While the election of Barack Obama may have been tough one for some Christians, there was something that came out in all of his speeches that resonated with me –his call to all Americans to serve each other and their country.
As Christians, we are called to serve the Lord on a regular basis and many of us do this within our churches and at our schools. While it is not a new concept, it's the first time in many years that it was part of a presidential campaign platform.
This call to service has been heard again and again since the inauguration of President Obama, and things seem to be transforming in communities through the country.
This call to service was heartening. If we come together, amazing things happen. Look at what we, as a nation, achieved when we came together after 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina. When we decide to unite, we're stronger than if we choose to remain divided.
It really is true, divided we will fall. As many of us have seen on our mission trips abroad, the power of a small group can be very profound. Imagine if we all took time out to commit to a cause that we are passionate about. The results would be awe inspiring.
Sometimes we can find simple ways to help much closer to home that don't require grand gestures, extensive travel, or personal risk. Look around at those close to you. Maybe your elderly neighbor needs a ride to the grocery store or the single mother at your church looks exhausted and defeated and just needs a few hours of babysitting to get some peace.
While many are still adjusting to this new administration and others are moving forward to embrace the changes, there is that call to service to which we can relate. It's the Lord's work we're doing when we answer that call.
Nothing can change that and no president's words will be louder than the words of a higher power. But for now, when it may be hard to see what's positive, let's ALL come together to make a difference and look back at what we've done with a collective sense of pride and accomplishment as we continue to face challenges and difficulties in the weeks and months ahead..
By-line:
This post was contributed by Holly McCarthy, who writes on the subject of a Christian college. She invites your feedback at hollymccarthy12 at gmail dot com
Posted by Walt as Politics, Social Issues at 9:38 AM EST
No Comments »
Even those in a position of power and influence, who could have prevented the seriousness of the discrimination, chose not to. Teachers especially, could have helped prevent the younger generation from developing this type of discrimination in schools, out of schools and in later life. However, both German schools and the Hitler youth discriminated against Jews by teaching lessons that were designed to do this and to teach that Aryans were the superior race. One of the main areas of teaching where discrimination took place was in racial science where students were taught how Jews had a different skull shape/size to Aryans and other races and taught how they could identify a Jew by their physical features; this created a lot of discrimination towards Jews among the young people of Germany.
One of the events to describe and demonstrate how Jews were discriminated against in Germany is the April Boycott; for one day Germans all over the country were told not to buy from shops and business' owned by Jews. SA men stood by the doors of these shops to discourage anyone from going inside. The SA men would have discouraged business, leading business away from the Jews and back into Aryan owned businesses and shops. This is discriminating against the Jews and while it was probably very beneficial to the Aryans working at the time, the Jews would have lost business, and would be looked at differently by Germans.
In many places in Germany, there were signs that read 'Jews not welcome here'. These could be put on park benches, outside places of public interest, or even where it means that Jews are not welcome in the village, city or town. This separates Jews from the rest of the population, by discriminating against them, making Germans feel like they are different people to them, so they should be treated differently!
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Walt as History at 4:07 PM EST
No Comments »
The Bible is a Book that is loved around the world. Its followers live in every country and in every climate. Those who read it regularly love its pages and often do not get enough of it. Many even devote their life to the study of it, going after many degrees. But is it a love well-placed, or is it an obvious blind-sidedeness? Is there some real proof that the Bible is reliable? Is it for the people of today?
If one is honest, and will take the time to honestly learn the truth, the answer is that there is plenty of proof about the veracity of the Bible. While there are many books that deal with the subject (apologetics), most know very little about them. This article will deal with how you can know that the Bible is reliable.
Its Claim To Reliability
This is most important, simply because if the Bible claims to be true and it isn't, then it is not reliable. One of the many places that the Bible claims to be infallible is in Psalms 12:6,7, which says: "The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O Lord, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever" (KJV). Here the Bible is spoken of as being as purified silver - having been refined seven times. In that day, a seven-fold purification process meant the silver had no dross, or error, in it. The next phrase shows how long it will be kept that pure - for ever.
