A Word From Ben Stein that You Should Hear

Apparently the White House referred to Christmas Trees as Holiday Trees for the first time this year which prompted CBS presenter, Ben Stein, to present this piece which I would like to share with you. I think it applies just as much to many countries as it does to America …

The following was written by Ben Stein and recited by him on CBS Sunday Morning Commentary.

My confession:

I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees, Christmas trees. I don’t feel threatened. I don’t feel discriminated against. That’s what they are, Christmas trees.

It doesn’t bother me a bit when people say, ‘Merry Christmas’ to me. I don’t think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn’t bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu . If people want a creche, it’s just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.

I don’t like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don’t think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from, that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can’t find it in the Constitution and I don’t like it being shoved down my throat.

Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship celebrities and we aren’t allowed to worship God ? I guess that’s a sign that I’m getting old, too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering where these celebrities came from and where the America we knew went to.

In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different: This is not intended to be a joke; it’s not funny, it’s intended to get you thinking.

Billy Graham’s daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her ‘How could God let something like this happen?’ (regarding Hurricane Katrina).. Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said, ‘I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we’ve been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?’

In light of recent events… terrorists attack, school shootings, etc. I think it started when Madeleine Murray O’Hare (she was murdered, her body found a few years ago) complained she didn’t want prayer in our schools, and we said OK. Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school. The Bible says thou shalt not kill; thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said OK.

Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn’t spank our children when they misbehave, because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr. Spock’s son committed suicide). We said an expert should know what he’s talking about. And we said okay.

Now we’re asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don’t know right from wrong, and why it doesn’t bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves.

Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with ‘WE REAP WHAT WE SOW.’

Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world’s going to hell. Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says. Funny how you can send ‘jokes’ through e-mail and they spread like wildfire, but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing. Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace.

Are you laughing yet?

Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you’re not sure what they believe, or what they will think of you for sending it.

Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us than what God thinks of us.

Pass it on if you think it has merit.

If not, then just discard it…. no one will know you did. But, if you discard this thought process, don’t sit back and complain about what bad shape the world is in.

My Best Regards, Honestly and respectfully,

Ben Stein

Some Quick Advice from the Proverb Writer

"A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger." - Proverbs 15:1
Arguments are like dancing: it takes two to tango. Soft words turn the hostility dance into the one man Macarena which doesn’t look good on anybody. 

"The tongue of the wise uses knowledge rightly but the mouth of fools pours forth foolishness." - Proverbs 15:2
Knowledge is only as good as the head that contains it.

Vengeance is God's

Provided by Glory to God for All Things

If you’ve ever been wronged before, you understand the overwhelming urge to retaliate. I mean, “getting even” is only fair, right? This may be the way the world thinks but Christians are called to a higher standard. Jesus admonishes us instead to “turn the other cheek” (Matt. 5:39). Vengeance is God’s responsibility and it is not our place to do it for him.

In 1 Samuel 25, a foolish man named Nabal greatly wrongs King David, an act to which the king’s immediate response was a thirst for vengeance. David was so mad, he swears to kill every last male of Nabal’s household. However, before David could carry out the deed, Nabal’s gracious wife comes seeking forgiveness, offers what was rightfully David’s, and pacifies the king’s wrath. Once David realizes his error, he blesses Abigail (Nabal’s wife) for “keeping [him] from bloodshed and from avenging [himself] by [his] own hand” (v 33). He even goes on later in the story to admit that such retaliation would have been “evil” (v39). What’s the moral of the story? Vengeance is not ours to deal.

But the story doesn’t stop there. Verse 38 tells us that “about ten days later, the LORD struck Nabal and he died.” God did not fail his part. Vengeance is not ours but there’s more: it does belong to God. If you’ve ever felt before like life just isn’t fair, that the wicked win, or that crime pays, just remember “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord” (Rom. 12:19). God loves his people too much to let their oppressors have lasting victory. We will all get what’s coming to us one way or another, so continue to walk the narrow path and leave the vengeance up to God.

