ABC's of life

ABC's of life

And that from a child thou hast known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 2 Timothy 3:15.

There seems to be three choices left to people in regards to the matter of spiritual education. This applies whether it be the education of children or adults.

1. Let the secular world do it. This is the most popular choice with the unsaved. The indifferent like it because it relieves them of responsibility. Many prefer the worldly influence to prevail in their family so they may enjoy the praise of man. But the end results are as tragic as rank atheism.

2. Let some church do it, whether faithful to the Scriptures or not. Church membership is a social asset and acceptable these days, but the truth suffers here. The denominational framework which men have devised has always held down the truth. Instead of folks being made wise unto salvation they are brainwashed along the lines called historical Christianity.

3. Let the Scriptures do it. This is God's choice for us. The Word contains both the message and methods needed. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. 2 Tim 3:16,17.

Someone once said that "the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world." The education a child receives at a mother's knee is retained for life. It is noteworthy then, that the mother and grandmother of Timothy were commended for their faithfulness to God in educating Timothy in the Scriptures. 2 Tim 1:5.

There is an awesome responsibility involved in parenthood. Children eventually become parents. They naturally look back to their own childhood for precept and example as a guide in raising their own children. If God and the Scriptures are honored properly, then there is that indispensable wisdom, which comes only from God, as the resource to draw from.

The unsaved, by comparison, cannot be anything but rank amateurs in parenthood. And it is just short of the miraculous when someone is saved out of an unsaved home background. Where the love of God and family unity is unknown, sin and darkness prevail and human tragedy abounds in warped and twisted lives.





Dennis

dennisocallaghan@msn.com
http://www.studiesinscripture.bravehost.com
http://drcallahan.bravejournal.com/

America's Christian Spirit

You can hijack our jet planes, and take innocent lives through disregard;
You can leave our buildings burning, and think you hold the final card;
But we Americans will rise above you, and bury our dead;
But the final time is coming, and your history will be read;

You haven't taken away our pride or our willingness to fight;
You just stalled us for a little while, and Kinda dimmed our sight;
But when the dust, smoke, and tears have cleared, we'll rise above the fall;
The ones who are against us will hear our Nation's call;

Our God and Lord are mightier, which was founded on this land;
It's not just our people of this country who will strike with a forceful
hand;
The Lord will ride upon the winds and lead us to strike defense;
For taking innocent victims, your reasons make no sense;

The ignorance of your reasoning, makes our God hear our cries;
Rejoice in our tribulations, and you'll soon hear our replies;
May God have mercy on you, and show you light from dark;
May God have mercy on you, when Americans hit the mark...

We can keep our Nation bold, brave and strong through our
Prayers and knowledge and trust for our God and loving Saviour.


This was written in dedication to those
Who have suffered because of the tragedy,
And for all Americans in this free land.
A call for Justice, not for Revenge.....

Free isn't anymore

Gentle Reader,
What is all the fuss about? Have you never read the "real content of the argument about church and state? Read it now then take back what was stolen from you!

Mr. President

To messers Nehemiah Dodge, Ephraim Robbins, & Stephen S. Nelson a committee of the Danbury Baptist association in the state of Connecticut.

Gentlemen

The affectionate sentiments of esteem & approbation which you are so good as to express towards me, on behalf of the Danbury Baptist association, give me the highest satisfaction. my duties dictate a faithful & zealous pursuit of the interests of my constituents, and in proportion as they are persuaded of my fidelity to those duties, the discharge of them becomes more & more pleasing.

Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man & his god, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, thus building a wall of separation between church and state. [Congress thus inhibited from acts respecting religion, and the Executive authorised only to execute their acts, I have refrained from presenting even occasional performances of devotion presented indeed legally where an Executive is the legal head of a national church, but subject here, as religious exercises only to the voluntary regulations and discipline of each respective sect.] Adhering to this expression of the supreme will of the nation in behalf of the rights of conscience, I shall see with sincere satisfaction the progress of those sentiments which tend to restore to man all his natural rights, convinced he has no natural right in opposition to his social duties.

I reciprocate your kind prayers for the protection and blessing of the common Father and creator of man, and tender you for yourselves and your religious association, assurances of my high respect & esteem.

(signed) Thomas Jefferson
Jan.1.1802.
Contrary to popular opinion, the term “separation of church and state” is found nowhere in the United States Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, or any other founding document of this nation. Yet for decades, some organizations and individuals have spread the myth that the words “separation of church and state” are found in the U.S. Constitution. Because of this misinformation, the ACLU and its allies have used this phrase to persuade public officials to silence religious expression.

Reflections of a Pastor

A Pastor is

One who speaks to your spirit

Listens to your heart

And understands what words can never say 

 

Dear Gentle Reader,

 For so many of you I have walked with you, felt your pain, known your hurts, your joy your sadness your tears and shared in your prayers. But Gentle Reader Have you ever heard of the butterfly effect? 

At one time there was a theory that the Chaos theory attempts to explain the fact that complex and unpredictable results can and will occur in systems that are sensitive to their initial conditions. A common example of this is known as the Butterfly Effect. It states that, in theory, the flutter of a butterfly's wings in China could, in fact, actually effect weather patterns in New York City, thousands of miles away. In other words, it is possible that a very small occurrence can produce unpredictable and sometimes drastic results by triggering a series of increasingly significant events

 

News Bulletin: NEWS NEWS  NEWS  Gentle Reader, You are part of that Butterfly effect. And I would like you to know how much your prayers mean to one another and to me!

 

"The child whispered, 'God speak to me'

And a meadow lark sang.

The child did not hear.

 

So the child yelled 'God speak to me!'

And the thunder rolled across the sky

But the child did not listen.

 

The child looked around and said,

'God let me see you' and a star shone brightly

But the child did not notice.

 

And the child shouted,

"God show me a miracle!'

And a life was born but the child did not know.

 

So the child cried out in despair,

'Touch me God, and let me know you are here!'

Whereupon God reached down

And touched the child.

 

But the child brushed the butterfly away

And walked away unknowingly

 

Gentle Reader, You flapped your wings and God spoke through you and...who knows how many lives were changed for the Glory of God!

 I am so prould of each of you Gentle Readers, who come to share with me and each other who pray for one another each day whose prayers reach the highest of peaks far beyond what man can aspire to the very throne roome of God. Who in His infinite love bends to hear and answer the weakest voice. 

   I love each and every one of you, more that words will ever say.

Denis

Oh Lord, make thyself to me

A living bright Reality

More present to faith vision keen

Than any earthly object seen;

More dear more intimately nigh

Than e'an the dearest earthly tie

 

 To present truth may I respond

With all my heart and mind

The ever reach to truth beyond

And further treasures find

A little letter

Mommy and Daddy
Please don't be so sad,
I miss you so much, too.

It's beautiful here where I am,
But I worry a lot about you.

I sleep with angels watching me,
there's only love up here.
I'm never lonely of afraid
'cause God's so very near.

I walk with angels every day,
They're very kind and sweet.

Don't worry, Mom and Dad,
They hold my hand when
We cross a golden street.
I never cry or hurt myself,
I see rainbows every day.

I play and laugh and sing a lot,
And I hear you both when you pray.

Please Mommy and Daddy,
Don't be mad at God,
You see, he loves me, too.
And even though you're not with me,
I'm really still with you.

Author Unknown
This poem was posted on Infanlos by
Stephanie Wright
Columbus, GA
It was given to her by
A co-worker of her husband.

The Spiderweb

God and the Spiderweb

During World War II, a US Marine was separated from his unit on a Pacific island. The fighting had been intense, and in the smoke and the crossfire, he had lost touch with his comrades.

Alone in the jungle, he could hear enemy soldiers coming in his direction. Scrambling for cover, he found his way up a high ridge to several small caves in the rock. Quickly he crawled inside one of the caves. Although safe for the moment, he realized that once the enemy soldiers looking for him swept up the ridge, they would quickly search all the caves and he would be killed. As he waited, he prayed, "Lord, if it be your will, please protect me. Whatever your will though, I love you and trust you. Amen."

