BOY SCOUTS DECISION

May 24th, 2013 | By admin

This decision should be devastating for each God-fearing person. I knew it was coming, and I knew it would be voted in, but that did not make the shock any more less. I am sure young boys will be forced to quit the Scouts, parents who are leaders will leave the ranks, employees of BSA will also be finding jobs. When this same thing was passed in Canada, they lost members. What do you expect will happen in America? It seems we as Christians have no say in anything. If you want anything done, you have to be gay or an atheist. You know God became so sad that He had made man that he destroyed the earth, except for Noah and his family. How much longer can we let these sinful people direct our lives? The following article is from Family Research Council. This is taken from Tony Perkin’s Washington Update. The website is www.familyresearchcouncil.org.

Katt Anderson, Administrator

Share with Friends | | May 23, 2013 | Permalink

For Scouts, a Badge of Dishonor

After two decades of bitter back and forth, one of the last strongholds for morality in America finally buckled. Late this afternoon, despite a relentless push by Scouts in every state, the National Council exchanged a century-old legacy for a false compromise that puts an American tradition on the pathway to extinction. After 103 years of principled leadership, the organization proved that it was incapable of the same kind of courage it’s been instilling in American boys since the beginning of the 1900s. By a lopsided vote, delegates ushered into the Boy Scouts a new era of moral compromise, allowing homosexual boys and turning against a majority of members in the process.

It took strong-arm tactics, political sharks, and corporate harassment, but the national leadership of the BSA finally succeeded in forcing through a piece of policy that robs the Scouts of its innocence. And now, by opening the door to gay young people, legal experts say it’s only a matter of time before the rule on homosexuality extends to everyone–including adults. Almost immediately, BSA councils, Scouting parents, and leaders of the faith-based organizations that charter more than two-thirds of the packs and troops will have to decide how to respond to this decision, which obligates every unit “regardless of their religious convictions” to comply. In the last 12 months, BSA’s official estimates show as many as 400,000 boys will leave the BSA as a result, devastating the Scouts financially and leaving them very few options legally.

In the meantime, Councils that believed the lie that this was just about the youth are about to find out that the fight for the Scouts is just beginning. “The Boy Scouts of America will not sacrifice its mission, or the youth served by the movement,” a BSA statement read, “by allowing the organization to be consumed by a single, divisive, and unresolved societal issue.” Unfortunately for them, that sacrifice was already made in today’s tragic decision. Now we must stand with the troops across America who remain committed to the guiding principles of scouting that have helped millions of young boys successfully make the journey to manhood.

DID GOD SEDUCE MARY?

May 20th, 2013 | By admin

Recently we received an e-mail at Apologetics Press from a skeptic who accused God of breaking one of His own commandments. The skeptic cited Exodus 20:17, which is the final commandment in the list of the Ten Commandments, that states: “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife.” The skeptic then stated that “God most certainly wronged Joseph when He seduced Mary, the betrothed of Joseph.” Did God violate His own laws of morality when the Holy Spirit came upon Mary so that she conceived Jesus? Not in any way.

First, it must be stated emphatically that there was no sexual seduction of any kind involved in the conception of Jesus in Mary’s womb. In fact, that is just the point of the miraculous, virgin birth of Christ. Hundreds of years before Christ was conceived in the flesh, the prophet Isaiah had stated: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear and Son, and shall call His name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14). The New Testament writers stressed the fact that Mary was a virgin when Christ was conceived (Matthew 1:23). When the angel announced to Mary that she would conceive a child, she said: “How can this be, since I do not know a man?” Mary’s response makes it clear that there was no seduction involved. Instead, it was a miraculous conception that had nothing to do with sexual intercourse. Mary remained a virgin until after giving birth to Jesus, at which time Mary and her husband Joseph came together in marital relations and conceived several other children (Pinedo, 2009).

