inside this issue
American Christian Voice Volume 11 No.5 Contents FROM THE COVER 6. Lion Fun Facts 8. Lions In The Bible 30. Promised Land Zoo CENTERFOLD 24. Merry Christmas Sponsors! CHURCH WORKINGS 7. Ready for Some Meat? 14. Jim Bakker’s Powerful Story Embodies God’s Redemptive And Merciful Love 28. 5 Stupid Things The Church Needs to Stop Doing to Make Progress 29. Six Facts About the Christian Faith of Marco Rubio 37. Hope For America 44. Planned Parenthood’s Moral Disconnect 46. Bob Beckel: Around for a Reason CULTURE LIFE 17. Does Eating Bacon Ensure Long Life? 22. Pistol-Packing Man Wearing a Hoodie Gets Pulled Over By a Cop 34. 3 Key Features To
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Expect In Future Smartphones 40. Donald Trump Vs. Ben Carson 42. Fred Thompson, with Larger-Than-Life Persona, Dies at 73 43. Signed, DRUGS 47. Are You A FROTHER? RELATIONSHIPS 10. What Does It Mean That God Is Jealous? 12. Challenge Your Oppositions 13. Where Do You Fit In? 20. War Camper 32. 5 Ways You are Ruining Your Child’s Life 42. Who We Are In Christ 44. Substitutionary Life
Remember when reading this magazine to eat the hay and spit out the sticks!
GUIDES 15. Sunday Gospel Nights 15. Lori’s House 16. Applied Reality Tactical System 18. Closing Sale - CPO 26. Get Your Affairs In Order For An Orderly Estate 27. Puzzle Page!! 36. Subscription Info 45. The Jewish Calendar
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Sha’alu shalom Yerushalayim...
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. yak bak Okay, so I thought your MAD cover on the last issue was a little nutty. However, after reading the entire copy, it was a clever pop culture juxtaposition on why Christians are not permitted to worry. The Spy vs. Spy comic took me back (okay... way back). This edition has proved popular with my non believing co-workers. I pray they see my love for them and that I’m not MAD all the time. LOL! Tine Bentley, Dallas, TX ______________________________ I never know what to expect from each issue of the American Christian Voice but I will admit that using humor is a powerful way to get folks to read the meat of your message. Good job, as always! Mark Rodhanver, Kansas City, MO ________________________________ As a Catholic, I appreciated the story on Pope Francis and the Charismatic Catholics. While I do not agree with the Holy See on everything, it is not my position to doubt his leadership. However, I am still excited that he is showing grace to so many people that have fallen short of the ideals we believe in and is providing ways for them to return to fellowship with the Body. Alice Glenn, Springfield, MO _________________________________ I am glad you think people’s salvation is so funny. Your hypergrace message is giving the uninformed a license to sin. Not sure it will be so funny on the day of judgment when the Lord says, “Depart from me, I never knew you!” Thomas Seavert, Harrison, AR Thomas, I’m pretty sure the Lord will not say that to you on that day. In Matthew Chapter 7, it appears to be addressing people who thought they were good to go because of their membership in a particular church organization and to those who judged others. No, wait... what? -ed ________________________________ Great job on the immigration piece in last your issue. I took an opposite view on the matter until I read Stephen Turley’s take on it. It certainly has a realistic but compassionate balance on the matter. I appreciate the articles I see in the ACV
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Feed Back From Our Readers magazine. So much of this content is never addressed in the average church. Please renew my subscription!
publication that encourages me with every issue. God bless you, John, Lorri, staff and sponsors!
Agnes Durnham, Houston, TX _____________________________________ Regretfully, I have had much criticism of pastors and evangelists throughout my life. When I read Tim Challies article in last issue regarding Theological Heroes and Villains, it put it all in perfect perspective for me. All messengers of the Gospel are going to have feet of clay and this directs our worship to the One that has no errors. Like the donkey on page 3, I am learning to “eat the hay and spit out the sticks”! LOL
Barbara Martin, Gladstone, MO ________________________________ We appreciated the article about your lovely niece, April Sacoulas. Our family has gone through that heart break as well, and even though we know we will be reunited, it carries with us now, an unspeakable sadness to bury our children. Thank you for your insightful, compassionate and comforting thoughts on the topic. In our next realm we are looking forward to an introduction to your loved one.
Bobby Carney, Harrison, AR ___________________________________ You all do a great job of giving your readers medicine with a teaspoon of sugar but this MAD issue gave us a cup of sugar. I cut out a bunch of the articles and cartoons and put them on the fridge. So if laughter is the best medicine, I am going to be healthy for quite some time. Harold Smith, Tulsa, OK ____________________________________ Okay, so I was furious at the discovery of over 400 pastors’ names on the Ashley Madison website. Your article humbled my judgment of these guys but I am still “MAD” about it. I still want the clergy to be better at their Christian walk than me. They will be held to a higher expectation for behavior which makes me wonder why anyone would choose leadership in the church. I still struggle not to judge them but do not want to be judged in the same manner. God help me. Frank Carson, Republic, MO ______________________________________ Thanks for helping me see that Christians are not allowed to worry about ANYTHING. Yes, we are allowed to be concerned but not in the manner of the heathen. It truly is an affront to God to show such lack of trust. Meditating on what He has done is the cure. Barbara Collins, Charleston, SC ________________________________________ I am so glad I reconnected to the American Christian Voice magazine. I read it back when it was a newspaper. As I near 80 years old with fragile health, I will take your ministry to my “War Room”. It is a blessing to read such an upbeat Christian
Brad & Coleen, Washburn, Topeka, KS _______________________________ I take a totally different view on Old Testament, Jewish festivals in your last issue. The gentiles and converted Jews are not to return to the these things that have passed away. Sandy Williams, Nashville, TN Sandy, what about Pentecost? We know exactly what day the birthday of the church is every year, and it certainly is a newer testament practice. I realize 2,000 candles on the cake would be a fire hazard... I’m just asking. -ed ________________________________ Thank you, Dee Wampler for speaking the truth about being respectful to law enforcement officers. At the end of the day, if there is any abuse from them, it will only escalate to disaster to be combative. There are other measures that can be enacted to keep the bad ones honest. Barry Bostaric, Phoenix, AZ ___________________________________ Send your “letters to the editor” to: editor@americanchristianvoice.com or mail to: ACV • P.O. Box 336
Rockaway Beach, MO 65740-0336 Letters may be edited for space consideration. Please indicate if your whole name may be used. Also, where did you find us?
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The American Christian Voice is published under the direction of the Ozarks Christian Foundation, a 501(c)3 nonprofit agency. Its primary purpose is to edify the body of Christ through inspirational articles of Christian faith and courage, educate the body of Christ through informative articles and by promoting the message that disciples of Christ are not under the penalty of sin or condemnation of it. It is because of what Christ has done... not what we do. Our obedience to the law, and our good works, now is out of our gratitude for that precious gift of grace and salvation; not as a motivation to be in right standing with God. We are dedicated to be Kingdom builders as we realize that our unity can
PUBLISHER Lorraine Sacoulas MANAGING EDITOR John G. Sacoulas SENIOR STAFF WRITERS Veeda Smith, Ken Moldenhauer Kathy Caruso, Jeremy Storch, Dee Wampler, Marla Woodmansee SYNDICATED WRITERS Max Lucado, Tim Challies, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER George Kurland ARCHIVISTS Marvin & Regina Reynolds GRAPHIC DESIGN Lorraine Sacoulas lorri@americanchristianvoice.com DIRECTED BY Ozarks Christian Foundation, 501(c)3 ADVERTISING SALES MANAGERS Wes Larson, Sr. wlarsen@americanchristianvoice.com Cheri Flowers cflowers@americanchristianvoice.com Special thanks to all our prayer warriors that intercede regularly for our sponsors. SUBSCRIPTION/CUSTOMER SERVICE see page 36 (417) 336-3636 editor@americanchristianvoice.com SEND ADDRESS CHANGES TO: American Christian Voice P.O. Box 336 Rockaway Beach, MO 65740 FREE SUBSCRIPTION ONLINE: www.AmericanChristianVoice.com
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did you know...?
Lion Fun Facts • Lions are the only big cats to live in groups, called prides. Prides are close family groups. • They work together to defend territory and hunt. • The females in the pride tend to do the majority of the hunting. • They work as a group and use intelligent hunting tactics to catch prey which they would not be able to catch alone as they are faster than them. • Lions enjoy relaxing and lazing around. They spend between 16 and 20 hours each day resting and sleeping. They have few sweat glands so they wisely tend to conserve their energy by resting during the day and become more active at night when it is cooler. • Lionesses are caring mothers who will even take care of a neglected cub, allowing him/her to suckle and giving them a chance to survive. Two or more lionesses in a group tend to give birth around the same time, and the cubs are raised together. Cubs are extremely playful.
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• Lions roar to communicate their position to other prides. A lion’s roar is the loudest of any big cat and can be heard up to 5 miles away. • Lions have terrific night vision. They are 6 times more sensitive to light than humans. This gives them a distinct advantage over some prey species when hunting at night. • Lions communicate through a range of behaviors and their expressive movements are very highly developed. They will perform peaceful tactile actions such as licking each other and rubbing heads. Head rubbing, or nuzzling, is a common greeting behaviour for lions. They also communicate through a variety of vocalisations including purrs, snarls, miaws and hissing. Their vocalisations also vary in intensity and pitch. • The mane of the male lion is a distinctive characteristic of lions as no other big cats have them. It makes male lions appear larger, thus allowing them to be more intimidating. It also signals sexual maturity and health status; lionesses tend to favour denser and darker manes. • Lions are symbols of strength and courage
and have been celebrated throughout history for these characteristics. They are also common symbols for royalty and stateliness, hence the phrase ‘king of the jungle’. • Ancient Egyptians venerated lions as their war dieties due to their strength, power and fierceness. The famous sphinxes are just one of many mythical depictions of the lion in Egyptian culture.
t-bone ministries
Ready for Some Meat?
The church has so abused people. Our people are abused to the point that we don’t even tell others about this God. We don’t know Him. Only through “teachers” do we know Him. They have given us an idea of who God is, that we think He’s ready to just beat us up instead of being there as the only One who can free us. He is the One who’s there to do good, to protects us, and overshadows us.
righteousness made us whole, clean, sons of God. This God that we have come to know through love and circumstances that are way beyond our comprehension: He plucks us out, saves us daily (although He already bought and paid for us eternally through Christ’s blood).
When I first got born again, I did not know that God didn’t talk to people. He did to me. I thought that it was common. Some of you that were trained up in church may have heard that God only talks to the holy ones, the preachers usually. Or maybe to the ones who have it all together. It is not true. Diligently seek Him. He’s a If everyone were to God of hearts and no respecter have a personal of persons. Your own personal encounter with Him, encounter will lead you to God’s the One source of Truth, it’s amazing all Way, not the way of an opinion.
If there is someone in authority that tells you what they know about God, then that’s the person you follow. And we conform to what we’ve been taught or the middle men and It is all about the encounter; if what we’ve been shown. opinions that would everyone were to have a But even if you hear the fall to the wayside. personal encounter with Him, truth that God extends the One source of Truth, it’s grace to you but your experience has been amazing all the middle men and opinions the club mentality God of do's and don'ts, that would fall to the wayside. regulations and rules - your opinion will get in the way of receiving that grace. Being born again, I got birthed into grace. Our teachers today who are on the scenes And I was thinking about how this grace in some churches, ... how many have formed works. Grace does something to us. It is an opinion through the mind of another? actually exuding from God to us. It helps us Through the hand of another? How many to see His very nature and character. So, who will look and tell you an opinion of then in knowing the Truth (Grace), you are what they concluded to be fact without an gifted the ability to conform to God's Way of thinking. He'll accept you and show up. encounter? And when He shows up, He isn’t an “it”. It’s the letter of the law that kills, but the spirit of grace gives life. We do not want to be back in a bondage of fear, before Christ’s
God is very alive, very real, very now, very much in your life if you let Him be.
And don’t you worry - He sees all the screw ups, and He’s okay with it. Do I mean He rejoices over it? It depends. Have you learned something from it? Because honestly, there is no way to escape the screw ups, while you’re in this flesh suit. It’s a war contending with you all the time. But God, He’s a God of hearts. He weighs the heart in the balance. He’ll meet you where you are, all messed up. Diligently seek Him.
BY THE UNKNOWN PROPHET
W
hen I got born again, I got birthed into grace. I didn’t know anything about the Bible. I didn’t know about the law; all the do’s and don’ts. I just knew I was screwed up. Jesus came into my life and started straightening me out. When I started building my relationship with him, I started coming in through grace, as a “child” just as a father would adopt a child, bring him in, cover him and help him.
God has a way of doing things. And don’t you worry - you don’t need to defend yourself, you don’t need to defend me, you don’t need to defend God. You let the Lord do His thing. I don’t know how to explain how God does, He just does His thing. And it is awesome!
So, if I take “Fred”, and I'm telling you all the things I learned about Fred in 4 years, and yet you have never met Fred, then you might say OK, and take me at my word. But if I try to tell Fred’s son about his dad, who has lived in his father’s house his whole life? He can set me straight because I’ve only known Fred for 4 years. I have a choice either to listen to the son or have my own opinion. The son knows Fred better than I know him because he’s been with him a lot longer. He’s going to know the severity of his correction, know his love, know his giving ability, know his direction (being able to direct and instruct the son in life). Even though I know Fred, his son has seen him in ways I haven’t. It is the depth of which you know a person. Do you get it? God is going to bring His children out in the open. The world is waiting for them, He said. Maybe it is time we start listening to the Son about who His Daddy really is. And remember, we need to seek him with our whole heart. He is longing for you like a bride groom for his bride. Apart from Jesus, I have No Testimony, and I can do Nothing.
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lions everywhere! Proverbs 28:1 ESV The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion. Proverbs 30:30 ESV The lion, which is mightiest among beasts and does not turn back before any; Revelation 5:5 ESV And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.” 1 Peter 5:8 ESV Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Psalm 104:21 ESV The young lions roar for their prey, seeking their food from God. Proverbs 19:12 ESV A king's wrath is like the growling of a lion, but his favor is like dew on the grass. Hosea 11:10 ESV They shall go after the Lord; he will roar like a lion; when he roars, his children shall come trembling from the west; Psalm 17:12 ESV He is like a lion eager to tear, as a young lion lurking in ambush. Daniel 7:4 ESV The first was like a lion and had eagles' wings. Then as I looked its wings were plucked off, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man, and the mind of a man was given to it. Nahum 2:12 ESV The lion tore enough for his cubs and strangled prey for his lionesses; he filled his caves with prey and his dens with torn flesh. Isaiah 11:6-9 ESV The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. Daniel 6:16-24 ESV Then the king commanded, and Daniel was brought and cast into the den of lions. The king declared to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, deliver you!” And a stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet and with the signet of his lords, that nothing might be changed concerning Daniel. Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting; no diversions were brought to him, and sleep fled from him. Then, at break of day, the king arose and went in haste to the den of lions. As he came near to the den where Daniel was, he
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cried out in a tone of anguish. The king declared to Daniel, “O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?” ... 1 Kings 13:24-28 ESV And as he went away a lion met him on the road and killed him. And his body was thrown in the road, and the donkey stood beside it; the lion also stood beside the body. And behold, men passed by and saw the body thrown in the road and the lion standing by the body. And they came and told it in the city where the old prophet lived. And when the prophet who had brought him back from the way heard of it, he said, “It is the man of God who disobeyed the word of the Lord; therefore the Lord has given him to the lion, which has torn him and killed him, according to the word that the Lord spoke to him.” And he said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” And they saddled it. And he went and found his body thrown in the road, and the donkey and the lion standing beside the body. The lion had not eaten the body or torn the donkey. 2 Timothy 4:17 ESV But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion's mouth. Hosea 5:14 ESV For I will be like a lion to Ephraim, and like a young lion to the house of Judah. I, even I, will tear and go away; I will carry off, and no one shall rescue. Amos 3:7-8 ESV “For the Lord God does nothing without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets. The lion has roared; who will not fear? The Lord God has spoken; who can but prophesy?” Ezekiel 10:14 ESV And every one had four faces: the first face was the face of the cherub, and the second face was a human face, and the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle. Psalm 34:10 ESV The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing. Jeremiah 50:44 ESV “Behold, like a lion coming up from the thicket of the Jordan against a perennial pasture, I will suddenly make them run away from her, and I will appoint over her whomever I choose. For who is like me? Who will summon me? What shepherd can stand before me? Genesis 49:9 ESV Judah is a lion's cub; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He stooped down; he crouched as a lion and as a lioness; who dares rouse him?
