Family

I ran into a stranger as he passed by,"Oh excuse me please" was my reply. He said, "Please excuse me too; I wasn't watching for you."

We were very polite, this stranger and I. We went on our way and we said goodbye.

But at home a different story is told, How we treat our loved ones, young and old. Later that day, cooking the evening meal, My son stood beside me very still.

When I turned, I nearly knocked him down."Move out of the way," I said with a frown. He walked away, his little heart broken.

I didn't realize how harshly I'd spoken.

While I lay awake in bed ,God's still small voice came to me and said, "While dealing with a stranger, common courtesy you use, but the family you love, you seem to abuse.

Go and look on the kitchen floor, You'll find some flowers there by the door. Those are the flowers he brought for you.

He picked them himself: pink, yellow and blue.

He stood very quietly not to spoil the surprise, you never saw the tears that filled his little eyes.

"By this time, I felt very small, And now my tears began to fall. I quietly went and knelt by his bed.

"Wake up, little one, wake up," I said. "Are these the flowers you picked for me?" He smiled, "I found 'em, out by the tree. I picked 'em because they're pretty like you.

I knew you'd like 'em, especially the blue."I said, "Son, I'm very sorry for the way I acted today;

I shouldn't have yelled at you that way."

He said, "Oh, Mom, that's okay . I love you anyway."

I said, "Son, I love you too,and I do like the flowers, especially the blue."

FAMILY

Are you aware that if we died tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of days.

But the family we left behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives. And come to think of it, we pour ourselves more into work than into our own family, an unwise investment indeed, don't you think?

So what is behind the story? Do you know what the word FAMILY means?

FAMILY = (F)ATHER (A)ND (M)OTHER (I) (L)OVE (Y)OU

(another email gem)

~Dancing with God~

When I meditated on the word GUIDANCE, I was drawn to"dance" at the end of the word.
I reflected upon how doing God's will is a lot like dancing.

When two people try to lead, nothing feels right. The movement doesn't flow with the music, and everything is quite uncomfortable and jerky. When one person realizes this and lets the other lead, both bodies begin to flow with the music.

One gives gentle cues, perhaps with a nudge to the back or by pressing lightly in one direction or another. It's as if two become one body, moving beautifully.

The dance takes surrender, willingness, and attentiveness from one person and gentle guidance and skill from the other.

My eyes drew back to the word GUIDANCE.

When I saw "G," I thought of God, followed by "u" and "i." "God, "u" and "i" dance." !
God, you, and I dance.

This statement is what guidance means to me. As I lowered my head, I became willing to trust that I would get guidance about my life.

Once again, I became willing to let God lead.

My prayer for you today is that God's blessings and mercies be upon you and your family on this day and everyday.

May you abide in Him as He abides in you.

Dance together with God, trusting Him to lead and to guide you through each season of your life. lets continue to pray for one another.

I Hope You Dance !!!!!!!!!!!!

Life is Precious - "Give God Thanks For It"

(From an email)

Women VS Men

WIFE VS. HUSBAND
A couple drove down a country road for several miles, not saying a word. An earlier discussion had led to an argument and neither of them wanted to concede their position.

As they passed a barnyard of mules, goats, and pigs, the husband asked sarcastically,

"Relatives of yours?" "Yep," the wife replied, "in-laws."

WORDS
A husband read an article to his wife about how many words women use a day...30,000 to a man's 15,000. The wife replied, "The reason has to be because we have to repeat everything to men..

The husband then turned to his wife and asked, "What?"

CREATION
A man said to his wife one day, "I don't know how you can be so stupid and so beautiful all at the same time. "The wife responded, "Allow me to explain.

God made me beautiful so you would be attracted to me;

God made me stupid so I would be attracted to you!

WHO DOES WHAT
A man and his wife were having an argument about who should brew the coffee each morning. The wife said, "You should do it because you get up first, and then we don't have to wait as long to get our coffee.

The husband said, "You are in charge of cooking around here and you should do it! because that is your job, and I can just wait for my coffee."

Wife replies, "No, you should do it, and besides, it is in the Bible that the man should do the coffee." Husband replies, "I can't believe that, show me."

So she fetched the Bible, and opened the New Testament and showed him at the top of several pages, that it indeed says .......... "HEBREWS"

THE SILENT TREATMENT
A man and his wife were having some problems at home and were giving each other the silent treatment. Suddenly, the man realized that the next day, he would need his wife to wake him at 5:00 AM for an early morning business flight.