Notice the skeptic attempts to lump Jehovah God in with the grotesquely immoral pagan gods whose seductions and sexual perversions fill the pages of ancient mythology. Zeus, the “father of the gods” was a mythological deity whose sexual appetite and rapine seductions were all too well known. During some of his more infamous escapades he seduced Europa by turning himself into a white bull, running off with her on his back, and ravishing her on the isle of Crete. He had an affair with Io and then turned her into a heifer. He seduced Semele and eventually killed her by showing her his full, godly glory. These are but a few of Zeus’ “conquests” (Hunt, n.d).

Only the most prejudiced reader would attempt to relate the conception of Jesus to the seductions perpetrated by the pagans gods. In the historical account of Jesus’ conception there is no contact by God in any type of physical form with Mary. Mary was completely aware of how babies are normally conceived, yet she stressed the fact that she had been involved in no physical, sexual activity that would bring about pregnancy. The biblical text emphatically states that Mary was a virgin when she conceived and gave birth to Jesus. Mary was not seduced, violated, ravished, or involved in any sexual way with Jehovah. In a miraculous event that had nothing to do with sexual seduction, the Holy Spirit “came upon her” (Luke 1:35), and brought about the conception of the Messiah. The skeptic has no legitimate grounds to accuse Jehovah God of immorality in His interaction with Mary. Such an accusation truly reveals more about what is in the sinful heart of the skeptic than it does about God’s character.

REFERENCES

Hunt, J.M, (No date), “Zeus Lovers,” http://edweb.sdsu.edu/people/bdodge/scaffold/gg/zeuslover.html.

Pinedo, Moisés (2009), “Was Mary a Virgin Her Whole Life?,” Apologetics Press, http://www.apologeticspress.org/apcontent.aspx?category=105&article=2665.

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LIE, LIES, AND LYING

May 17th, 2013 | By admin

by Katt Anderson

Most people think nothing of lying. It’s just a “little white lie” they say, but is it really? Aren’t we taught from Moses’ day until today that lying is wrong? Lying harms more than just yourself. It can harm the whole universe.

1 Timothy 4:1-3 explains more about lying. 1Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, ² speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, ³ forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. These verses tell us that even in the first century people were trying to persuade others by lying. It’s amazing how quickly some people wanted to change things to suit themselves.

The above words were given to Paul through the Holy Spirit. They came from God. This is what God is telling us that is going to happen, and it did before the ink was dry on Paul’s parchment.

Why do people lie? Usually they lie to have their own way, to make people believe they are bigger or better than anyone else, or to have importance. They want the spotlight on them. I’ve known people who will lie their way through anything.

Lying has been around for a long time When the children of Israel made the golden calf, they lied about how it came about. In Exodus 32 the story is told how Aaron asked for gold jewelry to make the calf. When Moses heard about it and came down the mountain, Aaron told him he threw the gold in the fire and the calf came out. I wonder if he expected Moses to believe him.The funny thing about lying, it usually catches up with you.

Satan, in the form of a serpent, was the first to lie. He talked Even into eating the forbidden fruit, and she and Adam lied to God. No matter how hard you lie and think no one will ever find out, God knows. He knows every little black, white, purple, or red lie we tell. He knows all the half-truths, whole-truths, and the non-committal lies we tell.  He knows it all.

It’s sad that so many people think they have to lie to succeed. It goes from the highest heads of government to the lowest person on the earth. We’ve been told through the years it’s okay to tell half a lie, or half a truth. It isn’t. We have to tell the truth, no matter the consequences.

Lying has broken marriages, torn down governments, and just about everything else you can think of. It is not healthy to lie. We need to be more truthful, even if it hurts us.

POINTING TO HEAVEN

May 3rd, 2013 | By admin

by Aunt Mary

How many of us has watched a ballgame when a touchdown was made or a home run was achieved and the player stops, falls on one knee or points to heaven? It happens all the time, but one track team was suspended because one of their players pointed to heaven when his team won the race. How ironic! Oh, one of the rules was no pointing upward.

