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| FRIDAY, JANUARY 11, 2008 | 15 years ago |
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Here's a news item from Italy: Italian film and opera director Franco Zeffirelli is offering his services to Pope Benedict as an image consultant, saying the German pontiff comes across as cold and needs to review his wardrobe. Zeffirelli, acclaimed for movies such as "Romeo and Juliet" and "Jesus of Nazareth", said in an interview with la Stampa daily on Saturday the 80-year-old pope did not have "a happy image". "Coming after a media-savvy pope like John Paul II is a difficult task ... Benedict XVI still communicates coldly, in a way that is not suited with what is happening around him," Zeffirelli said. "It's an issue I have been discussing with people who have key roles in the Vatican," said Zeffirelli, who has directed some Vatican television events. "The Pope does not smile much, but he is an intellectual. He has a very rigid Bavarian structure," he said. I would suggest that Mr. Zeffirelli has a much bigger job than he imagines-at least if he is going to humanize the Pope in the eyes of people who have the slightest knowledge of Bible doctrine or of modern European history. It's true that the last Pope was a master of manipulating the media. But that's the nearest he ever came to anything like genuineness. The media did a snow job on him. A book titled The Crooked Cross, written by one of England's leading Roman Catholic journalists, accused John Paul II of various crimes and moral indiscretions. It carried pictures of him in positions that were far from edifying. These pictures appeared in the Italian press-very briefly and there was never another word about them. Certainly in the British and American media the story gained no traction. John Paul II, like Mother Theresa, was above factual investigation. The media had a darling and they intended to stick with him. Benedict is no media darling. But that is the least of his problems. In the light of Scripture, we have to say that he is what John Paul II and every other pope has been, a veritable antichrist in the church. The Pope stands for much that the Bible is against and is against much that the Bible stands for. He is the great denier of the once only sacrifice of Christ, of justification by faith alone in Christ alone, and of the sole mediation of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is not for nothing that Luther, Calvin, Knox, Cranmer and after them every major Protestant confession of faith has seen in the Pope the fulfillment of the Bible's statements about the man if sin, antichrist in the church. Franco Zeffirelli may make the Pope look cuddly and acceptable to foolish people whose sole interest is in appearances. But no amount of Zeffirelli magic can change what the Pope really is. Sorry, Franco, your skill is not equal to the task. Antichrist will still be antichrist whatever the cut or color of his robes. |
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| THURSDAY, JANUARY 10, 2008 | 15 years ago |
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Florida police have charged a man and a woman on two counts of trying to sell their two-month old baby. The pair first tried to sell the baby in a bank parking lot and later in the parking lot of a Pet Smart store, after offering a couple a beer, the father offered the child for sale for $30. The people they approached at first thought they had to be joking but found out just how serious they were when the mother started yelling at them. So they called the police who arrested the parents and placed the baby with Child Protective Services. It sounds like the parents were drunk or high on drugs. But the bottom line is, whatever the reason or excuse, they tried to sell their child for $30. Most people will at once agree that that was at least an act of atrocious neglect and perhaps a whole lot more. We have no hesitation in stigmatizing the parents as incapable and even dangerous. We would be right. But how many people who would be quick to condemn the outrageous behavior of those parents in Florida are really free from much the same crime. All across America parents are selling their children for money. Oh, I know that they don't go about it as crudely as those people did but they do it all the same. Many fathers neglect their children. They pay for their food and shelter but they are too busy with their jobs or their sports or their buddies to spend much time with their kids. Mothers often do the same. The bottom line is that parents fob their kids off on to someone else. Many haven't a clue about their children's friends or even their whereabouts. Usually by the time they find out it is too late. They have sold their kids for money or their own pleasure or whatever. Instead of taking money for their kids, they may actually spend money to farm them out, but the principle remains the same. In their case they will probably never be called to account before a court, at least here on earth-though they will certainly have to answer to the Judge of all the earth. Jesus once asked, "What shall it profit a man if he should gain the whole world and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" Those are urgent questions that each of us should answer. But allow me to recast them slightly:" What shall it profit a man if he should gain the whole world and lose his own child? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his child?" Are you selling your family short? What price have you put on them? What are they really worth to you? Are they worth enough for you to make their salvation your chief concern for them; for you to teach them the gospel by precept and example; for you to take them to a good church and make sure that they return to a good home? It's the easiest thing in the world to lose your children. It's worse still when you have sold them for the transitory gain of this world. How much is your child worth to you? Don't send him to the world or to the devil. Dedicate him to the Lord and ask for His wisdom in rearing him in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Instead of selling your child, invest heavily in his spiritual wellbeing. The dividend on such investment is eternal. Start making it today. |
