Liberals and Conservatives, Unite!

By Matt Barber

Matt Barber – Liberty Counsel Action

More often than not, when someone says, “I hate to say I told you so,” they love to say they told you so. Prepare to have a bucket of gloat dumped on your head.

Still, there are those rare occasions when people both say it and mean it. A few possible examples come to mind: Aboard the Titanic. At the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Standing before the pearly gates (after your stupid bomb squad partner goes ahead and cuts the blue wire). And right now.

Liberals, we conservatives hate to say we told you so.

But we told you so.

In the wake of CIA whistleblower Edward Snowden’s earthshaking revelation that the Obama NSA has been spying on tens of millions of Americans – conservatives, liberals and moderates alike – by illegally searching and seizing telephone calls and other private data, I tweeted the following: “So can liberals and conservatives all come together now and agree that Obama is a Marxist tyrant?”

Ian Murphy, a liberal freelance writer with Salon.com, AlterNet.org and similar such “progressive” publications, tweeted back: “He’s not a Marxist.”

“We’ll split the difference,” I replied.

The implication behind Murphy’s brief comment is both clear and profound. While he, a proud leftist, inexplicably remains in denial of Obama’s patently evident Neo-Marxist socio-political worldview, he has, nonetheless – and along with a fast-growing number of his “progressive” counterparts – finally come to acknowledge that Barack Hussein Obama, 44th president of these Divided States of America, is, indeed, a grade-A tyrant.

In recent months, as this administration has been rocked by self-inflicted scandal after self-inflicted scandal, a vibrant, three-dimensional picture of Mr. Obama has begun to emerge. So obvious and outrageous are his abuses of power that many of his sycophantic holdouts are finally taking a second, less-jaundiced look at their Dear Leader.

For example, after it was learned that the Obama IRS was intentionally targeting conservative, Christian and Jewish organizations and individuals for harassment and political intimidation, Jon Stewart, liberal comedian and host of “The Daily Show,” did a scathing spot in which he told the president, “You’ve vindicated conspiracy theorists.”

More recently, in response to the IRS and NSA scandals, “Tonight Show” host Jay Leno joked of “Snoop Obama”: “We wanted a president that listens to all Americans,” he said. “Now we have one.”

Both the liberal New York Times and hard-left filmmaker Michael Moore have similarly opined that the Obama administration has “lost all credibility,” while left-leaning Politico observed that, “Nothing brings the left and the right together quite like government snooping.”

This is the tip of the iceberg. Liberals are running from Obama like Occupy Wall Streeters from Irish Spring. Each of these scandals (Fast and Furious, Benghazi, IRS-gate, spying on the media, NSA spying on the American people, et al.) are, ostensibly, grievous enough, when taken alone, to rise to the level of “high crimes and misdemeanors.”

When taken together, however, they are manifestly impeachable.

Unfortunately, I doubt Congress has the courage to do it. It would take a bipartisan, consensus effort. We’re still not there yet. Even so, we’ve come a long way. No reasonable person, liberal or conservative, can, in good faith, still deny that Barack Obama is the most lawless president in American history.

Oh what a difference a couple centuries make. While Benjamin Franklin famously warned, “They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety,” President Obama – with his hand caught in your information cookie jar – now assures us that Franklin had it all wrong: “[O]ne of the things that we’re going to have to discuss and debate is how are we striking this balance between the need to keep the American people safe and our concerns about privacy,” he said, “because there are some tradeoffs involved.”

Yikes.

“The president is conducting an all-out assault on the constitutionally protected rights of American citizens,” responded Mat Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel, one of the fastest-growing civil rights legal organizations in America.

“Electronic data collection on this massive scale clearly violates the Fourth Amendment. It is tantamount to having a government official sneak into your home or business and copy all of your papers, records and personal effects. The fact the government may not immediately use copied material except when it needs it is irrelevant. The Fourth Amendment does not prohibit searches and seizures without probable cause only if the government uses the information,” he said.

“We cannot justify such massive collection of American citizens’ data by any government agency under the guise of preventing crime or even terrorism. This government overreach is an indictment on both political parties, as both have been involved in authorizing these unconstitutional acts. Our government leaders and bureaucrats have forgotten the price of liberty and are too willing to give up liberty for a little security,” concluded Staver.

This isn’t a left or right issue. This is about freedom. This is about the rule of law. Barack Obama has exposed himself as an enemy of the Constitution, an enemy of the American people – all of the American people – whether liberal or conservative, Democrat or Republican.

Liberals, let’s agree to disagree where we disagree. Likewise, let’s agree to agree where we agree.

Let’s come together and do something about America’s Barack Obama problem.

Matt Barber (@jmattbarber on Twitter) is an attorney concentrating in constitutional law. He serves as Vice President of Liberty Counsel Action. (This information is provided for identification purposes only.)

Power Scandals: Abuse of Information Systems for Political Gain

by Elizabeth Sharon Morris

Our current political environment and plethora of scandals would seem to support the old adage, “Information is Power.” However, on closer look, it is apparent that what one ‘knows’ is not nearly as important as what one does with it. Biblically, ‘information’ that doesn’t include understanding and wisdom might be worthless. Ultimately, the only knowledge with any power is that which comes through the Holy Spirit.

It is interesting to note how many of our current scandals involve the abuse of information systems. Data has been collected from information systems that shouldn’t have been collected, given out that shouldn’t have been given out, or withheld that shouldn’t have been withheld. Some people are in trouble for using the information system in a criminal manner. Others are in trouble for not picking up a phone and using the Information system afforded them at all.

So is Knowledge Power?

If Edward Snowden, the man who recently leaked information concerning the government gathering of telephone records, had simply sat on the information and done nothing, he would have had knowledge, but would he have had any power? Further, after leaking the information, running to Hong Kong, and now tensely waiting to see what the government might do to him, has he gained any power?

Specific people have information concerning Benghazi, and they are not sharing it with anyone. Who has the power? On the other hand, the IRS had lots of information they liberally used and disseminated. They clearly had the power while doing this, but now that the awareness of their activities has become common knowledge, who has the power?

Certainly, as more information has hit the news concerning our current federal government, tables have tipped. We can see that knowledge does, indeed have some power. The question is, does it have ultimate power?

In the end, we will all be cognizant of the same data points. But with the benefit of those data points, the entity that is able to win over more citizens, news agencies, legislators, and public opinion in general will prove to be the one with the most power.

And what will cause this tip in one direction of the other? Will it be money? Will it be cronyism? If one of these two points factor in, are they then the source of power?

Within Scripture, we are told the importance of knowledge. Hos 4:6 (NIV) “My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.” But we are also told that having mere “knowledge” without wisdom – and more importantly, love – is said to be worthless.

1 Cor 13:2 (NIV) If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge… but have not love, I am nothing.

Proverbs is filled with urgency concerning wisdom and knowledge. They are vital to our lives. Reading these verses, it is clear that the only source of power comes from God’s Wisdom and Knowledge.

Prov 1:29-31 (NIV) “…Since they hated knowledge and did not choose to fear the Lord, since they would not accept my advice and spurned my rebuke, they will eat of the fruit of their ways and be filled with the fruit of their scheme.”

Prov 23:23 (NIV) Buy the truth and do not sell it; get wisdom, discipline, and understanding.

Prov 8:11 (NIV) For wisdom is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire can compare with her.

Prov 24:5-6 (NIV) A wise man has great power, and a man of knowledge increases strength. For waging war you need guidance, and for victory many advisers.

Jam 1:5 (NIV) If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

But again – only the knowledge that comes from God, as His discretion.

Gen 2:17 (NIV) But you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.

God, who is Love (1 John 4:8), alone has and is the power. He gives us what we need when we need it. He will give us all the information we need, if we would only look to Him and trust Him for it. These are all part of the gifts promised through the Holy Spirit, to each according to God’s grace. (Romans 12:6)

An increasing amount of data is being stored into information systems around the world. Are the current scandals just a taste of the potential misuse that can occur with our personal information?

Further, as an increasing amount of data surfaces concerning the various scandals currently plaguing our country, we are all growing in knowledge. Whether or not wise decisions are made based on that knowledge is another matter. Data alone, without the discernment and wisdom gifted through the Holy Spirit, can be hurtful. However, ‘information’ that includes God’s knowing wisdom, understanding, discernment – and love – is most definitely powerful.

IRS-Gate: Join the Call for a Special Counsel

By Matt Barber

Matt Barber – Liberty Counsel Action

Every U.S. president seems to have one primary historical hallmark – positive or negative – that characterizes his legacy. For Abraham Lincoln it was the abolition of slavery, for FDR it was the New Deal, for Bill Clinton it was Monica Lewinsky, for George W. Bush it was the Islamic terrorist attacks of 9/11, and for Barack Obama it will be, quite simply, scandal – lots and lots of scandal.

Can you imagine an alleged burglar investigating his own burglary, or a serial killer his own crimes? How far do you think those investigations would get? Well, that’s exactly what’s happening right now with this Obama administration. Those accused of illegal activity within the IRS are being “investigated” by the very executive branch to which they belong. Talk about the fox watching the hen house.

The White House’s “rogue-IRS-employees-dunnit” narrative has come apart at the seams. CBS News is now reporting that, “Two Internal Revenue Service agents working in the agency’s Cincinnati office say higher-ups in Washington directed the targeting of conservative political groups when they applied for tax-exempt status, a contention that directly contradicts claims made by the agency since the scandal erupted last month. …

“[O]ne of the agents said her work processing the applications was closely supervised by a Washington lawyer in the IRS division that handles applications for tax-exempt status, according to a transcript of her interview with congressional investigators.

“Her interview suggests a long trail of emails that could support her claim.”

This is only the beginning. We will never fully grasp the potential weight and scope of the Obama administration’s systemic abuses of power until, and unless, an already embattled Attorney General Eric Holder relents and appoints a special counsel. It’s time.

To that end, Liberty Counsel has developed a petition asking for just that. In addition to calling on the House Ways and Means Committee, the Senate Finance Committee and the IRS Oversight Board to investigate this abuse of power, we are also calling for the establishment of a special counsel to conduct a thorough investigation of IRS-gate. We already have about 45,000 signatures, but would like to see half a million. (Please go here to sign the petition and help stop the targeting of conservative groups and individuals by the IRS.)

Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel said: “The IRS has effectively confirmed what thoughtful Americans feared: Under the Obama administration, the IRS amassed unprecedented power and unleashed the politically driven will to provoke and abuse organizations whose agendas run counter to leftist ideologies. As we now know, this abuse of power was strategically implemented during an election season to help assure Barack Obama’s re-election and further undermine the Constitution and its guarantees of equal protection under the law.”

RGA Chairman Gov. Bobby Jindal and RGA Vice Chairman Gov. Scott Walker agree. They sent a letter to President Obama: “This is Big Brother come to life and a witch hunt to prevent Americans from exercising their First Amendment rights,” they wrote. “Here are two steps that should be taken: 1. Fire any and all employees responsible for this situation; 2. Appoint a special prosecutor now to find out if laws were broken and if anyone committed crimes.”

On Tuesday, there were a number of compelling testimonies given before the House Ways and Means Committee by leaders of conservative, Christian and Jewish organizations targeted by the Obama IRS.

Becky Gerritson, president of the Wetumpka Tea Party in Alabama, gave especially compelling testimony that was met with rousing applause. She proffered a remarkable depiction of what she endured personally and on behalf of the organization she leads. But her most hard-hitting comments were directed toward elected officials and bureaucrats: “I’m not here as a serf or a vassal,” she said. “I’m not begging my lords for mercy. I’m a born free American woman – wife, mother and citizen. And I’m telling my government that you’ve forgotten your place. It is not your responsibility to look out for my well-being and to monitor my speech. It’s not your right to assert an agenda.

“Your post, the post that you occupy, exists to preserve American liberty. You’ve sworn to perform that duty and you have faltered. The abuses I will discuss today occurred on your watch. It is your responsibility to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

Indeed, Mrs. Gerritson is right. It is up to our government to make sure it doesn’t happen again; but it’s up to us to make sure our government gets moving.

“We are calling for a special counsel,” said Staver, “to spearhead the investigations exposing all who were involved – and, in particular, to find out where these illegal orders originated. …

“The IRS abuses during an election cycle, Benghazi-gate, the seizing of reporter email – all of which were preceded by the Fast and Furious scandal and the corruption surrounding the passage of Obamacare – are all symptoms of an out of control government,” he continued. “Join me in calling for the establishment of a special counsel to examine the IRS’ abuse of power and to hold those responsible accountable.”

The American people agree. According to a report from The Hill, “A Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll released late Tuesday shows 55 percent believe the IRS targeting of conservative groups raised questions about the administration’s ‘overall honesty and integrity.’

