The Battle For The Truth [Update 2]

My blogging friend Bill Muehlenberg who writes at the blog Culture Watch has a very thought provoking post up called The Attempted Eradication of Christianity.

Excerpt:

The secular jihadists have declared war against Christianity, and are working overtime to ensure that it is eradicated in the Western world. This site has documented many dozens of examples of this, and each new week provides further case studies in this.

The secular crusaders think all would be sweetness and light in this world if we could only get rid of those pesky Christians and their awful religion. They somehow expect us to believe that utopia will arrive on planet earth when Christianity is gone and secularism reigns supreme.

Yeah right. More people were killed last century in the name of secular humanism than all the world’s religious conflicts put together. The bloody side of secularism is unfortunately a historical reality. And the overwhelming good which Christianity has done for the world is also a matter of historical fact, as I discuss elsewhere: A Review of How Christianity Changed the World by Alvin Schmidt.

Personally, I think that the secular jihadists are hell-bent on attacking Christianity because deep down they know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the truth. Such people war against the truth because it hurts to face the facts contained within the truth of the Gospel. The rebellious nature of unrepentant, sinful men causes them to refuse to give up their soul-destroying error(s). This occurs mostly because they are entrenched in the pride of life and have faith only in themselves. No wonder the world is such a mess!

What I think is ironic is that secular jihadists who hate Christianity find themselves willing to compromise the truth of Christian faith, yet embrace false religions/teachers such as Islam. Thus, they form a kind of unholy alliance with them. Who would have thought that liberal leftist, atheistic progressives could compromise their secular beliefs with Islamists who want to impose Shariah law here in the U.S.? But it's happening! Why? Because both agree on at least one thing - the desire to be persistent viruses attacking Biblical Christianity. You know the old phrase, "the enemy of my enemy is my friend." But don't you wonder why they would submit to compromise in order to commit such dastardly deeds?

I think that it has to do with lies. The lies that atheists/agnostics/skeptics believe against the God of the Bible and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, can work in alliance with the lies of the Islamic religion; as long as they are in agreement about one or more humanistic ideas/principles.

For example, recall in a previous post where I shared that the secular atheist billionaire, George Soros, once approached Qaddafi (leader of Libya) regarding some sort of "deal" that Soros wanted done. I think that it had to do with a green Socialist initiative. When Qaddafi backed out, he became an enemy of Soros. As we know, Soros is the puppeteer (at least one of them) behind the puppet pResidency of Barack Hussein Obama. So it is likely that Soros was the one behind getting the U.S. and NATO involved with bombing Libya during the Arab Spring uprisings. (When I find links to previous blog posts about this I will add them here).

So you see, "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" can quickly devolve into a new kind of enemy.

In John MacArthur's book, The Truth War several of his quotes can easily be applied here:

Uncertainty is the new truth. Doubt and skepticism have been canonized as a form of humility. Right and wrong have been redefined in terms of subjective feelings and personal perspectives.

We have witnessed the appeasement of Islamists by the secularist New York mayor, Michael Bloomberg, who gave approval to a mosque being built near Ground Zero. Yet, at the same time, Bloomberg and others are fighting to refuse to allow the display of the cross at the almost completed memorial - which was formed by girders in the 9/11/01 terrorist attack wreckage. Why? Why was one religious request granted and the other denied? I think that it is because Islam and secular atheism are like two peas in a pod. Both are in error of what God's Word teaches and both are involved with evil.

John MacArthur writes:

The arrogant rationalism that dominated the modern era is already in its death throes. Most of the world is caught up in disillusionment and confusion. People are unsure about virtually everything and do not know where to turn for truth.

BINGO!! MacArthur hits the nail right on the head with that quote! In fact, he mentions Islamic jihad on page 29:

We live in an era when religious fanatics routinely blow themselves up, fly planes into buildings, or commit unthinkable evil acts of barbaric terrorism in the name of religion. The biblical strategy for spiritual warfare has nothing whatsoever in common with the tactics of Islamic jihad.

Scripture is clear that physical force is not a legitimate tool for the advancement of the kingdom of God.

You see, radical Islam is intent on warring against and conquering other religious faiths and nations in order to achieve their end times goals.

As far as Christianity goes, the Truth War has nothing to do with carnal warfare or physical violence. There are, however, times when evil makes warfare absolutely necessary.

John MacArthur notes:

Of course, believers who are policemen, soldiers, or otherwise agents duly authorized by the government must be willing to use deadly force when necessary as part of their duty to the civil government. Scripture nowhere endorses any kind of absolute pacifism.

In fact, Romans 13:1-4 expressly grants governments the authority to wield the sword in order to punish evildoers, defend their national security, and maintain civil peace.

Going to war against those who attacked us on 9/11/2001 was necessary in order to protect our nation and people from further attacks by radical Islam. Unfortunately, the creeping Sharia infiltrating our nation through liberal court judge decisions is making it easier for the false religion of Islam to take hold here in America. We would learn a good lesson if we would heed the warnings from Great Britain where unrestricted Muslim immigration created fierce cultural battles within their nation. They are now seeing that the multiculturalism they embraced over the last few decades is turning against them in cities where Muslim dominance reigns. But that's another subject for another blog post.

In conclusion, John MacArthur instructs us:

The Truth War is not a carnal war. It is not about territory and nations. It is not a battle for lands and cities. It is not a clan war or a personality conflict between individuals. It is not a fight for clout between religious denominations. It is not a skirmish over material possessions. It is a battle for the truth. (emphasis mine).

Paul makes this clear in 2 Corinthians 10:5, where he spells out the ultimate objective of the Truth War: "casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ." The battlefield is the mind; the goal is the absolute triumph of truth; the priceless spoils of conquest are souls won out of the bondage of sin; the outcome is our willing submission to Christ; the highest prize is the honor given to Him as Lord; and the ultimate victory is completely His.

Hat Tips:

Culture Watch

John MacArthur: The Truth War (Note: Excerpt of book at this link. Scroll down to "Read Excerpt PDF.")

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Update:

Bill Muehlenberg has written a new blog post about multiculturalism:

Force-Fed Multiculturalism

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9/4/11 Update

Be sure to read Noisy Room: The Hate That Never Ended.

Excerpt:

If you are a Jew, they kill you. If you are a Christian, you convert, pay the Jizya tax or they execute you. If you are gay, you will be put to death. Women are property and slaves. Sexual abuse is legal and rampant. Beheading is the preferred method of execution. And the list goes on and on… Imagine a worldwide Caliphate where this is the norm, where a fascist theocracy rules the day and freedom no longer exists. This is what these people bring. They bring evil, slavery, darkness and death.

We are at war with millions of Islamic radicals who believe this. These are the radical Islamists and their hate never ended after 9-11.
It has been going on since Islam began and we are fighting for our lives and our way of life. We better start acting like it if we don’t want something much worse than 9-11 to play out on the lawn of the White House or in some mall in middle America.

The Jihadists need to understand this… We will never submit. We will never forget. We will fight you and the other enemies America faces within and without and we will win. That’s what good does – it wins, it overcomes. We will put an end to your hatred that never ended one way or the other. Evil is stupid and cowardly and in the end – it always loses.

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Update 2:

Bloomberg isn't the only one promoting Islamic mosques and Sharia law in New York. Take a look at this blogpost, 2 videos, and startling article about the New York Times support for Sharia law!

We The People: New York Times is Now Promoting Shariah Law

Excerpt:

The NY Times puts for its drivel following the startling predictions of Avi Lipkin seen in the video below.  Take it for what it is worth my friends, but Sharia hasn’t been creeping through America, it’s been galloping.  Readers of this column are already aware that Sharia Law has been used in Court Cases in 23 States of our United States. 

