Dec. 31, 2014
BLOOMBERG
The minimum wage will rise in almost half of U.S. states Jan. 1 after local governments helped the lowest earners while efforts to approve a nationwide boost languish in Congress.
At least one former employee of Sony Corp. may have helped hackers orchestrate the cyber-attack on the company’s film and TV unit, according to security researcher Norse Corp. The company narrowed the list of suspects to a group of six people, including at least one Sony veteran with the necessary technical background to carry out the attack.
More Americans filed applications for unemployment benefits for the first time in five weeks, displaying the typical year-end holiday swings that make the data difficult to interpret. Jobless claims rose by 17,000 to 298,000 in the week ended Dec. 27.
Russian inflation quickened to the fastest in more than five years after the country’s worst currency crisis since 1998 stoked price growth. Consumer prices rose 11.4 percent in December from a year earlier.
The Indian government issued an executive order to make it easier for companies to buy land and eventually replace a law that has hindered manufacturing and constrained economic growth.
Five prisoners from the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, are to be released to the Kazakhstan government, the Defense Department said. They will be released as part of an effort by President Obama to speed transfers and close the facility.
The dollar headed for its best year since at least 2005 amid speculation the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates next year as policy makers in Europe and Japan ease further.
The number of arrests in U.K. terrorism probes soared by 40 percent this year as police grappled with growing numbers of British citizens traveling to war-torn Syria to work on behalf of Islamic militants.
The number of Americans dying from cancer has continued to fall since peaking in 1991, averting 1.5 million deaths that otherwise would have stemmed from one of the most feared diseases in the world.
Andy Warhol was the top-selling artist at auction in the past year as increased competition for the most-expensive segment of the market drove global art sales higher. Collectors bought 1,295 works by the deceased artist totaling $653.2 million.
AP Top Stories
Radar data being examined by investigators appeared to show that AirAsia Flight QZ8501 made an “unbelievably” steep climb before it crashed, possibly pushing it beyond the Airbus A320’s limits, said a source familiar with the probe’s initial findings.
A woman was accidentally shot and killed at a Walmart store in northern Idaho on Tuesday when her 2-year-old son pulled a loaded handgun from her purse that then went off.
A New Hampshire man walked into his wife’s hospital room early Tuesday, fatally shot her then killed himself, a murder-suicide that he foretold in a candid and emotional Facebook posting to friends and family.
Upper Darby, Pa. – A man who had posted an online video threatening to kill police and FBI agents tried to use his car to run down officers seeking to arrest him on Tuesday so, fearing for their lives, they shot and killed him, authorities said.
As epidemic flu spreads across the United States, with 15 child deaths reported in nine states so far this year, federal health officials said on Tuesday they could not yet predict the severity of the current season.
Flash floods and landslides triggered by Tropical Storm Jangmi left at least 31 people dead and seven missing in the Philippines, including in areas still recovering from last year’s Typhoon Haiyan.
The leaders of two rural vigilante groups and 35 of their members have surrendered to authorities following a clash that left 11 dead in the western state of Michoacan, Mexico.
BBC
The first two bodies from the AirAsia Flight QZ8501 crash off Borneo arrived back in the Indonesian city of Surabaya, where relatives are waiting.
Arrests in New York City are down 66% since two officers were killed on duty, but police unions deny ordering a work slowdown as a protest.
The Venezuelan economy is now officially in recession after the central bank released figures showing that it has been shrinking all year.
Pakistan hanged a man who plotted to assassinate Pervez Musharraf, the seventh execution since a moratorium was lifted.
Cars, bikes and consumer goods are set to get more expensive in India as the government is to withdraw tax breaks in the new year, reports said.
A suicide bombing in Yemen’s southern city of Ibb, targeting a Houthi religious celebration, has killed at least 33 people, medical sources said.
WND
Guantanamo Navy Base, Cuba. – The base with the most expensive prison on earth is getting one of the world’s priciest schools – a $65 million building with classroom space for, at most, 275 kindergarten through high school students.
A network of underground tunnels and bunkers used by the Nazis to develop an atomic bomb has been discovered in Austria by a filmmaker.
A case of red measles, also known as Rubeola, was diagnosed earlier this week in Moorseville, North Carolina — worrying health officials and highlighting the renewed threat of measles in this country.
Leaked NSA Documents Reveal The Best Way To Stay Anonymous Online
The best way to stay anonymous online has been to use Tor, a special kind of web browser developed to help US government employees hide their tracks online.