“Fifty-eight percent say the administration’s handling of the Benghazi [mission] attack also raises questions about the honesty of the White House. The same number say the Justice Department’s subpoenaing of reporter email and phone records in national security leak investigations also raises concerns.”

These and other chilling invasions of privacy by this Orwellian Obama administration have even prompted the hard-left New York Times to opine that the “administration has lost all credibility.”

I wasn’t aware it had any credibility to begin with.

(Please make your voice heard. Sign the petition today.)

June 9, 2013 10:03 pm / Leave a Comment

Is the BIA Another Corrupt Bureaucracy?

On June 9, 2013, as our family honors the June 9, 2004 anniversary of Roland J. Morris, Sr.’s passing, I feel called to bring his memory and his brave actions to the attention of our newest members and supporters, many who may be unfamiliar with Roland’s legacy.

Roland and I founded CAICW in February 2004 to fill a critical need for all families affected by the ICWA and the destructive forces of reservation life. In my book, ‘Dying in Indian Country,’ I chronicle our family’s own struggles and losses as a result of Indian policy, our decision to leave and our ultimate redemption through Jesus Christ. Roland and I both believed then, as I still do now, that the solutions to the problems we seek to expose and resolve rest in the hands of God. Even on the hardest days, we must trust Him to provide the direction and the answers to our prayers. In the meantime, CAICW remains committed to our original Christian ministry to share His Word while advocating for families at risk of harm due to the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA). Our efforts are judicial and educational, as well as a prayer resource for families and a shoulder to cry on.

Roland, of 100% heritage, spoke Ojibwe as his first language. He was born and raised on the Leech Lake Reservation in Minnesota and spent his entire life watching friends and family die—physically, spiritually and emotionally—from the effects of alcoholism, drugs, violence and suicide. He himself was a survivor of these destructive behaviors and the more he came to know God, the more convinced he became that monumental change was needed to help his people.

He was especially concerned for the children and distressed by the lack of concern he witnessed by many adults within Indian country. He longed for the self-destruction to stop. God led Roland to step out and speak up for change in Indian country. It took great courage to do so then and it still does. Today, nine years after Roland’s passing, instead of hearing about positive change in Indian country, we continue to witness more of the same abuse and neglect, but on a much larger, more evil scale. And yet, tribal and federal government officials continue to turn a blind eye to the situation.

Roland was particularly concerned about the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), whose dictates perpetuate the abuse of children with Indian heritage by entrapping them in corrupt tribal systems. Instead of providing for the best concerns and welfare of children, this law has served to financially prop up corrupt tribal governments, more often serving the best interest of the tribe, social workers and federal officials than the children it is suppose to serve. The most high profile example of the complications and abuse of this law today are exemplified by the “Baby Veronica” case heard in April 2013, by the United States Supreme Court. In Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl, two-year-old Veronica had been given for adoption as a newborn by her non-Indian mother, only to be later removed from the only home she ever knew on the basis of 1.12% Cherokee heritage.

The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to hand down their ruling this month.

Not long before Roland’s passing, in April 2004, the Minneapolis Star Tribune published a series by Larry Oakes entitled, ‘The Lost Youth of Leech Lake,’ which chronicled many horrific accounts of destruction and despair happening to the children of Leech Lake. While the series initially caused a great stir, in the end it was not enough to bring about any significant change.

One of the victims highlighted in the series became an integral part of CAICW’s continued mission to expose the abuses in Indian country and urge action to bring positive change. Sierra Goodman, who was first given to a man to be used for sex at the age of ten, attempted to run away more than a dozen times to return to the only family she felt loved and safe with—a non-Indian foster family she had initially been placed with then taken away from because of the ICWA. After attempting to hang herself at the age of 16, Sarah was finally allowed to return to the family who loved her. This past February, Sierra joined CAICW in Washington, D.C. to personally tell her story to lawmakers and urge them to make changes to the ICWA by sighting the physical and emotional damage she has suffered as a result of the law.

As Roland spoke out against Indian policy, he appeared in numerous newspaper articles across the country. On May 14, 2004, Washington Times reporter Jennifer Lehner wrote:

“Mr. Morris said that once children are relocated to the reservations, they are subject to the corrupt law of the tribal government. Instead of preserving culture…the tribal leadership uses the ICWA to acquire funds provided through the legislation…ICWA is supposed to help children, but instead it helps tribal governments.”

Nine years later, tribal governments are no less corrupt, and the ICWA has become an integral funding source for all tribal issues. Lawyers, social service programs, social service workers, care providers, grant writers, foundations and tribal leadership are all getting rich as a result of this law. In the meantime, the children continue to suffer. In the past year, people we have seen new voices speaking to these concerns. The New York Times and Frontline’s Kind Hearted Woman documentary revealed these same issues and the abuses taking place on the Spirit Lake Reservation of North Dakota. Thomas Sowell penned the article, “Whose Welfare? The Injustice of the Indian Child Welfare Act,” in a January 2013 National Review Online article, while former Oglala Sioux Tribal Judge Patrick Lee recently wrote about the problems in his article “Why I filed a complaint against the Oglala Sioux Tribal Council.”

After attending a South Dakota conference in May that was aimed at hearing the grievances of reservation tribal members affected by the ICWA, native author David Rooks penned an article in the Rapid City Journal titled, “Rooks: Questions unasked, unanswered.” Rook is brave enough to write,

“Have there been problems with the implementation of ICWA? You bet. But while we’re gathered, let’s ask some additional questions. Questions, perhaps, no one wants to ask, like: Why are so many Native children winding up in foster care?”

He goes on to state,

“If we’re to be honest, we’ll look at each other and ask: What is going on with our families? What really is the problem? How do we restore our own cultural imperatives? How do we—not someone else—mend our own Sacred Hoop? Yes, children are sacred. Why is it so many of ours need to flee our people to be safe?”

Yes, like Roland did, people are finding their voices to bravely speak out and expose the truth, but after 13 Mandated Reports about the abuse of children on the Spirit Lake, SD reservation and NOT ONE SINGLE action being taken is it possible that change will never come to Indian country? Are the problems in Indian country just another long-running scandal the federal government is working 24-7 to keep in the dark? In honor of Roland, and most importantly for the sake of the children, I urge you to continue to vigilantly monitor and speak up about these atrocities. The U.S. Constitution defends the rights of all U.S. citizens and CAICW is calling on our government to equally protect children of all heritages.

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In memory of Minnesota Chippewa tribal member Roland J. Morris, Sr., the Christian Alliance for Indian Child Welfare is sponsoring an essay contest on June 9-15, 2013, to draw attention to the widespread and ongoing physical and sexual abuse of children living within Indian Country. The topic of the contest is ‘Why Children Are More Important Than Politics’ with a subtopic of ‘Why Is Our Federal Government Ignoring Ongoing Child Abuse?’

The 800-1500 word submissions can be sent to WriteUs@caicw.org.

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R.I.P, Boy Scouts of America

By Matt Barber

“What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?” (Mark 8:36)

It’s a sad day for both Scouting and for freedom. Indeed, it’s a sad day for America. The century-old Boy Scouts of America (BSA) – created in 1910 to “prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes” – has betrayed its own constituency, mission, oath and law.

Last Thursday, approximately 1,400 adult BSA delegates from around the country gathered in Texas and decided, in a disgracefully lopsided vote, to welcome into its ranks, “open and avowed” homosexuality (boy-on-boy sexual attraction and behavior), thereby disavowing the “morally straight” Scout Oath its members are sworn to uphold.

They voted unwisely.

History will reflect that on this day the BSA turned from morally straight to immorally bent – that this once great organization – founded on “honor,” “reverence” and biblical morality – was crushed beneath the worldly weight of pagan idolatry.

Whereas, for over a century, millions of boys have raised their right hands, swearing “on my honor” to “do my duty to God and my country” – on this day, hundreds of adult delegates likewise raised their right hands, shook their fists at God and flipped their middle fingers at both the boys they serve and the parents who trusted them.

While endeavoring to “gain the world,” this once honorable institution has forfeited its soul.

Scripture admonishes: “The wages of sin is death.” (Rom. 6:23). This was a catastrophic miscalculation. It was sin, and, tragically, through this sin, the BSA has now effectively sealed its own fate. It has set into motion its own demise.

Even by its own estimates, BSA leadership admits that the decision will likely result in a mass exodus from Scouting. They anticipate that as many as 400,000 Scouts and Scouters will leave the organization (acceptable casualties in the war on morality, I guess). Still, as devastating as this number is, it too represents a gross miscalculation.

Consider, for instance, that when Canada’s version of the Boy Scouts voted in 1998 to welcome open homosexuality, its membership rolls plummeted by over half in just five years, forcing camp closures, staff layoffs and huge budget cuts. Looking north of the border for clues, then, we can expect that, with current membership at around 2.6 million, it’s more likely that roughly 1.5 million Boy Scouts and troop masters will walk.

Then again, we’re talking about “progressive” Canada. This is the good ol’ USA. With over 61 percent of Scouts, Scouters and parents opposing the homosexualization of Boy Scouts, and over 70 percent of U.S. Scout groups sponsored by churches and religious organizations, it’s not unreasonable to expect that defections will even exceed this estimate.

In short, BSA’s betrayal may well result in near-total ruin. The wages of sin is death.

Here’s the reality: Reality has not changed. Objective truth did not suddenly and miraculously reverse itself on May 23, 2013. As BSA has always acknowledged (until Thursday), homosexual behavior remains empirically disordered and immoral. The only thing that has changed is politics.

Ultimately, this decision had nothing to do with “tolerance” or “inclusivity.” Neither did it concern the best interests of the boys who make up Boy Scouting. Instead, this decision was rooted in pure evil. It had everything to do with money. “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs” (1 Timothy 6:10).

And wandered from the faith they have.

Now come the many griefs.

Really, three things drove this decision: Fear, greed and politics. A number of high-dollar corporate donors threatened to pull funding from BSA if they maintained the existing policy on sexual morality. Additionally, a number of extremist pressure groups, aided by a sympathetic left-wing media, brought tremendous pressure to bear.

But the pressure’s not going away. The BSA made a critical error in judgment. It showed weakness. This has only whipped these radicals into a heightened frenzy. Within moments of the “gay” announcement, Nancy Pelosi called the move “an important first step.” The Human Rights Campaign demanded “the new policy doesn’t go far enough,” and Mother Jones, a liberal online publication, posted an article titled, “Boy Scouts: You Can Be Gay Until You’re 18.”

Sin is never satisfied. The homofascist thirst for absolute affirmation is unquenchable.

What’s the next step? Activists now demand that adult men who desire sex with other males (“gay” scout masters) be allowed to take your sons camping overnight. Soon they’ll be insisting that “transgender boys” (girls who wish they were boys) be allowed to join as well.

What a camping trip. Imagine the pup tent. Your son and Jimmy – who’s got a crush on him – along with Billy and Billy’s boyfriend Bobby, all snuggly warm in the middle of nowhere. But make room for Sammy (formerly Suzie) and Sammy’s boyfriend Gary (formerly Gertrude).

Don’t forget to hang the disco ball.

And “always be prepared.”

You think there won’t be new membership stagnation? Who wants to sign their boy up for the “Gay Scouts”? What’s a kid gotta to do to earn his “tolerance badge”? Parents, you might want to get out while the gettin’s good. As one Eagle Scout told me, “I’m not leaving the Boy Scouts, the Boy Scouts left me.”

It’s only a matter of time until BSA caves on these demands as well. They’ll admit “gay” men and girls soon. They have no choice. Now that they’ve opened the door, they’ve waived the only legal defense they once had: religious and moral conviction.

But here’s the good news. I and dozens more will be convening for a coalition meeting of pro-family leaders next month in Louisville, Ky., to discuss the creation of a moral alternative to the Boy Scouts. Nature abhors a vacuum. We intend to fill it.

Still, until then, please join me as we mourn the loss of this once honorable organization. The Boy Scouts of America: Born Feb. 8, 1910 – Died May 23, 2013.

May it rest in peace.

POWERFUL Message at the 2013 Inaugural Prayer Breakfast -

Alright, someone told me this morning that the link to this amazing message I posted two days ago has been ‘made private’ and they weren’t able to view it anymore. That’s strange. The link worked fine two days ago and the number of views was piling up fast – every time I looked at it, hundreds more had seen it.

But she was right. When I tried it now, it was labeled “private”. What is the problem with seeing it? The speech was made at an official gathering for the inaugural – isn’t that a public event? So I went looking for a new link.

I found a new link – and this was the message under it…

“Published on Jan 27, 2013…This video has been erased, made “private”, and held back from people seeing it. So, what truth is in it making it such a battle to see it? Speak! The World Is Listening!”