Judges 14:5-9 ESV Then Samson went down with his father and mother to Timnah, and they came to the vineyards of Timnah. And behold, a young lion came toward him roaring. Then the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him, and although he had nothing in his hand, he tore the lion in pieces as one tears a young goat. But he did not tell his father or his mother what he had done. Then he went down and talked with the woman, and she was right in Samson's eyes. After some days he returned to take her. And he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion, and behold, there was a swarm of bees in the body of
Lions in the Bible the lion, and honey. He scraped it out into his hands and went on, eating as he went. And he came to his father and mother and gave some to them, and they ate. But he did not tell them that he had scraped the honey from the carcass of the lion. Ezekiel 19:1-9 ESV And you, take up a lamentation for the princes of Israel, and say: What was your mother? A lioness! Among lions she crouched; in the midst of young lions she reared her cubs. And she brought up one of her cubs; he became a young lion, and he learned to catch prey; he devoured men. The nations heard about him; he was caught in their pit, and they brought him with hooks to the land of Egypt. When she saw that she waited in vain, that her hope was lost, she took another of her cubs and made him a young lion. ... Hosea 13:8 ESV I will fall upon them like a bear robbed of her cubs; I will tear open their breast, and there I will devour them like a lion, as a wild beast would rip them open. Revelation 9:8 ESV Their hair like women's hair, and their teeth like lions' teeth; Hebrews 11:33 ESV Who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, Ecclesiastes 9:4 ESV But he who is joined with all the living has
hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion. Psalm 31:24 ESV Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the Lord! Proverbs 20:2 ESV The terror of a king is like the growling of a lion; whoever provokes him to anger forfeits his life. Proverbs 22:13 ESV The sluggard says, “There is a lion outside! I shall be killed in the streets!” Psalm 58:6 ESV O God, break the teeth in their mouths; tear out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord! Jeremiah 49:19 ESV Behold, like a lion coming up from the jungle of the Jordan against a perennial pasture, I will suddenly make him run away from her. And I will appoint over her whomever I choose. For who is like me? Who will summon me? What shepherd can stand before me? Psalm 91:13 ESV You will tread on the lion and the adder; the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot. Psalm 35:17 ESV How long, O Lord, will you look on? Rescue me from their destruction, my precious life from the lions! Revelation 10:3 ESV And called out with a loud voice, like a lion roaring. When he called out, the seven thunders sounded. Lamentations 3:10 ESV He is a bear lying in wait for me, a lion in hiding; Jeremiah 4:7 ESV A lion has gone up from his thicket, a destroyer of nations has set out; he has gone out from his place to make your land a waste; your cities will be ruins without inhabitant. Jeremiah 2:30 ESV In vain have I struck your children; they took no correction; your own sword devoured your prophets like a ravening lion. Revelation 13:2 ESV And the beast that I saw was like a leopard; its feet were like a bear's, and its mouth was like a lion's mouth. And to it the dragon gave his power and his throne and great authority. Zephaniah 3:3 ESV Her officials within her are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves that leave nothing till the morning. Isaiah 15:9 ESV For the waters of Dibon are full of blood; for I will bring upon Dibon even more, a lion for those of Moab who escape, for the remnant of the land. Psalm 7:2 ESV Lest like a lion they tear my soul apart, rending it in pieces, with none to deliver. Job 10:16 ESV And were my head lifted up, you would hunt me like a lion and again work wonders against me.
2 Kings 17:25 ESV And at the beginning of their dwelling there, they did not fear the Lord. Therefore the Lord sent lions among them, which killed some of them. Joel 1:6 ESV For a nation has come up against my land, powerful and beyond number; its teeth are lions' teeth, and it has the fangs of a lioness. Jeremiah 5:6 ESV Therefore a lion from the forest shall strike them down; a wolf from the desert shall devastate them. A leopard is watching their cities; everyone who goes out of them shall be torn in pieces, because their transgressions are many, their apostasies are great. Isaiah 38:13 ESV I calmed myself until morning; like a lion he breaks all my bones; from day to night you bring me to an end. 1 Kings 20:36 ESV Then he said to him, “Because you have not obeyed the voice of the Lord, behold, as soon as you have gone from me, a lion shall strike you down.” And as soon as he had departed from him, a lion met him and struck him down. 1 Kings 10:20 ESV While twelve lions stood there, one on each end of a step on the six steps. The like of it was never made in any kingdom. 2 Samuel 1:23 ESV “Saul and Jonathan, beloved and lovely! In life and in death they were not divided; they were swifter than eagles; they were stronger than lions. Micah 5:8 ESV And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the nations, in the midst of many peoples, like a lion among the beasts of the forest, like a young lion among the flocks of sheep, which, when it goes through, treads down and tears in pieces, and there is none to deliver. Ezekiel 22:25 ESV The conspiracy of her prophets in her midst is like a roaring lion tearing the prey; they have devoured human lives; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in her midst. Jeremiah 12:8 ESV My heritage has become to me like a lion in the forest; she has lifted up her voice against me; therefore I hate her. Isaiah 65:25 ESV The wolf and the lamb shall graze together; the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and dust shall be the serpent's food. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain,” says the Lord. Psalm 57:4 ESV My soul is in the midst of lions; I lie down amid fiery beasts— the children of man, whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords. Job 28:8 ESV The proud beasts have not trodden it; the lion has not passed over it. Job 4:10 ESV
The roar of the lion, the voice of the fierce lion, the teeth of the young lions are broken. 1 Chronicles 11:22 ESV And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was a valiant man of Kabzeel, a doer of great deeds. He struck down two heroes of Moab. He also went down and struck down a lion in a pit on a day when snow had fallen. Judges 14:18 ESV And the men of the city said to him on the seventh day before the sun went down, “What is sweeter than honey? What is stronger than a lion?” And he said to them, “If you had not plowed with my heifer, you would not have found out my riddle.” Judges 14:5 ESV Then Samson went down with his father and mother to Timnah, and they came to the vineyards of Timnah. And behold, a young lion came toward him roaring. Jeremiah 51:38 ESV “They shall roar together like lions; they shall growl like lions' cubs. Psalm 22:13 ESV They open wide their mouths at me, like a ravening and roaring lion. Psalm 10:9 ESV He lurks in ambush like a lion in his thicket; he lurks that he may seize the poor; he seizes the poor when he draws him into his net. 2 Kings 17:26 ESV So the king of Assyria was told, “The nations that you have carried away and placed in the cities of Samaria do not know the law of the god of the land. Therefore he has sent lions among them, and behold, they are killing them, because they do not know the law of the god of the land.” 1 Kings 7:29 ESV And on the panels that were set in the frames were lions, oxen, and cherubim. On the frames, both above and below the lions and oxen, there were wreaths of beveled work. 2 Samuel 23:20 ESV And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was a valiant man of Kabzeel, a doer of great deeds. He struck down two ariels of Moab. He also went down and struck down a lion in a pit on a day when snow had fallen. 1 Samuel 17:34 ESV But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock, Revelation 4:7 ESV The first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight. Isaiah 5:29-30 ESV Their roaring is like a lion, like young lions they roar; they growl and seize their prey; they carry it off, and none can rescue. They will growl over it on that day, like the growling of the sea. And if one looks to the land, behold, darkness and distress; and the light is darkened by its clouds. VOL.11 #5 | WWW.AMERICAN CHRISTIAN VOICE.COM
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knowing God What Does It Mean That God Is Jealous? obody would imagine a jealous God. That’s what J.I. Packer says in Knowing God, and I think he might be right. There are lots of gods we might fabricate in our own minds, but we would naturally create ones who had only the characteristics we admire: Love, mercy, patience, and attributes like that. But jealousy? That’s far less likely.
BY TIM CHALLIES
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Yet time and time again, God reveals himself as a jealous God. He even goes as far as to give his name as Jealous (Exodus 34:14). So we do well to ask: “What is the nature of this divine jealousy? How can jealousy be a virtue in God when it is a vice in humans? God’s perfections are matter for praise; but how can we praise God for being jealous?”
So when God tells us that he is jealous, he means “that he demands from those whom he has loved and redeemed utter and absolute loyalty, and will vindicate his claim by stern action against them if they betray his love by unfaithfulness.” There is encouragement here. God is jealous of us because he loves us. Where there is no love there is none of this kind of jealousy. “God’s jealousy over his people … presupposes his covenantal love; and this love is no transitory affection, accidental and aimless, but is the expression of a sovereign purpose. The goal of the covenant love of God is that he should have a people on earth as long as history lasts, and after that should have all his faithful ones of every age with him in glory. Covenant love is the heart of God’s plan for his world.” Thus God’s jealousy is “precisely ‘this zeal of the Lord Almighty’ for fulfilling his own purpose of justice and mercy.” The only good God is, in fact, a jealous God.
www.Challies.com editor’s note: I am not interested in serving a God that is not jealous over me.
Sam Adams. WWW.AMERICAN CHRISTIAN VOICE.COM | VOL.11 #5
- Brennan Manning
Worry is Anti-Trust What would parents do without worry? It almost seems as if it’s in the job description. “Parents Wanted. Must be able to perform sleepless nights and meaningless pacing, wringing their hands and biting their nails.” In Matthew 6:27, Jesus asked, “Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?” Worry has no positive side effects. In fact, it subtracts moments from your life in heart stress and rising blood pressure.
It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people's minds.
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God Loves you just the way you are, not the way you should be. Because no one is as they should be.
Worry is anti-trust. If you’re worried, you don’t trust something: your kids, their friends, strangers, the church, even God. Can He take care of your children? Certainly. Jesus says, “I tell you, stop being anxious and worried about your life.” Pretty blunt. Stop it! Easier said than done, huh? Worry tests your trust, so hand your children to God and let him babysit your babies when you’re not around. He’s pretty good at it! From Max on Life
www.MaxLucado.com
BY MAX LUCADO
To appreciate God’s jealousy we first need to properly understand it. His jealousy is the kind that zealously protects a love-relationship and which avenges it when it is broken. This is, then, the same kind of jealousy with which a husband longs for the attention and affection of his wife, and reacts strongly when they are directed elsewhere. “This sort of jealousy is a positive virtue, for it shows a grasp of the true meaning of the husband-wife relationship, together with a
proper zeal to keep it intact.” We expect and admire this kind of jealousy. We are concerned when it is missing.
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he bow of God’s wrath is not bent. His wrath was satisfied by the One who was slain before the foundation of the world. Rewind the historical tape 2,000 years ago and we see what Jesus did on the cross to make that happen. It is not what we do... it is what He DID that makes us righteous and in perfect standing with God. It cannot be by our religious attempt to please Him, by your dismal attempt at good behavior. -John Sacoulas and the Holy Spirit
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od doesn’t make me come back again and again to beg forgiveness for that very same sin. God sees the heart, he sees my remorse over my sin, and he forgives to such a degree that I can have absolute confidence in his forgiveness. If God were to grant me forgiveness only when my sincerity was sufficient, only when I properly understood the depth of the offense, and only when I expressed a fitting degree of remorse, I fear that few of my sins would be forgiven. -Tim Challies
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417.334.2049 • seamlessexperts.com Now serving all of southern Missouri and northern Arkansas. VOL.11 #5 | WWW.AMERICAN CHRISTIAN VOICE.COM
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Kindom Xperience came down over my chest fitting very tightly, and I began to panic. Once again, my heart began racing what seemed like a million miles a minute; and, I felt like if somebody did not release me from the safety bar, I would die. With panic in my voice, I yelled to the worker to let me out. As he undid my safety bar, my children were astonished at my behavior.
Challenge Your Oppositions o you have an opposition in your life that you’d like to overcome, but, you feel like the opposition is too difficult and challenging, so you set the opposition aside, and keep battling the same thing, over and over again. Deep down inside, although you feel defeated, you’d really like to find a way to overcome the opposition. Keep reading…there is a way to overcome.
BY DR. MARLA WOODMANSEE
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An opposition is an area of resistance, a conflict, or a struggle. Everybody faces oppositions at one time or another. I’ve had my share of them. One opposition that I’ve struggled with is claustrophobia. I have no idea where or how this developed, but I can attest to you that claustrophobia can be very paralyzing. Claustrophobia is defined as an anxiety disorder in which the sufferer has an irrational fear of having no escape or being closed-in. It frequently results in a panic attack and can be triggered by certain stimuli or situations, such as being in a crowded elevator, a small room without windows, or being in an airplane. For me, claustrophobia was triggered when I felt like I couldn’t escape from something. Claustrophobia didn’t develop because of something traumatic from my childhood. My childhood was great. In fact, I can’t think of any incident that would cause me to develop claustrophobia. The first time I can remember struggling with claustrophobia was about 13 years ago when I was 7 ½ months pregnant, on vacation in Hawaii, on a very crowded elevator, when suddenly, the elevator completely stopped moving. With people shoulder to shoulder, my heart began racing what seemed like a million miles a minute, and I felt like I could barely breathe. I felt like if I didn’t get out of the elevator soon, I was going to die. About 10 minutes later the elevator moved and I got out. This was my first panic attack.
There are so many more situations that I could share with you about times I’ve experienced claustrophobia, too many to share here. What I realize now is that for many years, I didn’t understand that I had a problem. I also discovered that the root of claustrophobia is fear. And, fear is paralyzing. Over time, as I taught God’s Word, it become very clear to me that God doesn’t want us to live with claustrophobia, or any kind of fear. It became apparent to me that I needed to overcome this. So, I began to meditate on a Scripture about overcoming fear: 2 Timothy 1:7, “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (or fear), but a spirit of power, of love, and of self-discipline (or a sound mind).” I decided that I would do something to overcome claustrophobia. I signed up for a SCUBA diving course to train and get SCUBA certified. This meant that I would have to overcome going deep down into a body of water using an air tank to supply me with air to breathe.
And, because I chose to battle my opposition with the Word of God, I passed my SCUBA test. I’m now currently ready, and on my way, to Fiji to dive 60 feet deep into ocean water. Whatever challenges and oppositions you are facing, you too can overcome. Be selfdisciplined, meditate on the Word of God, and speak it over your situation. In due time you may see results, if you do not give up! Dr. Marla Woodmansee is a Bible Communicator, inspirational women’s conference speaker, magazine columnist, author, host for a daily Christian radio program on Branson’s KLFC 88.1 FM, and President of Kingdom Xperience, a non-for-profit Christian organization focused to: Inform*Empower*Transform. Contact info:
KingdomXperience.org marla@marlawoodmansee.org
Going deep down into a body of water to breathe from an air tank is the last place a person with claustrophobia, or any kind of fear, wants to be. That is because the deeper you go down into the water, the more you feel like there is no escape. This leads to panic. The first time my instructor asked me to go 14 feet deep into the water, which meant that I would depend on an air tank to breathe; my instructor did not know that I was battling with claustrophobia. He was perplexed when after I went down, I immediately came up. I was beginning to panic.
The next time I remember encountering claustrophobia was when I was with my children getting ready to ride a roller coaster. All throughout my childhood I had ridden all kinds of roller coasters: ones that twisted and turned upside down, the ones with the tallest peaks, and the ones that gave you the most thrills. I could ride roller coasters all day long.
I asked him if I could have some time alone to practice breathing underwater. As I practiced, I began meditating and saying out loud, “I have not been given a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind.” I asked the LORD to help me overcome claustrophobia. After repeating this for a while, I was ready to go deep down under the water. I was spiritually ready for the battle.
My children and I had stood in line for over an hour to ride this roller coaster. When it came our turn, we got into the cart, the safety bar
With only a tank and a hose to breathe air from, I successfully went down 14 feet deep into the water, without panic. The entire time,
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I concentrated and meditated on 2 Timothy 1:7, telling myself that I did not have a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind. I told myself that I was self-disciplined and that with God, and His Word, I would overcome this opposition.
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Branson News & Weather • 417-334-5532 now available on your I-Phone as an app! Look in the Apple app store and search “KLFC”
Contemporary Christian Music
Listen online anywhere in the world at: www.klfcradio.com Marla Woodmansee can be heard on KLFC at 6:45 am CST. Listen in anywhere in the world at: www.klfcradio.com
rescued & purposed
Where Do You Fit In?