As the man in the Of Mosques and Men: Reflections of the Ground Zero Mosque video over at Answering Muslims says at the end of the Youtube video:

"Come out of the cave America - it's dark in there."

Things Hidden From the Learned and the Clever

Every once in a while, I will spot a great column in the Faith and Values section of our local newspaper. Last month, I cut out such an article that was dated July 15, 2011 and meant to share it here at Talk Wisdom. Since I didn't get around to it during the month of July, I thought that I would find a copy of it online to copy and post here. Better late than never, right? But a funny thing (actually, it's kinda sad) happened during my search for the column at the newspaper's archive site. I could not find it! I tried everything. I used the search tool for the author. Only three links showed up and they weren't what I was looking for. Next, I typed in the date and went through page after page of articles to no avail. Finally, I decided to search online via Bing for the author's name, hoping that he had a website. Fortunately, I found the website. I searched under "archived articles" and found it. I will now present it to readers here. I think that you will find it quite thought provoking.


~ Christine

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Things Hidden from the Learned and the Clever
2011-07-10


I've lived and worked within academic circles for most of my adult life, studying in various universities, teaching within university circles, and having university professors as close friends and colleagues. What's that world like? What kind of folks inhabit academic circles?

Perhaps my experience is atypical because most of the scholars under whom I studied and most of the theologians and other scholars who have been my colleagues became professors and university lecturers in function of ministry, as a vocation, rather than as a career. Thus, instead of struggling with faith and church, they were driven to become academics in function of their faith and church commitments. In some ways, professors in theology schools and schools of ministry aren't typical of academic circles.

But an academic is an academic and graduate and post-graduate studies, whatever the motivation for doing them, have some of the same effect on people. And so I suspect that the circles I have been part of, in the end, are more typical than atypical. And what is typical?

Academics, scholars, and university professors, like any segment of society, are a complex mix: In university circles you will find some of the most humble, gracious, faith-filled, and genuinely good people you will ever meet; just as you will also find some of the most arrogant, self-absorbed, amoral, and cynical people in the world. The academic world looks like the rest of the world.

Given that truth, I have long been haunted by a saying of Jesus that, often times, the deep secrets of life and of faith are hidden from the learned and the clever and revealed instead to children, to those of a less-complex mind. I don't doubt the truth of this; I wonder why.



Why? Clearly intelligence and learning are good things. Intelligence is the gift from God that sets us apart from animals and access to learning is a precious right given us by God. Indeed, ignorance and lack of education are things every healthy society and every healthy individual strive to overcome. Scripture praises both wisdom and intelligence and the health of any church is partly predicated on having a vigorous intellectual stream within it. Every time in history that the church has let popular piety, however sincere, trump sound theology it has paid a high price. The Reformation arose out of just that and one of the first things that the Council of Trent mandated for Roman Catholics was that its priests be better trained intellectually.

Intelligence and learning are good things. God did not give us intelligence and then ask us not to use it. Naiveté is not a virtue and should never be confused with innocence. So why is being "intelligent and clever" something that can work against our understanding of the deeper secrets within life and faith?

The fault is not with intelligence and learning, both good things in themselves, but in what they can inadvertently do to us. Intelligence and learning often have the unintended effect of undermining what's childlike in us, that is, the very strength that they bring into our lives can allow us to unconsciously claim a superiority and have us believe that, given our intelligence, we have both the need and the right to isolate ourselves from others in ways that the natural neediness of children does not permit them to do. Children are not self-sufficient even though they fiercely want to be. They need others and they know it. Consequently they more naturally reach out and take some one's hand. They don't have the luxury of self-sufficiency.

When we are "learned and the clever" we can more easily forget that we need others and consequently don't as naturally reach for another's hand as does a child. It's easier for us to isolate ourselves. When we are less aware of our contingency we more easily lose sight of the things to which God and life are inviting us. The very strength that intelligence and learning bring into our lives can instill in us a false sense of self-sufficiency that can make us want to separate ourselves in unhealthy ways from others and understand ourselves as superior In some way. And superiority never enters a room alone, but always brings along a number of her children: arrogance, disdain, boredom, cynicism. All of these are occupational hazards for the "learned and the clever" and none of these helps unlock any of life's deep secrets.

But we must be careful not to misread the lesson. Faith does not ask us to not stretch our minds. Neither ignorance nor naiveté serve faith. Faith not only doesn't fear the hard questions it invites us to ask them. The depths of infinity are never threatened by finite intelligence. And so it's never a bad thing to become learned and sophisticated; it's only a bad thing if we remain there. The task is to become post-sophisticated, that is, to remain full of intelligence and learning even as we put on again to the mindset of a child.

Written by Ron Rolheiser

Hat Tip: Ron Rolheiser.com

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Tonight, I present another great song by Brandon Heath - "Only Water."

When we think about all the references in the Bible about water, we can see the miracles and power that Jesus Christ gave during his ministry on this earth. Water refreshes us. We cannot live for more than several days without drinking water. Water cleanses us, both physically and spiritually via baptism. Jesus turned simple jugs of water into the finest wine that anyone in attendance at one particular wedding in the Bible ever tasted! As Brandon Heath reveals in the lyrics:

And it washes over me
Like a single river stone
Changes everything
But has no power on its own

On its own
It's only water.

Jesus speaking:

John 7:38 - He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."

A Note To Sarah

I think that it is AWFUL that so many in the Media of Mass Deception are trying to pin blame on Sarah Palin for what that lunatic murderer did during his shooting rampage in Arizona. The following is what I recently wrote on Sarah Palin's FaceBook page:


Dear Sarah,

I heard your heartfelt response to Glenn Beck's letter to you on his radio show today where you denounced violence of any kind towards anyone. Thank you for being the very classy lady that you are and not falling for all the vitriole the rabid leftists spew at you.

I know that Jesus is your "Rock" and your faith in Him gets you through the ugly mess that people often sinfully cast against you. In this world of hateful rhetoric, you stand strong and above it all.

Our Lord loves you, and you love Him. No matter what the haters say about you and/or your family, they can NEVER take away what you and Todd have accomplished.

The Lord must have great things in store for you because the totally undeserved persecution going on against you is spoken of and revealed in the Bible about those who follow the Lord Jesus. I'm sure that through it all, the Lord Jesus is saying, "Well done, my good and faithful servant."

God bless you and your lovely family!

Sincerely,
Christine

True Meaning of Christmas

While waiting in line to mail packages at the post office, I couldn't help but notice that every Christmas card on display was of a secular nature. The only cards that actually said "Christmas" on them were of the Peanuts gang and Santa Claus.

I decided to do a search to find out the last year that the Madonna Christmas stamps - depicting Mary with the Christ Child - were sold at the post office.

In my first search, I found the following stamp dated 2006:



Description from USPS.com:

Christmas: Chacón Madonna and Child with Bird

The 2006 Christmas stamp features an oil-on-canvas entitled Madonna and Child with Bird. Dating from around 1765, the painting is attributed to Ignacio Chacón-an artist active from about 1745 to 1775 in Cuzco, Peru. It is now part of the Engracia and Frank Barrows Freyer Collection of Peruvian colonial art at the Denver Art Museum. In designing the stamp, art director Michael Osborne slightly cropped the painting's floral "frame" and surrounded the entire composition with a gold border that echoes Chacón's use of gold-leaf embellishments.