But if you want to be properly anonymous, you need a combination of extra services and websites on top of Tor to avoid detection. Plenty of online guides offer advice on the subject, but it’s always been hit and miss.
Now, leaked NSA documents provide a big clue on how to remain hidden. They show that the agency has trouble breaking certain methods of encryption.
Der Spiegel published a collection of documents that detail what systems the NSA has troubling decrypting. Previous documents have focused mainly on what the NSA is good at, not what it finds difficult.
The documents reveal that the NSA ranks targets according to how difficult they are to decrypt. There are five internal levels: One to five. Level one is known as “trivial,” meaning it’s pretty easy for the NSA to track targets or decrypt messages. But level five is “catastrophic,” which essentially means that the NSA can’t break the encryption.
Also:
Gerald Celente 2015 Forecast: Manipulation, Depression and War
Celente explains, “It’s the grand manipulation of the markets and the news, and it just keeps spreading. There is manipulation of the gold markets, and we know there is manipulation in the Forex market; we are not making this up.”
“We are talking about $5.3 trillion a day. The markets are rigged. Kramer came out and said the stock market was rigged. We know that the LIBOR market is rigged. That’s the interest rate market”
These are the top 10 threats facing America in 2015
“We definitely cannot forget about a major problem in 2015 that we’re 100% going to be dealing with, the border—still not secured, and given the administration’s policy, given the executive amnesty, it’s very likely to get worse, isn’t it? You see, many people fear America’s weakened borders means an increased likelihood of some kind of attack as well,” Buck said.
ObamaCare’s Nightmarish 2014 – Malkin
By Michele Malkin
What surprises are in store for you in the new year?
There’s no candy coating the truth: Obamacare has had a very terrible, horrible, crappy, none-too-happy year. What it really means is that the victims of Obamacare — taxpayers, health care consumers, health care providers, employers and employees — have had a hellish, nightmarish 2014.
Answers in Genesis Sets Up Religious Freedom, ‘Cross of Christ’ Video Billboard Next to Famous New Year’s Eve Ball Drop in NY Times Square
The apologetics ministry Answers in Genesis is hoping that, in addition to millions of people witnessing the famous ball dropping in Times Square on New Year’s Eve, multitudes will also see its video billboard displayed nearby with a cross and reminder to Americans of the “religious freedoms they enjoy.”
“I am thrilled that the Cross of Christ will be seen in the most-watched place in the world on this day,” Ken Ham, AiG president, stated.
Faith and values in 2014: 10 telling numbers
Scores of studies and surveys in 2014 revealed myriad, quirky ways we live out our faith and values. Here are 10 telling numbers about religion and society that caught our eye. (Grossman, Christianity Today)
Biblical Archaeology’s Top Ten Discoveries of 2014
A flurry of year-end announcements provided some late-breaking additions to the list of archaeological discoveries made public in 2014. (Govier, Christianity Today)
Billy Graham makes Most Admired list for 58th time
For a record 58th time, Charlotte-born evangelist Billy Graham has made the Gallup Poll’s annual list of the men Americans most admire. (Funk, The Charlotte Observer)
Barna Update | Year in Review: Top 10 Findings of 2014
December 29, 2014 – Every December, Barna Group compiles its top findings and trends from research conducted in the past year. From legalizing marijuana to increasing secularization trends to America’s complicated relationship with sports—2014 was an interesting year.
Lutheran Church And Vatican Announce ‘Common Liturgical Material’ Partnership
Lutheran World Federation and the Vatican Announce “2017 – Together on the Way”
“And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.” Revelation 18:4
Pope Francis has issued the order to bring all the world’s religions into the Vatican tent, and this front-burner priority is being accomplished at a record pace. Emergent church leaders like Rick Warren, who says that Francis is “our Pope”, and prosperity “preacher” Joel Osteen have been on-board since last year after private meetings with the Pope. But this latest coupe is also a swipe against the very heart of the Protestant Reformation as well.
Rev. Martin Junge, General Secretary of The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) says relations between the Lutheran and Catholic churches have reached an epoch-making turning-point.
Speaking during a panel discussion, held 18 December, in the Lutheran church in Rome, Junge emphasized that the relationship between Lutherans and Catholics was being transformed “from conflict to communion.” Precisely in a world “in which religion and faith are regularly portrayed and perceived as trouble makers,” he said it was a phenomenal testimony that the Lutheran and Roman Catholic churches continued to move “towards a profound communion that frees us to serve God and the world.” source -LWF
The One World Religion is be assembled as we watch, and all the key players will soon be in place for the time of the Great Tribulation when it will be in full bloom. Aren’t you glad that those of us who are saved get out of here in the Rapture before that time starts?
