Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Pray for Life

"For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb." (Psalm 139:13, NKJV)


Recently I have received a number of emails concerning legislation called the “Freedom of Choice Legislation.”


STATEMENT OF POLICY- It is the policy of the United States that every woman has the fundamental right to choose to bear a child, to terminate a pregnancy prior to fetal viability, or to terminate a pregnancy after fetal viability when necessary to protect the life or health of the woman



Although this legislation has been before Congress for some time, it now has a real likelihood of passing. Our current President has vowed to sign the legislation if passed.



As Christians we can pray that God would spare our country from taking another downward step towards total godlessness. In addition, we can exercise our right to vote and support candidates that closer approximate Christian morality. Elections have consequences.





Saturday, January 17, 2009

Oprah on Spirituality

Apparently Oprah has embraced a number of “new age” teachers and is promoting a concept called Live Your Best Life and hosted a forum called spirituality 101.



Oprah began the program by saying that spirituality means being connected and feeling alive. She then took a deep breath and encouraged the audience to doo likewise to get yourself in the present moment. She then introduced her guests on the panel discussion: Rev. Michael Bernard Beckwith is the author of "Spiritual Liberation," and Elizabeth Lesser founder of the Omega Institute and author of “The Seekers Guide” In addition Rev. Ed Bacon of the All Saint Episcopal Church in Pasadena, was part of the group. Oprah asked each of her experts what they thought spirituality is.

Rev. Bacon said he agrees with being connected. Give the power to be fully alive. He said that the doorway to the experience is to be unconditionally and fully loved. Lesser: said that it’s an instinct that there is more to life than meets the eye. Spirituality is the fearlessness to ask the big questions. Who am I? What is my purpose in life? Where do you go when you die? Beckwith: said when you’re connected to the love, peace, harmony these are eternal qualities. Individuals who connect to these qualities and are in that spiritual moment. Oprah said that you really are a spiritual entity inside a human body. Whatever happens things are going to be alright if you are in connection with your spirit.

If you carefully note their words they are all unifying around a theme of introspection that finds fulfillment in self. Or as President elect Obama said on the campaign stump, “We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.” This phrase is the title to Alice Walker’s book who calls on her readers to find spiritual strength within themselves. The subtle erosion of Doctrine and Dogma diminishes the truth of the Word of God. Men are left to rally around the lie of self deception. Man now is the center of truth and knowledge. There is no need for a Messiah, Deliverer, or Savior. Man can look inward for salvation.

False religion would have you look inward to find strength in yourself. The original lie of Satan was to doubt the goodness of God and listen to yourself you can be your own god.

Genesis 3:5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

It is becoming easier to see how various false religious systems of the world will unify under the banner of self. Their unity however will be short lived as false religion will have its final fling.

Chapter 17 in the Book of Revelation is a summary of the final days of false religion.

It is interesting to note that they agree on both their philosophy and conclusions.

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Happy New Year


One of the best New Year resolutions you can make is to read the Bible from cover to cover. There are a number of ways to accomplish this, but for the past several years I have been reading though the Bible via my email inbox. Okay, I will admit that at times I am a bit of a geek, but this has been my favorite way to read the Bible. Every morning I get up open my email and there is a selection of the Bible, an OT reading and a NT reading.
If you are into computers and email (you have to be somewhat to be reading this post) then I encourage you to consider giving this option a try. You can subscribe by the link below. The reading can be customized to give you the translation you prefer to read.
Bible in a year by email
http://studylight.org/plan/byemail.cgi

Luke 4:4 But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’ ”


Bible in a Year - Thursday, January 1, 2009

Here is your daily Bible reading from the "New King James Version" translation.

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Genesis 1:1-31

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The

earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face

of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of

the waters.

3 Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. 4

And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the

light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the

darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were

the first day.

6 Then God said, "Let there be a firmament in the midst of the

waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters." 7 Thus

God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under

the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament;

and it was so. 8 And God called the firmament Heaven. So the

evening and the morning were the second day.

9 Then God said, "Let the waters under the heavens be gathered

together into one place, and let the dry land appear"; and it

was so. 10 And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering

together of the waters He called Seas. And God saw that it was

good. 11 Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth grass, the

herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit

according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth";

and it was so. 12 And the earth brought forth grass, the herb

that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields

fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God

saw that it was good. 13 So the evening and the morning were the

third day.

