What God’s Word Says About Abortion, By Lynn Copeland

God speaks very clearly in the Bible on the value of unborn children.

God’s Word says that He personally made each one of us, and has a plan for each life: "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart" (Jeremiah 1:5). "Even before I was born, God had chosen me to be His" (Galatians 1:15). "For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother’s womb...Your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be" (Psalm 139:13,16). "Your hands shaped me and made me...Did You not clothe me with skin and flesh and knit me together with bones and sinews? You gave me life" (Job 10:8–12). "This is what the Lord says—He who made you, who formed you in the womb" (Isaiah 44:2). "Did not He who made me in the womb make them? Did not the same One form us both within our mothers?" (Job 31:15).

Because man is made in God’s own image (Genesis 1:27), each life is of great value to God: "Children are a gift from God" (Psalm 127:3). He even calls our children His own: "You took your sons and daughters whom you bore to Me and sacrificed them...You slaughtered My children" (Ezekiel 16:20,21).

The Bible says of our Creator, "In His hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of every human being" (Job 12:10). God, the giver of life, commands us not to take the life of an innocent person: "Do not shed innocent blood" (Jeremiah 7:6); "Cursed is the man who accepts a bribe to kill an innocent person" (Deuteronomy 27:25). "You shall not murder" (Exodus 20:13).

Taking the life of the unborn is clearly murder—"He didn’t kill me in the womb, with my mother as my grave" (Jeremiah 20:17)—and God vowed to punish those who "ripped open the women with child" (Amos 1:13). The unborn child was granted equal protection in the law; if he lost his life, the one who caused his death must lose his own life: “If men who are fighting hit a pregnant woman and she gives birth prematurely but there is no serious injury, the offender must be fined...But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life” (Exodus 21:22,23).

Life is a gift created by God, and is not to be taken away by abortion. God is "pro-choice," but He tells us clearly the only acceptable choice to make:

"I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live" (Deuteronomy 30:19).

Pic. One day's work in a Canadian abortion clinic

Source:
http://www.100abortionpictures.com/Aborted_Baby_Pictures_Abortion_Photos/

The National Right to Life Sunday was observed this month, along with the anniversary of Roe v. Wade. Since 1973, approx. 52 million unborn children have had their lives snuffed out through abortion!

Warning--not for children
For the many of you who have been saying that the photos on the above site are not real, please take a minute to watch "The Silent Scream."

http://www.silentscream.org/

There you will see graphic video of a baby being aborted.

Cool cartoon

I thought this cartoon was funny, and wanted to promote the website, but one of their cartoons on the site was blasphemous and one had bad language.

I’m sure you guys would love to know when we are doing our next big giveaway of On the Origin of Species. Sorry, I can’t tell you but I will be sure to let you know after the event. Maybe we will see more funny consolation cartoons.

An atheist's question

"I keep on being told that God knows everything, that He hears everything, and here you go telling me there are some times He is deaf? That’s not what I call omniscience, Ray. Do you?”

If you are not conscious of the reality of God, it’s because you are only two thirds a person. You are made up of your body (the machine in which you live), your soul (the real you that lives within your body--your emotions, your will, consciousness, etc.), and spirit. Your spirit is your “God conscious” part, and that part of you is "dead in trespasses and sin" (see Ephesians 2:1). The plug is pulled, and so you have no light.

It’s interesting that you should ask if God is deaf. Eight hundred years before Christ, Isaiah addressed your question:

"Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear" (Isaiah 59:1).

You are cut off from God by your sins, but the moment you genuinely repent and trust the Savior, you will come out of the darkness into the light (see 2 Corinthians 4:6).

But if you stay proud and rebellious, you will carry on not being conscious of His existence, and when and if you do pray in that spirit, your prayers won’t get past the ceiling. You have God’s Word on it (see Psalm 66:18).

Kids no longer praying in public, etc.

Ray, regarding the following statement from your promotional video: 'Our kids can no longer pray in public' Question: What are your beliefs regarding false statements? Do you approve of false statements for the purpose of promotional material?

Ray, Why would anyone trust you when you make demonstrably false statements such as: 1. "Our kids can no longer pray in public" (false.) 2. "They can no longer freely open a bible in school" (false). 3. "The ten commandments are no longer allowed to be displayed in public places" (false).*from Living Waters promotional video for 'Origins Into Schools.' That is dishonest and your integrity is in the toilet. Those are flat out lies, Ray.

It's plainly obvious to anyone that you are straight-up lying. Therefore, you are NOT a Christian. You are what you describe everyone else as: worthless scum. Will you be man enough to admit that you've lied?