A famous painting by Spanish artist Bartolomé Esteban Murillo entitled La Sagrada Familia del Pajarito (The Holy Family of the Little Bird) probably served as an indirect prototype for Chacón's Madonna and Child with Bird. The importance of birds in Inca culture would have made the topic of Murillo's painting particularly resonant in Peru. Birds were sacred to the Inca, partially because of their ability to fly and move closer to Inti, the sun god. So in Cuzco, colonial artists often incorporated birds or feathers into images of the Virgin and Christ to indicate their divine status.

Of course, this stamp is created more for the Catholic religion which believes that Mary was also divine - as was Christ. Unfortunately, that is incorrect. According to the Bible, Mary is NEVER mentioned as "divine." She is properly honored as the mother of Jesus (not "the mother of God") and is called "blessed."

During my second search, I found an article dated back in 2008 at The Telegraph UK which was entitled, "Church leaders fear religious Christmas stamps will be scrapped."

The sub-title tells us why:

Church leaders fear religious Christmas stamps could be scrapped for pantomime designs after Royal Mail forced them to be sold "under the counter".

Take a look at the ugly "pantomime design!" I don't even want to post the photo here at this blog. Well - at least "pantomime sisters" are rightly labeled as "The Ugly Sisters!" Ha! But...c'mon!! What do their ugly faces have to do with Christmas?

I agree with this Canon Chancellor:

Canon Chris Chivers, the Canon Chancellor of Blackburn Cathedral, has called the choice of stamps "utterly demeaning" and said in a letter: "If we are to have Christmas stamps at all, let them be Christian. But if for some mindlessly secularist reason we must have a choice, then let there be stamps of both sorts, in equal number."

Continuing on in my search, I found a blog called Darleen's Place. Her blog archive contains an essay entitled, "US Post Office goes Politically Correct - Updated". She claims that the Mary With the Christ Child stamps were not available in 2005, but correctly speculated that it would be back in 2006 (see stamp above). Lots of great comments there, too.

Darleen's blog led me to a 2005 post entitled, "The War Against Christmas" at Michele Malkin.com. Lots of additional links to explore there, too.

One of the prettiest Christmas stamps I found during my search was from Canada!



Ahhh! I'm running out of time. Hopefully, I can return to the search and find more photos of the Madonna and Christ Child commemorative stamps.

USPS.com Postal History PDF page has listings of all of the Christmas stamps over the years, but no photographs of them. According to that page, the last stamp of this kind issued was in 2009.

4424 Christmas: Madonna and Sleeping Child
by Sassoferrato, by Giovanni Battista
Salvi.
After 17th c. painting by Italian artist
Giovanni Battista Salvi, more commonly
known as Sassoferrato. Hearst Castle,
San Simeon, California.

Oct. 20, 2009 44¢ Carl T. Herrman

It appears that the site hasn't been updated past the date of January, 2010. Perhaps there IS a Mary and Christ Child stamp out there but it's under the counter and customers need to ask for it?

How sad!!!

Darleen was unfortunately correct back in 2005 when she shared:



P.S. After waiting in line and shaking my head about the secularism displayed at the post office, I went to The Family Christian Store and found some beautiful CHRISTIAN themed ornaments!

One is a blue bulb ornament from "The True Meaning of Christmas" line that says, "A Child Is Born" with Isaiah 9:6 NIV on the other side: "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given."

A pretty red bulb ornament says, "Keep Christ In Christmas."

A flat wooden look ornament with a north star design depicts the nativity etched upon it.

A hand painted ceramic heart-shaped design on a dark red background states, "Be still and know that I am God."

The fourth one is in the shape of the cross and has the entire 23rd Psalm written on it!

Psa 23:1 [[A Psalm of David.]] The LORD [is] my shepherd; I shall not want.


Psa 23:2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.


Psa 23:3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.


Psa 23:4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou [art] with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.


Psa 23:5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.


Psa 23:6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

All so beautiful!







Hat Tips:

USPS.com

The Telegraph UK

Darleen's Place

Michelle Malkin.com

Creative Thinking and the Invisible and Eternal God

It's very late for a new post, but since I fell asleep on the couch while watching T.V. earlier this evening and then awoke a few hours later, I decided to read some email before closing my browser for the night.

One of my favorite Christian bloggers has a new essay up. I found it in my email box tonight and I encourage readers here to go check it out! Charlie at Another Think has written and excellent and thought-provoking essay entitled "An Uncertain Reality"

Brief excerpts:

The great scientific project at the dawn of the twentieth century was to expose the hidden mysteries of the atom.

[W]hat made this investigation remarkable, and maddening, was the inaccessibility of the systems they were trying to understand. Using only the crudest experimental devices combined with ingenious thought experiments and audacious hunches, these young scientists tested theories and conducted their research in the blind. To make matters worse, Werner Heisenberg theorized that the nature of atomic particles was such that they could never be measured or probed by any traditional methods, because the very act of observing them would change them in unpredictable ways.

His insight was roundly dismissed at first, but grudgingly came to be accepted and formalized as the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle.

Quoting Bernice Eiduson again: "Creative thinking demands seeing things not seen previously... and taking risks by departing from reality."

Faced with an unknown and uncertain reality at the sub-atomic level, these scientists dared to depart from accepted conventions and imagined a world that broke the known rules, something the scientific establishment of the day did not quickly accept.

As I've been thinking about this remarkable scientific era, I have noticed similarities between the challenges and creative demands required to uncover the secrets of the atom, and the creative leaps and risks inherent in belief in the invisible and eternal God.

Read the entire essay HERE



I wrote a comment there, but must have copied the text in the spam preventing box wrong so I got an error message when I tried to post the comment!

*Sigh*

Anyway, here is a copy of the comment:

Hi Charlie,

What an excellent and fascinating essay! As usual, you make the connections that a non-believing scientist might want to ignore or even shun (because of purposeful disbelief in God), and turn it into a better explanation of reality because of your skill as a scientist utilizing your faith in the God of the universe, Jesus Christ!

What you have written triggered some thoughts I recently contemplated.

My 86 year old mom has often stated how wonderful the "discoverers" of prescription drugs are in sustaining and prolonging the lives of people who might have suffered more, and/or died at younger ages without the use of such drugs.

We know that many drugs can be used for good (and helpful) purposes - as well as for evil (and addictive) purposes.

I was thinking the other day that since we are always only "catching up to God" in the scientific realm of this life on earth, how awesome it might be to one day discover (in eternity) that we probably had the "tools" here on earth all along to cure any and every physical, mental, and emotional ailment? Yet, because of our fallen, sinful nature such discoveries had been made by scientists in a gradual and incomplete way? Hope those last two sentences made some sense!

One example. A relative of mine succumbed to Alzheimer's disease and her mind deteriorated at such a rapid pace back in the 80's because no drugs were yet created to halt the progression of that devastating disease. Today, there are drugs that considerably slow down the progression of the disease and patients often get to live close to normal lives for many, many more years than previously ever imagined. That's not a small or insignificant miracle!

Your entire essay displays the "wonders of the Lord" and I love your final paragraph:

So too with faith. God invites us not to abandon reason, but to give up our iron grip on what we think we know, what we think must be true. The Christian faith invites us to open our minds to the possibility of a different reality than we have ever imagined.

Beautiful!

God bless,
Christine

Hat Tip:

Another Think

Update:

Yay! Tried to post the comment two more times over at Another Think and the third try (currently in moderation) was the charm! ;-)

Motivational Speaking: Another Career Option for Me!

Okay~

Over the last couple weeks, my struggle in search for therapy has come to an end; in reality, it's more like two weeks since I'm writing this post early October. It took us going to another hospital, but the work has now begun. I'm now adjusting to a night splint which stretches my arm out in a extended position. I wear that brace primarily at night, although occasionally spasms wake me up from a sound sleep, so you can imagine I don't sleep well. Most recently, I have been told to start wearing my wrist brace as often as possible to prepare myself for using my joystick. My dad is going to replace the doul in my tray like I had in college so my arm will get used to being in that position again. So we're on our way, I guess.. But I can't help but wonder. Why can't I just stay positive like the rest of my family?

