My interest in professional sports has been sinking for a number of years, for a bunch of reasons. I really don't pay much attention anymore. Occasionally I will tune in to local sports talk here in Philadelphia, which I can only handle in short spurts. I become quickly agitated by the hosts, and their obnoxious commercial advertisements. They are nothing more than salesmen, constantly trying to sell me on some restaurant, some porn club, some auto dealer, or some home improvement outfit. In between sales pitches, if you catch them at just the right time, they manage to shoehorn in a few minutes of sports talk.
I have already spent entirely too much time on "sports" talk. My apologies. Anyway....
I somewhat forced myself to sit and watch the entire super bowl last night. I haven't done that in four years. Being involved in a Christian paranormal ministry, you might wonder why I am blogging about the super bowl. Well, if you will remember, last years super bowl featured Beyoncé as the halftime "entertainment." She admitted that during this performance (as well as in her other concerts) she channeled a spirit she calls "Sasha." She states that Sasha is the compelling force in her performances. I have no doubt she is sincere. What the main stream media and the masses fail to understand, however, is that this channeled entity is a demon. I am sure most see this as something harmless, sort of like a child playing with an imaginary friend.
So I watched the super bowl to see if Sasha would make an appearance. I cant say at this point. We will have to wait for Beyoncé to speak.
I was also interested in what the content of the commercials would be. I wondered how I might be impressed by anything super bowl related, whether pregame, during, or post game. And honestly, I wanted to see a good football game. I happen to think the American game of football is a magnificent game, and without need of all the bells and whistles that the super bowl is now defined by. I love the strategy of the game itself. And it certainly does not need the behaviors and on field displays of "celebration" which also have now come to define the NFL.
Which brings me to another reason I watched the super bowl.
I wanted to see Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton go up in flames. Newton has come to epitomize the new breed of the on field NFL punk. Yeah, punk. Oh, prior to last nights game the apologists for Newton's on field histrionics were all over the airwaves, claiming "Cam is just having fun," and "he loves the game," and my favorite, "he plays happy." They would cite his giving footballs to children in the stands after scoring a touchdown. I was convinced all along Cam Newton was all about Cam Newton. I was sure, given the opportunity, Newton's true colors would come shining through.
And boy oh boy, did he ever expose himself, during and after the game.
As for his play itself in the super bowl, he stunk. He was awful. He overthrew receivers and fumbled twice. Of all the super bowls I have personally watched I cant remember a worse performance by a quarterback. I am sure the apologists will come out at some point. They will say his team overall played poorly, which is true. But before the game it was all about Cam. Cam, Cam, Cam. Well, the heat was on and Cam Newton melted like a stick of butter on a sidewalk in July.
But for me, the play that truly exposed his heart, or lack thereof, was late in the fourth quarter, with his team on about their own 20 yard line, down 16-10. The game was on the line. These are the moments that define great players, and create legendary moments, like Joe Montana hitting Dwight Clark in the back of the end zone. Newton drops back to pass, and has the ball stripped by Von Miller, the games deserved MVP. The ball is loose on the ground and players from both sides attempt to recover the fumble. Where is the fun loving, game loving, happy Cam Newton during this? After all, he was the one who lost the ball. Oh, he was there, and he thought about jumping into the fray, but he pulled back, allowing the Denver Broncos to recover the ball, essentially sealing the victory.
Superman Cam was afraid to recover a fumble. I guess Cam loves Cam more than he loves the game of football.
This is a moment which should live forever in super bowl infamy. We should all let Scott Norwood's wide right now rest in piece.
Before last nights super bowl it wasn't nice to point out how much you disliked Cam Newton's on field antics. You were labeled as a hater, a complainer, accusations of racism even arising. Gee, what a shock. Come on man, Cam's just having fun, and giving souvenirs to kids. This morning everyone is stating the obvious about Cam Newton. Today Mr. Newton is being seen in a whole new light, you know, like when luminol is sprayed to reveal traces of blood at a crime scene, traces undetectable to the human eye.
Well, many of us had Cam Newton pegged right all along. But our voices were muffled and shouted down. We had ulterior motives. We really couldn't see what was clearly displayed by Newton's actions. We were haters.
Today sports talk will be filled with all of the easy post game observations of Cam Newton by hosts and callers. It's easy to "hate" now. It is also really easy to smile and celebrate and love the game when you are winning and everyone is fawning all over you. The true measure of character is discovered in adversity, like the adversity Cam Newton faced last night.
If you are one of those who didn't want to hear the ugly truth about Cam Newton beforehand, may I suggest the next time a player, or a politician, or an entertainer arises with a flash and a splash and is showered with adoration and everyone is defending their words and apparent selfish behavior, take some time to consider what the naysayers are actually saying. They may just be making sense.
I didn't even get into Cam Newton's post game presser sulk fest. Pathetic. Talk about someone who needs to put on some big boy pants.
Monday, February 8, 2016
Sunday, November 22, 2015
Fighting The Battle Of Spiritual Warfare
Yesterday, I posted about this war that Christians are in everyday. This spiritual battle manifests itself in our physical world. Today I want to encourage Christians through the Word of God to engage in this battle in such a way is to have victory in this life.
Every Christian knows the story of David and Goliath. If you grew up as a child in a Christian home, most likely you heard this story told many times through Sunday school. But this Scripture passage is more than a story, but a very real event which took place in a battle of the Philistine army and the army of Israel. This historical event can be read in 1Samuel 17:1-50.
It would appear from reading the text that Goliath's massive height ( 9ft 9") and his impenetrable armor present a challenge that no warrior of Israel, even Saul as king, can defeat the Philistine. The fear that possesses the Israelites is real and none want to face the challenge. Along comes David, the shepherd boy. He recognizes the spiritual battle waging before him.
And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God? 1Samuel 17:26
Saul having heard the report about David sent for him to be brought before the king. Saul tells David there is no possible way for a young man to defeat this champion of the Philistines.
34 And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock:
35 And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him.
36 Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God.
