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The Role of God Goes to………

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,340737,00.html

This article is a commentary response on the article linked above.

It’s unbelievable how far we’ve come today. When a couple is told they cannot have children that doesn’t mean that they won’t have children. It just means that the way the child is made will not be conventional. Since God is no obstacle for most people today (I say that with sadness), morality is drowned in selfish ambition to get what one wants.

It’s ironic that the people who cannot conceive naturally can, in a lab, choose whether they want a boy or girl. Now as we read about in the above article, IVF or In Vitro Fertilization consists of fertilizing many eggs in a petri dish and “discarding” the ones you don’t want. Discarding? That is a sick way to make a child! You simply kill off their siblings in the process and get your choice. Why is it this practice is accepted? I guess it’s because we’re suppose happy that those unfortunate people who couldn’t have children and are now parents. I know I’m not. I’m never happy when children die in the process of making someones dream come true.

The sickest part of the story is that the people in the article are not infertile, but they just didn’t want to have to care for a child who would require any extra attention. I know a special needs child isn’t ideal but who are we to play the role of God? These people snuffed out an unnumbered amount of lives the day they chose who would live. I also wonder if they realize how fortunate they are to be given the responsibility by God to be parents at all. I dare say no. We are suppose to all feel bad that they tried to play God and it didn’t work out like they planned.

Instead of loving their son, they are suing the people involved. They are also showing their love for their son by claiming they would have considered terminating him had they know. I pray he never knows the truth of how his parents really feel. With parents like that who needs assassins. I hope these people learn to love and appreciate what they have for his sake. I also pray God will touch their lives and bring them to Himself.

In all of this we see the diminishing of God’s will and taking over of man’s selfish will. God has been know to withhold things for reasons unseen to us and in His timing give what He wills. We live in a place where if we can’t get it naturally, we artificially obtain it regardless of the moral implications. I pray we seek God in all things and not the counsel of the ungodly. God Bless.

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He was Here a Minute Ago

I would like to take a look at a simple question. If the resurrection of Jesus is true, how does that effect my life? Now you don’t have to be a Christian for this to apply. Believe it or not, the resurrection applies to everyone. I not only believe that the resurrection is the single most important event in Christianity, but in the history of the human race.

Jesus foretold of His resurrection in John 2:19 when He said, ” “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Bible mentions that the temple he was referring to was His body.

How do we know this happened? Since there are no photographs or videos from that time we should use our minds to evaluate the situation.

We know that when Jesus was crucified the disciples were afraid. It says in Luke’s Gospel that those who knew Jesus stood and watched these things from a distance (Luke 23:49). Also in John’s account we find the disciples all in a room with the door locked for fear of the Jews (John 20:19). As you could imagine, the disciples had ample reason to be afraid, the One they called the Messiah had just been put to death. What would stop the Jewish authorities from snuffing them out also? With all that in mind what could have happened to inspire the apostles to go into Jerusalem and preach the name of Jesus openly just a short time after He was crucified? The Bible tells us that the risen Jesus appeared to them. I would have to agree that if I saw the risen Lord in the flesh Read the rest of this entry »

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He did it for us.

This week we remember Jesus and all He gave for us. Now I haven’t seen the movie (The Passion of the Christ), although I have heard many good things about it, but I have read the accounts in the Bible. This passage is to honor the One who held nothing back when it came to freeing an enslaved world. Thank you Jesus!

Isaiah 53

1 Who has believed our message
and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?

2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.

3 He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.
Like one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

4 Surely he took up our infirmities
and carried our sorrows,
yet we considered him stricken by God,
smitten by him, and afflicted.

5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.

6 We all, like sheep, have Read the rest of this entry »

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Bridge for Sale

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=080304120710.ad7gm7i6&show_article=1

This blog is in response to this absurd article article I put a link to on top. The gist is that Moses was hallucinating on drugs when he got the ten commandments. Of course, today people will believe anything but the truth. I’d like to take a moment to look at this allegation logically.

First of all, I never read of Moses taking drugs in the Bible. It would seem ridiculous to be high on drugs and leading people through the desert to the promised land. Why on earth would anyone follow a person who has been hallucinating for 40 years?

I’d like to note the amazing things that happened while they were in the desert. When they received manna from heaven or survived poisonous snake bite, was that a hallucination? How can you nourish your body with food that isn’t there? You simply can’t. Too many things happened to Moses and the Israelites to be a hallucination.

When the Ten Commandments were first given, God spoke from the mountain like thunder and the people Read the rest of this entry »

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Seven Teachings of Jesus that Reject the “Prosperity Gospel”

I have often wondered how is it that a person who claims to be a Christian leader, teacher and shepherd could possibly hold to the idea that Christianity is about “prosperity” and material wealth. Well, I’m still wondering…Here are seven unambiguous teachings from scripture that are completely contrary to the so-called “prosperity gospel”:

1. Matt 6:19-21 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
2. Matt 6:24  “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon (money[1]).”
3. Mark 4:18-19 “Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.”
4. Mark 10:23-25 ‘Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!” And the disciples were astonished at His words. But Jesus answered again and said to them, “Children, how hard it is for Read the rest of this entry »

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What is Church? Part 2

 Editors Note: This is part 2 of the teaching outline authored by Steve Gregg and presented at the Great Commision School. (Review Part 1) It has been published by permission of the author.

V. I believe that the one mandate of the Christian is to love all who call on the Lord out of a pure heart (John 13:34/II Tim 2:22), not judging one another by extrabiblical criteria (John 7:24). The unity of the whole church is seriously compromised when organizational linking-not love-is treated as an essential to ‘normative Christian fellowship.”

