Xrays Before and After

TAXES

A tax assessor  came one day to a poor Christian to determine the amount of taxes he would have to pay.  The  following conversation took place:

“What property do you possess?” asked the assessor.

“I am a very wealthy man,” replied the Christian.

“List your possessions, please,” the assessor  instructed.

The Christian said:

“First, I have everlasting life, John 3:16

Second, I have a mansion in heaven, John 14:2

Third, I have peace that passes all understanding,  Philippians 4:7

Fourth, I have joy unspeakable, 1 Peter 1:8

Fifth, I have divine love which never fails, 1 Corinthians 13:8

Sixth, I have a faithful wife, Proverbs 31:10

Seventh, I have healthy, happy obedient children, Exodus  20:12

Eighth, I have true, loyal friends, Proverbs 18:24

Ninth, I have songs in the night, Psalms 42:8

Tenth, I have a crown of life, James 1:12”

The tax assessor closed his book, and said, “Truly you  are a very rich man, but your property is not subject to taxation.”

I pray that all of us will have this kind of tax free “wealth.”

-author unknown

Rescued Rats – Turning Point Devotional – Dr. David Jeremiah

I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord.
Psalm 27:13

Recommended Reading Lamentations 3:25-33

An experiment was conducted in which a group of scientists observed some rats in a tank of water to see how long they would survive before drowning. The average time was 17 minutes. They repeated the experiment, this time rescuing the rats just before drowning. When the “rescued” rats were submerged in the water again, the average survival time increased to 36 hours! The scientists explained that the second time around, the rats had hope and believed they could survive because they had been saved before. Unlike the scientists, God does not plunge us into “survival” situations, for “He does not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men” (Lamentations 3:33). But He does allow us to go through trials so that we may grow as Christians. During these difficult times, remember the goodness, faithfulness, and compassion of the Lord; they are our source of hope when the waters of life threaten to overtake us. No matter how hopeless we feel, this truth remains: God cares for us at all times and in every season of life.
God, when I’m in pain, I forget that You care about me. I forget that You have helped me through my trials. I forget that You love me. I forget that I am important to You. Show me Your presence—let me feel Your enveloping love.
Timothy Dailey

A Journey Named Maturity- Dr. David Jeremiah

This was another devotional that spoke to my heart.  Hope it speaks volumes to yours as well.

-Charles

These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
Hebrews 11:13

Recommended Reading Philippians 3:12-14

Most Christians are familiar with John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress. Bunyan’s allegory is said to be the second-most popular book in the history of the English language, second only to the Bible. While most know the book, fewer are familiar with the complete title: The Pilgrim’s Progress from This World to That Which Is to Come. Pilgrim’s Progress is about an “everyman” who makes his way from earth to heaven by varied and difficult paths. But it is on the path that he discovers salvation and grows to maturity. In other words, because God’s goal for us is Christ-likeness (Romans 8:29), the journey becomes the destination. It is on the journey toward heaven that we encounter the trials, tribulations, and blessings that conform our inner person to the character of Christ. Heaven is our home, but being like Jesus is our goal.

The next time the journey seems difficult, remember: It’s supposed to be! If Christ learned obedience through the things He suffered (Hebrews 5:8), it is likely we will learn it the same way.
The Lord gets His best soldiers out of the highlands of affliction.
Charles Spurgeon

I had to share this as it encouraged me so much!  God Bless you all!   Charles

Recommended Reading Psalm 124

Turning Point Devotional – Dr. David Jeremiah

“Rather than saying ‘God, here is my problem,’ we should put the problem into perspective by saying ‘Problem, here is my God!'” Whoever wrote those words must have understood that there is no problem God cannot handle in our lives. When we make our problems the object of our lives, it is easy to become discouraged and forget that we have a God who will sustain us during our trials. However, when we change our perspective and the order of the words, we see that God becomes the object and the focus of our lives. It seems like such a small detail wouldn’t matter much, but when you visualize introducing your problems to Almighty God, suddenly they seem smaller, and you realize just how triumphant you can be with His help.

