Chaplain Mick's Blog: July 2007

Monday, July 30, 2007

Obama Wisdom - Infanticide

Infanticide: the killing of an infant; one who kills an infant. (m-w.com)

“What difference does two or three minutes inside or outside the womb really make? One’s ‘late-term’ and the other’s ‘postpartum’.”
- Senator Barack Obama on his support of infanticide. (Rush)

How sick America is when, “in this humane society”, politicians running for the top leadership office support the “willful, intentional termination of life; decisions and actions that invade the sanctity of a woman's womb and literally kill another human being – a helpless, unknowing infant.” (Boone)
“...the greatest destroyer of love and peace is abortion.”
- Mother Theresa

“Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him.”
- God, Psalm 127:3

“. . . don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”
- Jesus, Matthew 10:31

“When it comes to moral legislation, is the life of a snail darter worth more or less than the life of an infant in the womb? Is the execution of a murderer more or less reprehensible than the death of his innocent victim?

. . . It has never been more succinctly stated than it was when the nation began with the assertion that we are all ‘created equal and endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights.’ Though the result of this premise is a form of government that respects the consent of the governed, the justice claimed for that form of government depends on our acknowledgement of and respect for the authority of the Creator — an authority beyond our consent, beyond our rights, and beyond our will. If in our actions, our laws and policies, we deny that authority, then we deny the basis for our claim to equal rights and self-government.”
- Alan Keyes, Moral Legislation

Click to Learn More About Alan Keyes!

Resources:

- Read this inspiring article “30 seconds to save a life” by Pat Boone

Works Cited:

Boone, Pat. “30 seconds to save a life” WorldNetDaily. July 28, 2007.

Keyes, Alan. “Moral Legislation” Renew America.

Rush, Erik. “Obama Endorses Postpartum Abortion!” The Conservative Voice. July 25, 2007

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barack obama

Testing God's Will

Is it God or is it me?

How do we know if the answers to our prayers are God’s or our own, especially if we went into prayer already knowing the answer we wanted?

Mark Cahill in Don’t Pray, Obey explains, “What would be one way to test what we feel we have heard from God? The greatest way is to make sure any answer that God gives you is not contrary to His word. It will line up with what the Bible says. That is the best way to tell.”

Well, how can we know whether it is contrary to His Word or not if we don’t know His Word? We can’t, and that is why it is so important to read and know God’s Word.

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Works Cited:

Cahill, Mark. “Don’t Pray, Obey” Christian Worldview Network. 07/23/2007.

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Friday, July 27, 2007

Weekly ReCap – 07-27-2007 - Eternity

Every note I started to write for this weeks recap turned into a longer thought that will get posted next week, so I have nothing special to say today ;)

The End
This is the beginning of my thoughts as I've started reading John Ortberg's new book When the game is over, it all goes back in the box"
Read more. . .
Mid-Week Devotional - Luke 9:49-50
This is a key lesson in unity of the Church. Can we get over our personal jealousies and work together for the glory of God?
Read more. . .
FCA State Qualifying Golf Scramble
Ministry Service Announcement (Peoria, Illinois)
Read more. . .
CORRECTION - Bible Challenge - Week 16
A correction to an error in week 16's reading plan.
Read more. . .
Bible Challenge 2007 - Week 17
Israel fell, in part, because “They lived according to the customs of the nations. . .” (2 Kings 17:8) Let’s keep reading God’s word so we can be armed against conforming to the culture, the customs of the nations, unless that culture honors God!
Read more. . .

Enjoy your weekend. Remember, how we spend our time this weekend will have an impact on our eternal story. Maybe forget the ‘stuff’ that we can’t take with us and spend a little extra time developing the relationships with your family and friends.

“The Talmud teaches that every person should fully repent one day before his death. When a visitor asked, ‘But how will I know when that day is?’ he was told: ‘Treat every day as if it were the day before your last.’ Arrange your life around what matters most. Starting today.”John Ortberg, When the game is over, it all goes back in the box

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Bible Challenge 2007 - Week 17

Week 17

Why Israel Fell. Reminds me of the ‘culture war’ here in this day and age. “They lived according to the customs of the nations. . .” (2 Kings 17:8)

Let’s keep reading God’s word so we can be armed against conforming to the culture, the customs of the nations, unless that culture honors God!

