Spiritual Perseverance

Perseverance is more than endurance. It's endurance combined with absolute assurance and certainty that what we are looking for is going to happen. Perseverance means more than just hanging on, which may be only exposing our fear of letting go and falling. Perseverance is our supreme effort of refusing to believe that our hero is going to be conquered.

Then there is the call to spiritual perseverance. A call not to hang on and do nothing, but to work deliberately, knowing with certainty that God will never be defeated.

If our hopes seem to be experiencing disappointment right now, it simply means that they are being purified.

Have you ever gone through that time in your life where you're just worn out - tired - weary - torn? You know you'll get through it. You trust in God's promises, but your soul is crying for in its burden. You long for the time when this heaviness is lifted.

Be still. God knows what he's doing. I know you know that, but think on it often. Get on your knees and talk about it with God. Let him know that you realize that you're being refined in His perfect fire and that you're excited about the change you expect when you emerge from it.

In THY strength

Psalm 21:13Be thou exalted, Lord, in thine own strength: so will we sing and praise thy power.

Reverend Davis looked down at his hands and shook his head. He was so tired, and he just didn't feel he had anything left in him that people ought to hear. He couldn't understand it. He'd always tried to do the lord's work and lead people to Jesus. He had preached the Gospel every chance he got. He had even achieved a certain level of fame. No one could deny what a powerful soldier for Christ he had been. Reverend Davis just couldn't make sense out of the fact that God wasn't helping him now, when he needed it most. At least God owed him that.

Too often we fall into the trap of believing that we do God's work for Him. That's not true. The most we can do is open ourselves to let the Lord do His own work through us. When we try to do it for Him, we can only expect to grow weary. However, when God works through us, we will find a new energy and vitality that we have never experienced before. The Lord is exalted through His own strength, not ours. Open yourself to Him now, and let the true power begin to flow.

God’s Will is 98% About Who You Are

http://www.walkintheword.com/WeeklyWalk_View.aspx?weeklywalk=125

You might have to create an account, but it will be worth it. This site is a blessing.

Welcome Joel Wuthrich and Ryan Graf (See sidebar for links)

"Christian" music?

I apologize to some of you in advance. This is kinda long.

I found this piece written in a forum on Crosswalk.com. I'm not posting it to show my agreement (or my disagreement) with his point. I'm posting it to hopefully generate thought and discussion.

The author had this to say about it:
My purpose in writing this was to use precisely the same kinds of "evidence" used against Christian rock, rap, or pop and show how it could be as easily applied to more accepted (within the churches) styles. You would be surprised at how many times I get very angry responses to this piece -- mostly from hard-core defenders of rock or rap. (I think their reactions sometimes betray something of an idolatry with their chosen styles.)
Why Believers Shouldn't Listen to "Christian" Barbershop Quartet Music Introduction: Barbershop Quartet (BQ), or four-part harmony, music has become a staple in American churches and is generally regarded as harmless or a neutral vehicle for singing about God, the Bible, and our faith. But is it as innocuous as it seems? The history, presentation, and effects of this musical style argue that it is not – even in its "Christian" form.

Origins: BQ music originated in the late Victorian era and was then considered immoral. Barber shops, along with taverns and pool halls, were places of ill repute where men of low character congregated to drink, swap risqué jokes, and, of course, sing bawdy songs. In those days, respectable businesses required employees to stay out of such establishments. The employee was to get his hair cut at home. like a respectable man. There is also strong evidence that the earliest forms of the four-part harmonies adopted at the barber shops originated with Blacks – long known for their use of primitive, sensual musical styles.

The Presentation: As BQ emerged from its formerly disdainful beginnings, it was eventually accepted into the worldly, popular music scene. Gone were the openly bawdy references. Instead, more covert messages were injected into the flesh-appealing, toe-tapping pieces. Sensual sentiment flowed like honey from their mouths in the slower tunes – but the crafty crooners still injected their salacious innuendo. (What, pray tell, were FOUR men doing ALL knowing and singing about the "sweetness" of Adeline?) The first thing one notices about BQ is that it is all "show." The harmonies, and even the small solo segments, are designed to draw attention to the singers and their talents – not the message. In fact, the harmonies are often so complex that it is impossible to understand the words at all. The stark sensual appeal of closely harmonizing voices sliding up and down the musical scale are evocative of strong passions. The snappier tunes drive a beat that virtually forces carnal responses like finger snapping or toe tapping – obvious indicators that the flesh is being appealed to. Other disturbing features include the gaudy mustaches and brilliant colored clothing. Surely, this again draws attention to them – not the message. Those groups that no longer sport the bright costumes now come packaged in the classic business suit. Remember that such suits symbolize avarice, greed, oppression, and ruthlessness – all traits of the great Robber Barons of yesteryear and today's corporate thugs from Enron. These singers, by wearing similar apparel, identify themselves with these evils. The apostle James reminds us that it is these very rich who oppress believers and blaspheme God. (James 2: 6-7) He cautions us against giving special places of honor (like the stage?) to those who dress in such attire. (James 2: 2-7) Most of the BQ groups' promotion photos exhibit hyperextended, canned smiles. While this "appearance" of being happy and friendly may be pleasant, recall how the Bible warns us that Satan can come as an angel of light. (2 Corinthians 11: 14) In fact, some of the people who seem most charming and jovial are the most wicked.