Often, it is only a matter of changing our perspective in order to overcome adversity. No matter what troubles you are facing, always remember our God is big enough, strong enough, and powerful enough to take care of them. He is the answer to all of life’s problems, and He is enough.
He comes to us in the brokenness of our health, in the shipwreck of our family lives, in the loss of all possible peace of mind, even in the very thick of our sins. He saves us in our disasters, not from them.
Robert Farrar Capon

This Enrages Me

  

  

Roman Catholic Bishop Wants Everyone to Call God

‘Allah’

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

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A proposal by a Roman Catholic bishop in the Netherlands that people of all faiths refer to God as “Allah” is not sitting well with the Catholic community.Tiny Muskens, an outgoing bishop who is retiring in a few weeks from the southern diocese of Breda, said God doesn’t care what he is called.“Allah is a very beautiful word for God. Shouldn’t we all say that from now on we will name God Allah? … What does God care what we call him? It is our problem,” Muskens told Dutch television.

“I’m sure his intentions are good but his theology needs a little fine-tuning,” said Father Jonathan Morris, a Roman Catholic priest based in Rome. Morris, a news analyst for FOX News Channel, also called the idea impractical.

“Words and names mean things,” Morris said. “Referring to God as Allah means something.”

Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Washington, D.C.-based Islamic civil liberties and advocacy group, backs the idea as a way to help interfaith understanding.

“It reinforces the fact that Muslims, Christians and Jews all worship the same God,” Hooper told FOXNews.com. “I don’t think the name is as important as the belief in God and following God’s moral principles. I think that’s true for all faiths.”

Christians who are Arabic speakers speak of Allah when they speak of God, Hooper added.

“There’s not a theological leap to make on the part of Christians,” Hooper said.

The Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago supports the idea.

“I think it will open up doors,” said Janaan Hashim, a spokeswoman for the group representing more than 400,000 Muslim Americans in the Chicago area. “Language is a man-made limitation. I think what God cares about is how we fulfill our purpose in life.”

The nation’s largest Catholic civil rights group says Catholics won’t get behind the proposal.

“Bishop Martinus “Tiny” Muskens can pray to “Allah” all he wants, but only addlepated Catholics will follow his lead,” Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, said in a statement. “It is not a good sign when members of the Catholic hierarchy indulge in a fawning exchange with Muslims, or those of any other religion.”

Muskens spent eight years in Indonesia, where he said priests used the word “Allah” during Mass.

Muskens also has drawn attention for other ideas such as encouraging the hungry to steal bread and offering condoms to combat HIV and AIDS.

FOXNews.com’s Melissa Drosjack and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Alarming Statistics – www.barna.org

Americans Not Concerned About Their Spiritual Condition  August 6, 2007 (Ventura, CA) – Most Americans value their faith and regularly engage in faith practices, surprisingly few say they have specific challenges related to the development of their faith. A national survey of Christian parents commissioned by Good News Holdings and conducted by The Barna Group discovered that four out of every ten Christian parents of children between the ages of 3 and 18 said they do not face any spiritual challenges in their life. Among those who identified the presence of any spiritual challenges, the most common issues related to the spiritual development of their children. Wide Range of ConcernsWhen asked to identify their biggest personal challenges related to faith or spirituality, the most common response related to raising moral children or youngsters with a strong faith. In total, one out of every seven parents (14%) who identified themselves as Christian listed this as their spiritual challenge. Only one other response – the need to personally invest more time in religious activities, such as reading the Bible or praying – was mentioned by at least one out of every ten parents (10%).