37 David said moreover, The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the Lord be with thee. 1Samuel 17:34-37
And we all know the rest of the story..... David kills Goliath with a few stones and severs his head in triumph. Where Saul depended on military might, it was David's faith that this battle was a spiritual one that belonged to the LORD.
45 Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.
46 This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.
47 And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the Lord's, and he will give you into our hands. 1Samuel 17:45-47
The battle really does belong to the LORD. We sing a song,"in heavenly armor we enter the land, the battle belongs to the LORD." But do we really believe it? Are we arming ourselves with heavenly armor to fight the battle before us?
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore,
- having girded your waist with truth,
- having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and
- having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
- above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.
- And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;
NKJV)This is the armor we sing about. Yet, I'm frustrated everyday when I hear Christians believing the battle is democrats against republicans, the US against ISIS, or planned parenthood vs. right to life. Yes this is a battle we see but the real battle is waged in the heavenly realms!
We need to exhibit the same faith that David displayed in fighting Goliath. Paul said it this way to Timothy: This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, having faith and a good conscience... (1 Timothy 1:18-19
NKJV)And this in his follow up letter: You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier. (2 Timothy 2:1-4
NKJV)Friends in Jesus, this is the real battle before us. It is the battle for men's souls. As ambassadors for Jesus Christ, we need to represent Him before a dying world destined for everlasting judgment. Its the Word of God and our testimony which become our weapons.
3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:
4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; 2 Corinthians 10:3-5
In Paul's letter to the Romans, he wrote this: ...now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts. (Romans 13:11-14
NKJV)Its time for Christians to awake from their slumber for the time is short. The day is indeed at hand. Today is the day of salvation. Let us go forth without fear or defeatist attitude that defined Israel's army. Rather let us go as soldiers of Jesus Christ, sons and daughters of the King of Kings and wage a spiritual battle that the gates of hell cannot prevail against. We have a charge from our king. A direct command to "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, 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." (Matthew 28:19-20
NKJV)I know we can do it. Because the battle belongs to the LORD.
Saturday, November 21, 2015
Spiritual Warfare On Many Fronts
Today, Christians face a spiritual battle that is fought on many fronts. What I mean by that statement is that a battle is being fought in the spiritual realm that we cannot see with our physical eyes; but should be evident to those who love God and have a desire to serve Him.
The apostle Paul describes this spiritual battle in the Scriptures. We can learn much about this battle by following Paul through his journeys in the Book of Acts.
In his third missionary journey, Paul arrives at Ephesus where he stayed for 3 years (Acts 20:31) probably from the fall of 54 AD to the fall of 57 AD. He meets disciples of John the Baptist. He preached in the synagogue for 3 months (Acts 19:8). He disputed daily in the school of Tyrannus for 2 years (Acts 19:9-10), so that all that dwelt in Asia heard the Word.
Paul sent Timothy and Erastus ahead into Macedonia, but stayed in Asia for a season (Acts 19:22). He writes 1 Corinthians near the end of this stay in Ephesus (1 Corinthians 16:8,19), probably in 57 AD. It was not written with Timothy, who Paul had sent ahead into Macedonia (Acts 19:22). Paul foresaw his route of travel for the next four or so years in Acts 19:21-22. This is his plan that we read in 1 Corinthians 16:1, 3, 5, 8-10. Notice how the "great door" opened to Paul and "many adversaries" in verse 9 compares with the events in the Ephesian amphitheater in Acts 19:23-41. In 1 Corinthians 3:6, Paul says "Apollos watered". This refers to Apollos teaching in Corinth when Paul was at Ephesus (Acts 19:1).
He rejoined Timothy when Second Corinthians was written (2 Corinthians 1:1). Paul had come to Troas and continued to Macedonia (2 Corinthians 2:12-13 and 7:5), where he was joined by Titus (2 Corinthians 7:6 & 13), which seems to correspond to Acts 20:1. He also writes of a third visit to Corinth in 2 Corinthians 13:1 and 12:14. So Second Corinthians was most likely written in the fall of 57 AD from somewhere in Macedonia (northern Greece), possibly at Philippi.
In 2 Corinthians 12:1-4, Paul says 14 years ago I ascended into heaven. From 57, going back 14 years to 43 AD, this puts us back before Paul's first journey, probably when he was at Antioch in Syria. After going through Macedonia (northern Greece), Paul came to Achaia (southern Greece) where he stayed 3 months (Acts 20:2-3), making his third visit to Corinth. This is where he spent the winter of 57-58 AD (1 Corinthians 16:5-8). The book of Romans was written at this time (Rom 15:23-26 and 1 Corinthians 16:1-3). Going back to Macedonia (Acts 20:1), they were at Philippi (northeastern Greece) in spring of 58 AD in the "days of unleavened bread" (Acts 20:6). Then they sailed to Troas, where a young man fell out of a window, and Paul raises him from the dead (Acts 20:7-12).Then he travels to Assos, Mitylene, Chios, Samos, Trogylium, and Miletus (now in southwestern Turkey). From here, Paul addresses the Ephesian elders whom he had called to meet him (Acts 20:17-38) in the spring of 58 AD (Acts 20:16).Sailing to Coos, Rhodes, Patara, and passing on the south side of Cyprus, they came to Tyre (which is now in Lebanon) where they stayed one week. Then they went south to Ptolemais and to Caesarea where they stayed many days (Acts 21:10). Then Paul goes to Jerusalem, where the third journey ends.
Paul spends 2 years in his own hired house (Acts 28:30) as a prisoner in Rome from 61-63 AD. During this time he writes Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon. In about 62 AD, Paul wrote Ephesians before Timothy came to him (Ephesians 1:1) while in prison in Rome (Ephesians 3:1, 4:1, and 6:20). Also in about 62 AD, Paul wrote Philippians from prison (Philippians 1:7) in Rome (4:23) with Timothy (1:1). Paul wrote Colossians from prison (Colossians 4:18) in Rome in about 62 AD with Timothy (1:1) and fellow prisoner, Aristarchus (4:10). Paul, with Timothy, wrote Philemon from prison in 63 AD (Philemon 1:1).