Our home on wheels broke down and while they were waiting, there was much activity ad people were going in and out of our camper. Unnoticed I slipped out and began to explore. When help arrived, they talked with the tow people for a bit and then they all left. I was forgotten. I didn’t know they had no way to return for me and I was now on my own. Traffic whizzed by on the four-lane and I was afraid. I didn’t want to go too far because I kept looking, hoping they would return. It got dark and I knew that they were not coming back. I cried and cried; finally I slept. When I woke up, I saw a small frog close by and decided it would be breakfast. Alas, he was faster than I was and I knew I would have to get smarter if I was going to catch breakfast. After two or three days, I became a much more proficient hunter. I would go back to the big road and check to see if anyone had come looking for me. I had never felt so alone. After several days, I saw a car pull over and a lady got out and walked toward me. She didn’t look like anyone I knew and I slipped into the weeds. She came up to the spot where she had seen me and knelt down. She was holding a hot dog! She whistled for me to come. I was shy and unsure of her but the hotdog was enticing. She broke off
small pieces and tossed them to me. Each piece brought me closer. I wanted to trust her. I was sick of frogs and bugs. She held out the last piece but this time she didn’t let go but sat patiently while I decided what to do In the end, I walked up and began to eat as she spoke quietly to me. She reached out the back of her hand for me to sniff. She seemed okay. I looked up at her and she leaned down and picked me up. She said that I was such a sad little black dachshound and that I needed a bath
and a good meal. She also said she couldn’t keep me and began to think about a good home for me. Her first thought was to go to nearby homes and see if I belonged to one of them. The stretch of road only had one house that sat prominently alongside it. She went up and knocked on the door. A man answered. He had a kind face and was immediately taken with the little black dog. She told him that she had found me on the highway and thought perhaps a tourist had somehow lost me. I had no collar or tags. After a short visit, she asked the nice man if he would like to take charge of me. She told him that her apartment didn’t allow pets.
A short version of the history of Christianity: Christianity started in Palestine as a fellowship; it moved to Greece and became a philosophy; it moved to Italy and became an institution; it moved to Europe and became a culture; it came to America and became an enterprise. - Rev. Sam Pascoe
That was the beginning of a great relationship. I had been a little lost dog and now I was taken in to this house full of love and activity. My master immediately scrubbed me down and fed and watered me. He has a close friend who is a nurse and had him look me over. Except for missing a few meals, I was in good condition. It was settled. I was home.
BY KATHLEEN CARUSO
had a family and they took me in their RV when they vacationed. I wasn’t special to them as they had several children, another dog, and a mean cat. I liked to sit near the driver as he would occasionally pet me and slip me a treat.
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Salvation comes in many ways. The hot dog lady wooed me but my new master loved me and taught me how to be part of his family. When I was on my own, I wondered if I would ever belong anywhere. I didn’t fit in. I was lost, confused, hungry and abandoned. Now I had a family that cares for me more deeply that I had ever known. My master is never far from me. I know where he is at all times. Lots of people love me, but my master takes precedence over them all. He is everything to me. Lord, we have been lost, but now we, too, have been found. You, Lord Jesus, are our new Master and You love us. We want to be like the faithful little dog and keep you close by. You are our everything. Others love us, but you have rescued us, cleaned us up, fed us on the Word and comforted us. Help us to never forget to be completely Yours just like the little black dog and his master, Amen. If God loves the little lost dog, you can be sure he loves you – no matter who you are or what you have done. Trust Him. He will receive you with open arms. He has a place for you that no one else can fill.
Branson Collision Center 548 Gretna Road 417.335.3775 When It Must Be Right! VOL.11 #5 | WWW.AMERICAN CHRISTIAN VOICE.COM
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redemption
BY STEVE STRANG
Jim Bakker’s Powerful Story Embodies God’s Redemptive and Merciful Love I have known Jim Bakker since the heydays of PTL in the late 1970s. I wrote a Charisma cover story about him in May 1983 after traveling to the relatively new Heritage USA to get a behind-the-scenes look at what was then an increasingly controversial ministry. Readers might remember that things spun out of control only four years later for PTL and Jim Bakker. This downward spiral came after allegations of financial wrongdoing— mostly "overselling" so-called timeshares—and after his denomination defrocked him when a short-lived extramarital affair hit the newspapers. If that wasn't bad enough, PTL eventually went bankrupt and Jim's wife, Tammy Faye, divorced him and married his best friend. Jim went to prison for five years. In short, Jim Bakker lost everything.
at the Pastor Tommy Barnett-founded L.A. Dream Center. I visited the Dream Center in the early days and wrote about it. I remember meeting Bakker there and meeting his lovely new wife, Lori Graham Bakker. We did a story on her life where she admitted to having five abortions and about how God had healed her and used her testimony for good.
worst in flamboyant Pentecostal preachers. He has been criticized for his focus on endtime prophecy and encouraging people to prepare for hard times by storing food or having backup generators. He's not a perfect man and he's the first to admit it (but then who among us is perfect?). But he's not a quitter. He has come back after he lost everything except his life. And that should be an encouragement to everyone who reads this or who watches
Jim has now built a new ministry near Branson called Morningside. It has a hotel and condominiums, campgrounds, a media school, television studios and many other amenities. At your lowest Everything is done point, take with excellence and comfort that God Bakker has can give back your assembled a topdream and help notch team.
you rebuild your But unlike many high-profile people who become caught up in a public scandal or spend time incarcerated, Jim found humility. His famous book about his ordeal sums up his journey in its three-word title: I Was Wrong. While in prison, the job of the man who had met with U.S. presidents and had run one of the largest non-profit ministries in the nation was to clean toilets. But, he used whatever spare time he had to diligently study the Word. That's what really changed him. The miracle is that, after all this, Jim Bakker has rebounded. I saw this firsthand when I visited him at his new facilities near Branson, Missouri this week. As a Christian journalist, I have covered Jim Bakker for many years. I knew many people from his PTL ministry. I knew Tammy Faye—who has since passed away—and her new husband. Even so, I could never be counted among his inner circle of friends. However, I did consider him a friend. After his release from prison, Jim and I went to dinner once when he visited Orlando. It was my way of reaching out to a broken man. His fortunes were so low that the dinner invitation took him by surprise. He slowly began to put his life back together. He lived in a one-room apartment
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I couldn't help but life as he did with draw parallels to Jim Bakker. what Bakker did at PTL. Only this time, everything is paid for. And while everything is nice, no one can call what he's done opulent (a word often used to him on TV. That's because all of us will face describe things at PTL). loss of some sort—even loved ones. Some might face an unhappy marriage or deal For me, however, the amazing thing is that with wayward children. Some might lose a Jim Bakker has rebounded. He is now 75 job, struggle through a bankruptcy or face and he works 16-hour days. He seems to serious illness like cancer. have more energy than men half his age. Most people who experience the enormous While your loss might not be as bad as Jim loss Jim Bakker has experienced would Bakker's, it probably will hurt as much as have given up and rotted away somewhere his loss did him! At your lowest point, take out of sight. Not Jim Bakker. He learned comfort that God can give back your dream whatever lesson he needed to learn, and and help you rebuild your life as he did with believed God that he could dream again. Jim Bakker. Historians will spend decades dissecting the life of Jim Bakker. He is a very complex man, yet he's also a great man. Maybe he went too far at PTL. Maybe he wasn't accountable. Obviously, he made some big mistakes. Yet in my opinion he did no more wrong (and a whole lot less) than hundreds of other leaders who either didn't get caught or had only a minor setback. However, Jim Bakker lost everything. To some, his name still exemplifies the
WWW.AMERICAN CHRISTIAN VOICE.COM | VOL.11 #5
We recorded a couple of television programs while I visited Morningside. At the end of the program, Jim Bakker stood and looked at the camera and said something that's not cliché—it's something he knows from the depth of his soul: "God loves you—He really does!" Steve Strang is the founder of Charisma and CEO of Charisma Media. Follow him on Twitter or Facebook.
ministries
Sunday Gospel Nights New Branson Show A Huge Success! Sunday Gospel Nights Debuts Christmas Show fter a highly successful opening season, this new Branson show, Sunday Gospel Nights, debuts its first Christmas show called “It’s All About Jesus!” Sunday Gospel Nights has received rave reviews for everything from the supergroup of talented vocalists, the band of veteran and young players, the unique all-gospel format, and, of course, the ticket price—FREE! Rarely has a new Branson show garnered such praise. “Our Christmas show is titled, ‘It’s All About Jesus,’ and that’s exactly what it's about!” says show founder, Gary Koreiba, formerly the lead singer for thirteen years of Pierce Arrow. “We will be singing Christmas songs that focus on the fact that Christmas is about Jesus.” Songs ranging from traditional Christmas carols and gospel songs to new Christmas classics such as “Mary, Did You Know” will be featured, as well fun comedic songs and antics from Sunday Gospel
A
Branson Frontline
Jim and Lori Bakker, hosts of the world-wide television show The Jim Bakker Show, have begun a new mission called Lori’s House. “We are embarking on a ministry that is a part of my destiny in serving the Lord Jesus,” said Lori Bakker. Lori’s House will provide a place of ministry, love, rest, learning, fellowship and caring with its main goal of saving our future generation. Through donations, Lori’s House is providing assistance for new born
Assembly in Branson, 3101 Gretna Rd.
babies and their mothers with food, clothing and medical care. Education and job training will also be provided with individual programs tailored to each girl’s needs.
left me unable to ever have a child,” Lori Bakker continued. “We are very serious about this place being used as a Last Days refuge. That’s what we envisioned in the beginning and that’s our goal. An End Times refuge takes on many characteristics, but none more important than saving innocent life.”
Lori Bakker is determined to do all she can to keep other girls from going through the pain and tears that she experienced. “I was just 17 years old when I had my first abortion and just 21 when the last of five consecutive abortions
For more information and to schedule interviews, please contact Kim Boyce Koreiba at: 417-230-2963 (cell), sundaygospelnights@gmail.com, or on Facebook at Sunday Gospel Nights.
BY VEEDA SMITH
Children are a gift from the Lord. Psalms 127:3
Nights’ young entertainers. “Our sons, Gary II and Alexander, are both in the show with us, so not only are we doing the show that we have dreamed of doing for years, but having our sons in the show with us makes it a very special time for us,” says Kim Boyce Koreiba, a contemporary Christian singer with eleven #1 gospel radio hits. In addition to Gary and Kim, Christian singers Allen Asbury, an acclaimed contemporary Christian singer, and renowned vocalist Debra Paxton will amaze you with their vocal abilities. “We are blessed to be singing with great singers and working with musicians who are also dear friends. The unity that comes from having a group of people on stage who genuinely love each other and appreciate each other’s talent is immediately felt by those who attend our shows. Add the fact that we believe in the mission of Sunday Gospel Nights to bring encouragement, restoration, and healing through gospel music, and you’ve got a winning combination,” Gary adds. The Sunday Gospel Nights Christmas Show, “It’s All About Jesus,” begins Sunday, November 1st and continues EVERY Sunday night through December 13th at 6pm (except on November 22 at 3pm, no 6pm show) at Grace Community
Lori’s House is located at Morningside in Blue Eye, Missouri. The one-hour Jim Bakker TV Show taped at Morningside is located at 180 Grace Chapel Road in Blue Eye, Missouri. For more information, call (417) 779-9000, or visit their website at: www.JimBakkerShow.com
VOL.11 #5 | WWW.AMERICAN CHRISTIAN VOICE.COM
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defend yourself
Applied Reality Tactical System aju A.R.T.S (Applied Reality Tactical Sys- structor, former US Army SGT., Ordained tem) is a new family oriented, Christian Minister, and Curator of Branson’s Prombased martial arts school in Branson. While ised Land Zoo. They all work together to most martial arts are Toaist based, Ka- make the school a safe learning environjukenbo is a Christian based martial art cre- ment for anyone, of any age, who is looking ated in Hawaii in 1947, as a way for the to get in shape, learn martial arts and betpolice to defend themselves. Kajukenbo is ter themselves as children of God. a hybrid martial art which combines Karate, Aiki Jiu J i t s u , Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Jeet Kune Do, Judo, Kenpo, Escrima and Boxing. Today, it is used by law en- From left to right: Sifu (5th degree) Michael Huffman, Grandmaster forcement (9th degree) Dan Frazier, Grandmaster (9th degree) Bob Suttles o f f i c e r s , Sibak (1st degree) Joshua Remenar, Sigung (7th degree) Don g o v e r n - Wilhelm, Sibak (1st degree) Jeff Escobar, ment officials, women’s self defense, and even children to defend against bullying and When asked what the school’s main objecteach honor, discipline and integrity. tive was, Sifu Huffman said “We believe that it is better to train a child, than to repair an Sifu Michael Huffman (5th Degree Black adult. The Bible says in Proverbs 22:6 Belt Kajukenbo) and his wife Brandi, are “Train up a child in the way he should go: the new owners of Kaju A.R.T.S. Michael is and when he is old, he will not depart from Also a certified Krav Maga instructor, holds it.” One of the first things we teach our stua Black Belt in Silat, and Aiki Jiu Jitsu, as dents is how to control emotions like anger well as, food and beverage general manager and how to avoid violence and stay calm in at Summer Winds Resorts, an active mem- situations of conflict. This is much like in ber of his Church. Student instructor, Sibak Genesis, when God told Cain that he needed Jeff Escobar (1st Degree Black Belt) has to master the sin of anger instead of killing held several MMA belts and is an active his brother Abel. However, there will almember in his church. Sibak Joshua Reme- ways be the possibility of coming into a sitnar (1st Degree Black Belt) is a student in- uation of conflict that cannot be avoided,
Re New m od ly ele d!
K
Barbara Fairchild appearing in the Golden Corral Showroom
Everyone deserves a good meal.
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3551 Shepherd of the Hills in Branson, MO
and we are dedicated to providing all of our students, of any age, the realistic and useful self defense tactics needed to defend themselves against the evils they may come across, while on this Earth. Sibak Remenar talked some about how some Christians frown upon martial arts but Remenar stated that Exodus 22:2-3 says that if a man is being robbed, he is entitled to protect his property, his family and himself. We believe that we are all called to teach others to protect themselves and at the same time spread God’s word. Which is what we do here at Kaju A.R.T.S, located at The school is moving at end of Nov. to Tri-Lakes Christian Church located at 116 Pathway, Branson MO 65616 (East of Bee Creek exit) Classes will start at the new school on Tuesday Dec. 1st and classes from that day on will be Mon, Tues and Thurs from 7 to 8. Anyone interested in more information is encouraged to call the school at (417) 593-1221. ne sunny day in January, 2017, an old man approaches the White House from across Pennsylvania Avenue where he’d been sitting on a park bench. He speaks to the U.S. Marine standing guard and says, “I would like to go in and meet with President Obama.” The Marine looks at the man and says, “Sir, Mr. Obama is no longer President and no longer resides here. ” The old man says, “Okay,” and walks away. The following day, the same man approaches the White House and says to the same Marine, “I would like to go in and meet with President Obama.” The Marine again tells the man, “Sir, as I said yesterday, Mr. Obama is no longer President and no longer resides here.” The man thanks him and again just walks away. The third day the same man approaches the White House and speaks to the very same U.S. Marine, saying, “I would like to go in and meet with President Obama.” The Marine, understandably agitated at this point, looks at the man and says, “Sir, this is the third day in a row you have been here asking to speak to Mr. Obama. I’ve told you already that Mr. Obama is no longer the President and no longer resides here. Don’t you understand?” The old man looks at the Marine and says, “Oh, I understand. I just love hearing it.” The Marine snaps to attention, salutes, and says, “See you tomorrow, Sir!”
O
enlist today
usannah Mushatt Jones of Brooklyn, New York, is 116 years old and currently the world's oldest person. What are her secrets to longevity?
Susannah Mushatt Jones
She credits good sleeping habits and abstinence from tobacco and alcohol. But a sign hanging in her kitchen is also a clue: "Bacon makes everything better." She eats scrambled eggs with bacon for breakfast, every morning. According to her niece, "she'll eat bacon all day long." Just so we're clear, scientists says that bacon is not our best diet. In fact, one Harvard study found that daily consumption of bacon was associated with a twenty percent increase in the risk of dying. But don't tell that to Susannah.
snake off him, saving his life.
