tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79868011660333207682024-03-05T15:50:02.376-07:00Counting the Cost"But whatever was to my profit
I now consider loss for the
sake of Christ. What is more,
I consider everything a loss
compared to the surpassing
greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my LORD, for whose sake
I have lost all things."
Philippians 3:7-8
Blog Administrator, Karen L. Brahshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09539707490734479755noreply@blogger.comBlogger332125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7986801166033320768.post-3096222335677320722020-03-30T00:20:00.001-06:002020-09-15T23:46:54.298-06:00His Gaze Returned<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">(<i>Originally posted March 15, 2011)</i> </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">"Steadfast love and faithfulness meet; righteousness and peace kiss each other. Faithfulness springs up from the ground, and righteousness looks down from the sky."</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Psalm 85:10-11</span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">O LORD, how often I had felt</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">my wantonness and disgrace;</span></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">the wretched state in which I dwelt</span></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">caused You to turn Your face.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br style="font-family: "georgia", "times new roman", serif;" /></span>
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">My sins, so great and ever present</span></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">before Your throne on high,</span></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">kept love far from my darkened heart,</span></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">and grace from my dim eyes.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br style="font-family: "georgia", "times new roman", serif;" /></span>
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">But You, O LORD, returned Your gaze</span></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">and saw what man cannot;</span></span><span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">a child meant for Your blessed Son,</span></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">whom, from suffering, He had bought.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br style="font-family: "georgia", "times new roman", serif;" /></span>
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Into His hands You presented me,</span></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">those precious hands pierced through;</span></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">a gift of love for Your obedient Son</span></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">so graciously given by You.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br style="font-family: "georgia", "times new roman", serif;" /></span>
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">What love is this, O LORD my God,</span></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">that You chose the likes of me;</span></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">to write my name upon the hand</span></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">that suffered on Calvary?</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">You chose to take my sins so great</span></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">upon Yourself, so fair;</span></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">a child of sin turned child of grace,</span></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">brought into Your eternal care.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">You now can look upon this wretch</span></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">You saved from death’s firm grasp;</span></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">as You gaze upon my remade heart,</span></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Your Son You see at last.</span></span></div>
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Blog Administrator, Karen L. Brahshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09539707490734479755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7986801166033320768.post-20792368784351888802019-10-27T14:00:00.000-06:002019-10-27T14:03:42.447-06:00The Divine Conductor<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyqs20hXx7Lu-KHszWa8G0M2yOgGybPSSpWnxR32XTkbc0lK8s0kmL4xoQxdmPFBKqcfHbBvu7L1n2ZWAlNwS4jpKs-tD-bwdW5lfjMEm5_GgRXMmkCOWjMHFrfIqt4YBZ4HFsTQUr42UM/s1600-h/Conductor.gif" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401851004605251234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyqs20hXx7Lu-KHszWa8G0M2yOgGybPSSpWnxR32XTkbc0lK8s0kmL4xoQxdmPFBKqcfHbBvu7L1n2ZWAlNwS4jpKs-tD-bwdW5lfjMEm5_GgRXMmkCOWjMHFrfIqt4YBZ4HFsTQUr42UM/s200/Conductor.gif" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 128px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 200px;" /></a><span style="color: rgb(0 , 0 , 153); font-size: large;">“And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.”</span></div>
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<span style="color: rgb(51 , 51 , 51); font-size: large;">Romans 8:27</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: large;">L</span><span style="font-size: large;">ike a symphony conductor, God orchestrates circumstances in the life of a saint. He either sends another to you with a message, or He directly sends the one for whom the Holy Spirit is interceding. It is at this crossroad that division is apt to come because it depends on the willingness of the saint who is being asked to assist in the intercession on God’s terms. He does not need our help, but He has asked us to be participants.<br /><br />We often think it strange that we find ourselves thrust into situations affecting others; commonplace and ordinary circumstances that have little or nothing to do with us. Our patience is sometimes tested and brought to frustration levels because of the conditions of the lives of others and the choices they have made that adversely affect them. Their refusal to break the pattern of sin and discard their old way of life brings them back time and time again to the same point of failure. It is at this point of weakness and vulnerability that God may ask our assistance. But if, at that juncture, we maintain an attitude of superiority, or we are indefinite in our response, we will never be the effective witness He desires.<br /><br />We are apt to wonder why it appears God places such hard cases before us when other saints seem to have an easier time of witnessing and see results we never see. We all want to rejoice in results, to the glory of God, but we are called according to His purpose, not our own. We should never question the orchestration of circumstances and people God brings into our lives for we may just be one of many He uses, and besides, God’s timing is His own. Nor should we assume the position of amateur providence and attempt to sort through and pick our own methods of intercession. Our intentions may be sincere but, if left to ourselves, we could talk until we were blue in the face and never reach the heart of a lost sinner; or we could inevitably make matters worse. Instead, we should bring that person before the throne of God where true intercession begins and step back to allow the Holy Spirit to do His work. In other words, we must never attempt to do His work for Him; rather we should allow Him to do His work through us.<br /><br />The human side of intercession is the position we find God has placed us, or someone He has sent to make contact with us. It is there at that crossroad where the saint must make a decision. It is there where the human side of our involvement ends and the divine work of the Holy Spirit begins. If we choose the wrong path, someone may suffer impoverishment.<br /><br />As the eyes of musicians remain fixed on the orchestra conductor as he draws by direction the instruments to a glorious finale, we, too, should keep our eyes and ears fixed on God as He orchestrates opportunities to bring other sons and daughters to glory. If we yield to what God has orchestrated and allow the Holy Spirit to direct us as He intercedes on behalf of the one He sent, we have performed our part to His satisfaction and the honor and glory remain His, as it should be.</span></span></div>
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Blog Administrator, Karen L. Brahshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09539707490734479755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7986801166033320768.post-58304883686521957922019-08-15T23:44:00.000-06:002019-08-15T23:50:24.671-06:00Waiting and Watching<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <i> </i></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i> (Yep! I'm still here! I pulled this out of the archives because, with all that's going on in the world, it was encouraging to me. I hope it also encourages you.)</i></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">T</span></b>he application of 1Thessalonians 5 is well known to most of us,
especially verses 2 and 3 that warns the LORD will come <span style="color: blue;"><i>"as a thief in
the night."</i></span> But have you ever stopped to ponder, meditate, consider
verses 4 and 5 and the message that is being implied? <span style="color: blue;"><i> "But you are not
in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. For
you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the
night or of the darkness."</i></span> As I read it last night, a deeper
understanding was gained. Let me briefly exhort everyone who belongs to
Christ with my feeble attempt at explaining how I perceive it to be. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
Once saved, the children of God are given understanding and discernment
through the Holy Spirit who dwells within us. Many of us are content
with the basic knowledge of and belief in our salvation, but there are
some of us who strongly desire more of God's wisdom. And when that
desire is expressed in prayer, He never fails to continue to fill us.
As verse 2 and 3 of 1Thess 5 expresses, God's timing is sovereign. Only
He knows the day and the hour. Of that, I hope we can all agree.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> But! (don't you just love that conjunction?) God's children should not be suddenly surprised that the Day of the
LORD has come upon us, because they should be watching and waiting for
it to happen! That's where the discernment comes in with this
particular verse. Although we should not become anxious and fearful, we
should recognize the signs (Matthew 24, Mark 13) that the return of
Jesus Christ is imminent and be ready to meet Him when <span style="color: blue;"><i>"...the Lord
himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice
of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead
in Christ will rise first </i><span style="color: black;">[those who have physically died and are
buried]</span><i>. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up
together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we
will always be with the Lord."</i></span> (The Rapture of the church - 1Thess
4:16-17)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> As many church leaders who are of the same opinion as
myself are expressing, the world, including our own nation, is in moral,
social, economic, and military turmoil. Even creation groans in
anticipation of what's to come (Romans 8:22-24). Together we deeply yearn for that
moment when our LORD's voice will call out from the heavens and draw us
to Himself. And because we <span style="color: blue;"><i>"are not of the night or of the darkness,"</i></span>
and carefully and confidently watch the signs occurring all around us,
we wait for that moment with the peace that only Jesus Christ and His
Holy Spirit are able to give. In other words, when that moment comes
like a "thief," we should be expecting it to happen. It shouldn't
surprise any of God's children, if they remain in His Word, seeking
His truth and not the world's perception of truth, and are <span style="color: blue;"><i>"...sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and
love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. For God has not destined
us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,
who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep </i><span style="color: black;">[in the grave]</span><i> we
might live with Him."</i></span> (1Thess 5:8-10) To put it simply, that "thief"
should be expected to break in. We may not know the moment God has chosen for this spectacular
event to occur, but it should not shock or "surprise" any of His children as long as they remain in the light and not slumbering away in darkness.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
The apostle Paul ends these verses with this: <span style="color: blue;"><i> "Therefore encourage one
another and build one another up, just as you are doing."</i></span> (1Thess 5:11) We
are called to remain ever vigilant and watchful, exhorting and
encouraging each other with the surety that what God has begun through His Son
Jesus Christ, He will complete through His Son and our Savior Jesus
Christ.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Be a "watchman on the wall" (Isaiah 62:6-7), watching for the signs of our Savior's return, and continue to herald the
Gospel to the lost. Time is short, salvation is available to all who
come with a repentant heart and genuine trust and belief in Jesus
Christ, and eternity awaits.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> The LORD's grace and peace to all, and to Jesus Christ be given all glory and honor. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Maranatha! </span></span></div>
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Blog Administrator, Karen L. Brahshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09539707490734479755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7986801166033320768.post-38999209985385937892017-04-17T17:25:00.000-06:002019-12-09T14:05:01.461-07:00How Quickly We Forget<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: large;">(<i>A note from me, the blogger who seems to have given up blogging: I'm still here. But it seems that things are happening so rapidly the topic I thought about adding to this blog is overcome by another, then another, and so it goes, until I give up trying to keep up. Every so often I dig back and bring to the front of this page a post I shared with you in the past. Although it hasn't been a week since Easter Sunday, it fits. Perhaps it's because some of us are quicker to forget in these perilous times. So this is just a reminder that we should never forget, and that we should go to the foot of the cross every day of the year. In the meantime, to my two followers, don't give up on me. Maybe someday I'll start fresh. I miss it, and I hope you do, too. ~ Karen </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">It has only been a week since millions, or perhaps billions, around the world honored the day that has been set aside to commemorate the death, resurrection, and ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ. Easter, or Resurrection Day as some are becoming more apt to call it, is the most important day of the year for Christians and is celebrated in churches in every nation on this earth.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">What are more commonly empty pews on any regular Sabbath day, on Easter the church is filled to the brim with men and women who attend to remember (or, at least we hope so) the sacrifice that was made nearly 2,000 years ago - <span style="color: blue;"><i>"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life."</i></span> (John 3:16)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">John 3:16 is perhaps the most recited verse of Scripture. Even unbelievers and atheists are able to recite it. We see it on road signs, on greeting cards, and on handwritten placards held up for all the world to see at televised ball games. For a fleeting moment, the conscience is made aware and the heart is seared, until the eyes that saw it are lured away by worldly things.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And so it goes with the majority of those who attend a Easter service each year. We could hope that the reason they attend church on that day is because they desire to honor Christ and thank the Father for giving us His Son as a propitiation for our sins. We could hope the reason they were compelled to come by family and friends is because of a deep, unexplainable yearning to know more about Him. Or better yet, we can hope the Holy Spirit is calling one more of God's children into the fold. But, sadly, this isn't the case with most. Easter is just another holiday filled with treats, frivolity, and family gatherings, and the Easter egg hunt has replaced the search for the One whose sacrifice defines the reason it's celebrated in the first place.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Because Monday always follows a Sunday, for most after Easter it's back to business as usual. The world has its demands, even for Christians, I might add. But the way the world sees it, life is dependent upon going back to work in order to keep the bacon coming in and fulfilling the needs and wants of an incessant, nagging houseful of imperious princes and princesses who believe the world (that means Dad and Mom and you and me) owes them everything they desire (that also means Dad and Mom who, all too often, are driven by material wants of their own). All too often, the only remnants of the venerable day called Easter are overly wound children, a few brightly colored eggs that have been badly abused during the hunt, ear-less chocolate rabbits, bits of colored foil, plastic "grass" stuck to sticky candy and clinging in unlikely places, and stray jelly beans found under the couch cushion weeks, or years, later.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Along with the baskets and frills, Easter has been stored away until next year. And for those who donned their Easter best and made their obligatory appearance for the first time that year, church attendance has also been stored away - at least until Christmas, when more treats, frivolity, and family gatherings will occur. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And sadly, far too many professing Christians fall into the same trap. Church attendance resumes as just another social gathering. Prayer becomes less constant. Earthly trials and troubles and the mundane day-to-day routine draw our focus away from Jesus Christ and all that He has done to secure our salvation. The main focus of the attention of many is on the next holiday waiting around the corner.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">How quickly we forget.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I have been thinking about writing this blog post for the last couple of days. But it wasn't until this morning, while reading my Spurgeon devotion, that I was finally convinced it needed to be done. Spurgeon has a way of not allowing me to forget. For the last month, every single morning and evening devotion was dedicated to remembrance: from the beginning to the end of that week-long account of Christ's entry into Jerusalem, His anguish in the garden of Gethsemane, His betrayal, His arrest, His trials before the rulers, to His agony on the cross and His ultimate rising from the grave and appearing to His disciples and others, and gloriously culminating on His ascension to Heaven and sitting down at the right hand of God the Father.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">But how quickly we forget.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I have been reminded of late by things I have read and programs I have watched that we should preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to ourselves every single day. <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i> "Do this in remembrance of Me."</i></span> (Luke 22:14-20) can be rightly applied to this practice. When one thinks about it, there is no Gospel without all that occurred that fateful hour 2,000 years ago. Forget Him? God forbid that we ever do. But because of the world and all that it entails, we are apt to, from time to time, until once again we are drawn back to the foot of the cross and are reminded of the real meaning of Easter and the One Who secured our salvation.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The following is Charles H. Spurgeon's devotion for the morning of April 26th. May it compel my readers to <i>never forget</i> and draw them into a deeper and more meaningful relationship with our God and Savior Jesus Christ.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">~ ~ ~</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><span style="color: #cc0000;">"This do in remembrance of Me."</span> ~ (1Corinthians 11:24)</i></span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It seems then, that Christians may forget Christ! There could be no need for this loving exhortation, if there were not a fearful supposition that our memories might prove treacherous. Nor is this a bare supposition: it is, alas! too well-confirmed in our experience, not as a possibility, but as a lamentable fact. It appears almost impossible that those who have been redeemed by the blood of the dying Lamb, and loved with an everlasting love by the eternal Son of God, should forget that gracious Saviour; but, if startling to the ear, it is, alas! too apparent to the eye to allow us to deny the crime.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Forget Him who never forgot us! Forget Him who poured His blood forth for our sins! Forget Him who loved us even to the death! Can it be possible?</span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Yes, it is not only possible, but conscience confesses that it is too sadly a fault with all of us, that we suffer Him to be as a wayfaring man, tarrying but for a night. He whom we should make the abiding tenant of our memories is but a visitor therein. The cross where one would think that memory would linger, and unmindfulness would be an unknown intruder, is desecrated by the feet of forgetfulness. Does not your conscience say that this is true? Do you not find yourselves forgetful of Jesus?</span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Some creature steals away your heart, and you are unmindful of Him upon whom your affection ought to be set. Some earthly business engrosses your attention when you should fix your eye steadily upon the cross. It is the incessant turmoil of the world, the constant attraction of earthly things which takes away the soul from Christ.</span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">While memory too well preserves a poisonous weed, it suffereth the rose of Sharon to whither. Let us charge ourselves to bind a heavenly forget-me-not about our hearts for Jesus our Beloved, and, whatever else we let slip, let us hold fast to Him.</span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></blockquote>
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Blog Administrator, Karen L. Brahshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09539707490734479755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7986801166033320768.post-51410865411520562742016-06-26T15:32:00.007-06:002020-05-27T15:28:57.141-06:00How Well Are You Doing Raising Your Children?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">"<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.</i></b>"</span></span> ~ Hebrews 12:11, ESV</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">This verse popped into my head as I was talking to my beautiful sister on the phone a bit ago and we were discussing how obvious it is that man is depraved from birth. For instance, consider a new born infant. What is the first thing that baby does after it's gone through the birthing process and been poked and prodded, swatted and swaddled, and lets us know its displeasure? I mean after you get the baby home and the loving and doting attention it receives begins? The baby screams at you, makes its demands because its inherent inclination is to let you know it's hungry or needs cuddled; complains about its discomfort over a dirty diaper; throws a hissy fit when a toy is taken away, and I'm sure we can think of many more examples. And as the child grows, he or she begins to figure out that pouting, crying, or a temper tantrum will oftentimes get them what they want, especially in today's culture where parents are forbidden to immediately address such behavior, or have fallen for the ill advice received from "experts" who probably never raised children, or even from well-meaning parents.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"> So, when do we begin the godly discipline process to insure that our children become responsible, honest and, more importantly, respectful adults? Some of you may disagree, but it should start from the beginning. This is not to say that the discipline you mete out isn't different for an infant, a toddler, or a juvenile. The method varies in degree by age and maturity in understanding their offense and how well they are able to grasp the instruction and discipline we give them. It begins with words, then redirection and, if necessary, a good old-fashioned swat on the backside followed up by a heartfelt explanation why it was necessary.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">You see, we don't give babies or toddlers enough credit for being as smart, manipulating, and conniving as they can be. Through careful study, it's determined a child develops their personality by the time they are 3 years old. That's one year after the dreaded "terrible 2's" so many parents suffer through. We all remember that stage of our child's life. We are only given a very narrow window of opportunity to set the stage and it's critical that we pay very close attention to them during that time and gently correct them when necessary. If we fail to do that, instead of the "trusting 3's" and "pleasing 4's," the "terrible 2's" are apt to become the disappointing 3's, the shocking 8's, or the horrific teens.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In other words, it's what we put into our children that spills out of them as they grow. If you teach your children they are the center of the universe, if you allow them to manipulate you, control you, and answer to all of their demands, they will continue that pattern throughout the rest of their lives and yours, and they will more than likely recreate the same attitude with their own children because that’s what they were taught. Once this behavior is established, there will be no turning back and undoing the grave errors parents made when they had the opportunity to make the right choices and choose the proper discipline.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpJV_tYqPU-Vdo_uDgm2joT0YCM6IHvJxkMjQ6tu8Eztt4YfwGJtj1AIbs0jQVlR_E6vcCsQf6vVHu3KAY43hOz5l8LEAsY4ii6CjLOKzjFiaE3Aj1GNFQ5r5WUfkJHJ2_nPN4rD-aLIjL/s1600/4aeba4870713e9f5c8666432b9ee1c81.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpJV_tYqPU-Vdo_uDgm2joT0YCM6IHvJxkMjQ6tu8Eztt4YfwGJtj1AIbs0jQVlR_E6vcCsQf6vVHu3KAY43hOz5l8LEAsY4ii6CjLOKzjFiaE3Aj1GNFQ5r5WUfkJHJ2_nPN4rD-aLIjL/s320/4aeba4870713e9f5c8666432b9ee1c81.jpg" width="264" /></a>Why did I add the above verse to this post? Most Christians would apply it to the discipline God finds necessary to dole out upon adult Christians who are straying from the truth, not heeding His Word, or discipline being used to draw them back into the fold. But it can also be applied to our children. If we faithfully train our children with the instruction God has given us, then the harvest we see when they are finally grown will be fruitful, righteous, and pleasing to the LORD, and to ourselves and everyone the child comes in contact with, whether it's with family, at school, in play, or at work. And society will be much better for it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">But if we fail to raise them as they should be, if we fail to teach them proper godly behavior and refuse to discipline them when they demonstrate the depravity they were born with, we not only have failed them, we have failed ourselves by creating the proverbial monster our society is being plagued with.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I’ll end with one of the most important proverbs relating to raising a child in the Word of God, Proverb 22:6, and I hope all young parents will take it to heart. I’ll be praying and trusting in God to make it so.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">"<b><i>Train up a child in the way he should go;
even when he is old he will not depart from it.</i></b>"</span></blockquote>
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Blog Administrator, Karen L. Brahshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09539707490734479755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7986801166033320768.post-43498581979134185082015-09-21T18:45:00.000-06:002019-12-09T14:05:39.065-07:00Divine Design<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: large;">I</span><span style="font-size: large;"> am baffled by those who say there is no God. I am completely bewildered that doubting men can look upon creation and not wonder about the hand that formed it. Creation is mysterious in its intricacy and mind-bending delicacy. With only their eyes as examination tools, man began the task of dissecting creation in his attempt to disprove God's existence. As knowledge increased, so did man's ability to see further into his realm with instruments that brought creation's core within sight. As one horizon was reached, man was driven to reach another. But with each advanced step into the vastness of the universe and its solitary inhabitants, man is still unable to pinpoint the beginning, the source, or the reason for our existence and to explain away the One Who created it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Sitting in church one Sunday, the Pastor asked the congregation to open their Bibles to a particular passage. As I did so, I discovered lying between the worn and note-riddled pages a single feather I had placed there. While walking my dogs one morning, I had chanced upon the feather and because of its beauty, had picked it up and carried it home. It had once adorned the wing of a Flicker, an often despised bird because of its insect-seeking habit of rapping holes in the walls and roofs of houses. For several moments, my mind wandered away from the sermon as I gazed down upon the delicate orange and brown feather I held. My fingers caressed its softness and traced the pattern the colors made. I felt a strange peace wash over me as I examined what I knew to be something beyond mere chance or cosmic accident.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">As I reveled in this brief interlude, the feather gently held between my fingers, I marveled at the completeness of it. The solitary feather bore a pattern solely its own, indistinguishable from the other feathers that once lay beside it to define the whole bird's appearance. It was a single part of the whole, an essential piece of the Flicker's pattern that clothed it and made it unlike other birds. Without it, it would not be complete. And because of each feather's unique and necessary pattern blending one into another, if the feather was removed, the overall design of the bird would be flawed. I saw within this one feather a power and a force beyond anything man could design with his own imagination. Our eyes for detail do not extend to that of God's Who created out of complexity and love. He saw perfection and completeness in every detail of the Flicker and as He fashioned it, His desire was to not have it any other way.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I am in awe of a God Who is able to create with such intricacy. No artist on the face of God's earth is able to create such beauty. The things man makes are only imitations of Divine design. The artist is unable to paint each individual feather's interior pattern as his brush strokes create the outward appearance of the bird on his canvas. His abilities are two dimensional, inhibiting him from reproducing what the Master Craftsman has created on His universal canvas. He can examine each separate feather and copy its pattern, but he can't combine them into the whole as our Maker did.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Man need no longer peer into microscopes and telescopes to explain his existence. He only needs to return to the elementary tool God gave him when he was created by Him. He only needs to open his eyes and behold the beauty of God's Divine Design in all of creation. I did. I found it in a single feather.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Copyright 2007 Karen L. Brahs</span></div>
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Blog Administrator, Karen L. Brahshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09539707490734479755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7986801166033320768.post-33573967048754922642015-07-06T13:14:00.003-06:002021-01-22T22:45:59.717-07:00Fear Not<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span>I</span> am speechless. Or should I say, I have been wordless. And this blog has suffered because of my inability to properly express myself.</span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">There certainly isn't a shortage of things to write about. The headlines from the mainstream media and what I glean from Christian websites could fill volumes here, if I chose to join in the fray and add my two cents. But I refuse to become one of those bloggers who grabs a topic out of the plethora of available topics, then goes off on a tangent of condemnation and scathing rebuke, especially since I am not intimately familiar with the people involved and every detail that makes the story newsworthy.</span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Since the internet became the go-to place for news, people have a tendency to believe everything that is written there, including the conspiracies and propaganda permeating it. Far too many secular <i>and </i>Christian bloggers and readers fall into that trap which ends up destroying the validity of legitimate bloggers as the rumors and innuendos continue to circulate this sphere. Social media is probably the greatest offender. Those who spend time on Facebook, for instance, rarely read anything more than the headline which is cleverly written to grab their attention and not truly reflective of the article's content. I can't count the times when I have actually <i>read</i> the article, only to discover this truth. And I truly wish my friends would do the same before "sharing" it with expressed outrage and condemnation.</span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I am in full agreement that there is plenty to be angry about: the recent SCOTUS decision on gay marriage; our President's foolish attempts to negotiate with Iran; the wholesale slaughter of babies in the womb; the crumbling social and family structure; race-baiters who perpetuate hate and encourage lawlessness; the evil brutality occurring in the Middle East and spreading around the globe...the list is endless.</span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The problem, as I see it, is that far too many professing Christians are also fearful, forgetting that the Most High God is no less in control of this world than He was when He created it. Yes, I do believe that not only is God going to pour out judgment on our nation, but He has been doing so for some time. He can't nor won't ignore rampant in-His-face sin without it causing a reaction from Him. Evil and wickedness have been present since the serpent deceived Eve, God has poured out His judgment time and time again, and He will continue to do so until Jesus Christ returns to bring final judgment upon this earth. But the promise God made to Israel in Isaiah 41 is also intended for His adopted children, as well, especially verse 10: <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>"...<span class="text Isa-41-10" id="en-ESV-18462">fear not, for I am with you; </span><span class="indent-1"><span class="text Isa-41-10">be not dismayed, for I am your God;</span></span><span class="text Isa-41-10"> I will strengthen you, I will help you, </span><span class="indent-1"><span class="text Isa-41-10">I will uphold you with My righteous right hand." </span></span></i><span class="indent-1"><span class="text Isa-41-10"><span style="color: black;">And Christians across the globe need to cling to that promise.</span></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span class="indent-1"><span class="text Isa-41-10"><span style="color: black;">Charles H. Spurgeon's morning devotion reminded me that God's Word is faithful. For those who put all of their trust and all of their faith in Almighty God who is sovereign in all things on earth and in heaven and whose righteousness and justice is perfect in all ways, there may be moments of fear, but it is short-lived. We are endowed with the Holy Spirit who brings great peace in the midst of trials, turmoil, and godlessness. And if the world comes completely against us with great violence, even then we know that we are still safe in His hands, for a life beyond our ability to express awaits us.</span></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span class="indent-1"><span class="text Isa-41-10"><span style="color: black;">I am able to thank God for giving me these few words of encouragement to pass onto you. I hope Mr. Spurgeon's are even more encouraging as we watch events unfold, continue to witness to those in unbelief, and wait for the ultimate and eminent return of our Savior, our King, our LORD Jesus Christ.</span></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;">
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<span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span class="indent-1"><span class="text Isa-41-10"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span></span><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span class="indent-1"><span class="text Isa-41-10"><br /></span></span></span></span></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">"Whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil."<br /><a class="bibleref" data-bibleref="Prov.1.33" href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Prov.1.33">Proverbs 1:33</a></span></span></blockquote><span style="font-size: large;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Divine
love is rendered conspicuous when it shines in the midst of judgments.
