by Cornelius Babasanya-Craig
Christians accept the Lenten season as if it is part of GOD’s plan for their salvation. The truth is that Lent is completely fallacious, and should be treated as such. Now, it is no more than a calendar event; only a few observe what it demands.
The forty days of Lent represent the forty days which Jesus spent in the wilderness at the outset of His Ministry. He did not just stumble unto the fast. The Bible tells us: “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. After fasting for forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, ‘If you are the Son of GOD, tell these stones to become bread.’ ” Matthew 4:1-3. The fast was His preparation to face temptation by Satan. This world in which we live is in the domain of Satan.
Evildoer
The main point we are making here is that man cannot save himself. Salvation is entirely at GOD’s mercy. He designed it. Also, it is at His prerogative that we are saved. It is not in dispute that it is a good thing to fast, or to be contrite for your sins. The point is that it contributes nothing towards your salvation. You may reinforce your prayers with fasts. That your prayers are answered contributes nothing towards the salvation of your soul. You may even pray and raise the dead. It is still the same thing. Simply, you have asked, and you have received. After all, respecting the Judgment Day, Jesus says: “Not everyone who says to me ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me you evildoers.’ ” Matthew 7:21-23. You are not an evildoer when the Spirit directs your spirit to do the will of GOD. You are then a son of GOD, Romans 8:14 and you have the righteousness of GOD. On the other hand, your self-righteousness is like a filthy rag before Him. Isaiah 64:6.
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Posted by Walt as The Bible at 9:52 PM EDT
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by Alan D Campbell
Jesus Christ will marry the church when he returns to set up the Kingdom of God. He loved the church and gave himself for it as recorded in Ephesians 5:25-27:
25Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; 26That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, 27That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish." (KJV)
Yes, Jesus Christ wants his church to be a glorious church without any spots, wrinkles, or blemishes. He will marry the church. He wants his bride the Church of God to be holy.
Spots
What are spots? Spots are our sins. Sin is the transgression of the law of God (I John 3:4). We must ask God to remove our spots and do our part to prevent any future spots.
Linen does not come with spots. However, sin easily besets us. We must strive with God’s help to become blameless and without spot.
Wrinkles
What do wrinkles represent? Wrinkles represent our character flaws. The wrinkles must be removed from our garment if we are to attend the marriage supper of the Lamb.
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Posted by Walt as Family Values, The Bible at 10:08 AM EDT
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Mohammad Asghar
Ever since I began talking on the Internet about the Quran, I have often been told by many Muslims as well as by some non-Muslim readers that I needed to correctly interpret its contents before saying anything about them. A few Muslim scholars not only advised me not to follow its [literal meaning], they also abused me for not being able to “correctly interpret” what is written in their Holy Book.
But when I asked them to give me the non-literal meaning of a Quranic verse, all of them disappeared for good. As a result, my inquiry still remains unfulfilled.
Despite being abused and mistreated, I have steadfastly argued that it is not necessary for anyone to interpret the Quran in order to understand its messages. I have also argued that Muslims should act upon its messages on the basis of what they tell them, and not on the basis of what they think should be their interpretations.
On the allegorical messages that the Quran contains, I have maintained a distinct position and it was this: Muslims must not attempt to interpret the allegorical verses of the Quran in order to avoid discord among themselves and the punishment that they would be given by Allah in the world hereafter.
I wanted to give a recital on the word [interpretation] in this write up, but abandoned the idea after I came to the conclusion that no matter how strong a recital I give, Muslims would not accept it on account of their belligerent attitude towards those beings they consider, albeit unjustifiably, hostile to Islam. Instead, I decided to make my point by relying on what is stated in verse 3:7 of the Quran regarding the interpretation of its contents.
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Posted by Walt as Islam at 7:55 AM EDT
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Heartbreaking True Stories inside China
By Rev. Bob Fu, President of China Aid Association
For the American people, practicing their faith regularly is a basic freedom taken for granted. However, they can hardly imagine that this basic right has been denied to Christian groups in China by the Chinese government.
The fact is, members of Christian house churches in China are constantly harassed, persecuted and even put behind bars by the Chinese government authority on the grounds of “illegal evil cult,” “illegal religious gathering or evangelizing,” and “non-registration with the relevant authority”.
