Jule Miller Booklets
If you’re looking for a series of Bible study materials to elevate your Evangelism to wonderful heights, then Jule Miller booklets, along with the moving DVD/video series, will surely be the ideal match for your congregation. This series of transformational videos and booklets were devotedly and attentively created by Jule Miller and Texas Stevens from Gospel Services, and will undoubtedly touch the hearts of all men and women who are blessed enough to have these messages bestowed upon them. You are invited to buy the Jule Miller booklets either individually or as a complete series. In any event, you are sure to receive the precise messages you need to spread the Word as articulately and passionately as possible!Island Exhaust Hoods
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Let’s ask another question: Our Rabbis tell us that Josef also experienced a miracle as he was being brought down to Egypt by the Yishmalim. They were carrying spices instead of carrying tar, so the that Josef would have a sweet smell as he travelled. Josef was being brought as a slave to an inescapable place of impurity and decadence, did the spices really help him? Could they change his frame of mind at such a time of desperation?

The answer to the second question is yes! From these spices Josef saw that G-d was still with him and he wasn’t forgotten. These spices were a ray of light in the darkness and a revelation to Josef that it was G-d himself who was taking him to Egypt.

To answer the first question we need to understand that the purpose of a miracle is to reveal G-d’s involvement (“the light of his face”)in a given situation. It does not matter what the size of the miracle is, the main thing is that we see that G-d is with us. We know that a father loves his child not so much because he provides for his simple and basic needs but rather by the extra and special things which he gives his children. Surely the smaller miracle of Chanukah was that we were able to continue the mitzvah of lighting the menorah, but because it was smaller it revealed Hashem’s love for us in a greater way. It was this small light of the menorah which announced to the world Hashem’s burning love for his chosen people.

Based on Sichot Mussar

Rabbi Eliyahu Mitterhoff is the director of the Global Yeshiva. The Global Yeshiva is devoted to creating a warm and friendly yet serious place for people of all levels to share and discuss Torah and Orthodox Judaism. He envisions this as a great and unprecedented historic opportunity to share, learn, teach and spread Torah on a global level.

Another person who seems convinced, though no longer living, was Martin Polonus, a monk and close advisor to the pope. In his “History of Emperors and Popes,” Polonus wrote about a young woman from Mainz who learned Greek and Latin and became “proficient in a diversity of branches of knowledge.”

Pope Joan supposedly served as pope from until 858. She was said to have been a poor German girl whose mud hut village of Mainz was taught Christianity by English missionaries. Supposedly, she took on her brother’s identity when he was killed by Vikings, calling herself John Anglicus (English John), and joined a monastery for boys called Fulda. She disguised herself as a monk to be with her cleric boyfriend in Rome, where she so impressed others with her Christian scholarly learning that she – still impersonating a monk – was eventually elected pope. With ambition and nerve, English John became secretary to a cardinal, and then, as Polonus writes, “the choice of all for pope” in the year A.D. 855.

The jig was up when she gave birth during a procession, whereupon she and the child were killed. Other records say she was sent to a convent and that her son grew up and later became bishop of Ostia. The “experts” are torn regarding the legitimacy of the story. Oddly, future popes for 100 years avoided taking that dreadful route – a very direct one at that – upon returning to the Vatican. Polonus writes: “The Lord Pope always turns aside from the street … because of the abhorrence of the event.”

If you travel to Italy and ask questions about Pope Joan, many will direct you toward the clues embedded in art, literature and architecture.

The Renaissance poet Giovanni Boccaccio, best known for writing “The Decameron,” also wrote a book on “100 Famous Women.” No. 51 on his list? Pope Joan. Rare book dealers in Rome pull ancient tarot cards from their shelves. The card for hidden knowledge is called “La Papessa” — the Female Pope. Northward, in Siena, is the Duomo, where inside the cathedral is a gallery of terra-cotta busts depicting 170 popes, in no particular order. In the 17th century, Cardinal Baronuis, the Vatican librarian, wrote that one of the faces was a female — Joan the Female Pope. He also wrote that the when pope at the time decreed that the statue be destroyed, the local archbishop couldn’t stand to see a good statue go to waste. “The statue was transformed,” believes Donna Cross. “…literally, it [the name, John Anglicus] was scraped off…” and written in its place was “Pope Zachary.”