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Abortion Is America’s Shameful Silent Holocaust (VIDEO)
by NTEB Feature Story Contributor Geri Ungurean
In 2009, Planned Parenthood gave the Margaret Sanger award to Hillary Clinton. She was honored for all of her hard work to ensure that abortion would remain available upon demand by young women across America.
“Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” (Isaiah 5:20)
To Clinton, this was an honor. To those of us who believe in the sanctity of life, it was an indictment against Hillary Clinton, exposing her as the champion for murdering innocent babies in their mother’s wombs. We shudder when we hear this. Those in the other camp, consider it a badge of honor.
So, who was Margaret Sanger? Here is a quote by her:
“Like the advocates of Birth Control, the eugenists, for instance, are seeking to assist the race toward the elimination of the unfit.”1 These are the words of a woman who is heralded by women’s rights groups worldwide. These are the words of Margaret Sanger, the mother of Planned Parenthood, whose beliefs were firmly rooted in the destructive pseudo-science of Negative Eugenics, a social movement that believed in selective breeding to better the human race by preventing the reproduction of the ‘unfit’.2 Professionally, Sanger was a nurse who testified before the U.S. Senate in 1916 to call for the formation of the Population Congress that would seek to employ Negative Eugenics to separate humanity. Drastically limiting immigration of those considered ‘unfit’ was a mainstay of Sanger and her fellow eugenists. Their draconian proposals of forced segregation, for American citizens, were commonly held views among these ‘progressives’ who sought to achieve a superior and more intelligent race. [1] source
Margaret Sanger would probably consider the following to be her most important work. It was called the “Negro Project.” It was initiated in 1939, and was a collaborative effort between the American Birth Control League, and Sanger’s Birth Control Clinical Research Bureau.
Sanger recruited some very reluctant, but extremely well known black ministers, to assist her in this endeavor. The black ministers were strategically chosen to dispel objections to her views on birth control from a moral or religious standpoint. The fact that they were black was by no means coincidental. It was calculated move by Sanger for this reason; Sanger said “We do not want word to go out that we want to exterminate the Negro population and the minister is the man who can straighten out that idea if it ever occurs to any of their more rebellious members.” [2] source
Eugenicists were open about the goal of their initiative:
“…those of us who believe that the benefits of Planned Parenthood as a vital key to the elimination of human waste must reach the entire population, also believe that a double effort must be made to extend this program as a public health measure to Negroes who need is proportionately greater.”
– Dr. Dorothy Ferebee (black physician serving as the Chairman of the Family Planning Committee of the National Council of Negro Women) at 1942 annual Planned Parenthood meeting. (One should note that, today, both Planned Parenthood and the National Council of Negro Women are radically pro-abortion.)
Abortion is Today’s Birth Control
It is alarming to know that almost 40% of births in the black community end in induced abortion. Black women access abortion clinics at 5 times the rate of white women. Planned Parenthood has purposely built a disproportionate number of abortion clinics in heavily black populated areas in America. This is calculated and despicable.
Abortions among black women make up 36% of all abortions. Considering that the black community makes up only about 13% of the entire population of America, that makes the 36% of black abortions disproportionately high. This is NOT an accident. This was the plan from the beginning in the world of eugenics.
Maafa21
My husband and I watched an eye-opening and shocking documentary a few years ago. The name of it is Maafa21. If you have not seen this, you must.
Maafa21 exposes the inhumane treatment of blacks, once they were freed from slavery. Forced sterilization was commonplace. Margaret Sanger once bragged that she met regularly with the KKK. With eugenics in place, many more blacks lives would be snuffed out that any amount of lynchings by the Klan. Now, with abortion clinics being built in predominately low income black communities, their evil plan has come to fruition.
Watch Maafa21 trailer here:
Planned Parenthood
I think there is no institution in American more evil than Planned Parenthood. They are immoral, deceitful, calculating and I certainly could go on and on. They insist that their primary function in society is the “health” of women. They go on to say that the bulk of their money comes from the normal check ups of women. This is NOT true.
Roe Vs Wade, a SCOTUS case decision was responsible for making abortion on demand possible in 1973. Since then, over 53 million babies have been discarded as trash. I believe that this in demonically inspired. The blood thirsty crowds of women, marching through cities with signs that are too crass and despicable for this article, seem almost inhuman. That’s because Satan is behind abortion, as he is behind every reprehensible act.