Life is just as fragile now as it was when Christopher Columbus arrived in the Americas in 1492. In the centuries since, our technological, political, and economic circumstances have obviously changed dramatically. But we still need air, water, food, shelter, and security. We can still be killed by pythons and other predators, by tornadoes and other disasters, by cancer and other diseases.
missionaries on board a ship bound for America. He notes in his journal that one day, the group had just begun to sing a psalm of worship when "the sea broke over, split the mainsail in pieces, covered the ship, and poured in between the decks, as if the great deep had already swallowed us up. A terrible screaming began among the English. The Germans [Moravians] calmly sung on.
BY DR. JIM DENISON
DOES EATING BACON ENSURE LONG LIFE? S
Pentagon officials believe that North Korea's nuclear arsenal holds missiles that could reach the U.S. mainland. However, Admiral Bill Gortney says, "I'm pretty confident that we're going to knock down the numbers that are going to be shot." I wish he hadn't said "pretty" confident. Israel has announced the discovery of massive oil reserves sufficient to supply the country's oil needs for centuries. However, they're in the Golan Heights, disputed territory on the border with Syria and close to Islamic State conflict.
No place on this fallen planet is completely safe. No person is guaranteed another day of life. Christians are as So now the latest study shows subject to brutality Keeping a everything you like is bad for as anyone else, as python as a pet you. But if you come back in massacres may not be a of three months I’m sure the good idea, either. believers by Islamic newest study will say that it is Terry Wilkins State terrorists have now all good for you. keeps a 20-foot, shown. We cannot 125-pound assure nonpython in his Kentucky pet store. When he Christians that following Jesus will provide stepped into the animal's enclosure to feed prosperity for the future. it, the python bit him and then began coiling itself around his head, neck, and What we can offer is peace in the present. torso. Police say that when they arrived, Wilkins was not breathing. They pried the John Wesley encountered Moravian
"I asked one of them afterwards, 'Was you not afraid?' He answered, 'I thank God, no.' I asked, 'But were not your women and children afraid?' He replied, mildly, 'No; our women and children are not afraid to die.'" Wesley called this "the most glorious day which I have hitherto seen." He later testified that the Moravians' peace contributed directly to his conversion. Who will see the peace of Christ in you today? On Susannah Mushatt Jones's wall is posted Psalm 27: "The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?" Of whom, indeed?
Good souls many will one day be horrified at the things they now believe of God. -Gordon MacDonald
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closing sale!! Dear Close Friends, For the past 25 years, CPO has been shining God’s light and love on the corner of National and Republic Road in Springfield. Your friendship, loyalty and commitment to being our ministry partner has meant a lot to the CPO family. We sadly announce that the light on the corner will be going out soon. Technological advances including online digital downloads for music and movies, the increased popularity of e-books as well as a shift in general buying patterns from “brick and mortar” stores to internet shopping over the past decade has adversely affected our business. Each year has become increasingly more challenging. Although we have made many changes and adjustments to our store, sales have been on a steady decline for many years. As such, we will be closing our store before the end of the calendar year. All in-stock items will be marked down 20%-30% off publishers suggested retail price at the start of the sale with subsequent markdowns on remaining merchandise as the sale progresses. The store-closing sale will end on or before Wednesday, December 16, 2015. Store Closing Sales Terms and Conditions: All sales will be final (no exceptions). Cash, credit or debit cards, only. We will not be able to accept personal checks. We also will not be able to take any special orders or put items on hold.
Store Hours Locally-Owned • Bruce and Kim Erdel
Special Thanks to our loyal customers these past 25 years!
It truly has been our joy to serve and support the Christian community. We cherish the times that we prayed together, thanked God for miracles and watched the Holy Spirit move as hearts were changed bothnear and in foreign lands. We have laughed, cried, celebrated, consoled, encouraged and listened through faith journeys TOGETHER and we are beyond GRATEFUL!
Monday – Saturday 9AM to 7PM 4145 S. National Ave • Springfield Although the light may go out on this corner, our individual lights will continue to shine as we go forward on the paths God has laid 417-891-2200 before us.
or Toll Free 1-888-835-0034
www.CPObooks.com
With immense gratitude for 25 great years of ministry, Kim and Bruce Erdel and the CPO Family
From the ACV Staff: You will be sorely missed by our staff and the Ozarks public. Thank you for your service and dedication. We all love CPO Book & Giftstore. Your efforts to equip the Saints for service will have an eternal impact. May God bless your next assignment.
STONEWALL WEST MOTOR INN
When you visit Branson and need a clean room at a great price! American owned. Senior & Vet discount 1040 W Hwy 76 Branson, MO (417) 334-5173
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faith
BY BILLY HALLOWELL
War Camper This “Duck Dynasty” star Sadie Robertson was so moved by the hit Christian film “War Room” that she decided to create her own designated prayer room, entirely devoted to praying, reading the Bible and practicing her faith. “The movie ‘War Room’ really inspired me — so here is mine,” she wrote on Instagram, sharing pictures of the room that she created and decorated. ‘What a war room is all about is a room secluded from anything else — a room where it’s solely for you and God to talk.” Robertson posted pictures of her prayer room in an effort to encourage others to consider making one of their own. “Maybe it’s in your closet, maybe it’s a little wooden camper, or maybe it’s just in your car,” she wrote. “Take that time out of your day to focus on the most important relationship in your life, and make it personal.” As TheBlaze previously reported, Robertson recently made headlines after revealing the contents of an old journal in which had written an entry about her future husband. Robertson almost threw out an old notebook that she discovered while cleaning out her house — until something caught her eye: a few long-forgotten pages that she had written on nearly two years ago. And after Robertson read the handwritten note, she found herself in tears. “I had written four pages in this one notebook that I had written nothing else in,” Robertson told TheBlaze, explaining that she quickly realized that the notebook contained a prayer letter that she had penned back in 2013 — an invocation for her future husband. The prayer, which was written on October 7, 2013, made headlines recently after Robertson posted a picture of it to
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Instagram, along with an explanation and some advice for other young women.
“I want to encourage every single girl on the planet to write down a prayer for your future husband,” she wrote. “Pray for him as if you already know him. He probably needs your prayers! He is going through something right now just like you are so pray him through it! Pray for his confidence! Pray for him to have strength! Pray for him to be a leader, and not just go with the crowd!” The prayer letter to God went on to ask for her future husband to be protected from temptations, to have the strength to resist the devil and to feel God’s love, encouraging other girls to consider doing something similar, despite not knowing who they will eventually marry. Robertson told TheBlaze that the idea to write a prayer for her future mate originated from a suggestion that was made by her Bible teacher back in the 7th grade. It wasn’t until years later, though, that she decided to act on it. “I didn’t ever really think about it until sophomore year. I had just gone through a breakup,” she said. “I was really upset and I wrote down a prayer for my future husband — ‘This is what I want in a man’ — and I prayed for that person.” Robertson said that she spent about a month praying through the letter for the man that she would one day marry, asking that God would help him out of any bad situations that he might find himself in. “I’m a firm believer that prayer is power,” she said. ”I kept it, because I want to have it when I get married. I can look back and say, ‘This is what I prayed for and this is what I have now.” Robertson, who has been dating boyfriend Blake Coward for the past two years, said
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Sadie’s converted camper into her war room that, though she’s not yet sure that the two will marry, the circumstances surrounding their meeting are fascinating. “Exactly one month [after I wrote the letter] is when I went on a date with my boyfriend that I date now,” she said. “We’ve been together for two years … he is a man that I would marry, and he has all the qualities that I wrote in the letter.” Robertson said that Coward — who she did not know when she wrote the letter — had been going through some “rough times” around the time that she penned it and that he found the strength to push through them. “I was praying that whatever this man is going through, that God would just pull him out of it,” she said, reiterating that the two have no current plans to wed, but that she found the story of their meeting “powerful.”
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Spreading the Gospel Christian Outlet 110 West Stephenson • Harrison, AR Mon-Fri: 10am-5pm • Sat: 10am-4pm (870) 365-0018 Busybodies sitting in judgment of and righteously condemning the private, sexual acts of other adults remains one of the most self-satisfying and entertaining—and thus most popular—public spectacles. It simultaneously uplifts the moral judges (I am superior to that which I condemn), distracts them from their own behaviors (I am focused on those other people’s sins, and thus not my own), and titillates (to condemn this, I simply must immerse myself in the tawdry details of their sexual acts). To see just how current is the mentality driving the Scarlet Letter, observe the reaction to the Ashley Madison hack. -Glenn Greenwald
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Just the same, we all believe in prayer and guns. When someone has broken into our house, we pray that a man with a gun will get there quickly. LOL!
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pro second amendment
BY CHRIS MARTIN
Pistol-Packing Man Wearing a Hoodie Gets Pulled Over By a Cop Steven Hildreth, Jr posted an account of what happened with the Officers on his Facebook page: So, I'm driving to my office to turn in my weekly paperwork. A headlight is out. I see a Tucson Police Department squad vehicle turn around and follow me. I'm already preparing for the stop. The lights go on and I pull over. The officer asks me how I'm doing, and then asks if I have any weapons. "Yes, sir. I'm a concealed carry permit holder and my weapon is located on my right hip. My wallet is in my back-right pocket." The irony of the situation was not lost on Hildreth. According to his post: I'm a black man wearing a hoodie and strapped. According to certain social movements, I shouldn't be alive right now because the police are allegedly out to kill minorities. Maybe...just maybe...that notion is bunk. The officer explains for his safety and mine, he needs to disarm me for the stop. I understand, and I unlock the vehicle. I explain that I'm running a 7TS ALS holster but from the angle, the second officer can't unholster it. Lead officer asks me to step out, and I do so slowly. Officer relieves me of my Glock and compliments the X300U I'm running on it. He also sees my military ID and I tell him I'm with the National
Guard. Lead officer points out my registration card is out of date but he knows my registration is up to date. He goes back to run my license. I know he's got me on at least two infractions. I'm thinking of how to pay them. Officers return with my Glock in an evidence back, locked and cleared. "Because you were cool with us and didn't give us grief, I'm just going to leave it at a verbal warning. Get that headlight fixed as soon as possible."
more stories that talk about the good interactions with law enforcement like the one I experienced.” Hildreth had some advice for others who drive while armed: “If you’re taking a concealed carry course, make sure to ask your instructor how to deal with traffic stops because it’s very important… Be familiar with the laws in your region, especially terms of concealed carry.” And he also implored those who read his post to do one other very important thing:
I smile. "Thank you, sir." Maybe if you treat police officers with respect, they will do the same to you. Police officers are people, too. By far and large, most are good people and they're not out to get you. I'd like to thank those two officers and TPD in general for another professional contact. We talk so much about the bad apples who shouldn't be wearing a badge. I'd like to spread the word about an example of men who earned their badges and exemplify what that badge stands for.
“Most importantly, thank law enforcement. They work a thankless job. The media doesn’t give them a fair shake. Let them know we appreciate the work that they do.” Words of wisdom from a man who saw first-hand the professionalism and courtesy of the Tucson Police Department. Steven Hildreth, Jr is an Idaho native who now lives in Tucson, Arizona. From August of 2007 to February of 2010, Hildreth was in the U.S. Army primarily with 4th Infantry Division. He now works in private security.
www.IJReview.com
Again, I'd like to thank the TPD and their officers for their consistent professionalism, courtesy, and the good work that they do, both in this particular contact and every day. IJ.com spoke with him about his encounter, which has since received over 102,000 likes on Facebook: “I was very surprised about the reaction to the post… I’m very surprised and thankful… we need
Dolly's vision was to foster a love of reading among her county’s preschool children and their families by providing them with the gift of a specially selected book each month. By mailing high quality, ageappropriate books directly to their homes, she wanted children to be excited about books and to feel the magic that books can create. Moreover, she could insure that every child would have books, regardless of their family’s income. Find out if this program is available in your area at:
www.ImaginationLibrary.com 22
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grace filled fellowships leaves on the vine
• Spiritfilled Davidic style Praise & Worship • Annoited Bible-based teaching • Fellowship after each service • Nursery & Children’s Shabbat School
Healthy Habits, LLC CINDY FOX State Fair Shopping Center 1500 So. Limit Ave. Sedalia, MO 65301 (660) 826-4377
Meeting at Branson Hills Ministry Center 256 Church Road, Branson, MO 65616 Discover the Hebrew roots of your Christian faith!
Resurrection Power Ministries Pastor Denny & Jeanie Waters
Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa, CA 3800 S Fairview St Santa Ana, CA (714) 979-4422
Agape Life Fellowship A Word of Faith Church (non-denominational) 6185 W. St. Hwy 266 Springfield, MO
(417) 831-2333 Sunday Services 10am & 6pm Wednesday Bible Study 6:30pm
Pastor Twila N. Bridges
Ministries
Waking the World to their Loving Creator Okay, so we are not a typical church but we are a training ground to make disciples for Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit! Come visit us Sunday morning at 9:45 am and you will see what we mean.
124 Deer Mountain Road Walnut Shade, MO
8480 Hwy 7 South Harrison, AR • (870) 688-9243
ResurrectionPowerChurch.com
Gateway Austin, TX Northwest Austin: McNeil Campus South Austin: South Campus Internet Campus: internetcampus@gatewaychurch.com www.GatewayChurch.com
(417) 598-1231 7 miles north of Branson on Hwy 160. One quarter mile west of 65. First property on left.
PEACE LUTHERAN CHURCH (ELCA) WORSHIP SERVICES: Praise & Worship - Sun. @ 8:30 a.m. Education Hour - 9:15 a.m. Liturgy &Traditional Service - 10:30 a.m. HIGHWAY #165 AND STATE DRIVE
350 State Drive • Hollister, MO Gateway Branson, MO Located in the Vista Plaza Shopping Center on the backside 2005 West Highway 76 • Suite 106 Branson, MO • (417) 335-9915
Springfield Church of God (7th Day) "Sharing Freedom in Christ" Pastor: Andy Hassen • 1521 E. 24th Street N. Springfield, MO 65803
(417) 831-6721 Sabbath School: 9:45 am • Worship: 11:00 am Wednesday night: 6:30 pm
www.SpringfieldCOG7.org
A week without a Sabbath is perpetual bondage. El Shaddai Ministries 4501 Quail Court • Harrison, AR. 72601 (3 miles down Bellefonte Rd.) Services: Saturdays at 2:30pm 870.365.0004 www.ElShaddaiMinistries.net
VISITORS WELCOME
(417) 334-1499 Pastor Emil Bartos PeaceLutheranChurchHollister.com
The basis for loving our neighbors, and for unity in Christ, is not proximity, understanding or commonality. We are one in Christ not because we are one in the same, but because Christ is the same. It is an impoverished theology that mistakes unity in Christ for sameness in Christ. - Leslie Leylands VISIT ONCE AND YOU ARE HOOKED ! ! ! ! 42 years of Healing Hurts and Building Dreams. FAITH ASSEMBLY 2 miles South of Beautiful Harrison (2 blocks West of Hwy. 7) 9:30 A,M. Sunday School: 10.30 A.M. Worship; 6 PM. Praise; Wed. 7 PM. Training for all ages. Pastor Arlis Thrasher. (870) 741-0981
Sudoku Answers to Page 27
Calvary Chapel of Branson, MO 611 6th Street • Branson, MO • (417) 561-1000 Sun. Service 10:15 AM • Pastor Sparky Ferguson
International
THANK YOU MINISTRIES & SPONSORS!
Join us for weekly services: Erev Shabbat (Friday) 7:30 pm Shabbat (Saturday) 11 am (417) 334-7373 www.TheTabernacleinBranson.com
S t i l l Wa t e r s
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The Cop
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the Shrine of the Holy Spirit Visit our gift shop 179 Expressway Lane • Branson, MO Mon - Sat • 9 am - 5 pm • Sunday hours vary 417.337.7888 • ww.ShrineOfTheHolySpirit.com
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♪money money money♪
Get Your Affairs in Order for an Orderly Estate ou may be quite willing to plan an investment strategy for your retirement years. After all, it can be enjoyable to think about traveling the world, pursuing your hobbies or participating in any of the activities you’ve associated with an active retirement. However, once you do retire, you’ll need to “shift gears” somewhat to focus on your legacy. Specifically, to protect your loved ones and ensure your intentions are clear and carried out, you’ll need to do some more planning – and you’ll need to share your thoughts with your family.