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| WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2008 | 15 years ago |
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Modern Germany hates to be saddled with its Nazi past. Germans are tired of being blamed for the crimes of Adolph Hitler and his National Socialists. That is understandable. But while the present German authorities insist on treating Christian parents whose only "crime" is their determination to take personal charge of their children's education the same way the Nazis did, it's difficult not to conclude that the Nazi spirit is far from dead in Germany. Unlike most of its European neighbors, Germany outlaws homeschooling. In a recent case the nation's highest court criticized the local officials of the city of Paderborn. The court found the city and its social services agencies were "obviously unsuited" to the task of enforcing mandatory public school attendance, and rather than protecting against "child welfare endangerment," the city allowed a family to move to Austria where its two children now are being educated by an "uncertified" mother. Note carefully how the court phrased the case against homeschooling. It termed it "child welfare endangerment." Think of that! Here in the U.S. we have proved that homeschooling usually leads to a better education, better social skills and a higher chance of gaining a place in college. Yet the Germans insist that it is a species of child endangerment. The Germans are paranoid about the possibility of a "parallel society." They particularly fear that Christians may inculcate some moral values that are at odds with the multi-cultural, inclusivist policies of the current political elite. The drive to force homeschoolers out of business comes from Germany's dark past. It is the determination to force the nation's youth into the mold that the state has prepared for them. In Hitler's time the national mold was conformity to the Nazi agenda. Nowadays the state mold is conformity to multiculturalism and secularism. Public schools are the chief tools in the hands of the state's social engineers, as they were in Nazi times. Today's high court even adopts almost the same language as Hitler's courts did to justify their rejection of anyone's right to home school his children. Germany is a case of a state control gone mad. But it is not a purely German phenomenon. Secularists always want to give the state a greater degree of control over individual rights. They tend to look on children as wards of the state. While homeschooling is not illegal in most parts of Europe, the European Court has ruled that it is a privilege to be granted or withheld at the decision of the state. In other words, the state denies the right of parents to educate their children and may or may not allow them to do so as a privilege. This is a dangerous delusion that we must ever battle against. "Children are the heritage of the Lord" and no government has the right to take primary responsibility for them. It's time Germany buried the last vestiges of its Nazi past and allowed homeschool parents to get on with the job that God has laid on their hearts. |
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| WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2008 | 15 years ago |
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Florida police have charged a man and a woman on two counts of trying to sell their two-month old baby. The pair first tried to sell the baby in a bank parking lot and later in the parking lot of a Pet Smart store, after offering a couple a beer, the father offered the child for sale for $30. The people they approached at first thought they had to be joking but found out just how serious they were when the mother started yelling at them. So they called the police who arrested the parents and placed the baby with Child Protective Services. It sounds like the parents were drunk or high on drugs. But the bottom line is, whatever the reason or excuse, they tried to sell their child for $30. Most people will at once agree that that was at least an act of atrocious neglect and perhaps a whole lot more. We have no hesitation in stigmatizing the parents as incapable and even dangerous. We would be right. But how many people who would be quick to condemn the outrageous behavior of those parents in Florida are really free from much the same crime. All across America parents are selling their children for money. Oh, I know that they don't go about it as crudely as those people did but they do it all the same. Many fathers neglect their children. They pay for their food and shelter but they are too busy with their jobs or their sports or their buddies to spend much time with their kids. Mothers often do the same. The bottom line is that parents fob their kids off on to someone else. Many haven't a clue about their children's friends or even their whereabouts. Usually by the time they find out it is too late. They have sold their kids for money or their own pleasure or whatever. Instead of taking money for their kids, they may actually spend money to farm them out, but the principle remains the same. In their case they will probably never be called to account before a court, at least here on earth-though they will certainly have to answer to the Judge of all the earth. Jesus once asked, "What shall it profit a man if he should gain the whole world and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" Those are urgent questions that each of us should answer. But allow me to recast them slightly:" What shall it profit a man if he should gain the whole world and lose his own child? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his child?" Modern Germany hates to be saddled with its Nazi past. Germans are tired of being blamed for the crimes of Adolph Hitler and his National Socialists. That is understandable. But while the present German authorities insist on treating Christian parents whose only "crime" is their determination to take personal charge of their children's education the same way the Nazis did, it's difficult not to conclude that the Nazi spirit is far from dead in Germany. Unlike most of its European neighbors, Germany outlaws homeschooling. In a recent case the nation's highest court criticized the local officials of the city of Paderborn. The court found the city and its social services agencies were "obviously unsuited" to the task of enforcing mandatory public school attendance, and rather than protecting against "child welfare endangerment," the city allowed a family to move to Austria where its two children now are being educated by an "uncertified" mother. Note carefully how the court phrased the case against homeschooling. It termed it "child welfare endangerment." Think of that! Here in the U.S. we have proved that homeschooling usually leads to a better education, better social skills and a higher chance of gaining a place in college. Yet the Germans insist that it is a species of child endangerment. The Germans are paranoid about the possibility of a "parallel society." They particularly fear that Christians may inculcate some moral values that are at odds with the multi-cultural, inclusivist policies of the current political elite. The drive to force homeschoolers out of business comes from Germany's dark past. It is the determination to force the nation's youth into the mold that the state has prepared for them. In Hitler's time the national mold was conformity to the Nazi agenda. Nowadays the state mold is conformity to multiculturalism and secularism. Public schools are the chief tools in the hands of the state's social engineers, as they were in Nazi times. Today's high court even adopts almost the same language as Hitler's courts did to justify their rejection of anyone's right to home school his children. Germany is a case of a state control gone mad. But it is not a purely German phenomenon. Secularists always want to give the state a greater degree of control over individual rights. They tend to look on children as wards of the state. While homeschooling is not illegal in most parts of Europe, the European Court has ruled that it is a privilege to be granted or withheld at the decision of the state. In other words, the state denies the right of parents to educate their children and may or may not allow them to do so as a privilege. This is a dangerous delusion that we must ever battle against. "Children are the heritage of the Lord" and no government has the right to take primary responsibility for them. It's time Germany buried the last vestiges of its Nazi past and allowed homeschool parents to get on with the job that God has laid on their hearts. |
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| TUESDAY, JANUARY 8, 2008 | 15 years ago |
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I am going to speak very plainly. So if you don't like plain speech, you may not like what you are about to hear. For years, the so-called gay rights movement has tried to persuade Americans that their aim is benign, that they are interested only in "fair play," meaning that homosexuals should be allowed to live their private lives as they wish without being harassed by the rest of us or discriminated against in employment. Gay advocates are liars. Their agenda is far from benign. So bold have the sodomites become that they are now flaunting their real agenda, which is the radical refashioning of American society to make it a reflection of the diabolical immorality of the sodomites and their fellow travelers. If you want proof of that you just have to look at what the sodomites are pushing for the school systems in California. A new California law, SB 777, was touted as nothing more than an anti-discrimination law. While the law doesn't formally require inclusion of homosexual material, opponents have been quick to point out that it does now ban anything that can be "perceived" as being discriminatory, up to and including references to "mom" and "dad" or "husband" and "wife." The new law demands, "No teacher shall give instruction nor shall any school district sponsor any activity that promotes a discriminatory bias because of a characteristic [including perceived gender]." A list of school resources, sponsored by a homosexual-advocacy group called Safe Schools Coalition, suggests that for those who are only two years old, there's "Felicia's Favorite Story," which tells how she was "adopted by her two mothers." The list also promotes a book called "Are You a Girl or a Boy?" by Karleen Jiminez, a resource for children ages 4-8 that advocates homosexuality, bisexuality, transgenderism and other alternative lifestyle choices. It's described as "A sweet book about a gender-different kid." Other resources include books authored by officials for Planned Parenthood and the Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network. One book, called "Tackling Gay Issues in School," is for kindergarten through grade 12, and offers a "rationale (for the inclusion of lesbian/bi-sexual/gay/trans-gender issues in school)." It features recommended "extracurricular" activities for classes. It's time to say, "Enough is enough" and demand a halt to all such perversion of our children and our educational system. No one has the right to take the law into his own hands and abuse homosexuals or anyone else for that matter. We are not a nation of vigilantes. We are a nation of laws. Let's keep it that way. However, our laws should be changed and changed quickly. For too long spineless politicians have caved in to the immoral lobbying of the pro-Sodomite agenda. They have made a mockery of the U.S. Constitution to find rights and protections that the Founders never dreamed of. They have used this great document on which this nation was founded as the basis for undermining the foundations of our society. It's time to call a halt to all such pandering to the vile interests of the sodomite lobby. Why is it that in this election season we are not hearing candidates grilled about what they will do to give us a Supreme Court that will allow the States their constitutional right to declare sodomy and its associated perversions criminal and to ban the imposition of the sodomite view of society on our children? Wake up, America, for you are being betrayed from within. It's time to halt the Sodomite bandwagon. |