Fair is that lone star which smiles through the rifts of the thunder
clouds; bright is the oasis which blooms in the wilderness of sand; so
fair and so bright is love in the midst of wrath. When the Israelites
provoked the Most High by their continued idolatry, he punished them by
withholding both dew and rain, so that their land was visited by a sore
famine; but while he did this, he took care that his own chosen ones
should be secure. If all other brooks are dry, yet shall there be one
reserved for Elijah; and when that fails, God shall still preserve for
him a place of sustenance; nay, not only so, the Lord had not simply one
"Elijah," but he had a remnant according to the election of grace, who
were hidden by fifties in a cave, and though the whole land was subject
to famine, yet these fifties in the cave were fed, and fed from Ahab's
table too by His faithful, God-fearing steward, Obadiah. Let us from
this draw the inference, that come what may, God's people are safe. Let
convulsions shake the solid earth, let the skies themselves be rent in
twain, yet amid the wreck of worlds the believer shall be as secure as
in the calmest hour of rest. If God cannot save his people under heaven,
he will save them in heaven. If the world becomes too hot to hold them,
then heaven shall be the place of their reception and their safety. Be
ye then confident, when ye hear of wars, and rumours of wars. Let no
agitation distress you, but be quiet from fear of evil. Whatsoever
cometh upon the earth, you, beneath the broad wings of Jehovah, shall be
secure. Stay yourself upon his promise; rest in his faithfulness, and
bid defiance to the blackest future, for there is nothing in it direful
for you. Your sole concern should be to show forth to the world the
blessedness of hearkening to the voice of wisdom.</span></span></blockquote><span style="font-size: large;">
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Blog Administrator, Karen L. Brahshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09539707490734479755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7986801166033320768.post-81840127432755202552015-06-03T13:29:00.002-06:002015-06-04T13:28:45.426-06:00Yes, Bruce Jenner Is Still A Man, But Are You Praying?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">I</span> don't think I've ever witnessed such a massive media campaign such as that over Bruce Jenner and the world's attempt to convince the masses that what he did to himself is acceptable, and <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/watch/nbc-news/white-house-applauds-caitlyn-jenners-tremendous-courage-455660611907" target="_blank">even "courageous" by our President</a>, who "tweeted" the same; that we should celebrate his "transformation" and believe that he is now what he was intended to be. I won't post pics and articles or link quotes to specific websites about Bruce Jenner and how he mutilated his body trying to "fix" his self-perceived notions that there was some cosmic "mistake" made regarding his gender. The media has infected our minds with enough images.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Bruce Jenner is still a man. He may have gone to every possible length to alter his outward appearance, but he's still what God created him to be and nothing he does to himself will ever change that.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">For the rest of Jenner's life, he will be forced to continue taking hormones in order to maintain this false and deplorable persona. He will heavily rely on cosmetics, plastic surgery, and photo-shopped images to blur the reality of his true self. And the notoriety he received as an Olympic champion and anything else he accomplished in his life will be overshadowed by gawkers and sensationalism-seekers with their own twisted and perverted sins. In my opinion, all Jenner accomplished was admitting himself into a carnival side-show and sadly, one day, the world will grow tired of him and cast him off as just another "freak" unworthy of their attention.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Tragically, what Bruce Jenner and the world is not being told is that the majority of the people who undergo "</span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">gender-realignment surgery" are thrown into even greater depths of darkness. <a href="http://ai.eecs.umich.edu/people/conway/TS/Warning.html" target="_blank">As this article portrays</a>, they come to the realization that changing their bodily structure did nothing to alleviate the turbulence and unrest they previously experienced in the body God gave them. It only drove them deeper into their depravity because of failed expectations, often driving them to suicide.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">And as the world turns, it becomes more insistent that Christians who oppose homosexuality and gay marriage on Biblical grounds become more "tolerant" to the practice. We are told we must accept it as an inevitability and that to not accept it makes us "homophobic," unloving, judgmental, and hateful. Dr. James White, a highly respected theologian, recently answered the question in this <a href="https://wretchednetwork.wordpress.com/2015/03/05/james-whites-scary-5-year-prediction-for-the-church/" target="_blank">short video</a> where he thought the church would be in 5 years in regard to persecution. It is well worth 7 minutes of your time to view it because he impresses that laws will be passed in order to silence the Gospel and Christian witness of God's truths, especially in regard to homosexuality and gay marriage.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">As further evidence and as this map portrays, I don't need to remind my readers that the homosexual agenda has become militant, not only in our own nation, but around the world. While I sit writing this, the United States <a href="http://www.myfoxal.com/story/29224028/local-groups-wait-for-scotus-ruling-on-same-sex-marriage" target="_blank">Supreme Court is ruling</a> on the argument for "marriage equality." Recently, Ireland, a historically staunch defender of marriage between a man and a woman, <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/news/ireland-same-sex-marriage-approval/" target="_blank">overwhelmingly passed a referendum</a> to allow gay marriage. A push in the State of Israel to overthrow the ban that prevents legal gay "marriage" is <a href="http://hiddush.org/article-2107-0-_Israelis_support_gay_marriage.aspx" target="_blank">gaining ground</a>. Pastor Conrad Mbewe of Zambia wrote a <a href="http://www.conradmbewe.com/2015/05/the-homosexual-agenda.html" target="_blank">blog post</a> on the influence the West is having through financial means to push the homosexual agenda there. Italy, which is the last Western European holdout against gay marriage, has become the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/29/italy-gay-marriage_n_7461124.html" target="_blank">latest target</a>. It was also reported by a former U.S. Congressman, Steve Stockman, that the <a href="https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/former-u.s.-congressman-obama-refused-to-help-nigeria-stop-boko-haram-over" target="_blank">United States refused to give aid</a> to assist Nigeria in recovering the 250 women and girls who were kidnapped by Boko Haram (<a href="http://pamelageller.com/2015/04/unhrc-confirms-200-kidnapped-christian-girls-in-nigeria-murdered-by-devout-muslim-group.html/" target="_blank">now reportedly all murdered</a>) because of their long-held stance against gay "marriage." To me, and if this is true, it demonstrates the depth of depravity of the Obama Administration that they would hold hostage innocent people to further their depraved agenda. The list of nations being<a href="http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=48222#.VW9BqEZv1-w" target="_blank"> pressured by the United Nations</a> to accept the homosexual lifestyle and marriage "equality" is growing exponentially, and when poorer nations who rely upon western money to survive are being threatened, it won't be long before the entire world caves to that pressure.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">So what do Christians do about this ever-increasing problem? We do the same thing we would do for anyone involved in any sin. We pray, and we pray remembering that we, also, were once slaves to sin.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="text Titus-3-1">Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work,</span> <span class="text Titus-3-2" id="en-ESV-29909"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.</span> <span class="text Titus-3-3" id="en-ESV-29910"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>For we
ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various
passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by
others and hating one another.</span> <span class="text Titus-3-4" id="en-ESV-29911"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared,</span> <span class="text Titus-3-5" id="en-ESV-29912"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,</span> <span class="text Titus-3-6" id="en-ESV-29913">whom He poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior,</span> </span></span></i></span><span class="text Titus-3-7" id="en-ESV-29914"><span style="color: blue;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>so that being justified by His grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. ~ </span></span></i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">Titus 3:1-7</span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Like
all men and women who are caught up in the sin of homosexuality, and
who think that by mutilating their bodies it will soothe the turmoil
they have allowed to consume them, it's not their outward appearance
that needs changing. It's their deceitful and hard hearts. As my
sister, Dana, reinforced yesterday in a phone conversation, these people
don't need tolerance and acceptance for their bad behavior, or ridicule
and an outward expression of disgust - which, if we would all be
honest, we harbor - but prayer for them. We need to demonstrate through
our witness the LORD Jesus Christ with love and kindness, but with a firm commitment to never compromising God's Truths regarding sin and the eternal consequences
of an unrepentant heart. Jesus is the ONLY answer for a sinful world
and nothing else will turn people like Bruce Jenner into what they were
truly intended to be.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Albert Mohler wrote a chapter in John Piper's book, "<u>Sex and the Supremacy of Christ</u>," entitled "</span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/%E2%80%9CHomosexual%20Marriage%20as%20a%20Challenge%20to%20the%20Church:%20Biblical%20and%20Cultural%20Reflections.%E2%80%9D" target="_blank">Homosexual Marriage as a Challenge to the Church: Biblical and Cultural Reflections,</a>"
that impresses upon Christians the need to fight against the "yuck
factor" because "it is an attitude of disgust that lacks any moral
argument." Because of who we are, that's a hard thing to realize. We
hate sin and when it's outwardly manifested and we are forced to see it,
our first reaction is complete disgust bordering on hatred. The sin of
homosexuality goes so far beyond God's purpose for creating man and
woman that to even consider the practice causes us great distress. But
as Mohler impresses upon us, we need to love the homosexual more than
the homosexual loves his homosexuality. By choking down the bile that
rises in our throats each time we are forced to view and read about this
behavior, we move a little closer to accomplishing the daunting task of
putting out of our minds the images and outright debauchery of this
practice and enabling us to more appropriately respond. However, he
also stresses that Christians must never accept the very concept of
homosexual marriage because it is contrary to God's law and will for
mankind. The truth must be told in its entirety, leaving nothing to
conjecture or debate, in spite of the negative reaction we may receive.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Bruce Jenner didn't need a sex "transformation." He needs his heart transformed. The
only way that Jenner and other homosexuals will ever have peace of mind is if they are brought,
with the Holy Spirit's help, to a realization that they have grievously
sinned against a Holy God and repent, ask God for forgiveness, and
place their faith and trust not in man or themselves, but the LORD Jesus Christ.</span></span> They need to know that the turmoil and confusion they have created over their sexuality and their lust for people of the same sex can be overcome, not through their own efforts, but through Him. It is only through His power and His grace that they will find freedom from their sin, and ultimately peace in their minds that the gender in which they were created is exactly what God intended for them </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Our responsibility as Christians does not lie in condemning Bruce Jenner and others with the same proclivity. Our responsibility lies in praying for their deliverance and giving them the Gospel of salvation. Yes, Bruce Jenner is still a man. But as my sister asked on a Facebook post, and I would like to reiterate here: "Are you praying?"</span></span></div>
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Blog Administrator, Karen L. Brahshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09539707490734479755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7986801166033320768.post-73259323877612763372015-05-28T12:00:00.000-06:002019-12-09T14:06:01.808-07:00Sea Of Crowns<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #000099;"><span style="color: blue;"><i>“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.”</i></span> (Rev. 21:1)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #000099;"><br /></span><span style="color: #000099;"><span style="color: blue;"><i>“But only the redeemed will walk there, and the ransomed of the Lord will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.”</i></span> (Is. 35:9-10)</span><br /><br /><br /><br /> The moonlight is cast like diamonds,<br />Sparkling atop the crest of the waves;<br />Firelight rolling in evening’s twilight,<br />Stretching its fingers upon the sandy shore.<br /><br />God summons the moon in the heavens above<br />To change the constant course<br />Of the ever-flowing tide;<br />Unchanging and without flaw or pause.<br /><br />Faithful to His creation, ever-mindful and aware,<br />God sustains the sea and the life it contains.<br />In return, it responds with unerring devotion<br />To the pulse of His beating heart.<br /><br />Man’s heart learns the rhythm of the sea;<br />His life entwined in its cadence,<br />Enfolded in its melody and embrace,<br />And made one with his glorious Maker.<br /><br />God plucks the diamonds from the crest of the sea,<br />Wrapping them in soft moonlight’s gleam,<br />And forms them into a crown of love<br />To place on my head for eternity.<br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size: 78%;">Copyright 2006 Karen L. Brahs</span></span></div>
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Blog Administrator, Karen L. Brahshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09539707490734479755noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7986801166033320768.post-82776307090282330762015-04-24T12:28:00.002-06:002022-02-08T23:06:01.600-07:00Are You Sitting With Jonah Under His Tree?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfKEfwPx4EC_SBy-McQItGFIEjXGzQPxdwrooil8tEb1uhXEEyMdDSZ_pn8scbAuK8SU0aPJav-f-66HRnxBtREN2JtrlRywwwm3NJ258Ydwf93wKSmcv-eUjqBXUXnszA2kaFaQqlUQpM/s1600/jonah.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfKEfwPx4EC_SBy-McQItGFIEjXGzQPxdwrooil8tEb1uhXEEyMdDSZ_pn8scbAuK8SU0aPJav-f-66HRnxBtREN2JtrlRywwwm3NJ258Ydwf93wKSmcv-eUjqBXUXnszA2kaFaQqlUQpM/s1600/jonah.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">T</span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">he title to this post may seem a bit disconcerting to some. But I think it's an honest question; one that needs to be truthfully answered by many of us who profess Jesus Christ. If you will take a moment and consider my own personal reflection regarding my witness to unsaved friends and family, you may discover like I did that you are more like Jonah than you are willing to admit. With that said, let's briefly refresh our memories about his story. (For the complete account, please click on <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jonah+1+-+5&version=ESV" target="_blank">this link</a>.)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Jonah, a prophet of God, received a message from the Almighty he really didn't want to hear. He was to go to the Gentile people of Ninevah and tell them to repent or face the wrath of God. For a Jew, the people God chose to take His message of salvation to all nations, Jonah greatly resented what God was asking him to do. So he took off in another direction, forgetting that God is omniscient and aware of every thought and move he was making.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Jonah jumped aboard a ship that was headed to Tarshish, so God summoned a great storm on the sea. While Jonah slept, the pagan crewmen threw everything they could overboard to try and prevent the ship from sinking, but to no avail. Rousing Jonah, they cast lots to determine who the person was that had brought what they viewed as "evil" upon them, and the lot fell on Jonah. They demanded he call out to his God for deliverance because they understood Jonah was fleeing from Him and they would be unwilling victims of His wrath. But instead of turning to God in repentance for his disobedience, and still stubbornly obstinate, Jonah told them to throw him overboard in order to save themselves. Unwilling to follow through with Jonah's request, they attempted to out-row the tempestuous waves, but the billows and waves only grew more intense.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">What follows is interesting, considering that the ship's crew were idol worshiping pagans. It appears that the people of Ninevah weren't the only ones to receive God's message, and their somewhat disturbing action in throwing a man overboard to drown in the sea, then watching as the sea became calm and their lives were spared, was enough evidence that Jonah's God was, indeed, genuine:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><i><span class="text Jonah-1-14" id="en-ESV-22546">Therefore they called out to the <span class="small-caps" style="font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span>, “O <span class="small-caps" style="font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span>, let us not perish for this man's life, and lay not on us innocent blood, for You, O <span class="small-caps" style="font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span>, have done as it pleased You.”</span> <span class="text Jonah-1-15" id="en-ESV-22547"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>So they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging.</span> <span class="text Jonah-1-16" id="en-ESV-22548"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>Then the men feared the <span class="small-caps" style="font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span> exceedingly, and they offered a sacrifice to the <span class="small-caps" style="font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span> and made vows. </span></i><span class="text Jonah-1-16" id="en-ESV-22548"><span style="color: black;">(Jonah 1:14-16)</span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Ultimately, Jonah is swallowed by the great fish God had summoned, spends three days in its belly - miserably, I am sure - acknowledging the sovereignty and power of the Almighty, then spit up onto dry land. The LORD once again commands Jonah to go to Ninevah, and Jonah begrudgingly yields. The message to turn from their evil ways and repent, lest they suffer the wrath God had in store for them, was given. The king decreed that the people of Ninevah obey this edict and God relented of the judgment He was going to bring upon them.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">One would think that after all he had gone through, Jonah would have exalted God and praised Him for His great love for all mankind. However, Jonah grew angry, jealously grumbling that a Gentile would receive such favor. He even went so far as to once again ask God to take his life. When it became clear that God had no such intention, Jonah stomped up to the top of a hillside, built a covering to keep the brutal sun from baking him, and sat down to watch the destruction he still thought would be coming to that great city. As he watched with anticipation, God continued to show mercy on Jonah and caused a plant to grow above his head to spare him from any discomfort. The next morning, however, God sent a worm to kill the leafy tree, brought a scorching east wind, and an even more scorching sun to beat down upon Jonah.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Further enraged, Jonah once again requested that God let him die. God's response to Jonah came in the form of a question and should have caused him to realize the compassion God had for all men, including the 120,000 people (which, if we include all the children, could have realistically been nearly half a million people) in Ninevah.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Although I have often wondered if there was more to the conclusion of Jonah's story, it ends there. We are left to ponder Jonah's response to God's final question. Did Jonah humble himself and repent? Did he understand from that point forward the tremendous responsibility the Israelites had been given, to take God's message to the entire world, which meant Gentiles like the Ninevites he so despised? Or did Jonah make his way back home and keep his trial to himself, fearing the reaction his people would have, thus sparing himself from having to stand up and proclaim God's true plan of salvation?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It's evident from their continued unbelief that God's chosen people have yet to acknowledge this great truth; to recognize their Savior Jesus Christ and take the Good News of His salvation to every corner of the earth. That will ultimately come, but not until God deems it time.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Ironically, we converted Gentiles have been passed the witness baton. </span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">It's
very unlikely God will send a great fish to swallow us, but He can and
will send storms into our lives to wake us from our slumber. I am sure
many of you can recall times when your disobedience brought on unwelcome
trials. I sure can. </span> </span></span>But we should ask ourselves if we are any more faithful than Jonah in this regard. Are we obeying Jesus' command to go out and make disciples of men? Are we faithfully and willingly answering God's call to give the Gospel to a lost and dying world every chance we get? Are we deeply concerned for our friends and family, even the stranger on the street, who could possibly suffer the wrath God had in store for the unrepentant Ninevah? </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Or are we comfortable in our own salvation and running from God in the opposite direction as Jonah did?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">An even harder question is this: have we found ourselves sitting with Jonah under his tree, sulking in unbelief that the message we delivered fell on deaf ears, and waiting to exclaim, "See! I told you this was a waste of time!"?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">These are questions all Christians should ask themselves. There is a vast world out there that's growing more wicked with each day and desperately needs to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ. God has written that there will be a time when the opportunity to receive salvation will end; a time that is growing closer with each breath we take.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Don't run from Him. And more importantly, don't fume in anger expecting your own selfish results. The work of salvation belongs to the Holy Spirit. We are merely the messengers who, unlike Jonah when called, joyfully respond, then wait with eager anticipation to see how God will work for His glory.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">God will have His children drawn to Him, even if He has to use extraordinary means and unwilling servants to achieve it.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Charles H. Spurgeon once wrote, </span><i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">"If there existed only one man or woman who did not love the Savior, and
if that person lived among the wilds of Siberia, and if it were
necessary that all the millions of believers on the face of the earth
should journey there, and every one of them plead with him to come to
Jesus before he could be converted, it would be well worth all the zeal,
labor, and expense. If we had to preach to thousands year after year,
and never rescued but one soul, that one soul would be full reward for
all our labor, for a soul is of countless price."</span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So, get out from under that tree and go.</span></span><br />
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Blog Administrator, Karen L. Brahshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09539707490734479755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7986801166033320768.post-55348944441813539082015-02-06T12:30:00.000-07:002019-12-09T14:06:28.211-07:00Fight, Flight, Freeze...or Faith?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I was poking around my blog, looking at old posts, and came across this that was written back in November of 2011. It struck me how fast time flies by! I rather like this post, especially in light of all that's been happening around this troubled world and <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">with myself personally</span>. I hope you will take a moment and read this (or re-read it). Then ask yourself the question: am I the zebra? Or am I placing all of my faith and trust in God to see me through the chase? I hope you will conclude it's the latter. Have a wonderful day, everyone, and keep coming back. I may not be posting as often as I used to, but I haven't given up on this blog, yet!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">In Christ,</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Karen </span></span></div>
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<span class="messageBody translationEligibleUserMessage" data-ft="{"type":3}" style="font-size: large;"><i style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">"Often when we lose all hope and think this is the end, GOD whispers, ‘Relax, it’s just a bend, not the end.’ </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Have faith, keep faith, and see what God will do for you."</span></i></span></h6>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjInQGeTuReQujGC2stZEpaJFaLTG9KZmfgJZ5GgAt5CvnN9H82_3dBIZ2TyA31i7i-2jUih0x5nfaY_8gaFA0a3WlBFD4lWGqzji6gWe3McjBWsU08H2I_zHAd9eOyDslCxfJRvg6H8Rrj/s1600/zebra+and+lion.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjInQGeTuReQujGC2stZEpaJFaLTG9KZmfgJZ5GgAt5CvnN9H82_3dBIZ2TyA31i7i-2jUih0x5nfaY_8gaFA0a3WlBFD4lWGqzji6gWe3McjBWsU08H2I_zHAd9eOyDslCxfJRvg6H8Rrj/s320/zebra+and+lion.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span class="messageBody translationEligibleUserMessage" data-ft="{"type":3}" style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">S</span>omeone posted the above words on Facebook the other day and it's one of those things that has stuck with me. So much so that I have found myself using it for unplanned situations that have reared up, both in others' lives and my own.</span></span></span></h6>
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<span class="messageBody translationEligibleUserMessage" data-ft="{"type":3}" style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">There is bottomless depth to these words. A mine full of the gems of wisdom. The problem is that we sometimes refuse to believe them when we find ourselves facing the unexpected.</span></span></span></h6>
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<span class="messageBody translationEligibleUserMessage" data-ft="{"type":3}" style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">If our comforts or security are threatened, our first instinct can be one of three things. We either freeze, take flight, or fight back. The "fight or flight response" theory was first described by Walter Bradford Cannon, which was later seen as too simplistic because of the expected reaction his test subject, namely zebras, employed when threatened. Thus, the additional term "freeze" was added to further explain what is common to some other creatures in the animal kingdom.</span></span></span></h6>
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<span class="messageBody translationEligibleUserMessage" data-ft="{"type":3}" style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It has been determined by human behaviorists that men and women react differently to stressful situations. I'll give them that much, but did it take millions of dollars in grants and centuries of study to figure that out? They must be slow learners. Men will most commonly react with aggression and fight back. Women will flee, turn to others for help, or try to diffuse the situation. Of course, the secular world of psychology has created additional terms that describe every action or reaction regarding the "psyche" and the response man gives to certain circumstances he finds himself in. Ya gotta love 'em. But they have intentionally omitted the most vital "link" (to borrow the evolutionist's term) in their attempt to find out what makes a person tick. I hate to tell them this, but I'm not a zebra.</span></span></span></h6>
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<span class="messageBody translationEligibleUserMessage" data-ft="{"type":3}" style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The evolutionist has convinced himself that we somehow rose out of the ooze and muck, left a trail of slime as we climbed up the evolutionary ladder, eventually stood up on two feet that developed over billions of years, and were suddenly struck with the realization there were other creatures from the same source, whatever that may be, who wanted to eat us. As "homosapiens" found themselves in the defensive position, somewhere and somehow the "primal instinct" to protect themselves took over, causing one of the above reactions. Thus, the answer to why we respond to certain situations the way we do.</span></span></span></h6>
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<span class="messageBody translationEligibleUserMessage" data-ft="{"type":3}" style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">At last! It all makes perfect sense to me!</span></span></span></h6>
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<span class="messageBody translationEligibleUserMessage" data-ft="{"type":3}" style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I hope you know that I am being waggish (I just discovered that word - it means "facetious," not serious, trying to be humorous or funny). But you already knew that, didn't you. So...let's back up a little to that missing "vital term" the secular and unbelieving world refuses to acknowledge in their attempt to define the mysterious human being and how he reacts to the world around him. Strangely enough, it starts with the first letter of the other three: Faith.</span></span></span></h6>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i><b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">For by it the people of old received their commendation. </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible." </span></b></i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black;">~ Heb. 11:1-3</span></span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: large; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">There...that's better.</span></span></h6>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: large; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Do you see what the writer of Hebrews is saying? Everything was made out of nothing and came into being by God breathing out a word. This makes it understandable why we can believe in Him - that is, have faith that He existed then, now, and forevermore and that all the universe was created by Him- yet not see Him. Because He has told us so and has given us the requirement needed to understand it - faith.</span></span></h6>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: large; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Do you want more proof?</span></span></h6>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters." </i><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black;">~ Gen. 1:1-2</span></span></span></h6>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Of course, you first have to believe what He tells us in His Word (the Bible), and that requires faith that only He is able to give you. If your faith lies in anything but Him, you won't understand it and, sadly, there are those like I mentioned above that believe it's all just a fairy tale.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">But back to the zebra... </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: large; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">As I said earlier, I'm not a zebra that, when being chased by a lion, takes off running like a rocket, zigzagging back and forth in an attempt to prevent myself from being eaten. But it doesn't mean that I haven't acted like one in the past. Or played possum as a predator stood drooling over me. I have even reacted aggressively and snarled back on occasion. These are typical reactions every human experiences. They are built into us for a reason, but so is faith, whether we choose to recognize and accept it, or not.</span></span></h6>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: large; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Every one of us has faith in something. It may be in ourselves, in others, in material things we accumulate, or idols made of wood or stone that are blind, dumb, and powerless to save us. The problem with that kind of faith is that there is no hope or real defense in it. It is misguided and causes us to place our faith in things that have no ability to bring us anything but trouble, misery, and an eternity of more of the same.</span></span></h6>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: large; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Like the zebra discovered as the lion bore down on him, being devoured by the world can be very unpleasant. As much as the secularist would like to believe that we evolved from nothing, that zebra didn't have what is innately given to man as the most important reaction to draw from: faith in an all-powerful God Who is ready and willing to make what appears to him to be an end to the road, but is just a bend with something better lying beyond it. Call it an escape route, if you will; unseen at the time, yet waiting for us to reach it.</span></span></h6>