More than one hundred different responses were provided by survey respondents, reflecting the breadth of spiritual issues that Americans struggle with. Other categories of concerns mentioned included the desire to more consistently exhibit faith-driven behavior (8%); the need to be more involved in a church (7%); effectively dealing with the declining moral values and inappropriate media content in our society (6%); handling various lifestyle challenges that weaken their faith (5%); confidently coping with health matters (4%); and having a deeper or more substantive faith (4%).

Specific Challenges Posed

Parents were also asked to rate the significance of each of eight specific challenges related to their faith. Overall, the responses suggest that most Christian parents do not perceive themselves to face major challenges regarding their faith.

One out of every three parents (34%) said having enough time to devote to their faith was a major challenge. Almost as many (30%) said helping their children to become more spiritual was a major challenge.

About two out of every ten parents listed each of the other six possibilities as major challenges. Those included enabling their spouse to be more spiritual (23%); growing spiritually, personally (21%); understanding what’s in the Bible (20%); finding a church or faith community that’s right for them (19%); getting a sense of direction from God (18%); and practicing the faith principles they had learned (18%).

George Barna, author of more than three dozen books about the faith and lifestyles of Americans, pointed out that a much larger proportion of survey respondents portrayed each of these challenges more significant than was apparent when those same people were asked earlier in the survey to identify their spiritual challenges. He explained that this is common when people are not conscious of such challenges and therefore are not seriously engaged in addressing those issues.

Differences Among Groups

The research showed that different subgroups of the population struggle with divergent aspects of faith.

Hispanics were far and away the ethnic group most likely to identify challenges related to parenting and family matters. One out of every three Hispanic parents listed such issues, compared to just one out of six white parents and one out of eight black parents.

Black parents were much more likely than others to name faith-driven behavioral challenges. One out of every five black parents did so, compared to one out of every eight whites and one out of every twelve Hispanics.

Participating in more religious activity was a challenge much more common to whites than others. One out of every four white parents mentioned this, versus only one out of every eight blacks and one out of every 100 Hispanics. White parents were also substantially less likely than parents of color to indicate that growing spiritually and understanding the Bible were major challenges.

An examination of various faith segments also demonstrated noteworthy differences in emphasis. Evangelical Christian parents were three times more likely than other Christian segments to identify responding to the declining morals and values of society as a major challenge. They were also notably more likely than other Christian parents to feel they failed to devote enough time to their faith – even though they invest a larger share of their time each week to faith-related activities.

Notional Christians – i.e., those who are not born again but consider themselves to be Christian – were twice as likely as born again parents to list attending church more often as a big issue, but only one-third as likely as born again parents to identify the need for more frequent or consistent engagement in other faith-related activities as a concern.

There were a handful of regional differences as well. Christian parents in the Northeast were the least likely to feel challenged to have enough time to devote to their faith and to feel that growing spiritually was a major personal challenge. Parents in the South were the most likely to feel that helping their children grow spiritually was a major challenge. Parents in the western states were among the least likely to feel that growing spiritually and that finding a viable church or faith community were major challenges.

Parents in the Midwest reflected the greatest dissimilarity from parents in other regions. Those in the middle states were the least likely to feel that helping their children grow spiritually was a major challenge; least likely to identify exhibiting spiritual-driven behavior as an issue; and were the least likely of all to say they had no faith-related or spiritual issues facing them. Midwesterners were also the most likely to list greater involvement in their church as a significant personal challenge.

Faith on the Back Burner

George Barna, who directed the survey, emphasized the importance of so many parents listing the challenge of spiritual training for their children.

“Our studies show that the faith principles and practices that a child absorbs by age thirteen boldly shapes their spirituality for the duration of their life,” the researcher stated. “Parents have a greater impact on that process than anyone else.” Barna also expressed surprise that the percentage of parents indicating such concern was so small. “This was a study exclusively of Christian parents with young children in their household. Given companion surveys showing that such parents often convey dismay over the eroding cultural environment for raising children, and how difficult parenting is these days, we anticipated a broader emphasis upon the challenges related to bringing up spiritually whole and healthy children.”