Planned Parenthood makes most of their money from performing abortions. Also, I most note that there are corporations who are determined to watch the slaughter of the innocents, and donate thousands, sometimes millions to PP. Our own government funds this organization with our tax money!! Ford Foundation is one of their largest contributors.
Planned Parenthood has been caught numerous times on camera, offering abortions to underage girls. They have also neglected to divulge the names of men who have taken advantage of the young girls. PP has sections on their website, devoted to teens, telling them that being LGBT is perfectly normal. They have sections which are so incredibly filthy – teaching the kids to do perverted acts.
“Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.” – Romans 1:24-32
I remember attending a church in the early 1990’s where the pastor spoke about the evils of abortion from his pulpit. We picketed the local abortion clinics. We put hundreds of tiny crosses, blue and pink, in the front area of our church, in memory of the babies.
I wrote a letter to the editor back then, exposing abortion for the terrible evil that it is. I remember writing in that letter, that Planned Parenthood would tell the women who came in, that it wasn’t even a baby. They would say it was just a clump of cells. I continued in my letter that there would come a day when a baby further along in gestation would be aborted. Would they still use the “clump of cells” argument? Would they still say that the cells did not even resemble a baby? I knew that their goal was to kill any baby who might be inconvenient for the mother or the father.
Now, pro death groups are pushing for “post birth” abortions! God please help us!
Dr. Kermit Gosnell, an abortionist, was sentence to jail for his atrocities. It was found that in many cases, that Dr. Gosnell would kill the aborted baby who just would not die during the procedure. It was a grisly story, but it showed the world the sick and demonic world of abortion.
I want to close with something very important. If you are reading this, and you have had an abortion, I want you to know that Jesus forgives abortion. Don’t allow the devil to lie to you about this.
Come to Jesus and confess to Him what you did, and ask Him to forgive and cleanse you. He will, you know. But He would say “Go and sin no more” because He wants you to repent and agree that this is sin. Perhaps one day, you will be able to help a young woman who is contemplating abortion. God may use you in a very powerful way in someone else’s life.
“Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.” 2 Corinthians 1:3-5
MARANATHA!
Blessings in Yeshua
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Headlines of Interest
Pastor shoots employee in gunfight at Florida church
Lindsey Graham assures Netanyahu that U.S. Congress works for Israel
Senior counsel calls for Hillsong founder Brian Houston to be referred to police
Contemplative Dana Candler speaks at IHOP-KC 2014 Onething
Chuck Pierce continues to delcare vague and leaningless “prophecies”
‘I Don’t Think God Exists’ Says former Preacher Ryan Bell After Atheist Experiment
The religious cleansing of Middle East Christians
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China new nuclear JL-2 and DF-41 missiles will cover all US territory Posted: 31 Dec 2014 07:05 AM PST
The post China new nuclear JL-2 and DF-41 missiles will cover all US territory appeared first on End Time Headlines. |
| Magnitude-3.9 Earthquake Strikes Off San Pedro, Rattles Long Beach & South BayPosted: 31 Dec 2014 07:01 AM PST
The post Magnitude-3.9 Earthquake Strikes Off San Pedro, Rattles Long Beach & South Bay appeared first on End Time Headlines. |
| Mystery Object Appears Near Milky Way’s Monster Black HolePosted: 31 Dec 2014 06:57 AM PST
The post Mystery Object Appears Near Milky Way’s Monster Black Hole appeared first on End Time Headlines. |
| California Snowstorm Leaves Drivers Trapped in Their VehiclesPosted: 31 Dec 2014 06:51 AM PST
The post California Snowstorm Leaves Drivers Trapped in Their Vehicles appeared first on End Time Headlines. |
| 7 Surprising Biometric Identification MethodsPosted: 31 Dec 2014 06:47 AM PST
The post 7 Surprising Biometric Identification Methods appeared first on End Time Headlines. |
| PROPHECY WATCH – Wild Cheers for Proposed Invasion of IsraelPosted: 31 Dec 2014 06:42 AM PST
The post PROPHECY WATCH – Wild Cheers for Proposed Invasion of Israel appeared first on End Time Headlines. |
| Palestinian draft resolution fails in UN councilPosted: 31 Dec 2014 06:39 AM PST
The post Palestinian draft resolution fails in UN council appeared first on End Time Headlines. |
| Lutheran Church And Vatican Announce ‘Common Liturgical Material’ PartnershipPosted: 31 Dec 2014 06:35 AM PST
Pope Francis has issued the order to bring all the world’s religions into the Vatican tent, and this front-burner priority is being accomplished at a record pace. Emergent church leaders like Rick Warren, who says that Francis is “our Pope”, and prosperity “preacher” Joel Osteen have been on-board since last year after private meetings with the Pope. But this latest coupe is also a swipe against the very heart of the Protestant Reformation as well. More The post Lutheran Church And Vatican Announce ‘Common Liturgical Material’ Partnership appeared first on End Time Headlines. |
| GOG N MAGOG WATCH – Russia threatens to change Iran stance over US sanctionsPosted: 31 Dec 2014 06:30 AM PST
The post GOG N MAGOG WATCH – Russia threatens to change Iran stance over US sanctions appeared first on End Time Headlines. |
| Oil could fall to $20 a Barrel over the coming yearPosted: 31 Dec 2014 06:28 AM PST
The post Oil could fall to $20 a Barrel over the coming year appeared first on End Time Headlines. |
Are Your People Real? 6 Marks of a Real Christian Inspired by Jonathan Edwards
What Is a Real Christian?