Not wanting to be the first to break the silence (and LOSE), he wrote on a piece of paper, "Please wake me at 5:00 AM." He left it where he knew she would find it.

The next morning, the man woke up, only to discover it was 9:00 AM and he had missed his flight. Furious, he was about to go and see why his wife hadn't awakened him, when he noticed a piece of paper by the bed.

The paper said, "It is 5:00 AM. Wake up."

Men are not equipped for these kinds of contests.

God may have created man before woman, but there is always a rough draft before the masterpiece.

A Child's Perspective!

SUNDAY SCHOOL
Sunday school teacher was telling her class thestory of the Good Samaritan, in which a man was beaten, robbed and left for dead.

She described the situation in vivid detail so her students would catch the drama. Then, she asked the class, "If you saw a person lying on the roadside, all wounded and bleeding, what would you do?"
A thoughtful little girl broke the hushed silence,"I think I'd throw up."

STORY OF ELIJAH
The Sunday school teacher was carefully explaining the story of Elijah the Prophet and the false prophets of Baal. She explained how Elijah built the altar, put wood upon it, cut the steer in pieces, and laid it upon the altar.

And then, Elijah commanded the people of God to fill four barrels of water and pour it over the altar.
He had them do this four times. "Now," said the teacher, "can anyone in the class tell me why the Lord would have Elijah pour water over the steer on the altar?"

A little girl in the back of the room started waving her hand, "I know, I know," she said, "to make the gravy!"

LOT'S WIFE
The Sunday School teacher was describing how Lot's wife looked back and turned into a pillar of salt, when little Johnny interrupted, "My Mummy looked back once, while she was DRIVING," he announced triumphantly, "and she turned into a telephone pole!"

DID NOAH FISH?
A Sunday school teacher asked, "Johnny, do you think Noah did a lot of fishing when he was on the Ark?" "No," replied Johnny. "How could he, with just two worms."

POOR LION
A Sunday school teacher was telling the youngsters about Daniel and the Lion's Den. She had a picture of Daniel standing, brave and confident, with a group of lions around him.

One little girl started to cry. The teacher said, "Don't cry. The lions are not going to eat Daniel."

The girl said, "That's not what I'm crying about. That little lion, over in the corner, isn't going to get any food."

HIGHER POWER
A Sunday school teacher said to her children, "We have been learning how powerful kings and queens were in Bible times. But, there is a higher power. Can anybody tell me what it is?"

One child blurted out, "Aces!"

SUNDAY SCHOOL
Nine year old Joey,was asked by his mother what he had learned in Sunday school.

"Well, Mom, our teacher told us how God sent Moses behind enemy lines on a rescue mission to lead the Israelites out of Egypt.

When he got to the Red Sea, he had his engineers build a pontoon bridge and all the people walked across safely. Then, he used his walkie-talkie to radio headquarters for reinforcements.

They sent bombers to blow up the bridge and all the Israelites were saved." ”Now, Joey, is that really what your teacher taught you?" his mother asked.

"Well, no, Mom. But, if I told it the way the teacher did, you'd never believe it!"

THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD
A Sunday School teacher decided to have her young class memorize one of the most quoted passages in the Bible; Psalm 23. She gave the youngsters a month to learn the verse.

Little Bobby was excited about the task. But, he just couldn't remember the Psalm. After much practice, he could barely get past the first line.

On the day that the kids were scheduled to recite Psalm 23 in front of the congregation, Bobby was so nervous.

When it was his turn, he stepped up to the microphone and said proudly, "The Lord is my shepherd and that's all I need to know!"

Scripture Tree

This is awesome!!

Click on the above link

When the tree comes up....click on a flower, close that one and click on another.

Have a great day.

Happy Birthday Matthew!

It is so hard to believe my second oldest son is 23 years old today. Where have all those years gone?

Happy Birthday Matthew. I thank the Lord for allowing me to be your mom. I am very proud of you and love you very much.

My prayer for you today is that you will become the man of God you were born to be.



That you will have the blessing and love of the Lord in your life always.

That His hand will be upon you always to guide you and lead you in the way of righteousness.

That you will always find joy in everything you do.

May He keep you safe and give you the desires of your heart. And above all else, may you come to know the Lord in a very real and wonderful way all the days of your life.

We all love you and miss you!

We Need More Judges Like This One!

Remember the guy who got on a plane with a bomb built into his shoe and tried to light it?
Did you know his trial is over?
Did you know he was sentenced?
Did you see/hear any of the judge's comments on TV or Radio?
Didn't think so.