14 Then God said, "Let there be lights in the firmament of the

heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for

signs and seasons, and for days and years; 15 and let them be

for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the

earth"; and it was so. 16 Then God made two great lights: the

greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the

night. He made the stars also. 17 God set them in the firmament

of the heavens to give light on the earth, 18 and to rule over

the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the

darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 So the evening and

the morning were the fourth day.

20 Then God said, "Let the waters abound with an abundance of

living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the

face of the firmament of the heavens." 21 So God created great

sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the

waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird

according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 And God

blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the

waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth." 23 So

the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

24 Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth the living

creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and

beast of the earth, each according to its kind"; and it was so.

25 And God made the beast of the earth according to its kind,

cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps on the

earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

26 Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to

Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea,

over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the

earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."

27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He

created him; male and female He created them. 28 Then God

blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply;

fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the

sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that

moves on the earth."

29 And God said, "See, I have given you every herb that yields

seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose

fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. 30 Also, to

every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to

everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I

have given every green herb for food"; and it was so.

31 Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was

very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

Genesis 2:1-25

1 Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them,

were finished. 2 And on the seventh day God ended His work which

He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work

which He had done. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and

sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which

God had created and made.

4 This is the history of the heavens and the earth when they

were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and

the heavens, 5 before any plant of the field was in the earth

and before any herb of the field had grown. For the LORD God had

not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no man to till

the ground; 6 but a mist went up from the earth and watered the

whole face of the ground. 7 And the LORD God formed man of the

dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of

life; and man became a living being.

8 The LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He

put the man whom He had formed. 9 And out of the ground the LORD

God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good

for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden,

and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 10 Now a river

went out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it parted

and became four riverheads. 11 The name of the first is Pishon;

it is the one which skirts the whole land of Havilah, where

there is gold. 12 And the gold of that land is good. Bdellium

and the onyx stone are there. 13 The name of the second river is

Gihon; it is the one which goes around the whole land of Cush.

14 The name of the third river is Hiddekel; it is the one which

goes toward the east of Assyria. The fourth river is the

Euphrates. 15 Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the

garden of Eden to tend and keep it.

16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree

of the garden you may freely eat; 17 but of the tree of the

knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day

that you eat of it you shall surely die."

18 And the LORD God said, "It is not good that man should be

alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him." 19 Out of

the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and

every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he

would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature,

that was its name. 20 So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the

birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam

there was not found a helper comparable to him.

21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he

slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in

its place. 22 Then the rib which the LORD God had taken from man

He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man. 23 And

Adam said: "This is now bone of my bones And flesh of my flesh;

She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man."

24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be

joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. 25 And

they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not

ashamed.

----------------------------------------------------------

Psalm 1:1-6

1 Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the

ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat

of the scornful; 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD,

And in His law he meditates day and night. 3 He shall be like a

tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit

in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he

does shall prosper.

4 The ungodly are not so, But are like the chaff which the wind

drives away. 5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the

judgment, Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. 6

For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the

ungodly shall perish.

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Luke 5:27-39

27 After these things He went out and saw a tax collector named

Levi, sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, "Follow

Me." 28 So he left all, rose up, and followed Him. 29 Then Levi

gave Him a great feast in his own house. And there were a great

number of tax collectors and others who sat down with them. 30

And their scribes and the Pharisees complained against His

disciples, saying, "Why do You eat and drink with tax collectors

and sinners?" 31 Jesus answered and said to them, "Those who

are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 32

I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to

repentance." 33 Then they said to Him, "Why do the disciples of

John fast often and make prayers, and likewise those of the

Pharisees, but Yours eat and drink?" 34 And He said to them,

"Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while the

bridegroom is with them? 35 But the days will come when the

bridegroom will be taken away from them; then they will fast in

those days." 36 Then He spoke a parable to them: "No one puts a

piece from a new garment on an old one; otherwise the new makes

a tear, and also the piece that was taken out of the new does

not match the old. 37 And no one puts new wine into old

wineskins; or else the new wine will burst the wineskins and be

spilled, and the wineskins will be ruined. 38 But new wine must

be put into new wineskins, and both are preserved. 39 And no

one, having drunk old wine, immediately desires new; for he

says, "The old is better."'