Our world is changing fast. No longer can we openly proclaim to be a Christian. I’ve heard of children being suspended from school for carrying a Bible. One young man I know received an F on a science test because he quoted Genesis 1:1 when asked how the world was created.

The atheists want to remove God from everything. This has alarmed me in a way that I have never been concerned about anything in my life. My grandchildren are growing up in a world where they cannot worship, pray, or express themselves the way they want to. Before long I fear we will no longer be able to have anything religious on the internet, television, or movies.

Even the president of the United States commended a gay sports figure for coming “out of the closet.” He didn’t use those words, I did, but the message is the same. It looks like it is wrong for us as Christians to be Christians. We are punished if we say anything about homosexuals, atheists, or a heathen religion. What happened to our rights? It seems the only rights are those who are homosexual or atheists.

Our forefathers are probably spinning in their graves now. They took such a big risk in coming to the New World where they could worship God as they deemed right. Now if we worship God, we are reprimanded. Why have our government officials signed up with these people? Where is their religion? They apparently sold it to the highest bidder.

This should sadden every Christian. There is so much filth on our internet, television, and movies today. From what you see, you can surmise that anything you do is okay. It isn’t. God is still in control.

The world teaches us to do what we want to because it’s okay. Everyone is doing it, so it must be right. Homosexual is all right, it’s what they want to do. Let’s see what the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 6:9. Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites. This is words coming from a higher power. The One who created the universe.

The Bible warns us about false teachers. 2 Peter 2:1, But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. We must read the Bible and see what these other people are teaching, even if they teach there is no God.

Be watchful.

YOU HAVE BEEN TRICKED

April 25th, 2013 | By admin

by Katt Anderson

Yes, you have been tricked by the world governments and by scientists. This all came to my attention this week. Every human being is being tricked every day. You may think you are not, but you are. Let me explain.

Growing up in the 50′s, we had no idea there was anything taught but creation in schools. No evolution, just the Biblical account of creation. That all changed in 1963, because a few years before, a bill was passed and signed by President Eisenhower to change the text books for all the schools. I know this was done in the United States, but I’m not sure when it was done in other countries. Creation was not completely taken out at that time, but was side-by-side with evolution. Later the text books only contained the evolution views of our existence. As adults, we were tricked into not even knowing this happened.

How can intelligent adults let this happen? I don’t know but it did. Some other stupid things happened. Bits of bone were glued together to make people think it was a prehistoric man. Think about the word prehistoric. Pre, before, history? How can that be. Nothing can be before history. These scientists took a small piece of a skull, a toe bone, or some other thing to come up with a man or woman. They did not have a complete skeleton, just a few pieces. We were gullible enough to believe it. This makes me feel so stupid.

Let’s see what the Bible says about Creation. Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and earth. In verse 5 of that chapter, God created Day and Night. He did it all in one day, not one million years. One day! In fact, He created all of the earth and sky, stars, planets, man, animals, and everything in six days. Can you believe it six days, not millions as the scientists say.

In the last 50 years, we have turned from believing God and the Bible to believing scientists. We take their word about whatever they say and we forget what the Bible says. We have taken the Bible out of the schools. We are teaching our children a myth, an untruth. Why do we let that happen? Are we co complacent in our world that we don’t want to speak out to our schools or our government?

I live across the street from a middle school. In one classroom there was a sign put up. It stated, “In God We Trust.” We can read that on our money, but not in our schools. One atheist child saw the sign, told her parents, and the parents called the superintendent. The sign is down. What about Christians? Why didn’t Christians call the superintendent and complain about the sign being taken down? Today one atheist can move mountains and signs. This should not be. There are more children being raised by Christian parents in that school than children being raised by atheists, but the atheists have the biggest say.

Since this blog is written for teen girls, how do you feel about God being taught? Does it really matter? It should. It should matter more than anything because it matters to your soul. I know I was created in the image of God, and you were too. I did not evolve from an ape, or any other animal or fish. God created you and me. It’s time to proclaim the truth.