Everyone should hear what the judge had to say.

Ruling by Judge William Young, US District Court.

Prior to sentencing, the Judge asked the defendant if he had anything to say.

His response: After admitting his guilt to the court for the record, Reid also admitted his "allegiance to Osama bin Laden, to Islam, and to the religion of Allah," defiantly stating,

"I think I will not apologize for my actions," and told the court "I am at war with your country."

Judge Young then delivered the statement quoted below:

January 30, 2003, United States vs. Reid. Judge Young:"

Mr. Richard C. Reid, hearken now to the sentence the Court imposes upon you.
On counts 1, 5 and 6 the Court sentences you to life in prison in the custody of the United States Attorney General.

On counts 2, 3, 4 and 7, the Court sentences you to 20 years in prison on each count, the sentence on each count to run consecutively. (That's 80 years.)

On count 8 the Court sentences you to the mandatory 30 years again, to be served consecutively to the 80 years just imposed.

The Court imposes upon you for each of the eight counts a fine of $250,000 that's an aggregate fine of $2 million.

The Court accepts the government's recommendation with respect to restitution and orders restitution in the amount of $298.17 to Andre Bousquet and $5,784 to American Airlines.

The Court imposes upon you an $800 special assessment. The Court imposes upon you five years supervised release simply because the law requires it.

But the life sentences are real life sentences so I need go no further.

This is the sentence that is provided for by our statutes. It is a fair and just sentence. It is a righteous sentence.

Now, let me explain this to you. We are not afraid of you or any of your terrorist co-conspirators, Mr. Reid.

We are Americans. We have been through the fire before. There is too much war talk here and I say that to every-one with the utmost respect. Here in this court, we deal with individuals as individuals and care for individuals as individuals.
As human beings, we reach out for justice.
You are not an enemy combatant. You are a terrorist.

You are not a soldier in any war. You are a terrorist.

To give you that reference, to call you a soldier, gives you far too much stature. Whether the officers of government do it or your attorney does it, or if you think you are a soldier.

You are not----- you are a terrorist. And we do not negotiate with terrorists. We do not meet with terrorists. We do not sign documents with terrorists. We hunt them down one by one and bring them to justice.

So war talk is way out of line in this court. You are a big fellow. But you are not that big.

You're no warrior. I've known warriors. You are a terrorist. A species of criminal that is guilty of multiple attempted murders.

In a very real sense, State Trooper Santiago had it right when you first were taken off that plane and into custody and you wondered where the press and the TV crews were, and he said: "You're no big deal."

You are no big deal. What your able counsel and what the equally able United States attorneys have grappled with and what I have as honestly as I know how tried to grapple with, is why you did something so horrific.

What was it that led you here to this courtroom today? I have listened respectfully to what you have to say.

And I ask you to search your heart and ask yourself what sort of unfathomable hate led you to do what you are guilty and admit you are guilty of doing?

And I have an answer for you. It may not satisfy you, but as I search this entire record, it comes as close to understanding as I know.

It seems to me you hate the one thing that to us is most precious. You hate our freedom. Our individual freedom.

Our individual freedom to live as we choose, to come and go as we choose, to believe or not believe as we individually choose.

Here, in this society, the very wind carries freedom. It carries it everywhere from sea to shining sea. It is because we prize individual freedom so much that you are here in this beautiful courtroom.

So that everyone can see, truly see, that justice is administered fairly, individually, and discretely. It is for freedom's sake that your lawyers are striving so vigorously on your behalf, have filed appeals, will go on in their representation of you before other judges.

We Americans are all about freedom. Because we all know that the way we treat you, Mr. Reid, is the measure of our own liberties. Make no mistake though. It is yet true that we will bare any burden; pay any price, to preserve our freedoms.

Look around this courtroom. Mark it well. The world is not going to long remember what you or I say here. The day after tomorrow, it will be forgotten, but this, however, will long endure.

Here in this courtroom and courtrooms all across America, the American people will gather to see that justice, individual justice, justice, not war, individual justice is in fact being done.

The very President of the United States through his officers will have to come into courtrooms and lay out evidence on which specific matters can be judged and juries of citizens will gather to sit and judge that evidence democratically, to mold and shape and refine our sense of justice.

See that flag, Mr. Reid? That's the flag of the United States of America. That flag will fly there long after this is all forgotten. That flag stands for freedom. And it always will.