For those who haven’t seen it yet – it is an amazing message given to a huge roomful of politicians in DC just last week – on Monday, January 21, 2013 … Many of the politicians were probably there just to be ‘seen’ and probably expected nothing more than standard fluff to be spewed –

This is a MUST see! -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=JdZcMUwsGqE

Freedom to be Both Native American AND Christian

A woman was advocating for rights of tribal members and freedom from tribal government tyranny, while at the same time telling me that my husband and I were wrong to share our Christianity because the only way tribal members can be free from alcohol is through traditional religion.

So… while on the one hand she decried being dictated to and controlled by tribal government, she was attempting to dictate to and control other tribal members when it came to spirituality.

This is a very important point about freedom for tribal members. Some tribal governments do try to dictate that tribal members follow traditional religion, not any other.

When my husband, Roland, was testifying in Seattle against tribal jurisdiction, a representative of the National Indian Child Welfare Association (NICWA) told us that reservations have a right to keep Christians off their property – and Christians have no right to speak to tribal members about their religion.

We asked “What if an elder has lived there all his life and becomes a Christian – and wants to talk to his grandchildren about it?” The NICWA representative answered that the grandfather had no right to speak to his grandchildren about it and would have to move.

This is not an unusual point of view within some tribal circles, nor was it unusual in many historical dictatorships where one religion was chosen for the entire country and all had to abide by it. This was why many settlers came to America and why the very first phrase of our constitutional amendments addresses freedom of religion.

Then comes the Indian Child Welfare Act, which is used by some tribal governments to dictate the religion Indian children must be raised in. Some times exposure to powwows and traditional Indian religion is mandated by courts and tribal governments as a condition of foster care or adoption. Other times, children are simply removed from Christian homes. This can happen even if the parents and grandparents placed the children in that home and want the children to be raised Christian.

Because ICWA is a federal law, the U.S. Congress is just as much to blame for this robbing of individual freedom and 1st amendment rights as tribal governments.

My husband and I knew who we wanted to be guardians of our kids if we were to die. We chose a man from our church. His race didn’t matter to us – his spirituality and heart were all that mattered. This was – and is – our constitutional and God-given right as parents to choose. Neither Congress nor any tribal government should be allowed to steal that from us.

NO ONE else in America is put underneath a law that dictates how you are supposed to spiritually raise your kids. The 1st amendment says “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof”… but the ICWA Congress enacted comes dangerously close to doing just that.

Dying in Indian Country is available at: http://dyinginindiancountry.com

Has God used the Christian Alliance for Indian Child Welfare to impact you or a loved one?

Consider impacting someone else by giving a gift

New Book: Dying in Indian Country – An Amazing Family Story

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This is a true story of an American tribal member who, after coming to know Jesus Christ, realized just how much liberal policies within tribal and federal government were hurting his extended family.

Roland grew up watching members of his family die of alcoholism, child abuse, suicide, and violence on the reservation. Like many others, he blamed all the problems on “white people.”

Beth Ward grew up in a middle class home in the suburbs. Raised in a politically left family, she also believed that all problems on the reservation originated with cruel treatment by settlers and the stealing of land. Meeting her husband, her first close experience with a tribal member, she stepped out of the comfort of suburban life into a whole new, frightening world.

After almost ten years of living with his alcoholism and the terrible dangers that came with it, they both came to realize that individual behavior and personal decisions were at the root of a man’s troubles, including their own. After coming face-to face with the reality of Jesus Christ, their eyes opened to the truth of why there is so much Dying in Indian Country.

What cannot be denied is that a large number of Native Americans are dying from alcoholism, drug abuse, suicide, and violence. The reservation, a socialistic experiment at best, pushes people to depend on tribal and federal government rather than God, and to blame all of life’s ills on others. The results have been disastrous. Roland realized that corrupt tribal government, dishonest federal Indian policy, and the controlling reservation system had more to do with the current pain and despair in his family and community than what had happened 150 years ago.

Here is the plain truth in the eyes of one family, in the hope that at least some of the dying in Indian Country — physical, emotional, and spiritual — may be recognized and prevented. Unfortunately, persistent public misconceptions about Indian Country, misconceptions sometimes promoted by tribal government and others enjoying unaudited money and power, have worked to keep the situation just as it is.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Roland truly has encouraged many people…the last trip to D.C. was a testimony to God’s faithfulness.” Rev. Robert Guthrie, B.Th. M.A. –Professor, Vanguard College, AB
“…he earned my deepest respect, and…made heroic and very honorable attempts to improve the lot of Native Americans in this country.” Jon Metropoulos, Attorney, Helena, MT
“‘Dying in Indian Country’ is a compassionate and honest portrayal…I highly recommend it to you!” Reed Elley, former Member of Parliament, Canada; Chief Critic for Indian Affairs in 2000; Baptist Pastor, father of four native and metis children
“I truly admire Roland for the message he was trying to have heard.” Ralph Heinert, Montana State Representative
“He was a magnificent warrior who put himself on the line for the good of all…. I can think of no-one at this time in this dark period of Indian history who is able to speak as Roland has.” Arlene, tribal member
“…hope emerging from despair… This is a story about an amazing life journey.” Darrel Smith. Writer, Rancher, South Dakota
“He’s a Christian now you know… I saw him crying on his knees on my living room floor. I was there.” Sharon, tribal member
“…truly gripping, with a good pace.” Dr. William B. Allen, – Emeritus Professor, Political Science, MSU and former Chair of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (1989)

Website: dyinginindiancountry.com
Twitter: twitter.com/WriteBethWard
Facebook: www.facebook.com/DyingInIndianCountry

A reflection on Osama bin Laden’s “Letter to America” – Main Tenets of Islamic Belief

In November of 2002, a letter purported to have been written by Osama bin Laden, famous leader of the Islamic terrorist group Al Qaeda, was posted in the UK’s Observer. The letter first appeared on the internet in Arabic on websites that support Osama bin Laden and his Al Qaeda network and then was translated and circulated by Islamists in Britain.

The purpose of this letter, according to the author, was to respond “as an explanation and warning” to a question many in the west have been asking for over a year: that being, “On what basis are we fighting?”

Part 1 of this Series covered the Geographical and Historical Development of Islam.

Part II: The Main tenets of belief –

The author of the letter described Islam:

“The religion of the Unification of God; of freedom from associating partners with Him, and rejection of this; of complete love of Him, the Exalted; of complete submission to His Laws; and of the discarding of all the opinions, orders, theories and religions which contradict with the religion He sent down to His Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Islam is the religion of all the prophets, and makes no distinction between them – peace be upon them all.

“It is to this religion that we call you; the seal of all the previous religions. It is the religion of Unification of God, sincerity, the best of manners, righteousness, mercy, honor, purity, and piety. It is the religion of showing kindness to others, establishing justice between them, granting them their rights, and defending the oppressed and the persecuted. It is the religion of enjoining the good and forbidding the evil with the hand, tongue and heart. It is the religion of Jihad in the way of Allah so that Allah’s Word and religion reign Supreme. And it is the religion of unity and agreement on the obedience to Allah, and total equality between all people, without regarding their color, sex, or language.

“It is the religion whose book – the Quran – will remained preserved and unchanged, after the other Divine books and messages have been changed. The Quran is the miracle until the Day of Judgment. Allah has challenged anyone to bring a book like the Quran or even ten verses like it.”

Islamic tradition says that Abraham’s wife, Sarah, wanted to insure that her own son, Isaac, be Abraham’s sole heir and that Abraham’s son, Ishmael, by the slave, Hagar, be sent away. Hagar and her son wandered off to the area near the Red Sea and Hagar sat on a rock and wept, afraid that she and her son would die of thirst in the desert. As she wept, her son kicked the sand in anger. At the spot where he kicked, a spring of fresh water erupted.

When Abraham heard of this miracle, he came and built a temple near the spring and called it Ka’bah. He set in the east corner a black cornerstone that he had inherited from his forefathers, which tradition says Adam brought from the Garden of Eden. Near the temple, close to the Spring of Ishmael (Zemzem), Ishmael grew up, and eventually his children and grandchildren surrounded the temple with a new city called Mecca.

Another tradition says that the Ka’bah was built in heaven and when Adam was driven out of Eden, he built a Ka’bah just like it as a memorial. It was not far from Adam’s Ka’bah that Ishmael kicked the sand and caused the Zemzem, the Sacred Well, to open up. The children of Ishmael multiplied, and the Sacred City of Mecca then grew there. Ishmael’s children eventually grew into a race called “Arabs” and spread out east north and south. The children of Israel, son of Isaac, multiplied into a race called “Jews”.

Islam can be divided into “iman” (beliefs) and “deen” (obligations).

THE MAJOR BELIEFS INCLUDE:

1. God – monotheism is the central doctrine of Islam. To associate a partner with him is commit the unforgivable sin of ishrak (shirk). Islam incorporates all the monotheists and sees itself as the fulfillment of all religions.

2. Angels – Gabriel is the highest, followed by the other angels. Each person has an angel assigned to him to record his good deeds and another to record the bad. At the bottom are jinn, who, created from fire, are usually evil and can possess people.

3. The Prophets of God – God has sent 124,000 prophets to every nation on earth to preach monotheism. This includes Adam, Noah, Moses, Abraham, David, and Jesus. Muhammad is considered the “seal” of the prophets, and is the prophet for all time.

4. The Holy Books – Four high ranking prophets were given books with divine revelation. Moses was given the Torah (Tawrat), David the Psalms (Zabur), Jesus the Gospel (Injil), and Mohammad the Qur’an. Muslims believe that only the Qur’an as been kept from corruption. This book, containing 114 surahs, or chapters, is to be read only in Arabic. It is believed that if translated, it is no longer the Qur’an, as any translations have the potential of being corrupted. Devout Muslims, therefore, must learn Arabic. An Islamic doctrine called “tahrif” teaches that the Jews and the Christians corrupted the early texts of the Bible. Example verses from the Qur’an include:

“A party of them heard the Word of Allah, and perverted it knowingly after they understood it.”(Surah 2:75, ‘Ali)

“And there are among them (the Jews) illiterates, who know not the Book but (see therein their own) desires, and they do nothing but conjecture. Then woe to those who write the Book with their own hands, and then say: “This is from Allah,” to traffic with it for a miserable price! (Surah 2:78-79, ‘Ali).

While these passages speak of misinterpreting the Scripture and passing writing off as Scripture when they are not, it doesn’t speak of altering the actual manuscripts.

5. The Day of Judgment – Only God knows whether one’s good deeds will outweigh one’s bad deeds, so a Muslim has no real assurance he will go to heaven.

THE MAJOR OBLIGATIONS INCLUDE:

1. To Recite the Shahadah –Shahadah means, “To bear witness”. The Shahadah statement is, “I bear witness that there is no God but Allah and that Mohammad is His messenger.” Making this statement with sincerity is all it takes to be a Muslim.

2. To Pray (Salat) – seventeen cycles (rak’a) a day, split into five time periods: Dawn, noon, mid-afternoon, dusk, and two hours after sunset. The call to prayer is a summons to the whole life. The call is an invitation to participate in community, offering nourishment for the soul. Devotees must wash themselves (ablution, “wudu”) in a certain way prior to prayer, and then face toward Mecca. In order to face toward Mecca during prayer, a directional niche (mihrab) marks the Mosque. The only time they are required to pray as a group is during the Friday noon prayer.

3. To Fast (Sawm) – Ramadhan, a commemoration of Muhammad’s receiving the Qur’an, is the ninth lunar month. Muslims can not eat, drink, smoke, or have sex from sunrise to sunset.

4. To Give Alms (Zakat) – one fortieth of one’s income, 2.5%, goes to the poor and needy.

5. To Make a Pilgrimage (Hajj) – Every Muslim must make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their lifetime, unless prevented by health or finances. They must wear white garments called ihram in order to eliminate class distinctions. The process of visiting the holy sites: worshipping at Kaaba, kissing the black stone from Adam, and drinking the holy water at the Sacred Well of Ishmael, can take a week. Once finished, the devotee can be called a “Hajj”.

6. Jihad. The author of the letter stated, “It is commanded by our religion and intellect that the oppressed have a right to return the aggression. Do not await anything from us but Jihad, resistance and revenge. Is it in any way rational to expect that after America has attacked us for more than half a century, that we will then leave her to live in security and peace?!!”

