THE INTERESTING INFORMATION CHRISTIAN MINISTRY

THE INTERESTING INFORMATION CHRISTIAN MINISTRY

October 9, 2008


SECTION 1 – INTERESTING INFORMATION WEEKLY ARTICLES

SECTION 2 – SUMMARIES/BOOK REVIEWS/SPECIAL ARTICLES/CHRISTIAN LINKS


SECTION 1 – INTERESTING INFORMATION WEEKLY ARTILCES


Blue Letter Bible: http://www.blueletterbible.org/


THIS MINISTRY CAN NOW BE VIEWED AT “ INTERESTINGINFO.BIZ

 


INTERESTING INFORMATION 10/9/08

 

The following material is provided for information purposes only.  Any conclusions or opinions formed should be based on the principles as outlined in Acts 17:11.  The material is intended for use as a witnessing tool and to keep you informed so you will not be unaware (Luke 21:34) of what is happening according to Scripture.


PRAY FOR PASSAGE OF THE MARRIAGE AMENDMENT, PROPOSITION 8 ON NOV. 3RD


THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK:  To keep harmony in your marriage, keep in tune with Christ”


In this issue – Topics on

  • Californian Marriage Amendment leading in polls  
  • Jihad silently creeping in to American Culture
  • Southern wall of Jerusalem discovered on Mount Zion
  • Street Festival condemned for public sex acts
  • BROKENNESS:  THE PRINCIPLE  

 


"Pray for the deliverance of Israel. Collectively, we must storm the Heavens, and raise our voices, in this, the Jewish people's hour of need."

 

ISRAEL - "GLORY OF ALL LANDS" Ezekiel 20: 6

JERUSALEM WILL BE CALLED THE CITY OF TRUTH” - Zechariah 8:3

JERUSALEM – THE CITY OF THE GREAT KING” - Matt. 5:35arZ


INTERESTING ARTICLES……

 

NEW POLL:  CALIF. MARRIAGE AMENDMENT LEADING

 
Christian Headline News  (Baptist Press) – Oct. 7, 2008 -- A proposed constitutional marriage amendment in California has taken a lead in a new statewide poll, days after supporters of the proposal began airing their first statewide television ad.



The amendment, known as Proposal 8, leads 47-42 percent in the SurveyUSA poll, which was conducted Oct. 4-5 among 670 likely voters for four California TV stations. Although the new poll puts the amendment below 50 percent -- not a good position for an initiative -- it nonetheless is the first public poll in more than four months to show Proposition 8 ahead, and could reflect the impact of the new advertisement. Supporters also note that marriage amendments typically outperform polls on Election Day. In late September, a Survey USA poll had the amendment trailing, 49-44 percent.  If passed, the amendment would reverse the May decision by the California Supreme Court legalizing "gay marriage."

The new 30-second ad opens by showing San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom speaking after the ruling and saying about "gay marriage," "The door's wide open now. It's gonna happen -- whether you like it or not." The scene then shifts to a courtroom showing the justices of the California Supreme Court. A female narrator says, "Four judges ignored 4 million voters and imposed same-sex marriage on California. It's no longer about tolerance. Acceptance of gay marriage is now mandatory." The narrator is referencing Proposition 22, a state statute defining marriage in the traditional sense that garnered 4.6 million votes (61 percent of the vote) in 2000. The court, though, declared the law unconstitutional.


Richard Peterson, a professor at Pepperdine University School of Law, speaks briefly in the ad and says "gay marriage" legalization could change society drastically. "People sued over personal beliefs, churches could lose their tax-exemption, gay marriage taught in public schools," he says.


The female narrator closes the ad by saying, "We don't have to accept this."


The Survey USA poll asked those polled, "Proposition 8 would eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry. It changes the California Constitution so that only marriage between a man and a woman is valid in California. On Proposition 8, are you ... certain to vote yes? Certain to vote no? Or not certain?"


Even for individuals who live out of state, visit ProtectMarriage.com to see what can be done to help pass Proposition 8.

 

Messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in June passed a resolution urging Southern Baptists in California to work and vote for the amendment there and for all Southern Baptists and other Christians to pray for its passage. The resolution passed nearly unanimously. Additionally, in September the executive board of the California Southern Baptist Convention unanimously endorsed the amendment.