After praying, he lay quietly listening to the enemy begin to draw close. He thought, "Well, I guess the Lord isn't going to help me out of this one."

Just then he saw a spider begin to build a web over the front of his cave. As he watched, listening to the enemy searching for him all the while, the spider layered strand after strand of web across the opening of the cave.

"Hah" he thought, "what I need is a brick wall and what the Lord has sent me is a spider web. God does have a sense of humor."

As the enemy drew closer he watched from the darkness of his hideout and could see them searching one cave after another. As they came to his, he got ready to make his last stand. To his amazement, however, after glancing in the direction of his cave, they moved on.

Suddenly, he realized that with the spider web over the entrance, his cave looked as if no one had entered it for quite a while.

"Lord, forgive me," prayed the young man, "I had forgotten that in you a spider's web is stronger than a brick wall."

We all face times of great trouble. When we do, it is so easy to forget the victories that God would work in our lives, sometimes in the most surprising ways.

As the great leader, Nehemiah, reminded the people of Israel when they faced the task of rebuilding Jerusalem, "In God we will have success!" [Nehemiah 2:20]

Remember: Whatever is happening in your life, with God, a mere spider's web can become a brick wall of protection. Trust and believe that He is with you always. Just ask for his help and you will see His great power and love for you.

(Based on a biblical story about king David when he was running from King Saul in the Book of Kings I.)

a battle over Bibles

It's a battle over Bibles behind bars
June 18, 2006


Usually, judges throw the book at prisoners. This time a federal judge is taking the Book away from prisoners in Iowa.
U.S. District Court Judge Robert Pratt has joined with Americans United for Separation of Church and State and ordered a halt to a Bible-based prison program.
Pratt ruled against the InnerChange program run by Prison Fellowship at the Newton, Iowa, prison, on grounds that, heaven forbid, the prisoners might read the Bible and convert to the Christian faith.
Judge Pratt has ordered the state to dismantle the program and is demanding that Prison Fellowship return the $1.5 million it has been paid to help finance the effort.
Pratt should not have the last word.
Prison Fellowship will appeal the ruling and eventually the case should make its way to the U.S. Supreme Court. In Prison Fellowship's favor will be evidence that prisoners are not forced into the program. Prison Fellowship has attempted to use government money for the administrative side of its program, not to buy Bibles.
If the court rules in favor of the position of Americans United, plenty of other nonprofit groups will be in big trouble. Any nonprofit group with any hint of religious faith could find itself under threat of losing federal aid. The ruling would rip apart the juvenile justice system, which depends heavily on faith-based groups to help offenders.
As this case works its way through the courts, judges may want to pay attention to history that Judge Pratt ignored. The authors of the First Amendment prayed together and quoted from the Scriptures. Congress approved federal aid to faith-based missions to Indian tribes in the early years of the nation. The Northwest Ordinance, adopted by Congress at the time of the First Amendment, declared that religion, morality and knowledge were necessary for good government.
Groups like Americans United have campaigned to cleanse the public square of the Bible and Christian faith, and sometimes they find judges to go along with their crusade. Yet the First Amendment says: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, nor prohibiting the free exercise thereof." The idea was to avoid the establishment of a government church, such as the Church of England.
The attempt to use the courts to drive religious faith out of the public sphere has been a practical disaster. The Ten Commandments are accepted on statehouse grounds in Texas under one Supreme Court ruling, but not inside Kentucky courthouses under another top court ruling. Public officials can hardly quote a Bible verse in public without getting a legal opinion first.
In Iowa, Pratt's ruling suggests he is a power-grabbing federal judge with too much idle time on his hands. His Monday-morning quarterbacking of prison officials suggests he ought to get off the bench and run a prison himself. But his ruling is part of a larger problem of judicial activism, with judges interfering with the other two branches of government when no real constitutional issues are at stake.
Behind this ruling is a political attack on President Bush's attempt to open the door to faith-based approaches to social services. Judge Pratt and Americans United ought to look for a different tool to score political points against the president's efforts. The victims in this lawsuit are the prisoners who could lose the help offered by Prison Fellowship or other groups in order to return to society and avoid more crime.

God's idea

1. God wants spiritual fruit,
not religious nuts.

2. Dear God, I have a problem,
it's Me.

3. Growing old is inevitable
growing UP is optional.

4. There is no key to happiness.
The door is always open.

5. Silence is often misinterpreted
but never misquoted.

6. Do the math
count your blessings.

7. Faith is the ability to not panic.

8. Laugh every day,
it's like inner jogging.

9. If you worry, you didn't pray.
If you pray, don't worry.

10. As a child of God,
prayer is kind of like
calling home everyday.

11. Blessed are the flexible
for they shall not be
bent out of shape.

12. The most important things in your house
are the people.

13 When we get tangled up in our problems, be still.
God wants us to be still so He can untangle the knot.

14. A grudge is a heavy thing to carry.

15 He who dies with the most toys is still dead.




Now! No more excuses!
God can use you to your full potential.
Besides you aren't the message,
you are just the messenger.
And one more thing
Share this with a friend or two
In the Circle of God's love,
God's waiting to use your full potential.



Have a great day!!!
The SON is shining and he can certainly use you!

An open letter

Brethren,
God has called me to do 2 things to teach [sola scriptura] and preach [verse by verse] and to do that I need to do 2 things study and pray. I also like to bring others into a relationship with our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus. I spend my ministry with not only the adults but the forgotten members of the fellowship {Pastors Pals ages toddler to 12 years} [And seniors too!] We have a time of fellowship before we feed the "big people" ! I also spend time with the teens (after all their next in line for your place in the pew).

In other words beloved of God, according to 2 Tim 2:2 "And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also." is my Fathers' guidance to me. I have no doubt that you will find the man you want. as for me I am just One beggar showing another beggar where to find bread.

I have been looking to a place to share what God has been gracious to teach me. Much has been through the study of His most Holy Word. Much has been through the experiences of life's lessons. Perhaps you might want to consider choosing a person such as I to become your Shepherd . I am not currently in the Pastorate although I shepherd 7000+ men, women, boys and girls through an internet column called Dr Denis journal http://drcallahan.bravejournal.com A daily devotional consisting of Christian humor, stories, and teaching the Grace of God through life principals.

I'm not interested in what salary you could pay only that I obey God in the direction that He has appointed me. My only restriction for your church if indeed you are looking for a principal (Pastor) is that I be allow to teach and preach The "Word". I have not been aware that God has instituted a retirement program. With such experience you would have no need to "break in " a younger man. If you would need a doctrinal statement you need look no further that your closest Holy Bible as I believe the "whole Council" of God. I am enclosing a sample of my teaching for your review.
In His matchless name,


Dr Dennis Callahan

Clay balls

 

There are two freedoms - the false, where a man is free to do what he likes; the true, where he is free to do what he ought.  ~Charles Kingsley 

Gentle Reader,

  
A man was exploring caves by the seashore. In one of the caves he found a canvas bag with a bunch of hardened clay balls. It was like someone had rolled clay balls and left them out in the sun to bake. They didn't look like much, but they intrigued the man so he took the bag out of the cave with him. As he strolled along the beach, he would throw the clay balls one at a time out into the ocean as far as he could. He thought little about it until he dropped one of the balls and it cracked open on a rock. Inside was a beautiful, precious stone.
 
Excited the man started breaking open the remaining clay balls. Each contained a similar treasure.
 
He found thousands of dollars worth of jewels in the 20 or so clay balls he had left. Then it struck him. He had been on the beach a long time. He had thrown maybe 50 or 60 of the clay balls with their hidden treasure into the ocean waves. Instead of thousands of dollars in treasure, he could have taken home tens of thousands, but he just threw it away.
 