At the Basilica in St. Peter’s Square are carvings by Bernini, one of the most famous artists of the 17th century. Among the carvings are eight images of a woman wearing a papal crown, each faces increasingly contorted as if it were a woman suffering in child birth. Seven of the carved images seem to tell the story of a woman giving birth, the eighth being the unmistakable carving of a smiling baby.

Many other papal stories are undeniably true. In many cases, sins of the flesh were the least of their publicized sins. In the Middle Ages, many popes were elevated to office following the murder of their predecessors. During one particularly sad stretch of popes (882 to 1046), there were 37 popes, some of whom served less than a month. For example, Leo V (903) had been pope for only a month before being imprisoned and tortured by Christophorus, who then enthroned himself. Both men were killed in 904 on the orders of Pope Sergius III (904-911). That pope later had a son by his teenaged mistress Marozia who became Pope John XI (931-935). In 914, according to one chronicler, Marozia’s mother Theodora installed her lover on the papal throne as John X (914-928). (Theodora and Marozia effectively controlled the papacy through their lineage and, some say, may be the source of the Pope Joan stories.) John XII (955-963), who landed the pope job at age 19, was accused, perhaps falsely, of sleeping with his father’s mistress, committing incest with his niece, and castrating a deacon. “Popes … killed each other off, hammered each other to death,” says Mary Malone, a former Catholic nun. “There were 12-year-old popes … we have knowledge of a 5-year-old archbishop… It was a very odd time in history.”

In later years, murder gave way to bribery as the way down the “Roman Road.” Some 40 popes are believed to have bought their Vatican jobs. But the lax attitude toward celibacy remained unchanged. In large part this was because the Roman Catholic Church was an important route to wealth and power. Sons of influential families were pushed into Church careers much as a wealthy, powerful Ivy League Alumni might pull some strings to get their kid to their Alma Mater. Noblemen with mistresses saw no reason to adjust their life-styles just because they had taken spiritual vows. Sadly, even today, far too many ministers of all denominations see their position as a job rather than a vocation; a calling from God Himself.

Cardinals and popes getting their relatives a cushy job at the Vatican was the source of many jokes in Rome for centuries. Innocent VIII (1484-1492) had a son and daughter who lived with him in the Vatican. The notorious Alexander VI (1492-1503), born Rodrigo Borgia, had at least four illegitimate children while still a cardinal, among them the cutthroat Cesare Borgia and the reputed poisoner Lucrezia Borgia. Clement VII (1523-1534), himself illegitimate, had a son whom he attempted to make duke of Florence. Paul III (1534-1539) had four kids; two teen grandsons he made cardinals. Pius IV (1559-1565) had three children, et cetera, ad nauseam. Where papal kids and their holy fathers are concerned, there’s a tradition that Pope Hormisdas (514-523) was the father of Pope Silverius (536-537). It may not be proper to call Silverius illegitimate, since the rule of clerical celibacy was not firmly established in the early Church. Exactly how many “holy fathers” there were is probably impossible to determine, due to the lack of documentation for such things.

The Catholic Church has been pretty forthcoming about these naughty popes, opening the Vatican archives to historians in the 19th century. The Church acknowledges that the office has been held by unworthy men, but maintains that their papal functions were unimpaired by their carnality, something we might hear more often in connection with politicians. Alas, the doctrine of papal infallibility applies only to certain formal pronouncements on faith and morals, so it is argued that the bad popes did not lead the church astray. Regarding papal infallibility, the Encyclopedia Britannica says, “The definition of the first Vatican Council … states the conditions under which a pope may be said to have spoken infallibly, or ex cathedra. It is prerequisite that the pope intend to demand irrevocable assent from the entire church in some aspect of faith or morals.” The ordinary teachings of the Church, by contrast, are not infallible. The pope can say what he likes about birth control, for example, and Catholics are obliged to obey, at least in the conservative view. But until he makes an infallible pronouncement on the subject, he has the option of someday changing his mind.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Pastor Michael is founder of t.e.a.m. ministries (team1min@aol.com). His eMail broadcasts, known as “Your Town for Jesus” (SEARCH it!) are reaching tens of thousands WEEKLY. He ministers by way of email and Instant Message, too. Write him at team1min@aol.com if you’d like to SUBSCRIBE to receive his messages directly.
Michael’s mission is to bring Discipleship and Encouragement to the Body of Christ. Michael is the author of numerous booklets on a variey of subjects that will interest the thinking Christian. Since 1999, he has written and broadcast hundreds of inspirational articles and a dozen booklets, all designed to accelerate the process of spiritual development in God’s people.