Mr. Custody Officer. Stand him down.

So, how much of this Judge's comments did we hear on our TV sets? We need more judges like Judge Young, but that's another subject.

Everyone should and needs to hear what this fine judge had to say. Powerful words that strike home. God bless America!

(This was forwarded to me from an email I HAD to post it.)

Think About The Words You Say!

Nail in The Fence


There once was a little boy who had a bad temper. His Father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the back of the fence.

The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence.

Over the next few weeks, as he learned to control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily gradually dwindled down.

He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence.

Finally the day came when the boy didn't lose his temper at all. He told his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper.

The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone. The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence.

He said, "You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same.

When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one.
You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. It won't matter how many times you say I'm sorry, the wound is still there. "

(From an email I recieved.)

Faith VS Doubt

Faith

Sees the invisible!

Believes the incredible!!

Receives the impossible!!!


Doubt sees the obstacles; faith sees the way.

Doubt sees the darkness; faith sees the day.

Doubt dreads to take a step; faith soars on high.

Doubt questions who believes; faith answers I believe.

Can you judge someone by looking at them?

BY LOOKING AT A PICTURE OF A PERSON, YOU HAVE TO DECIDE IF HE IS A COMPUTER GEEK OR A SERIAL KILLER.

GO WITH YOUR GUT FEELING AND CLICK ON YOUR CHOICE. THERE ARE 10 PHOTOS. YOUR SCORE WILL BE GIVEN AT THE END. Let me know what your score is on the comment section.

I scored 9 out of 10, guess that means I am safe?

Serial Killer Quiz

Nature Speaks

So far today I have seen a cute little bunny, numerous birds and butterflies just simply by looking out the back door.

Everytime I see the wonderous signs of nature I can't help but wonder how anyone in their right mind can believe there is no God.

Everything in nature cries in acknowledgment of the existance of a creator. A creative designer to all the beauty we see in nature. How can anyone honestly believe all this was merely and "accident"??

It takes more faith to believe the universe and everything magical in it was not formed by some kind of design than it does to believe their is a creator who loved us enough to surround us with such beauty and wonder. And if He loves us enough to give us such awesome things, it would stand to reason He desires a personal relationship with his workmanship.

And it takes no more faith to believe if He can create all this, He can do anything! If anything I am going through seems to tough for God to handle all I need do is look around and see all the miracles we so easily take for granted. Whatever is going on in my life that needs repair is nothing He cannot fix. The key is to be willing to let Him fix it. To be willing to call on Him and to listen to what He has to say.

He gave us His word to guide us, to encourage and teach us. He gave us His Son to die for our sins so we might have life and have it more abundantly and He offers us eternity with Him. He gave us his Holy Spirit to give us strength to overcome and to understand what He desires of us, His creation.

All He asks is that we accept His love, His plan for redemption, and His desire to be the Lord of our lives. He offers us life, and it is up to each individual person to make the choice to accept it or reject it.

He does not promise us we will have a trouble free life, or every material thing we desire, what He does promise us is He will never leave us nor forsake us. That if we accept the free gift Jesus gives us through His scarifice we will one day leave this earth and spend forever with Him. No more tears, no more pain or struggle, or loss. He promises us heaven!

"And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” Revelation 21:3-5

Now that is a promise I can hang on to!! And you should to...if you do not know Jesus Christ think about getting to know him...because No Jesus No Peace....Know Jesus Know Peace!!! And it is a peace inside that nothing can take away from you no matter what is going on around you!!

Booker's favorite place to be....floating on a raft in the lake. This was taken over Memorial Day weekend when we all went to the lake. Booker also enjoyed tubbing....something which brought funny and amazed looks from passerbys.... He spent the day getting off and on the raft. He has climbing from the boat to the floaty down to a science!!

You Are a Prophet Soul

You are a gentle soul, with good intentions toward everyone. Selfless and kind, you have great faith in people. Sometimes this faith can lead to disappoinment in the long run. No matter what, you deal with everything in a calm and balanced way. You are a good interpreter, very sensitive, intuitive, caring, and gentle. Concerned about the world, you are good at predicting people's feelings. A seeker of wisdom, you are a life long learner looking for purpose and meaning. You are a great thinker and communicator, but not necessarily a doer. Souls you are most compatible with: Bright Star Soul and Dreaming Soul What Kind of Soul are You

Our Attorney

After living what I felt was a "decent" life, my time on earth came to the end. The first thing I remember is sitting on a bench in the waiting room of what I thought to be a court house. The doors opened and I was instructed to come in and have a seat by the defense table.