It's like that with people. We look at someone, maybe even ourselves, and we see the external clay vessel. It doesn't look like much from the outside. It isn't always beautiful or sparkling so we discount it. We see that person as less important than someone more beautiful or stylish or well known or wealthy. But we have not taken the time to find the treasure hidden inside that person by God.
 
There is a treasure in each and every one of us. If we take the time to get to know that person, and if we ask God to show us that person the way He sees them, then the clay begins to peel away and the brilliant gem begins to shine forth.
 
May we not come to the end of our lives and find out that we have thrown away a fortune in friendships because the gems were hidden in bits of clay.
 
May we see the people in our world as God sees them. (end of story.)
 
Jesus came in a meek and lowly form so it shouldn’t surprise us that most of His treasures are hidden in obscurity, out of sight to the proud. “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” (James 4:6)
 
Man’s Marks of Glory
 
Through being brain-washed by the systems of this world that are set as enemies to the kingdom of God, we are seduced to look for clay vessels that have recognizable marks on them – marks that easily identify them as experts in areas of life in which we seek advice – experts in health care, finances, beauty, wisdom, defense, how to be more popular, etc. There are certain professions, races, ethnic groups, parties, organizations, positions, etc. that we have been programmed t o believe that if we can connected with them somehow, if we can rub shoulders with this in some way, if we learn their system that some of that glory will rub off on us. Of course there is usually a cost attached. And ultimately, their glory turns out to be but fool’s gold. But then we’ve been suckers for that lie ever since the first time it was spoken in the garden. 
 
I have found in my Christian walk that those who have been most helpful to me have been those who I would not have expected to be so – they didn’t fit into the mold of what the “world system” considered good sources for information about how to gain more wealth, wisdom and popularity. My wife and I have a ministry that requires finances to run it. Most of the finances that have kept us going these many years have come from people who are not wealthy. As a matter of fact, we have received very little from very wealthy individuals. Statistics show that the lower income population gives a much larger portion of their income than do the wealthy. One would think that since the wealthy have much more disposable income than the poor that their giving percentage would be much higher than those in the low income bracket -- but that is not normally the case. (Jesus’ ministry was supported by the women in King Herod’s court, not King Herod himself.)
 
God seems to hide His spiritual gifts in unattractive bodies (from Hollywood’s standards). I have been most blessed spiritually from stinky hitch-hikers I picked up on roadsides. From the outside they looked like vagabonds, the scum of the earth -- dangerous. And some may be. But most of the time, after speaking with them, I found many of them to be very humble, fearless saints going about God’s business all around the country without a dime in their pockets. They were full of the provisions of God, spiritually lacking nothing. They were a great blessing to me. I know they wouldn’t trade places with the richest, most famous or most powerful people on earth. They had the peace that passes understanding, the unspeakable joy and the love that never fails in their hearts. The glitter of fortune and fame holds no place in their hearts. They are friends of the King of Glory.
 
The Lie of Lack
 
This world is under a big lie that there are not enough resources to go around – that only the strong will survive and that they have a right to take more than their share through force and deceit. Darwin’s theory of evolution, that the strongest in a species survive, has added fuel to the belief that those who are strongest or more cunning SHOULD be on top – that those who are physically or intellectually inferior should go by the wayside. Some societies in the past (and in the present) have actually instituted programs to get rid of the “inferior” in their society. While Christ’s teachings still hold a place in the hearts of millions of Americans, the teaching of the survival of the fittest has permeated much of the American mindset, and in my opinion, to its detriment.
 
Moral relativism has captured most of those who wield great power in America. To them, it is not wrong to deceive those less intelligent and manipulate or forcefully take their share. But this kind of leadership will always bring destruction, not peace. This kind of mind is never secure. They never have enough. And that is why there is not enough! If everyone was under God’s authority and obeyed it, there would be no lack of anything. This world has in it all that is necessary for everyone to live comfortably. But those full of worldly wisdom, locked up in fear and greed -- kill, steal, lie, manipulate and destroy others through clever schemes often of international proportions to get what does not rightfully belong to them. They create wars and disturbances in economic systems which ultimately attract more wealth to themselves. And where does this wealth come from? Usually the poor, but now they are even shrinking the middle income class. Of course they do this quite legally. Since they control the legislative, judicial, executive and military branches of government, they can invent and pass codes, laws and moral values that justify their evil ways. Should some of their cohorts accidentally get caught by the legal system, through high-priced lawyers, they rarely go to jail and within a few years some president will come along and pardon them. They even form, with their billions of dollars, denominations of Christianity whose gospel is watered down enough to conform to their corrupt standards and devious ways. In their scheme, a poor man who robs a bank with a gun deserves long term imprisonment, but a banker, investment broker or some other kind of capitalist who steals millions by robbing the poor through carefully devised schemes is considered someone to emulate -- to hold in high esteem.
 
The Kingdom of Heaven is Hidden
 
The kingdom of heaven is hidden in plain old clay balls. Don’t be fooled by those covered with glitz, shiny tinsel that melts which the heat is applied. Look for those who do not try to promote themselves using the wisdom of this world. Look for those who are led by His Spirit. Look for those who seek the glory which is from above, not below.
 
“Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things -- and the things that are not -- to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God-- that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: ‘Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.’” (1 Cor. 1:26-31)
 
When we see others with the eyes of Jesus (who is supposed to live inside of us, right?), then even our enemies take on a brand new look. After Jacob had his wrestling match with someone in the middle of the night at Peniel (face of God), he saw his life-long enemy, Esau, and perfectly humbled himself before him by bowing seven times. Then, in perfect humility, Jacob, the former conniver who had been humbled by God and was then named Israel (prince with El or ruled by El) said to Esau, “I have seen thy face, as though I had seen the face of God, and thou wast pleased with me.” (Gen. 33:10)  (If the state of Israel and those who support her would but learn this lesson, Israel would be at peace instantly.) Oh, if we would but humble ourselves, be delivered from fear, pride, and unbelief – from the curse of believing we lack anything -- what wondrous things we would behold all around us! I believe the very kingdom of heaven would appear right before our eyes even as Elisha saw. (2 Kings 6:17)
 
In the book of John, some Greeks desired to “see Jesus.” (John 12:21) The next time you meet someone, whether friend, stranger or enemy, ask Jesus (who lives inside of you if you are a Christian), “Open my eyes, Lord, I want to see You in that person.” He just might appear and bring all that He is and has and give you exactly what you need at that moment. Or you might see into that person’s heart and see a need God wants you to fulfill in that clay ball. Remember, if you’ve given a cold cup of water to a little one, you’ve done it unto Jesus.
 
It is possible to look past the sins, hurts and pains of the worst of sinners; it is possible to look past the deceit, lying and corruption of those who presently manipulate and rob the poor lawfully but deceitfully – it is possible to see past all that and focus on the finished work of the cross for each and every human being that ever walked this planet – and to see the finished work of the cross and from it, provide a need for that lost soul that Jesus died for. The love of Christ in a plain old ball of clay can reach up to the highest in society and down to the lowest and bring forth the resurrection life of Jesus Christ. They have eyes to see true glory – the glory which Jesus, the Son of God, the Savior of the world, seeks to bestow upon humanity, even as Adam, the first man, the first clay ball was clothed with God’s glory before he exchanged it for the covering (glory) of beasts.
 
“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.” (John 17:20-24)
 
May more of the world see the glory God has chosen to hide in plain clay balls.

ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY, Va. (AFPN) -- U.S. Air Force Honor Guardsmen lead the caisson carrying the remains of Col. Wilfred B. Crutchfield and Lt. Col. Ivan E. O'Dell to their gravesite in Arlington National Cemetery. The remains were laid to rest with full military honors here, Dec. 7. The Airmen died in a plane crash in 1968 but their remains were not discovered until October 2004. (U.S. Air Force photo by Thomas Dennis)

Who speaks of liberty while the human mind is in chains?  ~Francis Wright, 1828

Dennis  

                    God bless the U. S. A.

 

The End Game

 

...or are you a betting man?