The apostle understood the fierce opposition to the gospel which was fought in the spiritual realm but manifested in the day to day activity of being a minister and ambassador for Jesus Christ. With this in mind, Paul would write in Ephesians 6:12,"For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places."
So this is the battle I am alluding to that wars against our flesh. The fronts this war is fought are all manifest in our daily lives. Are you facing a health problem that is absorbing your thoughts and fears? This is a spiritual battle being fought to keep you from thinking and meditating upon God's Word and affecting your ability to minister the gospel.
Perhaps you are facing financial hardship where worry over finances is zapping your energies to pray without ceasing. Some of you may be enamored with all the world has to offer. The enemy of our souls has successfully and subtly turned you over to idol worship. All of these examples and more are taking place in our physical world and if Christians are not careful to watch for the schemes of the devil, they can be enticed into ignoring God's voice and call for their lives to be witnesses for Him.
When any of these physical battles begin to take place in your life, know that this struggle is against spiritual forces of wickedness. Rely upon the promises of God in His Word. Take the advice of Jesus who says, "All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him. 28"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. 29"Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS.…
Monday, November 3, 2014
Ouija, The Movie (well, I was lead to believe it was a movie...)
Bill Posey and I have been given a ministry by the Lord Jesus Christ to execute. Inherent within the ministry is somewhat of a "things to do list." Within the scope of this list are screening theatrical movie releases that are thematically paranormal. We don't get a chance to screen every paranormal movie. That would be impossible. But there are some that demand our viewing.
One such film was Ouija, released in theatres nationwide in October of 2014.
There are a number of observations I want to share, the first being that what I have maintained about Hollywood for years now continues to grow worse. Too many films are produced. The quality of filmmaking is so poor that Hollywood should be ashamed at the embarrassing content that flows from its western coast. The film Ouija is one of those. During the viewing I seriously considered that what I was watching was a horror film parody. Every aspect of the film was so poor it was excruciating to suffer to the end. Cliché horror gimmicks saturated this mutt of a movie.
I don't know the who, what, when and where of it, but Hollywood is presently a decaying junkyard.
The woman who sold me the tickets should have been wearing a mask because what basically occurred was theft by deception. But let me move on to what is significant about this film in the spiritual sense.
The movie is for the most part based on what happens to a group of teenagers who use a Ouija Board, or spirit board, to contact the spirit of another teenager who apparently committed suicide after using the Ouija Board. The film quickly degenerates into the absurd, silly and predictable paths that most films of this genre do, but some of the effects of using a Ouija board depicted are all too real.
First and foremost, the Ouija Board "works." Spirits can be and are, contacted by those who use the spirit board. However the film is completely inaccurate in depicting what spirits are conjured. The writers would have you believe the teens come in contact with the spirits of a dead mother and daughter.
The only spirits one will contact by using a Ouija Board are evil spirits; demons.
Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment..
(Hebrews 9:27)
The Scriptures simply do not allow that disembodied spirits of the dead can return to earth and interact with the living.
In one scene we see a girl lifted up off of the floor and forced down onto a sink, killing her. Yes, demons are able to physically manipulate the human body to destroy it.
A man in the crowd answered, "Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not."
(Mark 9:17,18)
By the way, in the above Scripture you can see the evidence that what the psychiatric profession has diagnosed as catatonia is in reality, demonic possession.
What is also accurately depicted in this film is suicide resulting from possession. If you have ever wondered what could possibly bring a human being to the point where they will hang, shoot, overdose or slit their wrists, ending their lives, look no further than a demonic explanation.
Demons love to destroy human flesh.
They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes. When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an evil spirit came from the tombs to meet Him. This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain. For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones.
(Mark 5:1-5)
Also note in the above Scripture that demons possessing a human being will endow them with superhuman strength.
There is no doubt in my mind that this film will inspire countless thousands of people to use the Ouija Board to "see if it really works." As a result of this film, ironically and tragically, spirit boards will be nestled in among the gifts beneath Christmas trees all over the world this December.
And those who use the board will discover that it really does "work." I can only hope that those who do fall victim to the evil spirits they will encounter will be helped by those who are indwelt by Gods Holy Spirit.
Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as He is righteous. He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devils work.
(1 John 3:7,8)
One such film was Ouija, released in theatres nationwide in October of 2014.
There are a number of observations I want to share, the first being that what I have maintained about Hollywood for years now continues to grow worse. Too many films are produced. The quality of filmmaking is so poor that Hollywood should be ashamed at the embarrassing content that flows from its western coast. The film Ouija is one of those. During the viewing I seriously considered that what I was watching was a horror film parody. Every aspect of the film was so poor it was excruciating to suffer to the end. Cliché horror gimmicks saturated this mutt of a movie.
I don't know the who, what, when and where of it, but Hollywood is presently a decaying junkyard.
The woman who sold me the tickets should have been wearing a mask because what basically occurred was theft by deception. But let me move on to what is significant about this film in the spiritual sense.
The movie is for the most part based on what happens to a group of teenagers who use a Ouija Board, or spirit board, to contact the spirit of another teenager who apparently committed suicide after using the Ouija Board. The film quickly degenerates into the absurd, silly and predictable paths that most films of this genre do, but some of the effects of using a Ouija board depicted are all too real.
First and foremost, the Ouija Board "works." Spirits can be and are, contacted by those who use the spirit board. However the film is completely inaccurate in depicting what spirits are conjured. The writers would have you believe the teens come in contact with the spirits of a dead mother and daughter.
The only spirits one will contact by using a Ouija Board are evil spirits; demons.
Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment..
(Hebrews 9:27)
The Scriptures simply do not allow that disembodied spirits of the dead can return to earth and interact with the living.
In one scene we see a girl lifted up off of the floor and forced down onto a sink, killing her. Yes, demons are able to physically manipulate the human body to destroy it.
A man in the crowd answered, "Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not."
(Mark 9:17,18)
By the way, in the above Scripture you can see the evidence that what the psychiatric profession has diagnosed as catatonia is in reality, demonic possession.