“Essence of Worship” (continued)

The essence of worship is where it’s at. I think you will agree with this statement if you read the first part of this document. So let’s move on. We’ve been talking about the localized and institutionalized worship of the Old Testament having been delocalized and deinstitutionalized in the New Testament because the saints worship God in spirit and truth. We see further evidence of this in Paul’s ministry. Paul calls his own ministry a “priestly service (of worship),” and he calls the converts themselves an “acceptable offering (in worship)” to God (Romans 15:16; cf. Philippians 2:17). He even calls the money that the churches send him “a fragrant aroma and acceptable sacrifice to God (in worship)” (Philippians 4:18 JP). And his own death for Christ he calls a “drink offering” to God (II Timothy 4:6).

This is what it means when we read things like, “Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (I Corinthians 10:31). And “whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father” (Colossians 3:17 NASB). This is the central New Testament action of worship: to act in a way that reflects the glory of Godto do a thing in the name of Jesus with thanks to God. But the New Testament uses those greatest of all worship sentences without any reference to Sunday worship services. They describe life. Again, the essence of worship is not external, localized acts, but an inner, God ward experience that shows itself externally not primarily in church services. The fundamental reason for this is probably that the Old Testament was mainly a “come see” religion and the New Testament fulfillment is a “go tell” religion.

Now let me address the question: What is the essence of that inner experience which we call worship?
Worship, whether an inner experience of the heart or an outward act of the body, or of the congregation collectivelyis a magnifying of God. That is, it is an act that shows how magnificent He is. It is an act that reveals or expresses how great and glorious He is. Worship is all about consciously reflecting the worth or value of God. Paul’s passion is that what he does with his body, whether in life or death, will always be worship. In life and death his mission is to magnify Christto show that Christ is magnificent, to exalt Christ, and demonstrate that He is great. That’s plain from verse 20, that Christ shall be “exalted in my body, whether by life or death.” Paul knew in his heart that God willed his life to continue after his Roman imprisonment, he would be more determined than ever to minister to the saints. That would be good for all the churches that Paul ministered to. But, on the other hand, if God called him home that would be gain also. Death would take him into a deeper intimacy with the Lord. And that is especially good.

Therefore, the inner essence of worship is cherishing Christ as gain, indeed as more gain than all that life can offerfamily, career, retirement, fame, food, and friends. The essence of worship is experiencing Christ as gain. It is savoring Him. It is naming Him as the end of your search. Jesus is the object of your faith. John Piper, whom I quote often, brings this topic together in one sentence. He says, “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.” Christ is magnified in my death, when in my death I am satisfied with Him, when I experience death as gain because I gain Him. Or another way to say it is that the essence of praising Christ is prizing Christ. Christ will be praised in my death, if in my death He is prized above life. The inner essence of worship is prizing Christ. Are you satisfied in Jesus Christ? You can by receiving Him as Savior and Lord and walking with Him daily through prayer and praise. Tell Him often that you are thankful for Him. Tell Him often that you are glad in Him. He’s waiting to hear from you. Start talking to Him and enjoy the fellowship of worship.

Keep the faith. Stay the course. Jesus is coming again. I believe it’s time to WORSHIP!

About the Author

918-451-0270. tdash0355atnetzerodotcom.

From Antiochus Epiphanes to Adolph Hitler warfare has been the primary tool of the despot. Antichrist breaks the trend and thereby breaks the backs of the nations. In the very end he leads the entire world into the greatest and most futile of all battles, but in the beginning he uses only one single element to bring the world into submission and that is, the economy. Rev.13:7

It is common today to hear America referred to as a superpower. This terminology is pompous at best, but what is worse is the prevalent attitude that we’ve got it made and we know it. We’re the big boy on the block and were strutting our stuff while the rest of the world goes on thinking we’re just a big bully. The result of this attitude is a deep preoccupation with our own affairs and the influences we are able to wield throughout the rest of the world.