“In his book Religious Affection, Edwards answered his question by outlining twelve marks of genuine Christian faith. Inspired by this description, [Todd] Wilson aims to provide the contemporary church with a similar description of what it means to be ‘real’.”
Pope Francis to issue climate change call to arms for world’s Catholics in measures that will anger Vatican conservatives
by Marsha West
According to The Independent:
Pope Francis has declared it his mission to take on climate change in 2015, through a series of speeches, summit appearances and a rare call-to-arms for the world’s Catholics.
According to Bishop Marcelo Sorondo, the chancellor of the Vatican’s Pontifical Academy of Sciences, the Pope wants to have a direct influence on the vital 2015 UN climate conference in Paris, the culmination of decades of negotiations that will help determine the planet’s future.
“The idea is to convene a meeting with leaders of the main religions to make all people aware of the state of our climate and the tragedy of social exclusion,” Sorondo was quoted as saying in the Observer.
A Christmas Gift from the Mainstream Media: Newsweek Takes a Desperate Swipe at the Integrity of the Bible (Part 2)
By way of conclusion, it is hard to know what to say about an article like Eichenwald’s. In many ways, it embodies all the misrepresentations, caricatures, and misunderstandings of the average non-Christian in the world today. It is short on the facts, it has little understanding of interpretive principles, it assumes that it knows more about theology than it really does, and it pours out scorn and contempt on the average believer.
No Kingdom Builders or Co-Redeemers Required
Fortunately, God’s never asked us to be world-changers. Instead, he encourages us to enter into Jesus’ rest, and be thankful for what has been provided today. To trust him with the needs of tomorrow. And to do the work he calls us to—which, yes, does include social action—not in order to build our inheritance, but as those secure in the goodness of its Builder.
Is Evolution Biblically Acceptable? The Question of Genesis 1
One of the grand motives, I believe, for accommodating evolution in Genesis 1 is so that evangelicals can stop arguing about science and start teaching about Jesus. But do we fail to note that Jesus’ story begins in Genesis 1? “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God…” (Jn. 1:1). In fact, when the interpretive approach used to neutralize Genesis 1 as history is necessarily extended by evolution, then the reason for Jesus’ coming is lost? After all, without a biblical Adam as the first man and covenant head of the human race, then what is the problem for which the Son of God came?
Given what World Magazine has called a “major, well-funded push” to promote the acceptance of evolution among evangelical Christians, the case must be persuasively made against the compatibility of evolution and the Bible. In answer to this pro-evolutionary stance, I am one of those Bible teachers who believe that the implications of evolution involve sweeping changes to the Christian faith and life.
Douglas Bond hit it out of the park in Grace Works!
In Part 6 of Grace Works!, RE Bond then deals with current errors creeping into the conservative Reformed denominations, including the mythical “objective covenant”, confusion on the sacraments, and final justification. He does so without naming names, although anyone who has been paying attention to the last 20 years or so can easily fill in the blanks. RE Bond clearly demonstrates the corrosiveness of those who take an oath that the Confessions contain the doctrines taught in Holy Scripture, yet write and teach against those same Confessions and doctrines. He also cautions against the “fine print,” where officers espouse orthodoxy but then caveat with fine print that guts the orthodox statement.
Bottom line up front: Take a little of your Christmas cash and buy this book, then read it cover to cover. The gospel is under attack on many fronts, even from those with advanced degrees who claim to be Reformed. Mr. Bond sets record straight in the modern battle over the gospel of grace.