Sunday 1 Chronicles 10-12
Monday 1 Chronicles 13-15
Tuesday 1 Chronicles 16-18
Wednesday 1 Chronicles 19-21
Thursday 1 Chronicles 22-25
Friday 1 Chronicles 26-29
Saturday 2 Chronicles 1-3

“In his new book Culturally Incorrect; How Clashing Worldviews Affect Your Future, Pastor Rod Parsley says decades of liberalism and post-modern thinking have crippled America. It is vital, he says for Christians to have a biblical worldview.” (“Biblical worldview cited as critical to survival of Christian faith in America” by Allie Martin, OneNewsNow.com. 6/5/2007)

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

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CORRECTION - Bible Challenge - Week 16

Correction to Week 16's reading plan!

Sorry everyone. I missed an error in the BibleGateway.com reading plan.

Today's reading, Friday 7/27, is listed as 1 Chronicles 4-6. It completely skipped the first three chapters, but it didn't skip a day (to keep the reading plan to 365 days).

So, what I did was read the first six chapters. It's not that bad ;) It's mostly genealogy (I'm studying genealogy, Mom!). And that keeps us on track without any adjustments needed.

I'll keep my eyes open for errors and try to catch them sooner in the future.
Keep up the good work. I pray that as you honor God by devoting time to His Word that He would bless you and extend your sphere of influence! That His hand would guide you and that He would keep you from harm. (1 Chronicles 4:10, The Prayer of Jabez)

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

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Thursday, July 26, 2007

FCA State Qualifying Golf Scramble

Ministry Service Announcement (Peoria, Illinois):

FCA Teammates,

I hope this email finds you all doing well! God has been doing a lot of great things through FCA this summer! You will be updated on those things shortly.

The Annual FCA Golf Scramble will be held Wednesday, August 1 at Weaver Ridge Golf Club. This is our 2nd biggest fundraiser of the year and we need help in promoting the event. There is still time for teams to get signed up for the event.

Would you please pray for the turnout and support for this event, and consider passing the information on to anyone that might be interested.

Thank you and God bless!
Your Teammate in Christ,
Cole Espenschied

{ Click Here For Details of the 2007 FCA State Qualifying Golf Scramble! }

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Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Mid-Week Devotional – Luke 9:49-50

Read: Luke 9:37 – 10:24

Scripture

Luke 9:49-50

“‘Master,’ said John, ‘we saw a man driving out demons in your name and we tried to stop him, because he is not one of us.’ ‘Do not stop him,’ Jesus said, ‘for whoever is not against you is for you.’” (NIV)

“John responded, ‘Master, we saw someone driving out demons in Your name, and we tried to stop him because he does not follow us.’ ‘Don't stop him,’ Jesus told him, ‘because whoever is not against you is for you.’” (HCSB)

Observation

A hint of jealousy, “because he does not follow us.”

Application

Can God only work through one ministry, church, or movement?

Certainly we should be on guard against those that would bring dishonor to the name of God, but if they are glorifying Him in their work we should rejoice!

This is a key lesson in unity of the Church. Can we get over our personal jealousies and work together for the glory of God?

Prayer

Heavenly Father, our God. You are bigger than our personal involvements. You, Lord, are the Creator and Sustainer of all that we know. Lord I pray you would keep me mindful of this when I start to feel jealous seeing you work in areas other than my own. Lord, bring all of your saints together for your glory! In Jesus Christ’s name I pray – Amen.

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The End

Our personal stories are all going to end one day.

We don't like to talk about it much, but statistics show that 10 out of 10 of us are going to die one day.

Why should we be so afraid of death. We are eternal beings through our Savior Jesus Christ. And the best way to ensure that we spend our time wisely is to consider our earthly mortality and look ahead to our eternal hope.