There was a time in U.S. history when American school children began each day with public prayer. The entire class prayed together. That is now illegal. This is why:

• The Supreme Court first ruled against public school prayer in the 1962 case of Engle v. Vitale. The decision struck down a New York State law that required public schools to begin the school day either with Bible reading or recitation of a specially-written, nondenominational prayer.

• One year later, in Engle v. Vitale (1963), the Supreme Court struck down voluntary Bible readings and recitation of the Lord's Prayer in public schools.

1. In this context, our kids can no longer pray in public. There have been many ensuing court cases over the liberty to engage in public prayer:

"U.S. Supreme Court rules, 6-3, that prayer before football games in Texas is unconstitutional,"
http://www.freedomforum.org/templates/document.asp?documentID=12727

"School Faces Big Legal Fees In Prayer Lawsuit."
http://paganwiccan.about.com/b/2009/06/23/school-faces-big-legal-fees-in-prayer-lawsuit.htm

"Florida school officials in prayer case could get jail time."
http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/09/17/florida.school.prayer/index.html?iref=newssearch

"School district faces second lawsuit over prayer"
http://www.srpressgazette.com/articles/school-9300-district-second.html

2. There have been multiple court cases against students who have or open Bibles:

"Lawsuit claims students not allowed to carry Bibles" http://www.adherents.com/misc/school_houston.html

"Bible study banned on playgrounds"
http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=44223

"Gideons Forbidden From Distributing Bibles at School"
http://www.moonbattery.com/archives/2007/08/gideons_forbidd.html

"Bibles Banned in Bible Belt"
http://www.foxnewsradio.com/2010/01/06/bibles-banned-in-bible-belt/#ixzz0de1D4mmO

"Bible Banned From School Football Field"
http://news.aol.com/article/bible-verses-banned-from-lakeview-fort/700655

"High School Cheerleaders Banned From Using Bible Verses"
http://digg.com/world_news/High_School_Cheerleaders_Banned_From_Using_Bible_Verses

"The Bible Banned at a New Jersey School" http://smartgirlpolitics.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-bible-banned-at-a-new

"Bibles banned at Stigler Oklahoma library"

3. Display the Ten Commandments in a public place, and you could end up in court.

"U.S. Government bans Ten Commandments from Public Places"
http://theratzingerforum.yuku.com/topic/1011/t/U-S-Government-bans-Ten-Commandments-from-Public-Places.html

"Ten Commandments monument moved. New poll says Americans disapprove of federal court order."
http://www.cnn.com/2003/LAW/08/27/ten.commandments/

"Ninth Circuit Sued For Displaying Ten Commandments"
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1222468

"Chief Justice Roy Moore removed for acknowledging God--Ten Commandments Inquisition"
http://www.greaterthings.com/News/Christian/RoyMoore_Inquisition.htm

Questions for atheists (after you watch this CNN clip)

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2010/01/23/lavandera.trapped.5.days.cnn?hpt=C2

1. When life's circumstances bring you to your knees, will you pray?

2. Did you know that there are certain biblical conditions to being heard by God (if they are not fulfilled, you will be talking to the ceiling).

3. Do you know what they are?

An atheist reads the Bible...

"I have been an atheist for most of my life, but have recently started reading the Bible. . . So far, I have read about some very interesting ways of killing people (jawbone of a donkey, driving tent pegs through a persons skull, invading a city where all the men are recovering from recent circumcision, running swords through a person until their fat closes around the sword, etc.). . . . I will admit, there is some good moral advice to be found. Don't sell your daughter into prostitution, for example -- I'm not sure I would have thought of that one on my own. If the Bible really were the source of our morality, I would be very scared for the future of humanity."

What would you think of the mentality of someone who said, "I’ve been reading about the history of the United States lately. I have learned that we should kill the native people of a land, kidnap people from other lands and enslave them, kill each other through civil war, assassinate our leaders, and then murder our children through abortion. Then I picked up a book about the history of France, and learned from that book that we should chop off the heads of the rich."

The Bible is an historical account of the nation of Israel. It not only exposes the evil deeds of humanity, but it warns that every wicked deed will get ultimate justice. Only a dim-witted person or someone with deep-rooted presuppositions would read the accounts as admonitions to the reader.

If you are searching for God’s moral requirements, go to Exodus 20 and then read Matthew chapter 5 through to chapter 7.

There you will find out how high God’s standards are and how far you and I fall short of them. Hopefully, that will bring you to the cross where you can find the mercy of God--His gift of everlasting life, and escape the terrible damnation of Hell.

Wrong Again . . .