The Jihad, or “Holy War”, is sometimes known as the “sixth” pillar of Islam. Jihad is can be described as a fighting against unbelievers, but can also be thought of more gently as a “struggle for the faith”. The last declared Jihad was in 1914, when Sheik-ul-Islam of Turkey, ordered by the Sultan, called upon Muslims everywhere to fight against the enemies of Turkey. However, because the orders originated with Germany, the order fell primarily on deaf ears. The basic requisites for Jihad outlined in the Surah II are:

“On behalf of God fight whoever fights you, but do not be the aggressor: indeed, God does not like aggressors. Kill them when they advance on you and force them out of the places from which they force you…fight them until there is no persecution and religion belongs to God, and if they abandon their ways, there is to be no hostility – except against evildoers.”

However, “Elsewhere two kinds of people are cited as being particular objects of such activity – those who do not believe in God at all and pay no regard to what He has prohibited (IX:29) and Christians, who ascribe partners to God.”

OTHER POINTS:

1. Muslim’s believe that man is good by nature, and that sin is a rejection of good guidance. Repentance will bring forgiveness and no atonement is necessary, but salvation is based on whether good deeds outweigh the bad.

2. Muslim’s recognize the virgin birth and miracles of Jesus, but saying Jesus is God would be blasphemy. Also, according to Islamic tradition, Jesus did not die on the cross. He ascended to heaven and Judas died on the cross in his place. Muslims believe that God would never allow a great prophet like Jesus to die on the cross. They believe the Bible is corrupted, and therefore can not be held in authority.

3. The world is divided into two spheres: Dar es Islam (House of Peace) and Dar al Harb (House of War and chaos). Islam believes that history is moving in the direction of the entire world becoming Islam. Dar es Islam is the more peaceable, daily living Islam that occurs once a country has settled into being an Islamic Nation. Dar al Harb, on the other hand, is a war machine, set to fight any nation until it becomes Islam. Islam has a missionary arm, just as Christianity does; they just go about their evangelism a little differently. Islam’s missionary arm is called “Dar al Harb.”

According to a former missionary to Ramallah, Israel; “because it is a fundamental concept in Islam, the average Muslim understands and agrees with the concept of Dar al Harb.” He further explained that certain Islamic governments, although they are currying favor with the US and claim there is nothing in Islam that desires war, are denying the truth. These leaders, when denying Dar al Harb, are not favored by their own people. It’s a good thing those governments are totalitarian, because true democracy would vote the weak leaders out and put orthodox people in.

The Nov. 2002 ‘Letter to America’seems to confirm this, stating,

“These governments prevent our people from establishing the Islamic Shariah, using violence and lies to do so…These governments give us a taste of humiliation, and places us in a large prison of fear and subdual…These governments steal our Ummah’s wealth and sell them to you at a paltry price…These governments have surrendered to the Jews, and handed them most of Palestine, acknowledging the existence of their state over the dismembered limbs of their own people…The removal of these governments is an obligation upon us, and a necessary step to free the Ummah, to make the Shariah the supreme law and to regain Palestine. And our fight against these governments is not separate from our fight against you.”

“Do you fear them? Allah has more right that you should fear Him if you are believers. Fight against them so that Allah will punish them by your hands and disgrace them and give you victory over them and heal the breasts of believing people. And remove the anger of their (believers’) hearts. Allah accepts the repentance of whom He wills. Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise.” [Quran 9:13-1]

“Permission to fight (against disbelievers) is given to those (believers) who are fought against, because they have been wronged and surely, Allah is Able to give them (believers) victory” [Quran 22:39]

“So do not become weak (against your enemy), nor be sad, and you will be* superior ( in victory )if you are indeed (true) believers” [Quran 3:139]

“Those who believe, fight in the Cause of Allah, and those who disbelieve, fight in the cause of Taghut (anything worshipped other than Allah e.g. Satan). So fight you against the friends of Satan; ever feeble is indeed the plot of Satan.”[Quran 4:76]

“It is He Who has sent His Messenger (Muhammad peace be upon him) with guidance and the religion of truth (Islam), to make it victorious over all other religions even though the Polytheists hate it.” [Quran 61:9]

CORRUPTION OF THE JEWISH TORAH AND CHRISTIAN BIBLE:

Several Islamic verses claim the Judeo-Christian Scriptures are corrupt.

“A party of them heard the Word of Allah, and perverted it knowingly after they understood it.”(Surah 2:75, ‘Ali)

“And there are among them (the Jews) illiterates, who know not the Book but (see therein their own) desires, and they do nothing but conjecture. Then woe to those who write the Book with their own hands, and then say: “This is from Allah,” to traffic with it for a miserable price! (Surah 2:78-79, ‘Ali).

While these passages speak of misinterpreting the Scripture and passing writing off as Scripture when they are not, it doesn’t speak of altering the actual manuscripts. In addition, the Qur’an has conflicting verses related to the purity of Bible Scripture and states that God is powerful enough to protect His Word.
Surah 2:136; 4:163 states that the previous revelations in “the Book” are authentic, and Surah 5:68 encourages Jews and Christians to “stand fast by the Law, the Gospel, and all the revelation that has come to you from your Lord”.

It also uses the Torah and the Gospel to authenticate Muhammad as the prophet and encourages those who doubt Muhammad’s teachings to “ask those who have been reading the “Book” from before thee” (Surah 10:94), and tells people to believe in the previous scriptures. (Surah 4:136). It also states, “none can change His Word” (Surah 6:115, 6:34, and 10:64).

It is contradictory for the Qur’an to claim that the Torah and Gospel are corrupted on one hand, but authentic and authoritative on the other.

In addition, to accomplish the deed (altering and corrupting both the Old and New Testament of the Bible), the worldwide Jewish and Christian communities would have had to agree together to the textual changes.

If a corruption of the text did happen, the consistency of ancient unearthed Biblical documents is truly miraculous. The Dead Sea Scrolls, c. 100B.C, are amazing parallel to the Masoretic manuscripts, c. 900 A.D., meaning the Old Testament manuscripts that were copied well after the birth of Islam are identical to the ones produced well before.

In addition, Bible scholars have found 3157 Greek documents dating from the 2nd century that contain either portions of or all of the New Testament. Of the textual differences, 95% have to do with trivialities such as a dropped letter during transcribing. There is no Christian doctrine affected by a debatable text.

Next: Historical interaction with the non-believers
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A reflection on Osama bin Laden’s “Letter to America”

OSAMA BIN LADEN AND ISLAM
Part I – Geographical and historical development of Islam:

In November of 2002, a letter purported to have been written by Osama bin Laden, famous leader of the Islamic terrorist group Al Qaeda, was posted in the UK’s Observer. The letter first appeared on the internet in Arabic on websites that support Osama bin Laden and his Al Qaeda network and then was translated and circulated by Islamists in Britain.

The purpose of this letter, according to the author, was to respond “as an explanation and warning” to a question many in the west have been asking for over a year: that being, “On what basis are we fighting?”

Beginning the letter with a benediction to Allah, “the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful”, the author clarifies,

”While seeking Allah’s help we form our reply based on two questions directed at the Americans, “Why are we fighting and opposing you?” (and) “What are we calling you to, and what do we want from you?”

To the first question, the author explains,

“The answer is very simple: First, because you attacked us and continue to attack us… You attacked us in Palestine, …You attacked us in Somalia; you supported the Russian atrocities against us in Chechnya, the Indian oppression against us in Kashmir, and the Jewish aggression against us in Lebanon.” Second, “Under your supervision, consent and orders, the governments of our countries which act as your agents, attack us on a daily basis.”

In answer to the second question, he states:

“The first thing that we are calling you to is Islam.” “The second thing we call you to, is to stop your oppression, lies, immorality and debauchery that has spread among you.” Third, “take an honest stance with yourselves … to discover that you are a nation without principles or manners, and that the values and principles to you are something which you merely demand from others, not that which you yourself must adhere to. We also advise you to stop supporting Israel, and to end your support of the Indians in Kashmir, the Russians against the Chechens and to also cease supporting the Manila Government against the Muslims in Southern Philippines. We also advise you to pack your luggage and get out of our lands. We desire for your goodness, guidance, and righteousness, so do not force us to send you back as cargo in coffins. Sixthly, we call upon you to end your support of the corrupt leaders in our countries. Do not interfere in our politics and method of education. Leave us alone, or else expect us in New York and Washington. We also call you to deal with us and interact with us on the basis of mutual interests and benefits, rather than the policies of sub dual, theft and occupation, and not to continue your policy of supporting the Jews because this will result in more disasters for you.”
This is our message to the Americans, as an answer to theirs. Do they now know why we fight them and over which form of ignorance, by the permission of Allah, we shall be victorious?”

He ends the letter with the statement, “we wanted to outline the truth – - hoping for Allah’s reward, seeking success and support from Him.”

In order to understand this mandate, it’s important we explore the history and beliefs of the Muslim world.

Geographical and historical development of this religion:

The ancient Patriarch, Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth. The “sons” of Shem are called “Semites” and are thought to include the Elamites, Assyrians, Lydians of Asia Minor, the Armaeans, the Chaldeans (the ruling caste in Babylon), and the children of Eber. The children of Eber are said to be the tribes of Arabia and the children of Abraham (Israelites, Ishmaelites, Midianites, and Edomites). The original home of these people was Arabia.

Semitic society was originally nomadic. Arabia retains that trait even to the present day. The Arabian people were divided into small tribes and lived a very simple life. Due to their long history of activity in a wide but monotonous and secluded peninsula, they have been described as eager and impulsive, but with a narrow focus. Men were good or bad, Blessed or cursed.

Religious, enduring and brave: they existed in tribalism with the clan as the main social unit. There were as many gods as there were clans, and a man’s allegiance was sworn to that god just as it was sworn to his clan. The god took his name from human relationships – “master, lord and king” – and held this relationship to no other people but his own. The gods were territorial, and if one clan conquered another, the god of the winning clan became the god of the conquered. In this way, some territories accumulated more than one god.

All religious acts were clan acts, and a god was worshipped in the area in which he was thought to have manifested power. People would walk long distances to visit a newly discovered spot where they have heard a new sacred act had occurred. A marker was made of the event, frequently a stone, and blood was brought to it in order to renew the blood bond between the god and his people. Religion was very simple and happy. There was no idea of sin. The afterlife wasn’t an issue. Joy came in having many children with which to continue the existence of the clan.

The word Islam is based on the three letter Arabic root “s-l-m,” the fundamental meaning of which is “safe, sound, unimpaired, intact.” Islam also means, “blameless, faultless, established, proven, and it takes on a number of other more subtle meanings as well. The three letter root is also seen in the word, “salaam ‘aleik” (peace be with you), a phrase tied linguistically to the Hebrew word “shalom”. When all these meanings interact, we derive the term meaning of “a surrender to the will of God by which personal well-being is achieved” or more simply, “Submission” (to the will of God).

Islam began in Saudi Arabia in the early 7th century. Its founder, Muhammad ibn Abdullah, was born into the powerful Quraysh (Koraish) tribe in about 570 A.D. His father, Abd-Allah died before he was born. As a very young child he had been sent to a Bedouin woman in the desert to be nursed. This was not an uncommon practice, as the city his family lived in, Mecca, a prosperous trading hub, was not one which children thrived in. But his mother died soon after he was returned to her, and he was sent to live first with his grandfather, then with his uncle Abu Talit (Talib). By the age of six, he was an orphan. His mother’s death had a profound affect on him; throughout the rest of his life he encouraged the giving of alms to widows and orphan’s. As he matured, he was likely involved in shepherding his uncle’s sheep and may have also joined trading caravans as a camel-driver and saw a little of the country. It’s also likely that he never learned to read.

When he was twenty-five, a wealthy widow relative took an interest in him and asked him to transport some goods for her to trade. He did this, and she was so impressed that, although her family was opposed, she offered him her hand in marriage. He accepted, and he and Khadijah, a woman fifteen years his senior, were married. Although raised poor, he was now wealthy and had a life of leisure. Together they had two sons and four daughters, the best known being Fatima.

It is unknown whether he had come into contact with Christianity or Judaism, but it is likely Jewish refugees had run to Arabia following the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem by the Romans, and Christian missionaries had by this time made visits o the area. Furthermore, Mecca was active with traders and travelers from near and far. One story says that a cousin of Khadijah was Jewish and read the Hebrew Bible to him.

The Quraysh were an influential tribe that controlled Mecca. Not only was Mecca an economically important city, but it was also religiously important due to the Ka’bah (Kaaba), a cubical structure containing all 360 Arabian tribal deities, located there. Each tribe chose its deity, placed it in the Ka’bah, and then traveled to Mecca each year to honor it. These yearly pilgrimages also benefited Mecca economically. At one point, the merchants of Mecca decided to combine economics with religion and claimed the well as their own, then began to sell the water to the visiting worshippers. However, this had a dampening effect on the devotees, who lost faith in the idols of Mecca and turned to fortune telling and gambling.