Having recently written a book on parenting and faith development, entitled Revolutionary Parenting, Barna further explained that there is no viable substitute for a parents’ spiritual imprint on their children. “In addition to making parenting a 24/7 priority, we found that parents must have an authentic and vibrant faith in order to provide meaningful spiritual guidance to their children. Children rarely embrace spiritual principles and practices that their parents fail to demonstrate in their lifestyle.”

For more information about George Barna’s new book, Revolutionary Parenting, or to purchase a copy, click here

According to Barna, the breadth of challenges mentioned by parents is a challenge to church leaders to truly know people’s needs and to address them individually. “A few broad programs will not meet the spiritual needs of most people,” he commented. “Ministry is most effective when it addresses the specific needs of each person on a one-to-one or few-to-one basis. The data underscore the importance of people knowing and ministering to each other in a very direct and personal way, recognizing the uniqueness of every person and their journey.”

Having spent a quarter century conducting studies regarding faith development, Barna said the findings indicate that personal spiritual development is a secondary consideration for millions of Americans.

“Many of the same people who claim that their faith is very important to them and that they are absolutely committed to Christianity also say that they face no spiritual challenges in life. Many other adults are only vaguely aware of such challenges, and do not put much energy into addressing them,” explained the researcher. “Americans focus on what they consider to be the most important matters; faith maturity is not one of them. The dominant spiritual change that we have seen – Americans becoming less engaged in matters of faith – helps to explain the surging secularization of our culture.”

About the Research

This report is based upon a nationwide telephone survey conducted by The Barna Group in October and November 2006 among 601 adults who were parents of children between the ages of 3 and 18, and who described themselves as Christian. These parents were selected randomly from households in the 48 continental states. The sample has a maximum margin of sampling error of ±4.1 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.

The survey was commissioned by Good News Holdings, a media production and development company based in Sherman Oaks, California. Good News Holdings is committed to producing family-friendly media that entertain, educate and inspire people based upon Judeo-Christian principles. The survey questions described in this report were among the 151 questions posed to the survey respondents. The study focused upon the perceived spiritual needs of the children of the parents interviewed, as well as the media habits and spiritual state of those families. Good News Holdings plans to release additional data from the survey in the near future. More information is available at www.goodnewsholdings.com.

“Evangelicals” are people who meet the born again criteria (described below) plus seven other conditions. Those include saying their faith is very important in their life today; believing they have a personal responsibility to share their religious beliefs about Christ with non-Christians; believing that Satan exists; believing that eternal salvation is possible only through grace, not works; believing that Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on earth; asserting that the Bible is accurate in all that it teaches; and describing God as the all-knowing, all-powerful, perfect deity who created the universe and still rules it today. Being classified as an evangelical is not dependent upon church attendance or the denominational affiliation of the church attended. Respondents were not asked to describe themselves as “evangelical.”

“Born again Christians” are defined as people who said they have made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still important in their life today and who also indicated they believe that when they die they will go to Heaven because they had confessed their sins and had accepted Jesus Christ as their savior. Respondents are not asked to describe themselves as “born again.”

Notional Christians are those who describe themselves as “Christian” but do not meet the born again criteria.

The Barna Group, Ltd. (which includes its research division, The Barna Research Group) conducts primary research, produces media resources pertaining to spiritual development, and facilitates the healthy spiritual growth of leaders, children, families and Christian ministries. Located in Ventura, California, Barna has been conducting and analyzing primary research to understand cultural trends related to values, beliefs, attitudes and behaviors since 1984. If you would like to receive free e-mail notification of the release of each new, bi-monthly update on the latest research findings from The Barna Group, you may subscribe to this free service at the Barna website www.barna.org.

© The Barna Group, Ltd, 2007.