"Christian" BQ? Popular BQ hit its peak among the public around 1910. Even as it faded from the popular scene, BQ began to creep into the church. Of course, it did not remain in static form as most "Christian" BQ groups dropped the gaudy outfits for the more covertly sinister business suits. They also added – and adapted – some old hymns to their song list modified as four-part harmonies. Instead of "Sweet Adeline" it was the "Sweet Bye and Bye." Perhaps these "innovators" were simply deceived. We are warned that the devil does stalk us for every opportunity to ravage us. (1 Peter 5: 8) Maybe they thought that the taint of its origins and its popularity diminished with time. Perhaps their subversion of the church (which we shall see) was unintentional, but the devil's plan wasn't. Overriding all concerns the BQ music was carnal, the church-at-large plunged ahead booking the groups on tour – allowing the flesh-appealing tempos in the very house of God. Many of their congregation had listened tot the secular BQ music when they were young, so the familiarity with the style appealed to them. "Christian" BQ also changed with the times, but beneath it all were still the same hypnotizing four-part harmonies, sensuality, and flesh appeal. A look at perhaps the most popular "Christian" BQ group today, The Gaithers, is indicative of this. The first thing that we notice is that the name of their group does nothing to glorify God. Rather it is focused on the people themselves. Their four-part harmony music ranges from the slower songs with strong emotional – rather than spiritual – appeal, to hard-driving "upbeat" songs designed to get listeners to physically respond. Their publicity photos show that two of the "men" have shoulder-length hair which is not only a violation of 1 Corinthians 11: 14 but a patent sensual appeal to weak-minded women. The Bible clearly warns us about men who have "a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts." (2 Timothy 3: 5-6) The long hair is also a sign of rebellion against the norms of society just as much as it was during the "hippie" era. Everyone in these photos has these forced smiles. Does anyone think that they are as happy as they would like you to think they are? Do you imagine Jesus with the perpetual smile of this kind? The Scripture says He was a man of sorrows. (Isaiah 53: 3) So you can see that a lot of the old baggage lingers with modern "Christian" BQ groups.

Some people object that the message of the words is biblical. However, it is important to look at the " musical sounds" used to deliver the message for music al sounds carry their own messages – evoking strong emotions. The words alone cannot tell us everything.

I will refer here to the illustration of another commentator about music: "If we continue on this path, respectable, industrious and honest, if we fulfill our duty faithfully, it is my conviction, the Lord God will continually help us in the future. He will not leave respectable people in the lurch indefinitely. He may test them, but in the end He lets His sun shine upon them and gives them His blessing."

Guess who spoke this profound spiritual truth? Billy Graham? Martin Luther, perhaps? Could it have been John Wesley, Jonathan Edwards, or some other great Christian leader from the past? No! The author of those words was: Adolf Hitler! Talk is always cheap. It's the FRUIT behind the words that really counts.

The Fruit: Everything is known by what it produces – its fruit. (Matthew 12: 23) And we are told by Jesus to judge a thing by its fruit. (Matthew 7: 16) When we look at the American church from 1910 on, we see nothing but deteriorating standards of morality and effectiveness. In the early 1930s, the church in America first began to accept birth control – and with it the idea that the whole purpose of sex was pleasure. With that, much of this church, soaked with the "good times" gospel of the "Christian" BQ musicians, began to excuse divorce for nearly any reason at all. The 1950s and 60s – probably the time of the greatest popularity of "Christian" BQ was a time of dissipation, luxury, and ease for the church. (Amos 6: 1) They had grown to love their comfort and their entertainment more than the rigors of seeking God and His kingdom. Their young smelled a rat and rebelled into drug use in the 1960s. Still the church did not respond. When the U.S. Supreme Court in the early 1960s ruled prayer out of the public schools – then the Ten Commandments out of the public schools – then the Bible out of the public schools, the churches could barely make a squawk. Not only was their voice absent, they had become so saturated with worldliness that they had lost any power in their own political system – and besides, many of the churchmen secretly agreed with the high court. The siren song of "Christianized" BQ music had lulled them into being conformed to this world instead of becoming ready for the next. (Romans 12: 2)

Think about the American church, once so powerful that the British called her pastors "the Black Regiment" and said that this regiment was the most formidable foe they faced during the Revolution. Do you think it a coincidence, that the American church became the most insipid, gutless, and powerless it has ever been at the same time that it began including BQ music?