 

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NOTE TO PASTORS: The News Media would want us to believe that this proposition is failing and that there is no hope for it’s’ passage in an attempt to discourage us from going to the polls to vote.  DON’T YOU BELIEVE IT! 

 

Please let your congregations know that their votes count and that it is a Biblical commandment for all Christians to actively stand against immorality.  It is an obligation for all Christian’s to vote.  The Lord will hold us accountable, both corporately and individually, for our witness and vote.

 

JIHAD’S SILENT CREEP INTO AMERICA  

Christian Headline News – Oct. 2, 2008 -- The founder of a conservative military think tank believes radical Islam's threat on the U.S. is more than just people flying airplanes into buildings.

Frank Gaffney served as Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs under Ronald Reagan. As president of the Center for Security Policy, he is trying to spread awareness about a concept known as "soft jihad."

According to Gaffney, since the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, most Americans have been very aware of what he calls the "hard jihad" being waged on the United States, as witnessed by efforts of mass destruction. He notes the concept of soft jihad is less understood.  

"You now have foot baths that are being demanded; you have time off for prayers. You have holidays -- a group of Somali refugees who now work with Tyson foods decided they wanted to have one of the Muslim festivals replace Labor Day as a paid holiday. And that wouldn't apply just to the Somali workers in the plant; that was initially going to apply to all workers," Gaffney explains. "And so it's that kind of activity that is 'soft jihad' that is moving us inexorably in the direction..., unless it's countered, of accommodating and enabling a seditious program aimed at the destruction of our government and our society."

Gaffney says radical Islamists believe that, when the violent part of jihad is either unworkable or impractical, all Muslims are obligated to engage in, at the least, the soft jihad to bring about the destruction of nations that stand in the way of their goals of destruction and domination.

SOUTHERN WALL OF JERUSALEM DISCOVERED ON MOUNT ZION

 

Bridges for Peace – Sep. 4, 2008 -- An exciting discovery in Jerusalem constituting extraordinary remains of the wall of the city from the time of the Second Temple (second century BC–AD 70) that was built by the Hasmonean kings and was destroyed during the Great Revolt, and also the remains of a city wall from the Byzantine period (AD 324–640) which was built on top of it, were uncovered in an extensive excavation that is currently underway on Mount Zion. The lines of these fortifications delineated Jerusalem from the south in periods when the ancient city had reached its largest size.

 
The new finds were presented September 3 at a press conference that was held on Mount Zion. The excavation has been in progress for the past year and a half, under the direction of archaeologist Yehiel Zelinger of the Israel Antiquities Authority [IAA], in cooperation with the Nature and Parks Authority and with financial support provided by the Ir David [City of David] Foundation.

 

The project is being implemented as part of the master plan for the Jerusalem City Wall National Park, the purpose of which is to preserve the region around the Old City of Jerusalem as an open area for tourism. In the future the remains of the ancient city walls will be incorporated in a promenade that will encircle the southern side of Mount Zion and will continue along the northern bank of Gai Ben Hinnom and terminate in the City of David.

 

According to Yehiel Zelinger, excavation director on behalf of the IAA, “Having located the two city walls on Mount Zion corroborates our theory regarding the expansion of the city toward the south during these two periods, when Jerusalem reached its largest size.

 

In the Second Temple period, the city with the temple at its center was a focal point for Jewish pilgrimage from all over the ancient world—and in the Byzantine period it attracted Christian pilgrims who came in the footsteps of the story of the life and death of their Messiah. The exposure of the Hasmonean city wall and the line of fortifications from the Byzantine period, which is dated 400 years later and is right on top of the former, prove that this is the most advantageous topographic location for the defense of the city.

 

The artifacts indicate that in spite of the fact that the builders of the Byzantine wall were unaware of the existence of the wall from the time of the Second Temple they constructed their wall precisely along the same route”. Zelinger adds, “The fact that after 2,100 years the remains of the first city wall were preserved to a height of three meters [10 feet] is amazing. This is one of the most beautiful and complete sections of construction in the Hasmonean building style to be found in Jerusalem”.