What is also accurately depicted in this film is suicide resulting from possession. If you have ever wondered what could possibly bring a human being to the point where they will hang, shoot, overdose or slit their wrists, ending their lives, look no further than a demonic explanation.
Demons love to destroy human flesh.
They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes. When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an evil spirit came from the tombs to meet Him. This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain. For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones.
(Mark 5:1-5)
Also note in the above Scripture that demons possessing a human being will endow them with superhuman strength.
There is no doubt in my mind that this film will inspire countless thousands of people to use the Ouija Board to "see if it really works." As a result of this film, ironically and tragically, spirit boards will be nestled in among the gifts beneath Christmas trees all over the world this December.
And those who use the board will discover that it really does "work." I can only hope that those who do fall victim to the evil spirits they will encounter will be helped by those who are indwelt by Gods Holy Spirit.
Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as He is righteous. He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devils work.
(1 John 3:7,8)
Tuesday, August 12, 2014
When The Day is Over
I was relaxing with my wife on the sofa last night, and my daughter looked up from her I phone and asked, "Did you know that Robin Williams died? He killed himself." I was startled for a moment, then I responded, "Are you serious?" I quickly turned on CNN, and sure enough the reports were being confirmed. Actor and comedian Robin Williams was dead at the age of 63.
Of course there were the obligatory reactions from those in the entertainment industry. Waves of shock and sadness came through via tweets, and not long after these were the first of the "mental health" consults. The prevailing question everyone was asking was, "How could this have happened?" It seemed all those checking in could not reconcile the fact that Robin Williams would have ended his own life given that he "appeared to have everything."
We are all well aware that Mr. Williams had fame and fortune, and by the outpouring of emotional commentary from fellow entertainers, its a safe bet he had at least some friends from among these. These friends, as well as countless acquaintances and fans, were well aware of Mr. Williams life long struggle with substance and alcohol addiction, as well as depression. So we are really left with two questions; given Mr. Williams prodigious professional success, why did he struggle with depression and addiction so fiercely that he was hospitalized a number of times, and why did it all end with the man killing himself (at this point in time, suicide is suspected but not confirmed)?
Lets be honest. Robin Williams is merely the latest in a history filled with tragic deaths of entertainers of all disciplines. Musicians, recording artists, actors, actresses, professional athletes, and on and on. I am a human being first, and so when I hear that someone has died who I am very familiar with, just like anyone else, its a shock to my humanity. But not long after I begin to ponder the unthinkable; where are they now?
As a believer in Jesus Christ, I understand Who He is and why He came to the planet He created. Jesus Himself stated that He came to fulfill the law and the prophets (Mt. 5:17). He fulfilled the law by living a perfect, sinless life; He did not fall short of Gods perfect standard of righteousness. He fulfilled the prophets in that He was the promised Messiah and the Deliverer, whom the prophets foretold would come to the house of Israel. By fulfilling the law, Jesus destroyed the devils work (1 John 3:8). You see, by his deceptive lies in the garden he persuaded Adam and Eve to disobey Gods command to Adam to not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen 2:16,17 - 3:1-7). As a result of this disobedience (this is what sin is, disobedience towards Gods commands) sin entered the world, and death through sin, which came to all men (Rom 5:12-14).
Hebrews chapter 2, vs. 14 and 15 tell us that the devil held the power of death, and therefore held all of humanity in slavery because of the fear of death. But the Scriptures tell us that by Jesus death on the cross the head of Satan was crushed (Gen 3:15), and therefore his power over death was destroyed. This is the great love of God (John 3:16,17)!
This is the unspeakable gift that was offered to Robin Williams, and is offered freely to every man, woman and child.
The rejection of the gift of the Son of God has consequences that I cannot bear to consider for very long. Sin is a reality for every human being (Rom 3:23); what sin earns is a reality for every human being (Rom 6:23); and that each and every human being will die once and face Gods judgment (Hebrews 9:27). Revelation 20:14,15 tells us that the lake of fire is the final place of eternal residence for those who reject the Son of God.
Where is Robin Williams now? I cannot answer that. I can without any doubt tell you that if Mr. Williams died having never accepted the forgiveness Christ purchased for him on the cross with His own blood, he is now and forever will be in an unspeakable place of torment (Mk 9:47,48).
A more sobering warning can never be issued. I can only hope that Robin Williams did not exchange his soul for the temporary riches of this fleeting life.
"Show me, O Lord, my life's end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life. You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Each mans life is but a breath." (Psalm 39: 4,5)
Sunday, May 11, 2014
The Abortion Deception
Lately I've found myself mourning over the United States of America I once knew. I am a late "Baby Boomer" born into a post WWII world. The year 1958 saw the Cold War between the US and Soviet Union escalate to include the space race. The Soviet satellite Sputnik had launched in 1957. The US had lost the battle to be first into space. In January of '58, Sputnik plummeted from orbit back to earth. The US attempts to develop a rocket for launch met failures at Cape Canaveral. Yet the resolve of this nation to be first to the moon remained its goal. On January 31, 1958, The first US satellite is launched into orbit. The space race was officially on.
In early February, Egypt and Syria united to form The United Arab Republic and tensions in the middle east grew stronger. Iraq and Jordan followed to unite and form Arab Federation of Iraq and Jordan under King Faisal II. On February 21, the peace symbol ( a broken cross ) is designed and completed in protest over Nuclear Arms race. And on February 22,1958, William J Posey was born to William B and Elizabeth Posey at Germantown Hospital in Philadelphia, PA.
The United States I grew up in is a nation with moral principles and a resolute to be number 1. The hope of the nation becomes bright as John Fitzgerald Kennedy is elected President in 1960. "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." Patriotism, so my parents told me, was at an all time high. However,the enthusiasm and hope of "Camelot" ended by assassin's bullets in Dealey Plaza.
Racial hatred and discrimination against people of color had reached its apex. Resistance in the South had begun as early as 1954 and was being led by a coalition headed by Martin Luther King, Jr. Racial riots broke out in 1964 in many US cities. August of '64 saw the Gulf of Tonkin Incident and the escalation of war in Vietnam involving US forces. Over 58,000 soldiers would die in this conflict.