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness."</b> </i><span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black;">~ James 1:2-3</span></span><span style="color: black; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: large; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">For those of us who have been given faith, we recognize that there is always hope around the corner, even when we temporarily feel as though the road has come to a dead end. Whether it be the loss of a job, illness, family troubles, or any other circumstance life dishes out to us, after we pick ourselves back up, we are bolstered and our faith renewed by remembering these words:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><span style="color: blue;">"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."</span></b> </span> </span></span></i><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black;">~ Jer. 29:11</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black;">This isn't the Joel Osteen method of prosperity and planning your "perfect life now" (if he doesn't recant and repent, one day he will spend an eternity knowing how that zebra felt). It is faith that God's promises to us will never be broken, in spite of what may come. It is faith knowing that some of the trials or tribulations we come across in our lifetimes are often intended to strengthen that faith in Him. Even if we can't presently see Him, it is faith believing that He is always with us to help guide, teach, and comfort us when trouble does come. And it is unshakable, steadfast, secure, and fixed. One day there will be an end to the road, a final bend, so to speak. And what lies waiting for us beyond that bend will be glorious, magnificent victory over all we have endured in faith for His sake, and it will be for all eternity.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black;">If you find yourself wanting to employ one of Mr. Cannon's useless responses, stop and think.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black;">Don't fight - the battle is being fought for you.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black;">Don't take flight - your Advocate is standing ready to defend you.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black;">Don't freeze in fear - the enemy is trembling at our Savior's feet because he knows he has been defeated.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black;">Instead, relax. God has everything under control, even that prowling lion snapping at your heels. Plow deep for what's missing; that which lies waiting for you to utilize. "Have faith, keep faith." Fool the secularists and their theories and just watch and wait to see what God has in mind for you.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black;">I am betting the odds that the zebra comes out ahead and the lion goes home hungry. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></span><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></span><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black;"><a class="lbsBibleRef" data-reference="Jeremiah 29.11" data-version="ESV" href="http://biblia.com/bible/esv/Jeremiah%2029.11" target="_blank"></a></span><span style="color: black;"></span></span></span><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black;"></span></span></span><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black;"></span></span></span><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black;"></span></span></span><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black;"></span></span></span></div>
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Blog Administrator, Karen L. Brahshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09539707490734479755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7986801166033320768.post-73683115557862952672015-01-19T12:25:00.001-07:002019-12-09T14:10:33.053-07:00The Expectation of Thanks<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFBfGdixolUsjJ17FUXo6w8HYNegGjrh-3ZKoJAoLAyAc_7oaLAmL6iK4pXDvCdijivFjtpxZJShyphenhyphenPhPUdy5NmvAaj35NfBjyRjHnj8NIh3kGbMEGsze3bHTJXScwX5hR-0jgzxtITM4ut/s1600/IMG_0757_M1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="321" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFBfGdixolUsjJ17FUXo6w8HYNegGjrh-3ZKoJAoLAyAc_7oaLAmL6iK4pXDvCdijivFjtpxZJShyphenhyphenPhPUdy5NmvAaj35NfBjyRjHnj8NIh3kGbMEGsze3bHTJXScwX5hR-0jgzxtITM4ut/s1600/IMG_0757_M1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">F</span>or the last twenty years, I have been watching a growing problem in society. Well, let's say that it's just one of many that rubs me the wrong way. None of us are so blind that we don't see the degrading of Godly morals and values and the world's population becoming more centered on self. As is commonly opined, when society begins to crumble, the first place to look is in the home and how it's structured and how our children are being raised. And the problem I will be referring to begins there.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Gratitude and thankfulness for the things we do for others is on the wane. I am seeing it far too often in today's youth. I can't tell you the number of times my husband and I have done things for family members that puts a strain on our pocketbook, only to receive no thanks. What's worse is when we do get that telephone call, only to find out later that the caller had to be reminded to make it. When that happens, it causes me to wonder if the response was genuine, or if it was only uttered to silence a harping parent. However, if a child is raised right, a reminder shouldn't be necessary, even if the thanks you receive is only viewed as a duty.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I don't give gifts because I want gushing praise. I don't expect anything, except that the recipient understand how much I love them, regardless of the size or cost of the gift. A gift is an expression of how much that person means to me. And the response I receive - a phone call or silence - may tell me how much I mean to that person. </span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Others I know have expressed the same disappointment and, sadly, this behavior is a heart problem.</span> </span></span>As Charles Spurgeon once said, <b><i>"For the most part, nothing is more easily blotted out than a good turn."</i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I don't expect others to shower me with gifts. Money and things aren't important to me. A simple card with a hand-written note, or a phone call just to let me know I am loved, lifts my spirits more than material things ever could. They are ways of letting me know that I am important to that person, and they are more than enough. But when the occasion to exchange gifts becomes a one-sided event with nothing in the way of reciprocation, it can be hurtful. To draw once again from Charles Spurgeon, <b><i>"</i></b><i><span class="bodytext"><b>The foal drains his mother, and then kicks her. The old saying is, 'I taught you to swim, and now you would drown me,' and many a time it comes true. The dog wags his tail till he gets the bone, and then he snaps and bites at the man who fed him."</b> </span></i><span class="bodytext">Spurgeon's metaphor describes the harshest response and, sadly, I have been the recipient of such heartlessness. As I did with my children, my parents instilled in me a heart of gratitude, especially when it came to thanking others for their thoughtfulness. But today's youth are either not being taught the proper response, or are, and just don't care.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So, with that thought in mind, let's move on to how God may feel about how we respond to the gifts He faithfully and continually bestows on us. When His providence continues without fail, do we thank Him, or are we the "dog [that] wags his tail till he gets the bone, and then...snaps and bites" His gracious hand? Do we even acknowledge the fact that, without Him, we couldn't draw a single breath? When we rise in the morning, do we thank Him for giving us one more day? As meals are being prepared, do we pause to consider that if He had not provided the ingredients, we would go hungry? The roof over our head? The clothes on our backs? The job that guarantees our family will be cared for? Even things as simple as the weather and His creation that surrounds us? The bounties God pours out upon us are endless, yet how often do we thank Him for the simplest and most basic things?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Not often enough. And I am just as guilty as the rest who daily fail to recognize His magnificent beneficence.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">What is even more astounding is the fact that God provides life and its necessities even for those who hate Him:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="text Matt-5-45" id="en-ESV-23280"><span class="woj"> <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>"For He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust."</i></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="text Matt-5-45" id="en-ESV-23280"><span class="woj"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i> </i><span style="color: black;">(Matthew 5:45)</span></span></span></span></span></span> </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Now that is definitely something worthy of serious thought!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">But there's one difference between how we respond to gifts we receive from others and the response God desires when He gives them. We may not get the thanks we think we should get, but we can live with it. God, however, <i>wants</i> to be thanked for the gifts He daily pours out upon us. He <i>wants</i> to be praised for His benevolence in giving the gift. He <i>wants</i> to receive the glory He so richly deserves when we acknowledge that it is Him, and only Him, that makes the gift possible. We were created for <i>His </i>glory<i>, </i>and God is greatly honored by our reciprocation and delights in it. King David, as well as others, understood that God deserved all of our worship and praise for everything from deliverance from trials and tribulations to merely living and breathing. The book of Psalms is replete with words of thanksgiving and are too numerous to mention here. But here is one very small example that sums it up quite nicely:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><i><span class="chapter-3"><span class="text Ps-106-1">"Praise the <span class="small-caps" style="font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span>!</span></span><br /><span class="text Ps-106-1">Oh give thanks to the <span class="small-caps" style="font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span>, for He is good,</span><br /><span class="indent-1"><span class="indent-1-breaks"> </span><span class="text Ps-106-1">for His steadfast love endures forever!"</span></span></i></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><i><span class="indent-1"><span class="text Ps-106-1"> </span></span></i><span class="indent-1"><span class="text Ps-106-1"><span style="color: black;">(Psalm 106:1)</span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><span class="indent-1"><span class="text Ps-106-1"><span style="color: black;">Throughout the entire Bible, men gave praise where praise was due, for they knew from whom it was the gift came. Just a couple more examples:</span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><span class="indent-1"><span class="text Ps-106-1"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>"If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to
those who ask Him! </i></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><span class="indent-1"><span class="text Ps-106-1"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="color: black;">(Matthew 7:11)</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><span class="indent-1"><span class="text Ps-106-1"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: blue;"><span class="indent-1"><span class="text Ps-106-1"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><span style="color: blue;">"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from
the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to
change."</span></i></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><span class="indent-1"><span class="text Ps-106-1"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><span style="color: blue;"> </span></i><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;">(James 1:17)</span></span><i><span style="color: blue;"> </span> </i></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">When we receive gifts, although we desire it, there should be no overabundant expectation of thanks, especially in light of today's messed up civilization and the lack of parental guidance. A hug and the simple words, "thank you," should be sufficient. But with God, there <i>is</i> an expectation of thankfulness. After all, He is the giver of all things and His greatest desire is that we acknowledge the tremendous love He has for man and all that He does for us. When He honors us with a gift, whatever that gift may be, small or large, our response should be continual overwhelming gratitude.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The gifts we give our children and grandchildren are only material things that will not last. But God the Father gave to mankind the ultimate gift that will last forever: His Son Jesus Christ. Through His death and resurrection, Jesus secured us a way back to the Father. He is the Giver of Life, our Provider, our Protector, our Comforter, and the <i>only</i> way to have eternal life. We may not receive much in the way of thanks from others, but our deep gratitude and sincere thankfulness to God should be such that there is never any question where we stand.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><i><span class="text 1Thess-5-16" id="en-ESV-29621">Rejoice always,</span> <span class="text 1Thess-5-17" id="en-ESV-29622">pray without ceasing,</span> <span class="text 1Thess-5-18" id="en-ESV-29623">give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.</span></i></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><i><span class="text 1Thess-5-18" id="en-ESV-29623"> </span></i><span class="text 1Thess-5-18" id="en-ESV-29623"><span style="color: black;">(1 Thessalonians 5:16)</span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><span class="text 1Thess-5-18" id="en-ESV-29623"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span><span class="text 1Thess-5-18" id="en-ESV-29623"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><span class="text 1Thess-5-18" id="en-ESV-29623"><span style="color: black;">There is an old song from Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_hYdywoV_Q" target="_blank">Teach Your Children</a>," that parents should take to heart. By instilling in yourself and your child a heart of gratitude towards God and others, you will know they love Him and you. </span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">May grace and peace, and a heart of gratitude, abound to all who have visited. </span></span><br />
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Blog Administrator, Karen L. Brahshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09539707490734479755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7986801166033320768.post-24159676780056912442014-12-31T16:35:00.009-07:002021-01-22T22:47:23.592-07:00The End Will Be Better Than the Beginning<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i><span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="text John-7-37">On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, <span class="woj">“<span style="color: #cc0000;">If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.</span></span></span><span style="color: #cc0000;"> <span class="text John-7-38" id="en-ESV-26355"><span class="woj"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’”</span></span></span></span></span></i></span></div><span style="font-size: large;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span class="text John-7-38" id="en-ESV-26355"><span class="woj"><span style="color: black;">John 7:37-38</span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span class="text John-7-38" id="en-ESV-26355"><span class="woj"><span style="color: black;">Another year of my life is drawing to a close. It has been an ordinary year of ups and downs, joys and delights with family, friends, and my horse, and with a smattering of trials that crept in and threatened to pull me away from my faith in Jesus Christ. When the trials came, I have often prayed that God would <span style="color: blue;"><i>"</i></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span class="text John-7-38" id="en-ESV-26355"><span class="woj"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: blue;"><i>restore to me the joy of [His<span style="color: black;">]</span> salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit"</i></span> (Psalm 51:12). I may wallow in self-pity for a moment, but He has never failed to do just that. Restoration by the LORD is a beautiful thing.</span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span class="text John-7-38" id="en-ESV-26355"><span class="woj"><span style="color: black;">I know many who will look back upon the last year as unproductive or unfulfilled, but they are only looking at the surface and what they perceive to be their own accomplishments and efforts, rather than acknowledging their Creator and their own inability to even exist without Him. They will make New Year resolutions that will not be kept, setting their eyes on unattainable goals, only to fail and be disappointed at next year's end, where they will make new resolutions. </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="text John-7-38" id="en-ESV-26355"><span class="woj"><i><span class="text Jas-4-13">"Come now, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit<sup>' - </sup></span><span class="text Jas-4-14" id="en-ESV-30335"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.</span> <span class="text Jas-4-15" id="en-ESV-30336"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>Instead you ought to say, 'If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.' </span></i><span class="text Jas-4-15" id="en-ESV-30336"><span style="color: black;">(James 4:13-15)</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span class="text John-7-38" id="en-ESV-26355"><span class="woj"><span style="color: black;">And so the cycle goes.</span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span class="text John-7-38" id="en-ESV-26355"><span class="woj"><span style="color: black;">I have experienced this myself. I have looked towards tomorrow with anticipation to self-made plans, only to watch them never materialize. I have known disappointment far more times than I can count in my nearly 61 years. I have often wondered why my idea of how my life should be lived never seems to come to fruition; why I can't have the life others lead and the comforts they enjoy. But then I am reminded that my life is not my own. I am given a choice to either whine, moan, or covet after what I don't have, or rest in the knowledge that what I do have is what God desires for me and be eternally grateful for it. He alone knows me and what I am capable of handling. He alone knows what is best for me. And what I do have are gifts from Him that are beyond comparison to what so many others lack. He has upheld me with His strength even in my darkest moments and His daily bounties have been magnificent!</span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span class="text John-7-38" id="en-ESV-26355"><span class="woj"><span style="color: black;">As I look back over the years and the times I found myself in despair or need, God was always present, whether I acknowledged Him then, or not. As I grew in faith, my thirst for my Savior Jesus Christ compelled me to drink from His bottomless well of providence, mercy, and grace. </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span class="text John-7-38" id="en-ESV-26355"><span class="woj"><span style="color: black;">And I have returned there every day for renewal, because I know He is the compilation and completion of all that I am. Without Him, I will die from thirst. But with Him, my thirst is quenched for all eternity. </span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span class="text John-7-38" id="en-ESV-26355"><span class="woj"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span class="text John-7-38" id="en-ESV-26355"><span class="woj"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span class="text John-7-38" id="en-ESV-26355"><span class="woj"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span class="text John-7-38" id="en-ESV-26355"><span class="woj"><span style="color: black;"><span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span class="text John-7-38" id="en-ESV-26355"><span class="woj"><span style="color: black;">I
know with all my heart that the end of my life here on this earth will
be far better than its beginning. I, like all sinners, didn't start out
that well. I stumbled and faltered often and made mistake after mistake. But the finish line is in view and I know Who it is that is
waiting for me there with open arms and the beginning of what life is truly meant to be. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span class="text John-7-38" id="en-ESV-26355"><span class="woj"><span style="color: black;">It is my desire for the New Year 2015 that those I know and love who have yet to receive their Savior Jesus Christ will come to Him and drink deeply from the living, eternal waters of life that He is offering you. Don't resolve to put it off for another day. Don't think you can plan when, how, and where you will respond for, if you do, you may one day face a locked door:</span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span class="text John-7-38" id="en-ESV-26355"><span class="woj"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue;"><i><span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="text Matt-25-1"><span class="woj"><span class="chapternum"> </span><span style="color: #cc0000;">“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.<sup> </sup></span></span></span><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span class="text Matt-25-2" id="en-ESV-24007"><span class="woj"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>Five of them were foolish, and five were wise.</span></span> <span class="text Matt-25-3" id="en-ESV-24008"><span class="woj"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them,</span></span> <span class="text Matt-25-4" id="en-ESV-24009"><span class="woj"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps.</span></span> <span class="text Matt-25-5" id="en-ESV-24010"><span class="woj"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept.</span></span> <span class="text Matt-25-6" id="en-ESV-24011"><span class="woj"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’</span></span> <span class="text Matt-25-7" id="en-ESV-24012"><span class="woj"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps.</span></span> <span class="text Matt-25-8" id="en-ESV-24013"><span class="woj"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’</span></span> <span class="text Matt-25-9" id="en-ESV-24014"><span class="woj"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>But
the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and
for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’</span></span> <span class="text Matt-25-10" id="en-ESV-24015"><span class="woj"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut.</span></span> <span class="text Matt-25-11" id="en-ESV-24016"><span class="woj"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’</span></span> <span class="text Matt-25-12" id="en-ESV-24017"><span class="woj"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’</span></span> </span><span class="text Matt-25-13" id="en-ESV-24018"><span class="woj"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour." </span> </span></span></span></span></i><span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="text Matt-25-13" id="en-ESV-24018"><span class="woj"><span style="color: black;">(Matthew 25:1-14)</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;">
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="text Matt-25-13" id="en-ESV-24018"><span class="woj"><span style="color: black;">I pray you will hear and heed His voice. The day is growing shorter and His return is on the horizon. Who knows what next year, tomorrow, or even the next moment, will bring?</span></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;">
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="text Matt-25-13" id="en-ESV-24018"><span class="woj"><span style="color: black;">Jesus is calling, </span></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;">
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<span style="color: blue;"><span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="text Matt-25-13" id="en-ESV-24018"><span class="woj"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: blue;"><span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="text Matt-25-13" id="en-ESV-24018"><span class="woj"><span style="color: black;"><span class="text Matt-11-28" id="en-ESV-23488"><span class="woj"><sup class="versenum"> <i><span style="color: #cc0000;">"</span></i></sup><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.</i></span></span></span><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i> <span class="text Matt-11-29" id="en-ESV-23489"><span class="woj">Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.</span></span> <span class="text Matt-11-30" id="en-ESV-23490"><span class="woj"><sup class="versenum"><span style="color: black;"> </span> </sup>For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.” </span></span></i><span class="text Matt-11-30" id="en-ESV-23490"><span class="woj"><span style="color: black;">(Matthew 11:28-30)</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;">
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="text Matt-25-13" id="en-ESV-24018"><span class="woj"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span class="text Matt-11-30" id="en-ESV-23490"><span class="woj"><span style="color: black;">For this coming New Year, repent of your sins against a Holy God and resolve to know, trust, and have faith in your Savior Jesus Christ. May it be so.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;">
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="text Matt-25-13" id="en-ESV-24018"><span class="woj"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span class="text Matt-11-30" id="en-ESV-23490"><span class="woj"><span style="color: black;">Have a blessed and Happy New Year!</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;">
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<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="text Matt-25-13" id="en-ESV-24018"><span class="woj"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><span class="text Matt-11-30" id="en-ESV-23490"><span class="woj"></span></span></i></span></span></span></span><span class="text Matt-25-13" id="en-ESV-24018"><span class="woj"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span class="text Matt-11-30" id="en-ESV-23490"><span class="woj"></span></span><i><span class="text Matt-11-30" id="en-ESV-23490"><span class="woj"> </span></span></i></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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Blog Administrator, Karen L. Brahshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09539707490734479755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7986801166033320768.post-85990999707155065602014-12-10T13:50:00.000-07:002019-12-09T14:14:56.087-07:00The Men In the Shadows of Obama's Spirituality<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">H</span>ave you ever wondered who advises our President, Barrack Hussein Obama, on spiritual matters?</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">In America's past, our Presidents have often, if not always, had someone they went to for spiritual counsel. The likes of Billy Graham and his son, Franklin Graham, probably top the list. But it goes without saying that the job as President of the United States carries with it a burden unlike any other and when that burden becomes too great, men in that position need someone they can turn to for spiritual guidance.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">But who is it that our current President seeks out for spiritual help?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Because of Obama's far-left leaning, tendencies, dictatorial behavior, and his incessant drive to change the very foundation of America into a progressive social state and alter its landscape, for Christians, that's a question that begs an immediate answer.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">While
digging around on the internet for the answer over the past several months (yep, it's taken me that long to complete this), the amount of
information I found made it evident that this post would be very long (even longer than Matt Walsh's posts!). Because of its length, I considered dividing it into two parts, but eventually chose not to and I sincerely hope the information it contains holds your attention and interest. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Before I begin, however, I would like to assure my readers that I am not making any
assumptions on whether or not Obama and those he surrounds himself with
are Christians in the truest sense of the word. I don't know their
hearts. Even more, I'm not God, nor do I have some special insight into
who it is He has chosen for salvation. I leave that important work
solely to Him. I can only enlighten you by examining what these people have written, spoken of, and demonstrated in their walk and talk - in other words, their fruit. I'll leave you to draw your own conclusions.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><b>From the Outside Looking In</b></i> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">America's President has publicly stated many times that he is a man of faith and professes to be a Christian. However, over the past six years, it has become obvious that Obama is not overtly religious. That is, unless it suits him in a particular moment to give the appearance that he is. It's similar to his choice of accents and the vernacular he assumes to blend in and impress within certain circles. He can be both a black man and a white man at whim; a Southerner with a twang, or a northerner; a Christian or a Muslim. He gives the perception of being whichever person is required to continue to baffle, and possibly deceive, his hearers.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> It's no small wonder that Americans are confused over who Obama truly is and what he believes.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I would go so far as to say that Obama's childhood involvement in the religion of Islam, mixed with a flood of Christian social justice and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_liberation_theology" target="_blank">Black Liberation Theology</a> (both to be briefly addressed below), have confounded his convictions and confused his mind as to what true belief in Jesus Christ and a correct interpretation and understanding of Scripture actually entails. If more evidence is needed, simply recall his visit to various places in the Middle East where his <a href="http://foxnewsinsider.com/2012/10/20/2009-transcript-president-obama-delivers-speech-to-muslim-world-in-cairo-egypt" target="_blank">speeches exalted Islam</a> and its false god, Allah; where he spoke of the Koran as being a <i>"holy"</i> book, calling the <a href="http://www.danielpipes.org/comments/137991" target="_blank">Shahada</a> (the Muslim declaration of faith) <i>"one of the prettiest sounds on earth,"</i> including his lack of protocol by <a href="http://www.whitehousedossier.com/2012/06/20/obama-bowed-eight-times-president/" target="_blank">bowing to foreign dictators</a>. I sincerely do not know of a true Christian who would go to those extremes, by exalting a false god and his lies over the True God and His Holy Word. Yet, Obama and the media continue to mock those who insist he is a Muslim because of his actions.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Obama has attempted to lay foundation upon foundation, adding and blending his perception of the meaning of religiosity. The false dichotomies he has espoused have caused the waters to become so muddied it's unclear just exactly what he believes - if anything. The deeper I dig, however, the more convinced I am that Obama is a pretender in the biggest sense of the word.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Unlike some past Presidents, the Obama family rarely attends church services. I'm thinking taking a couple of hours to worship at a church every Sunday may mess up his tee time at the golf course. However, they have made appearances for appearance's sake. Although it's reported that the Obamas occasionally float from church to church around the White House area, their most recent participation with Easter Service last year was at St. John's Episcopal Church in Washington D.C., where the Reverend Luis Leon chose to take the opportunity to <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/president-obama-attends-easter-sunday-worship-at-st-johns-church/2013/03/31/a67ee70a-9a10-11e2-a941-a19bce7af755_story.html" target="_blank">"preach" his brand of social justice, and ranted about the "captains of the religious right"</a> and their racism and oppression against blacks, women, and immigrants, instead of exalting our risen Savior Jesus Christ. Considering Obama's misguided tossed salad of beliefs and false perception of Christianity, he probably felt extremely comfortable worshiping in that style.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Will the real Barrack Hussein Obama please stand up? Or perhaps he already has.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><i>A Look Back</i></b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">As a young boy, Obama grew up in an atmosphere of confusion when it came to religion. His mother, Stanley Ann Dunham, was described in Obama's book, <i>Dreams of My Father</i>, as <i>"a lonely witness for secular humanism, a soldier for New Deal, Peace Corps, position-paper liberalism...". </i>In his 2006 book, <i>Audacity of Hope</i>, Obama wrote:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>"I was not raised in a religious household ... My mother's own