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| MONDAY, JANUARY 7, 2008 | 15 years ago |
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In an interview with BBC radio, Dr. Rowan Williams debunked some of the best loved tales of what is often called "The Christmas Story." He pointed out that there is no evidence in the Bible for the idea that there were three Wise Men or that the Wise Men were Kings. He said there was no evidence that Jesus was born in a stable with animals around him. These were legendary additions to the story of the birth of Christ. Of course, in these and similar popular conceptions the Archbishop was right. His spokesman wrote in the Times of London that Rowan Williams was sticking to what the Bible actually said. That is not really true for Williams went on to deal with matters that are clearly attested in the Gospels and rejected or questioned them. For example, he dismissed the story of the star guiding the Wise Men to Christ because "stars just don't behave like that." Then he went further. While stating that he personally believed in the Virgin Birth of Christ, he said that believing should not be a hurdle that new Christians felt they had to get over so as to be admitted or accepted. Here Williams descends into abject infidelity. The doctrine of the Virgin Birth is not an optional add-on to the gospel faith, it is essential. The entire scheme of salvation depends on Christ's virgin birth. Yet Williams teaches that you can be a Christian while deliberately rejecting it. He is also wrong in his evident belief that the Bible is untrustworthy in some of its historical and doctrinal statements. The religion of Rowan Williams is not Bible Christianity. Williams fears and despises the adoptions of moral absolutes arising from an acceptance of the Bible as the inspired, infallible word of God. He spoke disparagingly of the "Fundamentalist" attitude that the Anglican Communion needed to avoid-but which had caused division in the Episcopal churches of the U.S. A religion of moral relativism based on a merely human Bible with a host of factual and historical errors, presenting a Christ who may not have been actually born of a virgin is not Christianity. But it is the religion of Rowan Williams, a religion of apostasy and spiritual declension. Keep that in mind and then see what you ought to do if you are a member of Williams' worldwide communion. What is that? Put Christ before your denomination. If you do you will get out; stay out; speak out. Rowan Williams is the mouthpiece of a church that has mostly turned its back on Christ. His views are anti-Christian, a disgrace even to the Church of England. Williams is against the Bible but that is only half of the story. The sober truth is that the Lord is against him! God's word will stand without Rowan Williams but how can Rowan Williams stand against God's word? He cannot and the old message of Scripture that he so easily dismisses will continue to reach souls and bring them to Christ, the virgin born Saviour of sinners. |
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| FRIDAY, JANUARY 4, 2008 | 15 years ago |
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Yesterday I commented on the foolish and ultimately useless attempts of the Chinese Communist authorities to stop the flow of Christian literature and thought to their people. Today, I want you to hear another angle to that story: according to the Times of London, the fifty millionth copy of the Bible recently came off the presses of the only officially authorized Bible publisher in China. "Demand for the Bible is soaring in officially-atheist China, at a time when meteoric economic growth is testing the country's allegiance to Communist doctrine," the Times reports. Now, the demand in China for Bibles is such that Amity Printing, a joint venture between Chinese Christian charity and the United Bible Societies, a Protestant organization, can barely keep pace. Early next year it will move into a new, much larger factory on the edge of the eastern city of Nanjing to become the world's single-biggest producer of Bibles. However, in careful adherence to China's laws that prohibit evangelizing, the Bible is not on sale in mainstream Chinese bookshops but through a distribution system managed by the official church, such as stalls set up for people attending morning service. The "official church" is the organization that the Communists hope to keep under control. It is not representative of the overall growth of the gospel in China, where unregistered churches are flourishing despite all sorts of official opposition and persecution. Disappearances, imprisonments and constant threats have not been able to stop the growth of the gospel. Nor will official limitations on Bible sales halt its flow into the hands of millions for though the Bibles that are being printed will not be on public sale it will not be long until they are distributed across China in unprecedented numbers. "The entrance of thy words giveth light," said the psalmist and China is about to prove just how true this is. Now let the significance of all this sink in. Atheists and secularists have long prophesied