After having studied the Bible for many years, and looking at it with open, and believing eyes, many find it to be just as was predicted - without error. Here are some ways that we can know the Bible is indeed the Word of God.
It Is Reliable In…
1. Its Theme
From cover to cover the Bible has but one theme - redemption. To have this degree of unification of thought, by 40 different men, who spanned over 1600 years of time, is most incredible. Redemption is always by faith, through blood.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Walt as Bible Study, The Bible at 11:30 AM EST
No Comments »
One of the most controversial subjects among Christians today, is whether or not the Ten Commandments are still valid today. While many concede that Nine of them are still valid, but the 4th one concerning keeping of the Sabbath on the day ordained and sanctified by God is no longer necessary, some even go as far as to say that all Ten have been abolished and that we are now “Under Grace not the Law”.
How do these view points line up biblically?
Perhaps the best place to start is at the very beginning. After all it was at the time of creation that God implemented the Sabbath day, as a memorial to his wondrous work. The bible says, Gen 2:2-3 “And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made”.
When Moses was given the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai, the fourth Commandment was written stating Exo 20:8-11 “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it”. Using the word “remember” reiterated the fact that the Sabbath was already in existence, it was not created when the Ten Commandments were written as many seem to think.
What the people who are today of the view that none of the Commandments are valid anymore seem to fail to recognize is the fact that they are all about Love. The first four show us how to love God, and the last six how to love our fellow man.
For those who have forgotten them, here is a quick rundown of the Ten Commandments:
1. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
2. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image…….
3. Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
4. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy………
5. Honour thy father and thy mother:…….
6. Thou shalt not kill.
7. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
8. Thou shalt not steal.
9. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.
It is easy to see from looking at these Commandments that they were all implemented for our own benefit. They show so beautifully how we should treat God (with all reverence and love) and how we should treat everyone else. How much better and safer would this world be if everyone obeyed these wonderful rules? There would be no more murders, rapes, robberies, unwanted pregnancies etc.
To obey these Commandments is the real test of our love for God. This is why they are so necessary in the experience of a true believer. Jam 2:20 “Faith without works is dead.” Jesus said, Mat 7:21 “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.”. Words and profession are not enough. The true evidence is our obedience.
I think the strongest evidence there is about the validity today of these Commandments is the words of our Lord Jesus himself. He said, John 14:15 “If ye love me, keep my commandments.”
One of the most powerful texts in the Bible on this subject is found in 1 John 2:4. “He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” John could write this with such assurance because it is one of the most deeply established truths in the Bible. Jesus spoke of those who said, “Lord, Lord,” but did not do the will of the Father. He then described many who would seek entrance to the kingdom claiming to be workers of miracles in the name of Christ. But He would sorrowfully have to say, Mat 7:21-23. “I never knew you: depart from me.” This is serious because Jesus is saying is “Not everyone who calls me ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the Kingdom of heaven”. God’s grace does not cover deliberate disobedience, because this shows that there was no genuine repentance of our sinful act, because had there been, we would not have kept on doing it.
To know Christ is to love Him, and to love Him is to obey Him. The valid assumption of the Bible writers is quite clear and simple: If you are not obeying Christ, you don’t love Christ. And if you don’t love the Master, then you don’t know Him. So we can see that knowing and loving and obeying are all tied closely together and are absolutely inseparable in the life of God's faithful people. The beloved disciple John summed it up in these words: 1 John 5:3 “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.”
All Bible references are from the King James Version.
About Author
Debra Lohrere is the author of several books. Her website is http://debra.lohrere.com/home.shtml For more information on this topic, please visit http://www.godsbibletruth.com
Source: ArticleTrader.com
Posted by Walt as Bible Study at 10:45 AM EST
No Comments »
We all know that Bible study is an important part of the Christian faith, but in these turbulent and busy days it can be challenging to find the time for proper Bible study. One method that many have found to be helpful in this regard is to utilize the audio Bible for this purpose. The audio Bible comes in several well-loved versions, including the King James audio Bible. Audio Bible study has never been easier, because you can listen to a CD containing the audio Bible or you can listen to an audio Bible mp3 version that will fit on a tiny mp3 player, so you can take your Bible study with you wherever you go. The King James version of the Bible that we have come to know and love has a fascinating history.