Once a year, devotees with spiritual yearnings also retreated to a place of solitude. Muhammad did this for several years, spending a lot of time meditating in a cave in Mount Hira. In the year 610, Muhammad is said to have received his first visitation from the angel Gabriel. This, along with several later revelations, has been compiled into a book known as the Qur’an or “Koran”, meaning “recitations”.

Muhammad’s ideas weren’t totally new though. Pilgrimages to Mecca, prayer, and fasting were already basic practices in Arabia. The god “Allah” had a prominent past in the pre-existing polytheistic religions of Arabia. There were many deities, but Allah Taala was the most prominent. Muhammad clarified the concept of Allah and rid God of “partners”.

Tradition says that Muhammad initially doubted these revelations were from God. He thought that perhaps they were from a jinn, or demons. But his wife, Khadijah, encouraged him that the visions were divine, and that he should teach their message of monotheism to others.

Muhammad began to preach strict monotheism. Initially, his tribe tried to stop him; his message threatened polytheism and therefore their economic livelihood, which depended on the pilgrimages. However, it wasn’t long before he had a following of believers.

As he continued to preach against polytheism, his devotees, now known as “Muslims” (True Believers), began to experience persecution. Some had garbage dumped on their front steps. Others lost business. Eventually, one hundred families were forced to flee Mecca. Shortly after, in the year 622 A.D., after his uncle, his protector, died, Muhammad learned of a plot on his life and he too was forced to flee. He and his followers settled in a city that had opened their arms to him, Yathrib. So welcoming were the people of Yathrib, that they renamed their city Medina al Nabi, meaning, “City of the Prophet”). Their flight is known to Muslims today as the Hijrah (Higira) or “a series of migrations”, and is the first year on their calendar.

In Medina, he and his followers grew in strength. Muhammad was no longer known as just the Prophet and founder of Islam, but as the people’s ruler and judge. Taking control and beginning the task of converting the city to Islam, Muhammad expelled the Jewish citizens. Another group, whom he referred to as “The Hypocrites” (Medinese who resented his influence in the city), was “silenced.”

Next, rituals developed. Initially, he attempted to win the Jewish community over by adopting certain Hebrew practices, such as Saturday worship and facing Jerusalem for prayers. However, the Jewish community wasn’t about to convert, so he dropped the Hebrew practices, turned prayer toward Mecca, and instituted Friday as the Holy Day (Mecca’s market day).

Needing to financially support his supporters and fund their mission of conversion and control of the neighboring areas, he organized an army and they began plundering the passing caravan’s, in particular those from Mecca. In 624, The Islamic army had a minor battle with Mecca traders, and although they were outnumbered three to one, they were victorious. Had they lost this battle, Islam might have died out at the time. But in their victory, more tribesmen rallied to their cause. After several skirmishes, they made a treaty with the Quraysh tribe and in the year 630, he and his army took control of the city. Upon entering, Muhammad personally destroyed to Ka’bah idols.

This was the first time the Muslims converted an area by force, and the expansionist pattern would continue as a part of their mandate. Within a year, Muhammad brought all the tribes in Saudi Arabia under the religion of Islam. To those who were ready to accept Islam peacefully, he sent blessings. To those who wouldn’t, he said, “I, last of the prophets, am sent with a sword! The sword is the key to heaven or hell; all who draw it in the name of the Faith will be rewarded!” He died one year later, on June 8, 632, without having appointed a successor.

After his death, Muhammad’s followers divided over whom would be his successor (caliph). It was at this time that two major sects developed. The Sunni Muslims believed the successor should be elected. The Shi’ite (or Shia’h) Muslims believed the caliph should come from Muhammad’s bloodline. Had this been done, Ali, Muhammad’s cousin and husband of Fatima, would have succeeded him. However, the Sunni’s won the disagreement and Muhammad’s assistant, Abu-Bakr, took control.

The Sufi’s are a third Muslim Sect of good size. Islam has given birth to several other minor sects, including the Wahhabis in Saudi Arabia, the Druze in Lebanon, Syria, and Northern Israel, the Alawites in Syria, and the Ahmadiyas in Pakistan, and contributed to two other religions: Sikhism and Baha’i.

Islam grew and spread through the use of force. Loosely organized tribes were brought together and driven by the desire to do battle with Allah’s enemies. This had strong appeal in the Arabian world. A man became a soldier for Islam and was supported by both tributes (dhimmi) from the conquered people and the plunder received. The dhimmi was a type of “tax price” for not being slaughtered. Women were also imported from conquered countries to serve as slaves and concubines. Arabia became a training ground for army that went out to conquer the world. Conquered countries were felled by the sword, but were peaceful afterward.

Nations were forced to convert, but individuals themselves didn’t always have to. However, the sexual freedom under Islam was a strong inducement for nominal Christian men to convert. Many times if a person wanted to continue practicing Christianity or Judaism, he was allowed to as long as he paid dhimmi, although he might still suffer persecution from those living around him.

The first real defeat for the Muslims was at The Battle of Tours in 732 A.D. Had they not been turned back by King Charles that day, Europe might very well become Islamic.

The Turks made Asia Minor completely Muslim and then turned toward East, capturing one area after another until 1453, when Constantinople fell and the Turkish Eastern Empire came to an end.

The Islamic advance, led by others, then continued through the late 17th century when they were temporarily turned back at Vienna. It began again with the final end of the Muslim advance coming early in the 19th century. The advances had made it all the way into Africa, where the Sahara fell rapidly to Islam, and to the east into the plains of India, and down into central Asia.

Next: The Main Tenets of Muslim Belief

When Junior says, "Quit pushing religion on me!"

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Have you ever heard this from your kids?

“Why do you Keep Trying to Make me a Christian!”
“You’re always trying to stuff God down my throat!”
“Quit pushing your religion on me!”

Sometimes, as parents, we want to just throw in the towel. Who needs this? If the kid doesn’t appreciate what your trying to teach, forget ‘em, right?

Well, that might be what wells up in our throats in the heat of the argument, but deep down…we don’t want to give up. Not if we really believe what Christ taught. These are our babies, our kids. We don’t want them to struggle without Jesus in their lives. We don’t want them to die.

So we have no choice. We might need to take a break, but when all is said and done, there is only one Truth… and God has given us a job as parents.

Deut. 6:4-7
“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. [a] 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.

One can gently stand firm in the Lord without being an obnoxious ’Bible Thumper.’ Your child needs to know there is no compromise and even if your are choosing not to argue at this point in time, you have not changed your mind or submitted to the child’s strong-willed heart.

Simply put; “I love you. My standards will not waiver from the Truth. How was your Day.”

Coming to terms with our job doesn’t change the anger and rebellion emitting from a teen. We do the best we can, but because this is a spiritual war, the battle is very real, painful to both sides, and can go on for a long time. The teen might walk away as soon as they are able. This is the hard part – continuing in the Truth, even while knowing your child is staying away because of it.

While some say that “this too shall pass,” and your child will return eventually to the Truth he/she was raised in, that isn’t necessarily true. A child, in reckless rebellion, might die before they ever return to the Lord. God has given us all Free Will.

That would be extremely terrible. But the reverse would be worse. To set aside the Lord for the purpose of pleasing the child – making the child more important than God, allowing your child to believe that he/she is right and God doesn’t matter, and living for the pleasures of comfort here on earth - is a death sentence for both you and the child. A child’s free choice should not compromise your own choice to follow Truth.

Don’t forget the testimony of Franklin Graham, former rebellious son of Billy Graham.
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Watchman Nee – Part I, Chinese Missionary Martyr

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Below from: www.watchmannee.org/ March 14, 2004, 11:00 am

Biography:

Watchman Nee became a Christian in mainland China in 1920 at the age of seventeen and began writing in the same year. Throughout the nearly thirty years of his ministry, Watchman Nee was clearly manifested as a unique gift from the Lord to His Body for His move in this age. In 1952 he was imprisoned for his faith; he remained in prison until his death in 1972. His words remain an abundant source of spiritual revelation and supply to Christians throughout the world.

God’s Dynamic Salvation Work
Beginning in the sixteenth century, many Protestant missionaries were sent to China from Europe and America. In the opening years of the twentieth century, following centuries of faithful labor and catalyzed by the martyrdom of many Christians in the Boxer Rebellion, the Lord’s move in China advanced dramatically. Many “native” preachers were raised up by the Lord and became prevailing in gospel preaching, especially around 1920 among China’s new generation of high school and college students. A number of brilliant students, among whom was Nee Shu-tsu (Watchman Nee), were called and equipped by the Lord to do His work during this time.

Nee Shu-tsu, whose English name was Henry Nee, was born of second-generation Christian parents in Foochow, China in 1903. His paternal grandfather, in fact, had studied at the American Congregational College in Foochow and became the first Chinese pastor among the Congregationalists in northern Fukien province. Nee Shu-tsu had been consecrated to the Lord before his birth. Desiring a son, his mother had prayed to the Lord, “If I have a boy, I will present him to You.” The Lord answered her prayer, and soon afterward Nee Shu-tsu was born. His father later impressed on him, “Before you were born, your mother promised to present you to the Lord”.

Prior to his salvation Nee Shu-tsu was an ill-behaved student, yet he was also exceptionally intelligent. He always ranked first in his class as well as in his school, from elementary school through his graduation from Anglican Trinity College in Foochow. He had many grand dreams and plans for the future and could have had great success in the world. Yet Nee Shu-tsu, acquainted with the gospel since childhood, had the deep realization that if he received Jesus as his Lord for salvation he must also serve Him. In 1920, after a considerable struggle, seventeen-year-old Nee Shu-tsu, still a high school student, was dynamically saved. At the moment of his salvation, all his previous planning became void and his future career was entirely abandoned. He testified, “From the evening I was saved, I began to have a new life, for the life of the eternal God had entered into me”. Later, after being raised up by the Lord to carry out His commission, he adopted the new English name Watchman and the new Chinese name To-sheng, which means “watchman’s rattle,” for he considered himself a watchman raised up to sound a warning call in the dark night.

Equipping and Training
Watchman Nee attended no theological schools or Bible institutes. His wealth of knowledge concerning God’s purpose, Christ, the things of the Spirit, and the church was acquired through studying the Bible and reading spiritual books. Watchman Nee became intimately familiar with and greatly enlightened by the Word through diligent study using twenty different methods. In addition, in the early days of his ministry he spent one-third of his income on his personal needs, one-third on helping others, and the remaining third on spiritual books. He acquired a collection of more than 3,000 of the best Christian books, including nearly all the classical Christian writers from the first century on. He had a phenomenal ability to select, comprehend, discern, and memorize relevant material, and he could grasp and retain the main points of a book at a glance. Watchman Nee was thus able to glean all the profitable scriptural points and spiritual principles from throughout church history and synthesize them into his vision and practice of the Christian life and of the church life. Watchman Nee received much enlightenment and help from a number of Christian writers, as follows:

Specific Enlightenment Source1. The assurance of salvation – George Cutting, a Brethren writer
2. Life – John Bunyan’s Pilgram’s Progress, Madame Guyon’s biography, Hudson Taylor’s biography, other writings
3. Christ – J.G. Bellett, Charles G. Trumbull, A.B. Simpson, T. Austin Sparks, others
4. The Spirit – Andrew Murray’s “The Spirit of Christ”
5. The Three Parts of Man (body, soul, and spirit) – Jessie Penn-Lewis, Mary C. McDonough
6. Faith – George Müller’s autobiography
7. Abiding in Christ – Andrew Murray, Hudson Taylor’s biography
8. The subjective aspect of Christ’s death and spiritual warfare – Jessie Penn-Lewis
9. Christ’s resurrection and His Body – T. Austin Sparks, others
10. God’s plan of redemption – Mary McDonough
11. The church – John Nelson Darby, other Brethren teachers
12. Prophecy – Robert Govett, D.M. Panton, G.H. Pember, other Brethren writers
13. Church history – John Foxe, E.H. Broadbent, others
14. Bible exposition and many other truths, in general – John Nelson Darby, the Brethren

Watchman Nee became familiar with many of these books through Margaret Barber, a former Anglican missionary. Early in his Christian life he received much spiritual edification and perfection from her. Primarily through his fellowship with Miss Barber, Watchman Nee realized that to be a Christian is altogether a matter of the divine life. Through her shepherding, he learned to pay more attention to life than to work and to live by Christ as his life.