Courage is..

Check out this inspiring video from Bluefish TV!

The Orderly Assembly of the Immersed

Provided by the Anger Coach Blog

You might be wondering right now what an article entitled “The Orderly Assembly of the Immersed” could possibly be about, so let me go ahead and tell you, I’m probably not going where you think I’m going (if you have any idea at all). I want to speak briefly with you about the importance of priority and emphasis when it comes to the expression of biblical ideals.

Let me explain. One time I went to this fair sized congregation consisting primarily of elderly members. Much as expected, they were very traditional in the way they “did church.” Most of the prayers were made up of “thee/thou” language, the preacher usually quoted from the KJV, all the songs sung were composed at least by the 1950’s, and everyone sat quietly in their front facing pew as long as someone was behind the pulpit. Now there is nothing biblically wrong with any of this (I would argue that for the sake of being culturally relevant and thus missionally engaged, that some changes would be beneficial -1 Cor. 9:22) but so far, no harm, no foul.

What I do hold against this congregation and others like it is there improper emphases. During the Sunday morning worship, every prayer that I heard spoken included an admonition to the Father that the service be “orderly.” Every one! I didn’t know that Paul’s single contextualized command to an extremely disorderly church (1 Cor. 14:40) deserved so much priority in this 21st Century congregation! What’s more, is that many churches like this carry out the “orderly” in their services often times at the expense of the heartfelt, the Spirit-led, and the true. They’ve blown this ideal out of proportion and given it an over exaggerated preeminence which overwhelms the more important elements of devotion to God. Yes, our worship should be orderly. However when I walk into an assembly of Christian worship that’s already got an atmosphere set for focus on Christ (aka orderly), I don’t need to hear a prayer asking God for an orderly service. What would do me good is to hear a prayer asking God for His Spirit to act on hearts and for members to be heartfeltly engaged in praising the Master.


The point I’m making is that first things should be first. The less important should not be emphasized over the central otherwise you run the risk of wrapping your heart around the secondary instead of placing your heart on what’s truly important. Or as Jesus said, “Where your treasure (time, talent, money…might I add emphasis) is, there your heart will be also” (Luke 12:34). Not only that but most assuredly you will give others the wrong impression about what it means to be a Christian, which leads me to the “immersed” part of this article…

Have you ever overemphasized baptism, so that faith and Jesus and grace fade into the background? Yes, baptism is an essential part of it, but once again we can’t neglect the more important matters of salvation by giving baptism more lip-service than Jesus. Have you “neglected the weightier matter of the law” (Matt.23:23) in your over emphasis of the less important?

Sermon on the Mount

(My Personal Translation/Expansion)

Matthew 5

Provided by the Episcopal Chaplaincy at Harvard

3 Fulfilled are those who don’t put all their spiritual stock in themselves.  They understand that they aren’t perfect and rely on God’s grace to write their name on the heavenly role.

4 Fulfilled are those whose sin causes them great sorrow.  Who look at their sin with tears in their eyes, sorry for what they’ve done, for the God who wipes away all tears will personally soothe their heartache.

5 Fulfilled are those who don’t have to always be on top.  By no means are they weak but they don’t have to be in the limelight to know their worth.  They might not hold positions of earthly power in the here and now but they will receive their reward when this earth is consumed and replaced with the new heavens and the new earth.

6 Fulfilled are those who long for righteousness as a fat kid yearns for cake.  I promise that their hunger for a clean slate will be satisfied in Me.

God's Mysterious Ways

My wife Leah tells me all the time (because she’s a forgetful storyteller…) about a particular game that her father would play with her and her sister when they were young. The setting for the game had to be just perfect. They had to be driving and it had to be raining outside. And then at just the right moment, perhaps the stars were aligned just right or something like that, Dad would stop the rain. That’s right, one moment the water drops were pounding on the windshield and the next they simply weren’t. It only lasted for a second but Dad’s power was undeniable. Of course, the two young girls were just absolutely astonished and perplexed as to how their father was able to control even the elements of nature.