The year 1968 would be a year I would remember as promising and horrific. The Civil Rights movement lost it's leader in April as Martin Luther King was shot and killed at a Memphis motel. My father was involved in Philadelphia politics and had become a ward leader. He had campaigned long and hard for the coming November election in which Robert F. Kennedy would have been nominated by his party. I was delivering newspapers for the Philadelphia Inquirer and right there, on the front page, the headline "Kennedy Killed By Assassin." I cried as I dropped newspapers on people's porches. How could this happen? So much blood and mayhem in a civilized country which held to moral absolutes confounded my young mind.
These moral absolutes shaped America as a country that fought and stood for freedom. If you were alive at this time there were certain things that were a given. Family was the centerpiece of American society. A family consisted of a father, a mother and their children. Families were large and extended families of grandparents, aunts and uncles made holiday time festive. Remember when holiday dinners had an adult table and the children's table? There was very little divorce and America thrived! Marriage was something that society defined as a union between a man and a woman. Moreover, sacred writ states The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”
19 Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals.
But for Adam[f] no suitable helper was found. 21 So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs[g] and then closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib[h] he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.
23 The man said,
Another absolute was that homosexuality was viewed as wrong and sinful. Homosexuals hid in the "closet" and they were scoffed at and ridiculed. I can never remember hearing of a family with children that had homosexual parents.
Pregnancy among teenagers was relatively low in 1960s America. Abortion in the 50s and 60s was frowned upon and performed in "back alley clinics." A pregnant women had two choices. Deliver the baby at full term and keep the child OR deliver the baby and put the child up for adoption. The ending of a pregnancy was seen as WRONG!
Enter the year 1973 and the US Supreme Court ruling that the 14th Amendment to the Constitution extended to the rights of a woman to end a pregnancy before the third trimester of pregnancy. And so the court ruled that murder of the unborn was no longer WRONG but legal. The court ruled on the issue of viability saying that a child in the womb is not viable ( able to sustain life outside the womb). Since Eve gave birth to the first child, God had designed that the maturation process needed for a child would entail 39-40 weeks. The argument is that until 24 weeks occurs, the fetus is not human. This issue speaks to the demonic inspired theory of evolution. This relates to the faked drawings of one evolutionist named Ernst Haeckel. You can read about his fraud here. http://www.icr.org/article/do-people-have-gill-slits-womb/
My brother Jim was born prematurely. My mother was only 5 months pregnant when he was born at 22 weeks. I can assure you Jim is fully human and is a vibrant functioning man today! King David of ancient Israel wrote in Psalm 139 12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.
24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25 They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.
26 Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. 27 In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.
28 Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. 29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31 they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. 32 Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.
I do not know this woman, however I can examine her fruit. She is someone in need of Jesus Christ. And I pray for all those who suppress the truth and are "blinded by the god of this age." There is forgiveness and life found at the foot of the cross. The Bible tells us "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23
We are all guilty sinners before a holy God. We all deserve judgment and the wrath of God. "For the wages of sin is death..." Romans 6:23
We all are under a death penalty that includes not only physical death, but eternal death and separation from God. But because of God's mercy and His love, He has provided a way for sin to be paid for and for eternal death to be transferred to eternal life. That way is through faith in Jesus Christ and His death and resurrection from the dead.
19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. 20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin. 21 But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness is given through faith in[h] Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement,[i] through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26 he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. Romans 3:19 - 26
If you do not know that your sins have been forgiven, won't you consider to turn to Jesus Christ and live?
I know that many will call me a bigot and blinded and stupid. That's ok. I know my conscious can't let this go by without comment. The America I knew growing up is gone. The moral fabric of our society has eroded away. Homosexual marriage ( an oxymoron) is applauded, abortion welcomed. Shows such as "Teen Mom" called sensitive and wonderful. I don't know if there are many who feel the way I do. I just know there is no turning back for this country.
President Obama gave a speech to Planned parenthood and stated that "there are those who want to take this country back to the 50s" in regard to abortion. I love the way that Cal Thomas responded in his blog. He wrote this on April 29,2013:
Addressing a meeting of Planned Parenthood last Friday, President Obama accused pro-lifers of wanting to "turn back the clock to policies more suited to the 1950s than the 21st century."
Like any decade, the '50s had its problems -- racism, discrimination, sexism -- but I'll defend the '50s on other grounds, if the president will defend the decade that followed. In the '50s, for much of mainstream America drugs were something you bought at apharmacy with a prescription; living together meant getting married first, then having babies; abortion was not legal; our culture wasn't the enemy; metal detectors were instruments one took to the beach to find loose change and schools and the streets were mostly safe.
It's "Ozzie and Harriet" vs. Woodstock.
Dr. Kermit Gosnell is on trial now in a Philadelphia courtroomindicted on charges that he performed late-term abortions and killed babies born alive during the procedures. Is this the 21 century the president prefers? It is actions like this -- not the policies of the '50s -- that have weakened America and harmed the women the president claims to be defending.
How many women has the president talked to who lament their abortions and say they would have made another choice, if they had been shown alternatives? Does the president champion the rights of these women? According to FactCheck.org, as an Illinois state senator, Obama twice voted against the so-called "born-alive" bills that would have "defined any aborted fetus that showed signs of life as a 'born alive infant' entitled to legal protection." He opposed the bills, he said, "as backdoor attacks on a woman's legal right to abortion." He chose politics, not lives.
In his speech to Planned Parenthood, the president never mentioned the word "abortion," preferring to talk instead about "women's health." Could it be because 40 years after the historic Roe v. Wade decision, public opinion on abortion has changed very little? For the most part, those who favor it, favor it; those who do not, do not.
The president and Planned Parenthood's other defenders claim that if the organization were to be denied tax dollars, there would be fewermammograms , cancer screenings and other services available, especially to poor women. Is this anything more than a distraction from Planned Parenthood's real purpose -- providing abortions?