This is the beginning of my thoughts as I've started reading John Ortberg's new book "When the game is over, it all goes back in the box". I've only read the first three and a half chapters and already I'm impressed. I like Pastor Ortberg's simple style. Probably because I'm a pretty simple person ;)

Any way, I will be posting a full review as soon as I finish it! Stay tuned. . .

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Thursday, July 19, 2007

Weekly ReCap – 07-20-2007 - Immorality

Unpopular Morality

As if the highlights of America’s immorality being pushed on our children, like lesbian gangs raping innocent girls in Chicago public schools to ‘turn’ them, weren’t bad enough, now Presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama wants to lower the s-x education bar to kindergarten!

“. . . Will we get to the point where child abuse is actually considered a personal right? I don’t think we’re far away.” Jonathan Morris, FoxNews.com

Mid-Week Devotional - Luke 9:26
No one likes conflict, disgrace or humiliation, but avoiding it at the cost of God’s Truth and Honor is shameful.
Read more. . .
Institutionalized Immorality
if the Church is so busy doing ‘God’s work’, why is the Church no different from the culture? Why is the culture winning the battle of ideas?
Read more. . .
MSA: Free Ministry Service Announcements
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Bible Challenge 2007 - Week 16
“The Word of God is the Sword of the Spirit and if we fail to honor it, embrace, read it, memorize it, teach it, preach it, fix our minds on it. . ."
Read more. . .

‘We can’t legislate morality’, I hear often. But those same critics seem to be fearfully silent when immorality is the law of the day.

Will the holy huddles remain silent? Will it get to the point that the education enforcement officers will storm our doors and we will have to choose, do we render our children unto Papa Caesar or finally obey our Heavenly Father’s commands to be holy as He is holy and refuse? I pray not!

Heavenly Father, give me the courage to stand by Your Son, Jesus. Give me the courage to share His message with love even in the face of conflict and humiliation. Thank you, Heavenly Father, for sending Your Son to take my sin upon the cross. In Jesus Christ’s name I pray – Amen. (Luke 9:26 devotional)

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Bible Challenge 2007 - Week 16

Week 16

Elijah! What an awe inspiring message from God!

“. . . I will call on the name of Yahweh. The God who answers with fire, He is God.”
1 Kings 18:24

He is God! And He has given us His Word, the Sword of the Spirit. I pray that God would pour His Spirit down on you as your read His Word this week.

Sunday 2 Kings 10-12
Monday 2 Kings 13-15
Tuesday 2 Kings 16-18
Wednesday 2 Kings 19-21
Thursday 2 Kings 22-25
Friday 1 Chronicles 4-6
Saturday 1 Chronicles 7-9

“The Word of God is the Sword of the Spirit and if we fail to honor it, embrace, read it, memorize it, teach it, preach it, fix our minds on it, hide it in our hearts, then we are ultimately defenseless in our daily walk through this world and are not honoring to the Spirit of God in our daily lives.”
(“Sola Scriptura” by Steve Camp, 7/16/2007, Christian Worldview Network)

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

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Wednesday, July 18, 2007

MSA: Free Ministry Service Announcements

Church, Ministry, and Service Leaders!

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The advancement of ministry and Kingdom focused websites. By blogging about and linking to other Christian ministry sites, they are given higher search engine rankings. One of my hopes and prayers is that when someone does an internet search for topics like Jesus or abortion that the top ten websites listed in search engine results would be Christian based!

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Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Institutionalized Immorality

In last weeks post, Tyranny and Rebellion, I mentioned I would highlight the institutionalized immorality in America.

Two excuses I often hear for being indifferent to these problems; one, ‘we can’t legislate morality’, and, ‘we shouldn’t worry about civil activism, but should instead be concerned about God’s work’.

Well, we can legislate morality. All civil laws have a basis in moral truth. Otherwise, let’s let the murderers, rapists, thieves, and pedophiles free, right? And if the Church is so busy doing ‘God’s work’, why is the Church no different from the culture? Why is the culture winning the battle of ideas? (See Mid-Week Devotional on Luke 9:26)

“In America, Adelaja points to an abundance of resources, opportunities and big churches. ‘But is the church truly making a difference in America?’
‘When you think about how many churches we have in America, yet you see and we all see the growing amount of decadence in our culture, you have to ask: Is the culture changing the church or is the church changing the culture?’ Davis posed.”
(“Ukraine’s Influential Church Leader Shifting the Way Americans Think Church” by Lillian Kwon, Christian Post. June 22, 2007)

Any way, being that this is a blog, I’m just throwing these frustrations out there. This is a subject that is still in development so expect more to follow. (Click the comment button at the bottom of the post to leave your thoughts.)