FROM EDWARD JONES FINANCIAL ADVISOR
Y
Here are some moves to consider: • List your assets and debts. Your family needs to be aware of your assets and debts, so share this information with them while you are alive and well. • Create a durable power of attorney. Give a trusted friend or family member a durable power of attorney to pay bills and make financial choices on your behalf if you are unable to do so. • Choose an executor. An executor is the person or entity you name in your will to carry out your wishes. An executor has a variety of responsibilities, so pick someone who is honest and capable of dealing with
legal and financial matters. Talk with an attorney about how best to name your executor. • Update your will. You might have written a will many years ago, but, over time, many aspects of your life may have changed. Review your will with your attorney to ensure it reflects your current wishes. • Review benefits of a living trust. A simple will may not be enough to accommodate your estate-planning needs. You might want to consider establishing a living trust, which provides you with significant flexibility in distributing your assets and can help you avoid the time-consuming, expensive and public process of probate. To create a trust or other estate-planning documents, you will need to work with a qualified legal professional. • Review your beneficiary designations. The beneficiary designations on your financial accounts (401(k), IRA, etc.) and your insurance policies can even supersede the
directions on your will, so it’s essential that you update these designations to reflect events such as divorce and remarriage. And make sure your beneficiaries have the facts they need to claim their benefits. • Share location of your legal documents. Your loved ones should know where you keep documents such as your birth certificate, will and living trust. If you keep these items in a safe deposit box, tell your family where you keep the key. • Encourage two-way communication. It’s obviously necessary to communicate your final wishes to your family members – but listen to their wishes and concerns, too. For example, ask your children to agree on who gets those objects of special concern to them, such as furniture, mementos and heirlooms. As you can see, you’ll need to take several steps to fulfill your intentions – and the above list is certainly not exhaustive. So plan carefully, engage the appropriate team – financial advisor, attorney, tax professional – and put your plans in motion. By being proactive, you can greatly ease the burden on your loved ones in the future. This article was written by Edward Jones for use by your local Edward Jones Financial Advisor.
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we told you we were fun Answers to Sudoku Puzzle on Page 23
Online readers, we’ve included a link to printable PDF for this puzzle page!
Answers to Cross-Word Puzzle on Page 42
BRAIN TEASERS 1. A thief was brought before a king to receive his punishment. The king, feeling merciful, asked the thief how he would like to die. The thief told him, and the king let him go. How did the thief wish to die? 2. A man went into a party and drank some of the punch. He then left early. Everyone at the party who drunk the punch subsequently died of poisoning. Why did the man not die? 42 Tiny sips of liquor 43 Miraculous food 45 The devil 48 Explosive 49 __ of peace (Jesus) 51 Wife of Abraham, originally 53Electroencep halograph (abbr.) 54 Taste 57 Farm credit administration (abbr.) 59 Last letter of Greek alphabet 62 Duke 64 Birds “thumb” 66 Entire 67 Bicker 68 Not drunk 69 Employ 70 Part 71 Biblical seat of emotions 72 Headed
73 Sour DOWN 1 Emblem 2 Book after Daniel 3 City in the former USSR 4 North American country 5 King a.k.a. Xerxes I 6 South American country 7 Water pitcher 8 Expression of surprise 9 Jesus 10 Give 11 Canal 12 Grain 13 Gossip 20 Goad 21 Okay 24 Vane direction 26 Youngest son of Noah 28 Italian "dollars" 30 Piece
31 Sports channel 32 For fear that 33 Thy word is a __ unto my feet 34 Despot 35 Short 37 Perplexing 40 Something that toughens 44 Expert 46 Opera solo 47 Arrest 50 Self 52 European peninsula Spain's peninsula 55 Suds 56 Belch 57 Ice sheet 58 Island nation 60 Disfigure 61 Otherwise 63 Downwind 64 Tree 65 Creative work 67 Inclined
3. What does this say? 0 -------Ph.D. vEd.D. 4. What is as big as an elephant but weighs nothing? 5. How can FIVE minus two equal 4? 6. What is the only word in the English language that has 6 letters, all in alphabetical order? 7. What is wider than life itself; Longer than forever; So simple it's complicated; Travels but never leaves the spot; Puts others in danger but no one gets hurt; And reaches to worlds unknown? Answers: 1. He wanted to die of natural causes. 2. The poison from the punch came from the ice cubes. When the man drunk the punch, the ice was fully frozen. Gradually, as the ice cubes melted the poison was released into the punch. 3. Two degrees below zero. 4. An elelphant's shadow. 5. Roman Numerals: FIVE take away F and E which leaves IV which is 4 in Roman Numerals. 6. Almost 7. Your imagination
ACROSS 1 KJV pronoun 5 Imitate 8 Tribe of Israel 13 Merchandise 14 Chop down 15 Gray 16 Afloat (2 wds.) 17 Be 18 Red headed orphan 19 Honey makers 20 Interest 22 Lyric poem 23 National capital 25 Extremely high frequency (abbr.) 27 Heavenly being 29 Boy called as prophet 33 Long-term memory 36 Spooky 38 Parsonage 39 East 41 Vase
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revisiting our job description
BY CAREY NIEUWHOF
5 Stupid Things The Church Needs to Stop Doing to Make Progress he church has more personal criteria for what I share online in for a political party, you cease to be the than its share of critics So the name of authenticity in this church. metim e these days. post.) s critic the c ism a h Sometimes the Your job is Too many imed times urch is un at fair. O , we s criticism is to share the Christians come hoot t h er o unwarranted. People project across as toxic or Gospel, not to the fo urselves i n ot. their issues onto a congregation or change the out-of-touch. Dear Lord, onto the church, which is never healthy. Being authentic government. Please forgive all And, of course, the church will inevitably does not mean run into criticism. being weird. I think a general rule is if you As I shared in those who do not can’t imagine saying it in real life to a more detail here, What we’re doing is person, you Jesus and Paul know you yet. countercultural and will shouldn’t say spend never be met with it online. If surprisingly little universal applause. The you go to time trying to I’m tired of you heathens Gospel, even when influence the post not acting powerfully shared, got government. Jesus something like us Christians! John the Baptist, the and you completely rejected the idea of Apostle Paul, Jesus think, well, becoming the government when and the prophets that would be people asked him to become their killed, just to name a braggy if I said that to political leader. few. While it seems I know some will say, “Well, someone, that’s a strange to say it, healthy check. It means God has opinions about things even love, when you’d be bragging. So happening today.” I’m sure he does. But seen fully and when authentic Christians sincerely share don’t post it. magnificently, different views on Similarly, if you gets rejected. subjects, we should be think, “Well, very careful about people would sa me y, you o But other speaking for God. just walk c e t h b l par c times we And, after all, out of r a u c . r ch politi urch u absolutely deserve the criticism that comes the room if I said that in when God happens to o h y or a he c en our way. Often these days, it seems, we’re real life,” then maybe have all the same opinions you Wh iece f o be t p t not ridiculed or persecuted because we’re don’t say it. If you’re do, you’re probably not even uth cease mo fighting nobly. Nope, sometimes we just always worshipping God anymore. angry or shoot ourselves in the foot. Here cynical or all you do is are five things that, in my view, would help complain online and you You might be worshipping yourself. the mission of the church become more think, “Well, I wouldn’t want to be friends authentic and more effective if we could with someone like that in real life,” then 3. Handling Conflict So Poorly just stop doing them. that’s a clue that maybe you shouldn’t say it, or be like that. The church should be the best in the world And if you think, W 1. Being So Weird Online at handling conflict. We were taught by hen “Well, then I’ll have Jesus exactly how to do it. opin God ha ppe Too many Christians come across online as: nothing to post,” then Yet we often side step. ions n y • Toxic (Hello angry ranters, trolls and you’ve likely put We gossip. We talk about wor ou do, s to hav ship e y haters); • Cynical (Yes, we know you’re your finger on a other people ping ou’re p all the r G o disappointed with everyone all the time deeper issue. rather than to d an obably same ymo not Christians, let’s just stop being so and no one gets it as right as you); or people. re • Syrupy (So sweet we can’t stand the taste weird online, OK? We avoid conflict. and are not really sure you live in the real Or we run into it like 2. Commenting on Politics world) a bulldozer claiming Why do so many Christians think their we’re all about truth. social media feed is a place to show the Part of the weirdness is political. If we just handled conflict humbly, world their weirdness? It gives the God is not a Republican or a Democrat, or in gently, introspectively and bravely, we impression that if you’re going to follow my country, a Conservative, Liberal or New would be so much better. Jesus, you also need to become socially Democrat. Nor is God an independent. If you really want to see how to restore awkward. someone in love, listen to this message by I know people might say “no, I’m just God is God. Andy Stanley on judgment and helping being authentic.” But being authentic does others who are sinning. It’s brilliant. not mean being weird. (I shared my When your church becomes a mouthpiece If we handled conflict more healthily, our
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churches would be so much healthier. And a healthy church is a church that can help other people get healthier. To handle conflict better, don’t talk about other people. Talk to them.
here, we in the modern church have largely ignored Paul’s injunction to stop judging non-Christians. Even Jesus said he didn’t come into the world to judge it, but to save it. I completely get the urge to judge our neighbors and even the world. Things 4. Ranking bother me too. But I have to refrain. Our faith in Christ demands it. Sin Ya killin’ Before ministry, I was a lawyer. In firstSelectively me year law, I remember having a crisis here! because I couldn’t imagine representing a Christians have become client I believed might be guilty. I stayed fairly good at after class one day to talk to my criminal focusing on law professor about it. He assured me of a the moral few things. First, if your client tells you he’s failings of guilty, you can’t ethically enter a non-guilty plea. others while That made me a orld has feel better. w e th , s n ot us. Christia But then he told nd it’s n A . e g d ju me that almost every client says they’re not guilty. I got nervous again. ignoring their “Well, what if you think he’s guilty but he own. We pretend that says he’s not … doesn’t that put you in a the worst sin you can commit is horrible bind?” I’ll never forget his answer. sexual. And—don’t get me wrong—sexual “You’re confusing your role, Carey. You’re sin has serious implications. But so does gossip. And divisiveness. And quarrelling— not the judge. You’re his lawyer. Your job sins Christians routinely ignore. Mostly is—ethically, morally and legally—to give him the best day he can possibly have in because we commit them. I would suggest that just as many court. The judge will decide whether he’s congregations have been ruined by gossip, guilty or not.” I felt like the weight of the world was divisiveness and quarrelling as have been stained by sexual sin. But you’d never know lifted off my shoulders. it given the way we talk about sin. I’m all for surrendering our sexuality to So … Christians, the world has a judge. And Christ. But I’m also all for submitting our it’s not you. propensity to gossip, our divisiveness and our quarrelling to Jesus and dealing with He’s fairer than you. More just than you. More perfect than you. And far more that seriously. Imagine what the church might look like if accurate. that happened. And we haven’t even touched gossip, In the meantime, do your best to help gluttony or envy yet, all things with which reconcile your brothers and sisters in the Christians routinely self-medicate their world to their heavenly father through pain. Maybe if Christians humbly confessed Christ. That’s your job. their sins first, the world would be more Take some comfort in that. And for all these likely to come to terms with their sins. So here’s an idea. Instead of pretending reasons and more, stop judging. someone else’s sin is worse than your sin, confess your sin. You’ll be in such a better What Else? Any other self-defeating, stupid things you wish we’d stop doing in the place if you do that. And so will they. church? You might actually be able to help them. Carey Nieuwhof is Lead Pastor of Connexus Instead of pretending someone else’s sin is Church north of Toronto, Canada, is host of The Carey Nieuwhof Leadership Podcast worse than your sin, confess your sin. available for free on iTunes, blogs at:
Below are Six Facts About the Christian Faith of Marco Rubio: 1. According to World magazine, Rubio is the top choice of "Evangelical insiders." 2. USA Today recently joked "the religious journey of Marco Rubio has more twists than a pretzel." Baptized Roman Catholic as an infant, Rubio's mother attended Mormon services for a while in Nevada where he was baptized again at 8 years old. His Latter-day Saints journey was short lived. Rubio identifies as Catholic today. When he moved back to Miami at 13, he began attending Catholic services again. He also attends Protestant Evangelical services, Christ Fellowship in Miami, with his wife. 3. According to the New York Daily News, in 2000, for a period of four years Rubio only attended Protestant services with his wife. Rubio has said that he missed the Eucharist within Catholicism and now attends a Protestant service with his wife on Saturday night and a Catholic service on Sunday. 4. Rubio has admitted in the past that "perhaps I didn't do a good job of spiritually leading my family." "Sometime in 2000, I unfortunately got really busy with my political stuff," declared Rubio. "I perhaps didn't do a good job of spiritually leading my family, which is one of the roles I play alongside my wife." Rubio said his kids have received holy-communion in the Catholic Church and credits his children growing up for making him more focused on spiritual matters in the home. 5. While attending Mormon services when he was young, Rubio once lectured his dad for being a bartender and serving alcohol. 6. Rubio said that America is at the "water's edge" of "mainstream Christianity" being considered "hate speech because today we've reached the point in our society where if you do not support same-sex marriage you are labeled a homophobe and a hater," he added.
5. Judging Outsiders
www.CareyNieuwhof.com This is a pet peeve of mine. As I outlined
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creation care
Promised Land Zoo founder, Jeff Sanders and family Spread the ACV: Jeff, were you raised in the church? Jeff Sanders: Nope. My wife and I both grew up in Chicago not knowing or ever thinking about church or God. When I was younger, I actually got messed up in crime and drugs. Interesting enough, I always had some kind of pets like pigeons and things that brought me a certain amount of peace, and balanced out the chaos of the city. As it turned out, God used my love for his creation even though at the time I didn’t love the creator for this future ministry. By the time I reached my 30’s, I had reached the end of myself and cried out to God that if He was real I needed him to help me. That was when I was truly saved, I believe, and I started to seek Him diligently.
with them in the cool of the evening. He gave them dominion over all of His creation and wanted to share His creativity with them. And then, after the fall, as time went on, mankind moved away from this relationship with the animals by moving to cities where they became separated from all of this testimony to His relationship with His creation and with them. We seemed to have lost our prime assignment in nature and missed it so much that we tried to find this longing and hunger in destructive behaviors. I don’t think we can be truly content until we make that reconnection to what we were originally assigned to do. That’s why people come to zoos and have such an attachment to their own pets. It is a testament to His brilliance and glory. This is why we do what we do. We have scripture through out the park that reminds people of His love for us. It starts to become more clear as folks begin to feel the love of God in their hearts. ACV: There is a flip side to this, in that there are people who end up abusing animals. There is a sign in the park that you wrote describing this condition. It says:
And through the process of all of that, He led us into this zoo business. At first out in Eagle Rock and then here in Branson. I was convinced that if we could display God’s incredible creation and design, that it could be the beginning of a person’s awareness that His handiwork was everywhere, especially in the animal kingdom. You know, there is that old joke about the world’s oldest profession but in all reality it goes back to the garden when God assigned Adam to name all the animals and tend His garden. He had a real intimate relationship with them and walked
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JS: This all stems from one of my favorite scriptures in the Bible, John 15:5 where it says, “Yes, I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever lives in me and I in him shall produce a large crop of fruit. For apart from me you can’t do anything.” So, when they become detached from that vine, and live outside of fellowship with Jesus they are left to try and do it all on their own. History shows the consequences of that. They are literally dying and deteriorating as they wither from being cut off from the one true Vine of life. They don’t think straight any longer. Even when people think they are trying to do good for animals they end up hurting them from a lack of knowledge. It’s like the animal rights people thinking they are doing right by breaking into a place and opening cages to set them the animals loose, only to have them get killed on a highway outside of that protection. Or others that release animals into the wild where they get devoured by predators. So it might be good intentions but it is wrong thinking. We believe when we are connected back to that Vine and restore a relationship with Christ, we are empowered to take care of animals as we were intended to do with His wisdom in us to do the right thing by His creation. With the original animal habitats diminishing constantly from the sprawl of human development we are running out of places for the animals to live and thrive in safety. The animals that God has entrusted to us would most likely perish without the protection and the wisdom God has given us to properly care for them. At least for the Promised Land Zoos, people comment all the time how happy the animals seem to be. We have gone to extreme measures to ensure the health and contentment of these magnificent animals by allowing God to guide our direction on how to do it correctly.
