By Michael Hichborn

The ongoing effort to save preborn babies from the culture of death is akin to the epic battle between David and Goliath. While the pro-life movement struggles just to maintain its grassroots support base, the massive and powerful culture of death has access to all of the money, political power and propaganda it could ever want.

At least David had the nerve to show up for the fight. Right now, in Colorado, a 20-year-old law student has taken up David's sling and is prepared to throw the deadly stone while some self-professed pro-life leaders, politicians and clergymen cower because they believe that "now is not the right time."

In November 2007, Kristi Burton, founder of Colorado for Equal Rights, won an important victory in the state supreme court allowing her to move forward with Proposed Initiative 36. The initiative simply states that "the terms 'person' or 'persons' shall include any human being from the moment of fertilization." This initiative is the lynchpin for restoring the right to life for all preborn babies, because in the U.S. Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision, Justice Harry Blackmun wrote, "If this suggestion of personhood is established, the appellant's case, of course, collapses, for the fetus' right to life would then be guaranteed specifically by the [14^th] Amendment."

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Posted by Walt as Family Values, Pro Life at 11:21 PM EST

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Even in the pursuit of really good matters of policy, do you know any Christian man who goes into politics who is the better for it? If I find such a man, I will have him stuffed if I can, for I have never seen such a specimen yet. I will not say, do not attend to politics; but I do say, do not let them spot you. - C.H. Spurgeon

Posted by Walt as C.H. Spurgeon Gems, General at 11:08 PM EST

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by David Barton

As a Christian should you vote? Does God give us instructions on what kind of people to vote for? I will attempt to answer these questions in the scope of this article. Should a Christian vote?  Some Christian individuals and in fact some entire denominations believe that Christians shouldn't vote or get involved with politics. They'll say "well I'm waiting for Jesus to return and set up his kingdom" or "The bible says to have no part of the world" and it's true, we are to expect Jesus to return at any time as a thief in the night, but he did give us civil duties as well as spiritual ones. We are not supposed to just bide time and wait until the Lord returns, he told us our job was to occupy until he comes (Luke 19:13). Occupy means more than just take up space,we are to preach the gospel in the entire earth, and that should be our focus, however how will we be able to do that if our government continues getting more and more hostile towards Christianity. Already we have several states trying to ban the church from speaking against homosexuality. The government has no business in the church according to the 1st amendment. Jesus told us specifically to "Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's. " (Mat 22:21). He expects us to carry out our spiritual duty but also our civil duties. The bible tells us that God appoints all leaders, well in the United States God has set it up so that the government depends on the people's free will to vote. God has people that he desires to be in office , but he won't buck the human spirit. He doesn't buck the human will to save us even though the bible tells us it's His will that all be saved. (2 Peter 3:9). That means that it is up to us to vote in Godly people into office, the kind of people that will stand up for righteousness. They aren't going to make it in if we don't vote because he has given us the power to do so.

Now that we have established the fact that Christians should vote, on what things should we base our votes? Biblicly can we vote for anyone we want? I believe there are 4 major points we should consider when voting, especially for the president. 1. What Kind of Judges will he/she appoint? The bible tells us in Isaiah 1:26 that judges shall restore righteousness to the city of Jerusalem. You may think that doesn't apply to our government today but what we have to realize is that our system of government was set up by the principles laid out in the bible and the position our judges hold now is very much the same as it was then. Think of this it was our judges that deemed abortion was ok and legal, and it was our judges that mis-use the term separation of church and state which is not even in the constitution. If we had been electing righteous judges then we wouldn't have abortions legal in America. As Christians we want judges who will uphold the constitution as it is written and not put their own interpretation onto it. These judges are called strict constructionists.

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Posted by Walt as Social Issues at 12:04 AM EST

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I long for the day when the precepts of the Christian religion shall be the rule among all classes of men, in all transactions. I often hear it said, “Do not bring religion into politics.” This is precisely where it ought to be brought, and set there in the face of all men as on a candlestick. I would have the Cabinet and the members of Parliament do the work of the nation as before the Lord, and I would have the nation, either in making war or peace, consider the matter by the light of righteousness. We are to deal with other nations about this or that upon the principles of the New Testament. - C.H. Spurgeon

Posted by Walt as C.H. Spurgeon Gems, Politics at 1:25 AM EST

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Copyright © 2008 Jon Straumfjord

By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks. (Hebrews 11:4, NKJV)

We are told, by the writer of Hebrews, that Abel brought a more at the excellent sacrifice than his brother:

Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the LORD. Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the LORD respected Abel and his offering, but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.

So the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it."

Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him. (Genesis 4:2-8, NKJV)

Notice that Cain and Abel, had different occupations: Cain was a farmer, and Abel was a sheep rancher. The text says "in the course of time," meaning that this was not the first time they had brought offerings to the Lord, in fact they had brought similar offerings many times before, probably over many years. Obviously both Cain and Abel were adults at this time, and had their own homes and families. Both Cain and Abel were very aware of the Lord's requirements regarding offerings.