experiences ... only reinforced this inherited skepticism. Her memories
of the Christians who populated her youth were not fond ones ... And yet
for all her professed secularism, my mother was in many ways the most
spiritually awakened person that I've ever known...Religion for her was just one of the many ways—and not necessarily
the best way—that man attempted to control the unknowable and understand
the deeper truths about our lives..."</i></span></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Once asked if their mother was an atheist, Obama's sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng, described their mother's spirituality in this way:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>"I wouldn't have called her an atheist. She was an agnostic. She basically gave us all the good books—the Bible, the Hindu Upanishads and the Buddhist scripture, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tao_Te_Ching" title="Tao Te Ching">Tao Te Ching</a>—and wanted us to recognize that everyone has something beautiful to contribute.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Solomon_2008_35-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ann_Dunham#cite_note-Solomon_2008-35"></a></sup>..Jesus, she felt, was a wonderful example. But she felt that a lot of Christians behaved in un-Christian ways."<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ann_Dunham#cite_note-csmonitor-69"></a></i></span></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> However, Dunham's best friend while attending High School revealed in an interview that <i>"</i>[Dunham]<i> touted herself [then] as an atheist, and it was something she'd read
about and could argue. She was always challenging and arguing and
comparing. She was already thinking about things that the rest of us
hadn't."</i></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">In regard to Obama's muddled upbringing, he insisted he was a Christian merely because he had been brought up by a mother who claimed to be a Christian, but rejected the truth of Scripture and created her own brand of religiosity by seeking all paths, instead of the only Way, and by grandparents who were "non-practicing" Baptists and Methodists who later attended a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unitarianism" target="_blank">Unitarian Universalist church</a><i>. </i>Obama's biological father, Barack Obama Sr., was a Kenyan Muslim who mixed Islam with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animism" target="_blank">animism</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinduism" target="_blank">Hinduism</a>. Following his mother's divorce from Barack Sr., Dunham moved her son to Indonesia and married another Muslim, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lolo_Soetoro" target="_blank">Lolo Soetoro</a>. Obama was enrolled for two years in a Muslim school where he studied the Quran, and for two years in a Catholic school, receiving additional indoctrination into false religious systems.<br /><br />During his 2006 campaign speech, Obama attempted to hide his connection with his grandparents' church and his Muslim roots:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>"I was not raised in a
particularly religious household, as undoubtedly many in the audience
were. My father, who returned to Kenya when I was just two, was born
Muslim but as an adult became an atheist. My mother, whose parents were
non-practicing Baptists and Methodists, was probably one of the most
spiritual people and kindest people I've ever known, but grew up with a
healthy skepticism of organized religion herself. As a consequence, so
did I."</i></span></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">As a teenager growing up in Hawaii with his grandparents, Obama was encouraged to take it one step further by seeking out radical mentors, including his grandparents' friend, <a href="http://spectator.org/articles/34799/dreams-frank-marshall-davis" target="_blank">Frank Marshall Davis</a>, who was, among other things, a card carrying member of the Soviet-backed <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communist_Party_USA" target="_blank">Communist Party USA</a>. Through the long hours spent with Davis, Obama's growing intellect and belief system was exposed to Marxism and its destructive agenda against Democracy. When he eventually attended college, Obama carried forward his radical idealism, Utopian philosophy, and world vision. From an early age, the stage was set for Obama's move into the political scene, bringing with it a belief system that would eventually begin to reveal itself in later years.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><b>Obama Sets the Stage</b></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Prior to and following Obama's election to the Presidency, the <a href="http://www.tucc.org/" target="_blank">Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago</a> was named as the church he attended while living in Chicago, Illinois. As we all know, the infamous <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremiah_Wright" target="_blank">Reverend Jeremiah Wright</a> held the position of pastor at the church. How could we forget Wright's entrance onto the scene? Obama claimed to have first met Wright in the late 1980's while working as a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_organizing" target="_blank">"community organizer"</a> before attending Harvard Law School and greatly respected Wright's view of theology. Wright officiated at Barrack and Michelle's wedding, and also baptized their two daughters. It should also be noted that Obama based the title of his second book, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Audacity_of_Hope" target="_blank"><u>Audacity of Hope</u></a>, on Wright's sermons, appointed Wright to his newly formed "<a href="http://www.gwu.edu/~action/2008/obama/obama120407pr.html" target="_blank">African American Religious Leadership Committee</a>" (AARLC) that included over 170 black religious leaders who supported Obama's bid for the Presidency (in 2008, Wright's name was removed from the list as no longer serving), and Obama also used Wright's sermons as a backdrop for his <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWynt87PaJ0" target="_blank">2004 keynote address</a> to the Democratic National Convention.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Wright's penchant for debasing the white man and spewing vile and hateful diatribe from the pew didn't go unnoticed by the media, or Obama. (See: <a href="http://www.boycottliberalism.com/Jeremiah-Wright-Quotes.htm">http://www.boycottliberalism.com/Jeremiah-Wright-Quotes.htm</a> for a list of some of Wright's most virulent utterances) Because of the public outrage that ensued, it became apparent Obama needed to distance himself from Wright and his overt preaching of Black Liberation Theology that Obama, himself, embraced. Shortly after Wright was removed from the <a href="http://www.africanamerica.org/topic/african-american-republican-leadership-council-aarlc" target="_blank">African American Republican Leadership Council,</a> and prior to the general election, on May 31, 2008, Obama's campaign headquarters released this statement for political expediency: <i> </i><i>"Our relations with Trinity have been strained by the divisive
statements of Reverend Wright, which sharply conflict with our own
views"</i>, and the Obamas withdrew their membership from the church.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Although Obama had sat under Wright's teachings for nearly two decades, following his withdrawal from Trinity, Obama denied he had ever heard Wright preach such inflammatory hatred and he feigned outrage each time Wright opened his mouth. I guess he has a selective memory.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">In an attempt to convince Americans he was not what Wright represented, Obama swept all connections with Wright under the rug, and a new "spiritual adviser" by the name of Jim Wallis entered the scene.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><i>Out of the Frying Pan and Into the Fire</i></b> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Born in 1948, Jim Wallis is best known for being a <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/list/11501.Jim_Wallis" target="_blank">Christian writer</a> (see link for a list of his books) and a political activist. While attending <a href="http://divinity.tiu.edu/" target="_blank">Trinity Evangelical Divinity School</a> in Illinois, he became a member of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Students_for_a_Democratic_Society" target="_blank">Students For a Democratic Society</a> (SDS) and was instrumental in establishing the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sojourners_Community" target="_blank">"Sojourners Community,"</a>
that began with a group of students at Trinity in the early 70's. Soujourners mixes a brand of Christianity and
politics, racial and feminine equality, and espouses social justice within the church.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The SDS claim to fame was its militancy and activist attitude against the Vietnam War, and for breeding the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weather_Underground" target="_blank">"Weathermen," or "Weather Underground,"</a> which was made up of terrorist-driven radicals during the 60's and 70's. Included in their notorious membership were the "unrepentant terrorists" and later <a href="http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2012/06/04/Exclusive-The-Vetting-Senator-Barack-Obama-Attend-Bill-Ayers-Barbecue-July-4-2005" target="_blank">BFF's to Obama, William Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn</a>. (see also <a href="http://www.wnd.com/2013/04/bill-ayers-confirms-what-obama-has-denied/">http://www.wnd.com/2013/04/bill-ayers-confirms-what-obama-has-denied/</a>) The early SDS went into obscurity at the end of the 70's, but there was a reemergence of the organization on January 16, 2006, and by 2010, membership grew to 150 posts around the United States and, to date, has held 5 national conventions.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">However, Wallis' position as founder and editor of the progressive <a href="http://sojo.net/" target="_blank">"Sojourners" magazine</a> has brought him the most notoriety. He labels himself a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progressive_Christianity" target="_blank">"progressive evangelical."</a> Although Wallis claims to believe in the sanctity of life and considers himself to be a pro-life advocate, <a href="http://politicsofthecrossresurrected.blogspot.com/2009/01/jim-wallis-officially-declares-himself.html" target="_blank">he calls for a "reduction" in abortions</a> and looking for a <i>"common ground"</i> between pro-life and pro-choice groups. In Wallis' own words, he demonstrates he is merely a fence sitter, residing in the gray area between darkness and light: <i>"I support the president’s call for a new dialogue on the best ways
to achieve abortion reduction while retaining his position on choice." </i>In other words, Wallis may claim he's pro-life, but his words reveal he is neither hot nor cold and is about to be spit out of Christ's mouth (Rev. 3:15-16).</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">By taking a little time and digging through the Sojourners website, it becomes evident that Wallis' theology is far from being Biblical and sound.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">This <a href="http://sojo.net/about-us/diversity-statement" target="_blank">link</a> is to Sojourners' "Diversity Statement" which, I assume, replaces the normal Statement of Faith that most, if not all, Christian denominations or organizations (including even Christian cults) display on their websites. It reeks of ecumenical diversity and a push for a more equitable system of justice, i.e., social justice, borrowing misapplied and misunderstood Bible verses to support itself. To put it simply, you rob Peter to pay Paul to insure that all classes are socio-economically equal in status, and throw out the Constitution and pattern our current government after a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marxism" target="_blank">Marxist</a> form of rule. That may sound a tad conspiratorial, but the very basis of Wallis', et al, political activism points in that direction.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The grave danger is that Jim Wallis is a far-left, liberal-thinking, preaching, deceiving wolf who has inserted himself and his brand of religion into the political scene to insure that his progressive idealism and philosophy moves forward in the church without a hitch. And so far, he's been very successful. By aligning himself with Obama, Wallis' devilish influence has far-reaching tentacles. Obama's relationship with Wallis affords him the luxury of blending together his false brand of Christianity and his Muslim roots by remaining obscurely somewhere between them both, causing Americans to scratch their heads in befuddlement or, more accurately, discern that he is not a Christian in the truest sense of the word. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Wallis has a much deeper agenda than merely addressing issues such as "alleviating AIDS in Africa or conflict resolution in Darfur." In 2009, the Obama administration announced the formation of a new <a href="http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2009/02/04/white_house_plans_new_faith-ba.html?wprss=44" target="_blank">"faith-based council"</a> with Wallis at the helm. Included in the list of appointees were <a href="http://www.pastorjoelhunter.com/" target="_blank">Rev. Joel Hunter</a> (this link reeks of liberal progressive theology that has permeated the church), <a href="http://www.religionnews.com/2014/07/28/rabbi-saperstein-nominated-u-s-ambassador-religious-freedom/" target="_blank">Rabbi David Saperstein</a> (another liberal-thinker), former Southern Baptist Convention <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Page" target="_blank">Rev. Frank Page</a>, and <a href="http://www.girlsinc.org/about/president-and-ceo.html" target="_blank">Judith Vredenburgh</a>, President and CEO of Girls Inc. <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/ofbnp/about/council" target="_blank">An additional 20-25 members were reportedly added</a> (see link for list). This obscure and rarely seen or mentioned Council appears to be nothing more than another costly ruse created to give the appearance that Obama is a religious man. In reality, its nothing more than an extension of Obama's and Wallis' community organizer days and their desire to further a socialist agenda. The Council was disbanded in 2010 but remained active until 2012, and has been given the green light by Obama to continue its fruitless inactivity until 2015 at the tax payer's expense.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">But Wallis doesn't come without his own critics.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://www.garynorth.com/" target="_blank">Gary North</a>, an outspoken opponent of Wallis, could be considered to be a "radical" in his own right. He is a proponent of eliminating the Federal Reserve System and a return to the gold standard; he also opposes the Department of Education, calling it a "cartel" bent on the liberalization and secularization of higher education and driving up its costs. Mr. North is a supporter of Ron Paul, Republican Congressman and former contender for the Presidency which, I assume, makes him a Libertarian. He has also been labeled, whether by others or through self-identification, a "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Reconstructionism" target="_blank">Christian Reconstructionist</a>", and is a member of the Presbyterian Church In America. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Regardless of Mr. North's stand on politics and religion, he has made a career out of <a href="https://www.blogger.com/(http://www.garynorth.com/public/department61.cfm)" target="_blank">exposing Jim Wallis</a> and his "social justice" agenda, and he has done so with a vengeance. However one may feel about Mr. North, the information he has dug up about Wallis clearly identifies who Wallis is and, along with other information available, has afforded us the opportunity to form our own opinions.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><b>Wallis Has Competition</b></i></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiypHpGiaw3Ah5fGy5JDgWOyE7Cntzy_rz_qlN2U5Yez51vErU2BU8RNT6BcJLLuc1kZi3BccJnOT3wo8t-GuKYajyXEl7tAS7a1L4xvKRKenZbZB8BbYCKuoesI_436Ax4il7rc8RQ2Nbj/s1600/joshua-dubois.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiypHpGiaw3Ah5fGy5JDgWOyE7Cntzy_rz_qlN2U5Yez51vErU2BU8RNT6BcJLLuc1kZi3BccJnOT3wo8t-GuKYajyXEl7tAS7a1L4xvKRKenZbZB8BbYCKuoesI_436Ax4il7rc8RQ2Nbj/s1600/joshua-dubois.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Dubbed Obama's "pastor-in-chief," <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joshua_DuBois" target="_blank">Joshua Dubois</a> was, according to <a href="http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/11/05/a-historic-breach-obamas-pastor-in-chief-reveals-the-big-faith-issue-he-disagreed-with-the-president-on/" target="_blank">this article</a>, an opponent of Obama's stance on contraception and "women's health." At one point as head of the Faith-Based Council, he found himself questioning his participation over the <i>"balance between religious liberty and the rights of women...questioning </i>[the Council's]<i> motivations.</i>" Unfortunately, rather than parting company with the likes of Wallis and others who speak out both sides of their mouths, Dubois, after <i>"struggling internally,"</i> struck a compromise. The question remains whether or not he was listening to that still, small voice in his head, or chose to interpret it to meet his own desire to remain in good standing with Obama.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Dubois penned a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Presidents-Devotional-Readings-President/dp/0062265288" target="_blank">daily devotional</a> for Obama that, according to him, includes <i>"grounding [Obama] in the knowledge of God's love for us,"</i> and <i>"how to love others - especially one's enemies."</i> All good things, but the book also reportedly contains partisan topics and feeds Obama's inflated ego. And, of course, the group, <a href="https://www.au.org/" target="_blank">Americans United For Separation of Church and State</a>, accuses the Obama administration of using tax dollars to pay for Dubois' services.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Joshua Dubois is confident Obama is what he claims to be - a Christian - by using the example that no one knows the heart of another. However, if Dubois is as close to Obama as he claims to be and is a Christian in the deepest sense of the word, he should know Obama by his fruit. I'll leave that for Mr. Dubois to sort out.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><b>It Gets Worse...</b></i></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6y1CkVk5s7oYjVfpGKyKqgvNTN5j3nrUl1LwJli9Io0R1LOR8NgihBtK7BqTB0EQgU5sSQkIEi1c0DYAXMT8yfERKsHGlfatC47HlK1z-1_BmahNIFotxLZB0NnIzQhaCRR1TfAdPBe7I/s1600/bl4.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6y1CkVk5s7oYjVfpGKyKqgvNTN5j3nrUl1LwJli9Io0R1LOR8NgihBtK7BqTB0EQgU5sSQkIEi1c0DYAXMT8yfERKsHGlfatC47HlK1z-1_BmahNIFotxLZB0NnIzQhaCRR1TfAdPBe7I/s1600/bl4.png" width="288" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Perhaps the most volatile and outrageously hateful rhetoric Obama has consumed in his past came out of the mouth of <a href="http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/individualProfile.asp?indid=2315" target="_blank">Dr. James H. Cone</a>, a "Distinguished [their term not mine] Professor of Systematic Theology" at New York's <a href="http://www.utsnyc.edu/" target="_blank">Union Theological Seminary</a> (a racist think-tank breeder of Black Liberation graduates, by the looks of this link), and a proponent of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_race_theory" target="_blank">"Critical Race Theory"</a> that teaches, to sum it up in a nutshell, that America is inherently a racist nation and oppresses the black man. Whether or not Obama openly associates with Cone is something you can determine on your own. However, Obama's former mentor, Jeremiah Wright, considered Cone to be his mentor and preached from Cone's Marxist playbook, and Obama and his wife, Michelle, absorbed the racist and hateful diatribe every Sunday until they parted company with Wright. Mixing <a href="http://freedomoutpost.com/2014/01/victimhood-mentality-james-cone-black-liberation-theology-critical-race-theory/" target="_blank">Cone's twisted form of Christianity</a> and his vehement stance on race puts a much brighter light on the Obama's and their worldview.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><b> Is Obama A Muslim?</b></i></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGNNpwOszaCqyI5YlGDSsc1GR4uZV2AKhQFQH-HacM4ar0UrfTMC0aF_0jYwYaEAlSItzKSNdq7qhl2DZ6SvCOQJ0g2ZPlQkJ3wLshIvhJHJeeQ3kIy91Mc2TfibVMbcYvV55kGuXcAArz/s1600/obamathat-is-a-white-kufi-on-his-head-the-most-devout-of-muslims-wear-it-this-is-a-picture-i-found-that-was-posted-back-in-2007-regarding-his-campaigning-for-riala-odinga.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGNNpwOszaCqyI5YlGDSsc1GR4uZV2AKhQFQH-HacM4ar0UrfTMC0aF_0jYwYaEAlSItzKSNdq7qhl2DZ6SvCOQJ0g2ZPlQkJ3wLshIvhJHJeeQ3kIy91Mc2TfibVMbcYvV55kGuXcAArz/s1600/obamathat-is-a-white-kufi-on-his-head-the-most-devout-of-muslims-wear-it-this-is-a-picture-i-found-that-was-posted-back-in-2007-regarding-his-campaigning-for-riala-odinga.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><b>Obama dons a "kafti" which is only worn by devout Muslims</b></i></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The answer to that question is, "who knows?" If he is, he's certainly not admitting it. According to most of the articles I read, the accusation that our President is a Muslim are false. But I would like to add that noted journalists and websites have no more of an insight into Obama's spirituality than you or I do. They are basing their conclusion on what they have heard from those who are supposedly in the know and Obama's ability to deny, deny, deny, and to scoff and sneer at those who label him as such.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Factor in Joshua Dubois' insistence that Obama is a Christian, and those who are members of his inner circle, and who have also risen to fame in certain so-called Christian circles, Obama has been successful, at least on occasion when it suits him, at giving that appearance. But Obama is also an accomplished liar. <a href="http://www.politifact.com/personalities/barack-obama/statements/byruling/false/" target="_blank">That truth cannot be questioned or disputed</a> (this link from PolitiFact.com provides 4 pages of examples). He may have succeeded in surrounding himself with people who will take the fall for him, but the evidence that the buck stops at the White House is glaring. At the least, Obama condones the spread of falsehoods, which makes him as culpable as the one uttering the deception (Revelation 21:8).</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">From the very beginning of his Presidency, Obama has shocked not only Americans, but foreigners with his behavior when he's in the presence of foreign leaders. He has broken protocol by <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/barackobama/5128171/Barack-Obama-criticised-for-bowing-to-King-Abdullah-of-Saudi-Arabia.html" target="_blank">bowing to the Saudi Kin</a>g, to the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/15/obama-bows-in-japan-to-em_n_358222.html" target="_blank">Emperor of Japan</a>, a slightly less bow to the Queen of England, and of all people, to Nancy Pelosi. Maybe he just has a habit of doing that. But showing reverence to our enemies, like Saudi Arabia who funds terrorism, should compel him to forgo that habit.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Perhaps Obama's biggest reveal that he is a Muslim was <a href="http://www.danielpipes.org/comments/137991" target="_blank">when he called the "Shahada,"</a> the Muslim call to prayer and the Muslim statement of faith to Islam, <i>"the prettiest sound on earth."</i> (I beg to differ. Ask any non-Muslim in the cities around this world who live next to a mosque if they like hearing that mumbo jumbo blaring around their neighborhood five times a day. I can't bear to hear it on TV.) During a televised speech, he then went on to recite it. In another link from noted expert on Islam, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Pipes" target="_blank">Daniel Pipes</a>, he lists five evidences that Obama is what he claims not to be.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Former Muslim Brotherhood member who converted to Christianity and is considered to be a Bible scholar, <a href="http://shoebat.com/2014/02/01/obama-family-discovered-part-secret-muslim-terror-operation/" target="_blank">Walid Shoebat, holds nothing back</a> in his insistence through Obama family ties that Obama is clearly a Muslim. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Recently, Obama once again shamed America when he spoke before the United Nations and praised Sheikh Abdallah Bin Bayyah, the Muslim cleric who called for a <a href="http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=fatwa" target="_blank">fatwa</a> against American troops in Iraq. The Sheikh disguises himself as a humanitarian and a proponent of peace and solidarity. However, he also <a href="http://www.investigativeproject.org/4055/exclusive-banned-cleric-outspoken-deputy-visits#" target="_blank">has rumored ties to Hamas and a supporter of terrorism</a>.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">In July of this year, and in another speech before the world, <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/jul/29/obama-thanks-muslims-building-very-fabric-our-nati/" target="_blank">Obama thanked Muslims</a> for <i>"building the fabric"</i> of our country. A brief glimpse into the history of America provides absolutely no basis for this claim. In fact, it was widely recognized from its foundation how serious the threat of Islam was to America and it's interests.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Although it's hotly debated as to his true intention, Thomas Jefferson read a Quran in order to better know his enemy and combat the increasing threat of Tunisian terror raids and piracy of American cargo ships off the Barbary Coast of Africa. Muslims only claim to fame in "building the fabric" of America was September 11th and the death of over 3,000 people, and other instances of isolated terrorism that is increasingly sweeping across our nation and literally tearing down the "fabric" of America. If Obama's memory has failed him, I'd like to remind him how Islam celebrated worldwide the success of the terrorists on 9/11.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Following George W. Bush's lead, Obama has also invited Muslim leaders to the White House, recognized the Muslim holiday, Ramadan, by holding dinners to celebrate the beginning and end of its month-long ritual, and <a href="http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-1081413" target="_blank">hosted a meeting</a> with a senior leader of the Muslim Brotherhood. It appears he enjoys the company of his Muslim brothers (I'm being snarky).</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><b>A Blurry Conclusion</b></i></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVNgu8Lid2AP_sbQoQ30rQ6m1WtetZfA3plvbQDgMcNCbN29K4Yp8z-FIn2xTKlyjatw3xXq3i2G-LVGtftvZuEldUP7Hel7z0V-2MMYOsE7NukwsgX1YVbvuuoe6zIqq5tDGGo76-xFMs/s1600/Mirror+Mirror+copy_thumb%5B4%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVNgu8Lid2AP_sbQoQ30rQ6m1WtetZfA3plvbQDgMcNCbN29K4Yp8z-FIn2xTKlyjatw3xXq3i2G-LVGtftvZuEldUP7Hel7z0V-2MMYOsE7NukwsgX1YVbvuuoe6zIqq5tDGGo76-xFMs/s1600/Mirror+Mirror+copy_thumb%5B4%5D.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">In spite of all the information I have found, the question of Barack Hussein Obama's spirituality at any level remains to be known. Looking into the past and present evidences of this question is like looking into a mirror that's surface has been marred and scratched. What one sees is not a true representation of the man standing before it. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Although our eyes cannot always see it, the image of a man is often distorted and warped. It can be dark and ominous, belying any smile or sentiment of good will it is intended to give. We can't see into Obama's soul. I'm not even sure we would want to have that opportunity if given to us. To know our own hearts are wicked and full of sin is enough to keep us from judging the hearts of others.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">But God has given us a way to determine the true character of a man: his walk and his talk or, more accurately, his fruit. In the book of Matthew, chapter 7, Jesus uses the analogy of trees bearing good or bad fruit as a means to determine whether or not false prophets, or <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>"ravenous wolves,"</i></span> are among us and teaching a false and damning gospel.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="text Matt-7-15"><span class="woj">"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.</span></span> <span class="text Matt-7-16" id="en-ESV-23333"><span class="woj"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?</span></span> <span class="text Matt-7-17" id="en-ESV-23334"><span class="woj"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit.</span></span> <span class="text Matt-7-18" id="en-ESV-23335"><span class="woj"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit.</span></span> <span class="text Matt-7-19" id="en-ESV-23336"><span class="woj"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.</span></span> <span class="text Matt-7-20" id="en-ESV-23337"><span class="woj"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>Thus you will recognize them by their fruits." </span></span></span></i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="text Matt-7-20" id="en-ESV-23337"><span class="woj"><span style="color: black;">(Matthew 7:15-20)</span></span></span></span></span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">This teaching can also be applied to any man or woman claiming to know Christ Jesus and His Gospel. Regardless of fine-sounding speech, if the man's "fruit" is good, we will know him to be a true disciple of Christ. If the man's "fruit" is bad, we will know him as a deceiver and a liar:</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="text John-15-5" id="en-ESV-26693"><span class="woj">"I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing...</span></span></span></span></i><i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="text John-15-5" id="en-ESV-26693"><span class="woj"><span class="text John-15-8" id="en-ESV-26696"><span class="woj">By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be My disciples." </span></span></span></span></span></span></i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="text John-15-5" id="en-ESV-26693"><span class="woj"><span class="text John-15-8" id="en-ESV-26696"><span class="woj"><span style="color: black;">(John 15:5, 8)</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">There is no greater responsibility as a Christian than to bear good "fruit." And the greatest "fruit" we have to give and demonstrate is an understanding of and solid belief in the true Gospel of Jesus Christ, including sharing it with the world, both in our speech to others, and how we live our lives as we walk this earth.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">A true Christian stands on the firm foundation that there is only ONE way, ONE truth, and ONE life: Jesus Christ. To insist that other paths lead to salvation is a damning and destructive heresy that will bring sure condemnation and eternal wrath.