Paleontologists from Poland and Sweden discovered dozens of 397-million-year-old fossil footprints in the Holy Cross Mountains of southeastern Poland, as revealed in the January 7 issue of the journal Nature. The prints were made by tetrapods, which are vertebrate animals with four limbs.

Grzegorz Pienkowski, a paleontologist at Warsaw University, told National Geographic that they are the oldest tetrapod tracks and the oldest evidence of true tetrapods.

What's significant about the discovery is the age of the tracks. While evolutionists have firmly held that tetrapods appeared about 375 million years ago after transitional forms between fishes and land animals appeared 385 million years ago, the latest discovery places tetrapods in existence even before the transitional animals.

"The finds suggests that the elpistostegids (transitional forms) that we know were late-surviving relics rather than direct transitional forms, and they highlight just how little we know of the earliest history of land vertebrates," the journal's editor writes.

Per Ahlberg, a paleontologist at Uppsala University in Sweden, who led the new research, told CNN, "In the course of a single afternoon I found myself revising the entire understanding I had of my own research."

Rana believes the find basically throws a "monkey wrench" into the long-held evolutionary model.

Source: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/tetrapod.footprint.discovery.busts.evolutionary.paradigm.says.biochemist/25037.htm

Don't Understand How

“What about people who are unable to make that decision? Where would my 18 month old daughter go? How about my 3 year old niece, or her 7 year old sister? How about a severely mentally handicapped adult? Or an aborted fetus? I once worked with a guy who had been a devout Christian but stopped believing in God after receiving a serious brain injury. It also left him prone to seizures and with severe brain damage. In his case, it was not a choice to turn from God, but a result of severe trauma. Heaven or Hell?”

The religious leaders at the time of Christ also had an interesting question. They asked Jesus about a woman who was married to seven men. Each man she married died, one after the other. Their question was, “Whose wife will she be in Heaven?” Jesus replied that they asked that question because they didn’t know the Scriptures, nor did they understand the “power” of God.

Those who ask the above question have the same problem. They don’t know the Scriptures nor do they understand the power of God. When it comes to the Scriptures, the skeptic stands on his own oxygen hose. He doesn't believe that they are the Word of God, and they are of no benefit to those who refuse to believe. This is no different than any other documents in life. If you are told that you have been left money in a will and you don’t believe the will is authentic, you won’t bother to claim your inheritance. Your beliefs will govern your actions.

Regarding the "power" of God. I have often pointed out that the god the atheist doesn’t believe in, doesn’t exist. He conceives of a god in his own mind, and then dismisses his own creation. Making any god in your own image is a form of idolatry, and is a violation of the Second of the Ten Commandments.

I have a problem describing the power of God because He is indescribable. But let me try with something to which you may be able to relate--my dog. Without exaggeration, he has at least 500,000 hairs on his small furry frame. A quick study will show that every piece of his soft fur is growing in a different direction. It was pre-programmed to do so. What sort of mind could create every growing hair on his body? What sort of power can create a living animal that can think, reproduce of its own kind, reveal his emotions through his eyes, have instincts to eat, drink, chase cats, be loyal, and protect property?

Then think of all the different types of dogs in the world, all the other animals, all the people, the insects, fish and birds, all with instincts, emotions, desires, eyes that can see, and brains that can think. These are all just a tiny part of the incredible creation of an Almighty and indescribable God. He made them and gave them life. He can see everywhere at one time, He knows everything, and with Him nothing is impossible.

I say all this to let you know that God has the power and will do that which is right on Judgment Day. With all our professed intelligence, we don’t know how to make a tiny seed from nothing. The eternal God made everything from nothing, therefore the distance between man’s impotence and God’s infinite power solves the “Don’t Understand How” (DUH) problem.

P.s. Let me spell it out--for those of you who think I didn't answer the question. God will do what is right for the mentally handicapped, the toddler who dies, or for the aborted child.

Was Hitler a Christian?

"Oh, and by the way, according to your doctrine, Hitler is in heaven. He was a Christian creationist, like you. If you're going to heaven because you believe in God, so he did."

Believing in God or being a creationist has nothing to do with going to Heaven. Every sane person believes in the existence of God. I believed in God before I was a Christian. Going to Heaven comes by the grace of God (His mercy) through trust in Jesus.

Our beliefs have nothing to do with reality. If I didn’t believe in gravity, atoms, radio waves, the wind, love, etc., because I have never seen any of these things, does not mean they don't exist because I don’t believe in them. Their existence has nothing to do with what I believe or don’t believe.