the demise of the Bible. Voltaire believed that within a generation of his time it would be forgotten. Voltaire is now just a footnote of European history, forgotten by all but a few misguided literati, and his home became the headquarters of the Bible Society. Now we have the world's largest atheist nation with a hunger for the Bible. Fifty million Bibles in China is just a drop in the ocean but soon that drop will multiply into a torrent. The Bible has never taken hold of a nation without having profound effects and the same will be true in China. Millions already acknowledge Christ as their Saviour and Lord. We pray that with the spread of the word of God and with the courageous witness of God's people millions more will come to a saving knowledge of Christ. Who can tell what an impact it will have on the world if and when China's millions acknowledge Christ? When Hudson Taylor and others missionaries labored in China their work gave fair indications of success. Then came the Boxer rebellion, Japanese occupation, civil war and finally Communist dictatorship. For a time all seemed lost for the gospel in that land. Now things are changing and the long awaited harvest for the labors of long ago will be reaped. God's word never returns to Him void. It will prevail and produce the result He has ordained and no atheist government will be able to stop it. |
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| WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 2, 2008 | 15 years ago |
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Hollywood is at it again. Hell's entertainment capital here on earth seems fascinated with the story of Christ and His nativity. It's not really that Hollywood intends any great good to come from its efforts; it's simply a way of making money from gullible people. And, of course, it's a way of taking a sideswipe at Bible Christianity. Few if any Hollywood productions of Biblical themes are really true to the inspired script. Somehow, the ungodly scriptwriters imagine that they can insert and delete material at will just to make the story say what they want it to say. That is offensive to anyone who believes the Bible to be the very word of God. Just as offensive is Hollywood's casting of actors and actresses in key roles. I am totally opposed to any man acting the Lord Jesus Christ because it is a flagrant breach of the second commandment. And I am horrified at some of the more than dubious choices directors have made when it comes to filling the role of the Virgin Mary. Now, I am no Roman Catholic, burdened with all Rome's superstitious beliefs about Mary. But I believe the Bible and I recognize the mother of the Lord Jesus Christ as the most beautiful example of a godly woman I can find in Scripture. God chose her to be the virgin mother of Christ because she was in fact a pure virgin. Yet when Hollywood comes to cast actresses in the role of the Virgin Mary, as often as not the choice falls on seamy actresses of questionable moral character. The last one chosen was unmarried New Zealand teenager Keisha Castle-Hughes in The Nativity Story, who announced she was pregnant only weeks after finishing shooting the film last year. Then, just a couple of weeks ago, Hollywood announced another attack on the story of Christ's birth and this time the invitation has gone out to Britney Spears to act the part of Mary. Ms. Spears is "considering" the offered role. Britney Spears! A drunken, drug-addicted, immoral, out-of-control rock singer and second rate actress-and she is supposed to represent the Virgin Mary! You could be forgiven for thinking that every time Hollywood plans any allegedly Bible-based film it looks on it as an opportunity to rub the noses of Bible believers-indeed, of decent people who value moral behavior-in the dirt. In a society whose young people have been poisoned by the Britney Spears of the world, where immorality is now not only at epidemic proportions but is endemic in our national life, where drug addiction and alcohol addiction are national disasters, what kind of a message does it send to select this debauched actress for the role of Mary? One day you see her disheveled image on the front page as she is led away after yet another binge on drugs or booze-or you see her deprived of her children because she is an utterly self-centered and incompetent mother whose home and company make for a dangerous environment for them-and then you see her in line to play the role of the greatest of all mothers. That tells young people that morality and decency are of no real account-and the suggestion is that even the Virgin Mary was only a Britney Spears after all. That is the pernicious lie Hollywood is pushing. It is ultimately an assault on Christ even while it appears to promote His story. I suppose we should expect no more from Hollywood. As usual, Hollywood stinks. This time, however, decent people should raise a stink and put a stop to this foul blasphemy. |
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| TUESDAY, JANUARY 1, 2008 | 15 years ago |
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Happy New Year! Welcome to 2008! You are going to be bombarded with a lot of news this year, both good and bad. I want to start off the year with a story of courage from a young Pakistani Christian who lives in Britain. Her story will tell you something of the evil forces that stalk the world under the guise of the Islamic religion. It will also tell you of the overcoming power of faith in Christ. The Time of London has carried the story of Hannah, a 32 year old Pakistani woman who was born in Britain. As the daughter of an imam, she was raised a strict Muslim and knew nothing outside the world of her Pakistani upbringing. When she started secondary school she became more aware of the outside world - and when, aged 16, she overheard her father on the phone arranging her flight to Pakistan to marry a cousin whom she had never met she was