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">To bow to any other god but the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, is a grave insult and a futile attempt to crush and subjugate the ONLY living God who is the </span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Creator of the Universe and all that is in it. Yaweh alone is to be worshiped and praised for all eternity,<i> </i></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span class="text Deut-4-24" id="en-ESV-5029">"For the <span class="small-caps" style="font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span> your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God</span>"</span> </i>and will share His glory with no other (Deuteronomy 4:24; 6:15; Isaiah 42:8). Not Allah. Not Buddha. Or any of the millions of false gods man has conceived over the centuries.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">A true Christian will cling to and proclaim the Bible as the ONLY inspired Word of God. He won't seek after the contortions and warped interpretations, such as the Quran and others man has devised throughout history that do nothing but draw lost souls off the strait path and narrow way to salvation and lead them to hell.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">He knows with every fiber of his being there is only one entrance to eternal life:</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="text Matt-7-13" id="en-ESV-23330"><span class="woj">“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.</span></span> <span class="text Matt-7-14" id="en-ESV-23331"><span class="woj">For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few." </span></span></span></span></i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="text Matt-7-14" id="en-ESV-23331"><span class="woj"><span style="color: black;">(Matthew 7:13-14)</span></span></span></span></span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And he also knows Who it is that holds the keys to the gate and the kingdom that awaits him and other true believers.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Nor will a true believer deny his position of faith. Rather, he will proclaim the LORD Jesus Christ in every situation available to him. Granted, the office of the Presidency includes assuming a persona of tolerance and acceptance of all faiths. But when the rubber hits the road, a Christian will always stand in defense of his Savior Jesus Christ, knowing that to deny Him is to bring shame and judgment upon himself:</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="text Matt-10-32" id="en-ESV-23450"><span class="woj">"So everyone who acknowledges Me before men, I also will acknowledge before My Father who is in heaven,</span></span> <span class="text Matt-10-33" id="en-ESV-23451"><span class="woj">but whoever denies Me before men, I also will deny before My Father who is in heaven." </span></span></span></span></i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="text Matt-10-33" id="en-ESV-23451"><span class="woj"><span style="color: black;">(Matthew 10:32-33)</span></span></span></span></span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">If we take the little bit of evidence I have provided about Obama and those who advise him on spiritual matters, our only conclusion is that Obama is a pretender. His understanding of God and His Son, His covenants and His atonement, are limited by the influence he received during his entire lifetime. Like many, he was, and is being, deceived by fine-sounding philosophies; he was misled by a mother who rejected the fundamentals of Christianity and grandparents whose lives reflected a void of understanding. And his head was turned by men and women who were and are driven by agendas that defy God's social and moral order for mankind, His Gospel, and His plan of redemption.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">For example, Obama has a penchant for misquoting Scripture: <a href="http://www.electionforum.org/realityalert/prayer-breakfast-sham-obama-unites-religions-misquotes-scripture/" target="_blank">here</a>, <a href="http://www.wnd.com/2014/12/surprise-obama-makes-up-own-bible-verse/" target="_blank">here</a>, <a href="http://www.christianpost.com/news/obama-quotes-scripture-upon-arriving-in-israel-92286/" target="_blank">here</a>, <a href="http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2012/04/obama_misquotes_bible_on_wealth_redistribution.html" target="_blank">here</a>, <a href="http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2012/04/obama_misquotes_bible_on_wealth_redistribution.html" target="_blank">here</a>...(sigh)...<a href="http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/washington-whispers/2012/12/18/obama-pulls-from-unlikely-scripture-passage-during-newtown-vigil" target="_blank">here</a>...<a href="http://theweek.com/speedreads/index/273404/speedreads-obama-quotes-nonexistent-bible-verse-in-immigration-speech" target="_blank">here</a>...I think you see my point. He does it often and someone should tell him to stop it. Even worse is when he creates his own verses and attempts to convince his listeners they are actually in the Bible. Somewhere. Or so he thinks. Obama's obvious problem, like a lot of professing Christians want to do now days, is that he seems to want to make Scripture fit his twisted agenda, rather than read it as the divinely inspired Word of God and apply it accordingly. If his so-called "spiritual counselors" were doing their job, they would at least help him get a little closer in his deception. But Wallis and Wright and the others are cohorts, so how could we expect any less?</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">If we examine him closely, Obama displays nothing of the characteristics that define a true Christian. I would even go so far as to say that he defies the very definition of the word. His stand on the sanctity of life, on marriage, homosexuality, his view of social "fairness," his racism and alignment with those who perpetuate it, and, more recently, his demonstration of hatred for the nation of Israel, all reflect an image of a man who embraces the world and all it has to offer. But it speaks nothing of being a man seeking after God's will for not only his life, but for the lives of the people he represents.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The apostle James said, </span><span style="color: blue;"><i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="text Jas-2-19" id="en-ESV-30296"><sup>"</sup>You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!" </span></span></i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="text Jas-2-19" id="en-ESV-30296"><span style="color: black;">(James 2:19-20) I will go so far as to say that I think Obama believes there is a God. But his god is a little god, one comprised of many gods of his own making, and one he doesn't fear.</span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="text Jas-2-19" id="en-ESV-30296"><span style="color: black;">Some may say he has only strayed off course because he hasn't been rightly taught. But I will say Obama knows exactly where he's placing his feet, and they are on a roadway to destruction.</span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="text Jas-2-19" id="en-ESV-30296"><span style="color: black;">We are called to obey those who are in authority over us (Romans 13:1-7). However, in light of all we have experienced with Obama at the helm, that's a hard teaching. These verses speak of governing authorities appointed by God who should only have our best interest in mind: punishing the bad and rewarding the good. We are also called to pray for our enemies, which is another hard, but valuable, teaching (Matthew 5:43-48). But we are not called to blindly follow someone who will lead us into spiritual harm. When the laws established by the authority God has placed over us contradict His moral and social law, Christians must draw the line in the proverbial sand. Regardless of whom a man surrounds himself, people who give the appearance of Christianity, but by their fruit demonstrate a contradiction, we are to obey God, and not them.</span></span><span class="text Jas-2-19" id="en-ESV-30296"><span style="color: black;"> And it's my belief that Obama's agenda contradicts the will of God Almighty.</span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="text Jas-2-19" id="en-ESV-30296"><span style="color: black;">In conclusion, we must not narrow our lens, but look at the broader picture of Obama's spirituality, or lack, thereof. Since Obama's elections into the Presidency, America's "fabric" has been rent, and through the politically correct and tolerant-pushing minority, its morality crumbling at a rapid rate. There doesn't seem to be anyone, or anything, that can, or has the will to, stop Obama. I believe that God is abandoning America and removing the blessings with which He once graced this great nation. It's heart-breaking to watch, especially if you believe God created this nation for His purpose: to spread His Gospel to an unbelieving world. But like the Jews who demanded a king and got Saul, so has God given us what was demanded: Barack Hussein Obama.</span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I would like to thank<span class="text Jas-2-19" id="en-ESV-30296"><span style="color: black;"> you for visiting this blog and taking the time to read this long post. I hope it gave you a glimpse into the man leading this nation, his worldview, and of the people with whom he has surrounded himself.</span></span><span class="text Jas-2-19" id="en-ESV-30296"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="text Jas-2-19" id="en-ESV-30296"><span style="color: black;">The question remains: Is Obama and the men who counsel him what they profess to be? Are they genuine believers in the LORD Jesus Christ and His Gospel? The evidence is overwhelmingly against it. But murky conjecture is all we are truly left with, and because we know God is sovereign in His choices of who will receive salvation, for us to use conjecture can be dangerous.</span></span><span class="text Jas-2-19" id="en-ESV-30296"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="text Jas-2-19" id="en-ESV-30296"><span style="color: black;">However, I will leave you with one question to ponder, and I hope you will consider it in deciding for yourself:</span></span><span class="text Jas-2-19" id="en-ESV-30296"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="text Jas-2-19" id="en-ESV-30296"><span style="color: black;">If we had a genuine Christian believer </span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="text Jas-2-19" id="en-ESV-30296"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="text Jas-2-19" id="en-ESV-30296"><span style="color: black;">running this country </span></span></span></span>who was being counseled by true men of faith , would we even be asking the question?</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="text Jas-2-19" id="en-ESV-30296"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span class="text Jas-2-19" id="en-ESV-30296"></span><span class="text Jas-2-19" id="en-ESV-30296"><span style="color: black;"></span></span></span><i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="text Jas-2-19" id="en-ESV-30296"><br /></span></span></i></span></span></div>
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Blog Administrator, Karen L. Brahshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09539707490734479755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7986801166033320768.post-71591429512020589552014-10-29T14:18:00.002-06:002022-04-29T11:38:28.715-06:00TMI: A Dangerous Acronym<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjofhZ-QqfI0pwl5wQLSU1QV1XgIJdhGUhSjygq4oodjBz3ZwOfb2EIWauZtVyIw-VR_NIsyw-RPfKy-gViqb5mfBl7to-jflbtUGzjXBS50w1Qx5ClnNuTpxhLPWicLaTYd6B37BQj-Z3U/s1600/tmi.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjofhZ-QqfI0pwl5wQLSU1QV1XgIJdhGUhSjygq4oodjBz3ZwOfb2EIWauZtVyIw-VR_NIsyw-RPfKy-gViqb5mfBl7to-jflbtUGzjXBS50w1Qx5ClnNuTpxhLPWicLaTYd6B37BQj-Z3U/s1600/tmi.png" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I </span>have recently been bitten by the "TMI" bug, and the cause of this malady has made my blog suffer for it. To my faithful reader (note the singularity), I apologize. But I have what I see as a reason for my absence. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">For those of you who "Tweet" (a subject for a future post), or regularly use social network sites like Facebook, the acronym "TMI" should be recognizable. But for those who aren't up-to-date on what I deem to be mere laziness (abbreviating) or an unhealthy obsession with technology (another subject for a future post), "TMI" simply means "too much information."</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyy0HAyCm82ySLCdm2aSZBlMGolhkDAa467layGZ09O2C9zoU9WU6By-kR4ZUslYWwPBc7bt94S0gTLGWeD86mL4K67WIfuCu6VTt0Y-nIOJDnW5APGwmW5qm67rcz8HMGfCg4r7dMEk-B/s1600/TMI.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyy0HAyCm82ySLCdm2aSZBlMGolhkDAa467layGZ09O2C9zoU9WU6By-kR4ZUslYWwPBc7bt94S0gTLGWeD86mL4K67WIfuCu6VTt0Y-nIOJDnW5APGwmW5qm67rcz8HMGfCg4r7dMEk-B/s1600/TMI.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">To give one example: we all know people who have no qualms about relating something to us and describing every boring or lurid detail, in living color. The account could have been summed up in one simple sentence, leaving us to fill in the blanks - that is, if we really wanted to know. In other words, when we are filled to the brim with too much information, what we end up with is a mind full of vivid, ugly, or disturbing pictures that stick like glue. Our focus oftentimes then becomes fixed on unhealthy, non-productive, or worrisome thoughts that spill over onto our lives and draw our attention away from what should matter most.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I used to be a faithful watcher of the news. Whether it was on or off, my television was always tuned to FoxNews during the day, and nothing escaped my notice (as <a href="http://www.wretchedradio.com/" target="_blank">Todd Friel of Wretched</a> often quips with a wink, "Christians watch FoxNews"). If I missed something on TV, I'd catch it on Facebook. If I missed it there, a relative or friend would fill me in. But a few months ago, I suddenly realized what was happening: I was being consumed by all the escalating bad news, and it was making me a nervous wreck, or worse, angry.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Granted, an abundance of information on current events should fuel my imagination for frequent posts, but the effect has been quite the opposite. There could have been posts about the rise of Islam (note I didn't use the term "radical" that is being shoved down our throats) and the atrocities Muslims like <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_State_of_Iraq_and_the_Levant" target="_blank">ISIS</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boko_Haram" target="_blank">Boko Haram</a>, <a href="http://www.idfblog.com/hamas/" target="_blank">Hamas</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_designated_terrorist_organizations" target="_blank">Hezbollah</a> are committing (</span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I chose this specific Israeli Defense Force website for Hamas and Hezbollah because I don't trust others, like the United Nations or the liberal media, to give the truth)</span></span>, and a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_designated_terrorist_organizations" target="_blank">host of other Islamic groups</a> recognized by the world as terrorist groups who have risen from the ashes of barbarianism and world domination. The comprehensive list on this last link </span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">(you <i>really should</i> take a look at this!)</span></span> is daunting and should be evidence enough that, as long as political correctness, tolerance, complacency, and apathy continue to rule over the foolish minds of the world's citizenry, Islam and its influence will continue to spread like a cancer.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I could have written about the <a href="http://triblive.com/usworld/world/7016472-74/canada-canadian-parliament#axzz3HTiPKRqA" target="_blank">isolated terrorism in Canada</a> where a lone Muslim shot to death a defenseless guard, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/25/world/americas/body-of-nathan-cirillo-canadian-soldier-killed-in-attack-to-be-returned-home.html?_r=0" target="_blank">Nathan Cirillo</a>, (it's common practice for the guards not to have a loaded weapon) at their Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, then proceeded to the Parliament building where he was shot dead by a brave Sargent At Arms, <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/International/canada-shooting-hero-identified-sgt-arms-kevin-vickers/story?id=26379728" target="_blank">Kevin Vickers</a>. Vickers is a hero in my book. I also might add that, within hours of the attack, Canada's Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, called it what it was: terrorism. No "work place violence," or "mentally ill individual," or what really fries my bacon, "Islamic extremist." He gave it the label it should have been given. Harper should be applauded for not borrowing from Obama's politically correct (or politically inept) playbook.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The recent <a href="http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-California/2014/10/24/Muslim-Hatchet-Wielding-NY-Subway-Terrorist-Had-Prior-Arrests-in-California" target="_blank">hatchet-wielding Muslim</a> in New York City, who severely wounded two police officers, could have become a topic here on this blog. But, according to the liberal media and the Obama administration, he was just a "mentally ill" man (see above).</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I could have addressed the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ebola_virus_disease_in_the_United_States" target="_blank">Ebola threat </a>that has been, in my humble opinion, idiotically allowed to enter the United States, and the Obama Administration's apparent ignorance (or worse) in mishandling the situation (no travel ban established, no border security, no forced quarantine of incoming travelers, and Obama's latest brilliant idea, bringing into the U.S. foreigners who have contracted the disease...is he completely clueless???) Or I could have ranted about the new "Ebola Czar," the liberal political hack <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Klain" target="_blank">Ron Klain</a>, that Obama appointed (unconstitutionally, by the way) to oversee the institution of the Center For Disease Control's (CDC's) <a href="http://www.dallasnews.com/news/metro/20141013-cdc-changes-ebola-care-guidelines-for-hospitals.ece" target="_blank"><i>ever-changing protocols</i></a> (because they really have never completely understood this dangerous virus and how its transmitted) on the loose suggestions made by Obama in-between tee times.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Or what I see to be the piece de resistance: <a href="http://nypost.com/2014/09/16/us-will-send-3000-troops-to-help-fight-ebola-in-west-africa/" target="_blank">sending 4,000 of our troops to West Africa</a> to help "combat" the Ebola virus (Obama originally said 3,000 but, you know, he changes his mind at his whim). Our soldiers are trained specifically for battle and defense. So the question remains: can you shoot a virus?? (utter lunacy) It's more likely that they will end up contracting the virus and their ashes coming home to their families and loved ones in an urn. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I could add to this list of growing troubles and woes that are occurring around the world, but then I would just fall into the trap of giving you too much information. Besides, things are happening at such a rapid rate with no seeming end, this post would never get published. Most of it you've already heard and fretted over because you, also, have been made a victim of "TMI."</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The problem on the flip side is that we are only spoon fed what the "powers that be" want us to know, not providing us with enough accurate information to truly educate us. We go from one tragedy or terror act or skirmish on the other side of the world to another and quickly forget about the previous news stories, making us complacent and having an attitude that nothing surprises us, anymore. FoxNews "News Alerts" used to make us sit up and take notice, but are becoming mundane from over-use. It seems everything, now days, is considered an "alert," even if it isn't. And when you consider that Obama's press secretaries are nothing more than hired liars who divert, deflect, and deceive, what can we believe?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And so we fall into slumber.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">My hope is that you will do what I have done: turn your focus back on Jesus Christ and what He desired for us while we tarry here and await His return, giving His Gospel to a dying world and making disciples of men; including, but not limited to, the unbelieving, rabid Muslims who are causing so much terror and grief around this world.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The only information we truly need is found in the Word of God. There is nothing happening now that wasn't written about long ago as a warning of Christ's imminent return and God's wrath to come. It's reliable and trustworthy, for God cannot lie (Numbers 23:19). And if you are a true believer in the LORD Jesus Christ, you understand that these things <i>must</i> take place before our eyes behold our Savior:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="text Luke-21-10"><span class="text Luke-21-9" id="en-ESV-25826"><span class="woj">"...<span style="color: #cc0000;">And when you hear of wars and tumults, do not be terrified, for these things must first take place, but the end will not be at once</span>." </span></span>Then He said to them, <span class="woj">“<span style="color: #cc0000;">Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.</span></span></span><span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span><span class="text Luke-21-11" id="en-ESV-25828"><span class="woj"><span style="color: #cc0000;">There will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences</span> [plagues, viruses]. <span style="color: #cc0000;">And there will be terrors and great signs from heaven <span style="color: black;">[raging, unpredictable weather]</span>.</span></span></span><span style="color: #cc0000;"> <span class="text Luke-21-12" id="en-ESV-25829"><span class="woj"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for My name's sake <span style="color: black;">[Christian persecution]</span>.</span></span> <span class="text Luke-21-13" id="en-ESV-25830"><span class="woj"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>This will be your opportunity to bear witness.</span></span> <span class="text Luke-21-14" id="en-ESV-25831"><span class="woj"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>Settle it therefore in your minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer,</span></span> <span class="text Luke-21-15" id="en-ESV-25832"><span class="woj"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict.</span></span> <span class="text Luke-21-16" id="en-ESV-25833"><span class="woj"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and some of you they will put to death.</span></span> <span class="text Luke-21-17" id="en-ESV-25834"><span class="woj"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>You will be hated by all for My name's sake.</span></span> <span class="text Luke-21-18" id="en-ESV-25835"><span class="woj"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>But not a hair of your head will perish.</span></span> </span><span class="text Luke-21-19" id="en-ESV-25836"><span class="woj"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>By your endurance you will gain your lives</span>." ~ Luke 21:9-19</span></span></span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I went on a news hiatus for a few months. That's not to say I am completely unaware of what's happening at such break-neck speed, both in our nation and around the world. It just means that I stopped watching the news so often. I purposefully refocused my mind back onto my Savior Jesus Christ and the cross. When I did, my blood pressure dropped, my anger subsided, my fascination with worldly things decreased, and I was able to know the peace Christ Jesus faithfully pours out upon His children in times like this by returning to His Word and, more importantly, believing and trusting it:</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="text Phil-4-4" id="en-ESV-29430">Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.</span> <span class="text Phil-4-5" id="en-ESV-29431"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand;</span> <span class="text Phil-4-6" id="en-ESV-29432"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.</span> <span class="text Phil-4-7" id="en-ESV-29433"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. <span style="color: black;">~ Philippians 4:4-7</span></span></span></span></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">We need to remain informed, to be faithful "<span style="color: blue;">watchmen on the wall</span>" (Isaiah 62:6-12), so that we can sound the clarion call and proclaim our King of kings and LORD of Lords to this unbelieving generation. But if we allow the world to inundate us with too much information, we allow the enemy to divert our attention away from our responsibility as Christians.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">"JICBS" - Jesus is coming back soon. I think He's coming back very soon. That's the only information we need and that matters, because the rest falls into perfect unity with it. It's not a dangerous acronym, unless you remain in unbelief (John 3:36). It's the truth, and the truth is the information this world desperately needs to hear.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Give the Gospel to the lost and faithfully preserve God's Word (2Tim. 4:2). Keep your eyes fixed heavenward. </span></span>Keep watch for the signs and remain diligent and ready to give an answer for the hope that lies within you (1Peter 3:14). Guard your hearts and minds by remaining in God's Word (Prov. 4:23). And keep looking up in excited anticipation of the LORD's return - the Rapture of Christ's church (Matthew 24:30-36; Matthew 24:40-41; Luke 21:28; John 14:1-3; 1Cor. 15:51-52; 1Thes. 4:16-17). It's going to be glorious! And if you need more information, just ask someone who knows and they'll fill in the rest.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">All these things will bring peace of mind and comfort knowing that God is in absolute control, regardless what happens next.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I hope this is a TMI you can relate to.</span></span><br />
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Blog Administrator, Karen L. Brahshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09539707490734479755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7986801166033320768.post-59028379915681392322014-08-20T14:51:00.000-06:002019-12-09T14:17:42.970-07:00Sin In Small Doses<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">B</span>uried beneath the earth is a chemical element of creation called "arsenic" that, by its very nature, is deadly. The origin of the word comes from the Syriac (Middle Aramaic) word "(al) zarniqa," which is derived from the Persian word "zarnikh," meaning "yellow," or literally, "golden colored." Because arsenic is belched from the earth in the form of volcanic ash which dissolves in groundwater, it is found in the water, soil, and air. Since it is absorbed by all plants, especially leafy varieties, this deadly mineral takes up residence in nearly everything we drink and consume for food, including seafood.<br /><br />Since the discovery of arsenic in ancient times, its application and use has been broad. Originally, man's ignorance compelled him to mess around with the stuff by adding it to bronze to strengthen the alloy, and in the Victorian Age, women actually mixed it with vinegar and chalk, foolishly thinking that by ingesting the poison, it would improve their complexion. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">During World War I, the United States stockpiled 20,000 tons of a chemical weapon called "<a href="http://emergency.cdc.gov/agent/lewisite/basics/facts.asp" target="_blank">lewisite</a>" that included arsenic, and that was used against the enemy as a blistering agent and lung irritant. Eventually in the 1950's, the chemical weapon was "neutralized" with bleach and dumped into the Gulf of Mexico. During the Viet Nam War, "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agent_Blue" target="_blank">Agent Blue</a>," a chemical weapon containing arsenic, was used as a herbicide to kill the foliage cover and rice paddies that hid the North Vietnamese soldiers.<br /><br />Arsenic is found in our car batteries, in bronzing and pyrotechnics, in lead shots and bullets, is used to prevent corrosion, in electronic circuitry, in wood preservation, and for the last four centuries has been used in medical compounds to treat ailments, such as syphilis and psoriasis. Its most recent application is in the battle to fight cancer. In 2000, the Food and Drug Administration approved "<a href="http://theoncologist.alphamedpress.org/content/6/suppl_2/1.long" target="_blank">arsenic trioxide</a>" for the treatment of a form of leukemia, and even more recently, the injection of "<a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1848645/" target="_blank">arsenic-74</a>" has replaced "<a href="http://www.cyclotron.nl/iodine-124__2_3_2" target="_blank">iodine-124</a>" to locate tumors using <a href="http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003827.htm" target="_blank">PET scans</a> to eliminate the "noise" that iodine causes and the scan picks up as it travels to the thyroid gland.<br /><br />Some may think that, even though arsenic is dangerous, the element has some usefulness, as long as it is handled properly and the allowable limits of its concentration set by the FDA are strictly adhered to. But as history has proven, ultimately, mankind quickly learned of its poisonous properties. It then became a useful and effective method of murder. Our history books are replete with <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/death-by-poison-list-of-famous-poison-victims/notable-famous-deaths" target="_blank">accounts using arsenic or other poisons</a> to rid a throne of a despot, and disgruntled spouses secretly slipping small doses of the poison into the pot roast dinner. Unless the unlucky recipient of continued exposure and ingestion of this toxic cocktail undergoes screening of blood, urine, hair, and nails to evaluate its presence, and is put on a drug regimen to cleanse the body of arsenic, eventually a painful and untimely death, resulting from multi-system organ failure, is realized.<br /><br />Now that I've educated my readers,</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"> as well as myself</span>, </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">on arsenic</span>, you may be wondering why a Christian blog is spending so much time on the subject. If you will bear with me for a few more lines, I'll try to draw my thoughts to a conclusion you can appreciate.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">We have already established that death can be brought about by continued exposure to arsenic. Taken in small doses over a period of time, or massive doses in one fell swoop, life here on earth will end. But there is an even more dangerous toxin that can not only bring life to a sudden end in this world, but will insure an eternity of pain and suffering in the next: unrepentant sin.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">When arsenic is viewed in its natural state, its appearance is appealing, even beautiful. The crystals form into a variety of geometric three dimensional shapes and vary in color, from whitish gray and black, to brilliant hues of yellow, orange, and blue. But it's what is hidden in its anatomical structure, unseen to the naked eye, that is extremely dangerous.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The same can be applied to what many foolishly refer to as "little sins" - those seemingly innocuous, harmless acts of disobedience mankind refuses to acknowledge are a grievance to God and an affront to the Son who shed His blood for each and every one of them. Far too many confessing Christians love their sins, examining them on the surface only and finding them appealing to their senses which causes them to not want to let go of them. Often the excuse to continue in their sin is that the person repented when they responded to that altar call and, therefore, wrongly believe there is no need to continue to feel guilty over a continued pattern of behavior.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">When sin is willingly and presumptuously taken in small doses, the poison it harbors spreads like a cancer, affecting one's entire life, until the person is completely consumed by it. What once appeared pleasing to the senses, suddenly becomes dark and ominous as its true purpose becomes evident: the destruction of the soul and a guarantee of an eternity full of misery and separation.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Like arsenic which, when a person is exposed to it, requires immediate medical attention or death is a certainty, there is a cure for sin, as well. Acknowledging that we are sinful and in constant need of repentance is required of us. In 1John, we are reminded that, until we receive our glorified state in heaven, sin is present and repentance is a necessity. John puts it this way:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="text 1John-1-8" id="en-ESV-30532">"If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.</span> <span class="text 1John-1-9" id="en-ESV-30533"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.</span> </span><span class="text 1John-1-10" id="en-ESV-30534"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us."</span> </span></span></i><span style="color: blue;"><span class="text 1John-1-10" id="en-ESV-30534"><span style="color: black;">(1John 1:8)</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="color: blue;"><span class="text 1John-1-10" id="en-ESV-30534"><br /></span></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><span class="text 1John-1-10" id="en-ESV-30534"><span style="color: black;">The apostle Paul is even more clear regarding the depraved state that he knew lurked within him:</span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"><i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="text 1John-1-10" id="en-ESV-30534"><sup>"</sup></span><span class="text 1John-1-10" id="en-ESV-30534"><span class="text Rom-7-13" id="en-ESV-28089">Did