Revelation and Living
Through his fellowship with Miss Barber and others, along with his study of the Bible and numerous spiritual books, Watchman Nee received a wealth of revelation. He was truly a seer of the divine revelation. The core of his revelation was threefold: it concerned (1) the living of a crucified life, (2) the living of a resurrected life, and (3) the issue of such a living, the church. Related to the crucified life, he saw and experienced the subjective aspects of Christ’s death. He realized that he had been crucified with Christ, that it was no longer he that lived, but Christ Who lived in him. He also realized that in order to experience the death of Christ in a subjective way, he needed to bear the cross. Although he had been crucified with Christ in fact, he also had to remain in Christ’s crucifixion in his experience. He learned that to remain in Christ’s crucifixion was to bear the cross by refusing to allow the old man or the flesh to leave the cross. He realized that in order for him to have such an experience, God must sovereignly arrange his environment, making it a practical cross for him to bear. This is exactly what God did throughout Watchman Nee’s life.

From the very beginning of his ministry, God arranged numerous situations in which he had the opportunity to deny the self and the natural life by bearing the cross and living by Christ as his life. Watchman Nee saw that he had not only died with Christ, but had also risen with Him. The resurrected Christ with the fullness of the Spirit had become his life. It was by the resurrection life of the indwelling Christ that he was able to bear the cross and to participate in the fellowship of His sufferings and be conformed to His death. By the resurrection life of Christ, he abandoned the world, forsook his future, denied himself, was freed from sin, and overcame Satan. It was also by the resurrection life of Christ that he served the Lord, worked for Him, and carried out His commission. His contemporaries bore witness to the fact that he consistently rejected his natural strength in the Lord’s service. He feared the intrusion of his natural life into the Lord’s work; he therefore dared not minister apart from the indwelling Christ. In delivering messages, contacting people, writing articles, corresponding with the believers, and in mundane matters, he acted not by himself but by the resurrection life. It was by living such a resurrection life that he was able to pass through his extended martyrdom of twenty years’ imprisonment, which culminated in death.

Watchman Nee went on to see that the church as the Body of Christ was simply the enlargement, expansion, and expression of the resurrected Christ. His vision that Christ in resurrection was the life and content of the church was far advanced. According to this vision, he not only ministered by the resurrected Christ, but he also ministered the resurrected Christ Himself to the believers for the building up of His Body. He frequently emphasized the fact that anything which is not Christ in resurrection is not the church, and anything not done by the resurrected Christ is a foreign element in the Body. He desired to serve the church with nothing but the resurrected Christ. The more his ministry progressed, the more he ministered the resurrected Christ to the believers and to the local churches. The resurrected Christ became not only his life and living, but also his message and ministry.

Burden and Commission
The divine revelation which Watchman Nee saw resulted in the Lord’s twofold burden and commission to him: first, to bear a particular testimony of the Lord Jesus, and second, to establish local churches. The first burden and commission arose from his personal depth of knowledge and experience of Christ’s all-inclusive death and resurrection. The Lord specifically burdened and commissioned him to bear testimony to this truth. He faithfully responded to this burden by releasing a number of spoken and written messages on the subjective aspect of the Lord’s crucifixion and resurrection, on the principles of life, on the supremacy of Christ, and on God’s eternal purpose.

However, Watchman Nee’s ultimate burden was not just to elevate the individual believers’ experience of Christ, but to establish and build up the practical corporate expression of Christ in the local churches for the satisfaction of God’s desire. This was the ultimate commission he received from the Lord based on what he had seen and experienced of Him. His personal testimony recorded on October 20, 1936 described this commission:
What the Lord revealed to me was extremely clear: Before long He would raise up local churches in various parts of China. Whenever I closed my eyes, the vision of the birth of local churches appeared…

When the Lord called me to serve Him, the primary objective was not to hold revival meetings, help people hear more scriptural doctrines, or for me to become a great evangelist. The Lord revealed to me that He desired to build up local churches in various places to manifest Himself and to bear the testimony of unity on the ground of the local churches. In this way, each saint [believer] is able to function in the church and live the church life. What God wants is not individuals trying to be victorious or spiritual; He wants a corporate glorious church presented to Himself.

Three Parts: Continued Part II – His Suffering
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The Holy Spirit in the Book of Acts

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I) 1:5, “For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” 7-8, “He said to them: “it is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

II) 2:4, “All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.” 14-21, “Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: ‘Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: ‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 32. “God has raised the Jesus to life 38, “

III) Acts 4:29-31; “Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness.” Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous sings and wonders through the name of your holy Servant, Jesus. After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.”

IV) 5;3-4, “Then Peter said, ‘Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit …you have not lied to men but to God.” 9, “how could you agree to rest the Spirit of the Lord? Look..”

V) 6:3-4, “Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention for prayer and ministry of the word.” 10, “But they could not stand up against his (Steven’s) wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke.”

VI) 7:59, “While they were stoning him, Steven prayed, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”

VII) 8:14-23, “When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria has accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. When they arrived, they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit because the Holy Spirit has not yet come upon any of them; they had simply been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the Laying o of the apostless hands, he offerece them money and said, “give me also this ability so that everyone whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit. Peter answered: “May your money perish with you, because your heart is not right before God. Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin.” 29, “The Spirit told Phillip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.” 39-40, When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Phillip away and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. Phillip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.”

VIII) 9:17-18, “Then Ananias went to the house and entered it., Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord – Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here – has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.’ Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again.”

IX) 10:19, “While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Simon, three men are looking for you. So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with then, for I have sent them.”

X) 11:12-18, “The Spirit told me to have no hesitation about going with them. These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man’s house. He told us how he had seen an angel appear in his house and say, ‘Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. He will bring you a message through which you and all your household will be saved. As I began to speak, The Holy Spirit came on them as he has come on us at the beginning. Then I remembered what the Lord had said: ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” So if God gave them the same gift as he gave us, who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could oppose God? When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life.” 27-30 “During this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. One of them, named Agabus, stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. …The disciples, each according to his ability, decided to provide help for the brothers living in Judea. This they did, sending their gift to the elders by Barnabas and Saul.”

XI) 13:2-4, “While they were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them. So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off. The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus.”

XII) 16:6-7, “Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “come over to Macedonia and help us. After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.”

XIII) 19:1-6, “While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples and asked them, ‘Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” They answered, “No, we haven not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit. So Paul asked, ‘Then what baptism did you receive?’ ‘John’s baptism,’ they replied. Paul said, ‘John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus. On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. When Paul placed his hands on them, they Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.”

XIV) 20:22-23, “And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me.” 28, “Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers.”

XV) 21:4, “Finding the disciples there, we stayed with them seven days. Through the Spirit they urged Paul not to go on to Jerusalem.” 10-11, After we had been there (Caesarea/house of Phillip) a number of days, a prophet by the name of Agabus came down from Judea. Coming over to us, he took Paul’s belt, tied his own hands and fee with it and said, ‘The Holy Spirit says, ‘In this way the Jews of Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him over the Gentiles.”
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The Holy Spirit in the Book of John

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I) 14:16-17, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever – the Spirit of truth, The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.” 26,”But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.”

II) 15:26, “When the counselor comes, whom I will send to you form the Father, the Spirit of truth, who goes out form the Father, he will testify about me.”

III) 16:13-15, “But when He, the Spirit of Truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what He hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you.”

IV) 20:21-22 “Again Jesus said, ‘peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.’ And with that, he breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive then, they are not forgiven.”
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Hey, Kid! Listen to Your Parents: Part One -

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Our human nature is to be disobedient. No one likes discipline. It’s far easier to do what ever feels good, from eating, playing, sleeping, fast rides and fast cars. If we could spend all day, every day doing only these things that feel good, we’d all be happy, right?

You know that’s wrong. No one is happy being a drug addict, for example. Why aren’t they? Because when we live in indulgence, be it drugs, alcohol, gambling, sex, fast lives or even simply over eating, even though doing those things may feel good temporarily, we are actually hurting ourselves emotionally, physically, mentally and spiritually. Prov. 14:12, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.” No one is happy just playing. When all you’re doing every day is playing and indulging yourself, there is nothing to feel good about or be proud of. In fact, you begin to feel terrible about yourself.

We all need structure and limitations in order to live healthy and productive lives. God’s laws are merely good standards for healthy lives.

Disobedience is also like a cancer. It spreads. Prov. 22:24, “Do not makes friends with a hot-tempered man, do not associate with one easily angered, or you may learn his and get yourself snared.”

a) It will spread through your own life. There is a verse in the Bible that says if you are sinful with the little things in your life, you will become sinful with the bigger
things.

b) It will spread through the lives of others. Humans are by nature sinful. It’s easiest for us to be that way, and like I said, it’s temporarily fun. So when we see others breaking the rules, many of us are tempted to follow.

Disobedience is dangerous.

1 Sam 15: 23 says, “For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as inequity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the Word of the Lord, He has rejected thee…”

Folly happens when over indulge ourselves. Most people that have lived lots of years have learned this through their own mistakes. Most parents know that over-indulgence hurts, and do what ever they can to keep their children from making those mistakes. That’s why many parents set up rules and nag. Prov. 19:3, “A man’s own folly ruins his life, yet his heart rages against the Lord.” Folly happens when we don’t listen and obey. Obedience to parents helps prevent Folly.

As teenagers we don’t like our parents rules.
Parental rules are a pain. Every time you turn around, your parents are nagging you about this or that, or punishing you for something you forgot to do, or laying down another rule, or saying “no” when you want to do something.

Many times we don’t understand why our parents lay out certain rules. My son once asked me what I would say to a friend of his that was having a hard time with her parents. He said her parents were always harassing her and getting in her face. I answered, “I’d tell her to obey.” The best way to get your parents off your back is to simply obey.

The greatest perk in doing that comes years down the road, when you won’t have to make yourself go apologize to them after you’ve finally figured out that they had been right.

More to Come….Part II
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The Necessity of Partial Birth Abortions

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A while ago I was thinking through the whole dynamics on how partial birth abortions are performed.

Okay, so you have this mother that is supposedly in distress from this child and needs to have the child removed ASAP – to save her life.

So the doctor begins the abortion by inducing birth. Then he stops the birth “mid-stream” in order to take the time to turn the baby around, so it is coming out breach – feet first.

How long does that process take, and what effect does it have on the mother in distress?

Then he allows the birth to continue – but stops it short before the head emerges.

At this point, he kills the baby with a sharp object to the base of the skull. How much time does that take?

Alright, so we’ve done this partial birth and abortion ASAP to save the mother’s life, but delayed it a couple of times in order to perform the murder? is that right?

And…this is my confusion – wouldn’t the birth have happened a lot sooner if it has simply been allowed to run it’s course with a live birth – and relieve the mother’s distress more quickly?

And then – here is the real, real big confusion. Why was the murder necessary? If they had already begun an early birth, and the child was already on his way out…and within a few minutes the mother was going to be free of the child anyway…I don’t get it. Why was the murder medically necessary?

Just asking.

I guess I have my own assumptions as to why partial birth abortion occurs despite its obvious nonsensical purpose. I base this assumption on those questions, as well as reports that near term babies are frequently placed in a freezer at the abortion clinic.

If the babies head is born, the child is considered a live birth. So if the child’s head is jabbed after it comes out, then courts would presumabley agree that the child was murdered.

Therefore, the child must first be turned in the womb so that the head is the last to come out and can be easily stuck in its base prior to a completed birth. In this way, it’s not considered murder. Right?

But why must the child be stuck in the head? Why not some other form of killing it while it is still in the mother’s body?

It seems this method of murder is an attempt to keep many of the baby’s tissues in good shape -undamaged by chemicals or tools. etc.

So what is the doctor’s purpose in recommending and performing a partial birth abortion, when – if the mother is truly in distress – she would be relieved quicker without it, and there is no medical reason for the child to actually be killed?

I have to wonder about the freezers these children are placed in and the purpose of perserving their tissues. If my assumptions are correct, I come to the personal conclusion that this isn’t about what’s good for mother’s or babies – it’s about what’s good for the Doctor and clinic financially. This is an industry, period.
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The Holy Spirit and the Books of Romans, 1st Cor.

The Holy Spirit in the Book of Romans

Romans 1:4, “and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 2:29, “No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man’s praise is not from men, but from God.”

Romans 7:6, “but now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.”

Romans 8:1-5, “Therefore, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit. Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace;”

Romans 8:9-16, “You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And it the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you. Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation – but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of Sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’ The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.”

Romans 8:23, “Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.”

Romans 8:26, 27, “in the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. 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.”

Romans 9:1, “I speak the truth in Christ – I am not lying, my conscience confirms it in the Holy Spirit – I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart.

Romans 15;17-19, “Therefore I glory in Christ Jesus in my service to God. I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done – by the power of signs and miracles, through the power of the Spirit. So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ.” 30 “I urge you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me.”

The Holy Spirit in the Book of 1Corinthians

1Corinthians 2:4, “My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.”