I would like to thank Dr. Brad Harrub for bringing all this to my attention.

FIGHTING FEAR

April 17th, 2013 | By admin

by Paul Holland

Sometimes, fear is healthy. God designed us with the ability to fear. Maybe it is because we need to learn to fear God that He created certain creatures on earth that we fear. But there are also things we should not and do not have to fear. As we mature and grow, we learn what we should fear and what we should not fear.

One of my favorite events in the life of the apostle Paul is found in Acts 14:19-20: “But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and having persuaded the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead. But when the disciples gathered about him, he rose up and entered the city, and on the next day he went on with Barnabas to Derbe.”

How did the apostle Paul get up off the ground, having been beaten to death – and, indeed, believed to be dead by the Jews – and get up and go back into the city of Derbe and keep preaching the gospel?

PAUL KNEW WHOM TO FEAR AND WHOM NOT TO FEAR
Matthew 10:28 – “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” Man can do a lot of things to us but man cannot take away our blessings from God.

Man can steal our wives or husbands. Man can take the lives of our children. Man can take our homes and our cars. Man can fire us. Man can take away our health. But man cannot take away our relationship with God.

PAUL KNEW JESUS WAS RISEN FROM THE DEAD:
Paul had not believed in the resurrection the day it happened. Paul was blinded by prejudice. His friends and maybe some of his family members believed that lie about the disciples stealing the body and lying and Paul was willing to be led by the lie.

Until Jesus appeared to him on the road to Damascus. “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting” (Acts 9:5), Jesus told him. You can’t deny your own senses. Paul saw Jesus and communicated with him. Paul knew Jesus had risen from the dead.

So Paul had courage and fought fear because he knew Jesus had risen from the dead.

PAUL KNEW THAT THE GOSPEL HAD TO BE PREACHED:
Man must – absolutely must – hear the Word of God. There are so many passages that teach us the importance of the Word. Man simply cannot be saved without the Gospel (Romans 1:16). That’s why Paul was so intent to get the message out. People can live eternally and go to heaven without Paul but they could not live eternally and go to heaven without the Gospel.

Paul was not afraid of man. Paul knew that Jesus had risen from the dead. Paul knew that the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is what would save others from hell and he knew it had to be preached. That’s how Paul fought his fears.

Stand up for God with courage and conviction!

TAKING OUR THOUGHTS CAPTIVE

April 10th, 2013 | By admin

by An Anonymous Teen

There are three myths that plague teenage girl’s minds. No girl can control these thoughts, they come naturally. Maybe they were told to you by a best friend, or maybe you came to your own sudden realizations. These three thoughts have the potential to destroy your life, if you believe in them. These thoughts make you have a low self esteem, dress immodestly, and become dependent on worldly things. You know what they are, you’ve had them. But, in case you can’t quite pin down the three, I’ll tell them to you.

I will never be good enough for anyone to love me. I need a boyfriend to make me happy, without a boyfriend. I am not worth anything. My identity is in who I am dating, or how good I look.

I’ve talked to middle schoolers about their dating lives, or their self esteem, and these three thoughts are always the same ones that keep popping up. All I do is think to myself, “Why would you think that way?” But, then I remember. I’ve thought that way, too. Everyone has. Then I asked myself: how did I get over that? How did I finally come to realize that those thoughts were lies? It wasn’t easy, but I did it by renewing my mind.

Do not conform to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is– his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:2

So what does renewing your mind mean? It means tell yourself everyday the truth: which is what God thinks about you! The three thoughts are lies, told to us by the world, and believing in them is conforming to the ways of the world. You may be thinking: but the world doesn’t encourage thinking discouraging thoughts. Look at the world around you. Everyone thinks that having a boyfriend is a necessity, every girl needs to look perfect, and everyone needs to be the best in everything. That is the world, telling you that you are not good enough. All the time you are listening to those lies, your Father is heaven is shaking his head, saying, “Don’t you know that you are good enough for me?”