According to analysis from the Chiaroscuro Foundation, a not-for-profit organization seeking to reduce the number of abortions in New York, Planned Parenthood "provides more abortions than any other organization in the United States, about one of every four U.S. abortions."
"Planned Parenthood's bottom line is numbers," according to a 2011 op-ed for The Hill newspaper written by former clinic director Abby Johnson, "And, with abortion as its primary money-maker, that means implementing a quota. ... I was directed to double the numbers of abortions our clinic performed in order to drive up revenue."
Planned Parenthood spends a lot on electing liberal Democrats to office. It can afford to. According to its 2011-2012 annual report, the organization reported more than $1.2 billion in net assets and received a record $542 million in taxpayer funding. The pro-life Susan B. Anthony List has compiled the "Top 12 Reasons to Defund Planned Parenthood Now" (www.sba-list.org/suzy-b-blog/top-12-reasons-defund-planned-parenthood-now). Read it.
Planned Parenthood and the left are inextricably linked. The organization works to elect Democratic candidates who will defend their mission and those candidates, once elected, fuel Planned Parenthood's agenda by funneling tax dollars their way and trumpeting their "good works" in the name ofwomen's health . And millions of American children are aborted. This is what the 21st century has to offer us? This is what we should prefer over the '50s?
Good food for thought. I found an interesting response to Emily Lett's video from Answers In Genesis. You can read it here.
http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/2014/05/08/can-make-baby?utm_source=answers-weekly&utm_medium=email&utm_content=main-question&utm_campaign=aw05102014&utm_source=Answers+in+Genesis&utm_campaign=0508925170-aw05032014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_fb5c16b04b-0508925170-136938585&mc_cid=0508925170&mc_eid=bb35a058dc
For the gospel, BILL POSEY
In early February, Egypt and Syria united to form The United Arab Republic and tensions in the middle east grew stronger. Iraq and Jordan followed to unite and form Arab Federation of Iraq and Jordan under King Faisal II. On February 21, the peace symbol ( a broken cross ) is designed and completed in protest over Nuclear Arms race. And on February 22,1958, William J Posey was born to William B and Elizabeth Posey at Germantown Hospital in Philadelphia, PA.
The United States I grew up in is a nation with moral principles and a resolute to be number 1. The hope of the nation becomes bright as John Fitzgerald Kennedy is elected President in 1960. "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." Patriotism, so my parents told me, was at an all time high. However,the enthusiasm and hope of "Camelot" ended by assassin's bullets in Dealey Plaza.
Racial hatred and discrimination against people of color had reached its apex. Resistance in the South had begun as early as 1954 and was being led by a coalition headed by Martin Luther King, Jr. Racial riots broke out in 1964 in many US cities. August of '64 saw the Gulf of Tonkin Incident and the escalation of war in Vietnam involving US forces. Over 58,000 soldiers would die in this conflict.
The year 1968 would be a year I would remember as promising and horrific. The Civil Rights movement lost it's leader in April as Martin Luther King was shot and killed at a Memphis motel. My father was involved in Philadelphia politics and had become a ward leader. He had campaigned long and hard for the coming November election in which Robert F. Kennedy would have been nominated by his party. I was delivering newspapers for the Philadelphia Inquirer and right there, on the front page, the headline "Kennedy Killed By Assassin." I cried as I dropped newspapers on people's porches. How could this happen? So much blood and mayhem in a civilized country which held to moral absolutes confounded my young mind.
These moral absolutes shaped America as a country that fought and stood for freedom. If you were alive at this time there were certain things that were a given. Family was the centerpiece of American society. A family consisted of a father, a mother and their children. Families were large and extended families of grandparents, aunts and uncles made holiday time festive. Remember when holiday dinners had an adult table and the children's table? There was very little divorce and America thrived! Marriage was something that society defined as a union between a man and a woman. Moreover, sacred writ states The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”
19 Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals.
But for Adam[f] no suitable helper was found. 21 So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs[g] and then closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib[h] he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.
23 The man said,
“This is now bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called ‘woman,’
for she was taken out of man.”
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called ‘woman,’
for she was taken out of man.”
24 That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh. Genesis 2:18-24
Another absolute was that homosexuality was viewed as wrong and sinful. Homosexuals hid in the "closet" and they were scoffed at and ridiculed. I can never remember hearing of a family with children that had homosexual parents.
Pregnancy among teenagers was relatively low in 1960s America. Abortion in the 50s and 60s was frowned upon and performed in "back alley clinics." A pregnant women had two choices. Deliver the baby at full term and keep the child OR deliver the baby and put the child up for adoption. The ending of a pregnancy was seen as WRONG!
Enter the year 1973 and the US Supreme Court ruling that the 14th Amendment to the Constitution extended to the rights of a woman to end a pregnancy before the third trimester of pregnancy. And so the court ruled that murder of the unborn was no longer WRONG but legal. The court ruled on the issue of viability saying that a child in the womb is not viable ( able to sustain life outside the womb). Since Eve gave birth to the first child, God had designed that the maturation process needed for a child would entail 39-40 weeks. The argument is that until 24 weeks occurs, the fetus is not human. This issue speaks to the demonic inspired theory of evolution. This relates to the faked drawings of one evolutionist named Ernst Haeckel. You can read about his fraud here. http://www.icr.org/article/do-people-have-gill-slits-womb/
My brother Jim was born prematurely. My mother was only 5 months pregnant when he was born at 22 weeks. I can assure you Jim is fully human and is a vibrant functioning man today! King David of ancient Israel wrote in Psalm 139 12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
I chose the title Abortion Deception because the killing of life in this country has plummeted it into a downward spiral. This is really a lie from the pit of hell carried out by evil hearts and the schemes of satan who hates all flesh. I've heard ridiculous sayings like "your either on God's team or the devil's." It doesn't serve Christianity well nor does it lead to the gospel by which mankind is saved.