shocked into action. "I went to college and did not go home," she said. "I had nowhere to go. Everyone I knew was Muslim and knew my dad. I was on the street for about a week." She slept in bus shelters until her religious education teacher offered her a bed. Against the teacher's wishes, she started going to church. "I watched everyone and saw how they lived their lives. I heard about God's love, about how Jesus died on the cross. I was totally blown away by it. I asked someone how I could get to know Jesus. They said, ‘Ask him to come into your life. Ask for forgiveness'. So I did and that night I became a Christian." At first her family did not take her conversion seriously. As she went to college and was baptized as a Christian, that all changed. Her life was threatened. A group of fourteen Muslim men arrived at her door with knives threatening to kill her for the "shame" she had brought on Islam. Her own brother has said that unless she renounces her faith in Christ he cannot be responsible for his actions-in other words, he will be justified in killing her. These constant threats have meant that this young woman has had to use an assumed name and move house 45 times over the past few years, just to try to keep one step ahead of her would-be murderers. Recently she has had to have police protection. And this is in England. Despite all the threatening and the shadow of martyrdom, Hannah says, "Yes, there is a possibility I will be killed, just as there is for anyone that they can get run over by a bus. My faith means that I am not afraid to die. If I was to focus on that, I would spend my life at home, trapped. I am not going to let it stop me being who I am, from being a Christian." There's a message for all of us in that statement. It should teach us to pray for Christians who live under the tyranny of Islam. It should make us more than ever vigilant for our liberties, especially when arrogant imams demand the introduction of sharia law into our western countries. And of course it should spur us on to greater devotion to Christ. If even the threat of death cannot stop Hannah living as a Christian, can we not rise above the petty obstacles that all too often stop us? This New Year will present its challenges. Let us rise up and meet them with courage by faith in Christ. He is worthy of our best. If we give it to Him this year, 2008 will indeed be for us a Happy New Year. |
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| MONDAY, DECEMBER 31, 2007 | 16 years ago |
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For years the BBC carried a program at the end of each week that took a satirical look at the events of the week. They called it, That Was the Week that Was. I have no particular aim to be satirical but on this last day of 2007 I want to take a quick look back at this old year. As usual, it has been a year of scandal both in church and state. Washington has limped from one moral scandal to another and we have been constantly lectured by either immoral or amoral politicians on what the moral values of the nation ought to be. More serious, however, have been the scandals that have rocked the church. Ted Haggard, leader of the National Association of Evangelicals, brought shame not only on himself but on the cause of Christ both by his sodomite activity and even more by his blatant hypocrisy in leading an anti-sodomite crusade while he was a practicing sodomite. He has professed repentance but has, in my opinion, been far too quick at imagining that he can resume any place of trust or appeal, as he has done, for financial support in his endeavors. Rick Warren brought shame of another kind. He went to Syria, one of the world's foremost sponsors of terrorism, and while bad-mouthing the United States spoke well of the dictatorial Syrian regime and its policy of religious toleration. Instead of apologizing for his abject folly, Warren has rather engaged in a running battle with the journalist who did most to expose his shameful actions. Warren has made a habit of apologizing for other people's sins and crimes (for example, those of the Crusaders!) but seems incapable of recognizing his own. Then there is the scandal of the joint husband and wife pastors of a mega ministry who are getting divorced-and remaining in their joint positions! Add to these shameful events the continuing scandals of Charismatic TV charlatans who bilk gullible people out of huge amounts of money to fund their own worldly life-styles, preachers who routinely lie about non-existent miracles they have performed, and then the growing sell out of many major denominations that have moved toward accepting homosexuals in their ministry and you will see that 2007 has been a year of shame. But that is not the whole story. Millions of godly believers have carried on their faithful witness for Christ. Across the world, faithful churches have stood fast for the faith once delivered to the saints. Courageous Christians have endured bitter persecution and many have stood firm in the face of imprisonment or even death. This year has seen some great answers to prayer for persecuted believers as some have gained freedom from prison or even death sentences. Millions of lost souls have been won for Christ. The gospel has made some dramatic advances. God's program for the ages is still on track and we are privileged to be a part of it. I thank all of you who have stood with us, prayed for us and in any way supported this radio ministry. I rejoice with those of you who have been saved or blessed through our ministry. In many ways for us 2007 has been a year of challenge and yet of progress. Don't be discouraged by scandals in church and state. Don't be cast down by evil tidings of the devil's attack. The Lord is on the throne and He is working all things after the counsel of His sovereign will. That's the real meaning and message of 2007. THAT was the year that was! |
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