As I looked around I saw the "prosecutor". He was a villainous looking gent who snarled as he stared at me. He definitely was the most evil person I have ever seen.

I sat down and looked to my left and there sat My Attorney, a kind and gentle looking Man whose appearance seemed so familiar to me, I felt I knew Him.

The corner door flew open and there appeared the Judge in full flowing robes. He commanded an awesome presence as He moved across the room. I couldn't take my eyes off of Him. As He took His seat behind the bench, He said, "Let us begin."

The prosecutor rose and said, "My name is Satan and I am here to show you why this sinner belongs in hell." He proceeded to tell of lies that I told, things that I stole, and in the past when I cheated others. Satan told of other horrible perversions that were once in my life and the more he spoke, the further down in my seat I sank.

I was so embarrassed that I couldn't look at anyone, even My Own Attorney, as the devil told of sins that even I had completely forgotten about.

As upset as I was at Satan for telling all these things about me, I was equally upset at My Attorney who sat there silently not offering any form of defense at all. I know I had been guilty of those things, but I had done some good in my life -- couldn't that at least equal out part of the harm I'd done?

Satan finished with a fury and said, "This sinner belongs in hell, and is guilty of all that I have charged and there is not a person who can prove otherwise."

When it was His turn, My Attorney first asked if He might approach the bench. The Judge allowed this over the strong objection of Satan, and beckoned Him to come forward. As He got up and started walking, I was able to see Him in His full Splendor and Majesty.

I realized why He seemed so familiar; this was Jesus representing me, My Lord and My Savior.
He stopped at the bench and softly said to the Judge, "Hi, Dad!" and then He turned to address the court. "Satan was correct in saying that this man had sinned, I won't deny any of these allegations.

And, yes, the wage of sin is death, and this sinner deserves to be punished." Jesus took a deep breath and turned to His Father with outstretched arms and proclaimed, "However, I died on the cross so that this person might have eternal life and he has accepted Me as his Savior, so he is Mine.

"My Lord continued with, "His name is written in the book of life and no one can snatch him from Me. Satan still does not understand yet.

This man is not to be given justice, but rather mercy."As Jesus sat down, He quietly paused, looked at His Father and said, "There is nothing else that needs to be done. I've done it all."


The Judge lifted His mighty hand and slammed the gavel down. The following words resounded from His lips... "This man is free. The penalty for him has already been paid in full. Case dismissed."

As My Lord embraced me and led me away, I could hear Satan ranting and raving, "I won't give up; I will win the next one.

"I asked Jesus as He gave me my instructions where to go next, "Have you ever lost a case?" Christ lovingly smiled and said, "Everyone that has come to Me and asked Me to represent them has received the same verdict as you, "PAID IN FULL."


"Stop telling God how big your storm is. Instead, tell the storm how big your God is!"

(Taken from an email)

Don't Ever Give Up!

Life is never easy and sometimes we will get a curve ball thrown our way. God doens't promise us we will not have trials, or suffer illness or tragedy in our lives. What He does promise is to be there and guide us through.

To be our comforter, and our ever present help. What happens while we are on earth is to prepare us for eternity with Him. When we can get our focus off ourselves, and off of the world attitude that it's all about ME and what I want, and where it belongs....on Him and His will for our lives, then and only then can we truly know the peace He promises us.

There are some believers out there who think if they are truly believers and truly listening to God nothing bad will happen in their life, that they will have riches on this earth and never face want or need. That if you just "name it can claim it" with true faith God will give you everything you want and you will have a life full of happiness. There is one little problem with that...it is NOT what the bible says.

When Jesus says He came to give us life and life more abundantly he was not talking about worldly possessions, or a trial free life. And if you have trials, or suffer illness, or struggle financially it does not mean you do not have enough faith.

In fact Jesus said, "33 These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”John 16:33

There are people who give up at the first sign of trial. Willing to make Christ their Lord and savior as long as having Christ as Savior gets them the "things" they want, if not it is not long before they walk away from their relationship with the Lord.

Jesus said "But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. 22 Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful." Matthew 13:21-23

The Lord is with us through everything. He promises to never leave us or forsake us, sometimes when you may feel He has left you, it was not Him who turned away!