Gospel through God’s stunning Creation... ACV: There are scripture references that indicate animals will be with us in heaven, the most popular one being, Isaiah 11:1, “The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion
and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them.” Any thoughts on that revelation? JS: Well, again, I think it’s part of who we are. Heaven is going to be a great place of peace, and we are certainly not going to be floating around on clouds playing harps all day. We will most likely continue taking care of God’s celestial kingdom and yes, part of it may be tending to animals. ACV: A few years back when everyone saw the sign that the Promised Land Zoo was coming to Branson, many were skeptical that anything of this magnitude could be placed in what was a blighted, empty, scraggly parcel. Now it is a testament to the vision God gave you (Romans 4:17 God, who gives life to the dead, and calls those things which are not as though they were.) to call the things that are not -to- all things are possible through Him. How can the Christian
Community utilize this unique attraction to further the message we all believe about God? JS: Actually, there were a few detractors that called us fools but we believe where God leads, He provides the finances, manpower, talent and now the audience. We want to reach out to the Christian community and encourage them to bring their lost loved ones here and maybe the believers thay suspect have lost some of their joy to be witnessed to in a non-threatening but awe inspiring testimony to our heavenly Father. It’s ironic that many believers have difficulty getting the lost to their local church but are eager in their willingness to accept an invitation to visit this place. We hear so often about the peace that hangs like a fog on these grounds, and we believe it is the Holy Spirit testifying for the Father and Son. He has established that peace through His word, creation and people he put here. ACV: Jeff, there is so much more we need to talk about, so in our next installment we want to talk about the kind of faith it takes to do what God has called you to do here. We want to encourage our readers to visit the Promised Land Zoo, both in Eagle Rock and Branson, Missouri.
Promised Land Zoo founders, Jeff and Diane Sanders
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PROMISED LAND ZOO IN EAGLE ROCK, MISSOURI 32297 State Highway 86, Eagle Rock, MO 65641 • (417) 271-9453 Every Admission Includes: 100+ acre Drive Thru Park Parakeet Paradise Bottle Feeding Babies Petting Zoo Currently open Everyday EXCEPT Tuesdays 10 am-5 pm with last admission one hour prior to closing.
www.PLzoo.com
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resist culture
BY ARLENE PELLICANE
5 Ways You are Ruining Your Child's Life ave you ever wondered if you are doing a terrible job as a parent? We’ve probably all thought that at one time or another. Parenting is a tough job; often times more art than science. Yet the unpopular parenting decisions you make are most likely contributing to your child’s health, not their detriment. But there are five parenting traps that many wellintentioned modern parents fall into without even knowing it. These attitudes and behaviors easily go undetected because they are ingrained in the culture around us. Let’s consider five ways we as parents may be unwittingly ruining our kids:
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trophy just because you showed up.
3. Feelings trump everything else. The main question these days is “How do you feel about that?” We’ve downplayed the power of the will to do the right thing even when your child doesn’t feel like it. Instead we’ve elevated feelings above all else to our great detriment. Your
1. Amusement as the highest priority. We don’t want our children to be bored or to scream in public places, so we hand over an electronic device to amuse them. As this becomes the norm, your child learns to crave constant amusement and entertainment. Instead of having a special Disneyland experience once every few years, we’re bending over backwards to create those magical moments every day with special outings, fun food, and over-the-top parties for kids. Stop being the cruise director for your child’s life - that’s not your main job description. If your child can’t find something to do without your help or without a screen, they are headed for trouble.
2. Everyone’s a winner. A few years ago when my son was at a basketball camp, their team was matched with a much better team. After about five minutes, they turned the scoreboard off so it wouldn’t read 98:0 (or something like that!). We have done our kids a disservice by giving everyone a “participation trophy.” Life doesn’t work like that. There are winners and losers. Imagine if we stopped keeping score in professional sports. What would be the point of the game? Teach your child that self-worth is not found on the scoreboard but that he/she should always strive to do his/her best. It’s motivating to earn a trophy through sweat, effort and determination. It’s de-motivating to earn a 32
child may not feel like doing homework or giving grandma a hug as a CNN article wrote about. Yet it’s the right thing to do homework and hug grandmas. Your child should not learn to behave based on feelings. Ask your child “What do you think?” not “How do you feel?”
4. The Bible and prayer are largely absent from everyday life. Does your child observe you reading your Bible or praying during the day? If they only see evidence of your devotion to God a few Sundays a month for the two hours you’re at church, it isn’t enough. If you want to pass along a vibrant faith in God to your children, you must model it. You must talk about it. You can pray with your child about a struggle at school. Read a Psalm at breakfast. Memorize a verse a week together as a family. Find a person to serve together; maybe you can babysit for a single mom so she can get her shopping done alone for once. Let your children consistently see your faith in action.
5. Your marriage takes a backseat. Focus on your children first and your marriage second, and you will hurt your kids. When your kids need
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something for school or an activity, you’ll burn the candle at both ends to make it happen. But if your spouse needs something, you tend to think, “Take care of it yourself. I have enough to do around here!” Yet when it’s all said and done, your kids will leave your home someday and probably start their own families. Your relationship with your spouse is the most important bond that needs tending. The greatest gift you can give your kids is a strong marriage. It provides security, love, belonging, strength, and an example to follow in the future. Which of these snags hit a nerve for you? As long as your children are living under your roof, you still have time to make positive and vital adjustments. You’re reading this article which says you care about your child and you want to learn how to parent better. Rest assured, as you pursue wisdom, you will not ruin your child’s life. Arlene Pellicane is a speaker and author of Growing Up Social: Raising Relational Kids in a Screen-Driven World and 31 Days to Becoming a Happy Wife. She has been a guest on the Today Show, Family Life Today, The 700 Club and Turning Point with David Jeremiah. Arlene and her husband James live in San Diego with their three children. Visit Arlene’s website at:
www.ArlenePellicane.com
Your children will either inherit God’s promises or your fears. Deal with your fears so your children will walk in the promises of God.
-T.D. Jakes
BY KYLE WINKLER
CoMPuTErtIPs & TeCHnOLoGY 3 Key Features to Expect in Future Smartphones
if the LORD tarries
s the name suggests, smartphones possess smarter capabilities than mobile phones, providing then additional, now essential functions like web browsing, multimedia entertainment, games etc – much like mini-computers, only small enough to fit in your pocket. Smartphones appeared in the market close to two decades ago as the alternative to mobile phones which carry the primary function to enable only two-way communication by text or calls. The smartphones of today have other extended capabilities including inbuilt high-quality camera lenses, mobile apps that aid productivity, video-streaming as well as connectivitiy that enable millions to stay connected while on the go.
BY MICHAEL POH
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What should we expect to see in the development of smartphones in the near future, say in the next five to ten years? This is probably hard to predict with accuracy due to the fast pace tech evolutions have been riding on. Yet, as we await with anticipation, why not observe the existing trends and make some wild guesses on where smartphones are heading? You shall see below a couple of features for smartphones that may become the focal points for development in the near future.
1. Flexible Screens It may soon be the case where smartphones are able provide a large screen to watch and play your favorite movies and games while maintaining a pocketable size. Screens can be folded and unfolded, all thanks to Organic Light-Emitting Diode (OLED) technology. This paper-thin screen can even project future-features-smart-phones/ from both sides of the screen, so you can
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show pictures or videos to your friend on one side while using the other as a control. Check out this concept smartphone by Ikev. With such physical flexibility for smartphones, some companies even have plans on make wearable smartphones for the masses. For instance, Nokia is currently conducting research on their concept device, Morph. You can see it at: research.nokia.com/morph, which offers users the option of wearing it as a wrist watch or unfold it to use as a typical
for a TV screen; all you’ll need is a flat surface. Instead of a physical controller, you can use your body or your voice. Similar to Kinect, a smart camera and a voice control function can capture your movements and voice commands to let you interact with objects and future-features-smart-phones/ on the projected screen. Of course, you can imagine the drainage rate on your smartphone’s battery life and there’s also the other issue with luminance i.e. the amount of light it outputs. In-built projectors for smartphones must be small, and as the paradox sits: the smaller the projector is, the lesser light it will be able to give out. With better technology though, issues such as these will be addressed in time, making projectors a part of a new experience you can now engage with your smartphone.
3. 3D Screens & Holograms Smartphones may have already reached the peak for their screen resolution with Apple’s ‘Retina Display’, which actually provides a resolution that is sharper than what the human eye can perceive. Yet, even then, we still want more. Mobile companies are now moving from 2D future-features smart-phones to 3D future-features smart phones for the smartphone screen. At present, we have a couple of 3D smartphones in the market, such as the LG Optimus 3D, the Motorola MT810 as well as the very first Samsung AMOLED 3D. So what happens after 3D?
handset as and when required. It all depends on the task the users are engaging with.
2. In-Built Projector If flexible screens are not enough to compensate for the small screens on smartphones why not integrate a projector within? Samsung Galaxy Beam was released back in the second half of 2010. It features a built-in DLP (Digital Light Projection) WVGA projector that is able to project future-features-smart-phones/ at up to 50 inches in size at 15 lumens. What good will this do? Well, for one thing, future smartphones can actually be turned into an interactive gaming consoles without a need
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Well, the next path could possibly be holographic projections. In essence, holographic projections will mean a combination of 3D future-features-smartphones and projections from the smartphone. According to Mobiledia Network, MasterImage 3D had previously showcased their ongoing development on a projection system that allows smartphones to display 3D holograms at the annual Mobile World Congress last February. If you want to talk about the potential of holographic projections in smartphones, it’s great. 3D displays can be integrated with elements of movements when it comes to user interactions with the phone. For example, you can resize your photos by using your hands to ‘pull’ or ‘compress’ the holographic photos that appear in front of you, move objects by ‘grabbing’ them from one place to another,
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Entertainment by Pierce Arrow Theater etc. If you’rea fan of Tom Cruise’s ‘Minority Report’, this would be your dream come true. Also, with so much incorporated into our smartphones will the case of total dependence of the user on their mobile devices be a problem? Everyone is waiting to see what the smartphone industry can offer, and how the masses will react to the emergence of new and better smartphones along with the multitude of issues that come with each technology that is introduced to public use. I’m very curious to see how things will unfold, are you?
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subscribe now (please?) from the publisher...
BY LORRAINE SACOULAS
Why Should You Support the American Christian Voice? e have subscribers in 21 different states and it continues to grow as a Kingdom unifier. We pray the contents will help us all grow in our journey of faith and wisdom.
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We are now in our 11th year of printing the only Christian magazine of its kind in the nation uniquely representing the whole Body of Christ not sponsored by one faction. We have served the Christian community to the best of our ability, trying to be fair and balanced to more than one position on the nonessential matters. Of course, it is the human, religious nature to make twigs into trunks. You can imagine the difficult task we have to try to educate and spiritually mature the believer without
creating a great offense in the process. If this publication took a left-wing, flaming liberal position or a stinking, right-wing, conservative position (extreme opinions either way), folks on both sides of that spectrum would get pretty generous to support their own bias. Having a Christian magazine be moderate to conservative usually generates moderate to conservative financial support because it doesn’t get us all fired up. However, we believe a moderate approach to the majority of ink! hot topics is the most prudent and, dare we say, Christian approach?
Only through our diversity can the Body of Christ be properly represented. All of our distinctions together make the whole story. The ACV is a Kingdom paper. We know a $36.00 yearly subscription for many of us is a huge amount.
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hope
Hope For America
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w e must respond quickly. Yet, American evangelicals continue to be ambivalent about civic engagement, work for understanding Christians’ responsibility for the c u l t u r e around them. There is an angry attitude in some people who want to separate us from our Christian heritage. Don’t let them do it. The Gospel commands us to live our lives according to the teachings of Jesus Christ. A message that has to be preached. It is almost as if there is a rage against God, a deliberate ratifica-
tion of all things religious. Disengagement is not an option. Christians are not to be conformed t o
world and spend an evening discussing politics, new model cars, and the latest entertainment. We often forget that our conversation should be heavenly, and not exclusively on earthly things. It is true that Jesus dined with the publicans and sinners, but He did not allow the social group to overwhelm Him and conform Him to its ways. He seized every opportunity to present a spiritual truth and lead a soul from death to life. Our social contacts should not only be pleasant, but they
BY DEE WAMPLER
vangelical Christians today face historic opportunities. We make up one-quarter of all voters in the most powerful nation in history. Never before has God given American evangelicals such an awesome opportunity. There is hope for America. But our nation’s healing will not automatically happen just because a few people pray for it. If we are to respond to God’s call we must see a nationwide revival that will restore America. But the hour is late a n d
should also be made opportunities to share our faith with those who do not yet know Christ. “They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.” John 17:16
the world socially. The world tries to absorb us into its secular society and to conform us to its earthy image, but Christ urges us not to conform. Our talk as Christians should be spiritual, not worldly. It is easy to fall into the controversial conformity of the
Springfield, MO Attorney Dee Wampler has 50 years trial experience as a Greene County prosecutor and defense attorney, and is the author of “The Myth of Separation of Church and State” and “The Trial of Christ: A 21st Century Lawyer Defends Jesus.”
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the hand that rocks the cradle...
BY DR. C. BAXTER KRUGER
Perichoresis - What’s That?............ discussion with C. Baxter Kruger, founder of Perichoresis, Inc.
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Question: Most of us can’t even pronounce perichoresis, much less spell it. What does it mean? Baxter Kruger: Some years ago a woman walked into my office around Christmastime with a stack of newsletters in her hand. She was crying, and she slammed the newsletters down on my desk and said, “I just feel like a pile of junk!” I said, “What is wrong?” She said, “I’ve been reading these newsletters from these people from all over the world, and they and their children are all doing all these great things for God, and it just hit me what a worthless life I have. For Pete’s sake, I’m married and I’ve got three kids. When I’m not grocery shopping, I’m cooking the groceries, and when I’m not cooking the groceries I’m cleaning up, and when I’m not doing that I’m trying to find clothes for my children and keep this mess of a house presentable. And sometime in there I’m trying to find time for my husband. I don’t even have time to read my Bible. What do I have that I can do for God?” I stopped her, and I said, “Wait a minute, hang on here a minute. Yesterday you spent two hours driving around Jackson searching for a coat for your daughter. A winter coat, and not just any winter coat but one she would like, one that would be large enough to put away for next year but not look like it was bought this year. And one that was on sale. And you did it, you found it, and she’s thrilled.” The woman said, “What’s that got to do with this?” I said, “Where did that concern for your daughter come from? Did you wake up
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yesterday morning and decide you were going to be a good momma?”
Q: So we’re really talking about God meeting us in our day-to-day lives?
She said she had been thinking about the coat for a week.
BK: Exactly. Through the work of Jesus, we have been adopted into the Trinitarian life. The concept of perichoresis helps us
“The Triune God meets us not in the sky or in our self-generated religions, but in our ‘ordinary’ human existence.” I said, “Isn’t Jesus the good Shepherd who cares about all his sheep? He put his concern for this sheep (your daughter) in your heart. You are participating in nothing less than Jesus’ life and burden. He was tending to his sheep through you. What is greater than that?” In the light of the fact that Jesus Christ has laid hold of the whole human race, cleansed us in his death, lifted us up in his resurrection and has given us a place in his relationship with his Father and Spirit in his Ascension, we’ve got to rethink everything we thought we knew about ourselves and others and our ordinary human life. The simple truth is there is nothing at all ordinary about us and the life we live. Caring for others, from orphans to our friends and the poor, our love for our husbands and wives and children, our passion for music and beauty, for coaching, gardening and fishing; these things do not have their origin in us. They are not something that we invented. It is all coming from the Father, Son and Spirit. When this dreadful secular/sacred divide is exploded, we can see and honor life as it truly is—the gift of participating in the life and relationship of the Father, Son and Spirit.