1Corinthians 2:9-14 “However, as it is written: ‘No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who live him’ – but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man’s spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man’s judgment: For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.”

1Corinthians 3:16, “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?

1Corinthians 5:3-5, “Even though I am not physically present, I am with you in spirit. And I have already passed judgment on the one who did this, just as if I were present. When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus in present, hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord.”

1Corinthians 6:11, “And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”

1Corinthians 6:18-20, “Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your body.”

1Corinthians 7;40, “In my judgment, she is happier if she stays as she is – and I think that I too have the Spirit of God.

1Corinthians 12:3-13, “Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, ‘Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit. There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work on one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.

1Corinthians 14:2, “For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God. Indeed, no one understands him; he utters mysteries with his spirit.

1Corinthians 14:14-16. “For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind: I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind. If you are praising God with your spirit, how can one who finds himself among those who do not understand say ‘Amen’ to your thanksgiving, since he does not know what you are saying? You may be giving thanks well enough, but the other man is not edified.

The Holy Spirit and the Books of John and Acts

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The Holy Spirit and the Book of John

John 14:16-17, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever – the Spirit of truth, The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.”

John 14:26,”But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.”

John 15:26, “When the counselor comes, whom I will send to you form the Father, the Spirit of truth, who goes out form the Father, he will testify about me.”

John 16:13-15, “But when He, the Spirit of Truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what He hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you.”

John 20:21-22 “Again Jesus said, ‘peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.’ And with that, he breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive then, they are not forgiven.”

The Holy Spirit in the Book of Acts

Acts 1:5, “For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

Acts 7-8, “He said to them: “it is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Acts 2:4, “All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.”

Acts 2:14-21, “Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: ‘Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: ‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Acts 4:29-31; “Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness.” Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous sings and wonders through the name of your holy Servant, Jesus. After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.”

Acts 5;3-4, “Then Peter said, ‘Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit …you have not lied to men but to God.”

Acts 5:9, “how could you agree to rest the Spirit of the Lord? Look..”

Acts 6:3-4, “Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention for prayer and ministry of the word.”

Acts 6:10, “But they could not stand up against his (Steven’s) wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke.”

Acts 8:14-23, “When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria has accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. When they arrived, they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit because the Holy Spirit has not yet come upon any of them; they had simply been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostless hands, he offerece them money and said, “give me also this ability so that everyone whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit. Peter answered: “May your money perish with you, because your heart is not right before God. Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin.”

Acts 8:29, “The Spirit told Phillip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.”

Acts 8:39-40, When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Phillip away and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. Phillip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.”

Acts 9:17-18, “Then Ananias went to the house and entered it., Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord – Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here – has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.’ Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again.”

Acts 10:19, “While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Simon, three men are looking for you. So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with then, for I have sent them.”

Acts 11:12-18, “The Spirit told me to have no hesitation about going with them. These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man’s house. He told us how he had seen an angel appear in his house and say, ‘Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. He will bring you a message through which you and all your household will be saved. As I began to speak, The Holy Spirit came on them as he has come on us at the beginning. Then I remembered what the Lord had said: ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” So if God gave them the same gift as he gave us, who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could oppose God? When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life.”

Acts 11:27-30 “During this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. One of them, named Agabus, stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. …The disciples, each according to his ability, decided to provide help for the brothers living in Judea. This they did, sending their gift to the elders by Barnabas and Saul.”

Acts 13:2-4, “While they were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them. So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off. The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus.”

Acts 16:6-7, “Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “come over to Macedonia and help us. After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.”

Acts 19:1-6, “While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples and asked them, ‘Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” They answered, “No, we haven not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit. So Paul asked, ‘Then what baptism did you receive?’ ‘John’s baptism,’ they replied. Paul said, ‘John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus. On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. When Paul placed his hands on them, they Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.”

Acts 20:22-23, “And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me.”

Acts 20:28, “Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers.”

Acts 21:4, “Finding the disciples there, we stayed with them seven days. Through the Spirit they urged Paul not to go on to Jerusalem.”

Acts 21:10-11, After we had been there (Caesarea/house of Phillip) a number of days, a prophet by the name of Agabus came down from Judea. Coming over to us, he took Paul’s belt, tied his own hands and fee with it and said, ‘The Holy Spirit says, ‘In this way the Jews of Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him over the Gentiles.”

More to Come…
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So-called "Healer" & the Elderly Woman … (Part 1 Is This Faith?)

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It was the summer of 1999 when our family attended a mountain Bible camp just west of Glacier Park, Montana. An evangelical “faith healer,” wild and full of himself, made an altar call. I went up. I am usually cynical. But I had a pinched nerve and no medical insurance, so decided I’d give it a try. I told myself that it wasn’t ‘him’ I was trying though. I determined to open my mind to the Lord and give HIM a chance.

An elderly woman stood in front of me in the line, someone I had known for years as a kind, prayerful woman. The woman had trouble with her hips and needed a walker. When it was her turn to be prayed for, I was close enough to watch and hear everything that was said.

After the healer prayed for the woman, he had two men take hold of her arms and attempt to run her back and forth in front of the stage. They ran her in the direction away from us and appeared to have much of her weight in their arms. She wasn’t able to support herself well at all. On their return, the pain in her face was obvious and her need for their support appeared even more so. After a few minutes of this torture, the men brought her back to the healer and she grasped for her walker. The healer then told her, “something inside you is blocking it. You just didn’t have enough faith.”

She was devastated and left the building in tears.

I was shocked. Wouldn’t the fact that this elderly woman went up to the altar for prayer been an indication she had the faith of at least a mustard seed?

Later, I found her and sat down to talk to her. I tried to encourage her, but she was still crying and said, “No, he was right. It was my fault.” I felt terrible for her.

Was the healer right? Was the Lord unwilling or unable to heal her because she didn’t have enough faith? I don’t believe it. I think he was just a jerk who wants people to believe in and praise him. If he was really about the Lord’s business, that woman wouldn’t have been crying by herself in the back of the church.

Some of these so called preachers make believe that it’s always God’s will to heal when they, the preacher, demand it. People that have obvious physical issues and don’t get healed are just an embarrassment to them.

What is faith in the real God?

Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

How do we get faith?

Galatians 5:22 tells us Faith is a fruit of the spirit. According to Hebrews 12:2, Jesus is the author and finisher of our Faith and Romans 10 states, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.”

Faith begins with a decision to believe the Word, and to begin a walk of obedience. Once making the decision, the Holy Spirit is able to work in our hearts, and make faith grow. We can’t “make” ourselves have faith. It’s a gift, born and nurtured through the Lord. And boy, that woman sure did have it. Can you imagine making the decision to go up to the altar and allow them to take away your walker? She only did that because she had faith and hope in the Lord. Her only error was in allowing that jerk to place his hands on her and later, when his commands to the Lord for his – not the Lord’s – glory weren’t met, he abused her by putting doubt in her mind about her own faith.

Is Faith necessary?

Romans 4 says that believing God brings us righteousness and believing on God brings us justification. Galatians 16 also states that by believing in Christ, we are justified by His faith. Belief is necessary for justification.

Mark 16:16 says “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.” Faith is necessary for salvation

Eph. 6, The Shield of Faith is part of the armor of God. Faith is necessary for our battle with the enemy.

I never returned to that Bible camp because I honestly don’t believe our time together in fellowship, prayer and worship is supposed to end with a preacher shaming members of the congregation and causing them to doubt their faith. (That wasn’t the only disconcerting event I witnessed at that camp.) But I have attended other, more mature camps in the last ten years and have been very blessed by the ministries.

Oh, by the way, that nerve in my leg is still pinched to this day. However, it doesn’t matter. The number and depth of things the Lord has done for and with me and my family over these last years has been unbelievable. My leg is of little importance compared to the amazing things the Lord has done. I do have complete faith in Him to know us, the purposes He has for us, and the best way to accomplish those purposes. I have no faith in faith healers.

More to come…
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Our God is a Missionary God –

In the late 1700’s, a young English shoemaker, read “The Last Voyage of Captain Cook” and was fascinated. That book sparked his interest, and he found himself suddenly curious about people all over the world. He began to read any book he could lay his hands on. He placed a world map on the wall next to his cobbler bench and wrote every bit of information he could find about people and places beyond England. Also being a Pastor and a teacher, he became enthusiastic as well as concerned. What will happen to these people if no one ever reaches them and they never hear about Jesus Christ? Although the Danish-Halle and Moravian missionaries were already at work at that time, the prevailing view of the church was that the Great Commission — Jesus’ command in Matthew 28:18-20 to “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them…” — was no longer a mandate for Christians.

At a ministerial meeting where he asked if they could discuss the implications of the Great Commission, he was told by an elder, “Young man, sit down. When God pleases to convert the heathen, he will do it without your aid or mine.”

Although his elders attempted to discourage him, he wrote an 87 page book in 1792 arguing that God’s mandate to early Christians was not only still relevant, but it was a major obligation of the Christian walk. Some say that William Carey’s “Enquiry into the Obligations of Christians” was not only the “first and greatest missionary treatise in the English language,” but that it deserves a place alongside Martin Luther’s Ninety Five Thesis. In May of 1792 he preached his famous sermon based on Isaiah 54, in which he coined the now famous couplet, “Expect Great things from God; Attempt Great things for God.” Today Carey is recognized as the “father of Protestant missions.”

What in the world — or in God’s Word — was motivating this young man?

What:

The Great Commandment is that we Love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul and with all our mind.” This Great Command is played out in the Great Commission. It is not an option, but a vital role in our expression of love for our God.

The Bible begins with the first eleven chapters in Genesis introducing the Universe, then the Earth, then Adam, the father of the human race, and finally Abraham, the father of the chosen race. In the first three chapters, God moves quickly from creation of all things by one God, with all humans in his likeness, to our rebellion and his judgment. The next eight chapters succinctly describe the destructive results of our fall. Gen. 12:1-3 comes then, at a time when society is deteriorating.

This is the earliest point in the Bible where God states His missionary purpose and vision. The Lord, speaking to Abraham, said,

“Leave your country, your people, and your father’s people and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse: and all people’s on earth will be blessed through you.”

God’s whole purpose is summarized here, in perhaps the most unifying verses in the Bible.

Instead of revealing His will in the form of a command, God revealed his purpose – to bless the world – in the form of a promise that was both personal and global. The emphasis was more on what God would do and the outcome he desired rather than what Abraham needed to accomplish.

Further, the promise reveals God’s intentions at each stage of fulfillment. New Testament writer’s understood the Old Testament to have fulfillment in the past, present and future. Our God of history partially fulfilled the promise in the past during Abraham’s time with the birthing of Israel. As our God of Covenant, the promise was wholly fulfilled in the present through the gift of Jesus Christ. Finally, as God of Mission, it will be perfectly fulfilled in the future with the end of the age: the coming kingdom.

Don’t be too disturbed by God’s promise to also make Abraham’s name great. This is in contrast to man’s attempts to make his own name great. The fact is that significance doesn’t come from creating our own security and prestige, but from being a blessing to others. It’s more than our duty, it is our purpose.

Scripture following Genesis 12:1-3 continues emphasizing the promise and its implications, making it all clearer. God did not use an obligating contract to force His people to serve him as missionaries. Instead, He desires that we will serve through loving obedience. This is why Abraham’s faith was so important. Abraham freely obeyed in faith, leaving his father’s family, his people, and going out into the world. Following Chapter 12, the promise, including the blessing to other nations, is repeated in Gen. 18:18. Then in Genesis 22 Abraham again shows his faith by obediently offering up his son to the Lord. Immediately after this act of obedience, in verses 16-18, God declares that because of this obedience, he will bless Abraham and make his descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky, and adds, “and through your offspring all nations on earth will be Blessed because you have obeyed me.”

The promise is repeated again to Jacob in 26:4 and 28:14.

Throughout the rest of the Bible, this significant verse and its meaning is intertwined with the message that God has a purpose and promise for all people, everywhere. In the New Testament, the Great Commission uses the Greek phrase, “Panta te ethne.” This is usually translated as “all nations“, but the phrase is better translated as “all the peoples“, and would not have been understood by the first listeners as referring to geographical countries. Furthermore, the word “ethnos” in singular form is never used to refer to Gentiles in general. It always refers to a people group and more specifically, ethnicities defined by language or culture. The Bible is not just a collection of unrelated stories for the enriching our own personal lives; It’s a very clear message of God’s ultimate intent. Examples:

Ex 19:4-6, “Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” (What does it mean to be priests but to minister to others?)