Anyway, I've always considered motivational speaking a second career alternative for me. If writing doesn't work out, then is. I want to inspire others to overcome obstacles in order to achieve their dreams. That being said, I've had this link for a while and it fits in perfectly with this idea. This kid's story is amazing!
Please check it out
http://cancertype.me/child-with-cerebral-palsy-doing-inspirational-speaking.html

With Firm Reliance on Divine Providence

With Firm Reliance on Divine Providence..

Video of The Day

In the next 40 days, make a pledge to practice faith, hope and charity by doing three things..See the three things and Make the pledge at our new Facebook group "Glenn Beck's Challenge" here.




Glenn Beck Show- September 3, 2010

NewZeal.blogspot.com

With firm reliance on divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor. That is the key. Tonight is all about Faith, Hope and Charity and the 40 day challenge. If you haven't group yet, check it out here. Tonight, Glenn talks with three incredible men who he believes will change this country: Miles McPherson, Pastor of "The Rock Church", Rabbi Daniel Lapin of The American Alliance of Christians and Jews and decorated Vietnam Vet Dave Roever.


Watch Glenn Beck.com

Agreeing On Restoring Honor, Faith, Hope, & Charity

Don Koenig of World and Church Trends and Bible Prophecy has a post up about Glenn Beck.

I can tell my readers that I had not heard the following particular statement by Glenn, but here is what Don has written regarding a quote he had obtained from Brannon Howse:

Want to hear the truth about Beck’s own beliefs from his own mouth? According to Brannon Howse Beck said this:

“Last week on his radio program Beck said “I Am That I Am is the most powerful phrase in any language as it is the name of god, never use it in vain; use it to create who you want to be. I AM blank.”

I agree. Beck certainly took that verse out of context. We could chalk it up to misapplication, but when it comes to knowledge about the Mormon religion, perhaps that might the culprit for the misinterpretation.

Nonetheless, I have written a comment in response to Don's post (which is excellent and I encourage you to read it in it's entirety) as to why I think that Bible-based Christian pastors, writers, and apologists should take advantage of Beck's national audience to get The Word of God out to the masses!


Excerpt from Don's post:

It is with mixed feelings that I am writing this post because most of what Glenn Beck says is as American as American pie. Nevertheless, most Christians leaders so love the sugar in the American pie that Beck is dishing out that they are also gobbling down the deadly crust that molds it. When Glenn Beck stays on politics he is pretty good but when he talks about God he is so far off the Christian reservation that he might as will be on planet Kolob (Where Father God of Mormons lives).


First let me once again comment on Mormonism in general. Don’t be confused just because they use the same terminology as Christians. They do not believe the doctrines of Christianity. They just put their own meaning on common Christian terms. For example, don’t confuse God the Father of Christianity with Father God of the Mormons. The Father God of Mormons was once a man just like us that progressed to become a God before us. Don’t confuse Jesus of Christianity with the Mormon Jesus who is the spirit brother of Lucifer and a God in the making like his brother. Don’t confuse the blood atonement of Jesus with the Mormon’s limited atonement that requires you to still work to achieve your godhood. Don’t confuse the Trinity of Christianity with the separate three gods of Mormonism.

Continue reading here:

World and Church Trends and Bible Prophecy
“I Am” beckoning by Glenn Beck - It is with mixed feelings that I am writing this post because most of what Glenn Beck says is as American as American pie. Nevertheless, most Christians le...

My comment there:

I can certainly understand your wariness about Beck because he is a Mormon. However, I disagree with Brannon Howse that Beck is turning evangelical Christians (the Bible-based ones, at least) towards Mormonism.

There were people of different faiths at the rally. There are people of different faiths watching his T.V. show and listening to the radio show. In particular, the huge audience that showed up at the rally were there for the purpose of agreeing with Beck on the need for us all to turn back to our Founding Principles - including faith, hope, and charity. These are three things that all can agree on.

I saw the same kind of caution being discussed in America when the Manhattan Declaration came about and people were being urged to sign on. Some Christians refused (e.g. John MacArthur - a Christian apologist and author whom I greatly admire) and others signed it (e.g. Albert Mohler). I have read a lot of the writings of both men and what they profess agrees with Biblical Christianity. However, they disagreed on the signing of that document. Is one correct and the other wrong to do so?

The Bible states that we are not to place a "stumbling block" in front of others - especially "baby" Christians - so that they veer off in the wrong direction away from the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. Perhaps it is the "baby" Christians that must be warned and cautioned not to equate Mormon belief with Biblical Christianity.

In the case of Beck, the fact that he has given such a HUGE PLATFORM to Christian leaders and pastors on his T.V. show is enough reason (IMHO) to cheer him on. It doesn't meant that people are going to embrace Mormonism. Most Bible-based Christians will not be swayed in that direction. Recall the Bible verse that says:

Mar 13:22 For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if [it were] possible, even the elect.

The "if [it were] possible" clause informs us that it WON'T be done! The elect aren't fooled because they are forever sealed in Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit.

What I am seeing (including my own pastor who will be on Glenn's show this Friday) is a unique show giving Christian leaders a platform with a huge audience to express what they believe and how it all relates to our founding here in America; and how our people need a re-awakening to WORK towards restoring our nation.

I have read comments from other Christians stating that perhaps Glenn might be converted from Mormonism to Biblical Christianity. We can all pray for that, of course. I will admit that it is VERY DIFFICULT to change their minds. Been there, done that at my front door and sitting in my own living room having conversations with young "elders." However, there is always hope.
Pastor Miles McPherson was highly criticized by some evangelical leaders for attending and speaking at a convention for "The Secret" (if I recall correctly, I think that is Oprah's new religion?) Anyway, he stood up there and preached the true gospel of Jesus Christ to the audience and told them something like - 'that's the secret.' Ha! Of course, not every Christian pastor and/or apologist is geared up for such a presentation. It just happens to be one of Pastor Miles' gifts.

I sincerely hope that this political divide forming doesn't break the wonderful message that the Restore Honor rally presented to America on 8/28. That would be a most unfortunate development! Rather, I continue to hope and pray that people will go back to their homes and churches and apply the message that we all can agree on -
America needs to restore honor in our nation and we need to utilize faith, hope and charity in order to do so.

Don, you certainly pointed out the VERY important differences between Mormon belief and genuine Biblical Christianity. I am not trying to downplay your concerns. I just think that it would be a missed opportunity NOT TO TAKE ADVANTAGE of the national audience that Glenn has created via his show. If you think I am wrong - so be it. We will just need to agree to disagree.

In closing, I want to express how much I have appreciated your excellent post here. Because the message of distinction between what Mormons believe vs. Bible-based Christian belief is immensely important, I plan to link to your post today at my blog.

Christine

P.S. There are some Christian bloggers who used to post at my blog, but now do not visit or comment because they obviously don't like that I write about Glenn Beck's show. Some have abandoned my blog because of this. So be it. My blog is involved in both proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ and applying the Word of God to everyday life - including political issues. During the very first God-Blog Conference back in 2004, a professor at Biola U. told me that mixing all of these goals might make for an impossible task. Perhaps, but I keep going anyway. God bless.