Even though it's not explicitly stated in the text, the Lord had obviously desired a blood offering, even though at this time in history men were not eating meat. The requirement of a blood offering had been revealed to Adam and Eve when the Lord made clothing for them (Genesis 3:21). Even though Cain was fully aware that the Lord had required a blood sacrifice, and that He also required the first of his produce, Cain merely bought brought the remnants of his own personal meal. Further, it is implied in that Cain brought a skimpy portion to the Lord. Instead of bringing the entire required portion, Cain brought significantly less. Cain had decided to first feed himself from his harvest, and then, almost as an afterthought, brought the remnant to the Lord as an offering. Needless to say, the Lord was not impressed with Cain's offering.

When the Lord expressed His disregard for Cain's offering, Cain became enraged. Cain didn't like the fact the Lord require an offering to begin with, much less that He required a blood sacrifice which would represent a significant sacrifice on his part. Cain did not recognize his need for redemption since he was very self-righteous. When the Lord questioned Cain's inappropriate anger, He made a statement that was actually a double entendre: "sin lies at the door," can also be interpreted as "the sin offering lies at the door." Perhaps Cain was in his house at the time and a lamb was actually lying by the door of his home, it which case the Lord was pointing out that the solution to the problem was actually very close at hand. But the statement also had a far more sinister interpretation: that if Cain continued to entertain sin in his heart, then sin, like a wild animal, would pounce upon him, overpower him, and ultimately dominate him. Obviously Cain made the wrong choice.

At the same time that Cain is feigning obedience, Abel was actually celebrating obedience in an ecstatic display of worship. Able carefully and deliberately went through his flock, and selected the choicest (fattest) of the firstborn sheep. Even though he probably had no intention of actually eating the animal, since we have no record of anyone eating meat before the flood, he chose a generous portion of what he had, and gladly gave it to the Lord as a blood sacrifice. Rather than trying to meet the bare minimum quota required by the Lord, Abel gave a very bountiful portion, far exceeding the minimum requirements. Abel wasn't pretending to worship the Lord, he was ecstatically worshiping the Lord with all his heart. As David would say a few millenniums later:

"I will not 'offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God with that which costs me nothing.'" (2 Samuel 24:24, NKJV)

If we look at the attitudes of Cain and Abel, it is obvious that Abel was in love with the Lord, while Cain actually despised the Lord. When an individual lives in a love relationship with the Lord, he/she lives in the constant expectation of blessing.

Faith is the outward exhibition of a genuine loving relationship with the Lord God. Those who truly love the Lord have incredibly firm expectations of blessings from the Lord. They joyfully seek to be holy, simply because the One they love is holy. Because they live close to the Lord, they know that the Lord hears and answers all their prayers, and they know that all trials and temptations are from an Enemy who not only hates the Lord, but also hates all who love Him! That is what faith is: knowing that the Lord will generously reward every genuine act of loving obedience at the proper time, no matter what the temporary cost may be.

Posted by Walt as Bible Study at 11:31 PM EST

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By Thomas E. Brewton

The bottom line is put first things first. Pastor Steve Treash preached Sunday's sermon at Black Rock-Long Ridge Congregational Church (North Stamford, Connecticut). His question was, "How do we discover God's will for our lives?" God knows everything, because he created us and everything in the universe.

Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. (Hebrews 4:13)

God is all-wise; He knows what is best for me.

- to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen. (Romans 16:27)

God loves me.

He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? (Romans 8:32)

God cares about every detail of my life.

Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. (Luke 12:7)

Surely then we can ask for God's guidance about our personal lives. Too many of us, however, start with our own immediate concerns: how to get a better job, whom should I marry, should I buy that new car, etc.? We then ask in our prayers what God advises us to do to achieve our goals. That places priorities upside down. Begin instead by asking what God wants us to do in the broader context of His providential and His scripturally-proclaimed Will for our lives.

It is God's will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God; and that in this matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him. The Lord will punish men for all such sins, as we have already told you and warned you. For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit. Now about brotherly love we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other. And in fact, you do love all the brothers throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers, to do so more and more. Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody. Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words. (1 Thessalonians 4:3-18)

Rather than dwelling upon what we want in our lives, we should begin each day thanking God for his manifold blessings.

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

If we prayerfully seek God's will for our lives and follow Jesus, no matter what befalls us, we will be most perfectly fulfilled. We must want God's will, not our own.

Then [Jesus] said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self? (Luke 9:23-25)

Posted by Walt as Bible Study at 8:49 AM EST

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By Thomas E. Brewton

True worship is in every individual's heart and soul.

Sunday's sermon at Black Rock-Long Ridge Congregational Church (North Stamford, Connecticut) was preached by Pastor Josh Feay.

His message was that worship is realizing Who God is and giving thanks for what He does for us.

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to GodÑthis is your spiritual act of worship." (Romans 12:1)

Worship is more than the physical trappings of attending church services, music and a beautiful sanctuary.

However much joy we may have in these things, they don't evoke in us the spontaneous awe that overcame a doubting Thomas, suddenly realizing that he stood in the presence of God:

"Then [Jesus] said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe."

"Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!" (John 20:27-28)

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Posted by Walt as Bible Study at 9:48 PM EST

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by Robin Calamaio

Questions usually arise from roadblocks we encounter as we are gathering information on a subject of interest.  If we are merely curious about the subject, a shallow answer may suffice.  But, if we really need accurate answers for some driven need, the questions are usually of higher quality - with much thought preceding the inquiry.

Recently, I received these questions from a visitor to my website: "Why didn't God just create us perfect to begin with?  And how does a perfect God create imperfect beings?  At the end of time, He will make us all perfect beings - those that have accepted him - so why not just do this to begin with …?"  There is a lot of thinking behind these questions.

The following response may not hold up before God when I stand before Him.  But, then again … it might.

The Perfect God

The Bible declares we have a perfect Creator (Deut 32:4, Mt 5:48, and Heb 7:28).  When He was by Himself, sin did not exist. "In Him there is no sin" (1Jn 3:5).  This "Being" is beyond anything we can fathom.  At some point, He decided to create morally sentient beings - and reveal things about Himself to those creatures.  Now, let me ask you some questions.  If all those creatures were perfect for eternity, how well would God actually be known?  For example, now we know He is capable of anger.  If all was perfect around Him forever, how would that ever be exposed?  How could His longsuffering, patience, empathy, mercy or justice ever be known?  You already know the answer.  These traits would be forever veiled.

I believe God decided to reveal aspects of His character that would only come out if there were morally accountable beings in rebellion to Him.  In that setting, many complexities of his character - some subtle and some not so subtle - would be revealed for all to see.

Created Innocent … and with the capacity to sin.

God created two orders of beings with the capacity to sin - angels and man.  Had they been created perfect, they would never have sinned.  They were created innocent - and then sinned.  Most believe this passage refers to Satan: "You were in Eden, the Garden of God … You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created - until unrighteousness was found in you … You were internally filled with violence and you sinned … Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty (Ezek 28:13, 15-17).  "You said in your heart … 'I will raise my throne above the stars of God … I will make myself like the Most High'" (Isa 14:13,14).  This was probably the first sin.  It did not surprise God.  He declares He knows "the end from the beginning" (Isa 41:21-23, 42:9, 44:6-8, 45:21, Rev 1:8, 22:13).

Adam was created in God's image (Gen 1:26,27). 

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Posted by Walt as Apologetics, Bible Study at 10:50 PM EST

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Copyright © 2008 Jon Straumfjord

The Spirit of Prophecy is as involved in the Church today as She ever was. Because the Lord never changes, and since the Lord Himself instituted prophecy and commissioned prophets in the past, both prophecy and prophets must continue to exist and be an influence in the Church, even though the Enemy continually seeks to discredit legitimate prophecy. But how can we discern true prophecy from false prophecy?

the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. (Revelations 19:10, NKJV)

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world. (1 John 4:1-3, NKJV)

"If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, 'Let us go after other gods' - which you have not known - 'and let us serve them,' you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the LORD your God is testing you to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. You shall walk after the LORD your God and fear Him, and keep His commandments and obey His voice; you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him. (Deuteronomy 13:1-4, NKJV)

Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others judge. But if anything is revealed to another who sits by, let the first keep silent. For you can all prophesy one by one, that all may learn and all may be encouraged. (1 Corinthians 14:29-31, NKJV)

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Posted by Walt as Bible Study, Prophecy at 12:55 AM EST

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When I began writing an ebook on abortion, I found myself "eyeball to eyeball" with the fertile egg. Initially, I considered this "a detour" from where I wanted to go. But, with man's invasion into its domain, and because it is the beginning of the human life line, I soon realized the abortion argument actually does begin with the fertile egg. Even though I've been a pro life advocate for decades, I never really thought much on the fertile egg. I've known what it is from biology, organic chemistry, and genetics classes, but I never really stopped to think about - what it really is. So, what is it?

For starters, the fertile egg is the result of a successful merging of an egg and sperm cell. But, there is something quite astounding about this union. The sperm cell, left to itself, it is incapable of growing into anything else. So also, the egg cell. As solitary cells, they soon expire. But, once merged, they burst into a phenomenally complex life form. And that complex life form is already genetically complete inside that single fertile egg. With nourishment and time, each fertile egg will become a unique adult - 100% of the time. It seems more than the sum of its parts.

Some have called the human fertile egg, "potential human life." Scientifically, this is an untenable statement. It is not "potential human life" - it is human life. It is nothing else and it cannot become anything else. The fertile human egg is simply, and only, the earliest stage of human life.

But there is something even more basic about a fertile egg. It is living matter. This may sound like a stupid observation, but it is actually quite significant. Many things are not alive. Most of the matter on our planet is not alive. Indeed, the rest of the universe may have no living matter. If all living matter was weighed against the nonliving matter, it would not amount to a speck of dust on the cosmic weighing scale. A fertile egg is an exceedingly rare piece of living matter in a universe dominated by inorganic matter.

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Posted by Walt as General, Pro Life at 11:37 PM EST

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