To say that Hitler was a Christian because he believed in God reveals not only your lack of understanding as to the nature of Christianity, but also of history. Hitler killed off pastors and put Nazis in their place. He was responsible for the murder of millions which reveals that he didn’t have the evidence that comes with being a Christian--the foremost being love.

Back to Luke

15 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord has made known unto us.

In the middle of his unspeakable distress, Job cried, "Oh that I knew where I might find him!" (Job 23:3). Sometimes it takes life’s trials to bring us proud sinners to our knees. We don't think of God in our prosperity. We all know that He exists because of the testimony of creation and the human conscience, but where is He that I might find Him?

That was the question I asked as a child, and as I grew in to maturity I moved into rather asking, what it was that God required of me? Which religion was the right way? Should I become a Mormon, a Jehovah’s Witness, or join some particular church?

I was lost and searching for the right way. This is why I so appreciate the fact that Christianity isn’t another of the many religions that man invented. It is something that God created and made known to us.

We are the lost ones, not God. He seeks us when we think that we seek Him. Scripture makes it clear that biblical salvation starts and finishes with the grace of God. He is "the author and the finisher of our faith" (see Hebrews 12:2). He reaches out to the lost sinner; He softens the heart, unstops the deaf ears, opens the blind eyes, and draws us to Himself.

When we finally understand the gospel--that through it God grants everlasting life to those who repent and trust the Savior--no longer is the preaching of the cross foolishness. We had as much to do with the new birth as we had to do with our natural birth: "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God" (John 1:12-14)

New book...

"I began reading [Jake's Fortune] last night and found it extremely difficult to put down. After reading through the first 200 pages, I reluctantly put it down only because it was after 1 am and I needed to sleep. First thing I did this morning was grab your book because I HAD to know how it ended! What a wonderful work. Your story kept me completely interested in each character. The different story lines happening at the same time really kept my interest and kept the book moving. There were no 'slow' or boring spots in it at all. I laughed out loud a few times. Other times I choked back a few tears. I really loved it!. It was such a joy to read. It was exciting and held my interest from the first chapter to the very end. It's an exciting book that people need to read and pass around to friends." Joe Marotta (CA).

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http://www.livingwaters.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&category_id=7&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=472&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=199&lang=en

Why do we have a hard time believing in the existence of hell? Why is there such a harsh penalty for sin?

If a man receives a $2 fine for a crime, you can be sure that the crime he committed was trivial. However, if you hear of a criminal getting multiple life-sentences without parole, you can surmise that the crime he committed was very serious. The penalty given, gives us understanding of the nature of the crime.

The penalty for sin is death and damnation--life without parole. The sentence is eternal. This is harsh by any human standard, however, God’s standard is infinitely higher than ours. He is perfect and holy, and the best of us is desperately wicked in His sight. If we sinned a mere ten times a day through lustful thoughts, greed, ingratitude, bad actions, etc.,--over a 70 year life that comes to 255,500 sins that God must punish.

Still, eternal damnation seems incredibly harsh to the more tender of us. This is because we have no understanding as to what "eternal" means, because in eternity God will withdraw the dimension of time. Existence without time is something I find too difficult for my finite mind to grasp. But such thoughts do help me not to sweat over what I can’t understand.

If Hell doesn’t exist, then Hitler murdered six million mothers, fathers, children, b rothers and sisters, and got away with it. Human reason demands its existence, but as to its eternality, I leave such thoughts in God’s hands. In the meanwhile, I say with the Apostle Paul, "Wherefore knowing the terror of the Lord, we persuade men."

Another clip--where the rubber meets the road

http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/world/2010/01/15/candiotti.haiti.trapped.man.cnn.html

Richard Dawkins Mocks Banana Man

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDPoEgvEvBE

Origin Into Schools

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnPC_c8XmSE

The dangerous slippery slope

It is interesting to watch what happens with "moral relativity" (or relativism). The atheist has no absolute morality, so his morality is governed by a subjective and shifting "something is morally wrong if someone is harmed in any way."

To him, pedophilia is morally wrong if a child is exploited. However, if civil law some day deems semi-naked photos of children morally justifiable, "if the child was well-paid for his or her time," then pedophilia will no longer be wrong.

In such a case, pedophiles would then be free to marry the child they love, and no one can object, if the child is well taken care of. Moral relativity is a very slippery slope.

What the atheist doesn’t realize, is that all sin is a crime against God. It is His Law that is violated with every transgression, and Hell is the life sentence, without parole.

Still, God is rich in mercy to all who call upon the Savior, through repentance and trust in Jesus. The new birth on John 3:1-5 causes the guilty sinner to love what is right in God's eyes. Through it, we receive forgiveness of sins and the gift of everlasting life (see Romans 6:23).