that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin,
producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be
shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond
measure.</span> <span class="text Rom-7-14" id="en-ESV-28090"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin.</span> <span class="text Rom-7-15" id="en-ESV-28091"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.</span> <span class="text Rom-7-16" id="en-ESV-28092"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good.</span> <span class="text Rom-7-17" id="en-ESV-28093"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.</span> <span class="text Rom-7-18" id="en-ESV-28094"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.</span> <span class="text Rom-7-19" id="en-ESV-28095"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.</span> <span class="text Rom-7-20" id="en-ESV-28096"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.</span></span></span></i></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"><i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="text Rom-7-21" id="en-ESV-28097">"So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand.</span> <span class="text Rom-7-22" id="en-ESV-28098"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being,</span> <span class="text Rom-7-23" id="en-ESV-28099"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.</span><span class="text Rom-7-24" id="en-ESV-28100"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?</span> <span class="text Rom-7-25" id="en-ESV-28101"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>Thanks
be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the
law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin."</span></span></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="text Rom-7-25" id="en-ESV-28101"><span style="color: black;">Paul recognized his sinful state while he dwelt in his earthly body, and he also understood his need for continued repentance.</span></span></span><i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="text Rom-7-25" id="en-ESV-28101"> </span></span></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">If you have become aware that you are attempting to hide sin from God, or even if you are overconfident that you are in good standing in spite of your sins, go to God's Word. Pray for discernment. Study it and apply it. And if you are convicted that you have taken sin in small doses and the venom is about to consume you, go to the One who was sinless, our Great Physician who has the cure, and ask Him to cleanse your heart, mind, and soul of the poison that's coursing through your veins.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">As God told Cain, who was angry because God found Abel's offering more acceptable, <span style="color: blue;"><i>"... </i></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="text Gen-4-7" id="en-ESV-87"><span style="color: blue;"><i>sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for<sup> </sup>you, but you must rule over it.”</i></span> (Genesis 4:7b).</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="text Gen-4-7" id="en-ESV-87">Sin, like deadly arsenic, is a destroyer of life. Recognize it, confront it, then rid yourself of it for God's honor and glory.</span></span></div>
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Blog Administrator, Karen L. Brahshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09539707490734479755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7986801166033320768.post-46307561677003144202014-07-21T15:17:00.002-06:002022-04-29T11:46:05.385-06:00The Hermit Monk and the Tourist<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The world is coming unhinged and it's happening with breakneck speed. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I would assert that one would have to be a deaf, dumb, and blind hermit monk cloistered on some mountain top in the Himalayas, far too remote and secluded for even the most foolishly determined seeker of the meaning of life to discover, to not sense the turmoil and conflict that is raging around this globe.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Today's technology is such that, within mere minutes, we are receiving news that used to take days, or more, to reach us. Cell phone cameras, computers, and the internet have given mankind the ability to convey around the world up-to-the-minute events, catastrophes, disasters, or just plane nonsense for all eyes to see. And once this information hits the social media and bloggers' websites, sometimes long before the news agencies pick it up or deem it legitimate, we become inundated with a information overload that makes our heads spin and our minds reel.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">But let us reexamine our deaf, dumb, and blind hermit monk, though, and his determination to not allow the world to disrupt his peaceful contemplation. Unfortunately, that is how the majority of humankind behaves,
especially in westernized nations that enjoy a degree of prosperity and
peace and, more particularly, in America.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I live in a tourist trap. What used to be a beautiful mountain valley where ranching, logging, and mining fed its hardworking residents, is now adorned with the allurement of recreation, entertainment, frivolity, and foolishness. Most of the locals who have lived here for decades dread the end of the school year. The highway that leads to our home becomes clogged with so much traffic during the summer that the highway department has to station traffic controllers at certain portions along the 100 mile route, in order that the bumper-to-bumper automobiles pulling RV's and trailers loaded down with all their toys will maintain at least a crawl, and so that those who have to divert off the main road are afforded that luxury. Needless to say, the locals with any sense strategically plan their shopping and errands beforehand, then park their car and hide out at home while the tourists do as much possible damage to our valley and themselves as they are capable during their visit. Woe to any of us who have to be out on the road.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">You may be wondering why I have used two very distinctly different analogies. But I have a purpose for doing so. Let me explain.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The hermit monk and the tourists who invade us most of the year have something in common. Something that's not recognized, but is really inherent in each. The monk hides his head in a monastery to escape the outside world. The tourist rushes into the outside world and hides his head in recreation to escape the doldrums and hubbub of his life. But both have a selfish motive. They are attempting to hide from the reality of the Creator's purpose in sustaining this universe for as long as He has done so. God created the earth and all that is in it for us to enjoy, but His design was not planned long before time began so that man could find a false sense of meaning for why he exists, or peace, prosperity, and entertainment while he dwelt upon this earth. His intention in creating man was so that man could glorify Him in all the things man does. Instead, man seeks after his own glory and relegates God Almighty to second place, putting his pleasures and desires over and above his true purpose for his existence.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I often wonder about the tourists that come here: the money they may or may not have, but is being spent on such brief exercises of recreation; how many professing Christians are in the mix, and the attitudes that are seen and felt by Christians living here, instead of what we would expect if they were. If, while briefly away from what they consider their "normal" life, they pause in thanksgiving for what they are able to do. But what has really struck me, of late, is whether or not they truly realize and acknowledge the signs we are being given that point to the imminent return of our LORD Jesus Christ. The turmoil in the Middle East and northern Africa. The sinfulness that has permeated our beloved nation, America, and the threats to its sovereignty and its inevitable fall. The building of the federation of Gog and Magog. The unsettled weather and the disasters it is bringing. The growing persecution of Christians. And much, much more occurring every day.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">All that was foretold nearly 2600 years ago reveals that the world is, indeed, coming unhinged (Dan 12:1-13; Matt 24:1-51). I believe we are living in that age God has decreed, and time is very short.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The hearts and minds of both the hermit monk and the thoughtless tourist need to be opened to receive God's truths before our LORD Jesus Christ returns to remove His church (1Thes 4:13-18), and the enemy is given a brief seven year reign upon this earth before Jesus comes back to destroy His enemies and restore His kingdom (Rev 12:12; Rev 11:15). Their eternal destination depends upon it, for the monk's monastery will crumble around him and the mountain upon which it is perched will topple; and the tourist's castle he built upon the sand of the lake shore will wash away from beneath his feet.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span class="text Matt-11-30" id="en-ESV-23490"><span class="woj"><span style="color: black;">Are you a hermit, or are you a tourist? It's imperative that you examine yourself, in the light of Scripture, to determine which you are. Both are sinners who have built their lives upon self. Both are attempting to hide from the reality of a Holy God who will bring utter destruction and death when He pours out His wrath. Both are in need of the Savior who died so that we may live forever with Him. Both have an eternal destination that has been determined for them. And both need to understand that Jesus is returning at an hour none of us have the ability to expect, but He is coming soon.</span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span class="text Matt-11-30" id="en-ESV-23490"><span class="woj"><span style="color: black;">To my Christian brothers and sisters, </span></span></span><i><span class="text Matt-11-30" id="en-ESV-23490"><span class="woj"><span class="text Luke-12-35"><span class="woj">“Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning,</span></span> <span class="text Luke-12-36" id="en-ESV-25487"><span class="woj">and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks.</span></span> <span class="text Luke-12-37" id="en-ESV-25488"><span class="woj"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>Blessed are those servants<sup> </sup>whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them.</span></span> <span class="text Luke-12-38" id="en-ESV-25489"><span class="woj"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>If He comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them awake, blessed are those servants!</span></span> <span class="text Luke-12-39" id="en-ESV-25490"><span class="woj"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>But know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have left his house to be broken into.</span></span> <span class="text Luke-12-40" id="en-ESV-25491"><span class="woj"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”</span></span> </span></span></i><span class="text Matt-11-30" id="en-ESV-23490"><span class="woj"><span style="color: black;">(Luke 12:35-40)</span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span class="text Matt-11-30" id="en-ESV-23490"><span class="woj"><span style="color: black;">But for my hermit monk, I encourage you to come down from your mountain and seek after the true meaning of Life eternal (John 17:3). And for my tourist friend, I encourage you to examine the treasures you have amassed and where you are storing them (Matt 6:19-21).</span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span class="text Matt-11-30" id="en-ESV-23490"><span class="woj"><span style="color: black;">Our Savior Jesus Christ gently calls to you both, <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>"<span class="text Matt-11-28" id="en-ESV-23488"><span class="woj">Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.</span></span> <span class="text Matt-11-29" id="en-ESV-23489"><span class="woj">Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.</span></span> <span class="text Matt-11-30" id="en-ESV-23490"><span class="woj">For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.” </span></span></i><span class="text Matt-11-30" id="en-ESV-23490"><span class="woj"><span style="color: black;">(Matt 11:28-30)</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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Blog Administrator, Karen L. Brahshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09539707490734479755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7986801166033320768.post-61338902886147205302014-06-29T16:38:00.002-06:002022-04-29T11:50:21.469-06:00Hidden Cosmic Compost<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span class="text Ps-139-23" id="en-NIV-16263">Search me, God, and know my heart;</span><br /><span class="indent-1"><span class="indent-1-breaks"> </span><span class="text Ps-139-23">test me and know my anxious thoughts.</span></span><span class="text Ps-139-24" id="en-NIV-16264"></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;">
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span class="text Ps-139-24" id="en-NIV-16264">See if there is any offensive way in me,</span><br /><span class="indent-1"><span class="indent-1-breaks"> </span><span class="text Ps-139-24">and lead me in the way everlasting.</span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span class="indent-1"><span class="text Ps-139-24">Psalm 139:23:24, NIV </span></span> </span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>I</span> decided that yesterday was the day I needed to clean house. Much to my chagrin, I don't divide my time well and have a tendency to allow housework to go untended. I'm not a messy housekeeper, in the least, but I tend to "surface clean," which satisfies me at that particular moment. That is, until my conscience gets hold of me and forces me into action. Yesterday was such a day. I figured the dog and grandbabies had tracked in enough dirt after the week of rain we had, so I dragged myself up and went at it.</span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Mind you, I had no intention of doing a "deep clean". You know the kind: moving furniture and scrubbing every nook and cranny and rooting out hidden offenses - what some call "Spring cleaning," even if it is mid-summer. But I certainly decided that the vacuum attachments should be put to use; at least jabbing around with them under the couch, chairs, and into the corners. If there was something that had fallen in those locations, I hadn't missed them and their importance was subject to debate.</span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">As I reached the end of that process, I noticed a ball of dust poking out from behind a particular spot I had been ignoring for some time. It was one of those locations that's small and out of sight, out of mind. Moving things out of the way and looking closer, I realized how bad it really was. The originator of the term "cosmic compost" escapes me at the moment (it was from a funny book I read over 35 years ago), but that's exactly what was staring at me. The term "dust bunny" was just too mild and benign to compare to it. So much had accumulated, it was difficult to recognize the object it surrounded. As it leered at me like some monster out of a horror movie, I began viciously sucking it up with the vacuum, hoping that would satisfy me until I got serious about scrubbing from top to bottom.</span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">It didn't.</span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Once the small offending ball of dust, hair, and who knows what was gone, more began to appear. It seemed endless as dust and smaller balls of "cosmic compost" drifted down from the fabric it was hiding behind, and the worst of it was that when I finally got it all, what was lurking underneath was equally as offensive.</span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">So much for cleaning the surface, today. I spent the next half hour making sure that I had gotten everything in that corner and decided to take a quick look in a couple more. When I was done, I sat down and started thinking about how complacent we are over things as trivial as housecleaning. We want to put off for tomorrow what can easily be done today. But even more, I began to equate it with the corners of our heart that we rarely examine for a buildup of sin.</span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Like the ignored dust that collected in the dark corner of my home, unrepentant sin can begin as a mote of dust lying idle in a corner of our hearts and can quickly build into a disgusting mess that we are forced to deal with after it has grown into a nearly unmanageable size. Merely giving our a hearts a quick surface check-over doesn't address the hidden problems that may be lurking there. We need to look deeply into every nook, every cranny, and every corner for the hidden sins that keep us from having a meaningful relationship with our God and Savior Jesus Christ. And we need to do it often.</span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">This is not to say that God isn't aware of every spot, wrinkle, stain, smear, or ball of "cosmic compost" that inhabit our hearts. He is our Creator and knows our thoughts and our actions, including what we may be harboring in our hearts: </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><span style="color: #cc0000;">“I the LORD search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.</span></i>" <span class="p"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="p">(Jeremiah 17:10)</span> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><i><span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="chapter-3"><span class="text Ps-139-1">O <span class="small-caps" style="font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span>, you have searched me and known me!</span></span></span></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><i><span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="text Ps-139-2" id="en-ESV-16242">You know when I sit down and when I rise up;</span><br /><span class="indent-1"><span class="indent-1-breaks"> </span><span class="text Ps-139-2">You discern my thoughts from afar.</span></span></span></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><i><span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="text Ps-139-3" id="en-ESV-16243">You search out my path and my lying down</span><br /><span class="indent-1"><span class="indent-1-breaks"> </span><span class="text Ps-139-3">and are acquainted with all my ways.</span></span></span></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><i><span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="text Ps-139-4" id="en-ESV-16244">Even before a word is on my tongue,</span><br /><span class="indent-1"><span class="indent-1-breaks"> </span><span class="text Ps-139-4">behold, O <span class="small-caps" style="font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span>, You know it altogether.</span></span> </span></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;">(Psalm 139:1-4)</span></span></span><i><span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Jesus Christ is our Savior because the blood of His atonement provided all that is necessary to clean us up for salvation. All the needful scouring of our depraved hearts (sanctification) is performed by the Holy Spirit by shining His brilliant light into the dark recesses where sin may be hiding so that we may recognize them, repent, and our hearts prepared to receive the truth of God's Word. We need to be eternally grateful that this cleansing process was afforded a worm such as us. Without it, our souls would be caught up in the filth of sin and we would be judged accordingly. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">If finding the mess I was forced to confront did anything for me yesterday, it convinced me that I need to ask the LORD to daily search my heart for any hidden "cosmic compost" that's lurking there. Ignoring it won't make it go away, anymore than ignoring the forgotten corner of my home. Sin needs to be confessed and rooted out. After all, the Holy Spirit abides there.</span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Have you examined the corners of your heart, lately? There just may be something skulking there that needs your immediate attention. If there is, don't put it off - get after it for the honor and glory of God.</span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="color: black;">Rev. 3:19, ESV</span></span></span></span></div>
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Blog Administrator, Karen L. Brahshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09539707490734479755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7986801166033320768.post-6188064625620190462014-06-13T12:06:00.001-06:002022-04-29T11:51:04.102-06:00R-E-S-P-E-C-T<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: large;">Editors note: This was originally published in September, 2011, but is, unfortunately, relevant for today. I hope my words are encouraging to parents and grandparents who may be facing the same problems. If you are, give your children and grandchildren over to the LORD and travail in prayer for changed hearts.</span></span></i><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br />I</span></span><span style="font-size: large;">n 1967, a R & B singer by the name of Aretha Franklin reintroduced a song that quickly became a hit. "Respect" was originally released by Otis Redding in 1965, but the two versions were uniquely different. Redding's version, a blues tune, sang about a "desperate man" pleading with a woman to respect him. Franklin's interpretation, which had a more up-beat tempo, impressed that she deserved respect, rather than begging for it, and the sexual connotations were evident in the lyrics, "sock it to me," that are sung over and over again.</span> </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The song has been touted as a "landmark for the feminist movement" and has continued to be one of the genre's greatest hits. In fact, Franklin's version continues to be profiled in movies and television, including Steven Spielberg's animated television series, "Tiny Toons" that was produced for children. "Babs Bunny," the young female rabbit in the series, lip synchs the song as the rest of the cast back her up. So much for healthy Saturday morning cartoons.</span></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;">
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<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It is disturbing to think that the word "respect" has lost its original meaning, as is evident in the example above. When one considers how it was implied in the song that bears its title, the definition of the word is no longer used in its proper context to direct one how to either apply it or receive it. And I think it can be safely said that there is a general, overall disregard for the necessity of respect in today's culture, especially among our youth. They are simply not being taught the original purpose of the word and the importance of putting it into practice. Recently, I learned that lesson the hard way through a grandchild's bad behavior and disrespect, and it prompted me to write this.</span></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;">
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<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Webster defines "respect" as having high regard or esteem for a particular person, idea, situation, or thing. To be "respected" is to have others display esteem upon your person, indicating that the level of authority you are conveying is worthy of the application. Everyone wants respect, some demand it, but not all of us receive it, or even deserve it, for that matter. It can also be said that we must earn respect, and this is accomplished by demonstrating to others something within us that is deserving of the honor.</span></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;">
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<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">However, if we take a Biblical look at the word and see how God applies it to all of us, it is possible that we find ourselves recognizing the error in our thinking and how we may have misinterpreted and misused the application of "earning" and applying respect.</span></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;">
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<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">One of the most troubling demonstrations of the lack of respect in our society, and a pet peeve of mine, is the refusal of young people to grant it to their elders and those of authority over them. I don't need to detail the evidence. It is glaringly obvious in every aspect of society, including the media, the internet, television, schools, and their behavior outside their homes. There's not a lot of difference between the present and what it was like when Jeremiah lamented over the sins of Israel. The youth had no respect for the elderly then, either (Lam. 5:12), and the elderly could no longer be found at the city gates where they taught and instructed them (Lam. 5:14). Children still want to challenge the authority of their parents, their teachers, law enforcement, and even their church leaders who are attempting to guide them. However, the degree to which they practice disrespect has grown exponentially since the 1960's and has become a serious problem as our youth wallow in "self".</span></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;">
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<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">In Luke 18:9-14, Jesus told the parable about two men, one a tax collector and the other a Pharisee, who had gone to the temple to pray. The crowd that had gathered around Him to hear the lesson considered themselves to be "<i><span style="color: #cc0000;">righteous"</span></i> and <i style="color: #cc0000;">"viewed others with contempt."</i> As Jesus told the parable, I've often wondered how many hearts understood what He was telling them. The contrast between the self-righteous Pharisee and the repentant tax collector was vivid. The L<span>ORD'S <span>conclusion to His parable can also be applied to respect or the lack of it:</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"> <i style="color: #cc0000;"><span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">"...for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”</span></span></i><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;">
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;"><span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black;">The "contempt" our children have for society, their parents, their grandparents, and others who have been placed in authority over them have thrust them into a position of "exalting" themselves over others. It goes without saying that unless they are taught what true respect means, their attitude will never be replaced with a humble one. If they are living in a home where the husband has no Godly love for his wife and she doesn't respect him (Eph. 5:33)</span></span></span></span><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;"><span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black;">, if they are working in an environment where they have no respect for their employers or their job (1Peter 2:18-19), or if they have no regard for their nation and those God has put in place to govern them (1Peter 2:13-17), then we can expect them to continue to be disobedient and stay on a pathway to destruction.</span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;">
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;"><span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black;">When God gave the Ten Commandments to Moses, the directive He gave in the fifth was aimed at the youth and included a blessing upon them if they followed it.</span> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><i style="color: blue;"><span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you." </span></span></i><span style="color: blue;"><span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black;">(Ex 20:12). Honoring parents and grandparents is a form of respect that is necessary for a healthy and spiritual well-being. Without it, the child becomes selfish, disrespectful, insolent, manipulating, and demanding. And as he matures, he will carry those qualities on into every aspect of his life and pass it on to his own children, to the detriment of society as a whole.</span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;">
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black;">Proverbs were penned by King Solomon as a way to instruct his children in the ways of God. The profound wisdom he impressed upon them would help them to mature into righteous and just men able to keep peace among his people, and the wisdom they would need to attain these things would be proved later in their lives. As Prov 16:31 impresses, <i><span style="color: blue;">"Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained in a righteous life..." </span></i><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;">and, <span style="color: blue;"><i>"The glory of young men is their strength, gray hair the splendor of the old." </i><span style="color: black;">(Prov 20:29) Young people need to be taught that what they mistakenly perceive to be their own fair-haired "wisdom" is nothing more than an immature and disobedient way of thinking and that those with more years and experience should be respected for what they can teach them.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;">
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;">It's time that parents, and even grandparents, started to demand the respect they have earned through a lifetime of experience and God-given wisdom. If you were raised in a home like mine that taught you to respect your elders, even if you believed they weren't worthy of it, then you need to start teaching your children the same thing and enforcing the necessary discipline upon them when they don't. When children are taught to REFLECT Jesus Christ, they will also earn the RESPECT they desire.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;">
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;">It's up to you to learn what Scripture can teach you about respect, not what the secular world and its music, videos, and literature want to impress upon you. Recording artists Redding and Franklin got it wrong. Get it right and then pass it onto your children and grandchildren.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;">