All the time we spend on our own position in the world has kept most Americans completely in the dark, while right under their noses a world empire is being birthed that dwarfs anything that has ever come before it, including the United States. The EU, born in the early fifties as a means of enjoining labor forces throughout Europe, has steadily grown unnoticed by most of America. The Union even without the fifteen new nations that are joining through ratification at this very moment comprises the largest economic block of countries that has ever existed in the history of the world. How many Americans know this? The answer is sadly almost none. What’s worse is they don’t seem to care.

The European Union already has three times the gross national product of the United States. It controls almost fifty percent of the worlds shipping, and already has a dollar that is more stable than ours, and is trending toward becoming the world standard. The Union is in every way as technically advanced as the United States, and in some ways even exceeds it. If all the countries now joining can successfully ratify the constitution that is now being presented to them, then the EU will essentially become the United States of Europe by late in the year two thousand and six. Nations are literally clamoring to join the Union while America is involved with its own affairs. We of course take comfort in NATO as we have for over fifty years now. But the chances of America coming directly under the authority of the Union seem about as remote as pigs flying, unless of course, if we have no choice

Rev Bresciani is the author of two popular Christian books. He has also written dozens of articles both online and in print.

Please visit the website www.americanprophet.org

O.K., I’ll admit it…he had me with title. Before I even cracked the cover of Matthew Lickona’s new book Swimming With Scapulars: True Confessions Of A Young Catholic (Loyola Press, April 2005, hardcover, 278 pages), I found myself intrigued. Gratefully, having now read and re-read the book in its entirety, I’ll say I was not disappointed. As a matter of fact, this book is among my favorites for the year – not because I agree 100% with everything Lickona writes in this memoir, but because of his stunningly gifted delivery and the honesty with which he shares his soul.

Swimming With Scapulars is the story of one young man’s journey of faith. The faith involved happens to be Catholicism, but the appeal of this book is not found in its theology, but rather in the glimpse it gives us into the development of spirituality in this young man. Lest you think that Matthew is out to paint himself a saint, he’s not – he shares his shortcomings, the temptations he faces, and his sins with a forthrightness that leaves you feeling like you really know him by the book’s end. Many of my favorite passages in the book deal with Matthew’s relationships with family – his parents, his brother, and now his wife and children. Treat yourself to the experience of reading Swimming With Scapulars – you will find yourself entertained, enlightened, and perhaps even inspired to examine the development of your own “soul story”.

Matthew Lickona shared the following on publishing his first book, family, and his take on the future of the Church.

Q: Matthew, I know that you’ve been writing professionally since 1995, but what prompted you to write this book and has it met your intended goals?

A: To some extent, I was carried along, so much so that a person might be tempted to call it providence. My boss at the San Diego Reader, Jim Holman, also publishes four Catholic newspapers, among them the San Diego News Notes. The book began when he asked me to write a column for the News Notes about my spiritual life. I wasn’t sure how much I’d have to offer – I’m hardly a spiritual giant – but I started digging around my interior and writing about what I found there. I was also allowed to comment on my experience of religion, the Church and the culture at large, from books to Satan to Mass to movies. After about five years, my wife Deirdre (among others) started urging me to consider making a book out of columns. Eventually, I came around to the idea; I thought the columns provided an interesting portrait of a member of an interesting subculture: the young Catholic struggling to embrace the faith in its fullness. After Loyola Press bought the book, I reworked it into something of a memoir – the story of my soul so far. As far as goals, I’d like to see the book give pleasure and find a wide audience, of course, and maybe spark some interest in and conversation about the faith as I’ve experienced it.

Q: How would you describe Swimming with Scapulars to someone who hasn’t yet read it? Who is your intended audience?

A: I would describe the book as the story of a young man’s gradual immersion in the Catholic faith. There’s no slam-bang moment of conversion or repentance, but there is a growing understanding, acceptance, and even love of the mysteries, the richness, and the demands of that faith. Along the way, I try to give an honest account of my interior life, to show that the Church is full of sinners (me), even as those sinners try to advance in holiness. And I think I give some idea of how the world looks through my eyes. I don’t know if I have an intended audience; I’d like to see it read by believers and unbelievers, Catholics and non-Catholics, Catholics who agreed with me and those who don’t. I suppose I’d especially like to see younger people read it and get a sense that living the faith is possible, even in the midst of failure and sin. And more than possible – worthwhile, supremely so.