Provided by AdjunctNation.com

Turns out, years later his secret wasn’t as mystifying as they had first thought when they were younger. All it took was Dad being able to spot a bridge ahead and then to play it up when they passed under. No wonder it only lasted a moment!…

I think this story might, in some ways, parallel the manner in which God acts on our lives. Often, we see the work of His hands, be it in our marriage, or our jobs, or any other area of life, and at the moment of his working we’re astonished or perplexed. We don’t understand how God did what He did or more likely, we don’t understand WHY God did what He did. We can’t understand why God allowed something to happen. Maybe it’s with a job denial. Perhaps you lost a child. Or maybe recent events are forcing you into an undesirable position. All such situations solicit the desperate question “why?” It’s this not-knowing which we often times allow to cause us a myriad of anxiety. Instead of just trusting in God and putting our faith in Him, we spend time and energy stressfully trying to understand things that we weren’t really meant to understand in the first place.

So perhaps instead of always trying to “figure God out” and put a finger on exactly what he’s cooking up in our lives, perhaps our response really should be nothing but pure trust. And who knows maybe years later, in hindsight, you might find that the answer was as simple as going under a bridge. He knows what He’s doing.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” -Proverbs 3:5

The Holiness of God

In Jewish literature when a writer wanted to emphasize a particular point he would use repetition. This is done using repetitive ideas such as in Proverbs 4:14 which states, “Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of the evil.” Other times they would repeat simple key words such as in John 5:25 when Jesus says, “Truly, truly I say to you…” In this passage Jesus was trying to emphasize the great depth of truth that his forthcoming words were going to hold and thus, was calling his hearers to pay close attention.


In like manner, we read in Revelation 4:8 of heavenly beings singing to the Lord and in their song they ascribe to Him the incredible attribute of being “Holy, Holy, Holy.” They call God “Holy” not just once. Not even twice. But three times. God is “Holy, Holy, Holy.” He is holy to the utmost. No other attribute of God is mentioned in the scriptures in such a superlative, emphasized way.

Holiness, therefore, is one of (if not the) primary defining attribute(s) of God. He is perfect in all his ways. He is without stain, without reproach. He is the saw that never dulls. He is the computer which never crashes. He is the seed that always blooms. He is the car which always starts (and never dirties, or needs an oil change, or blows a tire).

Having such a Holy God should absolutely floor us. It should move us to reverence and awe. Just as when Moses stood in God’s presence at the burning bush, he hid his face and removed his sandals because of the presence of God’s holiness, we too should “tremble before him” (Ps. 96:9). With this understanding of God’s holiness at the forefront of our minds, we should never doubt his majesty, his authority, and his supremacy all which flow from His absolute holiness.

So too, standing in the light of His holiness should lay bear our souls allowing us to gaze upon our own inadequacy. Ever feel like you’ve got it all figured out? Ever feel like you can do no wrong? Step for just a moment into the realm of God’s holiness and by comparison you will see just how much you need Him. Just as Isaiah, upon seeing God, exclaims in Isaiah 6:5 “Woe is me! I am lost…” so too we can see our lack through God’s eyes.
 
Most importantly, however, when we stand before the throne of that Most Holy God we come to know his love for us. For he says, “I see your sin. How can I not?” (Heb. 4:12). And then upon our request and obedience, He steps down from his throne, opens the door to our heart, enters in and shuts the door behind him, throwing away the key. Then, at that very moment, His holiness shines through every window of our being, completely overcoming every blemish with the blinding light of a Most Holy God (Heb. 8:10-12).

Simple Changes with Big Results

In graphic design, even some of the smallest and simplest adjustments can add a world of value to a project.  A change in font, a little extra padding, or a simple color change, are just a few examples.  So too, I think that many times we see the canvas of our lives as in need of some changes.  Instead of getting stressed out and thinking you have to scrap it all and start over from scratch, try making some simple adjustments.  Perhaps all that’s needed is a little more kindness or maybe a little more time spent with the family is in order.  It could be that an extra 15 minutes of prayer a day could make a world of difference… or any other combination of things.  Fine-tuning some of the little things could be the difference between night and day.  So, just as a designer uses his experience and the input of others (along with a little experimentation and creativity) to revitalize a dead project, in the same way, you too can simply, yet radically alter the quality of your life.