After Year Of Atheism, Former Pastor: ‘I Don’t Think God Exists’
Bell says he still feels like atheism is “an awkward fit,” and also feels uncomfortable around his former Christian friends who are adjusting to his new views. One of his biggest lessons from the year is “that people very much value certainty and knowing and are uncomfortable saying that they don’t know.”
How Movies Embraced Hinduism (without you even noticing)
But before Nolan, before the Matrix, before, even, the iPad, there was Star Wars. It was the film, with its cosmic scale and theme of a transcendental “force” that confers superhuman powers on those who can align with it, which opened up mainstream American culture to Indian esotericism more than anything else. George Lucas was influenced by the mythologist Joseph Campbell, whose work A Hero With a Thousand Faces traced the narrative arc common to all mythic heroes that Luke Skywalker would embark upon.
What Is Your Bible-Reading Plan for 2015?
Tis the season to think about next season. As 2014 draws to a close, our thoughts begin to turn to the new year. Whenever I consider a new year, I think of how I will approach another 365 daily devotions. At this point I am still undecided. There are so many good ways to read the Bible and each one seems better than the last. While I think and pray about it, I thought I’d share what I have found so far.
Here is a round-up of some of the ways you can read the Bible in 2015.
CultureWatch: On Being Deserted
by Bill Muehlenberg
Have you ever been abandoned by friends? Have you ever had brothers or sisters in Christ desert you? Have you ever had close associates turn on you? Have you ever been dumped by those you trusted and depended on? If so, you are not alone. It happens to all of us.
8 Happinesses Promised By Jesus
In other words there is no happiness in being self-confident, self-accepting, self-assertive, self-righteous, self-seeking, self-centered, or self-protective. There’s only happiness in turning from self to the Savior by the grace and power of the Holy Spirit.
“Take warning this day, that you never will be happy till you are converted. You might as well expect to feel the sun shine on your face when you turn your back to it, as to feel happy when you turn your back on God and on Christ.” J C Ryle
When Jesus promised happiness eight times at the beginning of His Sermon on the Mount, He did not promise it to everybody. Rather, He identified the marks, the characteristics of those who will experience this blessedness.
Your God is Too Small!
Grand Old Man. Some Sunday School children were once asked to write down their ideas as to what God was like. Most of the answers said something like this: ‘God is a very old gentleman living in heaven.’ Children often view their superiors and “old,” which carries over into a person’s conception of God. People use old and archaic language or Victorian expressions to speak about and pray to God, because he seems old to them.
In the first half of his excellent book published in 1955, Your God is Too Small, J. B. Phillips exposes “the inadequate conceptions of God which still linger unconsciously in many minds, and which prevent our catching a glimpse of the true God.” Or, to put it in the form of a question, “What are some faulty views of God?” Here are some of Phillips’ (edited/summarized) explanations of inadequate conceptions of God.
Blogs
47 Sermons for a New Year
Dr. Ray Pritchard
Use these sermons as part of your own sermon preparation.
Who Gets to Say What the Bible Says? (A Response to Newsweek’s Cover Article on the Bible)
Alex Crain
Those who use the Bible to persuade others actually put themselves in a dangerous place.
The Year (2014) in Review
Dr. James Emery White
This is the time to recap the year that was. There are a number of ways to do it, all of which are interesting. But how do you really get a twelve-month snapshot of a year like 2014?
Sabbath
Ann Spangler
Sabbath was not a time for dwelling on all that was wrong in the world but for creating a sense of celebration and restfulness, a taste of the life to come.
The Hobbit and the Video-Gamization of Movies
Trevin Wax
Much of The Hobbit was about as enjoyable as watching someone else play a high-definition video game. In other words, not very.
#PoliceLivesMatter
David Murray
Here’s something that, over time, would do more to re-unite the divided states of America than any amount of legislation.
Brokenness Precedes Usefulness
Tullian Tchividjian
In the twenty years I’ve been preaching, this was the most emotional I’ve ever been.
Resources to Help You Defend the Virgin Conception (Free Bible Insert)
J. Warner Wallace
The virgin conception of Jesus is important to defend, especially during this season of the year.
Featured Video Ministry from
LightSource.com
Where We’ve Been and Where We’re Going
Thomas Road Baptist Church
Jonathan Falwell
More ministry video at LightSource.com
Our Time is Short
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I ran across this article recently and I thought it contained some excellent advice. Consequently, I am sharing some of it with you. John MacArthur offers us seven principles for making good decisions in the New Year.
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