His ways are not our ways, and He works how He works, the key is to trust Him no matter what is going on and no matter how circumstances may look. We must always remember what happens in this life is temporary, what counts is eternity. God is in control of all things, even if we do not believe or understand this fact. It's one reason why I say it so often. Knowing He is in control makes the trials and the hurts much easier to bear and get through. Knowing that no matter what it looks like or how I feel, My God is always there for me, loving me, forgiving me and giving me the strength to make it through anything!

Jesus is our rock, if we let Him be...so no matter what trail you are going through, no matter how confusing things that happen may be in our lives, we must always remember there is HOPE and through Christ we can do and handle anything...don't ever give up!!!

Remember just when you feel like giving up is usually the time when the miracle arrives...and as Job said, "Though He slay me yet will I trust Him."

Good Manners

[Love] does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil. 1 Corinthians 13:5

In an old village in England, this inscription was reportedly found on a tombstone: "Here lies a miser who lived for himself and cared for nothing but gathering wealth.
Now where he is or how he fares, nobody knows and nobody cares." How would you like to have that written on your tombstone?

How much better it would be for others to say of our lives, "This person was always thinking of and caring for others."

The Bible tells us that "[love] does not behave rudely, does not seek its own" (1 Corinthians 13:5). In other words, true love has good manners. This is something that is largely lost in our culture today.

There's a prevailing attitude that seems to say, "If my behavior offends someone else, that's their problem. They have to get over it." But as Christians, we need to realize we are part of the body of Christ, and as such, we should consider what other people are experiencing.

We should care about others. The world does not revolve around you or me.
We should put the needs of others above our own.God's love is not provoked.
It is not aroused to anger. It thinks no evil, which means it doesn't keep a record of wrongs.

When someone has been wronged and says, "I can't believe you did that! I keep records. I don't get mad; I get even," that is not God's love.

Has someone taken advantage of you? Forget about it. Did they do it again? Don't worry about it. Let it go. It doesn't matter.

That's how God's love is.Caring about others more than we care about ourselves is more than good manners. It is godly love.

(Taken from my daily devotions from Harvest Crusade Church.)

Who Needs Jesus?

Who needs Jesus? We all do. It is only through Him do any of us have the promise and hope of eternity in heaven and not hell. Jesus himself said, "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, NO man comes to the Father but through ME."

Why must a person accept Jesus in order to be assured of heaven? Because "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God". No one can ever be good enough to earn heaven. It's not possible for us to do enough "good deeds" to pay for our sinfulness.

God is a Holy God. He is also a just God. Justice is an important thing not only in this world but in the world to come. Breaking the law requires penalties and consequences. If you were to break the law say, for stealing, and were arrested you would stand before a judge, who would decide what punishment would be just for that transgression.

Believing you are a "good person" will not save you. No one is good when their life is held up to God's standard of goodness--which would be perfection.

Have you ever lied? Then what would that make you? Be honest...and no the answer is not human...What would you call someone else who lied to you? A liar of course.

Have you ever stolen anything? Taken even something small that did not belong to you? Like a pen or some other inconsequential object from work? What would that make you? A thief!

Have you ever looked at another person with lust? Jesus said if a man even looks at a woman with lust he has committed adultery in his heart... So that would make you an adulterer.

You see? There is no one who can say they have never ever told a lie, if you say that then you definitely are lying.
There is no one who can say, that even as a child they have taken nothing that didn't belong to them.
And we all know in today's world it would be almost impossible to say a person has never looked at another person without lusting ... Another word would be desiring to be with that person in a sexual way. Same thing...In case you thought you could bypass that one on a technicality!

So by God's law just those three would make a person a liar, thief and adulterer...Which is why we need Jesus. God's law is just, and those who break His laws will stand before Him someday in judgment.

Just as man's law requires punishment or atonement for breaking the law (sin=breaking God's laws), so does God demand atonement for transgressions of His law. The 10 Commandments (God's Laws to us) are impossible for us to keep. The Bible says if we break one we are guilty of breaking them all. The punishment for sin is death..."For the wages of sin is death". Jesus paid that debt for us...All of us. But if we don't accept His gift for us, it does us no good.

Jesus willingly went to the cross to become the sacrifice to pay the penalty for all of our sins. He willingly suffered brutal beatings, and crucifixion because He loves us so much He wants us to be able to spend eternity with Him. He wants to give us the forgiveness and mercy freely...it's a free gift to us that cost Him a lot.

Because it is a gift, all we need do is accept it. God is not willing that anyone should perishes. He made a way that each person has the choice to accept the gift His son Jesus gives to us. It is a choice each one has to make on their own. God doesn't WANT to send anyone to hell, and actually He does not send anyone, if you reject His saving grace you CHOOSE to go there.