The King James version of the Bible uses the Hebrew texts as the basis for its Old Testament translation, and the Greek texts for the New Testament translations. It does also refer in a secondary sense to the Latin Vulgate text as well. The translation work took place in England between 1603 and 1611, and the text was translated by 47 scholars from the respected Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, as well as Westminster, working in different committees, which were assigned with translating certain portions of the Bible. The Apocrypha was included in this translation; some groups accept these books as part of scripture, while others do not.
King James himself started his political life as King James the Sixth of Scotland. His mother was the Catholic Mary, Queen of Scots and his aunt was Queen Elizabeth the First. James became the King of England in 1603 and was known as King James the First. Before King James came to power in England, there were many competing versions of the Bible, most with footnotes favoring certain political or ecclesiastical positions of the authors.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Walt as The Bible at 11:25 AM EST
No Comments »
By Thomas E. Brewton
New Orleanians born and bred in the welfare-state seem honestly believe that they are not required to do anything to help themselves.
A large number of people, most of whom apparently are residents of New Orleans, have favored me with four-letter-word denunciations of The god That Failed New Orleans.
A common allegation was that I had written that New Orleans deserved its fate. No one, however, cited specifics, for good reason: I wrote nothing to that effect.
For example:
And do they want the levees to break? I guess it depends if you are (as a New Orleans blogger commented to a brain-dead Repug at the link) "a f_ckmook" who believes New Orleans deserved it (and there are, sadly, many more like this)…My thought is that they … don't care. We're the last major city port at the mouth of the largest river system in the United States, and they don't give a rat's ass. We have some of the best food, culture, history and characters to be found, and are unique unto ourselves in this world, but they pretty much summed it up with Dennis Hastert's comment: "It looks like a lot of that place could be bulldozed."
In other words, New Orleanians don't need to exert themselves rebuilding the city. They're entitled to have the taxpayers of the nation do it for them, because New Orleans has all sorts of things that cater to sensual appetites.
No emailer advanced a single argument to counter the specific points I made, which were that New Orleans, a once great commercial city, had become after 1927 mired in hedonism and dependence upon the welfare state.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Walt as News Events, Politics, Social Issues at 12:36 PM EST
No Comments »
"The Bible is for the Government of the People, by the People, and for the People." - General Prologue to the Wycliffe Bible in 1384.
Our country and its laws were established on the fundamental belief that our morality emanates from God. While the Constitution begins with the line, "We the people," it does not contain any religious words. Some people cite this as evidence that America is a secular country. Not so. America has always combined secular government with a society based on religious values.
Many settlers in the 1600s came to what they considered this new promised land seeking religious freedom. They identified with the biblical Jewish Exodus from Egypt because they had left Europe and its values as well. Ours is the only country to identify with many Jewish beliefs, and is why our culture calls itself "Judeo-Christian." These values include the importance of laws, fighting for justice, and a belief in judgment by loving and forgiving God.
The Founders understood there is a divine order that rises above the human order. By the 1770s, they sought our freedom from the British Crown with reliance upon, what the Declaration of Independence calls, "Nature's God," the "Creator," and "the Supreme Judge of the World."
The First Amendment was never intended to exclude all references to God from government institutions and public debate. It simply says, "Congress shall not establish a religion or prohibit the free exercise thereof." The word "establish" meant the creation of a state church, as in the Church of England. It is nonsense to say the founders intended the First Amendment to exclude all religious expression in public places.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Walt as Politics, US History at 11:20 AM EST
No Comments »
The Bible is a Book that has two main divisions in - the Old Testament and the New Testament. Even though there are these distinct parts of the Bible - it still has only one theme - redemption. This is necessary to understand because the whole Bible revolves around this theme, and some have said that there is a scarlet thread (of blood) that runs form cover to cover.