 

Excerpt from: STREET FESTIVAL CONDEMNED FOR PUBLIC SEX ACTS   


San Francisco event offers 'Free spankings for the religious right'

 

WorldNetDaily – Oct. 2, 2008 -- The 2008 Folsom Street Fair sex festival has completed another run in U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's district in San Francisco, and the local Chronicle newspaper described it this way: "There were naked people selling bondage gear and naked people seeking support for measures on the Nov. 4 ballot. There were naked people with cameras, taking pictures of other naked people. One man wore only an 11-foot Burmese python, which curled around his waist."

A number of Christian organizations, however, were led by Peter LaBarbera of Americans for Truth in condemning the scene on the city's public streets as depraved.

It is no coincidence that the man who took it upon himself four years ago to illegally and radically redefine marriage – Mayor Gavin Newsom – now enthusiastically welcomes the Folsom Street with its public depravities – an event that makes San Francisco a subject of ridicule and opprobrium the world over," LaBarbera said.

The festival, which celebrates deviant sex, including homosexual activities, has turned in recent years into a daylong showing of nudity and public sex acts with promotions of the unnatural and pornographic – all on the public streets of San Francisco with formal approval from Newsom.

"Entry signs to the fair said, 'Nudity is illegal,' but thousands of people took advantage of the fact that nudity and decency laws were not enforced by the police," LaBarbera's report on yesterday's event said.

He published several edited photographs documenting the exhibitionism and nudity that ran rampant.

Linda Harvey of Mission America described the event as a "massive pagan pansexual street party, complete with instances of full nudity, homosexuality, and crowds gathered around people being whipped for sado-masochistic pleasure."

"How Mayor Newsom and Nancy Pelosi can allow this in the city they represent is beyond all understanding," she said. "It truly seemed like the beginning of the end of civilization."

BROKENNESS:  THE PRINCIPLE  

Brokenness hurts, and most of us would rather live without any seasons of pain. Yet during such times, the Lord often does His greatest work in our lives, reshaping and realigning us for His divine purposes.


Jesus beautifully explains the principle of brokenness in John 12:24-25, where He compares our life to a single grain of wheat. If we hold a kernel in our hands, nothing will happen. If we carefully place it in a jar or on a shelf for safekeeping, it will just sit there indefinitely. In its safety, the grain will essentially be useless.


However, if that kernel is placed in the soil where its protective layer is stripped away, something amazing happens. Before long, a little sprout will emerge from the earth and start to grow into something different, useful, and beautiful. Moreover, that new stalk will produce more grains that can be planted, and the stalks they produce will do the same. It’s an amazing cycle of life, wherein a single kernel can lead to countless stalks of wheat. But it has to start with the brokenness of one grain.


Jesus did not just speak this example; He lived it. By sacrificing Himself, He was broken and placed in the ground. From that brokenness came new life for us all. From that one “grain,” countless new believers, each with a new life, have sprung forth.


Are you feeling broken today? If so, remember the principle of the broken grain. God has certainly not abandoned you; instead, He may be leading you into a season of radical new growth.

 

In Touch Ministry

 

 

 

 

 

 

PRIOR WEEK

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

INTERESTING INFORMATION 10/2/08


THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK:  You can't have a testimony 'till you've had a test.”


In this issue – Topics on

  • What it means to be “FIRE PROOF”
  • American’s have difficulty defining “Evangelical”
  • Precedent-setting victory in the United Kingdom
  • Satanic teachings of Oprah’s Guru linked to Barack Obama
  • Television Campaign demands Moslem Woman wear Hijab
  • THE HEART OF OUR TESTIMONY


INTERESTING ARTICLES……

WHAT IT MEANS TO BE FIREPROOF

K-House eNews for Sept.23,2008 -- The new movie Fireproof opens in select theaters on Friday. It is the third project by Sherwood Pictures, the Christian filmmakers who brought us Facing the Giants. Fireproof is about a firefighter struggling to save his failing marriage. He accepts a challenge from his father to commit to a 40-day experiment called "The Love Dare." As he struggles to keep his promise he learns what it means to be a follower of Christ. He also learns how to love his wife unconditionally "even as Christ loved the church."

The movie demonstrates the power of God's love and how it can completely transform a marriage. The Greek word for God's Love is Agape. Agape love is different from natural, human love. The Bible tells us that Agape is a Person. 1 John 4:7-8 says, "Beloved, let us love one another; for Love is of God, and everyone that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not, knoweth not God; for God is Love (Agape)."