Hat tip:

World and Church Trends and Bible Prophecy

A Willing Vessel Of Love For Reconciliation [Update 4]

UPDATE 4: Great news! The Restoring Honor event will be broadcast live on Facebook tomorrow! Go here for more information:

Glenn Beck.com - Watch Restoring Honor Live on Facebook

August 27, 2010 - 22:59 ET

8/28 Live! – Saturday, 10a-1p ET
Yes, 8/28 will be broadcast live on Facebook. We want as many people as possible to have the chance to view this event which is why it will be streamed FREE. Checkout our Facebook page on 8/28 to watch this event LIVE! Remember 10a ET. If you can’t be in Washington DC, join us on Facebook to watch it live!
Related: 8/28 Quick Links

Praying for safety and a great event for faith, hope, and charity to shine through despite all of the terrible vitriol that the left is spewing about Glenn Beck's 8/28/10 event - Restoring Honor rally in Washington D.C. this Saturday. I wish I could be there, but family obligations prevent me from attending. I will keep a close eye on the coverage of the event.

I find the criticisms of the rabid left against Glenn Beck, his guests, the distortions of his "reasons" for holding the event and the ugly rhetoric against him for having it at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on the anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s great speech there very disturbing, disheartening and quite sad.

Glenn interviewed Alveda King, Dr. Martin Luther King's niece on his show today. I cried throughout the program. How did our country become so messed up and mean spirited? To hear how she is being treated so horribly by the left is disgusting. She appears to be a wonderful, faithful Christian woman who is pro-life and runs an organization encouraging life for the unborn. Of course, she represents everything that the rabid left hates - including being a willing vessel of love for reconciliation between the races and all people.

*******
UPdate:

To watch today's show with guest Alveda King, go here:

Watch Glenn Beck: August 26, 2010 - Restoring Honor

Glenn Beck Show- August 26, 2010


Tonight: Glenn continues from D.C. as less than 40 hours remain until the Restoring Honor Rally. Tonight, Glenn will prepare you and lay out the real message behind the rally (despite what you might have heard in the media). Joining Glenn tonight for a good portion of the program is Dr. Alveda King, niece of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. She has faced an enormous amount of criticism for agreeing to take part in and supporting the rally. We should keep her and all of those who have taken great risks to stand with Glenn in our prayers.

*******
Update 2:

A few weeks ago, I heard that Laura Ingraham may attend the rally on Saturday. I am currently reading her book, "The Obama Diaries" (it is EXCELLENT!) and on pages 324-325 she writes exactly why we need to keep up with the non-violent protests against the radical government agenda being hoisted upon us:

The major premise for tactics is the development of operations that will maintain a constant pressure upon the opposition - Saul Alinsky, Rules for Radicals

It is interesting that the very people who foment the anger in the country, the Democrats, are the ones wailing when the public reacts to their mischief. What did they think was going to happen when they refused to acknowledge the public outcry during the health-care debate?

It is hard to watch the persistent, radical agenda rolling out of this White House, whether it be health-care policy, immigration reform, cap-and-trade legislation, or the endless new taxes being proposed, without thinking that there is some plan underway. They are maliciously provoking a reaction, hoping for a violent response from the people, so they can use it to tarnish all dissent and finally silence criticism of their flawed policies. It is a textbook Saul Alinsky tactic.

Radical leftists thrive in conflict and chaos. In Rules for Radicals, Alinsky writes, "When those prominent in the status quo turn and label you an 'agitator,' they are completely correct, for that is, in one word, your function - to agitate to the point of conflict." In the midst of their premeditated conflicts, these leftists can do incredible damage. They will miss no opportunity to use the self-generated moments of strife to demonize their critics, restrain the people's freedom, and destroy their liberty. Should violence erupt or any social unrest break out as a result of their heinous policies, the liberals will proclaim themselves our protectors, and use the chaos as a justification to claim even greater control over our lives and our freedoms. For this reason, and so many others, violence must always be condemned and rejected, while every peaceful means of resistance should be utilized.

P.S. This blog post is currently listed here on the google blog search list, but I think that as posts on the Restoring Honor rally are added, the page number where it is listed may change.

I read some of the headlines and sentences from other blogs. The left-wing ones are doing EXACTLY what Laura Ingraham describes as the typical Saul Alinsky tactic (see quote and excerpt above in update 2) to cause the demonization of Beck and all who want to attend the event.

Knowing their tactics are a bogus attempt to cause strife and agitation takes the power away from their arguments and condemnation.

*******

Update 3:

I had to go three posts from the bottom of page 3 (at 9:15 a.m. PT) in order to find a blog post that wasn't disparaging the 8/28 Restoring Honor rally. What are these people so afraid of??

Will post the positive blog posts as I find them.

1. Mediaite: Glenn Beck Responds to Al Sharpton - What Part of Honor Are You Against?

2. MichNews: Black Conservatives Support Glenn Beck Event on MLK Anniversary

3. No Apologies

4. Facts Not Fairies: Glenn Beck 8/28 Rally - Its a Matter of Honor

5. Capitol Hill Blue (both positive and negative discussions).

6. Sirius XM News: Sirius XM Patriot to Broadcast Glenn Beck's Restoring Honor Rally Live

7. Booker Rising: Lloyd Marcus on Glenn Beck Rally



More later...

Encouragement: Inspiration and its Origins

Wow,

It's hard to believe I've written 389 post during the last four years. It's funny because I first began this project in the hopes of being a springboard towards employment and it's become so much more than that to me. Isn't that how God chooses to work miracles in our lives, though? This shows us that we are able to do more by His Power than that of our own will.

This topic has been the discussion of many religious dramas and television shows. Inspiration - what is it and where does it come from? Personally, I believe that no other show explains it better than Touched By an Angel in episode 100 entitled "Psalm 151". In the episode, the angels try to help uncover and grant the wishes of 10-year-old Petey who is dying of cystic fibrosis. One of them being that his mother (played by Wynonna) complete writing a song signifying that she would be able to provide for herself after his death.

I've provided the "inspiration" clip below. I found it on YouTube, thanks to a user Miss Wings. In short, Monica (the Angel of truth) tells Audrey that "God puts into your spirit things that couldn't come from your own mind."

In the end, Audrey completes the song and performs it for her son. The song "Testify To Love" was originally written by Avalon, but fits the storyline perfectly. We should look at everything in life as a opportunity to be "a witness in the silences when words are not enough". In that way, we are pointing others to Jesus.

The Grace To Trust God in Adversity

Just before signing off from FaceBook last night, I noticed a post that read, "Actually, life DID come with an instruction manual. It's called the Bible."

How true! The limited knowledge of any secular, worldly-minded humanist, psychiatrist, psychologist, politician, teacher, college professor, business person, physician, nurse, scientist etc. could not possibly compare to the wisdom and knowledge of God contained within the Bible.

I have been thinking about how chaotic our world continues to be. It is only growing worse. The confidence that we once had in our government here in the United States has been shattered. We see so much corruption going unpunished that it could be easy for us to lose heart.

I know that the majority of Americans are deeply alarmed over ObaMarxist, the progressives in Congress and the unelected lunatic-leftist czars who are writing all the damaging legislation that will further hurt our economy, freedoms, and liberty. They look forward to the 2010 election - with millions of conservatives hoping and praying for the removal of the corruptocrats in Congress through the victory of Tea Party candidates and conservative Republicans. Such a victory would make Obama a lame duck pResident until the new presidential election in 2012. Hopefully, the new Congress will be taken over by Republicans and the checks and balances against the far left Marxist policies of Obama that are damaging our country so badly will be stopped. Some (like government-run healthcare) may even be overturned.

No matter what happens, as believers in Jesus Christ and his eternal promises, we are given the grace (through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit) to trust God in adversity.