Q: In the book, you eloquently describe the influence of your parents and your brother, Mark on your own faith formation. What important lessons have you learned from your parents and from Mark about living the Faith?

A: This is an enormous question; I’ll just take a few things from the top of my head. From my parents, certainly the absolute necessity and primacy of prayer. They both start each day with it, and it makes a tremendous difference. From my father, the importance of witnessing in the face of hostility and turning the other cheek. He fights the good fight at work – he’s a professor at a state university – and in the Church, but he does not give in to acrimony. Often, he is silent in the face of criticism, even when it gets outrageous. From my mother, the importance of acceptance. My brother was more of a model to me of how a young Christian lived and thought, deeply in the world but not so deep as to lose perspective.

Q: As a father yourself, how do you strive to share your faith with your own children? What do you hope for the future of the Church they will grow up in?

A: I think that for children, an important part of faith formation is the establishment of habits. The habit of attending Sunday Mass. The habit of prayer before meals and bedtime. When they get old enough, the habit of confession and reception of the Eucharist. Habits carry you when the will is weak, and they are most easily established in youth, I think. That’s the groundwork. On top of that, there is answering the barrage of questions that children have, and even some preaching. It’s taken years, but I’ve finally started to convince my eldest that things won’t ever satisfy him. I try to make conversation about religious matters an ordinary, everyday event; that’s how it was for me when I was growing up. That way, I’m hoping, the faith will start to work its way into everyday corners of their souls, and not be reserved for “religious occasions.” And because I am an authority, I model God for them in some way, so it’s crucial that I teach by example. It’s harder to imagine them believing in a loving God if they don’t have a loving father on earth. They learn about love from the way I treat them, and from the way I relate to my wife. What do I hope for the future of the Church? That it will more perfectly carry out its mission to bring souls to Christ, and that it will be a vibrant Church, fully engaged with the world and sure of its own foundations.

Q: Tell us a bit about your time at Thomas Aquinas College and how you met Dierdre. I know that you contemplated a vocation to the priesthood – have you ever regretted not following that path? What have you learned from your wife about the vocation to Catholic family life and parenthood?

A: Thomas Aquinas College was where the I started to discover the richness of the faith: its intellectual tradition (we read a great deal of St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas), its devotional tradition (Eucharistic Adoration, the scapular, prayer to the saints, etc.), and its doctrinal tradition. I didn’t make it an explicit goal, but while I was there, I began to reconnect with the tradition of the Church, to see it as a guide and an inheritance. It’s worth noting that while TAC is a Catholic college, and believes that the fullness of truth is found in the Catholic Church, the Church does not enter classroom discussion. It’s not a theological college; it’s a liberal arts college. We read the Great Books of the Western canon and we discuss them. You can’t shoot down the empiricists by saying that the Church teaches otherwise. Outside of class, in the general culture of the school, is where I made all these discoveries about the faith. It wasn’t perfect; there was sin there like anywhere else. But I loved it; it was a sort of four-year retreat from the world for the sake of intellectual formation. I should have been a better student, but I still reaped many benefits.

I met Deirdre soon after arriving at the school. Though she was older, we were both freshmen; everybody starts as a freshman at the college and progresses through the same program. Each year builds on what came before. When we met, she was dating a friend of mine whose – but I knew his heart belonged to someone else.

We both worked on campus the following summer, and became great friends. She had such a wit, but she didn’t use it as a shield; she was comfortable with sincerity, the intimacy of genuine friendship I think that’s also when I discovered what a fantastic cook she was. I ate many dinners on the porch of her dorm – no boys were allowed inside – and I was astonished at what she could turn out with little more than a hotplate and a microwave. And she drank bourbon. We fell in love about halfway through Junior year. By then, all thoughts of the priesthood had vanished. In fact, they vanished soon after I arrived at the college. I think maybe some of my initial leanings were due to my situation in high school. There, I was the odd man out – the celibate, the guy willing to argue against abortion, the guy who was serious about his Catholicism. Not to say I was alone in this, but it certainly wasn’t the norm. Perhaps some of my leanings toward the priesthood came from feeling of haven taken a somewhat different path than many of my peers. At college, I was just another Catholic. The attention I paid to religion wasn’t something that set me apart. I’ve never regretted not pursuing a priestly vocation. Sometimes, I feel a little guilty – we need priests so badly, and here I am, happily married, enjoying all sorts of natural blessings. But it’s not like signing up for the military, where you can go if you think you’re needed. You have to be called.