As simple as black and white

A Christian said "Homosexuality is a choice." An atheist responded "It is not a choice in the same way that you can't choose to be white. You were born black. Gay people are born gay."

We are all born with the potential to become homosexuals. This is because we have inherited a sinful nature that loves to do wrong. We can (and do) choose to lie or steal, covet or blaspheme; and any one of us at any time can make a moral choice when it comes to our sexuality. We can choose to become a pedophile, a fornicator, an adulterer, or a homosexual.

However, there is a big difference between someone having pedophilia desires and being black or being white. One is a moral choice, and according to society at the present time, it is morally wrong. The other is not a choice. See if you can figure out which is which.

"Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God" (1 Corinthians 9-10).

P.s. After reading this post, some have asked if I would endorse the killing of homosexuals--quoting Old Testament verses, from Hebrew civil law. Of course I wouldn’t. Why would I (living in the United States in 2010), advocate the sentence given under the civil law of nation that existed 3,000 years ago?

Also, I have a question for those of you who were obviously angered by what I have written. Why have none of you suggested that pedophiles are born that way, and they have rights, etc.? All I have done is given you the biblical perspective, and warned you of who will not enter the Kingdom of God. Again, if I didn’t care, I wouldn’t bother.

P.P.s. Individuals have responded with: "Pedophiles don't have rights because they are CAUSING HARM. They are harming children. Consenting adults HARM NO ONE. Again, it's pretty clear cut." "Said act harms children. End. Of. Story."

Therefore pedophiles that have pictures of semi-naked young children on their computers are okay? No one is being harmed. Why then is it illegal? The "I was born like it . . . it doesn’t harm anyone" doesn’t cut it in civil court. Neither will it on Judgment Day.

The pearls before swine issue

"I just want to say that after reading all the whining and petty complaints of the atheists and their nonsensical logic, it makes me scratch my head how some of them can hold a job or even have a friend and I suppose maybe they don't have either. Ray, how have you attracted the crabbiest and godless nitpickers in the world -- aren't there any intelligent atheists anymore? They just hate everything about you and Christianity. Serious hate. You could put up the ingredients to sugar cookies and they would argue against it. What sad souls this world contains. At what point are Christians giving to dogs what is sacred (Mat 7:6)." Adam Reed

It’s interesting that you mentioned "the ingredients of sugar cookies." I have been recently recalling how, a couple of years ago, I put up a picture of the most pleasant thing I would think of--a delicious-looking chocolate cake. I did it to see if atheists would whine.

While there are some in the category of which you speak, most are reasonably polite, and I would count it an honor to have a meal with them. This is because I sincerely sympathize with their gripes. Many of their complaints are justified--there is dead religion, there are money-hungry preachers, much hypocrisy, etc. What they don’t realize, is that on Judgment Day everyone will give an account of himself to God--not of other people.

So I deal with the "pearls before swine" issue in the same way I deal with it in open air preaching. In every crowd there are unreasonable nitpickers who are often very vocal. I may speak with them, but I keep in mind that I am also addressing many in the crowd who are humbly listening to what’s being said. They are the "good soil" that receive the Word.

There’s quite a crowd that get this blog. It goes out via email, and some large websites also carry it. God knows where the seed lands. Meanwhile, I keep pleading with the lost, and praying for patience.

An Atheist asks a question...

"Do you agree with Einstein that your faith in God is a childlike one?" Anna Sethe

The above question is more than likely a reference to Einstein’s "The word 'god' is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honorable, but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish. No interpretation no matter how subtle can (for me) change this."1

For a number of years I ran kids Bible clubs. Hundreds of kids would gather after school to listen to me tell them Bible stories. My granddad gave me a ventriloquist’s doll, so I used it to teach the kids. I called him "Charlie," and now and then I would tell stories and speak to the kids through him. I was the world’s worst ventriloquist, but the kids didn’t care.

At the end of the year I would have a local bakery bake "the world’s biggest chocolate cake," and have it carried into the club with great fan fare. Then I would let the all the kids have a huge slice. I approached local businesses, told them what I was doing and have them donate candy for the kids. After each club I would have the kids line up for a free mouthful, so not only did they learn about God and hear the gospel, they had a great time when doing it. So did I.

On one of these occasions I had about 100 kids line up for candy, and noticed some of them pushing and shoving at the front of the line. I glanced to the other end and saw that those children were lining up peacefully. As I watched, I realized that I was looking at a line of greed. The greedy brats were at the front, and the quiet sickly humble kids were at the back.