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understand what our adoption means for us. We could define perichoresis as “mutual indwelling without loss of personal identity.” In other words, we exist in union with the Triune God, but we do not lose our
distinct personhood in the process. We matter. We are real to the Triune God. Only the Trinity could have union without loss of personal distinction. If you have union without distinction, you tumble into pantheism, and we would be united to God in such a way as to be completely absorbed into him. There would no longer be a distinct “us” to feel and taste and experience the Trinitarian life. If you have distinction without union, you end up with deism, where God is just up there watching us from a distance, and we never see our humanity as included in the Trinitarian life. Motherhood and
...rules the world!
mutual indwelling without loss of personal identity fatherhood, work and play and music then appear to be merely secular, non-divine aspects of our human experience. Deism leaves us with a Christ-less humanity, and forces us to search beyond our humanity for connection with God. In Trinitarian theology we say “no” to both pantheism and deism. We have union but no loss of personal distinction, which means that we matter and that our humanity, our motherhood and fatherhood, our work and play and music form the arena for our participation in the Trinitarian life of God. The Triune God meets us not in the sky or in our selfgenerated religions, but in our “ordinary” human existence. Q: So the gospel is about God knowing us and us knowing God? BK: Exactly. Let me give you a quick story. I like stories better than long and convoluted theological explanations. Many years ago when my
son was six (he’s 18 now), I was sitting on the couch in the den sorting through junk mail on a Saturday afternoon. He and his buddy came in and they were decked out in their camouflage, face paint, plastic guns and knives, the whole nine yards. My son peers around the corner of the door and looks at me, and the next thing I know, he comes flying through the air and jumps on me. We start wrestling and horsing around and we end up on the floor. Then his buddy flies into us and all three of us are just like a wad of laughter.
Right in the middle of that event the Lord spoke to me and said to pay attention. I’m thinking, it’s Saturday afternoon, your son comes in and you’re
horsing around on the floor, it happens every day all over the world, so what’s the big deal? Then it started to dawn on me that I didn’t know who this other kid was. I had never met him. He had never met me. So I re-wound the story and thought about what would have happened if this little boy would have walked into my den alone. Remember, he didn’t know me and I didn’t know him, and he didn’t know my name and I didn’t know his name. So he looks over and sees me, a complete stranger, sitting on the couch. Would he fly through the air and engage me in play? Would we end up in a pile of laughter on the floor? Of course not. That is the last thing that would have happened. Within himself, that little boy had no freedom to have a relationship with me. We were strangers. He had no right to that kind of familiarity and fellowship. But my son knows me. My son knows that I love him and that I accept him and that he’s the apple of my eye. So in the knowledge of my love and affection, he did the most natural thing in the world. He dove into my lap. The miracle that happened was that my son’s knowledge of my acceptance and delight, and my son’s freedom for fellowship with me, rubbed off onto that other little boy. He got to experience it. That other little boy got to taste and feel and know my son’s relationship with me. He participated in my son’s life and communion with me. Then it dawned on me that that’s what
perichoresis and our adoption in Christ mean. Jesus is the one who knows the Father. He knows the Father’s love and acceptance. He sees the Father’s face. Jesus has freedom for fellowship with his Father. And Jesus shares his heart with us. He puts his own freedom for relationship with his Father in us through the Spirit, and like that little boy we get to taste and feel and experience the relationship Jesus has with his Father. He shares it all with us. He unites himself with us, and we get to experience his divine life with him. He shares with us his own knowledge of his Father’s heart, his own knowledge of the Father’s acceptance, his own assurance of his Father’s love, his own freedom in knowing the Father’s passionate heart. He reaches into his own soul, as it were, and pulls out his own emotions, and then puts them inside of the whole human race. We’re all included in the Son’s relationship with the Father in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. Q: Then we never have to worry about whether God accepts us and loves us? BK: Never. What does the understanding that we are accepted into the mutual indwelling and communion with God remove from our hearts? Fear and hiding. So because of Jesus’ knowledge of the Father’s acceptance, which he shares with us, we now are free to let go of our racial and personal prejudices, and to love and accept one another, which leads to the freedom to know and be known, which leads to fellowship and mutual indwelling. This is what the kingdom of the Triune God is all about. The kingdom is simply the life and love, the communion, the fellowship, the camaraderie and joy of the Father, Son and Spirit, being shared with us and coming to full and abiding and personal expression in us, in our relationships with one another and in our relationships with the whole creation, so that the whole earth is full of the Son’s knowledge of his Father in the Spirit. As to why we don’t experience our life in Christ more fully, that is a question for another day. Dr. C. Baxter Kruger is Director of Perichoresis, Inc.— A Trinitarian Ministry. Dr. Kruger’s resources can be accessed at: www.Perichoresis.org
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the donald vs. the doctor
BY DR. LANCE WALLNAU
Donald Trump v People keep asking me my personal preference between Donald Trump and Dr. Carson. Dr. Carson is a bright man with a background in medicine. He has the same worldview that most evangelical christians resonate with. He is to all appearance a mature Christian. He is an experienced and celebrated surgeon. By disposition he is a gentleman, a man of peace yet courageous in voicing his opinion. He is comfortable in the world of ideas and will bring a unique perspective into problem solving. Highly likable, he is a modest man with high ego strength. Donald Trump is also a bright man with a background in business. He has a Reagan era worldview of American greatness. He believes in God and has an old school respect for Clergy and the Bible. Considers himself to be a Christian. He is experienced in business and media. He understands marketing. By disposition he is competitive, combative and alternately charming when necessary to close a deal. He is comfortable in the world of power and will bring an assertive and original frame of thinking to the task. (Think Reagan with "StarWars" idea...not far from "Build A Wall- with a big beautiful door.") Trump is a realist with high ego strength. MY PERSPECTIVE The mistake Christians make is that they want to elect the strongest Christian because they fear so much ground has been lost in America that it will take a Christian political savior to make things right. The office of the President becomes symbolic, like a national Pastor. There is no doubt that the office has moments when the Chief Executive has to become a spiritual healer who addresses the grieving of the nation. Bush at 9-11 on the rubble in New York and Reagan with the Space Shuttle disaster. President Obama usually does a good job of this though he looses points because he politicizes events. Dr. Carson will be brilliant as a spiritual healer and consoler to a nation in moments of tragedy. Donald Trump will need a script. I watched him once being handed a moment to console the many people who
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lost huge amounts of money in the 2008 market crash. "Donald what words of encouragement can you speak to people who are going through tough times right now? There's a lot of pain out there." With the camera on him, Trump said, "Now is the perfect time to buy. There are deals everywhere. People are scared. I just bought a winery! I know nothing about the business but the deal was too good to resist. If you've got cash there are lots of deals! Look for opportunities." The host was stunned and I was laughing. George Patton would make a lousy Chaplain. You ever think about who has the biggest church or ministry? I heard John Maxwell say this once. He said, the guy with the biggest church or ministry doesn't love God more than the other Ministers. He isn't more anointed than the other Ministers. He doesn't have more favor than the other Ministers. He does not pray more than the other Ministers. In fact, there may be other Ministers who pray more, have more anointing, and love God and sacrifice more deeply. Why does one person have the bigger ministry? Cause they have wisdom to know how to build a bigger ministry. Jimmy Carter was a deep and earnest Christian who ended up with some disastrous results. George W. Bush got born again and invited Billy Graham to meet with his parents to share with them more fully the Gospel. The nation does not rise to the level of your piety as much as it rises to the level of your capacity to build. Again, the nation does not rise to the level of Christian sincerity in the Oval Office. It rises to the level of wise policy - or sinks to the level of unrighteous policies (Like under Obama or Hillary.) Clearly - You don't want an anti-christian in office. You want
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someone who believes in God and identifies enough as a Christian to take it personally when Christians are targeted in persecution. You want someone who is ANTI- "antichrist" meaning any form of
bullying or persecuting the rights of Christians at home or elsewhere. Both Trump and Carson have "Christian persecution" high on their radar. Beyond that- I don't suggest voting for the man on the basis of his ability to lead a Bible study in the Oval Office. In fact, the problem with strong Evangelical Protestants is that they tend to be the theological equal of other believers- Clergy included. They have their own opinions. I almost prefer a person who respects highly the theological input of a Pastor- because they know they don't know the Bible as well as they know their own field. That's Trump. The secret is to get the right Christian voices in his ear. Cruz, Huckabee, Dr. Carson...they will probably have their own opinions. Trump knows enough to ask. Everyone likes Carson. What it comes to Trump I find that some people simply have a negative Trump branding stuck in their
vs. Ben Carson head. They think he hates hispanics and loves money. There is nothing I can write that will break the spell of this kind of thinking. It is a sort of madness in the mind that shocks me. All I can say is I've been
with Trump twice. What you see is what you get. He has strong opinions. He is not fake. He has too much ego to pander to evangelicals. He is not a strong evangelical. He is a God respecting business man. WHAT CRITERIA WOULD YOU USE TO DECIDE? - ECONOMICS 1. If you think America has a reasonably healthy economy and all this talk about debt is overheated I would go with Carson. If you think the Government has a realistic budget I would incline to Dr. Carson. If you think America is on the brink of Bankruptcy and you fear that Hillary Clinton and the Democrats will drive the vehicle over the cliff - I'd vote Trump. You will need someone with a titanium spine to face off with entitlement spending. This could be Dr.Carson. Most certainly is Trump. You will need someone with a
strong grasp of negotiating deals and debating over numbers and finance. This favors Trump. If need be, you must have an Executive in the Oval office who knows how to engineer media and make his case by stirring up the populous. In this sense, Trump can be a populist with a microphone. Likewise if you think America needs to renegotiate trade deals with China, Japan and Mexico...Trump is the negotiator of choice. FOREIGN POLICY 2. If you think China and Russia and "rogue states" are going to be flexing their muscles and challenging America around the world you have to ask yourself - who would you want Putin or Iran sitting across from? Which President would a foreign power be more likely to be cautious about before provoking or insulting? President Carson or President Trump? In matters of Foreign Policy I have fallen somewhat out of love with Marco Rubio and many conservatives in D.C. Rubio is smart, young, articulate and well versed in foreign affaires. He's got a future. Let him bake a little more in the political oven. His and John McCain’s ideas about moving stronger in Syria and taking out Bashar alAssad is the opposite of Trump (the person people think is the most militant.) Donald says - "we should NOT have gone into Iraq and we should NOT get into a mess in Syria." "Forget Assad - just smash ISIS." (He personally hates what ISIS does to Christians and innocent people.)Trump would not get into any war unless it made sense.
I frankly do not see Dr. Carson as an imposing figure across the table from really bad people. Reasonable people will like him. They will like him more than Trump. But in matters of Foreign Policy I would rather have a leader who is respected than a leader who is liked. I want someone bad people fear. It's a benefit to even be viewed as a little screwy. Richard Nixon used this angle when negotiating over Vietnam. He told Henry Kissinger to say that, "Nixon is a bit derailed when it comes to this subject. Be careful." Dr. Carson could never be considered unpredictable and screwy. Trump? Maybe. 3. If you think the immigration issue with Mexico and Muslims coming into the United States is a crisis situation, both Trump and Carson share your view. If you suspect Cartels and gangs have gotten through, if you fear that militant Muslims have gotten into the United States...it seems to me that Trump feels the issue at a gut level. Dr. Carson see's the problem but I don't sense a "fire in the belly" over building a wallphysically or otherwise. Those are my immediate considerations. Nobody asked me about my thoughts on Cruz or other candidates, so I am talking about Carson vs Trump, not Carson vs Cruz vs Trump vs. Carley or someone else. What are your thoughts?
www.LanceWallnau.com Dr. Lance Wallnau is a dynamic teacher with a unique and powerful gift for imparting the Word of God. His anointed messages are remembered years afterwards because he captivates his audiences by humor, illustrations, drawings, and fresh vocabulary which penetrates deep into the heart with incredible authority, clarity, and personal application. Lance's prophetic teaching helps people see a clearer path into transformation. His unique style and humor is designed to keep you smiling so it isn't too painful when the truth hits home. Such high intensity in the Holy Spirit, accompanied by his pointed, colorful delivery, and use of diagrams and instruments enable him to impact his audiences and clients worldwide. His teaching is an unforgettable experience.
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saying goodbye
BY DAVE BOUCHER , JOEY GARRISON, & DAVE PAULSON
Fred Thompson, with Larger-Than-Life Persona, Dies at 73 Fred Thompson, the former U.S. senator from Tennessee, Republican presidential candidate and “Law and Order” actor, died Sunday after a recurrence of lymphoma. He was 73. Thompson’s family announced the news in a statement, which was published in The Tennessean. “It is with a heavy heart and a deep sense of grief that we share the passing of our brother, husband, father, and grandfather who died peacefully in Nashville surrounded by his family,” the statement said.
an actor but as a real-life prosecutor too." Thompson's rise to the Senate was atypical. He had never before held public office, but he overwhelmingly won a 1994 special election for Al Gore's old Senate seat after connecting with voters. In 1996 he easily won a six-year term. The son of a car salesman, the towering 6’ 6” Thompson was born in Sheffield, Ala., and grew up in Lawrenceburg, Tenn., where he was a star athlete. He was 17 when he married Sarah Lindsey. The couple, who divorced in 1985, lived in public housing for a year as newlyweds.
It continued: "Fred once said that the experiences he had growing up in small-town Tennessee formed the prism through which he viewed the Thompson graduated from Memphis State world and shaped the way he dealt with life. Fred University in 1964 and earned his law degree stood on principle and common sense, from Vanderbilt University and had a deep love for and connection in 1967. To pay for school, he with the people across Tennessee worked at a bicycle plant, whom he had the privilege to serve in post office and motel. the United States Senate. He enjoyed a hearty laugh, a strong handshake, a Thompson went on to good cigar, and a healthy dose of become a lawyer in humility. Fred was the same man on Nashville. In 1969, he the floor of the Senate, the movie became an assistant U.S. studio, or the town square of attorney, then volunteered in Lawrenceburg, his home." 1972 to work on the reelection campaign of former Fred "Fred believed that the greatness of Thompson Republican Sen. Howard our nation was defined by the hard Baker. A year later, Baker work, faith, and honesty of its people. selected Thompson to be He had an enduring belief in the exceptionalism chief minority counsel on the committee of our country, and that America could provide investigating the Watergate scandal. the opportunity for any boy or girl, in any corner of our country, to succeed in life. " Afterward, Thompson returned to Tennessee and represented Marie Ragghianti, the head of the Thompson, born in 1942, served in the Senate Tennessee Parole Board who was fired in 1977 from December 1994 to January 2003. after exposing a pardon-selling scheme. Ragghianti won reinstatement and her case was Following his time in the Senate, Thompson made into a 1985 movie titled "Marie," based on played District Attorney Arthur Branch on Law the 1983 book "Marie: A True Story," by Peter & Order for five seasons, leaving the show to run Maas. The producers asked Thompson to play for president. himself, which launched his acting career. Thought to be a contender during the early stages of the 2008 Republican presidential primary cycle, Thompson drew little support in many of the early states and he took a big hit when the former Southern senator failed to win South Carolina. He eventually dropped out in late January. "Fred Thompson lived life to the very fullest," said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. in a statement. "The first in his family to go to college, Fred would go on to become Watergate lawyer, Senate colleague, presidential candidate, radio personality, and icon of silver and small screen alike who didn't just take on criminals as
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In June 2002, Thompson married Jeri Kehn, a political and media specialist. After retiring from politics, Thompson hosted a conservative radio talk show between 2009 and 2011 and became a TV advertising pitchman for American Advisers Group, a reverse mortgage financial company. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Cross-Word Answers from Page 27
dead right “I destroy homes, tear families apart - take your children, and that's just the start. I'm more costly than diamonds, more costly than gold - the sorrow I bring is a sight to behold. And if you need me, remember I'm easily found. I live all around you, in schools and in town. I live with the rich, I live with the poor, I live down the street, and maybe next door. My power is awesome - try me you'll see.
I take kids from parents, and parents from kids, I turn people from God, and separate from friends.
The voices you'll hear from inside your head. The sweats, the shakes, the visions you'll see.
I'll take everything from you, your looks and your pride, I'll be with you always, right by your side.
I want you to know, these are all gifts from me.
You'll give up everything - your family, your home, your friends, your money, then you'll be alone. I'll take and I'll take, till you have nothing more to give. When I'm finished with you you'll be
But if you do, you may never break free. Just try me once and I might let you go, but try me twice, and I'll own your soul.
You'll lie to your mother; you'll steal from your dad. When you see their tears, you should feel sad. But you'll forget your morals and how you were raised. I'll be your conscience, I'll teach you my ways.
You'll regret that you tried me, they always do. But you came to me, not I to you. You knew this would happen. Many times you were told, but you challenged my power, and chose to be bold. You could have said no, and just walked away. If you could live that day over, now what would you say?