I’ve learned a great deal from my wife. She’s far more selfless than I am, and she works a lot harder. Yet she complains less. She is deeply devoted to my happiness and the happiness of our children. I don’t think I’m a total flop as a spouse, but she is to me a model of self-emptying love. Our marriage has been a happy one, and I like to think I’ve grown as the job of being husband and father demanded it. You start to get used to giving over, you develop a feeling of never having done enough. Hopefully, it inspires you to try a little harder. Christian marriage is a vocation; it’s not simply what people do. It’s our particular path to heaven, our best means of learning to love.

Q: You really lay your soul open in this book…how have you dealt with readers’ reactions to the book, including those closest to you and some who may be critical of your work?

A: Actually, reader response has been mostly positive, some of it amazingly so. I like to think that has something to do with the degree of honesty in the book, which is something I sought after. I didn’t want a memoir that sailed off into happy platitudes or airy abstractions. I wanted something grounded in experience, and that will mean, among other things, sin. I tried to make it clear that I wasn’t holier-than-thou, just interested in being holier than I am. Those closest to me have been very kind. There was one person who really hammered the book, first on Amy Welborn’s blog and then on Amazon.com, and that did get me upset, because I didn’t think she read the book carefully. But my father has always said “it is a luxury to be understood.” I’ve tried not to get upset. I posted a response on the blog, but I mainly tried to correct the record, not argue with her impressions.

Q: This year has been an historic one for our Catholic Church. As a young Catholic, how have you responded to the passing of Pope John Paul II and to the election of Pope Benedict XVI? What role will your generation play in the Church of the new millennium?

A: I’m almost 32; that puts me on the older edge of what people are calling Generation John Paul II. He is the only pope I can remember having prior to Benedict XVI, and I had (have) great reverence and admiration for him. But I was not a disciple, not the way, say, my sister-in-law Lisa was (is). I didn’t read the encyclicals. I didn’t attend World Youth Day. I didn’t get involved in discussions of his philosophy. My loyalty was to the Church – which is not to say that I thought the Pope was somehow opposed to that. I just didn’t focus on him, for good or ill. Nor have I read much of what Benedict wrote when he was still Cardinal Ratzinger, though I hope to at least partially remedy that. From what I have seen so far, I like him very much.

As for what role my generation will play, please don’t make me say that “I believe the children are our future.” Instead, let me quote from my father’s book Character Matters, in which he quotes Abraham Lincoln. “A child is a person who is going to carry on what you have started. He is going to sit where you are sitting, and, when you are gone, attend to those things which you think are important…He is going to move in and take over your churches…The fate of humanity is in his hands.”

I think it’s safe to say that the Church, at least in this country, has been going through a rough patch of late. If the “New Faithful” find what they’re looking for – and I hope they will – then I think it bodes well for the Church. We’re short on priests; a faith worth dying for is a faith worth giving up the blessings of married life for. We need to re-evangelize the West; a faith worth living for is a faith worth telling somebody about, and actually living for it will be a powerful first step in evangelization. I don’t want to get all pie-in-the-sky; I don’t imagine that all the Church’s problems are about to vanish. But I think the “New Faithful,” sound a hopeful note.

For more information on Swimming With Scapulars: True Confessions Of A Young Catholic visit http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/082942072X/catholicmomcom

Lisa M. Hendey is a mother of two sons, webmaster of numerous web sites, including http://www.catholicmom.com and http://www.christiancoloring.com, and an avid reader of Catholic literature. Visit her at http://www.lisahendey.com for more information.

Terry Dashner (www.ffcba.com)

The Bible emphatically states that there is coming a day of judgment, for God has appointed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness. Jesus said that we will see the Son of Man sitting upon the throne of His glory, all nations will be gathered together before Him, and He will separate them as the shepherd separated the sheep from the goats. John, author of the book of Revelation, saw a great white throne in a great day of judgment. Not only does the Bible declare it, but also the moral nature of man demands it.