The final stage of a chess game after most of the pieces have been removed from the board.

Gentle Reader,

 "I was in the spirit on the the Lords day" so begins the most misunderstood book of the Bible, 'The Book of Revelation' You ever read your horoscope or pick up and call  Miss Cleo? Every body wants to know what going to happen next (I am no different)!

Now understand I would be lying to you if I were to tell you I know the future, having said that we do know a few things, I mean I know that I'm going to stop typing and take a sip of coffee and in a minute or so I will stop and go wake Duffy up (our Sun Conure) .

Here I go!  Well I'm back! Now where was I? Oh yes The Lord's Day! Here in America that means Sunday for most. A day of Rest a day when some go out a play a round of golf or rent a movie or go to grandma's house for fried chicken (finger licken good)! For a few of you it means getting the kids ready screaming at your teen "IF YOU DON'T hurry  up we're going to be late for church!" Mom's running around like a chicken with it's head cut off and dad strolls out to the car gets in and starts backing out of the driveway while yelling at mom who's still in the house rounding up the twins, looking for that lost shoe (look in the ice box mom)!

 Now dad is still backing the car up but he's added honking the horn as an added incentive to mom who's sole objective was to go to church for an hour or so (for some peace and quiet) but who has giving up that thought in favor of killing dad and telling God he died!) 

 The Lord's day (piece and quite, no Gentle you read it right) what it really means in the words of the Bible refers to the parousiva Parousia (par-oo-see'-ah);  meaning (the coming, arrival, )advent the future visible return from heaven of Jesus, to raise the dead, hold the last judgment, and set up formally and gloriously the kingdom of God  When does this take place?  No one knows for sure but it's like the last call in an Irish pub when the proprietor  Calls out "Time gentlemen Time" 

Which means "Drink up, and go home, have you no home to go to?" 

 So Gentle Reader, when I look at the finial chapter I'm sure  that America is not there!

Quite a shock for our American friends.  They think that they'll be around for the finial showdown But quite honestly Miss Cleo, Your not there. So let me ask you a question. "What church are you staying away from? and what are your chances of getting out of this word alive?

 Well Gentle Reader, you still have time to go to church of your choice unless of course you’re a gambler. 

 Remember, Gentle Reader   today may be the first day of the rest of your life And also don't forget God has called you and me  to be a great Saint don't miss the opportunity

Dennis  "Your either in Christ and He's in you or not! 

Heaven and how to get there

 

Mirrored tranquillity as mist settles over the upper lake at Glendalough

Lake Glendlough Co Wicklow (Ireland where else)

Gentle Reader,

Well Marti was feeling better and we started our  continuing Bible study I am teaching us through the Bible. We are at The books of Thessalonians .

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine,  (teaching for what true)for reproof,  (convicting for what is false) for correction, ( for what is wrong) for instruction in righteousness,(for what is right) 2 Timothy 3:16.

As you look at the New Testament you will find that after the Gospels (which complete the Old Testament you have the Book of Acts (History )  Then the book of Romans (which is our Doctrinal  and instructions book teaching about Justification and the cross) and its two commentaries Corinthians (Reproof-Practical failure not seeing the standing as having died and risen with Christ) and Galations (a Book of Correction- Doctrinal failure as to the teaching of Romans not leaven in the teaching)

We have moved past the Book of Ephesians our 2nd Doctrinal and instruction book which teaches the Mystery  of God (always hidden, never before revealed. Individual Jews and Gentiles gathered out and made "one new man" in Christ "the body of Christ" Seated in heaven with Christ.

Of course than we have 2 Commentaries  Philippians (which is a book of "reproof" Practical failure to exhibit the teaching of Ephesians in showing the "mind of Christ" and Colossians a book of "Correction" Doctrinal failure The failure of not seeing their completeness and perfection in Christ.  But you knew all of that didn't you Gentle Reader?

 So as I was saying Thessalonians we just finished which is about heaven another book of doctrine (teaching ) and instruction  No reproof, no correction all praise and thanksgiving  A typical church

Where is heaven "Where Christ is there is heaven" Look around you Gentle Reader, Christ is in me and now you know why I talk about Grace so much. All Christians carry about the Spirit of the Living Christ with them and we are all connected on a level that only  God can maintain. Too deep for you? Well gentle reader I haven't even scratch the surface What is heaven like? look at the picture and magnify that 10 to the ten millionth times  ten million times.  Ireland for me is just a taste of what heaven is like.

 But as it is written: "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him." (I Corinthians 2:9)

For me Gentle Reader, Ireland is what heaven will be like! How about you? Where is your heaven?

 Remember,   Gentle Reader, that God has prepared a place for you!

"Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me." In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. (Book of John Chapter 14)

When you are forgotten, or neglected, or purposely set at naught, and you don't sting and hurt with the insult or the oversight, but your heart is happy, being counted worthy to suffer for Christ, that is Victory.

When your good is evil spoken of, when your wishes are crossed, your advice disregarded, your opinions ridiculed, and you refuse to let anger rise in your heart, or even defend yourself, but take it all in patient, loving
silence, that is victory.

When you lovingly and patiently bear any disorder, any irregularity, any annoyance; when you stand face-to-face with waste, folly, extravagance, spiritual insensibility -- and endure it as Jesus endured, that is  victory.

When you are content with any food, any offering, any climate, any society, any regiment, any interruption by the will of God, that is victory.

When you never care to refer to yourself in conversation, or to record your own good works, or itch after commendations, when you can truly love to be unknown, that is victory.

When you can see your brother prosper and have his needs met and can honestly rejoice with him in spirit and feel no envy, or question God, while your own needs are far greater and in desperate circumstances, that is victory.

When you can receive correction and reproof from one of less stature than yourself and can humbly submit inwardly as well as outwardly, finding no rebellion or resentment rising up within your heart, that is victory.

 I believe in You Gentle reader, you are a victor and so am I (we are just not there yet).

Dennis  Your ticket has been paid for (oh no, don't thank me I just here to deliver it to you)

And now a word....

Gentle Reader,
Some words from a Brother in Christ om prayer.

I Prayed for My Preaching
By Joe McKeever
I had been preaching for more than two decades, and I should have been at the top of my game. The church I served ran up to 1,500 on Sunday mornings, and the live telecast of our services covered a fair portion of several states. Most of my colleagues thought I had it made, and if invitations to speak in other churches were any sign, they thought I could preach.

But I didn't.

My confidence was taking a beating as some of the leaders let me know repeatedly that my pulpit work was not up to their standards. Previous pastors carried the reputation of pulpit masters, something I never claimed for myself. To make matters worse, we had numerous vacancies on staff and my sermon preparation was suffering due to a heavy load of pastoral ministry. But you do what you have to do. Most days, my goal was to keep my head above water. Every day without drowning became a good day.

That's when I got serious about praying for my preaching.

Each night I walked a four-mile route through my neighborhood and talked to the Father. My petitions dealt with the usual stuff-family needs, people I was concerned about, and the church. Gradually, one prayer began to recur in my nightly pleadings.

"Lord," I prayed, "make me a preacher."

Asking this felt so right I never paused to analyze it. I prayed it again and again, over and over, for weeks.

Now, I was in my fifth pastorate. I owned a couple of seminary degrees. I had read the classics on preaching and attended my share of sermon workshops. I was a veteran. But here I was in my mid-40s, crying out to Heaven for help: "Lord, make me a preacher."

I knew if my preaching improved, if the congregation felt better about the sermons, everything else would benefit. I knew that the sermon is a pastor's most important contribution to the spiritual lives of his members. To do well there would ease the pressure in other areas. So, I prayed.

Then one night, God answered.

Four specific requests

Without warning, in the quietness of a dark night on the city streets, God spoke within me: "What exactly do you mean by that?"

The question hit with such force that I laughed aloud and said, "What a great question. Wonder what I do mean?"

