered to individually and personally. This is how Jesus works in the hearts of people. He saves each of us in an individual way, unlike any other person's experience. Christians often call their born again conversion a personal relationship with Christ. Why? Because it is! No one else shares the same exact testimony. Isn't that amazing?
One analogy might be the fact that science has told us that no two snowflakes formed in the atmosphere are ever the same. Seems like a simple and inconsequential event, but do you remember when you were a child and first heard that? Didn't you think that was miraculous and amazing? I did. That is the awe of being a child discovering new things.
I still have that awe when I think of my Savior, Jesus Christ, and what he did at the cross for mankind. The fact is that he died for our sins collectively, of course, but also for our own individual souls!
He died for just me!
He died for just you!
Isn't it amazing that if you were the only person on earth, he would have died just for you? Wow! He is a fabulous Lord and Savior!
Just like no two snowflakes are ever the same, no two persons are ever the same either. But we have far more worth than any snowflake falling to the ground. The Bible says that God has counted every hair on our heads! Seems trivial to perhaps the casual observer. But what that verse communicates to me is that God is concerned about every tiny detail and knows every single thing there is to know about each of us. He knows it all. The good, the bad, and the ugly!
Yet, HE LOVES US.
If He didn't, He would not have sent His Son to die for the "bad and the ugliness" of our sins! And with simple faith, repenting and trusting in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord of our lives, we are forgiven and become God's children.
Yes. We are all born "children of God" and we each have that built in conscience that God has given us to know right from wrong. But sin has skewed that conscience and we become entrapped in sin and iniquity. We are spiritually dead because of the sin on our souls. The only way to be forgiven for our sins, the only way out of such iniquity; the only way to become spiritually alive again is through the Messiah, Jesus Christ, whom God sent to save us from eternal separation and death!
God's guidance is there in each of our lives; whether we recognize it or not. Perhaps He is knocking on the door of your heart this very minute! Will you ignore His knock or open that door and let Him in?
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Fighting Evil By Our Deepest Instincts
Why do I feel this way? Because just letting the promotion of evil, sin and death run rampant in our world without doing anything to stem such a tide is not what I think that Jesus would have his followers do.
"The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing." - Edmund Burke, Statesman, Orator, and Political Thinker.
Rutz's entire column is great, but I love the last paragraph the most!
"...when the New World Order and hundreds of other Illuminati retreads aspire to destroy the world by restructuring it along God-free lines, we fight them tooth and nail. It's not that we have abandoned the Lord's great commission to evangelize the world or slipped back into the 1920s "social gospel" of self-improvement. It's just what we do. We are Christians. We hate evil, and we fight it by our deepest instincts."
Monday, January 16, 2006
A Poignant View
This morning, I heard a portion of Dr. King's speech and his respectful words that said, "all men are created equal." Unlike (as is the case with) Belafonte, I cannot recall a single word of disrespect towards anyone uttered out of Dr. King's mouth during his campaign for civil rights; at least not publically. I doubt that he would ever disrespect a sitting president the way that Belafonte has done.
However, Bush-bashing has become the biggest indoor sport for liberal left Democrats. It's old news.
But what I find most disturbing is the "black on black" bashing, if you will, done by those like Belafonte against conservative, Republican black leaders.
I wonder. What would Dr. King think of that?
Wouldn't he be so pleased to see how far his dream has advanced by the year 2006? Wouldn't he be grateful to George W. Bush for championing top leadership roles without discrimination against race in his administration?
But no. We don't hear anything about that!
All we get is more Bush-bashing and the black leaders chosen by the him are bashed right along with the president!
What is wrong with this picture?
I think that Doug Powers has figured it out. I really appreciated his current article at WND. Especially the portion where he pointed out the education levels of Condi Rice and Colin Powell as compared to Belafonte.
What would Dr. King think of a man like Belafonte supporting an evil dictator like Hugo Chavez? Wasn't King's civil rights movement all about freedom and equality? Chavez offers neither freedom nor equality towards the people who live in his country!
What's wrong with this picture?
Next, Belafonte also sides with Chavez because they are both against the war in Iraq.
What is wrong with this picture?
An American who enjoys the freedoms afforded in our country travels to Venezuela to publically agree with a dictator like Chavez and denounce a war that has succeeded in removing another dictator and given freedom, liberty, and justice in a brand new democratic Iraq; this being done in a portion of the world that never had such an opportunity to self-govern themselves! This just absolutely floors me as being unethical, totally ignorant,and filled with hypocrisy!
Of course, this is just so typical of many on the liberal left. Even talk show host David Letterman attempts to get into the debate on his show, but to the disapproval of his audience, lowers himself to the level of ignorance shown by Belafonte and his ilk through blasting his guest Bill O'Reilly.
So be it. It's free speech, isn't it?