In his book "Trusting God," Jerry Bridges had this to say about troubled times: "The moral will of God given to us in the Bible is rational and reasonable. The circumstances in which we must trust God often appear irrational and inexplicable...It is only from the Scriptures, applied to our hearts by the Holy Spirit, that we receive grace to trust God in adversity...The faith to trust God in adversity comes through the Word of God alone."

This is what it means to set our minds on God through His Word. As Bridges affirms, the Scriptures often turn worldly logic on its head. People may think we are unreasonable. The truth is that only those with their minds set on God know what reason really is; only God's course is the course that will ultimately prevail.

Thinking about how chaotic our world is today brought back to mind one of the best book that I have ever read on this topic - "Living With Confidence in a Chaotic World" by Dr. David Jeremiah. [Note: The above quote is taken from this book.]

One bookmarked page in Chapter Five, entitled "Stay Connected", has suggestions for three ways to stay centered in Christ.

After Dr. Jeremiah discussed the importance of staying centered in Christ he goes on to describe just how do we go from being earth-centered to being heaven-centered?

Here are three suggestions to help you in your quest for Christ-centeredness.

Seek God's Will. "but seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you" (Matthew 6:33).

I had to chuckle when I read what Dr. Jeremiah states next. It seems to meld with the thoughts of those whose eyes are only on this world - and not God's heavenly kingdom.

What is it about this verse? People insist on reading it backwards, as though from some spiritual strain of dyslexia: "Add all these things unto you, then seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness in whatever time is left."

Doesn't that describe today's worldly-minded people? I like that phrase, "from some spiritual strain of dyslexia." It proves how true the Bible is when we read:

1Cr 2:14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

Dr. Jeremiah:

Blessed are those who read it as written, as intended, as the truth happens to be. One missionary rephrased it well: "Take care of the things that are important to God, and He will take care of the things that are important to you."

That is good advice for every single individual on earth. No one else can take on YOUR PARTICULAR responsibility (whatever that may be) in order to "take care of the things that are important to God" in your own life. Thus, God taking care of the things that are important to you cannot follow without first trusting in God and having faith in Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior.

I have seen this scenario played out over and over again in my own life as well as in other's lives. I can discuss this kind of advice freely with my Christian friends because they believe in Christ and agree that the Bible is God's Word and contains absolute truth. However, non-believers often take offense at such a notion.

The second way to stay centered in Christ:

Search God's Word.

This is how Christians can keep their sanity in the midst of all the chaos going on in the world today. Sometimes, I wonder how non-believers can keep it together. If they are paying attention and are seeing all of the evil, corruption and sin being unleashed - without the perpetrators receiving their due punishment for it - how do they hold out any hope? If their hope relies only on the "things of this world," they will continue to be sorely disappointed throughout their entire lives. The things of this world only end up falling to dust and blowing away because reliance on such things do not last. Only God's eternal Word and His Kingdom through Jesus Christ will last for all eternity. Remember, the Bible tells us that one day "every knee will bow" before Christ, and "every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord" - which means even the non-believers and followers of other pagan religions - will one day realize who Christ is when He returns to this earth.

Phl 2:5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,


Phl 2:6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,


Phl 2:7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.


Phl 2:8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.


Phl 2:9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name,


Phl 2:10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,


Phl 2:11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Also take note of what is written in Romans:

Rom 14:11 For it is written: "As I live, says the LORD, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God."


Rom 14:12 So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.

The book of Isaiah in the Old Testament is filled with prophesy, as well as prophetic verses. Take note of this wisdom:

Isa 45:20 "Assemble yourselves and come; Draw near together, You who have escaped from the nations. They have no knowledge, Who carry the wood of their carved image, And pray to a god that cannot save.


Isa 45:21 Tell and bring forth your case; Yes, let them take counsel together. Who has declared this from ancient time? Who has told it from that time? Have not I, the LORD? And there is no other God besides Me, A just God and a Savior; There is none besides Me.


Isa 45:22 "Look to Me, and be saved, All you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.


Isa 45:23 I have sworn by Myself; The word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness, And shall not return, That to Me every knee shall bow, Every tongue shall take an oath.


Isa 45:24 He shall say, 'Surely in the LORD I have righteousness and strength. To Him men shall come, And all shall be ashamed Who are incensed against Him.


Isa 45:25 In the LORD all the descendants of Israel Shall be justified, and shall glory.'

Dr. Jeremiah:

Jesus was a guest in the home of Mary and Martha one day, as Luke's gospel tells us. He found Himself caught in the crossfire of warring priorities. Martha was playing hostess and housekeeper, while Mary sat at Jesus' feet and listened intently to His teaching. It didn't seem fair to Martha, and she told Jesus so -- Mary, she said, should do her part. As always, Jesus gave the least expected response: "Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things, but one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her" (Luke 10:38-42).

As believers and followers of Jesus Christ, we ALL need to be focused on what Jesus has instructed and "chose that good part" daily.

It's fine to be involved in family [I believe in God first, family second, job (or other interests) third], work, politics, and any other activity as long as it doesn't compromise what the Bible teaches as truth. However, when we seek and study God's Word on a daily basis, it helps us stay focused on Jesus - the Author and Finisher of our faith.

Hbr 12:1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,


Hbr 12:2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.


Hbr 12:3 For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.

Dr. Jeremiah:

We face this choice every single day. Staying centered on Christ requires us to stay focused on God's Word. Geoffrey Thomas has written, "The love of Christ is the strongest constraint to knowing the Scriptures, and if we have little desire for the Bible, we should ask if we indeed know the Savior." In other words, our relationship with the Bible mirrors our relationship with Christ."

The third secret to staying centered in Christ is so simple, so powerful, and so often forgotten.

Support God's Work.

Simply go where His action is--and if you can't go there, find other ways to get involved.

The Sermon on the Mount instructs us:

Mat 6:19 "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal;


Mat 6:20 "but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.


Mat 6:21 "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Dr. Jeremiah:

Pour yourself into eternal things, things that affect the invisible world; things that change the population of heaven.

Jesus says that our hearts naturally follow our treasures. What we value most is a magnet for our thoughts and emotions. Therefore we must learn to value God's things the most. The more we give ourselves to His purposes, the more centered on Christ we will become.

Amen!

Dr. Jeremiah:

There are many other means of staying centered on Christ in chaotic times. But if we start with seeking Him first and searching for Him in the Scriptures, if we remember that our heart follows our treasure and we invest that treasure in things above, we will be well on our way toward starting centered in Christ.

Hat Tips:

Reference: "Living With Confidence in a Chaotic World" by Dr. David Jeremiah, published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas Nelson, 2009 pp. 128-132.

Blue Letter Bible

Science & Enlightenment Argue Against Christian Faith

I always get excited when I open up an email message from Charlie at Another Think blog - telling me that he has a new essay posted. Charlie labels his blog as "One Christian's view of post-modern life."

His latest essay is entitled, Appearances Can Be Deceiving

Boy...isn't that the truth!

It is important to read the entire essay, so I'm finding it difficult to post an excerpt!

Perhaps this will do:

The difficulty about the tension between orthodoxy and non-conformity is that much of what counts for accepted wisdom is probably true. The Earth appears flat but really is round, despite the tongue-in-cheek protestations of the Flat Earth Society. Parallel railroad tracks appear to meet in the distance, but we know that our eyes play tricks on us. Appearances can be deceiving.

From the perspective of Christianity, the orthodoxy of modern science and the Enlightenment often seem to argue against the Christian faith.

Posted a comment there, but it is in moderation.

Ah!!! We just had another earthquake in CA! 5.4 on Richter scale! No damage. It rolled from one end of the house to the other! I ran through the house yelling earthquake! My hubby and dog were out in the garden area. The pool was sloshing a bit - not much. The epicenter was reported to be centered in the Borrego desert, which is east of us!