For the rest of my walk, I pondered God's probing of my too-general prayer. I knew I was not asking for public acclaim or to be on anyone's list of great preachers. I just wanted to be effective, to do well what God had called me to do.

Later that night, at home, I listed four specific requests and began to direct them toward the Father.

a.. I never want to stand up to preach again without a good grasp of the Scripture. I'm tired of not being clear about the text in front of me.
b.. I want the message from God to have a firm grasp on me, to grip my heart. I want to preach with genuine passion.
c.. I want a good rapport with the congregation. I'm tired of that "glazed-over" look on the people's faces. I want to make contact with them, to communicate effectively.
d.. I want to see lives changed. If the point of preaching is for the Word of God to make a difference in people, then it must be in order to ask the Father to give me success in doing it.

I learned something about my prayer life. For years, my prayers had been tainted by the curse of generality. It had been "bless this" and "help that" and "strengthen him" and "encourage her."

One day I noticed in Luke 18 this interchange between the Lord and blind Bartimaeus, whose plaintive cries of "Jesus, have mercy on me" had reached the ears of the Lord. Over and over, the beggar of Jericho called into the air for mercy, over the shushing and objections of locals who were embarrassed by his carryings-on.

"Bring him to me," Jesus said. When Bartimaeus stood before Him, our Lord asked, "What do you want me to do for you?"

We moderns are tempted to rebuke the Lord for His callousness at this point. "Lord," we would say, "anyone can see what he needs. He's been begging for mercy. He needs his sight." But the question was whether Bartimaeus knew this. He could just as easily have asked for money, for a better begging site, for assistance, for a training program for the blind, or for a hundred other things.

The Lord simply asked the man to be specific in his prayer: "What do you want?"

"Lord," he said, "I want to receive my sight."

"Then, do," said the Savior. And he did.

From that point on, I prayed these four requests in my nightly walks: a good grasp of Scripture, its firm grasp on me, good rapport with my listeners, and changed lives.

Soon I was without a pulpit and without a church.

Good news from exit interviews

The conflict in the church I was serving intensified to the point that we brought in a mediator. He interviewed church leaders, watched videos of my preaching, and polled the congregation, then filed his report. "Joe is not a pulpit giant," he said, "but he is a pretty fair preacher." I was encouraged by that. Then he recommended I leave the church.

I agreed. I took a one-year leave of absence, and I waited by the phone.

A few invitations for revivals and conferences came in during the year; however, none but the tiniest churches would consider me as a potential pastor. My confidence in my preaching was at an all-time low.

Not by coincidence, the church that called me as pastor a year later was also at an all-time low. It had suffered a disastrous split. Half its 1,000 members had left, and the remainder was burdened with a great load of debt. Our first five years together were not easy. Gradually, however, we began to see the Lord was up to something special. One day I looked around and realized that we had become a healthy church again, one that is a pure joy to serve.

That's when the other surprise appeared, one just for me.

After attending a Saddleback conference on purpose-driven churches, we began sending response cards to church visitors. These notes trickled back into the church office, telling what our guests had noticed first, liked best, and appreciated least about their visit to our church. To my utter amazement, many were impressed by the preaching.

I still recall standing at my secretary's desk reading two cards that had arrived in the morning mail. Both expressed thanks for my sermons. "I am totally surprised," I mumbled.

She looked up from her work. "Pastor, everyone loves your preaching."

"I guess I didn't know it," I replied.

To be honest, I'm still not quite convinced. But I've decided that's all right. The object of my prayers was never that people would like my preaching. It wasn't even that I would like it. It was a prayer for effectiveness in doing what God called me to do.

Good music, it is said, is music that is written better than it can be played. Perhaps that's how it is with the gospel of Christ. The message is far superior to any human expression of it. A gracious Father takes the efforts of his frail servants and uses them to change lives.

Next year marks my 40th anniversary in ministry, and I still feel inadequate about my preaching. Not only is that all right, I think it's the appropriate way to feel about a calling so far above the capacity of any of us mortals-to proclaim the riches of Christ in human tongue.

It forces me to pray for my preaching.

Where?

WHERE HAVE YOU PUT ME?


You have taken me out of your homes.
You have taken me away from your children.
You have taken me out of your hearts.
You have taken me out of your schools.
You have taken me out of your games.
You have taken me out of your churches.
You have taken me out of your government.

WHERE HAVE YOU PUT ME?

You do not worship me as you used to.
You do not thank about me as you used to.
You do not pray as a family anymore.
Do you even believe I exist?
Do you not know how much I love you?

WHERE HAVE YOU PUT ME?

Why have you taken me out of your homes?
Why have you taken me out of your schools?
Why have you taken me out of your churches?
Why have you denied your children of me?
You have put me aside for other gods.

WHERE HAVE YOU PUT ME?

You once said "IN GOD WE TRUST"?
WHO DO YOU TRUST NOW?
Your country was founded on Me!
BUT WHERE HAVE YOU PUT ME!

Written Oct. 29, 2003 as given by our one and only God. Written for Him by Barbara J. Williams
God and Jesus said in the Bible that all this would come about. What will it take for you to finally believe that He is sending His son very soon? Do not take God out of your life for with out Him you are nothing. Always know where you have put God. And that should be first and foremost in your heart and in your life.God should never have to ask us "WHERE HAVE YOU PUT ME?"

May God keep you in His loving arms and I pray Jesus walks beside you as you walk the path way God has placed you on today. And I pray the Holy Ghost fill you with the Wisdom and the Knowledge to complete all God has placed on your plate each day.
Barb's Christian Home

When God Sends People

...They Make Excuses:

Abraham was too old.
Moses stuttered.
Miriam was a gossip.
Jacob was a liar.
Gideon doubted.
Elijah was burned out.
First David's armor didn't fit, then he had an affair, and had
someone killed.
Solomon was too rich.
Isaiah had unclean lips.
Jeremiah was too young.
Jonah didn't like the job.
Amos's only training was in the school of fig-tree pruning.
Naomi was a widow.
Peter was afraid of death.
Thomas was from Missouri (the "show-me" state)
Paul was a murderer.
Mark was rejected by Paul.
Timothy had ulcers.
Lazarus was dead.
Martha was a worry-wart.

...or so they claimed, before God's Spirit empowered them to rise to the occasion and become some of the greatest heroes of our faith.

Going to Church tomorrow?

 

Gentle Reader,

Have you gotten the mystery solved yet? No? Well it's not as simple as it my seem and yet I remember a much simple time when simple folks went to church on a Sunday and then had dinner on the grounds believed in God and the devil and oh yes Squirrels . Which  leds me into the next clue. Read carefully and thoughtfully as the document I hold is one you want and will treasure for the rest of your life....and who knows may save your life one day.... It's worth it!

Well, when I was a kid I'd take a trip every summer down the Mississippi
To visit my granny in her antebellum world
I'd run barefooted all day long climbin' trees free as a song
And one day I happened to catch myself a squirrel
Well, I stuffed him down in an old shoe box, punched a couple of holes in the top
And when Sunday came I snuck him into Church
I was sittin' way back in the very last pew showin' him to my good buddy Hugh
When that squirrel got loose and went totally berserk
Well, what happened next is hard to tell
Some thought it was heaven others thought it was hell
But the fact that something was among us was plain to see
As the choir sang "I Surrender All" the squirrel ran up Harv Newlan's coveralls
Harv leaped to his feet and said, "Somethin's got a hold on me", Yeow!

Chorus

The day the squirrel went berserk
In the First Self-Righteous Church
In the sleepy little town of Pascagoula
It was a fight for survival that broke out in revival
They were jumpin' pews and shoutin' Hallelujah!