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Blog Administrator, Karen L. Brahshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09539707490734479755noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7986801166033320768.post-9897094833154890842014-05-03T15:00:00.001-06:002022-04-29T11:51:20.528-06:00Bare Cupboards<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>(Administrator's Note: This post was originally published July, 2010. I hope it blesses you, even if you've read it before.) </i></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>“He dines with you because you have invited Him into your heart, and you dine with Him because He brings the provisions. He could not commune with you if it were not in your heart, you providing the house; and you could not fellowship with Him if He did not bring the provisions with Him, because you have a bare cupboard.”</i> (C.H. Spurgeon)</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">T</span></b>he ease with which we satisfy physical hunger or thirst has become to us something we take for granted. All it usually takes is the opening of a fully-stocked cupboard or refrigerator, a visit to a drive-through window or restaurant, or a stop at a local grocery or convenience store to secure life’s necessities. We automatically turn on a water tap and fill a glass to slake our thirst. Because nourishment is so essential to our survival, we eat and drink so routinely that, unless hunger pangs drive us, we rarely give it a second thought.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">There are times when we graciously invite others to dine with us. Extra effort is taken in the preparation of the event. The best china and silverware is brought out and the table is attractively adorned to please the eye of our guests. But what if, when going to your cupboard like Old Mother Hubbard, you find it bare? The meager scraps you discover in your pantry are barely enough to serve yourself, rather than your invited guest. Your pocketbook is empty. It is late and the stores are closed. Your guest is due to arrive soon and you have nothing with which to feed him. You brace yourself to face the embarrassment of having to send him away with an empty stomach.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The appointed time comes and you hear a knock on the door. Shame over your poverty washes over you. You wonder if it would be better to ignore the person waiting for you to invite him in by pretending you are not home. But the knock is persistent and as you slowly open the door, you lift your guilty eyes to his smiling face and notice his arms are loaded with bags and wrapped packages. Your first thought adds more guilt as you think he must have brought gifts as thanks for your invitation. Flowers. Perhaps a good bottle of wine he expects to share with you over the meal he thinks awaits him. You wonder if you should try and explain your situation to him and send him away. But as you open the door wider so he can enter, he thrusts the bulging packages into your arms and you realize their contents contain everything you needed for your meal - and more.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Stepping back in awe and wonder, you invite him to come in the rest of the way. As he steps through the door, the room brightens with his warmth and you realize the depth of the love he brings with him. Somehow, he knew what you lacked in the way of provisions. Somehow, he knew beforehand that your cupboard was bare and that you had nothing to offer him but yourself. So, unbeknownst to you, he prepared everything that was needed in advance and bore the gifts to your door. His desire to have your company was so great that he made sure there was nothing lacking so that his fellowship with you would be made complete.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">To add to your wonder, he sits you down to rest and prepares the meal himself. But it is more than just a meal; more than what even you had mentally prepared. It is a feast fit for princes and kings. Unimaginable delicacies are spread across your table. Aromas and exotic flavors flood your senses as your guest serves you before seating himself to dine. The evening stretches on in laughter and joy. You delight in his company and he delights in yours. It is perfect and nothing more could be added to its perfection.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">As your guest rises to leave, he promises you he will return. A lasting friendship has been struck and you believe he will keep his word. As he departs, the glow of his presence remains in the room. You realize he left a part of himself behind, a spirit that will always be present. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">As you begin clearing the table, you are amazed at the amount of leftovers. Carefully wrapping them, you approach your empty cupboard where you will place them for another meal. As you open it, your eyes widen in surprise. It is no longer bare! Rather, each shelf is lined with provisions. You begin opening other cupboards and to your amazement, they are also stocked full of everything necessary to sustain you. And as you remove one item, it is replaced with another, and another, until you realize you will never hunger or thirst again.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And the best part? The next time he comes back, which he promised he would do, you will be more than ready to receive him. He has made sure of that.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Our hearts can be likened to an empty and bare cupboard, void of the provisions necessary for eternal life. But outside the door of our heart awaits the One Whose arms are teeming with the bounties needed to fill it. All it takes to open the door to our heart is the realization of our brokenness, our sinfulness and desperate need for Him and what He brings, and a desire for the friendship and fellowship He is offering.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Don't be afraid to open the door. What better Guest could you invite in to dine with you? Even though you have nothing to offer, I assure you that if you do allow Him into your "house," your cupboard will never again be bare.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Additional reading:</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">2Kings 4:1-7; 42-44</span></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Luke 9:10-17</span></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">John 4:4-15; 27-38</span></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Revelation 3:20; 19:9</span></span></div>
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Blog Administrator, Karen L. Brahshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09539707490734479755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7986801166033320768.post-16168386654573787592014-04-02T15:43:00.002-06:002022-04-29T11:51:41.575-06:00Living As Children Of Light<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW5Uh1LCSH-_QG0BEfCNZJfQfs1OjJwfhvtzouMQyCwrU57FpEYD2Ia1-Moy5eTzgK_NpZVt4kGT8JEGx9B1Gwd2DktWNN1BSCpxAesExE84GAyedY4LtHOgmkpmDPGkHE7B9zypR9YkMf/s1600/light-lord.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW5Uh1LCSH-_QG0BEfCNZJfQfs1OjJwfhvtzouMQyCwrU57FpEYD2Ia1-Moy5eTzgK_NpZVt4kGT8JEGx9B1Gwd2DktWNN1BSCpxAesExE84GAyedY4LtHOgmkpmDPGkHE7B9zypR9YkMf/s1600/light-lord.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">T</span>he aftershock of the "Noah" movie continues to trickle onto the web in the form of articles written by bloggers and Facebook friends' comments, giving their impressions and opinions of director Darren Aronofsky's pathetic attempt to use creative license and portray the Biblical account of the flood.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Ken Ham of <a href="http://answersingenesis.org/">answersingenesis.org</a> wrote an <a href="http://time.com/42274/ken-ham-the-unbiblical-noah-is-a-fable-of-a-film/" target="_blank">excellent critique</a> for Time's online magazine. Ray Comfort, who was asked by a "popular television program" to view and critique the movie, wasted no words when he <a href="http://www.onthebox.us/2014/03/words-of-comfort-crowes-noah.html" target="_blank">weighed in</a>. Needless to say, my friends' comments on Facebook are filled with either remorse for having thrown good money after bad, or outrage that they were duped by their church leaders into watching this outlandish fable.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">In a sense, I'm glad to see that those I respected for their faith have been convicted that they erred. Sometimes, we learn lessons the hard way. God has a tendency to cause us to spiritually grow through them, and we can be sincerely thankful that He doesn't allow us to wallow too long in the mire of the realization that we were wrong.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">What God does expect, however, is that we don't continue to make the same mistakes over and over again.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I sat down this morning to read Charles Spurgeon's morning devotion and didn't bother to notice the date at the beginning. Instead of the devotion for April 2nd , my Kindle, which has, of late, been misbehaving, had opened to a January 5th devotion. If I had been paying attention, I would have skipped this particular exhortation and taken the time to reset it to the current date. To be honest, I'm grateful that I didn't, because it struck me how neatly it fit into the niche (or ditch) of depravity in which we often find ourselves.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It's dark in that proverbial ditch. And it's a place true Christians can find no comfort. But all too often, Christians, including this wretch, find it difficult to remove themselves completely from the mire and insist on continuing in fellowship with darkness. That's when we need Christ's light to show us our foolishness for being there in the first place, and for it to guide us back where we belong.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The apostle Paul knew the propensity followers of Christ would have to occasionally return to the muck of sin and fall back in with those who delighted in it. He exhorted the Ephesians to <span style="color: blue;"><i><b>"</b></i></span><span style="color: blue;"><i><b><span class="text Eph-5-7" id="en-ESV-29295">not become partners with them;</span> <span class="text Eph-5-8" id="en-ESV-29296"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light</span><span class="text Eph-5-9" id="en-ESV-29297"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>(for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true),</span><span class="text Eph-5-10" id="en-ESV-29298"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.</span> <span class="text Eph-5-11" id="en-ESV-29299"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.</span> <span class="text Eph-5-12" id="en-ESV-29300"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret.</span> <span class="text Eph-5-13" id="en-ESV-29301"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible,</span> <span class="text Eph-5-14" id="en-ESV-29302"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says,</span></b></i></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><i><b><span class="text Eph-5-14">'Awake, O sleeper,</span><br /><span class="indent-1"><span class="indent-1-breaks"> </span><span class="text Eph-5-14">and arise from the dead, </span></span></b></i></span><span style="color: blue;"><i><b><span class="text Eph-5-14">and Christ will shine on you.' </span></b></i></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><i><b><span class="text Eph-5-15" id="en-ESV-29303">Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise,</span> <span class="text Eph-5-16" id="en-ESV-29304">making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.</span> <span class="text Eph-5-17" id="en-ESV-29305"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is." </span></b></i><span class="text Eph-5-17" id="en-ESV-29305"><span style="color: black;">(Ephesians 5:7-17)</span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><span class="text Eph-5-17" id="en-ESV-29305"><span style="color: black;">It is my hope that the following miss-timed (yet certainly timely) devotion from Charles Spurgeon will give my readers something to meditate on. The world is fast becoming a darker place and we need to be equipped to deal with all that will come our way. By remaining in the Word of God and applying it to every situation we find ourselves in, the Light that dwells within us will overcome the world, even in a darkened movie theater.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><span class="text Eph-5-17" id="en-ESV-29305"><span style="color: black;">~ ~ ~ </span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><i><span style="color: blue;"><span class="text Eph-5-17" id="en-ESV-29305"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: blue;">"And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness."</span></span></span></span></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><span class="text Eph-5-17" id="en-ESV-29305"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;">Genesis 1:4</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><span class="text Eph-5-17" id="en-ESV-29305"><span style="color: black;">Light might well be good since it sprang from that fiat of goodness, "Let there be light." We who enjoy it should be more grateful for it than we are, and see more of God in it and by it. Light physical is said by Solomon to be sweet, but Gospel light is infinitely more precious, for it reveals eternal things, and ministers to our immortal natures.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><span class="text Eph-5-17" id="en-ESV-29305"><span style="color: black;">When the Holy Spirit gives us spiritual light, and opens our eyes to behold the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, we behold sin in its true colours, and ourselves in our real position; we see the Most Holy God as He reveals Himself, the plan of mercy as He propounds it, and the world to come as the Word describes it. Spiritual light has many beams and prismatic colours, but whether they be knowledge, joy, holiness, or life, all are divinely good. If the light received be thus good, what must the essential light be, and how glorious must be the place where He reveals Himself. O LORD, since light is good, give us more of it, and more of Thyself, the true Light.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">No sooner is there a good thing in the world, than a division is necessary. Light and darkness have no communion; God has divided them, let us not confound them. Sons of light must not have fellowship with deeds, doctrines, or deceits of darkness. The children of the day must be sober, honest, and bold in their LORD's work, leaving the works of darkness to those who shall dwell in it forever. Our churches should by discipline divide the light from the darkness, and we should, by our distinct separation from the world, do the same. In judgment, in action, in hearing, in teaching, in association, we must discern between the precious and the vile, and maintain the great distinction which the LORD made upon the world's first day.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">O LORD Jesus, be Thou our light throughout the whole of this day, for Thy light is the Light of men.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b><i> <span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="text John-1-1">"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.</span> <span class="text John-1-2" id="en-ESV-26036">He was in the beginning with God.</span> <span class="text John-1-3" id="en-ESV-26037"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>All things were made through Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made.</span> <span class="text John-1-4" id="en-ESV-26038">In Him was life,<sup> </sup>and the life was the light of men.</span> <span class="text John-1-5" id="en-ESV-26039"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."</span></span></span></i></b></span><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
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</span><span style="color: blue;"><span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="text John-1-5" id="en-ESV-26039"><span style="color: black;">John 1:1-5</span></span></span></span><b><i><span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="text John-1-5" id="en-ESV-26039"> </span></span></span></i></b></span><br />
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Blog Administrator, Karen L. Brahshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09539707490734479755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7986801166033320768.post-10181351853659062712014-03-31T15:25:00.001-06:002022-04-29T11:51:59.949-06:00The "Noah" Movie: A Word From Me In Defense of God and His Word<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0tO-0CXSzlJ2VPaV6FLsJwcDzoqZWmUoOEX_N8Rd0HbAtMUnqdVFPK4ECJ4tiDV-j40Kep_i85FHj1gkFQpUCu4qx-DFwr_QT-vV3dyWU4KRzicMFa-DPMMiZRYJuUxPHIpEIlDXUFdEK/s1600/10009139_10152339388840761_751808631_n.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0tO-0CXSzlJ2VPaV6FLsJwcDzoqZWmUoOEX_N8Rd0HbAtMUnqdVFPK4ECJ4tiDV-j40Kep_i85FHj1gkFQpUCu4qx-DFwr_QT-vV3dyWU4KRzicMFa-DPMMiZRYJuUxPHIpEIlDXUFdEK/s1600/10009139_10152339388840761_751808631_n.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="userContent"><span><b><span><span class="text Gal-6-7" id="en-ESV-29179"><span style="color: blue;">"Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap."</span> ~ Gal. 6:7</span></span></b> </span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="userContent"><span style="font-size: large;">I </span>am seeing on Facebook a number of professing
Christians who have thrown their hard-earned money into Jewish atheist Darren Aronofsky's
pocket and visited their local theater to partake in viewing this
abomination he directed, which is exactly what Aronofsky had predicted w<span class="text_exposed_show">ould
happen and, I am confident, is extremely delighted that they have.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="userContent"><span class="text_exposed_show">Some of my friends and family said they
wanted to make their own determination on its accuracy. Others were
merely curious. And the worst excuse, they just wanted to be
entertained. But it's my humble opinion that there is no excuse, simply
because all were warned about its blatant misrepresentation and abuse
of Scripture long before the movie was released. I might also impress upon them that God's Word should not be seen as "entertainment."<br /> <br /> $130 million
was spent to produce this movie and its opening weekend box office take
was estimated at $44 million. In other words, far too many Christians
took the bait dangled in front of them by their so-called pastors who encouraged them to go and to succumbing to grave deception, and it won't be long before Aronofsky and his
producers begin to realize a very hefty profit.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="userContent"><span class="text_exposed_show">But at whose expense?<br /> <br /> I'll answer that question:</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="userContent"><span class="text_exposed_show">God's expense. His glory and honor. His Holy Name. His covenant He made with Noah. His WORD.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="userContent"><span class="text_exposed_show"><br />Equally as dire is the thought that a Christian could use this ill-conceived tripe to evangelize an unbeliever. That particular encouragement was pressed upon congregations all across the country. But tell me, how do you use a lie to express the truth of God? (A genuine Christian can only answer, "you can't.")</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="userContent"><span class="text_exposed_show">Atheists are jubilant over the reconstruction of Scripture's account of Noah and the flood. They understand that their fellow atheist, Aronofsky, has just provided them with another good laugh at God's expense. In one <a href="http://www.krank.ie/category/entertainment/5-reasons-why-atheists-should-look-forward-to-noah/2/" target="_blank">offensive and profane article</a> written for the God-hating crowd, five reasons are given why atheists should watch the movie. The list is ended with, <i>"</i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>So get out there, enjoy the film and lap it up like the deity that you’ve always wanted to be!"</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Does it sound logical that the use of this movie in your Christian witness would actually convince an unbeliever, let alone an atheist?<i> </i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="userContent"><span class="text_exposed_show">Pastors.com writer, Phil Cooke, lists many reasons <a href="http://pastors.com/go-see-noah/" target="_blank">why Christians should go see the movie</a>, and not one of them is legitimate.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="userContent"><span class="text_exposed_show">Here are a few more articles about Christians "leaders" encouraging a viewing: <a href="http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/03/22/which-christian-leaders-just-endorsed-noah-as-a-pro-faith-and-pro-god-movie-that-highlights-the-horrors-of-human-sin/" target="_blank">this one</a> ... <a href="http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2014/03/26/darren-aronofksys-noah/" target="_blank">this one</a> ... and the most telling, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/22/noah-film-evangelicals_n_5009259.html" target="_blank">this one</a>.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="userContent"><span class="text_exposed_show"><a href="http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2014/march-web-only/darren-aronofsky-interview-noah.html?start=2" target="_blank">In a recent interview</a>, Christianity Today spoke to Aronofsky about his movie, but not once brought him to task by correcting his gross errors and
his taking far too much creative license with the Biblical account. But
that shouldn't surprise those of us who view Christianity Today as a
secular rag unworthy of our perusal.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="userContent"><span class="text_exposed_show">I could post more, but the point should be clear: men who openly profess and even teach Jesus Christ have no problem with misrepresenting the Word of God, and far too many weak professing Christians believe anything they are told by their "shepherds."</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="userContent"><span class="text_exposed_show">To those of you who are thinking of enriching Aronofsky and
gleefully helping him succeed at maligning the Word of God, please reconsider. God
will not be mocked, and this is nothing but overt, blatant mockery in
its worst form. Don't be a party to sin.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="userContent"><span class="text_exposed_show">If you want to know the true account of Noah, the ark, and the flood, save your money and your heart, stay at home and open your Bible, and begin reading through Genesis chapter 6 to chapter 9. God will be greatly glorified, Jesus Christ will be revealed, and the truth will be preserved.</span></span></span></span></div>
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Blog Administrator, Karen L. Brahshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09539707490734479755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7986801166033320768.post-77325818874827452842014-03-05T15:27:00.003-07:002022-02-08T23:11:40.312-07:00Matchless Patience<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioxwZ2ccNSILYDDqSV5zI-DbnNCZYaH3MQ82p4jc1blOxCjKRQrWFlzptbye_QEKtU3gbMDQJWxgNydYCGhhlyGZbqNkjnIRHsXjo1qUTX7H80fp2dDE2Lamq11AyW9Z0c5GseYWZW1v2t/s1600/LetYourHopeKeepYouJoyful-Romans12_1.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="396" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioxwZ2ccNSILYDDqSV5zI-DbnNCZYaH3MQ82p4jc1blOxCjKRQrWFlzptbye_QEKtU3gbMDQJWxgNydYCGhhlyGZbqNkjnIRHsXjo1qUTX7H80fp2dDE2Lamq11AyW9Z0c5GseYWZW1v2t/s1600/LetYourHopeKeepYouJoyful-Romans12_1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">A</span></b>s I sit and watch the world unravel with astounding speed, even though I know the answer, I often find myself asking God why He didn't end man and his wickedness long ago. I am sure I'm not alone in pondering the question. After all, as I pointed out in <a href="http://www.counting-the-cost.blogspot.com/2014/01/i-am-truly-wretch.html" target="_blank">my last post</a>, man is wretched, depraved, wicked, and often evil beyond our imaginations. His ability to conjure up new ways to prove that assessment is endless. If you disagree, I strongly suggest you go back into the Word of God and examine yourself with a microscope. I'm confident you will find the microbes of sin and debauchery embedded deeply in every fiber of your being.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Not only was all mankind affected by the disobedience of Adam and Eve (Genesis 3), but all of creation. Imagine Yahweh's delight in fashioning every creature that creeps, crawls, walks, swims, and flies in, on, and over the earth. After He formed Adam from the dust, God gave Him the responsibility of naming each one, and giving Adam <span style="color: blue;"><i>"<span class="text Gen-1-26" id="en-ESV-26">dominion over the fish of the
sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over
all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” </span></i><i><span class="text Gen-1-26" id="en-ESV-26"> </span></i><span class="text Gen-1-26" id="en-ESV-26"><span style="color: black;">It was Adam's responsibility to be a good steward over all of God's creation, including the plant life that was created to provide food, both for the animals and also for Adam. (Genesis 1:11-31)</span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><span class="text Gen-1-26" id="en-ESV-26"><span style="color: black;">But when the wiles and cunning of the serpent, Satan, convinced the man and woman God had created to disobey, all creation suffered a mortal blow. Death came upon man and all that had been created, turning the perfection of Eden into a world fallen from grace, and bringing condemnation down upon Adam and Eve who tried to cover the shame of their nakedness from Yahweh with leaves (Genesis 3:7).</span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><span class="text Gen-1-26" id="en-ESV-26"><span style="color: black;">What happens next is not often considered, other than the fact that God did it. He turned to the animals He had so lovingly formed, killed some, then fashioned garments with their skins to cover Adam's and Eve's nakedness (Genesis 3:21).</span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><span class="text Gen-1-26" id="en-ESV-26"><span style="color: black;">I've always wondered if it didn't grieve the L<span>ORD <span>to have done so. When He created the heavens and the earth and all that was in and upon them, He saw and declared that<span style="color: blue;"><i> "</i></span></span></span><span style="color: blue;"><i>it was good." </i><span style="color: black;">(Genesis 1:24-25)</span><i> </i><span style="color: black;">In other words, He viewed everything He had done with His own hands and the breath of His mouth as perfection. Each <i><span style="color: blue;">"living creature"</span></i><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;"> was created with love we are unable to comprehend. In my mind, it only stands to reason that, when He had to take the lives of some of them to mitigate the damage Adam and Eve had done, the result couldn't have been anything less than sorrow for His creation. Although God's omniscience knew it would happen, they, too, would have to die.<br /><br />What the secular world ignorantly calls "mother nature," bears the scars of the fall. Consider that the animals God created were originally vegetarians (Genesis 1:29-30). After the fall of man, man and some animals became carnivores and began to turn on each other, fighting for position at the top of the food chain. For those of us with tender hearts, it can be disturbing to watch that cute, fuzzy animal become prey for another creature. Often, the brutality of the hunt causes me to have to turn away and settle for the explanation that they, too, have to eat to survive.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><span class="text Gen-1-26" id="en-ESV-26"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;">If it were not for Yahweh's grace given to both man and all of creation, the earth and its inhabitants would have succeeded in bringing utter ruin. God holds together every atom of this universe. Without His constant and faithful stewardship over His entire creation, mankind's depravity and wickedness would abound.</span></span></span></span></span></span><span class="text Gen-1-26" id="en-ESV-26"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">When I consider the absolute holiness and righteousness of Almighty God, and recall accounts of Him pouring out His anger on men and justly giving them what they deserve, I have to marvel at His matchless patience.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i><span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">"Grace is the free favour of God, the undeserved bounty of the ever-gracious Creator </span></span></i></b></span></div><span style="font-size: large;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i><span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">against whom we have offended, the generous pardon, the infinite, spontaneous </span></span></i></b></span></div><span style="font-size: large;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i><span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">loving-kindness of the God who has been provoked and angered by our sin, but who, </span></span></i></b></span></div><span style="font-size: large;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i><span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">delighting in mercy, and grieving to smite the creatures whom He has made, is ever </span></span></i></b></span></div><span style="font-size: large;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i><span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">ready to pass by transgression, iniquity, and sin, and to save His people from all the </span></span></i></b></span></div><span style="font-size: large;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><i>evil consequences of their guilt."</i></b> ~ Charles Spurgeon</span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">As undeserving as we are, but as deserving as we are of His wrath, God's plan of salvation has not yet been brought to completion. There are still those whom He chose for His Son Jesus Christ, before time began, who have not yet been drawn to receive the gift of pardon and eternal life. There is still work to be done for His glory and His Name's sake. In the meantime, God will delay the ultimate justice He has sworn to bring until the work is finished to His satisfaction.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><i><span class="text Rom-9-22" id="en-ESV-28162">"What if God, desiring to show His wrath and to make known His power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction,</span> <span class="text Rom-9-23" id="en-ESV-28163"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>in order to make known the riches of His glory for vessels of mercy, which He has prepared beforehand for glory—</span><span class="text Rom-9-24" id="en-ESV-28164"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>even us whom He has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles?" </span></i></span></b><span style="color: blue;"><span class="text Rom-9-24" id="en-ESV-28164"><span style="color: black;">(Romans 9:22-24)</span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><span class="text Rom-9-24" id="en-ESV-28164"><span style="color: black;"><span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Abounding grace and matchless patience.</span></span> </span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">That's the answer to my question at the beginning of this post. That's why God, in His sovereign wisdom, delays the inevitable.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">That's why He is God and I am not.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">While He tarries, all creation must endure what was brought about in the beginning by the first man and woman.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> <span style="color: blue;"><i><b><span class="text Rom-8-18">"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.</span> <span class="text Rom-8-19" id="en-ESV-28120"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.</span> <span class="text Rom-8-20" id="en-ESV-28121"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope</span> <span class="text Rom-8-21" id="en-ESV-28122"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.</span> <span class="text Rom-8-22" id="en-ESV-28123"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.</span> <span class="text Rom-8-23" id="en-ESV-28124"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.</span> <span class="text Rom-8-24" id="en-ESV-28125"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees?</span> <span class="text Rom-8-25" id="en-ESV-28126"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience." </span></b></i><span class="text Rom-8-25" id="en-ESV-28126"><span style="color: black;">(Romans 8:18-25)</span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">With the Holy Spirit's help, we, too, are given degrees of patience. It certainly doesn't equal the patience of our Creator. But as long as we cling to the hope that has been so graciously gifted to us, the little patience we do have is sufficient to see us through whatever the world brings next.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Almighty God is sovereign. He is full of Grace.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And thankfully, His patience with His creation is matchless.</span></span></div>
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Blog Administrator, Karen L. Brahshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09539707490734479755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7986801166033320768.post-80527177432443890202014-01-30T13:34:00.001-07:002022-04-29T11:54:03.360-06:00I Am Truly A Wretch<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">T</span></b>his morning, I sat down to continue on in the book of Romans. I
have been reading small portions each day from my MacArthur ESV Study
Bible, including John's commentary, which greatly enhances the study. My late
Pastor Paul, who worked under MacArthur, once told me that John MacArthur preached on the book of
Romans for 10 years. Paul, himself, preached (if I'm remembering right)
about 3 or 4 years, plowing through the rich mine of wealth that's to
be found there and faithfully passing it on to the congregation. If you
have been blessed to have a pastor like Paul or John, who will devote
himself with such tremendous passion to the Word, you have been blessed,
indeed!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Today's verses gave me a serious pause, but only after
seeing myself through the eyes of God. As I read chapter 3, verses 9
through 18, the words resonated in my mind and penetrated my heart. I
found myself reading the verses out loud, then re-reading them a couple
more times out loud. It became obvious that the point was being driven
home: <b>I am a wretched sinner, and I needed to be reminded just how
wretched I truly am.</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Because of our profession of Jesus
Christ, we often forget that the sinful baggage we carried in the past
still has the propensity to rear its ugly head, now and then. Forgiven,
we are, and nothing, nor anyone, can or will separate His children from the love of
Christ (Rom. 8:35-39). But because we are still in our flesh, we continue to sin.