It's like someone giving you a check for $1000,000.00 if you never cash it, you might as well not have the money and it does you no good. Unless you make the choice to freely accept it, it's worthless.

You can never be good enough, or do enough good to merit heaven. You cannot earn your way or talk your way into heaven. Yes God loves YOU so very much, and He is a God of Love...but like I said He is also a God of Justice.

A Holy God who requires holiness to see Him...and we receive that Holiness and righteousness when we admit we are sinners, repent and turn to Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins (wrongs). Without that repentance and acceptance of Jesus, the only alternative is to be forever separated from your creator...and eternity out of the presence of God truly will be hell.

The True Danger in the DaVinci Code

Do you know what the biggest danger of this controversy over the Da Vinci Code is?

It is the fact it is causing division among Christians. You know that old saying, A house divided cannot stand. We have two camps, so to speak on this controversy. Those who say if you are a "true" Christian you will protest this movie and not see it." And those who say there is nothing wrong with it at all it's just a movie and fiction.

I fall somewhere in the middle. I agree this "fiction" is causing a certain amount of harm to the Christian beliefs, but only to those who are not grounded in their faith and the Truth of God's word, and those who are looking for another excuse to reject Jesus. But I also believe we can use this as a way to bring about dialoge with those who have seen this movie or read the book.

Know your enemy I say. As a Christian we should be well aware that as long as the world has existed the "enemy" has been trying to decieve people into believing there is no God or that the word of God is nothing more than a fable.

If we as believers refuse to learn as much as we can about the falsehood others are believing, how are we to honestly have the ability to show them the truth? In order to show someone the truth you have to be able to show them why what they believe is NOT the truth. To make a case for the truth by dispelling through evidence falsehood.

The biggest harm though is like I said, the divison it is causing among Christians. Jesus said that by our love for one another the world will know Him. That through this love between the believers we will be known as Christians.

"34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:34-36

When fellow believers backbite and criticise each other it gives unbelievers even more excuse to say.."see they're lives are no different than mine..I'm just as good as they are". We're suppose to be loving of one another, not judging someone's faith by OUR standards, but God's.

"1 Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things....10 But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.....

12 So then each of us shall give account of himself to God. 13 Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way.....

14 I know and am convinced by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself; but to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. .......

19 Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another......

21 It is good neither to eat meat nor drink wine nor do anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak.
22 Do you have faith? Have it to yourself before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves. 23 But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin." Romans 14

So insteading of attacking each other, which is exactly what we SHOULDN'T be doing, keep in mind each has their own opinion and each of us will give account to God for their own life.

Below are some questions and answers on certain points of fiction in this movie and book.

Q: “Did Jesus choose Mary Magdalene to lead the early church?”

A: In short, no. Two historical documents—the Gospel of Mary and the writings of Hippolytus—form the flimsy basis of the argument that Mary Magdalene had an extremely elevated status among Christ’s followers, but two problems derail this evidence:

The documents in question aren’t historically reliable. Historians agree that the Gospel of Mary was probably written in the 2nd century by someone other than Mary. And archaeological findings suggest that the quote The Da Vinci Code attributes to Hippolytus in the 3rd century doesn’t appear in any manuscripts until the 10th century.

The documents are misinterpreted. The Gospel of Mary suggests only that Mary was “the disciple Jesus loved.” Erroneous as that theory is, it never suggests that she was to lead the church. And Hippolytus merely includes Mary in a group of women who observed the risen Christ and who proclaimed the message of the resurrection (which was the heart of Hippolytus’s message, conveniently ignored by The Da Vinci Code and those who support the theories.)

Q: Did Constantine commission the destruction of the Gnostic gospels to hide evidence of the human attributes of Christ?

A: Actually, the Gnostic gospels did quite the opposite. They were spiritual allegories that usually downplayed and often denied the humanity of Jesus.
They are comparable to an ancient version of The Da Vinci Code—fictional accounts attributed to historically significant characters in order to convey a heretical religious or philosophical agenda.

And the Council of Nicaea was an effort to reach consensus on existing church beliefs, not to eradicate the truth or invent new ideas. Within the church, a man named Arius had introduced the new argument that Jesus was not divine, and this deviation from the previously accepted doctrine was shot down.

Q: Was the New Testament altered throughout history?