Dr. Kennedy, a man I greatly admire, tells an interesting story about Elizabeth Kubler Ross. Ross once appeared on the Phil Donahue show and was discussing her views about the after life. Ross is a reflective thinker and a universalist and believes that all men when they die go to heaven. During the interview, Donahue asked her point blank if Hitler would be in heaven. To which she replied, ‘Of course.’ There being a number of Jewish people in the audience that morning, they became quite agitated. They asked other questions about some of the various men who had headed up the Nazi death camps at Dachau and other places. She continued to affirm that all of these, too, upon their death, went immediately to paradise. By this time the audience had become so enraged that it appeared some of them were going to rush upon her and gnash upon her with their teeth–because there is something in the moral nature of man that demands that wrongs will be righted and scores will be settled.

The coming day of judgment will be the ultimate theodicy. (Theodicy is that which justifies the ways of God with men.) Like you, I have many questions about this life and its ostensible contradictions. I’m a rational being who wonders why God would allow suffering in His world when He could snuff it out with a wave of His hand. I wonder why some believers contract diseases and die young, while evil men seem to prosper and live long lives. I’m just one of many that has come through the ages and cried out, “Lord, how long before you right the wrongs of men?” I must admit, I’ve never received a suitable answer to my cries, but I’ve never stopped trusting God’s goodness to men in that He sent His only Begotten Son to die for the sins of the world. And one day He will right all wrongs. As a matter of fact on the day of the great white throne judgment, God’s plan for the ages will be unveiled, and all will see for the first time God’s perfect redemptive plan. At that time we will see as God sees, and we will have perfect understanding. His plan He has worked throughout time will make perfect sense to us. He is the God of perfect justice. He will one day right all the wrongs.

At the judgment scene all men will be judged according to their works. John writes about this in Revelation 20: 11-15. Why will men be judged according to their works? There are several reasons for this. For one, sin is not the issue here. Jesus died 2000 years ago on the old rugged Cross and took in His body and soul the sins of humanity. Sin was rendered powerless over anyone who would receive His salvation. Another reason is this. James in the New Testament says, “…faith without works is dead.” There is no way to show faith and trust in God but through the manifestation of faith revealed in works. I walk a fine line here, realizing that this has been a subject of debate since the Reformation; nevertheless, it is a true statement at the judgment scene. Let me illustrate. At the throne the Son of Man will reveal the entire lifetime of the one being judged. Everything in secret or open will flash before him. The one judged will offer his good works as his defense. The Son of Man will weigh them in the balance and find that they fall far short of His redemptive work on the Cross. Because the one being judged never received the work of Calvary by faith, he will offer his works in place of Calvary. But it won’t satisfy the wrath of Almighty God. Only the perfect Lamb of God was good enough, righteous enough to appease the wrath of God whose holiness can not be compromised by any work of man but only through what He has provided through the suffering, death, burial, and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ.

What will you offer for your defense? I can tell you I have nothing to substitute for the mercy of God. That’s why I called on Jesus many years ago to rescue me from my sins. Jesus heard my cry and answered me. I believe that when I die and give an account for my life–for we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ–Jesus, the

Apostles’ Creed “…from whence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead.”

Advocate of all ages, will stand in my defense and plead my case before the Father. I will enter into the kingdom of God because of Jesus. The works that I’ve done in this life for the glory of God will be noted, and I will receive rewards for them. The works done by self-will will be cast into a fire and burned up. I’m so thankful that God has provided the Way, the Truth, and the Life for me. I’m so thankful that Jesus saved me from my sins and gave me eternal life in Him. I need not fear the judgment because Jesus will be there at my side. How about you?

If you’re not ready, call on Him and He will “…answer thee and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.”

Keep the faith.

Stay the course.

Jesus is our soon coming King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Pastor T.

For most nonbelievers, their concept of holiness is one that is very solemn and somber. To live a holy life is to live a life
that is dark and gloomy; a life devoid of color, fun and excitement. Unfortunately, that is also the idea many Christians have whenever they think about being holy. But nothing can be further from the truth.