See, what God thinks about us is different than what the world thinks about us. God looks at us and says, “Do you know everything I have done for you?” God, our Father in heaven, the creator of everything beautiful, never leaves you. Thinks you are beautiful. Chooses you. Watches over you. Sought after you. Listens to you. Knows you. Treasures you. Is on your side. Made you in His image. The truth is, you were created by God, in the image of God. You were purchased by God, to do the will of God.

Think about that for a minute. Read over that last paragraph again; let the words fully sink in. Everything you’ve ever looked for, in a boy, in a parent, in a friend, you can find in God. Every time you think “I’m so ugly” you can take your thought captive, and say to yourself “No, God made me in His image, and thinks I am beautiful.”  Every time you think “I need a boyfriend to make me happy” you can think “God treasures me, that makes me happy.”

By taking every thought that is a lie captive, and then renewing your mind with the truth about how your God thinks about you, you will discover true joy and fulfillment in life. You’ll stop searching for a boyfriend, stop thinking you’re ugly. All of these thoughts will be replaced with the truth of how much your God loves you. If you try this, you will never be the same. I challenge you, just for this week, every time you think something negative about yourself, take that thought captive, and say the truth about how God thinks about you. You’ll be glad you did.

Written by a 15 year old teenage girl in Georgia

AGE OF THE GRAND CANYON REVISITED

March 13th, 2013 | By admin

by Katt Anderson

It eludes me why so many people are interested in the age of the Grand Canyon. Maybe you can tell me why it is so important. Maybe I don’t have enough curiosity to want to know the age, but I don’t see the importance of knowing how old the Grand Canyon is. I’ve see it, and it is beautiful. It is a awesome sight, but why the age.

In Genesis 1:1, it says, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” That’s all I really need to know. God created it. How or when it was created is not important. It does not involve dollars for me to see what the Bible says on the matter. It is interesting to read what others have to say on the subject. I’m including an article below from Apologetics Press. This is one of the best articles on the subject, and one I can understand. It is written by Jeff Miller and I think you will find it educational and easy to read.

More Conflicting Evidence Regarding the Alleged Age of the Grand Canyon

Evolutionary geologists have argued about the age of the Grand Canyon for decades. In recent years, scientists have changed their tune from claiming that “40 million years were required for the Grand Canyon to be eroded” (Hoffman, 1987, p. 11), to a “prevailing view” that the canyon’s carving “occurred after 5 to 6 million years ago” (Flowers and Farley, 2012, 338[6114]:1616). Some have still contended that the canyon is as old as 17 million years (Perkins, 2012), and other evolutionary geologists have come to the conclusion that the Grand Canyon was not even carved over a long period of time at all, but rather, catastrophically—growing “in quick, violent spurts from massive flooding of the Colorado River” (“Baby Grand,” 2003, p. 7)—a contention closer to what creationists have long espoused. Recent research by geologists from the University of Colorado at Boulder and the California Institute of Technology (Flowers and Farley) indicates that newer dating techniques yield age estimates much higher.

Science magazine reports that:

The pattern of helium concentrations in the samples suggests that substantial parts of the western portion of the Grand Canyon were already carved to within a few hundred meters of their current depth by about 70 million years ago…. That’s a far cry from the 5-million-to 6-million-year-old age suggested by previous research, and is about quadruple the oldest previous estimate from other teams for the canyon’s age (Perkins, emp. added).

Quite an abrupt change, to say the least. And many geologists are skeptical. Geologist Richard Young of the State University of New York, Geneseo said, “I like the work [this team is] doing, and a lot of the stuff they’ve done is really interesting, but there’s a lot of evidence for a young Grand Canyon” (as quoted in Perkins). Professor emeritus of geosciences at the University of Arizona in Tucson said, “this [notion of an old Grand Canyon] isn’t what most people are thinking…. The Grand Canyon is a very young-looking feature to this geologist’s eye” (as quoted in Perkins). Structural geologist of the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque thinks the new findings are “out in left field,” seeing as his team of researchers “also analyzed helium concentrations in apatites that were collected just a couple of kilometers downstream from where Flowers and Farley collected their samples in the western Grand Canyon” (Perkins). Their results, which will be published in the coming months, “bolster the notion of a young gorge [i.e., fewer than 20 million years old—JM]” (Perkins).