This is what makes Christianity so totally different from all the other religions in the world. Christianity is the only religion where God Himself (who is Love) comes to dwell within each of our hearts. God's Love can't be found in a church building, or in a religion, or in different philosophies, real Love can only be found in a Person. Jesus Christ is the embodiment of real Love from the Father to us.

The whole Bible can be summed up in this one word, Agape, God's Love. The Bible defines it like this: "Love (Agape) is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)."

No Strings Attached

In the scriptures husbands are exhorted to love their wives "even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it." In other words, a Biblical marriage is one rooted in God's love rather than human love. C.S. Lewis calls this kind of love a "gift of love." Whereas, human love is a "need love." God's love is a gift because there are "no strings attached" to it. There are no conditions to fill, nothing to earn, nothing to do, and nothing to be. It just loves unconditionally, spontaneously, and continually.

Marriage is one of God's greatest inventions, offering us partners in the battle through life, to encourage us in times of discouragement, to help us up when we fall. Marriage offers us a constant friend and companion, a second head in trying to solve problems and a second set of hands in doing the work that needs to be done. Marriage is the foundational structure of a whole, happy family, where children can be raised in security and love.

AMERICANS HAVE DIFFICULTY DEFINING “EVANGELICAL”

A new survey finds that many Americans can't define the term "evangelical Christian." 

Christian Headline News – Sep. 9, 2008 -- The survey -- conducted by Ellison Research -- finds that although evangelical is a term heard often in news reports and the culture, many Americans struggle to define the term. Thirty-six percent of Americans said they had no idea what an evangelical Christian is; and nine percent said evangelicals were a specific type of Christian, such as non-denominational, born-again, or Protestant.

 The study also found that only six percent define evangelicals by worldview or political persuasion. Ron Sellers, president of Ellison Research, was surprised by the animosity many hold for evangelicals.

“We were not asking people what they think about evangelicals. We were simply asking them to define evangelicals -- and yet people used terms like idiots, nut cases, delusional, illiterate, simpleton, screaming loons," he lists. "We were told by one person that they're much more conservative in their beliefs and they tend to be less intelligent than the more moderate Christians.”

Small numbers of Americans believe evangelicals are ministry professionals, or define them by activities such as attending church or Bible study.

PRESEDENT-SETTING VICTORY IN THE UNITED KINGDOM

 

Praise Report from J.S. SEKULOW  – Sept. 29, 2008 -- An immigration court of appeals in the United Kingdom has, for the first time, recognized the plight of Syrian Evangelical Christians with Muslim backgrounds seeking asylum in the United Kingdom.

 
In this precedent-setting victory, the European Centre for Law and Justice (the ECLJ, based in Strasbourg, France) represented the young couple (whose identity is being withheld to protect their safety) who was granted refugee status in the U.K.  The court recognized that if the couple returned to Syria - the country of origin of the husband - they would face very real physical threats, possibly resulting in their deaths.  The court granted the appeal on both asylum and human rights grounds.


The couple, former adherents of Islam, converted to Evangelical Christianity (the husband in 2003 and the wife in 2005) and thereafter became open witnesses of the Christian faith to Muslims through Internet chat rooms.

As a result of their conversion, which is deemed apostasy under Sharia law and subject to death, the couple began receiving death threats including a video of a beheading.  The husband's family told him that if he did not return to Islam, the family would move against him and ''wash their shame'' - a phrase that he was told meant he would be put to death. 


In its landmark decision, the court recognized that a true commitment to Evangelical Christianity requires evangelism, and that the circumstances of such converts to Evangelicalism in the Muslim world do pose a serious threat to life. 


This is a significant and groundbreaking decision
that clearly puts the focus on the fact that many converts to Christianity from Islam face real danger, including the ultimate penalty of death.  This important decision will not go unnoticed in the international arena, and we're delighted that it provides protection for Christian converts who are at great risk because of their faith and their desire to share it.


''This is truly a landmark day in the United Kingdom as a nation awakens to the ever-growing threat of radical Islam and the plight of Christians in the Middle East,'' said Roger Kiska, Legal Counsel of the ECLJ.  ''I couldn't be happier with the decision and the role that the ECLJ played in the case.''


The ECLJ worked closely with the ACLJ on this issue.  The organizations provided legal advice and support throughout the case, as well as the only key expert testimony at the hearing on the threat posed to converts from Islam in Syria.