Psalm 67, “May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine upon us, that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations. May the peoples praise you. May the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you rule the peoples justly and guide the nations of the earth. May the peoples praise you, O God; may all the peoples praise you. Then the land will yield its harvest, and God, our God, will bless us, and all the ends of the earth will fear him.”

Matthew 28: 18-20, — The Great Commission — “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Mark 16:15, “Go out into all the world and preach the good news”.

Luke 24:46-47, “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sin will be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.”

Acts 1:8, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witness in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Missionary scholars equate this to ministering in your home community, in a close or similar community, or in a completely different culture.

The mandate isn’t limited to these verses. The mission mandate is seen throughout the entire Bible. God’s concern and gift of salvation for all people is evidenced in the books of Jonah, Ruth, Isaiah, and many others. Solomon’s temple was even built with a court for the Gentiles to worship in.

Where?

What also should be noted is that the first eleven chapters, which the promise immediately follows, are not related to a single people group. God’s initial promise to Abraham is preceded in Chapter 10 by a listing of the 70 nations on the earth. Those initial nations weren’t distinguished by geographical boundaries, but by clans and ancestors. What was being identified wasn’t nation states, but people groups, even “family” groups. The Hebrew word interpreted as “Nation” can also mean “gentile “,”people”, or “families.”

Interestingly, in April 2001, the Atlantic Monthly carried an article called “The Genetic Archaeology of Race” which reported scientific confirmation that a small group of people are the ancestors of every person alive today. Genetic researchers have shown that all human beings are incredibly similar genetically and there is no special gene to determine race. The differences we see in people are merely the differences one finds in families; meaning, the simple differences in hair color, bone structure and skin tone. Mr. Craig Venter of Celera Genomics stated, “Race has no genetic or scientific basis.” In other words, there is no such thing.

“All the families of the Earth“ is a reference that flies higher than racial pride and narrow nationalism. God is the Creator of “all the families on Earth.”

In these earliest chapters of the Bible, it is shown that God’s rewards are available to all who believe and obey. However, they also reflect how we humans are most interested in obtaining recognition and pleasure for ourselves. This is the setting that leads up to Genesis 12:1-3. God rescues human beings by choosing from them one man and his family to bring the good news.

Why?

Abraham and his seed weren’t blessed because they were better than everyone else. Abraham wasn’t chosen because he was perfect. Remember, he had some character issues — including struggles with deceit and fear. But God chose this one man and his family so that all the families on earth would be blessed. Why? Abraham was chosen because of his heart-felt faith. Deep held Faith is what is needed in this harsh world if one is going to be a Blessing to others, and the promise came for the purpose of Abraham and his seed being a Blessing to the rest of the world.

God so loves the world – His ultimate purpose is to eliminate all evil and have full relationship with men. And this is the key – worship of God eradicates evil. God desires worship to come to Him from every nation because it is in this way that evil will be expunged from every people group. Psalm 67 reveals that God’s one singular purpose is to be glorified in worship.

Who?

The promise is that through Abraham’s seed all the nations be blessed. Who are Abraham’s seed? Who are the people’s that are intended to bless all other peoples?

Romans 9:8 states, “In other words, it is not the natural children who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring.”

That straightforward statement from the New Testament seems to contradict long held beliefs from the Old Testament. However, the Old Testament itself relates that not all of Abraham’s birth children or descendant’s were included as part of the promise. Neither Abraham’s first-born son, Ishmael, nor Rebekah’s first-born, Esau, although they were both physical descendents of Abraham, inherited the promise. Through out the Old Testament, we see that many descendants of Israel ended up out of God’s favor, and instead earned His wrath. Many times throughout history only a remnant of Israel remained.

The Apostle Paul goes on to write that many Israelites have not received righteousness because they pursued it by works, not by faith. He states that many Gentiles, on the other hand, have received righteousness because of their faith. This faith shown by God’s chosen is the same faith shown by Abraham when he went to sacrifice his son.

Paul points out in Romans 9:25-26 that Hosea prophesied, “I will call them ‘my people’ who are not my people; and I will call her ‘my loved one’ who is not my love one.” And, “It will happen that in the very place where it was said to them, ‘you are not my people,’ they will be called ‘sons of the living God.” Paul states that the children of Abraham are those elected by God, through God’s sovereign freedom to do so.

Galatians 3:6-9 also states, “Consider Abraham: He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness. Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham. The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: ‘All nations will be blessed through you.’ So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.”

How?

How is Abraham’s seed to bless the Nations? By spreading the Good News of God’s promise and discipling people of faith.

Jonah is an example of how NOT to do it. One of God’s people, but lazy and self-centered, he had no heart for the Gentiles. He was angry when God showed Nineveh mercy and used crafty methods to try to evade God’s wishes. Johan thought only of himself, the exact opposite of what God calls us to do. The seventh scene in Jonah, chapter 4:1-4, shows us that the greatest hurdle to overcome in Jonah’s missionary task wasn’t the sailors, big fish or even Nineveh, but his own attitudes. Jonah’s sin was that although one of God’s people, he didn’t have the heart for it and wasn’t obedient to God’s call and direction. Jonah is an example to all of us who want the benefit of Christianity — but none of the responsibility.

On the other hand, Paul was motivated by the hope that God would be glorified among the nations. In Romans 15:8, Paul writes, “For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jews on behalf of God’s truth, to confirm the promises made to the patriarchs so that the Gentiles may glorify God…” (and on)

Finally, our ability to carry out the mandate: Jesus said in the Great Commission, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me… … And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” If this is a factor in our lives, does any other factor matter?

Conclusion:

First AND MOST IMPORTANT – Glory will be given to God.
Second, there will be a blessing of salvation for all people. “All people’s on earth will be blessed through you.”

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship.” Rom. 12:1

God’s purpose for his glory in global worship, according to one great professor, is to redeem a people from every people and to rule a kingdom over all kingdoms. We need to see ourselves for who we are: His servants, working together as one people in Christ for His purposes and glory. We need to be “Global Christians with a Global View because we have a Global God.” Making disciples is part of the mandated walk of each and every Christian. If we agree that this is mandatory for our lives, what action steps do we take? God has given each of us specific gifts to help us fulfill the specific role He has for us in His kingdom. One mission teacher asked, “Has God told anyone in this room NOT to do discipling or mission work? If He has not told you NOT to, then the mandate stands for you to disciple.”

So is He is calling you to serve as a support person, or to contribute to the Churches Great Commission Fund, or to pray for the workers on the field? If He is calling you out as a worker, is He calling you to work right here in your hometown Jerusalem, or in a close and similar “Samaria” community, or is it in a completely different land at the ends of the Earth?

Let us all pray that God will give us all a missionary mind-set, showing us the gifts we have been given for that purpose and just how and where he wants us to use those gifts.

Truly Faith Based Family Bible Camp: Hungry Horse, Montana

June 11, 2013 1:06 pm / Leave a Comment

For over thirty years, Mjorud Family Bible Camp operated without charge to the hundreds of diverse families that attended. There, families received housing, three full meals a day, as well as amazing speakers, prayer, music, sports, hiking, fellowship and rest at no cost. Nightly, the ministry made a request for free will offerings. There was never any pressure to donate, and no questions were asked or record kept if one didn’t.

Amazingly, without fail, enough funds were brought in each year to meet the budget. In fact, more than enough was consistently donated. Did they save the excess for the next year? No. Genuinely a faith-based non-profit, the excess was annually donated to a mission in Sri Lanka.

Twenty years ago I told Pastor Mjorud that if not for this camp, my family wouldn’t be able to afford going to any family Bible camp. He responded, “That’s why we do it.”

Pastor Mjorud retired the Family Camp eleven years ago, and two years later, he passed away. But last year, on the tenth anniversary of the retirement, families having missed the blessing of such a truly faith-based ministry, gathered again at Glacier Bible Camp in Hungry Horse Montana. The families, blessed by the renewed experience, asked the organizers if this could again become an annual event.

So the Mjorud Family Bible Camp is scheduled again this summer, August 16-20 in Hungry Horse, Montana. The Family Camp rents the A of G Bible campground for the week, where there are cabins, lodge’s, camping spaces, a cafeteria, and large sanctuary available, as well as playground, miniature golf, and close proximity to Glacier National Park.

So in the words of the organizers, “Come and renew acquaintances with old friends – and/or make new ones. Bring your family, friends, and neighbors. Expect great things from our wonderful Lord Jesus Christ as we gather to honor, worship, and learn from Him.”

Mjorud camp is Christian, evangelical, and non-denominational, and praying fervently for a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit this year. Visit www.caicw.org/Family_Bible_Camp.html to register.

Easy fix to IRS corruption

June 3, 2013 8:37 am / Leave a Comment

Matt Barber – Liberty Counsel Action

Sir John Dalberg-Acton famously observed, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” No federal agency enjoys more power than the “absolute power” wielded by the Internal Revenue Service. It’s little wonder, then, that under this power-drunk Obama regime, the IRS has become “corrupted absolutely.” It’s become the hammer to this president’s favorite nail: political dissent.

The bureaucratic cat’s out of the bag, and the evidence is undeniable. The Obama IRS has been illegally targeting conservative, Christian and Jewish groups and individuals for political retaliation, intimidation and, ultimately, destruction. These revelations have spurred calls for criminal prosecution and even impeachment. Still, little has been said about how to prevent such Stalinist abuses of power in the future.

We’ve been over-thinking the problem. Sometimes complicated questions come with easy answers. I wish I could take credit for it, but while I was participating in a recent meeting in Washington, D.C., Judson Phillips, founder of Tea Party Nation, hit on the simple solution. “The Constitution is a great place to go in order to rein in the rampant and repeated abuses at the IRS,” he suggested. Namely, the Fourth Amendment, which guarantees the following:

“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”

No individual – and especially no federal agency – is above the law. Regrettably, and largely through both citizen and government acquiescence, the IRS has been brandishing arbitrary and extra-constitutional authority, unchecked, for well over a century.

Imagine if the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, or the ATF suddenly began “searching” and “seizing” the “persons, houses, papers, and effects,” of millions of U.S. citizens every year without a warrant – without probable cause or even reasonable suspicion that any criminal or civil violation had occurred. People would be outraged, and for good reason. Such actions would rightly and universally be decried as unconstitutional. The lawsuits would fly, heads would roll and the courts would immediately shut down such “unreasonable searches and seizures.” This is exactly the kind of government tyranny our founders endeavored to thwart.

So why has the IRS been allowed to do just that – to violate, systemically and systematically, the Fourth Amendment? How is it that this one federal agency, with neither probable cause nor a warrant, is permitted to invade your privacy and confiscate your “houses, papers and effects” on a whim? How is it that if you fail to comply with their warrantless searches and seizures, they have the authority to ruin you financially and even throw you in prison?

No warrant? No problem. When the IRS arbitrarily and capriciously says “jump,” America opens its doors wide and says, “how high?” Is this the IRS or the ISS? Either way, it’s time that “we the people” put an end to this unconstitutional abuse of power.

At least some good has come from Mr. Obama’s IRS-gate scandal. It’s exposed the unprecedented depths to which corruption has burrowed its way from the top down. It’s also underscored the autocratic nature of the contemporary IRS beast. It’s unified many Republicans, Democrats and independents around this fundamental reality: America must de-politicize the IRS.

Politicians on both sides of the aisle love to pay lip service to a need for “tax reform.” Well, honorable sirs and madams, put up or shut up. It’s time for a new federal “Taxpayer Bill of Rights.” A centerpiece to such legislation must be the simple codification of that which the Fourth Amendment already mandates; namely, that, when conducting “searches and seizures” (aka, audits), the IRS must adhere to the same U.S. Constitution that restricts every other federal agency.

Such a bill, notes Phillips, “would codify as federal law that no IRS audit (or any other agency audit) of a person, organization or business could be conducted without first having the IRS agent (or agent of the agency conducting the audit) to prepare an affidavit that is sworn to in front of a federal judge, federal magistrate or a tax court judge that states with specificity why there is probable cause to believe the audit will result in either the discovery of criminal activities or the discovery of civil wrong doing. It will be the functional equivalent of a search warrant.”

Phillips is on to something big here. Especially when you consider this last minor factoid: The IRS is also the OEA: the “Obamacare Enforcement Agency.”

If that doesn’t send a chill down your spine, then nothing will.

What do you get when you cross one tyrannical, hyper-politicized bureaucratic beast with another?

You get tyranny on steroids. You also get one happy Barack Hussein Obama.

Contact your legislators and A) respectfully request that they re-constitutionalize the IRS; B) that the IRS be required to observe the Fourth Amendment; and C) that they hold this president accountable for his unprecedented and despicable abuse of executive authority.

Finally, request that Congress pass a new Taxpayer Bill of Rights that covers “all of the above.”

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