What are we to make of this clearly controversial discussion? First, as usual, evolutionists cannot even agree with each other over their assertions, and yet we are supposed to blindly believe them. Geologist Rebecca Flowers of the University of Colorado at Boulder, lead author of this new research, herself admits that, “If history were as simple as the popular view, the canyon’s origins wouldn’t continue to be a topic of hot debate” (as quoted in Perkins, emp. added). If the alleged evidence prompting the previous “prevailing” timeline—a timeline that had been touted as fact by most geologists for decades—is, in truth, questionable enough to potentially call for its being brushed aside due to the latest evidence, how can it be said that the evidence for the previous timeline was as substantial as had been asserted? Who’s to say that this new evidence is not also questionable, in spite of the claims of today’s geologists?

Second, evolutionary dating techniques continue to prove themselves to be suspect, since they yield completely different age results for the same specimen (in this case, a canyon), often differing by millions and millions of years. This problem, as we have discussed elsewhere (i.e., Miller, 2013), is likely due to the inherent flaws in the assumptions being utilized in evolutionary dating techniques, and is further evidence to substantiate that truth. Once again, viewing the geologic column through the lense of catastrophism (especially in light of the global Flood of Noah’s day) eliminates the continuing contradictions implied by this latest find. [NOTE: For previous articles documenting fluctuating alleged ages for the Grand Canyon, see: Butt, 2003; Butt, 2008.]

REFERENCES

“Baby Grand” (2003), National Geographic Kids, p. 7, March.

Butt, Kyle (2003), “Changing Their Tune about the Age of the Grand Canyon?” Apologetics Press, http://www.apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=9&article=908.

Butt, Kyle (2008), “Wrong About the Grand Canyon,” Apologetics Press, http://www.apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=9&article=1194.

Flowers, R.M. and K.A. Farley (2012), “Apatite ⁴He/³He and (U-Th)/He Evidence for an Ancient Grand Canyon,” Science, 338[6114]:1616-1619, December 21.

Hoffman, J.S. (1987), Grand Canyon Visual (San Diego, CA: Arts and Crafts Press).

Miller, Jeff (2013), “Don’t Assume Too Much: Not All Assumptions in Science Are Bad,” Apologetics Press, http://apologeticspress.org/article/1686.

Perkins, Sid (2012), “A Grand Old Canyon,” Science Now, http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2012/11/a-grand-old-canyon.html#.UQKhsjn8rsA.email.

Copyright © 2013 Apologetics Press, Inc. All rights reserved.

FIRST FRUIT OFFERING

February 20th, 2013 | By admin

by Paul Holland

Malachi 3:8-12

THE SIN – 3:8 – “Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions.”
Israel was robbing God. They asked this “serious” question: “How have we robbed you?”
This is the seventh time in Malachi that Israel has responded with such a question in defense of themselves against God’s accusations. Refer back to 1:2 and connect the dots – we rob God when we forget that He loves us.

This shows that what God had expected them to give was not optional. It was an obligation to God to the extent that not giving was actually taking away from God.

THE PUNISHMENT- 3:9 – “You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you.”
The pronoun “Me” (referring to God) is emphatic in Hebrew. This was not just a single, isolated act but the “whole nation” was robbing God! Therefore, God would “curse them”. Notice how emphatic God is in saying this: “You are cursed with a curse.”

THE COMMAND – 3:10:
Bring (!) the whole tithe into God’s storehouse so that there may be food and test (!) me now in this –

“Bring the whole tithe” – The Israelites are suffering from a famine – and yet, God demands that they trust Him to provide the next meal by giving Him the first fruits! What a test of faith and loyalty.