This past week, I read an article in the Philadelphia Daily News that endorsed the hideous you tube video about a woman named Emily Letts who filmed her own abortion. In it she laughs and claps and entices other women to join her because abortion can be a "positive experience." Friends, there is nothing positive about murder. After reading the article, I was incensed. It reminded me of the Scripture found in Romans 1:18-32
18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.
24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25 They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.
26 Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. 27 In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.
28 Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. 29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31 they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. 32 Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.
I do not know this woman, however I can examine her fruit. She is someone in need of Jesus Christ. And I pray for all those who suppress the truth and are "blinded by the god of this age." There is forgiveness and life found at the foot of the cross. The Bible tells us "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23
We are all guilty sinners before a holy God. We all deserve judgment and the wrath of God. "For the wages of sin is death..." Romans 6:23
We all are under a death penalty that includes not only physical death, but eternal death and separation from God. But because of God's mercy and His love, He has provided a way for sin to be paid for and for eternal death to be transferred to eternal life. That way is through faith in Jesus Christ and His death and resurrection from the dead.
19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. 20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin. 21 But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness is given through faith in[h] Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement,[i] through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26 he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. Romans 3:19 - 26
If you do not know that your sins have been forgiven, won't you consider to turn to Jesus Christ and live?
I know that many will call me a bigot and blinded and stupid. That's ok. I know my conscious can't let this go by without comment. The America I knew growing up is gone. The moral fabric of our society has eroded away. Homosexual marriage ( an oxymoron) is applauded, abortion welcomed. Shows such as "Teen Mom" called sensitive and wonderful. I don't know if there are many who feel the way I do. I just know there is no turning back for this country.
President Obama gave a speech to Planned parenthood and stated that "there are those who want to take this country back to the 50s" in regard to abortion. I love the way that Cal Thomas responded in his blog. He wrote this on April 29,2013:
Addressing a meeting of Planned Parenthood last Friday, President Obama accused pro-lifers of wanting to "turn back the clock to policies more suited to the 1950s than the 21st century."
Like any decade, the '50s had its problems -- racism, discrimination, sexism -- but I'll defend the '50s on other grounds, if the president will defend the decade that followed. In the '50s, for much of mainstream America drugs were something you bought at a
It's "Ozzie and Harriet" vs. Woodstock.
Dr. Kermit Gosnell is on trial now in a Philadelphia courtroom
How many women has the president talked to who lament their abortions and say they would have made another choice, if they had been shown alternatives? Does the president champion the rights of these women? According to FactCheck.org, as an Illinois state senator, Obama twice voted against the so-called "born-alive" bills that would have "defined any aborted fetus that showed signs of life as a 'born alive infant' entitled to legal protection." He opposed the bills, he said, "as backdoor attacks on a woman's legal right to abortion." He chose politics, not lives.
In his speech to Planned Parenthood, the president never mentioned the word "abortion," preferring to talk instead about "women's health." Could it be because 40 years after the historic Roe v. Wade decision, public opinion on abortion has changed very little? For the most part, those who favor it, favor it; those who do not, do not.
The president and Planned Parenthood's other defenders claim that if the organization were to be denied tax dollars, there would be fewer
According to analysis from the Chiaroscuro Foundation, a not-for-profit organization seeking to reduce the number of abortions in New York, Planned Parenthood "provides more abortions than any other organization in the United States, about one of every four U.S. abortions."
"Planned Parenthood's bottom line is numbers," according to a 2011 op-ed for The Hill newspaper written by former clinic director Abby Johnson, "And, with abortion as its primary money-maker, that means implementing a quota. ... I was directed to double the numbers of abortions our clinic performed in order to drive up revenue."
Planned Parenthood spends a lot on electing liberal Democrats to office. It can afford to. According to its 2011-2012 annual report, the organization reported more than $1.2 billion in net assets and received a record $542 million in taxpayer funding. The pro-life Susan B. Anthony List has compiled the "Top 12 Reasons to Defund Planned Parenthood Now" (www.sba-list.org/suzy-b-blog/top-12-reasons-defund-planned-parenthood-now). Read it.
Planned Parenthood and the left are inextricably linked. The organization works to elect Democratic candidates who will defend their mission and those candidates, once elected, fuel Planned Parenthood's agenda by funneling tax dollars their way and trumpeting their "good works" in the name of
http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/2014/05/08/can-make-baby?utm_source=answers-weekly&utm_medium=email&utm_content=main-question&utm_campaign=aw05102014&utm_source=Answers+in+Genesis&utm_campaign=0508925170-aw05032014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_fb5c16b04b-0508925170-136938585&mc_cid=0508925170&mc_eid=bb35a058dc
For the gospel, BILL POSEY
Thursday, December 26, 2013
Do You Hear What I Hear?
And do you see what I see?
I was working the week before Christmas, and we had on a local radio station which, along with many others across the United States, began playing Christmas songs only, around the end of November. At some point during the workday I realized I was being driven insane by the constant barrage of worn out holiday tunes. The station we were listening to was running some sort of promotion where every time Paul McCartney's "A Wonderful Christmas Time" was played someone had a chance to win a prize. The station played this song once every hour, and along with John Lennon's "Merry Xmas; War is Over," Bruce Springsteen's "Santa Claus is Coming To Town," and Band Aids "Do They Know its Christmas?" I was ready to sharpen the ends of my paintbrushes and insert them into my ears until they met in the middle of my head.
And the commercials. Car dealers, jewelers, supermarkets, wine stores...all so full of holiday cheer! "C'mon down and buy a new BMW for Christmas!" The commercial besiege that took place this Christmas season seemed earlier and more pervasive. And of course, most distressing was the fact that what I was seeing and hearing had little if anything to do with the birth of Jesus Christ. Yeah, I know and understand why this is. Radio stations and car dealerships have not been given the command to preach the gospel. They exist to sell products.
It just seems to me that with each passing year, the noise is elevated that drowns out the simple yet profound message of Gods love for His creation, and the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season becomes faster and rougher and its frantic pace overwhelms Gods silent night. Charles Shultz was ahead of his time in writing "A Charlie Brown Christmas." In that cartoon the Peanuts gang is running around helter skelter in an attempt to produce a Christmas play. In the middle of all the mayhem Charlie Brown exasperates, "Can anyone tell me what Christmas is all about?" It is at this point that Linus reads directly from Luke 2:8-14.