However, history will one day definately show who was right. I can already clearly see that the case to remove the brutal dictator Hussein and fight the war on terror there (rather than here) was, and is, the correct decision.
Pat Boone has written a great article that poignantly responds to all of those who would be (or are) against the war in Iraq. The following is a portion of it that hammers home the fact that President Bush has made the correct decision and to have done nothing would have been the mistake.
*******
From 2003, 'A lesson for my son,' by Irma S. Chambers
My 9-year-old son wanted to know why we were at war. My husband thought for a few minutes and then told my son to go stand in our front living room window.
"Son, stand there and tell me what you see?"
"I see trees and cars and our neighbor's houses," he replied.
"OK, now I want you to pretend that our house and our yard is the United States and you are President Bush."
Our son giggled and said, "OK."
"Now son, I want you to look out the window and pretend that every house and yard on this block is a different country," my husband said.
"OK, Dad, I'm pretending."
"Now I want you to stand there and look out the window and see that man come out of his house with his wife and he has her by the hair and is hitting her. You see her bleeding and crying. He hits her in the face, he throws her on the ground, and then he starts to kick her to death. Their children run out and are afraid to stop him. They are crying; they are watching this but do nothing because they are kids and afraid of their father. You see all of this, son. What do you do?"
"Dad?"
"What do you do, son?"
"I call the police, Dad."
"OK. Pretend that the police are the United Nations and they take your call, listen to what you know and saw, but they refuse to help. What do you do then, son?"
"Dad, but the police are supposed to help!"
"They don't want to, son, because they say that it is not their place or your place to get involved and that you should stay out of it," my husband says.
"But Dad, he killed her!" my son exclaims.
"I know he did, but the police tell you to stay out of it. Now I want you to look out that window and pretend you see our neighbor who you're pretending is Saddam turn around and do the same thing to his children."
"Daddy, he kills them?"
"Yes son, he does. What do you do?"
"Well, if the police don't want to help, I will go and ask my next door neighbor to help me stop him."
"Son, our next door neighbor sees what is happening and refuses to get involved as well. He refuses to open the door and help you stop him," my husband says.
"But Dad, I need help! I can't stop him by myself!"
"What do you do, son?"
Our son starts to cry.
"OK, no one wants to help you. The man across the street saw you ask for help and saw that no one would help you stop him. He stands taller and puffs out his chest. Guess what he does next, son?"
"What?"
"He walks across the street to the old lady's house and breaks down her door and drags her out, steals all her stuff and sets her house on fire. Then he kills her. He turns around and sees you standing in the window and laughs at you. What do you do?"
"Daddy."
"What do you do?"
Our son is crying and he looks down and he whispers, "I close the blinds, Daddy."
My husband looks at our son with tears in his eyes and asks him "Why?"
"Because, Daddy, the police are supposed to help people who need it, and they won't help. You always say that neighbors are supposed to help neighbors, but they won't help, either. They won't help me stop him. I can't do it by myself, Daddy. I can't look out my window and just watch him do all these terrible things and … and ... do nothing. So … I'm just going to close the blinds, so I can't see what he's doing. And I'm going to pretend that it is not happening."
I start to cry. My husband looks at our 9-year-old son standing in the window, looking pitiful and ashamed at his answers, and he tells him, "Son …"
"Yes, Daddy?"
"Open the blinds, because that man … he's at your front door. What do you do?"
My son looks at his father, anger and defiance in his eyes. He balls up his tiny fists and looks his father square in the eyes. Without hesitation he says: "I DEFEND MY FAMILY DAD!! I'M NOT GONNA LET HIM HURT MOMMY OR MY SISTER, DAD! I'M GONNA FIGHT HIM, DAD, I'M GONNA FIGHT HIM!!"
I see a tear roll down my husband's cheek and he grabs my son to his chest and hugs him tight. "It's too late to fight him. He's too strong and he's already at your front door, son. You should have stopped him before he killed his wife. You have to do what's right, even if you have to do it alone, before it's too late."
That scenario I just gave you is why we are at war in Iraq. When good men stand by and let evil happen, it's the greatest evil of all. Our president is doing what is right.
We, as a free nation, must understand that this war is a war of humanity. We must remove this evil man from power so that we can continue to live in a free world where we are not afraid to look out our window and see crimes on humanity. So that my 9-year-old son won't grow up in a world where he feels that if he just "closes the blinds" the atrocities in the world won't affect him. The second day of the "War on Iraq" I felt compelled to write this and pass it along. Hopefully, you will understand the lesson my husband tried to teach our son.
"You must never be afraid to do what is right, even if you have to do it alone!"
Be proud to be an American. Be proud of our president. Be proud of our troops. Support them. Support America – so that, in the future, our children will never have to close their blinds.
*******
(Note to my readers: There was a blogger publishing problem early this morning and my rough draft was posted rather than my finished post! I have tried to go through and make the corrections.)