Well, Harv hit the aisles dancin' and screamin'
Some thought he had religion others thought he had a demon
And Harv thought he had a weed eater loose in his Fruit-Of-The-Looms
He fell to his knees to plead and beg and the squirrel ran out of his britches leg
Unobserved to the other side of the room
All the way down to the amen pew where sat Sister Bertha better-than-you
Who'd been watchin' all the commotion with sadistic glee
But you should've seen the look in her eyes
When that squirrel jumped her garters and crossed her thighs
She jumped to her feet and said "Lord have mercy on me"
As the squirrel made laps inside her dress
She began to cry and then to confess to sins that would make a sailor blush with shame
She told of gossip and church dissension but the thing that got the most attention
Was when she talked about her love life and then she started naming names

Chorus

The day the squirrel went berserk
In the First Self-Righteous Church
In that sleepy little town of Pascagoula
It was a fight for survival that broke out in revival
They were jumpin' pews and shoutin' Hallelujah!

Well seven deacons and the pastor got saved,
Twenty-five thousand dollars was raised and fifty volunteered
For missions in the Congo on the spot
Even without an invitation there were at least five hundred rededications
And we all got baptized whether we needed it or not
Now you've heard the bible story I guess
How he parted the waters for Moses to pass
Oh the miracles God has wrought in this old world
But the one I'll remember 'til my dyin' day
Is how he put that Church back on the narrow way
With a half crazed Mississippi squirrel

Chorus

The day the squirrel went berserk
In the First Self-Righteous Church
In the sleepy little town of Pascagoula
It was a fight for survival that broke out in revival
They was jumpin' pews and shoutin' Hallelujah!

To get you started for tomorrow her is a clue for the next clue "What number are you"?

 

Ex Danger Man star Patrick McGoohan was the British spy who resigned abruptly from his job, only to be kidnapped and transported by persons unknown to 'The Village', where everyone was known by number -and names were never used. It was the task of Number Two (a different actor each week), to discover why McGoohan (Number Six), resigned in the first place, and whilst Number Six remained persistently tight lipped for his reasons -so his interrogators would remain silent when asked the question "Who is Number One?"

 Put these together and your well on your way!

Dennis

Bike Ride With God

When I first met Christ
It seemed as though life was rather like a bike ride,
But it was a tandem bike,
And I noticed that Christ
Was in the back helping me pedal.

I don't know just when it was that
He suggested we change places,
But life has not been the same since.

When I had control, I knew the way,
It was rather boring, but predictable...
It was the shortest distance between two points.

But when He took the lead,
He knew delightful long cuts,
Up mountains, and through rocky places,
At breakneck speeds,
It was all I could do to hang on!
Even though it looked like madness,
He said, "Pedal"

I worried and was anxious and asked,
"Where are you taking me?"
He laughed and didn't answer,
And I started to learn to trust.

I forgot my boring life
And entered into the adventure.
And when I'say, "I'm scared, "
He'd lean back and touch my hand.

He took me to people with gifts that I needed.
Gifts of healing, acceptance, and joy.
He said, "Give the gifts away;
They're extra baggage, too much weight."

So I did, I gave them to the people we met,
And I found that in giving I received,
And still our burden was light.

I did not trust Him, at first, In control of my life.
I thought He'd wreck it;
But He knows bike secrets,
Knows how to make it bend to take sharp corners,
Knows how to jump to clear high rocks,
Knows how to fly to shorten scary passages.

And I am learning to shut up
And pedal in the strangest places,
And I'm beginning to enjoy the view
And the cool breeze on my face
With my delightful constant companion, Jesus Christ.

And when I'm sure I just can't do anymore,
He just smiles and says...
"Pedal."

Nothing!

Nothing
can stop the Plan of God!

If you learn nothing else today, remember this phrase, "Nothing can stop the plan of God." From our view, His plan is not always apparent.

I want you to learn that, "NOTHING can stop the plan of God." Some will disagree with that. Some will hedge. However, it remains a spiritual fact that nothing can stop the plan of God from coming to fruition.

Let's start with the Children of Israel.

For years the Children of Israel were subject to Egypt in the Egyptian slavery period. However, the Egyptian phase was always God's plan. God had told Abraham that the enslavement would take place.

From that we know that time cannot stop God's plan. It is part of the Plan.

Time-wise...God's plan is more accurate than the best watch you can buy.

You may not know that from time to time the Bureau of Standards adds one second to the WWV Universal standard Time, because the best clock we can build is no match for the universe.

Time cannot stop the plan of God, because

Nothing can stop the plan of God.

The children of Israel went into captivity, and when God wanted them out, Pharaoh tried to stop it. But the most powerful man of that day couldn?t do it.

No human being can stop the plan of God, because

Nothing can stop the plan of God.

Moses finally secured the Israelites release. He took them straight to the edge of the Red Sea.

There was no planning in Moses? plan, but God had a plan!

Did Moses ever think about how he was going to get all those people across?

No boats, no bridges, not even a very good plan.

As a matter of fact, it really did not matter. The sea parted and they walked across on dry land.

That brings us to the next point.

Natural barriers cannot stop the plan of God, because

Nothing can stop the plan of God.

As the Israelites were standing there on the edge of the Red Sea, Pharaoh's army came to take them back into captivity. It didn?t work.

The strength of Pharaoh's army could not stop God's plan, because

Nothing can stop the plan of God.

Next, the Israelites reached the Promised Land, and somebody had the brilliant idea to scope out the territory.

They sent in twelve spies. Ten of them came back and said, "We are in deep trouble! That place is a natural recruiting ground for the NBA They are REALLY TALL. The shortest one of them could play Power Forward for the Celtics."

However, two of the spies came back and said, "It's okay boys. We can take it."

Did you know that God plus nobody is a majority? God had two votes to spare on that one.

Now you may be thinking, "Ah ha...gotcha they did not go in." I could say that concede ten men slowed them down. But, that's not what happened and in a few moments you will understand.

Those ten men who brought back a bad report were the first to die in the wilderness. You have a Bible, look it up.

Bringing back a bad report is not in your best interest. Besides, the fact remains that the Israelites did eventually enter the Promised Land.

That indicates that man's fears cannot stop the plan of God, because

Nothing can stop the plan of God.

Many people teach that the Israelites 40 years of wandering was wasted time....Not so! The Israelites had to be at a certain place at a certain time. the 40 years was just a built-in time correction.

NASA uses them all the time on missile launches. You will soon understand.

So, they wandered around for 40 years.

It must have really been boring....except for the cloud by day, and pillar of fire by night...hearing the voice of God...seeing the tablets of stone with the Law written on them...the manna...and birds flying in...not to mention Balaam's attempt at coursing them.

There was one really big drawback---no new clothes for 40 years.

Then, Moses died and Joshua took over. Again we see the water part. This time the Jordan River.

Again natural barriers cannot stop God's plan, because

Nothing can stop the plan of God.

So, they went across, and the first thing they ran into was a walled city, Jericho.

Keep in mind that they may not have seen a walled city in quite a while.

How would you tear that wall down? Would you walk around it? I wouldn't, but then I have never had to tear a wall down.

They probably thought Joshua was one french fry shy of a happy meal.

That brings us to the next step.

Man-made barriers cannot stop God's plan, because

Nothing can stop the plan of God.

The Israelites rushed in and killed every man, woman, dog, cow, cat and butterfly in that city. EXCEPT for ONE family in ONE home.

One woman had helped them, so they did not harm her, or her family. Turn to Matthew 1:5. "And Salmon begat Boaz of Rachab;....."

I feel it happened this way.

God the Father looked down on all His creation and asked Jesus, "Who do you want in your family tree, Son?

Jesus replied, "I think Rachab should be one."

The Father said, "Good choice."

It is quite possible that Rachab had not even been born when the Children of Israel started on the wanderings.

Now we get to the heart of this matter.

When God decided to make Rachab part of Jesus' family, He did not send a soldier to retrieve her that from sinful society. He did send a platoon of soldiers...or even a company.

When He decided to get Rachab's freedom He did not send an Army to get her.

WHAT???? NO! He did not send an army.

When God, in His power and love, decided it was time to establish Rachab as part of HIS CHOSEN.... HE SENT AN ENTIRE NATION to free

ONE WOMAN! And, when it was time to free you, GOD sent His SON

IN PERSON!