So I did something that gave me great delight. I said, "Stay where you are. If anyone moves out of line they won’t get any candy. Now turn about face." All the kids obeyed, and the line turned around 180 degrees. Then I took great joy in going to the back of the line first and giving the quiet sickly kids their candy, much to the annoyance of the brats who were now at the back.

Have you ever noticed that in this world the proud, the confident, the good-looking and the rich have great advantage? Have you noticed that the poor, the sickly, the homely-looking, and the humble are the ones that often get trodden on? They never seem to be able to get on their feet. Meanwhile, the rich get richer, and the poor get trodden on by the rich. If there was a line of success in this life, the rich are at the front and the poor are at the back. Life seems unfair. Here now is something that gives me great delight. God, in His great wisdom, has turned the line completely around, and He did it in a way that is amazing.

Let me tell you about a man who had a terrible skin disease. He tried every modern remedy he could find. Nothing helped. One day, someone spoke of a person who had a remedy in another country. The soldier traveled to this country to get an appointment. Through a series of circumstances he was able to locate the man’s residence, and speak to one of his assistants. He said who he was, how far he had traveled, and what he was seeking from the man.

After some time, the assistant returned and told the soldier that if he wanted to be cured from the disease he should go and bath in the local river. Then he said something that greatly annoyed the soldier. He told him that to be cured from the ailment, he had to bob up and down in the river seven times. The proud soldier was understandably angered by such stupid talk, and immediately left to go back to his home country.

This paraphrased story is based on the Bible. Naaman was a captain of the Syrian Guard. He was no doubt proud and successful. But he had leprosy. When he found out that Elisha the prophet could heal the disease, he set out to visit him. Elisha didn’t even come to the door. He had his assistant tell Naaman that to be cured he had to bath in the river Jordan seven times. Naaman was angered. He assumed that the prophet would wave his hand over him and he would be cured. Instead he was told to do this crazy thing. He was about to leave the country when someone told him that he had nothing to lose by obeying the prophet. He could either rot and die with incurable leprosy, or he could do what he was told.

He decided to do what Elisha said. Visualize now the scene. Naaman is a proud captain. He is with his soldiers. They watch him wade out into the Jordan river, then down he lowers himself into the water. Once. Then twice. Three times. What he is doing is extremely humbling. Four times. He was probably thinking "This is crazy!" Five. Six. Nothing has happened. He is still a leper. Down he goes for the last time, and up he comes out of the water, with his skin like that of a babes!

What Naaman did was childish. It was foolish. It was an insult to his intellectual dignity. But what he did cured his leprosy. He was cured because of his faith, his humility and his obedience. God was the one who healed him, but the way to his healing came through the very low door of humility.

Here now is how God went to the other end of the line. He stayed with the Naaman-pattern by taking the humble and weak things of this world and used them to turn the tables on the proud. He chose a seeming foolish message as the means of giving eternal life to dying humanity. He stayed with the pattern when He choose the indignity of being born in a cow’s feeding trough, riding into Jerusalem on the back of the donkey, and dying the death of a criminal on a Roman cross. In reference to the birth of Christ, we are told, "He has shown strength and made might with His arm; He has scattered the proud and haughty in and by the imagination and purpose and designs of their hearts. He has put down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of low degree" (Luke 1:51-52, Amplified Bible).

Listen to Jesus address this subject: "In that same hour He rejoiced and gloried in the Holy Spirit and said, I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have concealed these things [relating to salvation] from the wise and understanding and learned, and revealed them to babes (the childish, unskilled, and untaught). Yes, Father, for such was Your gracious will and choice and good pleasure" (Luke 10:21, Amplified Bible).

Look at the Apostle Paul also speak of how God turned the line around and sent the proud and arrogant world to the back of the line:

"We preach Christ (the Messiah) crucified, [preaching which] to the Jews is a scandal and an offensive stumbling block [that springs a snare or trap], and to the Gentiles it is absurd and utterly unphilosophical nonsense. But to those who are called, whether Jew or Greek (Gentile), Christ [is] the Power of God and the Wisdom of God. [This is] because the foolish thing [that has its source in] God is wiser than men, and the weak thing [that springs] from God is stronger than men. For [simply] consider your own call, brethren; not many [of you were considered to be] wise according to human estimates and standards, not many influential and powerful, not many of high and noble birth. [No] for God selected (deliberately chose) what in the world is foolish to put the wise to shame, and what the world calls weak to put the strong to shame. And God also selected (deliberately chose) what in the world is lowborn and insignificant and branded and treated with contempt, even the things that are nothing, that He might depose and bring to nothing the things that are, so that no mortal man should [have pretense for glorying and] boast in the presence of God" (1 Corinthians 1:23-29, Amplified Bible).