My comment has been posted!

Christinewjc July 7, 2010 5:46 PM Reply
Great essay Charlie! Well said!

When I look around and see all that Creation has to offer, the thought that it came out of nothing, from no one, for no eternal purpose seems irrational. Why? Because I know Jesus Christ and trust every word written in the Bible as truth.

As His beloved human creatures - who have been given the task of dominion over all the earth and everything in it - we are blessed with a mind that allows us to create many things. How could I logically follow that with disbelief in our Creator? Along with our minds, He has given us a heart, soul, body and spirit. There is an empty place in our souls that can only be filled by the Holy Spirit's indwelling through being born again in Jesus Christ! How do I know this? Because I was once lost in sin.

Some people make science their "god." But I say to those who think that way - science is always attempting to catch up with God.

Science is secondary in this life. Faith in Jesus Christ - and what He achieved at the cross - is ultimately what is necessary to bridge the gap between sinful man and Holy God. He is the way, the truth and the life that leads us to spending eternity with God.

Christ's resurrection from the dead is a fact of history. Scientists (the secular ones) don't like to think that miracles happen. Their conformity to their own wisdom and knowledge doesn't allow them to think out of their secular reasoning box. Some do escape. Some have come to faith in Christ. But then they are mocked by their peers as "unscientific" (because scientists walk by sight) and place themselves in a vulnerable position.

But God instructs us that without faith, it is impossible to please God. So those who reject the Christian faith on the grounds that their faith in science trumps being reconciled back unto God through Christ have openly rejected what God has stated in His Word is necessary to please Him.

What I'm trying to say is stated simply in 2 Corinthians:

2Cr 5:7 (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) ***



Hat tip

Another Think

***The rest of 2 Corinthians 5:

2Cr 5:8 We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.


2Cr 5:9 Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him.


2Cr 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things [done] in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.


2Cr 5:11 Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are well known to God, and I also trust are well known in your consciences.


2Cr 5:12 For we do not commend ourselves again to you, but give you opportunity to boast on our behalf, that you may have [an answer] for those who boast in appearance and not in heart.


2Cr 5:13 For if we are beside ourselves, [it is] for God; or if we are of sound mind, [it is] for you.


2Cr 5:14 For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died;


2Cr 5:15 and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.


2Cr 5:16 Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know [Him thus] no longer.


2Cr 5:17 Therefore, if anyone [is] in Christ, [he is] a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.


2Cr 5:18 Now all things [are] of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation,


2Cr 5:19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.


2Cr 5:20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore [you] on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God.


2Cr 5:21 For He made Him who knew no sin [to be] sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

*******

P.S. While traveling back from our vacation in Kauai last week, I read a fascinating article in the Hana Hou! magazine of Hawaiian Airlines! I plan to do a blog post about it this week, but you can read the article online here:

Hana Hou.com: View From The Top



I love the way the author ends his article:

“We are making detections that indicate that our knowledge about not only the universe but the structure and nature of matter itself is incomplete,” he says and then he adds—half-shrugging, half-laughing and utterly enthused—“we’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg” … if that.

Aloha and Mahalo!

Memorial Day Memories and Messages

Today is May 30, 2010. It has been fifteen years since my dad passed away (at the young age of 72) from mesothelioma - an inoperable form of lung cancer that is usually contracted as a result of unprotected exposure to asbestos. He was a wonderful dad. A tireless and determined provider for our family. As a brave World War II veteran, he was a member of The Greatest Generation.

You can read about my Memorial Day Memories from 2008 by clicking this link. Included in that post is the account of the salvation experience of my dad while visiting him back in January, 1995. The experience resulted in a miraculous event that you can read about in my post True Ministry.

The following is a partial list of some of the Memorial Day essays and tributes written and shared by several blog roll authors. More to share tomorrow.

Christine

*******


If You Enjoy Freedom, Thank the Military
posted by Phil at The Right Side of Life - 2 hours ago
www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2RwRi2TjA0 A patriotic tribute (via US4Palin): It is the veteran, not the preacher, who has given us freedom of religion. It is the veteran, not the reporter, who has given us free...

The Meaning of Memorial Day
posted by evil@evilconservativeonline.com (Evil Conservative) at Evil Conservative Radio - 2 hours ago
What does Memorial Day mean to you? I always think of John 15:13, "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." At any rate, here's another great Memorial Day piece th...

Sarah Palin's Memorial Day Message
posted by evil@evilconservativeonline.com (Evil Conservative) at Evil Conservative Radio - 3 hours ago
Speaking of leadership, you know who I think has it in spades? Thanks, Mrs. Palin, for having the class our elected President is lacking. I think we could do a heck of a lot worse for a President that you....

Memorial day weekend, Lest we forget, Citizen Wells open thread, May 30, 2010

posted by citizenwells at Citizen WElls - 16 hours ago
Memorial day weekend, Lest we forget, Citizen Wells open thread I know more about ancestral participation in the American revolution than I do of the Civil War. However, I discovered the obituary of an anc...

Memorial Day 2010 - Ronald Reagan Speech at Arlington National Cemetery
posted by maggiesnotebook@cox.net (Maggie Thornton) at Maggie's Notebook - 1 day ago
Memorial Day is set aside to express our deepest gratitude to those, who for the love of our country, accepted death. The video below is narrated by Ronald Reagan. Read about Arlington National Cemetery...

Hat Tips to all links.

Manhattan Declaration & Sovereignty Now

Any Glenn Beck T.V. show fans out there? If you are serious about your Christian faith, you might want to pay attention to what he is reporting.

I know what some Christians reading here might be thinking..."psst...Christine...do you know that Glenn's a Mormon?"

Yes. I know.

Next, they might say, "well, then... how can you side with him or trust him?"

I might answer, "The same way that I trust...let's say...Charles Krauthammer. He is Jewish and doesn't even believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, yet I trust what he is saying about important political issues of our time."

When "The Manhattan Declaration" came into being, two prominent Christian pastors/authors (both of whom I admire) came out at odds with each other regarding the decision of whether or not to sign the declaration. John MacArthur was against signing it because he objected to the fact that those of differing faiths were also willing to sign it. He felt that it was a compromise against biblical truth.

However, Albert Mohler did sign it, and he has given a statement exactly why he decided to do so.

Even some of my Christian blogging friends have chosen not to sign it, while others have decided to sign the document. The question remains, is it a compromise for a Christ-following, born-again, Bible believing individual to sign The Manhattan Declaration?

Who should be the judge?

Answer: God is the ultimate judge of all that we do (and don't do) to advance the Kingdom while we are here on this earth.

For me, signing the declaration is a good thing and IMHO, I think that Jesus would approve. You, on the other hand, may disagree with me about that. So be it. It will just have to remain as one of those "agree to disagree" situations among fellow Christian believers.

When I watched Glenn Beck's show on Wednesday [watch full show here], I had tears in my eyes. It was such a wonderful presentation that revealed what we are truly up against as genuine believers in Jesus Christ vs. what the Obama Administration is attempting to "sell us" on.

The "Social Justice" movement that is now openly attaching itself to the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency - which in the world of the ObaMARXIST Islamo-Fascist gangster government we now have here in America), can more realistically be described as the environmental, global warming scam, and cap and trade scheme. It is nothing more than what Arlen at Investigating Obama so aptly entitles it: Obama's Assault on the Church via the EPA.