 
The ACLJ also enlisted the assistance of six members of the U.S. Congress who sent a letter to the U.K. appeals court in August urging asylum for the couple.  They asked the appeals court to protect the couple, acknowledging that they ''would face severe religious persecution as a result of their conversion from Islam to Christianity.''


The letter also recognized the couple faced a ''credible threat,'' and that their lives were in danger.  The letter concluded: ''....based upon the United Kingdom's strong history of protecting religious refugees, we strongly urge the government of the United Kingdom to spare (the couple) and grant religious asylum in this case.''

 

SATANIC TEACHINGS OF OPRAH’S GURU LINKED TO BARACK OBAMA

 

Christian Headline News - September 22 /Christian Newswire/ -- In a series of essays published at www.solvinglight.com/blog/, author Robert Bowie Johnson Jr. presents evidence that Barack Obama is directly linked to Satanic teachings through his close association with Oprah Winfrey, who parrots and relentlessly promotes, worldwide, the anti-Christian doctrine of her guru, Eckhart Tolle. A summary:

 

Michelle Obama has written that Oprah Winfrey is the one who challenges her and Barack "to make the world as it is the world as it should be," calling her a "global role model," and "the first to show us how it can be done."

 

To change the world, forming a global "new kind of tribe," Oprah, in turn, relies upon the virulently anti-Christian teaching of her pathologically narcissistic guru, Eckhart Tolle.

 

Tolle, in turn, relies on a spirit or force he calls the "Source" which he says resides within him, Oprah, and all others who believe as Oprah does.

Tolle's "Source" tells him and Oprah that the word of the God of the Bible cannot be trusted, that there is no death, and that he and Oprah both are as God, able to say of themselves, "I Am That I Am." These things that the "Source" has told Tolle and Oprah are the same things the ancient serpent told Eve in the garden. According to Scripture, Satan is another name for the ancient serpent.

 

"The voting public has a right to know to what degree Barack Obama, who has called himself a 'committed Christian,' considers himself and his wife to be integral parts of Oprah's and Tolle's New Age global tribe, a tribe that has adopted the "wisdom" of the ancient serpent as its own," Mr. Johnson said.

 

[ LOOK WHAT’S COMING TO AMERICA….]

 

TELEVISION CAMPAIGN DEMANDS MOSLEM WOMAN WEAR HIJAB

 

Bridges for Peace – Sep. 12, 2008 --Television channels throughout the Muslim world have recently publicized advertising campaigns demanding young Muslim women to wear veils, especially in the modern era of globalization, religious openness and progress.


The female veil, called the hijab in Arabic, is one of the most powerful symbols of Islam, wearing it represents the upholding of ancient Islamic Law and its contemporary incarnation. At a time when many countries including France, Tunisia, and Turkey are trying to prevent Muslim women from wearing headscarves in public institutions such as universities, schools, and government institutions, this religious campaign resolutely refuses to abandon this symbol of Islamic piousness.

Muslim religious leaders are now using Arab television channels to exploit their revered status in Islamic society to convince Muslim women to wear the hijab. Campaign tactics span from gentle encouragement to harsh threats, with one Islamic marketing company, Fatadabaroh, saying that all Muslim women who refuse to wear the restrictive head scarf are dominated by Satanic thoughts.

This new Islamic war against female freedom and equality, has spawned a serious social conflict in the Muslim world, allowing Islamic religious institutions to preserve their papal supremacy over stagnant Muslim societies.

THE HEART OF OUR TESTIMONY

Testimonies that fail to mention the cross lack power. In our attempt to be “seeker-friendly,” we sometimes try to make the gospel more inviting by softening it. Yet the hard truth is, Jesus Christ died for our sins.

To witness effectively, we must confront unbelievers with their sin-debt and explain that Jesus gave His life to pay it in full. But presenting platitudes is easier than creating a well-planned gospel presentation. For example, the following statement is truthful and pleasing to the ear: “You are saved when you receive Jesus as Savior.” The problem is, it falls short of making known the actual path to salvation. An instructive testimony should contain three follow-up points: a description of who Jesus is, an explanation of God’s only plan of salvation, and what a person must believe and do in order to receive Christ.