More than a thousand years before Christ, the Bible tells us that God "takes the wise in their own craftiness" (Job 5:13). Paul quotes this verse when he says, "Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seems to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He takes the wise in their own craftiness. And again, The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain" (1 Corinthians 3:18-20).

So, I do agree with Einstein. I think that the whole Bible--from start to finish, is childlike. The Bible stories are childlike. Think of it. If you become a believer you will be forced to say, "I believe in Adam and Eve, Noah and the Ark, Jonah and the whale, Samson and Delilah, David and Goliath, and all the other stories related in the Scriptures."

God used the Naaman-pattern from the beginning of Genesis to the end of Revelation. Christianity is childlike: "Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, 'Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven'" (Matthew 18:22).

If you are proud, if you have any intellectual dignity, you will never stoop (you will never lower yourself) to come to Christ. What would your friends think? How humbling it would be for you to say that you believe the Bible . . . and there is the wonderful wisdom of God. You are snared by your own sinful pride. Without childlike faith, without humility of the heart, without lowering your proud self, you will find that you will be thrust out of the very gates of Heaven and just find yourself in Hell:

"Let no person deceive himself. If anyone among you supposes that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool [let him discard his worldly discernment and recognize himself as dull, stupid, and foolish, without true learning and scholarship], that he may become [really] wise. For this world's wisdom is foolishness (absurdity and stupidity) with God, for it is written, He lays hold of the wise in their [own] craftiness; and again, The Lord knows the thoughts and reasonings of the [humanly] wise and recognizes how futile they are" (1 Corinthians 2:18-20).

Notes: 1. Letter to philosopher Eric Gutkind, January 3, 1954.

New Academy promo

During the summer months, we have monthly training for people from around the world in something called the "Ambassador’s Academy."

If you love the Lord and care about the lost (the unsaved), you may like to attend one of these. If you don’t love the Lord, get right with God, and then come to an Academy--we would love to meet you. It really is life-changing.

Note: Before you (atheists) accuse us of making money from these, please realize that we lose $300 for every person who attends. So why do we do it? We care about where you will spend eternity. No other reason.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWBTcE_529w

Do you remember?

Do you remember the first time you looked at the sun? Probably not. Maybe your mom told you that should shouldn’t stare at it because you would go blind. This is because the sun is a massive ball of flames--a self-contained blazing inferno that sits in the heavens 93 million miles out into space. Yet it is positioned to where it’s just warm enough to ripen our strawberries and tomatoes. It gives us warmth and light, and without it we would not only be in darkness, but life could not be sustained on earth.

Intensely brilliant though the sun is, there are times in which we can gaze on its glorious radiance. When it sits low on the horizon we can view it through the atmosphere, and when we see it in such a state, it often puts on a breathtaking display of majesty.

There was a time when most of humanity believed in geocentricity. We thought that the sun revolved around the earth. That was understandable because the sun rose on one horizon and set on the other. It moved across the sky. We therefore believed that we were the center of the universe, because the sun revolved around us. But knowledge has shown us that in the infinitude of space, we are but a tiny dot that revolves around a massive sun.

There was a time in my childish ignorance that I thought that I was the center of the universe. Like most kids, I was self-centered, and in my ego-centricity I thought that God’s purpose was to rise and shine on me. He was my divine butler. But knowledge showed me that everything revolves around Him. He created that massive inferno that sits in the heavens. He set it at 93 million miles away, to give warmth and light to His creation, and like our relationship to the sun, without God we are not only in darkness (see John 8:12), but we are "dead in our trespasses and sins" (see Ephesians 2:1). Without Him, our life will not be sustained on earth.

God is like the sun. He dwells "in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man has seen, nor can see..." (see 1 Timothy 6:16) and shines "above the brightness of the sun." When Saul of Tarsus was exposed to His light on the Road to Damascus, the brilliance took the sight from his eyes.

However, unspeakably glorious though He is, God made it possible for us to actually look upon Him. The Bible says,

"For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" (2 Corinthians 4:6).

The God of glory came low so that we could see His invisible form--through the life of Jesus of Nazareth. Through the Scriptures, we can see His divine hatred for hypocrisy, His gentleness with the humble, and most of all, His great love for sinners which was clearly commended to each of us through the cross.

Pic. Southern California sunrise (taken from my home, this week).