Excerpt:

In the kind of move forseen last year by Brannon Howse, the Obama administration is attempting to gain a foothold of ministerial (pardon the pun) influence over American churches, this by means of the pagan god, Gaia and the religion of environmentalism. It is to be accomplished through the EPA, a tender thought from souls of the likes of Marxist tacticians, Joel Rogers, Van Jones, and that old fellow sojourner, Jim Wallis. Do we need to care for the earth? Yes, that is among Adam's charges. Do we need the Church to be directed by government, to fulfill the deceitful schemes of thieving profiteers seeking global, Marxofascist governance? I know you can answer that question, too.

Be sure to read the rest here and view the video.

Over on Facebook, Arlen asked:

Arlen Williams:

Now, Christians in all congregations must be informed of this new strategic attack and church leaders must be called out, on it. They must be asked, "Do you support our freedom of religion and the constitutional, equal justice which is the authorized political principle of this land, or do you favor knuckling under to the counterfeit 'social justice' of statist, neo-Marxist rebellion."

That, in a nutshell, describes why people of differing Christian churches are all signing the same declaration. We can all band together to oppose, as Arlen so brilliantly stated,

"the counterfeit 'social justice' of statist, neo-Marxist rebellion."

The comments on the Facebook page are so good that I must include them here for the benefit of all to read:

Darren W Huff:

This "fight" has been going on for centuries. God has set aside a People to be a light to the world; and it has been the pagans who have continually tried to extinguish it. Google "The Georgia Guide stones" if you want to see the rest of their agenda.

Yesterday at 4:36am

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Arlen Williams:

Thank you, Darren. In process.

Yesterday at 1:54pm

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Stephen Pidgeon:

This is so interesting. Satan himself couldn't devise a better plan to hit pastors right in the hypocrisy. For those pastors whose life revolves around "the building campaign" - the mark of the beast is just one move away.

The move to follow the funding is the equal-God commandment, requiring pastors to assert that Jehovah is the same god as allah. It's coming to a sold-out church near you.

Yesterday at 5:51pm

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Arlen Williams:

A whole lotta resetting, renewal, and restoration have gotta go on.

Yesterday at 6:23pm

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Here's a link to The Georgia Guide stones. I will leave it up to you to decide whether or not you want to "enter" the site if you so desire to learn more. I only needed to read the "ten messages" listed on the front page to know that it's clearly a pagan type of group!

Just the first message on the list of ten reveals their attempt to "play god":

1. Maintain humanity under 500,000,000 in perpetual balance with nature.

So, with the coming election in November, 2010, and then the election in November, 2012, what are some guidelines that can lead Christians to make the right decisions about candidates for office? Arlen has created a list of "Sovereignty Now" questions that each of us should be asking the politicians who are requesting OUR VOTES:

SOVEREIGNTY NOW - Three Critical Questions for ALL Politicians & Candidates

All, tests which the Obamunists fail -- and so do many Republicans.

Please share this with leaders of the electoral action organization and Tea Party entity of your choice.

Please ask politicians and candidates, yourself.

In addition to asking a candidate whether he or she is pro-life, for restoring constitutional government, for cutting budgets and taxes, for protecting our borders, how he interprets the 1st and 2nd Amendments, etc., these questions must be asked our political candidates:

1. Are you a member of any organization supporting the ends of globalism, transnationalism, communitarianism, or U.N. Agenda 21 defined "sustainable development," or have you received money, or services, or other favors from any of these?

2. Do you pledge to uphold America's individual popular sovereignty, parental sovereignty, the sovereignty of the states, and our national sovereignty, against every internal and external threat, according to our Constitution and our Declaration of Independence?

3. Do you pledge to support and not undermine the sovereignty of other free and benign nations, for example, an unified Israel, in its present borders, with its capital Jerusalem?

Ask them all, now. Then, hold them accountable. - AW

I encourage all who read this to pass it on to others!

Hat Tip:

Investigating Obama

Manhattan Declaration.org

Watch Glenn Beck.com

You're Not Shaken

Some wonderful and encouraging words were shared by Al in the previous post comment section. What he shared brought to mind a song that I have been listening to and singing to myself over the past few weeks. It is a song that really is designed to comfort us as we go through chaotic times here on this earth. Steadfast faith is especially needed when we don't always know the whys of the world; and/or when our questions seem to go unanswered.

In response to this post, here is what Al wrote:

Al said...
Hi Christine,

Thanks for sharing your sensible, genuine sentiments about the present state of affairs in our nation. Appreciate the informative links covering Dr. Manning's trial too. The situation at the mouth of the Red Sea initially looked bleak too until Moses cried out to a God that answers prayers. Hopefully our generation will be delivered as well.

May 18, 2010 10:41:00 AM PDT

So beautifully stated, Al! Thank you!

There are SO MANY different YouTube videos of Phil Stacey singing his song "You're Not Shaken." I chose the following one because I liked the messages it conveyed as the song was being sung.

I hope it encourages your heart and blesses your day as much as it did for me!

In Christ,
Christine

P.S. Thanks again, Al!


Link to YouTube Video: Your Not Shaken by Phil Stacey.

bluetru40 — September 14, 2009 — Walk By Faith, Not By Sight: Sight (the flesh) can be deceiving.

Song by Phil Stacey "You're Not Shaken"

Powerful Show on Beck Yesterday

Glenn Beck's T.V. show yesterday had to be one of the most powerful and defining moments in the history of television. I am not kidding! Glenn's guests for the evening were awesome - especially Dr. Alveda King - the niece of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. who is a pro-life activist.

When I read the above article about Dr. Alveda King, I could not help but wonder if she was badly torn in her decision to vote for the first African-American presidential nominee, or, because she knew that he is a staunch pro-abortion minded candidate she could not in good conscience pull the lever in the voting booth for a candidate that has a 98% approval rating with pro-abortion organizations? I wonder how she voted. I also wonder that if she did vote for Obama, if she deeply regrets it now (as do millions of other Americans who were duped by his lies during the campaign).

Dr. King states in this article:

"Abortion is founded upon, maintained by and promoted with lies," said Dr. King, niece of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. "There are so many lies surrounding the case of this young girl, it`s hard to know where to begin. Obviously, there`s the falsehood of the boyfriend`s mother pretending to be the pregnant girl`s mother, the fraud of the boyfriend`s mother illegally signing a parental notification form, and the deception of the girl`s unknowing parents, who never knew their grandchild existed until it was too late. Most of all, there`s the lie that the child who was killed by abortion was not really a child."

"I pray for the young girl who was forced to abort her baby. I want her to know that there is healing, just as I have been healed from my own two abortions," added Dr. King. "I pray for the mother of the girl`s boyfriend who now sits in jail for her illegal actions. May she come to understand that her actions caused many people a lot of pain. And I also pray for the people who work in abortion clinics who are both victims and proponents of the lies of `choice.` They need to see that prenatal murder is an affront to justice everywhere. May the Lord have mercy on us all."

The most powerful sentence in that quote:

"They need to see that prenatal murder is an affront to justice everywhere."

Amen!!!

Back to the show.

The combination of Dr. Alveda King, Ted Nugent, and Princeton University Professor Robert George appeared to be a bit odd at first, but as the discussion progressed we saw what these four people (including Glenn) all had in common. The first obvious thing to notice was agreement in faith in God. The second? Agreement in true, real hope. And the third? LOVE. Love and charity go together because if you love your fellow man, you will WANT to be charitable to them.

I can't help but wonder what ObaMARXIST and his cohorts thought about Dr. King's appearance on Beck's show. Wouldn't you have loved to be a fly on the wall in Obama's "we hate Glenn Beck" war room?

CLICK HERE to view the entire show!!

You can also listen live online to Glenn's radio show [broadcast time is 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Pacific Time]:

KFMB.COM

Hat tips to all links.