Certainly, one can be saved without fully grasping the role of the cross. However, the new believer begins his spiritual journey much wiser if he knows the source of his salvation. Ironically, we’re truly seeker-friendly when we offer a full picture of Christianity rather than a few expressions that are truthful but trite.

Think about the words you use to spread the gospel. Our society is increasingly illiterate, in terms of the Bible. That means the people with whom you have opportunity to share may know little about Jesus—you might be the only person they know with real scriptural knowledge. Pray and then take some time to prepare a message that is instructive and focused on the cross. Then go out and make disciples for Christ!

In Touch Ministries

 

 

 

 


WHY THE NIV BIBLE TRANSLATION SHOULD NOT BE USED

SECTION II - SUMMARIES/BOOK REPORTS/SPECIAL ARTICLES

IN THIS SECTION:

PERSONAL ARTICLES AND BOOK REVIEWS:

·        WHY THE NIV BIBLE TRANSLATION SHOULD NOT BE USED

·        WHY THE NIV BIBLE TRANSLATION SHOULD NOT BE USED

·        WHAT HAPPENS AFTER WE DIE

·        "BOB PIERCE - THIS ONE THING I DO" - BOOK REVIEW/SUMMARY

·        "SIGNS OF THE TIME  - BOOK REVIEW/SUMMARY

·        "THE HIDDEN CODES OF THE BIBLE" - BOOK REVIEW/SUMMARY

 

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WHY THE  NIV  BIBLE TRANSLATION SHOULD NOT BE USED

 

By D.E. Davis

 

After reading many of the Christian articles available regarding the various Bible Translations, I have been led, I believe by the Holy Spirit, to regard the NIV translation as corrupt  and a direct attempt by Satan to dilute the word of God to the point that God will no longer be recognized as our Creator and our Redeemer.

 

One of the Christian articles in particular written by Terry Watkins of Dial-the-Truth Ministries, provides a comparison between the NIV the KJV.  His report found that the NIV deleted 64,576 words, deleted 17 complete verses of Scripture and substantially removed portions of another 147 verses of Scripture.  He also found that it perverts the deity of Jesus Christ and the virgin birth. (Article on file) Matthew 5:18 says that not “......one jot or one tittle shall ...pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.”; Deut. 4:2 and Rev. 22:18,19 both speak to the fact that we should not diminish, add to or subtract from God’s word in any way.

 

The NIV hardly makes an effort to keep the word of God intact.  Many clergy today claim that the NIV and other Bible Translations are faithful to the Greek text and rely on some of the oldest manuscript authority available.  They claim that since we do not have the original manuscripts, it is impossible for any group to claim that the manuscript authority that they are using is the last and final word.  Finally they claim that in today’s environment, we have several translations that do more justice to the Greek and use the language of our day in a more understandable format. 

 

I believe that this is far from the truth.  It is my opinion that the true word of God has been translated most correctly by the King James Version and is the closest to the original Hebrew Pentateuch text and that the scribes over a period of 2,000 years meticulously kept every letter intact, loosing nothing in the translation. The accuracy of the text is well documented.

 

This text has been confirmed to us in this generation through the Bible Code revelations, first reported by Grant Jeffrey’s book, “The Signature of God” and subsequently reported and confirmed by the secular world in Michael Drosnin’s book “The Bible Code”.  It was the KJV text in which the codes were located.  No other text produced these same inspired Bible Codes.  It is stated by many clergy that referring to various translations provides for a basis “to get a better understanding” of a particular verse.  How can this be with the NIV if a substantial portion of Scripture has been deleted or changed?

 

What are we really accomplishing by using this corrupt version of the NIV and others like it........we tell the Christian /non-Christian world that the NIV and other corrupt translations are O.K. - exactly what Satan wants to have happen - all in the name of clarification or better understanding.  How would anyone know the difference?   Pastors and others who are >diligently researching the word daily (Acts 17:11), presumably understand and are able to decipher or comprehend the difference in translations, but the average layman, I doubt, would have any idea as to what the possible impact could be.  It becomes the truth, however, when they hear it from someone in Church authority. 

 

Is this really the type of witness we want to provide?