Brit's advice to Tiger Woods

"Debunkey Monkey said...Buddhism is a peaceful and respectful religion. I wish Christians would stop bashing up on it so much."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2MB8boLWZc

Dear daily Christianity bashers...Brit Hume did not "bash" Buddhism. If you need a plumber, you don't call an elephant-trainer. Buddhism doesn't offer forgiveness of sins. It cannot save anyone from the Justice of God that will be revealed on Judgment Day. Christianity can.

"In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace..." (Ephesians 1:7)

"'A man cannot be happy who believes in Hell, any more than he can sweeten his coffee with a pickle.’ (Lemuel K. Washburn, Is The Bible Worth Reading And Other Essays)." Weemaryanne

This is so true. When atheists have patronized me by saying "I’m glad you are happy," I have told them that I’m not. Do you think "happy" would be the right word to use to describe that state of mind of those who were saved in the lifeboats of the Titanic as their loved ones and others were being swallowed into an icy grave? No doubt they were unspeakably grateful that they are saved, but it would be entirely inappropriate to use the word "happy" to describe their circumstance.

There’s not a day that goes by that I’m not horrified at what’s in store for those who die in their sins. It’s my sole motivation for this blog, for every tract and book I have written, for the TV program and for my open air preaching. If Hell didn’t exist, neither would I on your radar screen.

For this life and for the next...

http://tinyurl.com/ycq5hl8

Thinking about Lust

"I've been thinking about this and another question I have is, If I am lusting, is that caused by a demon?" Froggie

It would be nice to be able to blame a demon for our sins, but that’s not the case. The Bible says "But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust has conceived, it brings forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, brings forth death" (James 1:14-15, italics added).

So we are drawn away by our own lust and then "enticed." However, if you give yourself to lust, you will almost certainly become possessed with an unclean spirit (a demon) and you will find yourself consumed with perverted sexual thoughts. It is then that you will become a slave to sin (see John 8:34). Without the mercy of God intervening, it is a ball and chain that will drag you into Hell.

You will be like a man who boasts that he has no problem with cigarettes, and he doesn’t--while he gives himself to the consumption of two packs a day. But it’s when he tries to stop finds that he is a slave to the deathly habit. Study these verses on the subject of an unclean spirit: Matthew 12:43, Mark 1:23-26, Mark 5:2, Mark 7:25, Luke 9:42, Luke 11:24.

What is She Looking For?

"A few night[s] back I had a dream about the rapture. In this dream I was lifted off the ground. Floating in the air I suddenly realized I was wrong and there is a God and I'm in a lot of trouble. Then, everyone around me, and me, stopped, hung in the air then fell to the ground; but we didn't hit the ground, we went straight through it. Down we went into Hell. I didn't think to pray or call out to Jesus. I just thought to myself 'This is impossible, this can't be happening...hang on, this is just a dream!' And that was the end of that. The thing is Ray, as realistic as the dream was it didn't make me want to repent at all." Andy Duchemin

Most parents have had dreams of one of their kids being in great danger, or we have nightmares about horrible spiders, or falling from a cliff-edge. I have had a reoccurring dream for years in which I was in a pulpit in front of a huge crowd, and I couldn’t find my place in the Bible. We tend to dream our fears, but that one fear resulted in a positive outcome. I always step up to a pulpit knowing exactly where I am going, and that happens because of that horrible dream.

You mentioned that the dream you had didn’t cause you to want to repent. That’s understandable. Many people "repent" out of fear and end up falling away. The problem is, repentance must be coupled with what the Bible calls "godly sorrow." There must be contrition.

Think of a man who has committed adultery, who wants to get back with his wife. She is willing to take him back, but what is she looking for? Genuine sorrow that will result in him not wanting to betray her trust ever again.

That’s what God is looking for in you--a genuine sorrow that will result in you turning from all that you know to be offensive to Him.

It sounds a little ridiculous when an adult "dares" someone to do something. But I will be ridiculous in a big way to make an important point. I double-dare you to say to God, "Please show me as You see me, and then show me Yourself, as You are."

Before you do this, read through The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:1-5:7).

Open Air Halloween

http://www.youtube.com/RATIONALRESPONDER#p/u/24/wSpblffn-8Y

The Face of Hopelessness

This picture was taken of Charles Darwin in 1878, four years before his death. Look deeply into the eyes of a man who allowed his belief about his past rob him of his future. Evolution is not only bogus science, it offers no hope for humanity. It is a dead-end doorway to death and damnation. Don’t follow the dead teachings of Charles Darwin; follow the living, risen Jesus Christ. He offers the absolute assurance of everlasting life. Look at His amazing words:

"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live" (John 5:24-25).

Hear Him.