One simple change that you might be needing right now is to paint your life with the blood of Christ.  His blood can cover any and all imperfections and turn you into exactly what you were meant to be.  This step is the first and most essential to making your life into a masterpiece.

"the blood of Christ... purifies our conscience from dead works to serve the living God."  (Hebrews 9:14)

God is in the Rain

Provided by
Southern City Mysteries 

This past Monday, as I was putting the bulletin together, I heard the pitter pat of rain outside the office window. Resisting its restful lullaby I thought to myself about a quote from a movie I once saw. “God is in the rain.” For some reason or another, these words have stuck with me over the years. I’m not sure exactly what their intended meaning was in the context of the movie, but for me the sleek elegance of the phrase was enough. Now, though, as I hear the sound of the rain outside my window, they suddenly take on meaning for me…almost as if God were speaking through each drop. 

Yahweh

provided by
http://www.yahwehsword.org/

(copied from Student Soul)

The most personal name that God gives himself in the Old Testament is Yahweh. Hebrew was originally written as consonants with no vowels and this name appears as the equivalent of YHWH. As vowels were inserted and it was passed down through other languages to English, it evolved into the word Jehovah. The word Yahweh, however, is an attempt to more closely represent the original Hebrew. As the Jewish tradition of never pronouncing this personal name of God developed, the word Adonai (“Lord”) began to be read in its place at public readings of the scriptures. This tradition continues today in most English translations, where Yahweh is translated as “LORD” (with the first letter capitalized and the rest in small caps).

Yahweh is the name that God emphasizes in his covenant with Moses and the Israelite people. God tells Moses, “I am the LORD Yahweh. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty El-Shaddai, but by my name the LORD Yahweh I did not make myself known to them” (Exodus 6:3). The name Yahweh may or may not have been known earlier than Moses, but here God points out that in his earlier covenant, the Patriarchs related to the one true God known by the title of God Almighty. This covenant with Moses and the Israelites involves a closer relationship with his people than before. Yahwehnow begins to dwell among and accompany his people as they travel and as they later conquer and settle in the Promised Land.

Yahweh is the name God uses when he comes to dwell among his people.

A Little Harsh Honesty

I was feeding my son Drannan one night last week while the t.v. was playing in the background. It just so happened at the time that “The Biggest Loser” was on and while I’m all up for watching other people work out as I enjoy the comforts of the living room, I admit I’ve rarely seen the show. What surprised me the most was the verbal beating that some of these people took. But even more surprising was the fact that often times it was a little harsh honesty that actually helped them accomplish their weight goals. Some times we need a little harsh spiritual honesty. Are you giving your all for Jesus? If the answer is no, here’s the harsh honest truth: SOMETHING’S GOTTA CHANGE.

Giving God the Credit

How often do you find yourself doing a good deed for someone and then, as your walking away, you realize that the one you helped probably doesn't even know your a Christian?  The reason that they are oblivious to this fact is because you have forgotten to give God the credit that is due Him.  Let's talk just a couple of minutes today about this subject because I think it can be a very practical one. 

In Chapter 12 of Exodus we see God carrying out the last miraculous plague on Egypt (the death of the first-born) and we find Moses leading the people out. Then listen to Moses’ words in verse 3 of the next chapter, “Remember this day in which you came out from Egypt, out of the house of slavery, for by a strong hand the LORD brought you out from this place.” And then again within just the next few verses He emphasizes the LORD and not himself a couple of more times. Verse 8, “You shall tell your son on that day, ‘it is because what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.’” And then again in verse 9, “For with a strong hand the Lord has brought you out of Egypt.”