 

”Clarification” should not be the point; preserving God’s Word as He intended it to be is the only point that we as Christians can afford to make. We can depend on this; that God will hold each of us accountable for how we hold to His word; every jot, every tittle.  In 1988 Harper & Row, Publishers (now HarperCollins Publishers) purchased the NIV (along with Zondervan).  A review of the Internet site for HarperCollins indicates that their product line includes the publication of  material based on the Occult, Voodoo, Witchcraft, UFOlogy and other such things as Parapsychology, Divination, Alien Abductions, Crop Circles and Sexual perversion.  It should also be noted that in the above noted article, Mr. Watkins points out that “HarperCollins is a subsidiary of the global Media Empire, The News Corporation, owned by Rupert Murdock.  The News Corporation empire includes Fox Broadcasting, Twentieth Century Fox, and more than 128 newspapers.  Fox Broadcasting produces some of the most sexually lewd shows on television.  Murdock also publishes the British >newspaper, the Sun, notorious for its nude pin-ups.”

 

 

My question then is: WHY WOULD THEY PURCHASE THE NIV AND WHAT KIND OF >”INSPIRED” UPDATES CAN WE EXPECT IN THE FUTURE??  

 

 

Amos 3:3 asks the question “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” 2 Cr 6:14 further states “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? “

 

God  wants us to lean not on our own understanding and especially not on the >understanding of non-believers.  He wants us to lean strictly upon the truth of his word.

 

It should be our goal then to be diligent in seeking out those publications that are managed and are circulated by Christian individuals, who stay true to the word of God.  We cannot rely on non-Christian publishers to present the true word of God.  There is no communion between light with darkness!

 

 

WHAT HAPPENS AFTER WE DIE?

 

By D.E. Davis

 

For Christians, we are told in Scripture in 2Cr 5:8 that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. For those who turn away from God, we are told that they are eternally separated from God and go to a place called Hell.  Rev 14:11 says that the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever.

 

The question that everyone ponders is: What really happens after we die? Do we just lay dormant until the Lord takes us to be with him or until judgement is handed out at the Great White Throne as called out in Rev. 20:11? Are we conscience? Do we feel, touch, think, recognize loved ones, know what is happening around us? All questions that we have ask ourselves, no doubt, at some time in our life.

 

My own personal review of the Scriptures has led me to believe that after we die, even though our body may be dead and buried, our Spirit is alive and fully conscience. Chuck Missler likens this state of conscienceness to the software that runs the Computer; once the hardware goes, the software remains intact and available for further applications.

 

There are two illustrations in the Bible that makes it clear as to what happens after death, when we're in the spirit.

 

The first one is illustrated in the Luke account of Lazarus and the rich man in Chapter 16. After death, Lazarus, a man of God, is escorted into Abraham’s Bosom, a holding compartment in Hell for the Believers prior to the Cross. The non-believing rich man was "buried" and went into a separate compartment in Hell (Hades), apart from Abraham’s Bosom, where he was in Torment according to Scripture. Both were in a Spirit state; yet by the account, they could see each other and speak to each other.

 

The second account is in Revelation, where John is taken (in the Spirit) to Heaven to see those things that shall come to pass prior to the return of Jesus Christ to the Earth, or Second Coming (not the Rapture).

 

I had to conclude from the study, based on the following Scripture, that all of the senses we have here on earth will be with us throughout eternity, even unto death.

 

·         THE ABILITY TO LOOK/SEE - Luke 16:23;Rev. 1:12;4:1,4; 5:1,2; 6:1,2,8,9; 7:1,2; 8:2; 9:1,17; 10:1,5; 13:1,2,3;14:1,6; 15:1,2; 16:13; 17:3,6; 18:1; 19:11,17,19; 20:1,4,11,12; 21:1,2,22; 22:8

·         THE ABILITY TO HEAR - Rev. 1:10; 4:1; 5:11; 6:1,3,5,6,7; 7:4; 9:13,16; 10:4,8; 12:10; 14:2,13; 16:1,5,7; 18:4; 19:1,6; 21: 3; 22:8

·         THE ABILITY TO BEHOLD ( to obtain knowledge of: understand: perceive) - Rev. 5:6,11; 6:5,8,12; 7:9; 8:13; 13:11

·         THE ABILITY TO REASON - Luke 16:30

·         THE ABILITY TO CRY (even though there will be no more crying in Heaven) - Rev. 5:4,5; Luke 16:24