A. It is sin and unloving to impose a single culturally-defined model of ‘normative church life’ upon believers who, apart from that model, are walking in love, victory over sin, service, humility, and abundance of sociable fellowship, simply because they define their ‘church’ affiliation by some other standard than the extrabiblical standard most current in a given culture.

B. Such culturally-established models of ‘church’ may even, occasionally, fit biblical norms less admirably than do some alternative structures.

C. The exact frequency of formal meetings or assemblies is never prescribed in scripture. No one reading the gospels can get the impression that Jesus’ primary focus was the establishing of weekly “meetings” for His disciples!  He never said a word about such. He talked about real-life relationships–and little else. Even in Acts, there is no mention of weekly meetings ^[1] .

D. Nonetheless, such meetings provide one small avenue for communication, corporate prayer, public instruction, worship, etc., and have their place in the believer’s life (Heb 10:25).

E. I believe that the modern-day equivalent of these congregations may be in what are today called ‘churches’ or in homes or in ‘para-church’ meetings.  The label on the building, the day or frequency of meeting, and the protocol for the gathering are not dictated by scripture. Therefore, a great deal of latitude must be granted for various organizational ‘norms’ by which various groups and associations of believers define themselves (Rom 14:4-6). To insist that one particular set of extrabiblical norms be imposed as non-negotiable points upon other believers is to be sectarian and carnal.

F. The fruit of love and Christian growth and service should be Read the rest of this entry »

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Moment Of Truth

This week I was able to catch this show on TV. For those who know me that’s pretty good, since I don’t have cable. Anyhow, I would like to write a post on some observations I made while watching “Moment of Truth”.

The Premise of the show:

The contestant is asked a series of questions. They must answer truthfully because their voice is being filter through lie detector software. If the software decides the answer is true, you can press on. If it detects a lie, you lose everything. There are no 3 strikes here, 1 lie and you’re out. The contestant’s family is on the sideline watching this all take place and has the option to press this button to skip just 1 question they don’t want to hear the answer to. Oh by the way, every time you answer a question truthfully you get more money and you can stop at any time or risk all the money for the next question.

One this particular episode the contestant was a young (about 30ish) female and married. Her husband, parents and two sisters were watching from the side. I won’t go into detail about all of the questions but they started with simple ones such as, ‘have you ever told someone you liked their hair when you didn’t?’ As the jackpot climbed the questions got more personal. Soon they were recalling her stealing money from her job and how she got caught. She stayed truthful despite how much it hurt. As I watched the jackpot increase I knew the questions would get worse. Of course she could have stopped at anytime. As the questions began to be directed at her relationships, she had to know that the skeletons in her closet were about to be exposed. As she answered question after question she began revealing (in front of her husband, family, and America) how she is in love with her ex boyfriend. They asked, “Were you in love with someone else on your wedding day?” and the even the ex came on stage to ask “Do you think you should be married to me?”.  These questions began to take their toll on her husband. Oddly enough she seemed to care less as she was revealing her true self. Remember, this is for money so I guess that motivated her.

The ultimate betrayal was revealed when they finally asked a question about Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Media | 2 Comments »

Another View on Leadership (guest post)

 Editor’s Note: The following was an excellent response to my comment on “Pastor? What Pastor? “. I decided to make it a guest post of its own… unedited. Thanks… who ever you are, this is exactly what I was asking… a little long for a comment, but very well done. - Derek

The Gospel According to Bling Bling!

The heresy of the so-called, “Prosperity Gospel”, where false teachers teach the masses that material weath is an entitlement of all faithful Christians, is a devious and deceptive lie. It is a totally carnal and self-centered lifestyle that is demonstrably the opposite of a follower of Jesus Christ.  This parody video hits the nail on the head in communicating the absurdity of such a view of the Christian life.

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What is Church? Part 1

This post is published by permission from the author Steve Gregg. This is from a teaching outline used at the Great Commission School
I. According to Scripture, all Christians belong to the universal church (I Cor 12:13 Eph 4:4-6), which is an organism (not an organization) left on earth to communicate Christ’s message and to continue his work in his absence (John 14:12-14/ Acts 1:1, by implication). I believe that this Church is a spiritually created and defined “body,” comprised of a diversity of members who are gifted and placed in spiritual relationship to one another by the sovereign Spirit of God (I Cor 12:11-12 /Phil 2:1).

II. There is a local “sampling” of the universal body of Christ in every locality wherein “two or more” persons have come to faith in Christ and gather together for mutual edification and cooperative ministry (Matt 18:20).

A. All the believers in a given locality are the united local expression of Christ to their sector of the world.

B. No divisions are to be tolerated among them (see point 6 in part 2).

C. In the New Testament, the ‘locality’ of the church was defined in terms of city boundaries (I Cor 1:2/I Thess 1:1/Titus 1:5.). In our own day of clustered cities and suburbs and of improved transportation, the definition of ‘locality’ might conceivably be extended beyond the borders of a single city or town.

III. In some localities, the local sample may consist of such a large number of believers that they cannot all meet in the same building. The result is the clustering of smaller groups into various congregations or ‘house churches’ (Rom 16:5, 10, 11 /Col 4:15 w/Philemon 2).

A. Since Paul addressed his letters to all the Christians in a given city (Rom 1:7/Phil 1:1/Col 1:2), it is a fair inference that the various smaller clusters in the city enjoyed a certain amount of unity Read the rest of this entry »

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