Other Similarities
Before the differences are looked at, let's consider some other similarities that exist between the two halves. The books were all written by men - even the two books that bear the names of women - Ruth and Esther. The theme of both Books is redemption, and in both Books redemption occurs through faith. The Redeemer is the same in the Old Testament and the New - though it was not as clear in the Old. God always had the plan of sending His Son to become the Redeemer by dying for the human race (see Isaiah 53, and Psalm 22). Also, in both the Old Testaments and the New, the blood of sacrifice is necessary for redemption (Leviticus 17:10 and Hebrews 9:22)
Another similarity is that the Bible begins with a tree, the Tree of Life - from which mankind is forbidden to partake after they sinned, and the Bible ends with the Tree of Life - offered freely to the redeemed to partake of its fruits. It also begins with man and God walking together in fellowship in the beginning, and once again, after God's working to redeem man, in the end, forever.
The Main Difference Between The Two
All of the differences can be summed up by saying that the Old Testament begins the teaching, or revelation, while the New Testament finishes (or completes) that same revelation. In other words, the story is incomplete without the New Testament. The completion that is accomplished here is not just referring to a completed Book, but something more. The complete revelation of God to man, and of God's finished work of man's redemption, is completed in Christ - Who is God in the flesh. The New Testament is God's infallible record of what Christ has done - and will yet do.
Other Differences Between the Two
1. The Old Testament deals largely in pictures and types.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Walt as Bible Study, The Bible at 11:22 PM EDT
No Comments »
By Thomas E. Brewton
Jan Burr raises the important point that governments should give attention, not only to current effects of global warming, but also to the near certainty of a severe cooling period within the coming decade.
In his comment regarding Global Warming: A Moderate Voice, Mr. Burr notes that global cooling will cause as much, or more, suffering than warming, because crops will fail in many parts of the world.
The need for prudence and for looking far down the road, rather than concentrating upon short-term public opinion expectations, is an old story.
When two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream: He was standing by the Nile, when out of the river there came up seven cows, sleek and fat, and they grazed among the reeds. After them, seven other cows, ugly and gaunt, came up out of the Nile and stood beside those on the riverbank. And the cows that were ugly and gaunt ate up the seven sleek, fat cows. Then Pharaoh woke up. (Genesis 41:1-4)
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Walt as Politics at 10:18 PM EDT
No Comments »
When most people think of bikers, they think of rough looking, scruffy, hell raising men and women dressed in leather clad. These bikers can be intimidating to look at and gangs like the Hell's Angels and Mongrels have had their stories made into countless TV shows and movies. While this grizzly type of a biker is a stereotype, there is a growing segment of the biker population who may still look scruffy and wear the leather, but these men and women are different, they are Christians.
Many of these bikers have always been Christian, others became Christian after years of partying had landed them in rehab where they found their higher power, and others became Christians in prison as a result of prison ministry.
Since bikers come from a culture that is territorial, loyal, and mainly patriotic and known for their all night parties, many bikers feel embarrassed at many mainstream churches because they feel they donâ??t fit in and may be the subject of ridicule. As a result of this, there are biker friendly Churches and Ministries popping up around the world.
Today, there are Christian biker organizations with chapters that cover the globe. One of the larger organizations is the Christian Motorcyclists Association or CMA. The CMA's main purpose is as an outreach ministry, but not exclusively to the motorcycling community. The CMA's noble mission is "To inspire their leaders and members to be the most organized, advanced, equipped, financially stable organization, full of integrity in the motorcycling industry and the Kingdom of God".
CMA has partnered with three other ministries which are the Jesus Film Project, Missionary Ventures, and Open Doors to spread God"s word across the world. In 2006 alone, CMA donated $681,044.00 to each of these three ministries from money raised at their Run for the Son fundraiser.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Walt as Church, Ministries at 10:59 PM EDT
2 Comments »