10 Reasons to Pick up the Word of God

10 Reasons to Pick up the Word of God

By Charles T. Crabtree

 

An open letter to those who need to reconnect with God’s Word

 

Dear Friend:
It has come to my attention you are not as diligent in reading, internalizing and applying the Word of God as you were in the past. I cannot overstate how critical it is for you to re-establish Bible reading and study as a high priority in your daily schedule. Please prayerfully consider these reasons why it is absolutely necessary for you to become a person of the Word.

 

Reason 1. The enemy of your soul does not want you to be a person of the Word. Since our first parents in Eden, Satan has sought to destroy God’s children by questioning God’s Word. He was bold enough to tempt Jesus by misapplying the Scriptures. If Jesus found it necessary to use the Scriptures to defend himself in this world, your knowledge and application of God’s Word are more than choices; they are matters of spiritual survival.

 

Reason 2. The Bible is a priceless treasure. For thousands of years, God has protected this precious Book from extinction. Believers have died to protect it. Evil regimes and false religions have done everything in their power to keep you from having a copy of the Word of God. Millions of your brothers and sisters in Christ would give their last dime to have a Bible, let alone the three or four copies that many American Christians possess.

 

Reason 3. The Bible is your resource for absolute truth. In a day of spiritual confusion, moral relativism, and intellectual hypocrisy, you hold in your hand a direct communication from God, which gives you spiritual clarity, moral certainty and intellectual revelation. The Bible consists of more than little black letters on a page. It is a “contract” in force between God and man. Every word is true and unchanging.

 

Reason 4. The Bible is your manual for living. Its Author is your Creator. God knows why you exist and the best way for you to live. No matter how much money and time you spend on “self-help” books, you’re far better off getting back to your “God-help” book. God is the ultimate expert. He loves you and wants you to succeed. Ultimately, He cares about your eternal destiny.

 

Reason 5. As a child of God, you should keep up on all the blessings your Heavenly Father desires for all His children. God’s promises in His Word are not reserved for a few “super saints.” They are for every believer. Most Christians do not have any idea how “rich” they are in Christ. By some counts, 7,000 promises are yours. Others have found many more. Find them and claim them. The Maker of Bible promises will never die, has all the resources to fulfill every guarantee, and is not running for political office.

 

Reason 6. The Word of God is powerful. It is powerful for many reasons. The Bible is the Word of the eternal, omniscient, omnipotent God. Every word of man is conditional and temporal, but God has the final word. The Bible is our powerful defensive and offensive spiritual weapon (Ephesians 6:17; Hebrews 4:12). It is a word of healing and deliverance (Psalm 107:20). People who curse God or refuse to admit He created the world would be shocked to know He sustains the universe by His word of power (Hebrews 1:3).

 

Reason 7. The Scriptures should be your “food for thought.” The thought processes of the world have become so evil and depraved you must overcome the ideas and philosophies from darkened minds by daily planting the incorruptible seed of the Word of God in your heart (Romans 8:5-8). Everyone knows that positive thinking is better than negative thinking. Imagine how your day would brighten if you met every challenge with a divine promise and every situation with a divine truth.

 

Reason 8. Those who neglect the written Word of God will soon have serious questions about the living Word: Jesus Christ. The spirit of Antichrist is certainly evident and prevalent in our culture, but truth about Jesus’ past and present and future is clearly revealed in the Scriptures. Remember, we are saved through faith in Jesus and “faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17, KJV).

When Peter stepped out of a fishing boat in a storm and walked on water, he didn’t begin to sink until he took his eyes off Jesus (Matthew 14:22-31). Believers are in serious trouble when they do not constantly read the Word, which reveals Jesus. Like Peter, those who do not keep Christ in plain view will be dragged down by the storms of life.

 

Reason 9. Every person has a desire to know about the future. It is amazing to what lengths people will go to see beyond the present. This innate interest feeds fortunetellers, astrologers, palm readers, clairvoyants and other charlatans. Their lack of accuracy is pathetic, yet millions continue to seek their counsel. You have in your possession the greatest Book about prophecy ever written — the Bible. “We have also a more sure word of prophecy” (2 Peter 1:19).