We worship God in the beauty of His holiness (1 Chron. 16:29). That means holiness is something attractive and
beautiful. No wonder people followed Jesus everywhere He went. Even little children wanted to come near to hug Him. Holiness makes a believer a very attractive witness for Christ. The Bible says that God is glorious in holiness (Ex. 15:11). Holiness carries with it the glory of the Lord.
“Glory” means two things:

(1) Light. A holy person is never dull or gloomy. On the contrary, he stands our head and shoulders over everyone else. The Christian who is holy is a bright and radiant person, shining powerfully for Jesus.

(2) Weight. In the Hebrew language, the word “glory” is kabod, which means weight or substance. The Christian
who is holy is a person who carries the tangible presence of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit comes with a very substantial presence. When a holy person walks into a room, the anointing of God goes into that room with him. When a holy person speaks, his words carry weight and authority.

When Jesus spoke, everybody listened: “Then they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? What new doctrine is this? For with authority He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him”" (Mark 1:27).

Deuteronomy 23:14 says we have to make a decision to keep our camp–the house of God–spiritually clean. God only walks on
holy ground. Our words, actions and thoughts have to be sanctified because we can build an environment where God enjoys coming into. And when God walks among us, there will always be blessing, provision and protection.

Make a decision today to be walking in holiness. Do not entertain any more unclean ideas, conversations or deeds that would grieve the Holy Spirit. God says, “Be holy, for I am holy” (1 Pet. 1:16).

Article Source: http://www.holy-spirit-led-christian.com/walking-in-holiness.html

Interreligious dialogue requires participants to place their beliefs up front for all to see. Here is one of my primary beliefs: the “Divine,” “Creator,” “God” or whatever name/incarnation (Christ, Krisna, Allah . . . ) one applies, embraces people of all faiths and that whether one seeks salvation or liberation or enlightenment, the Source and Goal of all life welcomes us and aids our return to our true home with love. Yes, I experience a process of purgation, cleansing my selfishness as I tread my spiritual path, frequently wandering into dense tundra of delusion. But, that does not negate God’s love. Sadly (to me), the Catholic Church and much of the rest of Christianity do not extend such a universal appeal of divine love. I know other religions have the same issues. I am merely qualified to address the teachings of the Catholic Church on the ultimate value of the world’s great spiritual traditions. Catholic documents address sister Christian churches as well as non-Christian religions. In recent documents, the teaching authority (Magisterium) has decreed that even non-Catholic Christians are not in full communion with God. For a tradition the name of which, “catholic,” means “universal,” the hierarchy certainly manages to segregate itself from every other system of belief. Catholic documents are difficult to read for the lay person. One must wade through dense theological language. However, the central exclusive message is not obscured.

I am singling out the Catholic Church. There seems to be a universal human tendency to division, an “us versus them” addiction to power. Since I am human, how do I engage in dialogue when I am as likely as anyone to think that my way is the right way and, therefore separate myself from others who disagree with me? For now, I will paraphrase something from His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama: He said that when one person thinks that she is right and everyone else is wrong, she should imagine herself standing alone, facing everybody else. What a lonely image.

I am a writer and teacher with a Master’s degree in Systematic Theology. I specialize in Interreligious Dialogue and World Religions. My blog is http://www.writingup.com/blog/IWrite54.

Why is school prayer illegal? I understand that “forcing” someone to pray is illegal and wrong (and I don’t think God wants it that way anyway), but why is voluntary school prayer illegal?

I am told that it makes other people “uncomfortable” to experience others praying so school prayer is illegal.

So then Congress passed a law saying that school prayer is illegal–thus prohibiting the free exercise of religion.

We should all be free to exercise our religion. In fact, if you go around society today you find a welcoming of virtually every religion available–except Christianity.

If somoene wears a “pro-choice” t-shirt at a “pro-choice” rally, they get glorified on the news for speaking out. If someone prays for the baby being aborted, they are branded a lunatic.

We Christians are not supposed to exercise our faith in public. Others are protected from us celebrating our holidays publicly. Others are “protected” from hearing us pray aloud or watching us pray in silence. Yet we are not protected from sexually-oriented Super Bowl ads…

The problem is simple: our current society is slating the First Amendment towards those who oppose Christianity and away from Christianity. It is a frightening trend to prohibit the free exercise of religion–my religion–but to allow all others but mine.