December 22 Psalm 16 Proverb 16 Acts 16
(Psalm 16) The Lord is my inheritance. The world seeks after so many things that do not fulfill. Their gods do not hear them. So many people see after fulfillment and satisfaction from things other than what we were created to be fulfilled by. Self promotion is a curse from the devil. People get so caught up in trying to get what they think they deserve. This is insidious and a plague that will rob us from what we were actually created to have. If the church could be of singular minded and heavenly focused all this idolatry would fall by the way side and then we may see the Kingdom of God. Yet then, as now, men worship at other idols and sacrifice to foreign gods. Though not rams and goats, we sacrifice our inheritance for a bigger house and our children for more money.
(Proverbs 16) How much better to get wisdom than gold! Yet so few want wisdom. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and people these days only fear the devil. They cry out to God but only for Him to fulfill their lusts and desires. This the carnality that consumes the people of God and the day is coming when it will end.
(Acts 16) The Holy Spirit forbid them to preach in Asia. Paul was holy given to the leading of the Spirit. I wonder how many people today spend all their prayer time on things that God did not tell them to do.
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December 21 Day 15 Psalm 15, Proverb 15, Acts15
(Psalm 15) The pure in heart shall see God. God is not hidden. He has not thrown a blanket of confusion over the heads of people who are seeking Him. This psalm tells us that if we live right we can see God. Halleuijah!
(Proberb 15) God wants us to be quick to hear and slow to speak. He is looking for people who will function in a level of wisdom and not react to every circumstance in pure emotion. Though God gave us emotions He does not desire that we let them run our lives. Being tossed to and fro does not bring glory to God. He seeks us to be stable and wise.
(Acts 15) Here we see some of the wisdom in action in the Jerusalem council. These men were not going to act religious like the brothers having conflict over circumcision. They took a step back and did not put the men under legalism. Instead they gave guidance.
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Buddist to Christian. glory to God
Full story here
Here is a snippet:
Anyway, back to the story? On July 12, when I was in Sec2, I went for cell like on every other Monday afternoon. I’m not sure who was there, the usual people I guess. We started with icebreakers (i don’t remember what we did) and then began worship. The theme was on evangelism. First we sang “It is now”. Then we sang “Take me in”.
Take me past the outer courts
Into the sacred place
Past the brazen altar
Lord, I want to see your face
Take me past the crowds of people
Who long to sing your praise
I hunger and thirst for your righteousness
But it’s only found one place
So take me in, to the holy of holies
Take me in by the blood of the lamb
So take m in, to the holy of holies
Take the coal, cleanse my lips
Here I am
those last two lines. “Take the coal, cleanse my lips, Here I am.”
I sang it and I cried. My eyes were opened, and I saw how terrible what I had done was. I had betrayed the trust of my friends, I had manipulated their feelings for my own sake, so that I could feel good, so that I could satisfy my own stupid desires for attention and pity.
I knelt there and cried. I don’t really remember what happened next, everything passed a blur. I remember there was a third song, but I don’t remember what. I don’t think I absorbed a single word of word that day either. All that went through my head was knowing what I had to do.
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12/20 Day 14 Psalm 14 Proverb 14 Acts 14
(Psalm 14) The Psalmist tells us that fools think that they have something to contribute to the theological discussions of our day. Only in seeking God can we find the will of God. Only is finding God’s will can we do anything pleasing to Him. It must come by faith. Faith can only come from Him. So many times people think that they are in control but it is only God that determines what the final outcome will be.
(Proverb 14) There is a way that seems right to man but in the end it will bring death. Carnal thinking is the quickest route to death. There is nothing godly that originates in the mind of man. I have so many times hear men get completely in the flesh while preaching and put their particular bent on doctrine or passage of scripture that in no way represents the heart of God, does not even touch on His loving kindness and His longsuffering. To man it is always time to call down fire on those that we think are not measuring up but we must always remember that we can never measure up. The only way that we can please God is to come before Him covered in the blood of His son. Then, and only then can we do something pleasing.
(Acts 14) Paul went to preach the Gospel but the religious poisoned the minds of those who were to receive liberty from the preaching of the Word. This is the definition of religion. Not only were the Jews not going to receive the salvation afforded them by the shed blood of Jesus, they were going to keep the Gentiles from receiving it as well.
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This is a good read.
You can find this article here
December 19, 2005
Helping North Koreans Defect Is Easy Part, Missionaries Find
By NORIMITSU ONISHI
SEOUL, South Korea - In from the freezing cold on a recent Sunday morning, sitting on the heated floor of a cozy apartment in northeast Seoul, the North Korean defector seldom looked up at the South Korean missionary who had been trying, for the last year, to convert him to the Christian faith.
The North Korean mechanically checked the messages on his Samsung cellphone and restrained his two daughters from using hymn sheets as telescopes to peer at the half-dozen North Koreans in the home church.
When the South Korean started strumming his guitar and led his congregation in a hymn, the North Korean’s lips barely moved, even as a young man next to him raised his hands, palms up, and intoned, “Can’t replace the Lord with anything!”
Continue reading ‘The Korean Missionary Movement in the NY Times’
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I wish more Christians would stand up for what the Gospel calls us to do. You see very little political activism in the NT. You do see people helping people. Though I am disinterested in the personalities here, I am interested in Christians calling out the people who claim to represent us.
December 18, 2005
Op-Ed Columnist
A Challenge for Bill O’Reilly
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF
Let us all pray for Bill O’Reilly.
Let us pray that Mr. O’Reilly will understand that the Christmas spirit isn’t about hectoring people to say “Merry Christmas,” rather than “Happy Holidays,” but about helping the needy.
Let us pray that Mr. O’Reilly will use his huge audience and considerable media savvy to save lives and fight genocide, instead of to vilify those he disagrees with. Let him find inspiration in Jesus, rather than in the Assyrians.
Finally, let’s pray that Mr. O’Reilly and other money-changers in the temple will donate the funds they raise exploiting Christmas - covering the nonexistent “War on Christmas” rakes in viewers and advertising - to feed the hungry and house the homeless.
Amen.
Alas, not all prayers can be answered. Fox News Channel’s crusade against infidels who prefer generic expressions like “Happy Holidays” included 58 separate segments in just a five-day period.
After I suggested in last Sunday’s column that a better way to honor the season might be to stand up to genocide in Darfur (a calamity that Mr. O’Reilly has ignored), Mr. O’Reilly denounced me on his show as a “left-wing ideologue.” Bless you, Mr. O’Reilly, and Merry Christmas to you, too!
Continue reading ‘Let us all pray for Bill O’Reilly.’
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Day 13 Psalm 13 Proverb 13 Acts 13
(Psalm 13) Even though David cried out because he did not see God working in his life he was able to say that He had dealt bountifully with him. Bountifully is an odd term to describe the grace of God. David received the fullness of God’s grace. That is the bountiful blessing of God. The overflow. The more than enough. The El Shadai.
(Proverb 13) There is one who makes himself rich, yet has nothing; and one who makes himself poor yet has great riches. This is the death that Jesus said we are to die. This is the first death here on earth. Whoever will give up all for the gospel’s sake will receive here and in eternity. The wicked eat and are never full. It is good to be wanting in the natural. It is good to be wanting in the flesh. I am better off because of my lack in the natural. I am better off because of where I am. Praise be to God that he should find us worthy to be trained by Him.
(