The persecution against Protestant House Churches in China has been intensified. According to reliable reports by China Aid Association, from February to December 2005, at least 1317 confirmed arrests of house church pastors, leaders and believers occurred in over twenty provinces in China. 17 foreign missionaries including 11 Americans in about 10 different provinces were arrested at the same period of time. Most of the arrested were released after they were interrogated from 24 hours to several months. CAA confirmed reports with victims own testimonies showing inhumane torture against the arrested believers including coercion for evidence through drugging and other extremely inhumane abuse and torture by the interrogators from both Chinese Public Security officers and State Security agents. Religious groups which already have limited fundamental rights have been deemed a “cult” at any time and loose what legitimacy they previous held Foreigners were ordered to leave the country after hours of interrogation. On August 2, 2005, the two American theological students from Westminster Theological Seminary were treated brutally with handcuff after they were arrested at a bible study site in Zaoyang city, Hubei province. Both of them were denied rights to contact US Embassy as part of international consulate protection procedure guaranteed by US-China bilateral treaties.
Here are just a few examples:
On March 13, 2006, about 100 Public Security (police) officers raided a house church leadership meeting in Wenxian County, Henan Province in Central China, and took all 80 of the pastors into custody after searching them and confiscating any cash on them. According to interviews with several of the pastors who were later released, the police treated them very brutally. All were beaten with electric shock batons at police stations. Pastor Li Gongshe, 51, who is handicapped and showed the police his handicap certificate, was continuously beaten by a police officer named Wang in front of the police chief and the political director. Pastor Li was hospitalized for treatment of a broken rib caused by a police beating. One Christian lady, 21-year-old Ms. Shan Ailing, was forced by the police to strip during the interrogation at a local police station. The pastors were accused of holding an “illegal evil cult gathering” by the authorities; however, these pastors are believed to be part of the Henan Fangcheng Mother Church group which is known worldwide as an evangelical House Church group in China. Most of the released including a 15-year-old Christian girl Li Hongmin from Nanle County, Henan Province had experienced torture and abuse by interrogators during their 15 to 30 days detention time.
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Posted by Walt as Persecuted Church at 6:03 AM EDT
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ALPHARETTA, Georgia, April 13 /Christian Wire Service/– How do Christian parents teach their children genuine academic science without swallowing huge doses of evolution? How can parents and Christian schools combat the evolutionary propaganda that permeates science books, movies and television shows? The fourth book in Jeannie Fulbright’s elementary science series, to be released this summer, promises to continue the tradition of educating children in strong science while fortifying their faith. This new book, Exploring Creation with Zoology II – Swimming Creatures of the Fifth Day, takes students on an adventure of animal discovery through the streams, rivers and oceans of the world. The newest book joins the first three books, Exploring Creation with Astronomy, Exploring Creation with Botany and Exploring Creation with Zoology I, in their investigation of in-depth topics while glorifying God, without sacrificing solid, research-based science.
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Posted by Walt as Creation at 6:06 AM EDT
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For Soon Ok Lee a Christian survivor of North Koreaâs political prison
camps and author of âEyes of the Tailless Animals,â it certainly is. She still has the physical scars from her brutal treatment.
She writes: âThe prison camp that I was sent to is in Kae-Chon, which is in the southern province of Pyung-Yang. There are 6000 plus prisoners in there: 4000 plus males and 2000 plus females. Most of the prisoners are there for ridiculous reasons. Some are caught while traveling in places they didnât have the permits to go to in search of food. Some are mothers, who had complained that their children were starving to deathâŠthey wondered âwhy do I have to die like this? Why canât I eat till Iâm full, like people in other countriesâŠâ and people with these kinds of thoughts were considered to have bad ideology.
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Posted by Walt as Persecuted Church at 9:48 AM EDT
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According to CAA’s field investigators in China, 7 foreign evangelical church leaders including 5 Americans and 2 Taiwanese were interrogated for 5 hours on March 23, 2006. CAA issues heartbreaking true stories on persecution inside China.
At 9:30am, March 23, 2006, over 120 security officers from five different government agencies raided a conference building in the suburb of Kunming City, the capital of Yunnan Province. The government officers and military police came in two buses and 10 police cars.
Eighty Chinese house church leaders from 20 provinces were attending a fellowship meeting with Christian leaders from America. These 80 leaders represent 25 Chinese minority groups. The five Americans are from churches in Greensboro North Carolina. Among them two are white Americans and three are Chinese Americans. Since the two white American pastors are still inside China and some of the released Chinese pastors are still monitored by the Chinese security agents, their names are not available to the public according to one of the arrested pastors who came back to his home in the US.