When I possess you, you'll steal and you'll lie. You'll do what you have to just to get high. The crimes you'll commit, for my narcotic charms, will be worth the pleasure you'll feel in your arms.
But then it's too late, and you'll know in your heart, that you are mine, and we shall not part.
I'll be your master; you will be my slave. I'll even go with you, when you go to your grave. lucky to live.
Now that you have met me, what will you do?
If you try me be warned this is no game. If given the chance, I'll drive you insane. I'll ravish your body, I'll control your mind. I'll own you completely; your soul will be mine. The nightmares I'll give you while lying in bed.
Will you try me or not? Its all up to you. I can bring you more misery than words can tell. Come take my hand, let me lead you to hell. Signed, DRUGS
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all life matters
Substitutionary Life ow would it be if your husband substituted golf for your relationship – oh wait, he is! OR how do you think he feels when the children are more important to you than he is? Are they? We substitute almost everything in this life for the real thing! Sex for love, margarine for butter, aspartame for sugar, processed food for fresh food, texting instead of phoning, being a spectator instead of a participant in activity. There are many, many more ways to substitute for the real thing. Which reminds me, remember the ad for Coke? It’s the real thing! They knew that they were being imitated and wanted to remind us of the original. What do you like to substitute for the real thing?? Maybe you use television instead of reading or interacting with your neighbors. Perhaps your pets consume you with their devotion and cuteness. Could it be that you focus on the news and are convinced that things are hopeless? How many hours do you spend in front of the computer doing things that don’t matter? In a book that I read recently, the author quoted the Scripture that you may “know the Truth and the Truth will set you free”. He then followed that with this, “The Universe desires for you to have everything you want to have. The Universe is friendly to your plans”.
BY KATHLEEN CARUSO
H
When did the Universe take place of Creator God? Do we now believe the created is doing what only the Creator can? This is a theme that has been running through recent business calls. It is not politically correct to say God or Jesus and
they now substitute universe. The Universe is suddenly the answer to all things. Worshipping something created is not a new idea. Here it is addressed in the New Living Translation in Isaiah 44: 15 Then he uses part of the wood to make a fire. With it he warms himself and bakes his bread. Then—yes, it’s true—he takes the rest of it and makes himself a god to worship! He makes an idol and bows down in front of it! 16 He burns part of the tree to roast his meat and to keep himself warm. He says, “Ah, that fire feels good.” 17 Then he takes what’s left and makes his god: a carved idol! He falls down in front of it, worshiping and praying to it. “Rescue me!” he says. “You are my god!” 18 Such stupidity and ignorance! Their eyes are closed, and they cannot see. Dermish describes the fully formed heart of an unborn child aborted at nine weeks gestation. “Well, it’s cute. It is cute!” a colleague remarks as Dermish talks. “It’s amazing, it’s sort of—I have so much respect for development, it’s just incredible,” Dermish then says. John Stonestreet pointed out the moral disconnect between being amazed by human development, but thinking it’s OK to end a human life. “The moral inconsistencies are just thoroughly embedded in the American experience when it comes to the definition of life, particularly of the unborn,” Stonestreet said. He gave other examples, such as how a
BY NICK EICHER
Planned Parenthood’s Moral Disconnect ach week, The World and Everything in It features a “Culture Friday” segment, in which Executive Producer Nick Eicher discusses the latest cultural news with John Stonestreet, president of the Chuck Colson Center for Christian Worldview. Here is a summary of a recent conversation.
E
he latest video about Planned Parenthood from the Center for Medical Progress highlighted the complete moral disconnect of providers in the abortion business. In the video, Amna Dermish, an abortionist from Austin, Texas, explains that a co-worker who handles the so-called “products of conception” is “really into organ development.” In other words, this person likes to dissect the remains of babies after they are aborted.
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Their minds are shut, and they cannot think. 19 The person who made the idol never stops to reflect, “Why, it’s just a block of wood! I burned half of it for heat and used it to bake my bread and roast my meat. How can the rest of it be a god? Should I bow down to worship a piece of wood?” 20 The poor, deluded (person who the Bible calls a) fool feeds on ashes. He trusts something that can’t help him at all. Yet he cannot bring himself to ask, “Is this idol that I’m holding in my hand a lie?” Is the substitute we have opted for a lie? The only true substitution is a Life for a life. Jesus gave up His beautiful life in heaven to come and buy us back from the enemy of our souls. He substituted His sinless life for our sinful one. Because He did, we are redeemed out of our worthlessness. He gave us His life by shedding His blood. The great mystery is how we now have His life inside of us to comfort, guide and teach us. As we yield to Him, the Holy Spirit of Christ, we have grace, mercy, forgiveness, power, joy, wisdom, knowledge and truth. We are bathed in His love. We can walk in victory and do greater works than even He did because in accepting Him, we multiply His Life so that it is done on earth as it is in heaven. Accept NO SUBSTITUTE. He is the real thing!! woman can legally abort her own child, but if a reckless driver injures a pregnant woman in a car crash and the baby dies, it can be considered homicide. And a mother has complete control over whether to end her baby’s life, while the father has no say and must pay child support if the baby is born. Stonestreet said such inconsistencies arise when society tries to ground human dignity in something other than the image of God. “The scientific, technocratic way of seeing the world sees it as a total of parts,” he said, and leads to the belief that certain individuals can control other individuals in the name of science. Nick lives in St. Louis, loves the Blues (as in the NHL), is executive producer of WORLD Radio, and co-hosts WORLD's radio news magazine The World and Everything in It. Follow Nick on Twitter @NickEicher.
ask the rabbi
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• the rotation of the Earth about its axis (a day) • the revolution of the moon about the Earth (a month) • the revolution of the Earth about the sun (a year).
shorter than a solar year and a 13-month lunar is about 19 days longer than a solar year. The months drift around the seasons on such a calendar: on a 12-month lunar calendar, the month of Nissan, which is supposed to occur in the Spring, would occur 11 days earlier in the season each
On average, the moon revolves around the Earth in about 29½ days. The Earth revolves around the sun in about 365¼ days, that is, about 12.4 lunar months. The Jewish calendar coordinates all three of these astronomical phenomena. Months are either 29 or 30 days, corresponding to the 29½-day lunar cycle. Years are either 12 or 13 months, corresponding to the 12.4 month solar cycle.
year, eventually occurring in the Winter, the Fall, the Summer, and then the Spring again. On a 13-month lunar calendar, the same thing would happen in the other direction, and faster.
The problem with strictly lunar calendars is that there are approximately 12.4 lunar months in every solar year, so a 12-month lunar calendar is about 11 days
To compensate for this drift, the Jewish calendar uses a 12-month lunar calendar with an extra month occasionally added. The month of Nissan occurs 11 days earlier
each year for two or three years, and then jumps forward 30 days, balancing out the drift. In ancient times, this month was added by observation: the Sanhedrin observed the conditions of the weather, the crops and the livestock, and if these were not sufficiently advanced to be considered "spring," then the Sanhedrin inserted an additional month into the calendar to make sure that Pesach (Passover) would occur in the spring.
WITH RABBI JEREMY STORCH
The Jewish Calendar he Jewish calendar is based on three astronomical phenomena:
To contact Jeremy for ministry in your congregation, for a radio or television interview or other special event, or for information on his albums or teachings, please call or email:
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anyone can be saved
BY MARVIN OLASKY / WORLDMAG.COM
Bob Beckel: Around for a Reason Q&A | A political operative who ‘should be dead’ instead found life in Christ ormer political operative Bob Beckel— he managed Walter Mondale’s campaign against Ronald Reagan in 1984—this year moved from FOX to CNN. He turns 67 on Nov. 15. Here’s an edited transcript of his [interview] remarks in front of students at Patrick Henry College:
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Marvin Olasky: Nov. 3 is the publication date for your book titled I Should Be Dead. Could we review some of the times you should have died? Bob Beckel: Well, let me see. MO: There’s the time in a Mexican bar you asked a woman if she wanted to have sex with you, and her brother … BB: He and a friend pushed me out the back into a fenced-in area. The guy reached behind a stack of wood and pulled out a machete. I reached in my pocket and pulled out 60 bucks and the guy stops, looks, says “OK.” These guys could have killed me and taken the money if they wanted to. MO: What about the time in 1986 you fell asleep at the wheel on the New Jersey Turnpike? BB: I had been at a party in New York and Brooklyn from Friday night until Sunday afternoon. Hadn’t slept a wink because we were drinking and using cocaine. So I’m driving down the Jersey Turnpike, and the next thing I know I hear this pounding on my window. I had passed out—and my car had stayed straight, God knows how. It stopped and backed up traffic. MO: And just before George W. Bush’s inauguration? BB: Jan. 19, 2001, I was at a biker bar in southern Maryland and introducing myself to the lady at the bar. I was quite drunk. I turned around, and there was a .45 caliber right in my face, like this. The guy pulled the trigger, and it didn’t go off because he hadn’t chambered the first bullet. Somebody grabbed him from behind, and the second bullet blew a 3-foot hole in the ceiling. I remember saying—I was not a believer then—“God, if You exist, that’s the last drink I’ll ever have,” and it was. That was almost 15 years ago. MO: You had tried to quit before. BB: 1986 was the first time at Alcoholics Anonymous. I stayed sober for two years. Then I went
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out, then I came back in for a couple years, then out. It’s not easy to quit drinking. I was drinking a quart and a half of booze a day and probably doing 5 or 6 grams of cocaine a day. MO: Fighting childhood demons? BB: My father at night would be very drunk and abusive. If he got particularly mad, he’d throw me down the stairs. I’d bounce down. The next day when he sobered up he’d say, “That was a great wrestling match we had last night, wasn’t it, Bob?” I said, “Yeah, it was great, Pop.” I couldn’t wait to get out of there. MO: You got out of there and were successful as a political operative. Your description in I Should Be Dead of how you got the Panama Canal Treaty passed back in the Carter administration, when that treaty should have been dead, is fascinating. BB: I was the youngest deputy assistant secretary of state in history at that point, and got transferred to the White House to get the treaty passed. We needed 67 votes and were about four or five short. One senator had a guy he also listened to before he cast his vote. This guy liked to drink a lot and he liked women: He was married with two kids, had never strayed, but always liked to look. MO: Next step? BB: I called him up and said, “Why don’t you come down to the White House and have a drink?” He came down to the White House, and he took four fingers of scotch, two or three of those fast. Of course, that was no problem for me. So, we went over to a bar at the old hotel, and I never raised the treaty with him. Not once. Women would come to the bar, and we’d rate them one to 10. We did that for three weeks. MO: And then? BB: Finally he said, “Bob, do you know where I could maybe meet a woman? I hate to do it because of my wife, but …” I called the madame of a place I knew, took him over there. He went up and came out with a grin on his face. Then he got in my car and started to cry because he felt so guilty. … I took him out the next week for a drink and said, “Now about the Panama Canal treaties.” He was paying attention at that point. His boss ended up voting for it. It’s awfully sleazy to think about. I’m not proud of it. MO: Why in 2001 were you finally able to stop drinking and keep from starting again? BB: I had been sober a little bit. One
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day I showed up to do TV with Cal Thomas at FOX. I walked in and Cal asked, “How are you doing?” I said, “Not very well.” Everyone in Washington says, “Fine, fine, fine.” So, he said, “Let’s talk after the show.” We did and he said, “Do you believe in God?” I said, “No.” MO: OK. BB: Cal and I talked for a long time. To his credit, he didn’t try to push faith on me, but he asked, “Do you mind if I send you some literature?” He sent me Evidence That Demands a Verdict. I read it and thought, “It’s amazing how the Bible holds up.” Cal finally convinced me to go to church. This church’s congregation is probably 99 percent Republican. I walked in and they thought a prostitute had walked in. … I slowly came to faith. MO: Do some atheistic associates make fun of you? BB: I have a much easier time defending what I need to defend than they do. Because they are assuming that all of this happened by some kind of scientific experiment. … Baby boomers like me are starting to see the big black wall at the end, and they wonder what happens after that. In many ways they want to believe, but they just can’t bring themselves to believe because society doesn’t make it easy. MO: I understand you’re now pro-life. BB: I used to be on pro-choice boards. I’ve quietly gotten off. I mean, you can’t come to faith and be pro-choice. MO: Do you still have the urge to drink? BB: After I came to faith, it’s not been that difficult. I don’t have an urge to drink. I go on a lot of calls to people who are impossible to deal with. I do interventions, which are very painful. MO: You go four times a week to AA meetings? BB: Yeah, I have to because if I start again, I’m never going to come back. I figured that God wanted me around for some reason, so I work with alcoholics, some of whom I can’t stand, but I do it. I’m sure I was like that when I was drinking. It was through the grace of God that I was able to change, through Christ. On my own, I couldn’t do it.
the editor gets the last word
Are you a FROTHER?
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I suspect everyone needs to fall somewhere in between. Preppers don’t bother me... In fact I’m trying to “friend” as many as I can on Facebook. Since I am never fully prepared, I at least better know some folks that are. LOL. I think that means, “Laugh out Loud” but some of my new prepper friends (on the day of need) might say to me, “Lots of Luck!” Many in this spectrum diligently are preoccupied by conspiracy theories. Here our my personal favorites: • America didn’t defend Pearl Harbor in order to win support from citizens to enter WWII • Our own government killed President Kennedy • Government hiding martian body in Roswell to deter citizen panic • Moon Landing was a Hoax • Illuminati rules the world • Chem Trails release cancer causing agents by drug companies • Sandy Hook was a hoax by anti-gun lobby to win support for gun control • Oklahoma City Bombing was carried out by U.S. Officials trying to destroy sensitive and damning evidence against them • 911 World Trade Center Bombing perpetrated by Bush admin to gain support to Invade Iraq • Obama is really a Muslim that was born in Kenya (oops, sorry, that one is actually true lol)
These are Frothers. Okay, I am not going to address the validity of any one of these theories. Let’s assume they are all true. 100% verifiable without a doubt. Ponder that for a moment. How would that change the Great Commission of spreading the good news of the Gospel? There was and now is a resurfacing premise called “Dominion Theology” Those who hold these views believe that it is the duty of Christians to create a worldwide kingdom patterned after the Mosaic Law. They believe that Christ will not return to earth until such a kingdom has been established. The principal goal, then, of dominion theology and Christian reconstructionism is political and religious domination of the world through the implementation of the moral laws, and subsequent punishments, of the Old Testament (the sacrificial and ceremonial laws having been fulfilled in the New Testament). This is not a government system ruled by the church, but rather a government conformed to the Law of God.
story. Whether they're somewhat believable or completely ridiculous, the most popular conspiracy theories got that way for a reason -- they're just plain fascinating.” -Vicki Santillano / Divine Caroline
BY JOHN G. SACOULAS, MANAGING EDITOR
felt led to coin a new word. So there are Preppers. You know who they are. They range from those who put away a box of canned goods, a manual can opener and one gallon of bottled water - all the way to those who built an underground bomb shelter, 10 years worth of military rations, a solar powered generator and enough ammunition and fire arms to qualify as a military base.
We are not to look for evil under every bush. (Acts 17:11) We are instructed to think only on the things that are lovely. (Phil. 4:8)
Muslims are trying to do this by forcing Sharia law upon all of the world. Either way, if the law (any law) could save anyone, it would be a lofty goal. However, the Bible says that God is out to win the hearts of mankind. He has already dealt with sin consciousness and it’s penalty on the cross through the sacrifice of His beloved Son, Jesus. “Agatha Christie once famously said, ‘The simplest explanation is always the most likely.’ However, when something shocking or catastrophic happens in our lives, simple explanations just aren't satisfying. We crave deeper reason and meaning and when that isn't given to us, sometimes we create our own. This is how conspiracy theories are often born - someone doesn't like the official account of a major event and challenges it with a different version. Conspiracy theories can attract a wide array of people, vehement supporters to those who just like a good
All of the fears and paranoias we discuss more than the goodness of God are a strategy of Satan to distract us from the Great Commission. We are saved by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of our testimony. It may be titillating and satisfying to talk about what Satan is doing in the world but consider this: when the treasury department trains their agents to look for counterfeit money, they do not study the fake bills, they study the real thing. In doing so, they can spot a fake immediately.
I am trying to see the bigger picture from a distance.
VOL.11 #5 | WWW.AMERICAN CHRISTIAN VOICE.COM
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