Where is Linus when you need him? The truth is, if you are a believer, you can and should be a light to a dark and dying world. In the midst of Christmas chaos you can bring glad tidings of great joy. People need to hear the good news. They experience the stress that this time of year always seems to bring, and I am sure wonder why it is so. They know something is missing, that Christmas shouldn't be all about food, decorations and running up credit cards. They want to know the joy and peace that Christmas cards talk about.
For four years now Bill Posey and I have had the opportunity to broadcast on blogradio on Christmas morning. The heart of those broadcasts, as it is with all of our other programs, is the gospel. This year Bill, speaking from Daniel 7:13,14, impressed upon our audience the need to not only look back and reflect upon the miraculous birth of Jesus Christ, but to now look forward to His imminent return, this time not as a babe in a feeding trough, but the glorified Son of God whose kingdom is one that will never be destroyed!
I felt the need to speak a sober warning, that contrary to popular belief and Christmas greeting cards, Jesus did not come to bring peace on the earth (Matt 10:32-36). And Linus left out the critical ending of vs. 14 in Luke..."Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests." (see also Luke 4:18,19 and 2 Corinthians 5:16-6:2)
Again, I am well aware that Christmas, as well as Easter, has been hijacked for commercial profit. And I am not planning a crusade to re-establish Christmas to its wonderful roots. But I wonder just how far away our culture will withdraw Christmas from the birth of Jesus Christ, and how believers will respond. The world is sinking deeper into darkness and depravity. The only hope for them is the finished work of redemption by Jesus Christ on the cross. With each Christmas you get bits and pieces (albeit smaller and smaller) of the biblical account of Christ's birth, but the problem even with that is you rarely if ever hear why Jesus Christ was born. That profound responsibility is commended to those who belong to the Savior.
I hope next Christmas season your family will not have to wait for Linus to hear what Christmas is all about....and why Jesus was born.
good Christian men rejoice with heart and soul and voice
now ye need not fear the grave Jesus Christ was born to save
calls you one and calls you all to gain His everlasting hall
Christ was born to save! Christ was born to save!
FROM "GOOD CHRISTIAN MEN, REJOICE"
I was working the week before Christmas, and we had on a local radio station which, along with many others across the United States, began playing Christmas songs only, around the end of November. At some point during the workday I realized I was being driven insane by the constant barrage of worn out holiday tunes. The station we were listening to was running some sort of promotion where every time Paul McCartney's "A Wonderful Christmas Time" was played someone had a chance to win a prize. The station played this song once every hour, and along with John Lennon's "Merry Xmas; War is Over," Bruce Springsteen's "Santa Claus is Coming To Town," and Band Aids "Do They Know its Christmas?" I was ready to sharpen the ends of my paintbrushes and insert them into my ears until they met in the middle of my head.
And the commercials. Car dealers, jewelers, supermarkets, wine stores...all so full of holiday cheer! "C'mon down and buy a new BMW for Christmas!" The commercial besiege that took place this Christmas season seemed earlier and more pervasive. And of course, most distressing was the fact that what I was seeing and hearing had little if anything to do with the birth of Jesus Christ. Yeah, I know and understand why this is. Radio stations and car dealerships have not been given the command to preach the gospel. They exist to sell products.
It just seems to me that with each passing year, the noise is elevated that drowns out the simple yet profound message of Gods love for His creation, and the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season becomes faster and rougher and its frantic pace overwhelms Gods silent night. Charles Shultz was ahead of his time in writing "A Charlie Brown Christmas." In that cartoon the Peanuts gang is running around helter skelter in an attempt to produce a Christmas play. In the middle of all the mayhem Charlie Brown exasperates, "Can anyone tell me what Christmas is all about?" It is at this point that Linus reads directly from Luke 2:8-14.
Where is Linus when you need him? The truth is, if you are a believer, you can and should be a light to a dark and dying world. In the midst of Christmas chaos you can bring glad tidings of great joy. People need to hear the good news. They experience the stress that this time of year always seems to bring, and I am sure wonder why it is so. They know something is missing, that Christmas shouldn't be all about food, decorations and running up credit cards. They want to know the joy and peace that Christmas cards talk about.
For four years now Bill Posey and I have had the opportunity to broadcast on blogradio on Christmas morning. The heart of those broadcasts, as it is with all of our other programs, is the gospel. This year Bill, speaking from Daniel 7:13,14, impressed upon our audience the need to not only look back and reflect upon the miraculous birth of Jesus Christ, but to now look forward to His imminent return, this time not as a babe in a feeding trough, but the glorified Son of God whose kingdom is one that will never be destroyed!
I felt the need to speak a sober warning, that contrary to popular belief and Christmas greeting cards, Jesus did not come to bring peace on the earth (Matt 10:32-36). And Linus left out the critical ending of vs. 14 in Luke..."Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests." (see also Luke 4:18,19 and 2 Corinthians 5:16-6:2)
Again, I am well aware that Christmas, as well as Easter, has been hijacked for commercial profit. And I am not planning a crusade to re-establish Christmas to its wonderful roots. But I wonder just how far away our culture will withdraw Christmas from the birth of Jesus Christ, and how believers will respond. The world is sinking deeper into darkness and depravity. The only hope for them is the finished work of redemption by Jesus Christ on the cross. With each Christmas you get bits and pieces (albeit smaller and smaller) of the biblical account of Christ's birth, but the problem even with that is you rarely if ever hear why Jesus Christ was born. That profound responsibility is commended to those who belong to the Savior.
I hope next Christmas season your family will not have to wait for Linus to hear what Christmas is all about....and why Jesus was born.
good Christian men rejoice with heart and soul and voice
now ye need not fear the grave Jesus Christ was born to save
calls you one and calls you all to gain His everlasting hall
Christ was born to save! Christ was born to save!
FROM "GOOD CHRISTIAN MEN, REJOICE"
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