Most professing Christians don't want to be told that. They would
prefer to ride in on the laurels of their new-found state, declaring,
"I'm definitely not as bad as THAT guy!" The difference between a true
believer and a pretender is that when the true believer sins, conviction
is immediate and repentance comes quickly. He understands that he is just as much a wretch as the next guy, regardless of the degree or severity of the sin. The pretender uses his
self-perceived position of salvation to justify his behavior or sin. He
flippantly brushes it away, using the false and damning excuse that
he's only human. "After all, Jesus died for every offense I will
commit, right? So, no sweat! I've got this!"</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">But the
Word of God tells a very different story. And although the Bible is
full of evidence, from beginning to end, of the total depravity of
mankind and what man is capable of, Romans 3:9-18 is perhaps the most
compounded, undeniably clear, broadly construed assertion that we aren't
what we pridefully confess ourselves to be.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">We are wretched. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Let's take
it verse by verse, with convincing snippets of Pastor MacArthur's
commentary following each verse in italics. I would encourage you to
read the following verses out loud. They do carry an impact.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Concerning verses 9 through 18, MacArthur states, "<i>Paul
strings together a series of OT quotations that indict the character
(vv 10-12), conversation (vv 13-14), and conduct (vv15-17) of <b>all men</b>. Nine times he uses the words such as 'none' and 'all' <b>to show the universality of human sin and rebellion</b>" </i>(emph. mine)</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<blockquote>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">"What
then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have
already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin (<span style="color: black;"><i>"completely enslaved and dominated by sin"</i></span>), as it is written:</span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></blockquote>
</div>
<ul style="text-align: justify;">
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: blue;">"<span class="fbUnderline"><b>None is righteous, no, not one</b>;</span>"</span> <i>(Ps 14:1-3 and 53:1-3)</i> - <i>"Man is universally evil" (cf. Ps. 14:1)</i></span></span> </li>
</ul>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<ul style="text-align: justify;">
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: blue;">"<b><span class="fbUnderline">no one understands;</span></b>"</span> - <i>"Man is
unable to comprehend the truth of God or grasp His standard of
righteousness (see Ps. 14:2; 53:3; ;cf. 1 Cor 2:14) Sadly, his
spiritual ignorance does not result from a lack of opportunity (Rom.
1:19, 2:15), but is an expression of his depravity and rebellion (Eph.
4:18).</i></span></span> </li>
</ul>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<ul style="text-align: justify;">
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: blue;">"<b><span class="fbUnderline">no one seeks after God</span></b>."</span> - <i>"See Ps. 14:3.
This verse clearly implies that the world's false religions are fallen
man's attempts to escape the true God - not to seek Him. Man's natural
tendency is to seek his own interests (cf. Phil 2:21), but his only hope
is for God to seek him (John 6:37, 44). It is only as a result of
God's work in the heart that any seeks Him (Ps. 16:8, Matt. 6:33)</i>.</span></span> </li>
</ul>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<ul style="text-align: justify;">
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: blue;">"<b><span class="fbUnderline">All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;</span></b>"</span> <i>- "See Ps. 14:3. This word basically means 'to lean in the wrong direction.' It was used to describe a soldier's turning the wrong way, or deserting. All men are inclined to leave God's way and pursue their own (cf. Isa 53:6). </i></span></span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div>
<ul style="text-align: justify;">
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: blue;">"<b><span class="fbUnderline">no one does good, not even one.</span></b>"</span> - <i>See note on verse 10.</i></span></span></li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">How
are you doing? Still need more convincing proof? God gets a bit more forceful describing our nature in the following verses. Let's continue...</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<ul style="text-align: justify;">
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: blue;">"<span class="fbUnderline"><b>Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongue to deceive.</b></span>"</span> - <i>"See
Ps. 5:9. Graves were sealed not only to show respect for the deceased,
but to hide the sight and stench of the body's decay. As an unsealed
grave allows those who pass to see and smell what is inside, the
unregenerate person's open throat - that is, the foul words that come
from it - reveal the decay of his heart (cf. Prov 10:31-32; 15:2, 28;
Jer. 17:9; Matt 12:34-35; 15:18; James 3:1-12).</i></span></span> </li>
</ul>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<ul style="text-align: justify;">
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: blue;">"<b><span class="fbUnderline">The venom of asps is under their lips.</span></b>"</span> - <i>"See Ps. 140:3 </i>[<span style="color: blue;">"<span class="text Ps-140-3" id="en-ESV-16267">They make their tongue sharp as a serpent's,</span></span><span class="indent-1"><span style="color: blue;"><span class="indent-1-breaks"> </span></span><span class="text Ps-140-3"><span style="color: blue;">and under their lips is the venom of asps."</span>]</span></span><i>; cf Matt 3:7; 12:34 </i>[Jesus calls the Pharisees a <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>"brood of vipers"</i></span>]<i>"</i></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i> </i></span></span> </li>
</ul>
<ul style="text-align: justify;">
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: blue;">"<b><span class="fbUnderline">Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.</span></b>"</span> - <i>"This
is quoted from Ps. 10:7. It refers to wanting the worst for someone
and publicly expressing that desire in caustic, derisive language. <span style="color: blue;"><b>'bitterness</b>.'</span> The open, public expression of emotional hostility against one's enemy (cf. Ps. 64:3-4).</i></span></span></li>
</ul>
<ul style="text-align: justify;">
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: blue;">"<b><span class="fbUnderline">Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known.</span></b>"</span> - <i>"3:15-17 - This is quoted from Isa. 59:7-8. <span style="color: blue;">'<b>ruin and misery</b>'.</span> Man damages and destroys everything he touches, leaving a trail of pain and suffering in his wake.<b> <span style="color: blue;">'way of peace</span></b><span style="color: blue;">'</span>. Not the
lack of an inner sense of peace, but man's tendency toward strife and
conflict, whether between individuals or nations (cf. Jer. 6:14</i>)</span></span></li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And now the piece de resistance, the profound summation of all the above accusations:</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<ul style="text-align: justify;">
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: blue;">"<b><span class="fbUnderline">There is no fear of God before their eyes.</span></b>"</span> - <i>"See Ps. 36:1. <b> Man's true spiritual condition is nowhere
more clearly seen than in the absence of a proper submission to and
reverence for God</b>. Biblical fear for God consists of 1) awe of His
great glory, and 2) dread of the results of violating that holy nature (cf. Prov. 9:10; 16:6; Acts 5:1-11, 1 Cor. 11:30).</i></span></span></li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">In verse 19, Paul writes, <span style="color: blue;">"<i>Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law </i><span style="color: black;">[Jews, through the written law of Moses, and Gentiles, who have the works of the law written on their hearts]</span><i>, so that <b>every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God</b></i>."</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The
Law was written in order that man would see his utter inability to keep
any jot or tittle of it and point him to Jesus Christ, and because man is unable to keep it, he is
cursed by that inability. In simpler words, his mouth is zipped shut and he's without any excuse. We know that the law makes sin known, but we
also know it can't save us. Instead the Law condemns us. As Scripture tells us, if we have broken one commandment, we have broken them all (James 2:10). If you believe you aren't guilty, <a href="http://www.needgod.com/" target="_blank">I challenge you to take this short quiz.</a></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So, what do we do? How do we solve this sin problem? The
answer is that we can't do <i>anything</i> to make ourselves less of a wretch and clean ourselves up by attempting to adhere to and keep the Law. Our works,
our deeds, our good intentions are worthless and ineffective when it comes to pleasing God. The prophet Isaiah summed
it up in this verse: <span style="color: blue;"><span class="text Isa-64-6" id="en-ESV-18892">"<i><b>We have all become like one who is unclean,</b></i></span><i><b><span class="indent-1"><span class="indent-1-breaks"> </span><span class="text Isa-64-6">and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.</span></span><span class="text Isa-64-6"> We all fade like a leaf,</span></b></i><span class="indent-1"><i><b><span class="indent-1-breaks"> </span></b></i><span class="text Isa-64-6"><i><b>and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.</b></i>"</span></span></span> (Isaiah 64:6) When one understands the meaning behind <i><span style="color: blue;">"polluted garment,"</span> </i>or as the NIV translates it, <span style="color: blue;"><i>"filthy rag,"</i></span> the meaning of <span style="color: blue;"><i>"unclean"</i></span> becomes quite clear.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Look
out on today's world and the condition it's in. The world is a HUGE a mess of decay, debauchery,
unrighteousness, and outright wickedness. Evil abounds in every corner. Abortion is universally encouraged and accepted under the guise of "personal choice," even within the church which largely avoids speaking out against this child sacrifice to Molech. Homosexuality and every form of sexual deviancy fills
every nook and cranny of a society that demands Christians be tolerant. Porn, not only rampant outside the church, but within it. Lying and not being called on it. Adultery. Covetousness. Disrespect of parents, elders, and society at large. Blasphemy. Wolves
standing behind the pulpit preaching falsehoods and filling the minds of
their hearers with heresy and gleefully emptying their congregant's pockets. Unbelief and outright enmity and antagonism for God and His Word. Violence on every street of every nation. Hatred of all that is moral and virtuous. Ethnic wars being waged and hostility poured out upon our brothers and
sisters who are persecuted in over 60 nations. Governments corrupted
with the pride, arrogance, and greed of their leaders...</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">...the list is
endless and only limited to man's vile and malevolent imagination - and it's getting worse each day.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It kind of makes your head want to explode, doesn't it? </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>"There is no fear of God before their eyes"</b></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">That's us, folks. Mankind in all our flawed "glory" (and I use that term very loosely). Having been made in the image of God by His own hands, but doing everything we can to malign and denigrate that image and to thwart and negate His very Word.<b> </b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">If
you could look at yourself through God's eyes, what would you see?
Would you see a son or daughter clothed in the blood of Jesus'
righteousness, striving to keep firmly entrenched in the Word of God,
standing on His foundation, and continuously repenting of your ever
sinful thoughts and actions and striving to finish the race well? (2Tim 4:7-8) Would you see the wretch you truly are
when you consider God's great power and glory?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Or does that image of
you reflect a pseudo you; one who wears the badge of Christianity, yet
secretly, or even openly, revels in godlessness and arrogantly thinks God doesn't notice or shrugs His shoulders because it's just a little straying off the pathway, a short jog in the road, and, after all, you are all you
were meant to be? No one is perfect, right?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Let me answer that: there was only One who was perfect, but we are supposed to strive for His perfection, putting off the "old man" and putting on the new (Eph. 4:17-24). In other words, we need to get out of the gutter.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Do you see yourself as you should? Like I see myself? A
man or woman much worse than the next; a wretched sinner, chief among
them all, grieving the Holy Spirit daily, and unworthy of the deep, abounding and abiding love and providence God continues to pour
out on us?</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Each one of us should tremble at the thought that the day is coming when we will stand before Almighty God in all His glory and holiness - an image we can't even begin to comprehend! - and the unrepentant life we led, thoughts we had, and things we did or did not do will be splayed before us. Even more dire is that they may condemn us: </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="text Matt-7-22" id="en-ESV-23339"><span class="woj">"<span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and cast out demons in Your name, and do many mighty works in Your name?’</i></span></span></span><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i> </i></span><span class="text Matt-7-23" id="en-ESV-23340"><span class="woj"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><sup class="versenum"> </sup>And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness...</i></span>’" (</span></span>Matt 7:22-24). </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>"There is no fear of God before their eyes"</b></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">For those who are true professors of Jesus Christ, they understand that Scripture isn't talking about the kind of fear that causes dread and anxiety. They know it to mean reverential awe, admiration, and submissiveness to Almighty God and a <span style="color: blue;"><i>"good understanding"</i></span> of His righteous standards of holiness and justice.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><i>"The fear of the <span class="small-caps">L<span>ORD</span></span> is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding."</i></span> (Ps. 111:10)</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">However, within the body of Christ, there is a growing number of professing Christians who are not being told that the <span style="color: blue;"><i>"wisdom and instruction"</i></span> contained within the Word of God is there to benefit them in their spiritual growth. A whole new breed of <i><span style="color: blue;">"fools"</span></i> are being reared in the church through apostate and heretical teaching, ungodly entertainment, idolatry, complacency and apathy, and a watered-down, seeker-sensitive Gospel that is void of its very essence - the <i>actual </i>Gospel! </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><span style="color: blue;">"The fear of the <span class="small-caps">LORD</span> is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction."</span></i> (Prov. 1:7)</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">They <span style="color: blue;"><i>"despise"</i></span> the truth of God when it's presented to them; after all, that's not what <i>their </i>pastor told them! "He told me he didn't believe in total depravity and that there was good in all of us!" (I actually witnessed a pastor utter those words in his sermon - and it was the last one I suffered through). They are quickly becoming deficient in making good judgment, and unwisely following after the world and its cunning wiles because they are witnessing it from their pew within the very church they attend and, as described above, straight from the mouths of those who are supposed to be leading them towards Christ's righteousness. And as they blithely trip along throughout their lives, once in a while dipping their toes into the polluted waters of sin and foolishly thinking there is nothing wrong with an occasional hiatus away from holiness, they are proving God's admonition and point: </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Man is wretched to the very core of his soul.</span></span> </b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">There is a solution to all this. Although the apostle Paul begins the above verses with a precise demonstration of mankind's current state of wretchedness, God's righteousness, the Law and faith and their purpose and effect, and very clearly details God's holy judgment and wrath that will be poured out upon the unrighteous, unrepentant sinner, he brings us full circle to the cure:</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><i>"<span class="text Rom-3-21">But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the Law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—</span><span class="text Rom-3-22" id="en-ESV-27998">the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction:</span><sup> </sup><span class="text Rom-3-23" id="en-ESV-27999"><sup class="versenum"> </sup><b>for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,</b></span> <span class="text Rom-3-24" id="en-ESV-28000"><sup class="versenum"> </sup><b>and are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,</b></span><span class="text Rom-3-25" id="en-ESV-28001"><b><sup class="versenum"> </sup>whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood, to be received by faith.</b> This was to show God's righteousness, because in His divine forbearance He had passed over former sins<sup> </sup></span></i><span class="text Rom-3-25" id="en-ESV-28001"><sup><span style="color: black;">[delaying judgment to a future time]</span></sup></span><i><span class="text Rom-3-25" id="en-ESV-28001"><sup>. </sup></span><span class="text Rom-3-26" id="en-ESV-28002"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>It
was to show <b>His</b> righteousness at the present time, so that <b>He</b> might be
just and the Justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus."</span></i></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><span class="text Rom-3-26" id="en-ESV-28002"><span style="color: black;">Yep, I am truly a wretch. I have fallen short of God's glory and righteousness - far, far short. I acknowledge my depravity and sinfulness that is before God's sight each and every moment and that rises as a stench to His nostrils. But because Jesus Christ took upon Himself my wretchedness - crediting every sin I had and will commit to His own account, </span></span></span><span style="color: blue;"><span class="text Rom-3-26" id="en-ESV-28002"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: blue;"><span class="text Rom-3-26" id="en-ESV-28002"><span style="color: black;">shed His precious, sinless blood, and on my behalf, bore the punishment I deserved - through Him I have found favor with God. In a way, I guess you could say that when God now looks at me, He has narrowed His lens:</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><span class="text Rom-3-26" id="en-ESV-28002"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: blue;"><span class="text Rom-3-26" id="en-ESV-28002"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<ul style="text-align: justify;">
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><span class="text Rom-3-26" id="en-ESV-28002"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: blue;"><span class="text Rom-3-26" id="en-ESV-28002"><span style="color: black;">God has shown me through His Word that I am incapable of doing anything to earn His favor. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
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<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><span class="text Rom-3-26" id="en-ESV-28002"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: blue;"><span class="text Rom-3-26" id="en-ESV-28002"><span style="color: black;">Through Christ's righteousness being imputed to me (justified through faith in Christ and His atoning work on the cross) and clothing me with His righteousness, the Father sees me also as righteous.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
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<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><span class="text Rom-3-26" id="en-ESV-28002"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: blue;"><span class="text Rom-3-26" id="en-ESV-28002"><span style="color: black;">God sees that I am seeking after Him and desiring His wisdom and a<i><span style="color: blue;"> "good understanding"<span style="color: black;"> </span></span></i><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;">of Him and His Word.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
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<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><span class="text Rom-3-26" id="en-ESV-28002"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: blue;"><span class="text Rom-3-26" id="en-ESV-28002"><span style="color: black;">Instead of viewing me as a miserable, sinning wretch He probably wishes He had never created and destined for eternal condemnation, He sees His Son's worth in me, giving me great value, and has given me His Holy Spirit to gently keep me pointed in the right direction.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> </li>
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<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><span class="text Rom-3-26" id="en-ESV-28002"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: blue;"><span class="text Rom-3-26" id="en-ESV-28002"><span style="color: black;">Because the Holy Spirit is continuing His work of sanctifying me, the wretch I was before He came to dwell within me is slowly and surely being transformed into the perfect image of Jesus Christ. I still battle the world and sin, and will continue to do so until this body of flesh is replaced with perfection, but the world's appeal is </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><span class="text Rom-3-26" id="en-ESV-28002"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: blue;"><span class="text Rom-3-26" id="en-ESV-28002"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><span class="text Rom-3-26" id="en-ESV-28002"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: blue;"><span class="text Rom-3-26" id="en-ESV-28002"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;">viewed with great disgust and</span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>fading fast into obscurity.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I am truly a wretch but, through the work of the Holy Spirit, I'm becoming less of one every day. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><span class="text Rom-3-26" id="en-ESV-28002"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: blue;"><span class="text Rom-3-26" id="en-ESV-28002"><span style="color: black;">My one true desire is to finally be rid of this body of flesh and the sinfulness it brings. I long for the day when Jesus returns to establish His glorious kingdom upon this earth and restore justice. But while He tarries, a spiritual battle is constantly being waged in my flesh. Further on in the book of Romans, Paul laments over the war that's continually waged in his flesh and his mind (Rom. 7:15-25), and I can definitely relate.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><span class="text Rom-3-26" id="en-ESV-28002"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: blue;"><span class="text Rom-3-26" id="en-ESV-28002"><span style="color: black;">But it's a battle that will, with absolute certainty, end in victory, for I know the One who victoriously waged the battle for my soul. He suffered unimaginably for His wretched children, saving them from an eternity of death, gathering them unto Himself, sanctifying them to His perfection, and He deserves <i>all</i> the praise for <i>His</i> work.</span></span></span></span></span><span class="text Rom-3-26" id="en-ESV-28002"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: blue;"><span class="text Rom-3-26" id="en-ESV-28002"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><span class="text Rom-3-26" id="en-ESV-28002"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: blue;"><span class="text Rom-3-26" id="en-ESV-28002"><span style="color: black;">When that day finally comes - and when I consider all that is happening in the world, it can't come soon enough - I will rejoice in eternal praise and worship and fall on my face in humble adoration before the God who saved such a wretch as me.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><span class="text Rom-3-26" id="en-ESV-28002"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: blue;"><span class="text Rom-3-26" id="en-ESV-28002"><span style="color: black;">"How deep the Father's love for us,</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><span class="text Rom-3-26" id="en-ESV-28002"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: blue;"><span class="text Rom-3-26" id="en-ESV-28002"><span style="color: black;">how vast beyond all measure;</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><span class="text Rom-3-26" id="en-ESV-28002"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: blue;"><span class="text Rom-3-26" id="en-ESV-28002"><span style="color: black;">that He should give His only Son</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><span class="text Rom-3-26" id="en-ESV-28002"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: blue;"><span class="text Rom-3-26" id="en-ESV-28002"><span style="color: black;">to make a wretch His treasure."</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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Blog Administrator, Karen L. Brahshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09539707490734479755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7986801166033320768.post-56808282626155799432014-01-25T13:59:00.001-07:002019-12-09T14:39:37.473-07:00Here For Such A Time As This<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvHW5OttG4H1tVPGM5OIADLi5hjHh638JgSjMDfy7tOBO86W74cWZ6swb2EzDrooSjtn6wqEpDjmPaw12jVzeS4-R_wnWqAVgoz0S7w2fs-85j0JVdfDGp_ys-h3Ne3Yzxh_aOQ_FUh0Dz/s1600/tumblr_ma2f1cYIHS1qzoucbo1_500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvHW5OttG4H1tVPGM5OIADLi5hjHh638JgSjMDfy7tOBO86W74cWZ6swb2EzDrooSjtn6wqEpDjmPaw12jVzeS4-R_wnWqAVgoz0S7w2fs-85j0JVdfDGp_ys-h3Ne3Yzxh_aOQ_FUh0Dz/s1600/tumblr_ma2f1cYIHS1qzoucbo1_500.jpg" width="282" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">"For You formed my inward parts;</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">You knitted me together in my mother's womb.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I praise You for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Wonderful are Your works;</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">my soul knows it very well. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">My frame was not hidden from You,</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">when I was made in secret,</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">intricately woven in the depths of the earth.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Your eyes saw my unformed substance;</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">in Your book were written, every one of them, </span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">the days that were formed for me,</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">when as yet there was none of them."</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="indent-1"><span class="text Ps-139-16">Psalm 139:13-16, ESV</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="indent-1"><span class="text Ps-139-16"><b><i>"God has ordained the battle, which means He has raised up the enemy so that we, His bride, could be a help suitable to the second Adam as He destroys all His enemies for His glory; for the glory of His Namesake, for the glory of His Father. We are here for such a time as this, so that Jesus will win."</i></b> ~ R.C. Sproul, Jr.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="indent-1"><span class="text Ps-139-16">For me to add anything else in the way of introduction to this post, </span></span><span class="indent-1"><span class="text Ps-139-16">other than what the psalmist and R.C. wrote, would pale in comparison.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="indent-1"><span class="text Ps-139-16">Please take 54 minutes to watch this documentary. After you do, I hope you will share it with your church and others, and that you will see that you may have also been raised up by God for a time such as this.</span></span></span></span></div>
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Blog Administrator, Karen L. Brahshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09539707490734479755noreply@blogger.com0