Have you ever thought about the genius that created the orderly physical and mathematical laws that govern the whole universe? Without this intentional design, there would have been no Pythagorean Theorem or periodic table to discover...
"It is the duty of nations, as well as of men, to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God and to recognize the sublime truth announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord." --Abraham Lincoln ================== A Short Look at Six World Religions: http://www.probe.org/docs/world.html ================== Take The Test!!! www.biblechallenge.org ================== If you stop believing what your professor told you had to be true and if you start thinking for yourself you may come to some conclusions you hadn't expected. You may find the Bible makes more sense than you thought or were told to think. Allow yourself to be ruined, ruined with regard to what you always thought could be true. Can you believe what you don't understand?You and I believe everyday what we don't understand unless it comes to the issue to salvation. Dr. Woodrow Kroll
During World War II Richard Wynn, on flight duty with the 8th Air Force Division in Europe was shot down and captured by the Germans. After a year as prisoner of war, he escaped and made his way back to his bomber group in England. One of his first acts there was to hunt up the corporal on duty in the parachute building.
"Corporal," he said, "a year ago I had occasion to use one of the parachutes that your men had packed and I want you to know how delighted I was to find it in perfect working order. I give you my deepest compliments and appreciation."
"You know, Lieutenant, funny thing," the corporal replied. "In this work we never get any complaints."
While I was speaking at a conference, our hosts gave my wife and me a picturesque cabin to stay in, right on the side of this beautiful mountain. I was unusually motivated to get my exercise there, believe me - because it involved hiking up the scenic mountain trail to the top. As I headed back down and neared our cabin, I had this notion that it would be nice to make the last stretch a romantic walk with my honey. There's a song I used to whistle to her outside her dorm window when we were in college and engaged - a song we later had sung at our wedding. It starts with the words, "Because you come to me." Lapsing into romantic mode, I started whistling our song. Little did I know that my wife wasn't there! No one came. I walked alone.
Let's face it. Life's like that sometimes. There are times when you really want - you really need - someone to walk with you. And there's no one there. Either they won't or they can't. Sometimes people who care about us would like to walk with us through what we're going through, but they just can't - they don't understand, they don't know how to help, they're too busy with their own issues, or they're just not there for any one of a hundred reasons. Maybe as you're listening today, you are just tired of walking alone.
What I'm about to say may sound too good to be true, but I would not offer you false hope. You don't ever have to walk alone again. The reason that is not just a hollow hope is because it does not depend on the love of some human who may be there or may not be. It depends on the love of the God who made you - who is always there.
Listen to the ironclad promise of Jesus Christ in Hebrews 13:5, our word for today from the Word of God. "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." Never, He says. He's offering you "never leave you" love. Some of Jesus' last words on earth to those who belong to Him are: "Surely I am with you always" (Matthew 28:20). After listing every conceivable force on earth, or in heaven, or in hell that might take His love away, Romans 8:39 says: "Nothing in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
No loopholes. No conceivable situation in which you will find Jesus and His love not there. But experiencing His love is not automatic. In fact, the Bible explains that the central reason for our loneliness and our aloneness is that we're living outside God's love. We're like the earth deciding to leave the orbit it was created for, revolving around the sun, to just go off on its own. All life would cease. We've all decided to run our own life instead of living for the One who gave us our life. We're out of the orbit we were created for. The Bible describes us as being "without hope and without God in the world" (Ephesians 2:12). Our loneliness is ultimately cosmic loneliness. We're lonely for God.
But He loves you so much He wasn't willing to lose you. So He sent Jesus, His one and only Son, to die for the sin that separates you from Him. So He could forgive you, so you could live in His love, so you could be in heaven with Him forever. And now that love is working inside your heart, drawing you His direction. This can't be a one-way love. You have to open up to what He died to give you, by telling Him you're placing the rest of your life in His hands. Hands that bear eternal evidence of His love for you - you can tell by the print of the nails.
If you're ready to make that move, to finally experience the love you've spent your whole life looking for, let me send you my booklet Yours For Life - How to Begin Life's Most Important Relationship. Just let me know you want it.
With Jesus in your life, will you ever feel lonely again? Sure, they'll be lonely times. But you will never be alone again. Never. You have His word on it. Ron Hutchcraft
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Save Us from the Time of Trial Religious Persecution
October 16, 2006
Note: This commentary was delivered by Prison Fellowship President Mark Earley.
When Americans go to the polls in November, their voting decisions will be based on many different factors: the war in Iraq, the economy, and, perhaps, some recent revelations about former Congressman Foley (R-Fla.).
But there's another issue that should weigh into the decision of voters, especially Christians: religious freedom, at home and abroad.
If what I just said is news to you, you're hardly alone. Religious freedom is something that nearly all Americans, including Christians, take for granted. Unfortunately, many of our brethren around the world know better.
A recent article in Time magazine described the precarious relationship of Chinese Christians to their government. As Time put it, "openly religious" Chinese, by which Time meant Christians, live under the "constant threat" of a "brutal government response" to the practice of their faith.
The situation is even worse in the Islamic world: From Indonesia to Nigeria, the rise of radical Islam has been accompanied by the end of any pretense of tolerance toward Christians.
A few months ago, Chuck told "BreakPoint" listeners about Abdul Rahman, the Afghan Christian convert who faced the death penalty for converting. While he was eventually freed, it was only because of U.S. pressure, resulting in the court deciding that he was mentally ill—hardly a ringing endorsement for religious freedom.
In Iraq, just about the only thing the Sunni, Shiites, and Kurds can agree on is their dislike for the Assyrians, Iraq's indigenous Christian population. As a result, many members of what is arguably the oldest Christian community in the world are leaving their ancient homeland. A similar exodus is underway among Christian Palestinians.
In Egypt, the Copts, while nominally allowed to practice their faith, must overcome legalized harassment almost every step of the way. Sometimes, the harassment turns to murder: Last year, three Copts were killed, and a nun was stabbed in anti-Copt riots.
It isn't only one-party states and Islamic countries that violate religious freedom: Earlier this month (October 4), Hindu extremists kidnapped and tortured a Christian convert. This is part of larger pattern that includes forced "re-conversions" to Hinduism. What's even more outrageous is that perpetrators include members of India's former ruling party, the BJP.
Here in the United States, infringement of religious freedom takes on many forms. We've told you about the attempt to remove the InnerChange Freedom Initiative® launched by Prison Fellowship from prisons because they are, in effect, "too Christian."
Other ministries are experiencing similar difficulties: For instance, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship has been banned from several campuses while other, shall we say, less wholesome groups are fully allowed to operate.
We will tell you more about these difficulties over the next few days. What you need to understand now is that we can no longer take religious freedom for granted, at home or abroad.
We must make the loss of religious freedom an issue in the upcoming elections. Public officials need to be informed and accountable on this issue, not just for our sake but for our brethren around the world. We need to let them know that they are hardly alone in their hour of trial.
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