Denis

Lost??? Call Home!!!

 

Gentle Reader,

 This is too good not to share I try to travel lite

 
A voyaging ship was wrecked during a storm at sea and only two of the men on it were able to swim to a small, desert like island. The two
survivors, not knowing what else to do, agree that they had no other recourse but to pray to God. However, to find out whose prayer was more powerful, they agreed to divide the territory between them and stay on
opposite sides of the island.

The first thing they prayed for was food. The next morning, the first man saw a fruit-bearing tree on his side of the land, and he was able to eat its fruit. The other man's parcel of land remained barren.

After a week, the first man was lonely and he decided to pray for a wife. The next day, there was a woman who swam to his side of the land.
On the other side of the island, there was nothing.

Soon the first man prayed for a house, clothes, more food. The next day, like magic, all of these were given to him. However, the second man still had nothing.

Finally, the first man prayed for a ship, so that he and his wife could leave the island. In the morning, he found a ship docked at his side of
the island. The first man boarded the ship with his wife and decided to leave the second man on the island. He considered the other man unworthy to receive God's blessings, since none of his prayers had been answered.

As the ship was about to leave, the first man heard a voice from heaven booming, "Why are you leaving your companion on the island?"
"My blessings are mine alone, since I was the one who prayed for them," the first man answered. "His prayers were all unanswered and so he does not deserve anything."

"You are mistaken!" the voice rebuked him. "He had only one prayer,  which I answered. If not for that, you would not have received any of my blessings."

"Tell me," the first man asked the voice, "what did he pray for that I should owe him anything?"

"He prayed that all your prayers be answered."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For all we know, our blessings are not the fruits of our prayers alone, but those of another praying for us.

This is too good not to share...

My prayer for you today is that all your prayers are answered. Be blessed.

"What you do for others is more important than what you do for yourself"

This was shared with me by a friend, I hope you will share with your  friends!

 Denis (your Irish travel agent and personal trainer)

He died not in vain

 

.....He did not die in vain!

"He has shown thee o man what is good and what the Lord requires of you

to do justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God"

entle Reader,

 They say a picture is worth a 1000 words, so I give you a million reasons to stand up and speak out!

 One died ...

 so that one could live...

Dennis

Abortion

The Facts Speak for Themselves

Oct.16,1916 Margaret Sanger founded Planned Parenthood. It was not parenthood but murder that was coldheartedly planned. She wrote to eliminate “inferior races like the Orientals, Jews and blacks.”

“the most merciful thing a large family does to one of its infant members is kill it. (Women and the new race)

Birth control was “to create a race of thoroughbreds (Birth Control review 1921)

Margaret Sanger called these people human weeds. Margaret died and alcoholic and drug addict (Passport Magazine July 1988), how sad a death, but even more sad was what she influenced by her life.

Planned parenthood in 1952 called it family planning and did not call it an abortion because it kills the life of the baby when it has begun.

Do women really know what an abortion is? A simple question, but you can rarely find a correct answer to it.

One Physician states that women are rarely informed of the possible consequences of their abortion. “The public is misled into believing that legal abortion is a trivial incident, even a lunch hour procedure. There has been almost a conspiracy of silence in declaring its risks. This is medically indefensible when patients suffer as a result. (LAW ABORTION: A CRITICAL ASSESSMENT OF ITS RISKS, Stallworthy pp.1245-1249)

Robert D. Crist, M.D (who had 3 women die shortly after he did their abortions). He is said to be “one of the most skilled and competent and committed physicians performing abortions.” (Patty Brous, president of Planned Parenthood of Mid-Missouri and Eastern Kansas, The Kansas City Star, Apr. 27, 1997)

If he is one of the most skilled than what does this mean of those who are much less competent. How many die under their less skillful hands?

The abortion process is presented and explained by those who support abortion as being safe. But it is a serious operation, no different than going under the surgeons knife. The National Institute of Health says the death rate is at 30 per 100,000 . But there are risks, infection can be a result of abortion and can be 1 in 4 (from mild all the way through fatal).

1 in 24 (4.1%) have experienced immediate medical complications. (These have included severe bleeding, infection, perforation of the uterus, and part of the baby being retained.) (Canadian Journal of Public Health 1982; 73:396-400) . A doctor in an emergency situation will first try to save both the baby and the mother not kill the baby. Women who've had a previous abortion have a 200% increased risk of miscarriage after two or more abortions. (Journal of the American Medical Association 1980; 243:2495-9)

1st trimester miscarriages when later trying to have the child you want increases 85%. Tubal pregnancies increase 400-800%. Labor problems increase 47%. Delivery problems increase 83%. Premature birth the #1 cause of infant mortality and mental retardation increases 300-500%.

And this is if you have only 1 abortion! A study of 20,000 who had legal abortions to 20,000 who had no abortions showed that those who wanted the baby lost the baby twice as often when they had had an abortion. In fact, the infertility rate from 20-24 year olds has risen from 3.6% to almost 11% over the last number of years. The National Center for Health Statistics says there are 2 reasons. #1- sexually transmitted diseases. #2 - injury inflicted during an abortion.

46% of women who undergo an abortion have already had at least one previous abortion, at least 15% of the women have had 2 or more .

Breast cancer risk increased 140% following a abortion.( British Journal of Cancer 1981; 43:72-6 ) Placenta previa is a condition producing extremely severe, life-threatening bleeding in future pregnancies. Risk increased 600% following an abortion. (American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology 1981; 141:769-72 ) Increased bleeding during subsequent pregnancies. (American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology 1983; 146:136-40 )

It is a fact that 10%-30% of women who had abortions experience long term psychiatric problems. In a 5 year study , 25% of women who had abortions sought out psychiatric care…another study found the percentage even higher at 40%.( from the pamphlet-making an informed decision about your pregnancy). Relationships suffer as well, after 5-7 months 2 of 11 women continued with the same boyfriend they became pregnant with. This is a permanent decision that affects ones live afterward, there are psychological as well as physical consequences.

A Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota studied the long-ranged affects of Abortion on women. 10 years afterward she found that 81% of those women still had a pre-occupation over that aborted child. 10 years later 73% had flash-backs of their abortion experience. 10 years later 69% still remember after the abortion the feeling that what they had done was insane! 10 years later 54% still had nightmares. 10 years later 35% said that sometime during that time, they perceived a visitation from that child! And 10 years later 96% regarded it as murder. What this shows is that when women mature they have a different view of their former actions. Which can mean someone is influencing them when they are young and naive.

If a mother takes cocaine and kills her fetus or someone kills the fetus in the wound from the outside it is called murder. But when an abortion takes place the protective laws are ignored and it not called murder. Why? There needs to be a consistency on this.

What about a child we know may be born deformed, or cannot move or think well. The amount of one's qualities or capacity do not establish a person. Is the quality of life so important to us that we are willing to execute someone who falls short of our standard? Statistically only 1% of women aborting say they have been informed that their unborn baby has a defect (deformity.)

If we open the door to a births of a perfect child only, then where do we draw a line? The handicapped? Retarded? You will never meet a more loving human being than a child with downs-syndrome. History has proven that we always push the line further as we allow a lax in moral absolutes. How handicapped or retarded does someone have to be deemed unfit to live?

Neither inability or insanity do not invalidate someone's status as a person. If we are going to abort children who are deformed and not perfect in body or mind, can we do the same to adults? Obviously all children lack the aptitude of an adult, but we regard a child no less as a person than we do their parents. If an accident occurs or when they are too old and not functioning as before do we remove them from life? What is actually the difference? If we say that the definition of a human is based on their brain waves or ability to function 100%, than if one suffers in an accident and is not up to par should we deem them as no longer human. Where is the line drawn, who will decide that? We need to have a future perspective instead of a now one, to determine how all this will affect our lives and society.