·         THE ABILITY TO SPEAK - Rev. 5:13; 10:9; 21:6,15; Luke 16:24, 29,30,31

·         THE ABILITY TO FEEL/TOUCH - Luke 16:23, 24,25

·         THE ABILITY TO REMEMBER - Luke 16:25

·         THE ABILITY TO WONDER - Rev. 17:6

·         THE ABILITY TO WRITE - Rev. 1:11; 10:4; 19:9

·         THE ABILITY TO QUESTION - Rev. 7:13

·         THE ABILITY TO TAKE (THE BOOK/ROD) - Rev. 10:8,9,10

·         THE ABILITY TO FALL (ON KNEES) - Rev. 19:10; 22:8

·         THE ABILITY TO STAND - Rev. 13:1

·         THE ABILITY TO WORSHIP - Rev. 19:10; 22:8

·         THE ABILITY TO PERFORM TASKS - Rev. 11:1

 

God has promised in 1 Thess 4:16 and 1 Cor. 15:52,53 that one day, we shall be reunited with Him in body and will be transformed and conformed to Him - in the twinkling of an eye. We are also told in Scripture that we shall see Him face to face- see the Lamb that was slain for you and me. We know by His Word, that we will Praise Him, Worship Him and Rule with Him.

 

One thing in the study that I found extremely fascinating was the difference in treatment between Lazarus and the non-believing rich man. Scripture says that Lazarus was escorted to Heaven by an Angel, but there is no indication in Scripture about how the rich man arrived at Hell. Could it be that God had a specific purpose why He chose not to tell us in Scripture?

 

Finally, knowing that others may have varying interpretations of these Scriptures, I strongly urge you to review the Scriptures yourselves to determine what you find as the truth according to God’s Word.

 

BOB PIERCE -"THIS ONE THING I DO"
 

By Franklin Graham with Jeanette Lockerbie

 

BOOK REVIEW by D. E. Davis (September 1997)

 

It is amazing the worlds that open up to an individual, once the Power of the Holy Spirit comes upon him. Just three years ago, where once I was blind to Missions, to all the inspired men and women God has called to service and the multitude of people all over the world who have been saved, new worlds are ever opening to me to see how awesome the power of God is in our Christian lives.

 

Such was the power and strength of faith Bob Pierce had in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. It is difficult for me to even attempt to assess where God has put Bob along with other past great men of the faith, but from what I read about his life with Christ, he certainly had his eyes focused on Jesus! I personally feel inadequate and humbled to even put in words, my thoughts about this man. Bob was a man Blessed by God. I feel sad that I never had an opportunity to know him, but look forward to meeting him one day in heaven.

 

If ever there was a verse of scripture that represented Bob Pierce, it had to be the title of this book as taken from Philippians 3:13,14 ".......this one thing I do,....I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Jesus Christ."

 

Bob was raised in Los Angeles and at the age of 12, gave his life to Christ and was baptized in the Nazarene Church. "God simply called me to give my heart to Jesus, and I followed Him." He died in 1978 of leukemia but lived his life for Christ in between those dates as if Christ was coming tomorrow and he still had to witness to the whole world before dawn broke. Throughout his career, he dedicated his life mainly to Missions and over the years was responsible for founding such World re-noun programs as "World Vision", an organization dedicated to meeting the emergency needs in crisis areas such as Korea after the Korean war. During that time of need, he established a Korean Orphanage, serving over 30 thousand Korean war orphans. Bob was also responsible for starting the World re-noun Korean Orphan's Choir. As an outgrowth of "World Vision" he founded "World Medical Mission" which covered all emergency medical needs in countries all over the world which had no medical facilities. He was also founder of "Samaritan's Purse" and organization dedicated to funding World emergency need, no matter where they were. These organizations are still meeting the needs of those in crisis today.

 

If his work through these organizations was not enough, he became a United Nations War Correspondent during World War II; was Co-founder for "Youth for Christ"; and became a Motion Picture producer/Radio program host, author and a lecturer; but first and last, he always considered himself an evangelist! Even though Bob knew that he was "extraordinarily gifted by God, he was never impressed with himself - he considered himself just an earthly vessel, available at all times for the exclusive use of the Lord".

 

In his own words, he had "many flaws, failings but had abundant faith in God who lives and cares about people."

 

If I had to pick four areas of the Christian life that I feel truly represented Bob Pierce, they would be 1) Unwavering Faith, 2) Compassion for others,