Now I’d like to open up with this note, “. . . it is disingenuous, or at least naive, to suggest good policy alone will fix the problem. The sexual abuse of minors will only increase if Western society continues to glorify sexual promiscuity and graphic pornography as part of freedom of expression and to tout personal liberty and rights, while rejecting any reference to their corresponding moral obligations. . . Will we get to the point where child abuse is actually considered a personal right? I don’t think we’re far away.”
Morris, Jonathan. “Sexual Abuse in Society and American Churches – Your Reactions” Fox News.

You can pick up any newspaper or turn on any news channel and be overwhelmed with murder, rape, drug, and child s-x crimes. I could go on and on and on. . . but why? If you aren’t yet mad enough to speak out in the arena of ideas and protect your family and your church, then you probably never will be. So I will just leave it with a few recent samples and a list of related posts.

“A Chicago-based sex education organization held their annual fundraiser on Thursday, featuring an adult entertainer as its special guest.”
Huntington, Doug. “[Illinois] Sex Education Fundraiser Features Stripper, Draws Rebuke” , Christianpost.com, Posted: June 8, 2007

And from the “Well DUH!” news department: The rise in violent s-x crimes is in tandem with the rise in violent s-xual media!
Smith, David E. “What’s the Connection?” Illinois Family Institute. Posted: July 7, 2007.

Here is a good one, “Former lesbian Linda Jernigan was asked to speak at a Chicago-area public school suffering from lesbian assaults on innocent girls, but she had to turn it down because the school wanted her to ‘de-Christianize’ her testimony.”
LaBarbera, Peter. “Lesbian Gangs Raping Girls; GLAAD Tries to Block Airing of News Segment”

God help us.

Related Posts:

- Education – The Hope or Downfall of Our Nation

- From Boom to Bust – ‘Moral Murkiness’ of the Buster Generation

- Government Schools (Updated!)

- Government School Alternatives

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"Brethren, we came to this country to practice our religious liberties, and if we don’t get involved, we’re going to lose them."

John Peter Muhlenberg "January 21, 1776 in the Lutheran church in Woodstock, Virginia, Reverend Muhlenberg took his sermon text from the third chapter Ecclesiastes, which starts with 'To every thing there is a season...'; after reading the eighth verse, 'a time of war, and a time of peace,' he declared, 'And this is the time of war,' removing his clerical robe to reveal his Colonel's uniform. Outside the church door the drums began to roll as men turned to kiss their wives and then walked down the aisle to enlist, and within half an hour, 162 men were enrolled. The next day he led out 300 men from the county to form the nucleus of the Eighth Virginia."
John Peter Muhlenberg, American Heritage

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No King but Jesus!
One nation, under God!

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." -Edmund Burke

"If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or your arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen." ~Samuel Adams

Saint: "the people of God, the church of Jesus Christ. . . the idea of being set apart for God as well as conformity to God's likeness through the work of the indwelling Holy Spirit." We are all called saints that believe and have faith. The "celebrated" saints are people who lived extraordinary lives and can inspire us to do the same.
Saint Stephen I of Hungary

"The time is now near at hand which must probably determine, whether Americans are to be, Freemen, or Slaves; whether they are to have any property they can call their own; whether their Houses, and Farms, are to be pillaged and destroyed, and they consigned to a State of Wretchedness from which no human efforts will probably deliver them. The fate of unborn Millions will now depend, under God, on the Courage and Conduct of this army-Our cruel and unrelenting Enemy leaves us no choice but a brave resistance, or the most abject submission; that is all we can expect. We have therefore to resolve to conquer or die."
- General George Washington to his troops before the Battle of Long Island
Thanks to Jim's Quote of the Day