When people speak of the future with fear and panic, they have taken their future out of the hands of God. They have neglected the words of Jesus: “Set your troubled hearts at rest. Trust in God always; trust also in me. There are many dwelling places in my father’s house; if it were not so I should have told you; for I am going there on purpose to prepare a place for you” (John 14:1,2, NEB).

 

Reason 10. How would you like to hear God speak to you? How would you like to sit down and listen to the teaching of Jesus, the greatest Teacher who ever lived? You can every day by opening the pages of the Word of God. It really is a letter to you. As you read it, the Spirit of God will quicken and reveal life-giving truth to you.

Reading God’s Word should never be viewed as a laborious task or even a duty. It is a wonderful privilege to open the Book every day and receive divine insights into the nature of God, the purpose of man, and the truth about time and eternity.

The Word of God is vital if you are going to live a victorious life. I pray this letter stirs a fresh desire in your heart to know divine truth. Remember: “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word [emphasis mine] that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4, KJV).

Meditation By Charles Wells

1 Peter 5:6-7

6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, 7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

As I meditate upon the Word of God this morning, God had me get the theme out of my devotions that we need to cast our cares upon Him, because He cares for us and He loves us so much. So many times though, I think that we as Christians today feel that our problems are bigger than God and therefore we keep them bottled up inside, hoping that they will resolve themselves somehow and then we trust in our own knowledge and being to get through these. But this is not the way God wants it to be. He is there, waiting with His arms open for us to come and to lay our burdens at His feet – whether they are spiritual, physical, emotional, etc. We have to remember that our God is bigger than any problem and that even in this world today where so many problems are mounted against us at once, He is in control and He is still God, because He is the same “yesterday, today and forever.” As I go through my problems again with my back, Satan has really tried to discourage me away from the ministry. He keeps on trying to tell me that no one is going to want a pastor who is disabled because it will hinder God’s work. I must remember the Scripture that God gave me when I entered the ministry and I claimed it upon my ministry. It is found in 2 Corinthians 12:9 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. We have to be willing to cast all that we are on God so that His strength and glory can show through us. Today, I must remember that God wants to share in my burdens because He loves me so much. He showed us the greatest example of His concern when He wanted to take the burden of sin off my heart and onto His. I thank you Jesus that you care so much for me. May I take everything that bothers me this day and everyday and lay it at your feet, trusting in your grace and power to overcome.

Meditation From May 18, 2007

I have had many thoughts this week since I heard the news of my back being in such bad shape. I began the week trusting in God for healing in my life, which I know can happen in an instant if it is the will of God. But then yesterday maybe God was speaking to my heart when He said, Charles I want to use this for my glory and to bring people closer to me. I have even seen this week how God is using it in a mighty way because people are so encouraged by seeing how I am handling this and how I am giving the glory to God. It just made me think and I even caught myself this morning praying to God “Lord if this will bring you glory and bring people to you, do not take my pain away.” Maybe this is the type of pain God experiences when people die and do not know Him as their Personal Lord and Savior. Or maybe it is the way He feels if we as Christians have the opportunity to share the Good News with others but do not do so. One thing I said as soon as I heard the results Tuesday was that satan was not going to win the victory. Oh how he tries to discourage us anyway he can. He put the thought in my mind that no one is going to want a disabled pastor or you are no good because you have to rest your back so often. What lies from the pits of hell because God tells us different. With Him ALL things are possible. I am trusting in Him to use me to the best of my ability. I have reacted so differently than I thought I would because the joy that is in my life, even when the suffering is great. I think there is so much joy because I have submitted to God totally and when we do that, oh how He can work in our lives. But do not let your hearts be troubled by problems in this life, but rather let the joy of God shine because there is a promise from God that will stand forever “I am with you always.” Praise God.