“Test” – Usually, the word is used of God testing his children. Here, it is God asking us – commanding us – to test Him. God rebuked Israel for “testing” Him at the waters of Meribah (Psa. 95:9). There, they were testing God’s patience and His justice. Here, God calls on Israel to test His loving-kindness, His mercy, His love.

Notice the title God gives Himself here three times – “Lord of hosts” – “hosts” is generally understood to be His angels. I suggest it emphasizes here that God has angels at His disposal to send and make sure that His people have their needs provided – just trust Him!

“IF I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows.”  Thus, we have…

THE BLESSING – 3:11-12:
Here are the specific examples of God “opening the windows of heaven:”
#1 – “I will rebuke the devourer so that it will not destroy the fruits of the ground” (probably referring to locusts)
#2 – “I will rebuke the devourer… so that your vine in the field will not cast its grapes” (referring to blight or mildew on grapes)
#3 – “All the nations will call you blessed for you shall be a delightful land.”
“Blessed” by whom? By God – therefore, ultimately, God is glorified as other people realize that God takes care of His people.

CONCLUSION:
With these thoughts in mind, let us review three verses:
1.     God does not change – Malachi 3:6. He still demands that we trust Him which means we give the first fruits of our harvest.
2.     God requires us to give “as we have prospered” – 1 Corinthians 16:1-2, and He gets the first fruits of what we prosper – Matthew 6:33. The bottom line is that we give to show that we trust God. If we give little, it’s because we trust little. We don’t trust God’s love will provide for our needs. That’s why giving, or the contribution, is an act of worship – it honors God for providing our needs.
3.     Finally, God will also open up the windows of heaven and bless us with such that we will  not have room to store it – 2 Corinthians 9:10-11.

Give to God the first fruits of your harvest and enjoy the blessings He pours out in return.

IF YOU COULD PRAY FOR ANYTHING…

January 30th, 2013 | By admin

By Aunt Mary

If you could pray for anything, what would you pray for? This is a little test I did with the girls in my Wednesday night Bible Class. The catch was it had to be something they thought God would answer. They answered a variety of things. Some were very good and considerate, like the health of her father. Others were more worldly centered, like  to meet Taylor Swift.

This is a good exercise to do to help you in your prayer- life. We all pray for things we don’t need, or can do without, but we need to think about what we pray for. Remember, God hears all of our prayers. We are told in 1 Thessalonians 5:17, to “Pray without ceasing.” That means you should always be in a prayerful attitude. Always ready to pray.

A friend and I were talking about prayer yesterday. We were discussing how at times, we don’t pray as we should. Everyone goes through this at times in their life. We can all use a good dose of prayer. Things get in our way, we forget, we get busy with life, and a million other things interrupt our prayer-life. When we feel these things pulling us away from prayer stop and say a quick prayer right then.

Another way to help your prayer life is to study more of God’s word. Get up earlier in the mornings and study the Bible. Get organized with a time and a place to study and talk to God. If you have to, make a schedule and decide what you want to do during that time. You may want to read the Bible through in a year. That takes from 30 minutes to an hour a day to do that. Take time during that time of study to pray.

God wants us to pray. He is our father, and as we would ask an earthly father for something, we should ask our heavenly Father for things. That makes us stronger and closer to God. Pray without ceasing. That’s a good thing. It’s hard, but a good thing to learn to do.

Start a prayer journal. Write down who and what you want to remember in prayer. It’s not a sin to look at that journal when you pray to remember who you need to ask blessings for. We need to remember those people.

One thing I have noticed through my years is how much nicer a person is who prays a lot. How can you tell? They are concerned for you. They care about you. Prayer makes a person more in tune with others around them. Do you have to bow your head, get down on your knees, or make some other outward gesture to pray? I don’t think so. You don’t want to make your praying a show for others to see. You can stand in line at the grocery store and pray when you remember someone. No one knows you are praying and you feel better about yourself.

Prayer is good. Remembering to pray is better.