A: The New Testament is without a doubt one of the most well-preserved ancient collections in history. All of the books were written either by eye witnesses to the events described (namely, the apostles) or men in close contact with eye witnesses. And all 27 books of the New Testament were quoted by early church fathers within a relatively short time of their writing.

Basically, the New Testament was written by people who had been in close contact with Christ Himself, and they were accepted as true by eye witnesses as well as the following generation of believers. Considering the nature of the claims made in the New Testament, its wide acceptance gives remarkable credibility to its truth.

Since the New Testament books were so publicly recognized, they also would have been next to impossible to alter or destroy.

The Da Vinci Code Controversy: Ten Facts You Should Know.

Is Bill Maher A Chicken??

The author of a new book called, Intelligent Design Versus Evolution—letters to an atheist has challenged Bill Maher to a public debate.

Ray Comfort maintains, “Mr. Maher, like all believers in the theory of evolution simply has a blind faith in a theory-tale that can’t be substantiated. It’s just another opiate of the masses--a religion called ‘Darwinism’ that piously robes itself in what it thinks is ‘science.’ It is true science fiction.”


The author adds, “I am beginning to suspect that some men may have evolved from chickens, or at least that’s the impression I get when it comes to evolutionists standing up for their convictions.
Mr. Maher can choose the place of the debate.
I don’t mind if he has it in front of his audience. He can bill it as ‘Another simple-minded Christian being thrown to the lions.’”

He maintains that the political satirist was woefully misinformed last year when he lashed out at intelligent design and said, “Evolution is supported by the entire scientific community . . . the reason there is no real debate, is that intelligent design isn't real science.

The author said, “I can scientifically prove intelligent design. Let’s have 20 minutes each. I present my case (I won’t even mention “faith”) and then he can present his case for evolution. I say that he doesn’t have one. He’s bluffing. I don’t mind if he spends his 20 minutes telling jokes, because that’s all he has.”

In 2001, Comfort was flown from Los Angeles to Orlando, Florida by American Atheists, Inc., to be a platform speaker at their 27th National Convention. “They not only paid my airfare, but they even put me up in a nice hotel, and kindly gave me a gift basket when I arrived.”

He has also spoken on the subject of intelligent design at Yale, UCLA and other prestigious learning institutions.
His publication “The Atheist Test” has sold over 700,000 copies. He’s the author of more than 50 books, including, God Doesn’t Believe in Atheists and, The Evidence Bible (2002 Gold Medallion Award finalist).
He also produced an co-hosted “The Science of Evolution,” which won 2005 NRB “People’s Choice” and “Best Program Award.”

As for Maher’s claim that “intelligent design isn’t real science,” Comfort points out that the concept of Intelligent Design originated with scientists and it’s the scientific evidence that lead them to that conclusion.

“Hundreds of scientific scholars and researchers throughout the world support it—including scientists with the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the Smithsonian Institute, with doctoral degrees in biological sciences, physics, chemistry, mathematics, medicine, computer science, and related disciplines, from universities such as Yale, Princeton, Stanford, MIT, UC Berkeley, and UCLA. So Mr. Maher can’t dismiss the idea as ‘not scientific’ just because he doesn’t like that conclusion.”

Comfort adds that Intelligent Design is supported by scientist Fritz Schaefer, four times nominated for a Nobel Prize; Oxford Professor Antony Flew, the famous British philosopher and atheist who acknowledged that intelligent design proves there is a Creator; and Professor Michael Behe, the biochemist who has proven the “irreducible complexity” of the human cell structure.

According to Behe, “Intelligent design is based on observed, empirical, physical evidence from nature.”The best-selling author also points out that Intelligent Design Versus Evolution—letters to an atheist gives both sides of the issue. “The book contains scores of letters written by a very intelligently designed atheist who gives evolution’s best arguments. I think that’s healthy.

Yet pro-evolution pseudo-intellectuals are calling for censorship, by not allowing school kids the freedom to listen to both sides of the argument. That reveals their insecurity.”Comfort added, “It was the British journalist and philosopher Malcolm Muggeridge who so aptly said, ‘I myself am convinced that the theory of evolution, especially the extent to which it has been applied, will be one of the great jokes in the history books of the future.’

Perhaps Mr. Maher has thought about the issue and will admit that it was all a new standup routine—that evolution is just a ‘great joke,’ and we will laugh together. I’d love to hear from him, but I won’t be holding my breath.”

CLICK HERE to watch Mr. Maher explain his position on the Intelligent Design vs. Evolution debate.

Take from Way of the Master's Website.