CAA learned this raid was directly orchestrated by the director of the Public Security Bureau of Yunnan Province and carried out jointly by the officers from the provincial public security, national security, foreign affairs office, religious affairs bureau and military police officers. At 2 pm (Beijing Time), following a 5 hour marathon interrogation, all of those arrested were released and some are being followed back to their home provinces.
According to an eyewitness, the Chinese officers’ attitudes were very rude and they refused to show their IDs and even ate all of the food prepared for the pastors’ lunch. The foreign religious leaders were accused of being foreign religious infiltrators by their interrogators.
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Posted by Walt as Persecuted Church at 3:06 PM EDT
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Virginia – Liberty Counsel and Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays (“PFOX”) kicked off their joint “Change is Possible Campaign.” Liberty Counsel is a national public interest law firm with offices in Florida and Virginia and hundreds of affiliate attorneys in all fifty states. PFOX is a national organization that supports families touched by homosexuality, advocates for the ex-gay community, and educates the public on sexual orientation.
In the past several years, as “tolerance” and “diversity” have become popular buzzwords, there has been a corresponding increase in discrimination and intolerance toward those who have made the decision to leave homosexuality. Former homosexuals have lost their jobs and been physically assaulted because they dared to tell others that people can and do overcome same-sex attractions. Most disturbing is the willingness of homosexual activists to use our youth to advance an agenda. Throughout America’s public schools, staff display “Safe-Zone” stickers with pink triangles, and schools hold diversity days to present the message that people are “born gay,” but schools consistently exclude the message that people can, and have chosen, to change. Given the health risks associated with same-sex behavior, our youth deserve to know that unwanted same-sex attractions can be overcome.
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Posted by Walt as Social Issues at 4:45 AM EDT
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We believe that, in the resurrection, there shall be a perfect identity of the body. You may call it unphilosophical if you please, but you cannot show me that it is unbiblical. Science cannot demonstrate it, you say; but then science cannot disprove it. C.H. Spurgeon
Posted by Walt as C.H. Spurgeon Gems, General at 10:57 AM EDT
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Unbelievers question the truth about the resurrection of Our Lord, Christ Jesus on the first Easter. I you consider the evidence from believers and non-believers, especially those from Jesus’ era, you will find abundant evidence that He rose on the third day after He was buried taking our punishment and atonement once and for all for our sins against God.
Rev. Craig Harris in his column list nine points that support the resurrection proving that the risen Christ was not a myth.
First, the reliability of the Scriptures. Did you know that we have more than 25,000 manuscripts of the Greek New Testament? That is a huge amount. Some manuscripts date to within 100 years of the autographs (the original writings) and all agree with each other. (Yes, there are minor differences, but there are so many copies available we can look at them and get a very accurate picture of what the New Testament writers said.) What this means is that the Bible is extremely reliable as a historical document.
Second, we have writings of historians outside the Bible that corroborate the stories within it. These historians, like Pliny the Younger, Ptolemy, Tacitus and Josephus, not only mention kings, governors, dates and places found in the Bible, they also mention the disciples and Jesus himself.
Third, the empty tomb. The Gospel writers all mention that the tomb was empty Easter Sunday morning. If there had been a body there, the Romans or Jewish leaders could have shown it and that would have ended Christianity right then and there. Remember, the tomb was well guarded. Also, in the Bible, women saw the empty tomb first — that would never happen in Jewish fiction of that day, so it must have been true.
Fourth, Paul wrote in First Corinthians that 500 people saw Jesus after his resurrection. Paul wrote this about 20 years after the resurrection and points out that most of them were still alive and could verify what they saw. No one disputes the validity and historicity of Paul or First Corinthians, and 500 people do not have the same hallucination.
Fifth, why would the early Christians have celebrated Communion and Baptism if Jesus had remained dead? History teaches that the Christians began celebrating The Lord’s Supper within 20 years of Jesus’ resurrection. Communion commemorates the sacrificial death of Jesus by celebrating the blood he shed and how his body was broken. Why would they do this if Jesus’ death had been meaningless? This would be like a John F. Kennedy fan club celebrating his death instead of his life and legacy. Further, the early Christians changed the meaning of baptism from a Jewish cleansing ritual to mean "buried with Christ and raised to life with him." (Romans 6:4).
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Posted by Walt as Apologetics at 10:30 AM EDT
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