The Polls



The Facts Speak for Themselves

Oct.16,1916 Margaret Sanger founded Planned Parenthood. It was not parenthood but murder that was coldheartedly planned. She wrote to eliminate “inferior races like the Orientals, Jews and blacks.”

“the most merciful thing a large family does to one of its infant members is kill it. (Women and the new race)

Birth control was “to create a race of thoroughbreds (Birth Control review 1921)

Margaret Sanger called these people human weeds. Margaret died and alcoholic and drug addict (Passport Magazine July 1988), how sad a death, but even more sad was what she influenced by her life.

Planned parenthood in 1952 called it family planning and did not call it an abortion because it kills the life of the baby when it has begun.

Do women really know what an abortion is? A simple question, but you can rarely find a correct answer to it.

One Physician states that women are rarely informed of the possible consequences of their abortion. “The public is misled into believing that legal abortion is a trivial incident, even a lunch hour procedure. There has been almost a conspiracy of silence in declaring its risks. This is medically indefensible when patients suffer as a result. (LAW ABORTION: A CRITICAL ASSESSMENT OF ITS RISKS, Stallworthy pp.1245-1249)

Robert D. Crist, M.D (who had 3 women die shortly after he did their abortions). He is said to be “one of the most skilled and competent and committed physicians performing abortions.” (Patty Brous, president of Planned Parenthood of Mid-Missouri and Eastern Kansas, The Kansas City Star, Apr. 27, 1997)

If he is one of the most skilled than what does this mean of those who are much less competent. How many die under their less skillful hands?

The abortion process is presented and explained by those who support abortion as being safe. But it is a serious operation, no different than going under the surgeons knife. The National Institute of Health says the death rate is at 30 per 100,000 . But there are risks, infection can be a result of abortion and can be 1 in 4 (from mild all the way through fatal).

1 in 24 (4.1%) have experienced immediate medical complications. (These have included severe bleeding, infection, perforation of the uterus, and part of the baby being retained.) (Canadian Journal of Public Health 1982; 73:396-400) . A doctor in an emergency situation will first try to save both the baby and the mother not kill the baby. Women who've had a previous abortion have a 200% increased risk of miscarriage after two or more abortions. (Journal of the American Medical Association 1980; 243:2495-9)

1st trimester miscarriages when later trying to have the child you want increases 85%. Tubal pregnancies increase 400-800%. Labor problems increase 47%. Delivery problems increase 83%. Premature birth the #1 cause of infant mortality and mental retardation increases 300-500%.

And this is if you have only 1 abortion! A study of 20,000 who had legal abortions to 20,000 who had no abortions showed that those who wanted the baby lost the baby twice as often when they had had an abortion. In fact, the infertility rate from 20-24 year olds has risen from 3.6% to almost 11% over the last number of years. The National Center for Health Statistics says there are 2 reasons. #1- sexually transmitted diseases. #2 - injury inflicted during an abortion.

46% of women who undergo an abortion have already had at least one previous abortion, at least 15% of the women have had 2 or more .

Breast cancer risk increased 140% following a abortion.( British Journal of Cancer 1981; 43:72-6 ) Placenta previa is a condition producing extremely severe, life-threatening bleeding in future pregnancies. Risk increased 600% following an abortion. (American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology 1981; 141:769-72 ) Increased bleeding during subsequent pregnancies. (American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology 1983; 146:136-40 )

It is a fact that 10%-30% of women who had abortions experience long term psychiatric problems. In a 5 year study , 25% of women who had abortions sought out psychiatric care…another study found the percentage even higher at 40%.( from the pamphlet-making an informed decision about your pregnancy). Relationships suffer as well, after 5-7 months 2 of 11 women continued with the same boyfriend they became pregnant with. This is a permanent decision that affects ones live afterward, there are psychological as well as physical consequences.

A Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota studied the long-ranged affects of Abortion on women. 10 years afterward she found that 81% of those women still had a pre-occupation over that aborted child. 10 years later 73% had flash-backs of their abortion experience. 10 years later 69% still remember after the abortion the feeling that what they had done was insane! 10 years later 54% still had nightmares. 10 years later 35% said that sometime during that time, they perceived a visitation from that child! And 10 years later 96% regarded it as murder. What this shows is that when women mature they have a different view of their former actions. Which can mean someone is influencing them when they are young and naive.

If a mother takes cocaine and kills her fetus or someone kills the fetus in the wound from the outside it is called murder. But when an abortion takes place the protective laws are ignored and it not called murder. Why? There needs to be a consistency on this.

What about a child we know may be born deformed, or cannot move or think well. The amount of one's qualities or capacity do not establish a person. Is the quality of life so important to us that we are willing to execute someone who falls short of our standard? Statistically only 1% of women aborting say they have been informed that their unborn baby has a defect (deformity.)

If we open the door to a births of a perfect child only, then where do we draw a line? The handicapped? Retarded? You will never meet a more loving human being than a child with downs-syndrome. History has proven that we always push the line further as we allow a lax in moral absolutes. How handicapped or retarded does someone have to be deemed unfit to live?

Neither inability or insanity do not invalidate someone's status as a person. If we are going to abort children who are deformed and not perfect in body or mind, can we do the same to adults? Obviously all children lack the aptitude of an adult, but we regard a child no less as a person than we do their parents. If an accident occurs or when they are too old and not functioning as before do we remove them from life? What is actually the difference? If we say that the definition of a human is based on their brain waves or ability to function 100%, than if one suffers in an accident and is not up to par should we deem them as no longer human. Where is the line drawn, who will decide that? We need to have a future perspective instead of a now one, to determine how all this will affect our lives and society.

This is Victory!

Gentle Reader,

What do you carry around? Well I carry a lot around in my Bible. pens for note taking, a list of people I pray for (although since you started reading my blog entries I have transferred all of your names to my CPU [serving over 100,000) And I also find little clippings sermon notes and quote that are meaningful to me. Here's an example of something tattered and torn from constant reading and rereading I thought you might like to get inside my head. (Not that I keep much in there since I got my first computer).

When you are forgotten, or neglected, or purposely set at naught, and you
don't sting and hurt with the insult or the oversight, but your heart is
happy, being counted worthy to suffer for Christ, that is Victory.


When your good is evil spoken of, when your wishes are crossed, your advice disregarded, your opinions ridiculed, and you refuse to let anger rise in your heart, or even defend yourself, but take it all in patient, loving
silence, that is victory.


When you lovingly and patiently bear any disorder, any irregularity, any
annoyance; when you stand face-to-face with waste, folly, extravagance, spiritual insensibility -- and endure it as Jesus endured, that is victory.


When you are content with any food, any offering, any climate, any society, any regiment, any interruption by the will of God, that is victory.


When you never care to refer to yourself in conversation, or to record your
own good works, or itch after commendations, when you can truly love to be unknown, that is victory.


When you can see your brother prosper and have his needs met and can
honestly rejoice with him in spirit and feel no envy, or question God, while
your own needs are far greater and in desperate circumstances, that is victory.


When you can receive correction and reproof from one of less stature than
yourself and can humbly submit inwardly as well as outwardly, finding no
rebellion or resentment rising up within your heart, that is victory.
"that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death," (Philippians 3:10)

Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let
him deny himself and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it" (Matthew 16:24-25).

"Lord Jesus, make thyself to me

A living bright Reality

More present to faith's vision keen

Than any earthly object seen;

More dear more intimately nigh

Than e'en the dearest earthly tie"

a prayer for understanding

Father in heaven,

Help me to understand the needs of those who struggle every day to stand against the world's pain

Help me find a way to give hope to those who have turned to drugs or alcohol for survival

Help me teach the children the lessons of life that will shape their future, body, mind and spirit.

Help me feed the poor and elderly too proud to say they have not eaten today.

Help me look inside myself and see that all mankind is one. And grant me the strength to understand that I. . . I can make a difference "that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death," (Philippians 3:10)

Rev. Dr. Denis O'Callaghan Ph.D., Th. D., D. D.
http://drcallahan.bravejournal.com