Conclusions: It seems evident to me that the church must rise up and purge itself from this ungodly style of music and return to its glorious music al roots – the hymns of Martin Luther and such. It is obvious that even "Christian" BQ is fraught with evil – and besides, I don't like it.

God's paintbrush

God's big. I'm small.

Monday's post

Monday's post (the 13th) has gotten a number of new comments lately. I would love to hear peoples thoughts this subject. Click Here to go Directly to that post and it's comments. Superfly has raised some good points for discussion.

I got nothing

There was once, not so long ago, that I thought I had something to say. I thought I had something to post. Something of value.

Turns out, I got nothing.

It's all Christ.

You know, as I examine my own life, I have every reason to be discouraged and doubtful of the final outcome. I find it difficult to finish anything I begin, I have a hard time persevering in difficult circumstances, I see that I am too easily sidetracked from things that need to be accomplished. If the completing of my salvation were left up to me, I would have great reason for discouragement, and I would lose hope entirely.

But this type of philosophy is not at all what the Scriptures teach us. We are not left to ourselves to stay the course or finish the race. The good news of the gospel is not only that at the cross God redeemed us from slavery, but also that He will finish the work He began in us, and save us to the uttermost. Oh, now THAT is good news indeed, for it shows that we are not at the mercy of our own commitment to keep us in Christ, nor must we depend upon our own ability to run the race well, but rather we may have full confidence that Moses’ statement is true,

Exodus 15:13 (NIV)
"In your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed. In your strength you will guide them to your holy dwelling."

Paul said the same thing, didn’t he. He wrote to the Philippians of this same confidence:

Philippians 1:6 (NIV)
being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Yes, the Bible instructs us to persevere; yes, it tells us to throw off every weight and the sin that so easily besets us and run the race with perseverance. Yes, it tells us that those who persevere to the end will be saved, and these admonitions are important and should not be neglected. But, as we persevere, we discover that just as much as we are persevering, God is preserving us. We take heart that Jesus will not lose one for whom He died, but will “raise us up at the last day”:

John 6:39 (NIV)
And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day.

Jude calls his writers to persevere in verses 17-21, encouraging them to build themselves up in the faith, and to keep themselves in God’s love as they await the return of Christ. But then he reminds them that it is really God Who does the keeping:

Jude 1:24 (NIV)
To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy--

This is the good news of the gospel. It is that Jesus Christ redeemed us from sin and slavery through His death and resurrection. But it is also that He will lead us and guide us and keep us and protect us to the very end. Moses’ rejoicing was in redemption, and his confidence was that God would lead His people and would finally bring them all the way into His presence.

This same good news is ours today. We have been redeemed, we will be preserved. We have been freed from slavery; we will be kept from falling. We have been purchased out of sin; we will be preserved to the very end. Oh, how exceedingly good this good news is. Especially to those of us beset by fears, wearied of temptations, and discouraged by our failings. God will finish the work He began. Oh yes, now that is good news indeed!

grace and truth,

Mike Cleveland

team member www.settingcaptivesfree.com

Fellowship (A Message From Bill Bright)

A real friend sticks closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24, NLT).


Dear friends:

Our two sons, Zac and Brad, now grown and serving our dear Lord in ministry, mean more to me than I could ever begin to put into words, and God has taught me much through them.

One day when they were small, as I was preparing a message, Zac suddenly appeared with a stack of books and sat down across the table from me. I sensed the warmth of his love, even though he didn't want to interrupt my study.

My heart melted, and I broke the silence: "Zac, I want you to know how much it means to me that you have come to sit with me."

He replied, "Daddy, that's the reason I've come. I just want to be with you."

Suddenly, for the first time in my life, I really understood how the great heart of our loving God longs for fellowship with man. If I delight in my sons and long to be with them and tell them that I love them and care for them, surely God's delight in us is infinitely greater because His capacity for love is so much greater.

One of the most amazing benefits of Christ's great sacrifice is that we, mere mortals, can actually have fellowship with Him. "God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful" (1 Corinthians 1:6, NIV).

Paul again speaks of this fellowship, along with grace and God's great love: "May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all" (2 Corinthians 13:14, NIV).

Too often we think of God "way up there" and us "way down here" and forget that He is actually with us and in us, as He promised. We can literally have fellowship with Him!

One of the delights of my own life has been to fellowship and walk with the incomparable, peerless, holy Son of God representing Father, Son, Holy Spirit -- the Trinity -- and know that He is with me closer than my hands and feet and the air I'm breathing.

God's Power

We look for visions from heaven, for earthquakes and thunders of God's power...and we never dream that all the time God is in the commonplace things and people around us. If we will do the duty that lies nearest, we shall see Him. One of the most amazing revelations of God comes when we learn that it is in the commonplace things that the Deity of Jesus Christ is realized.

Oswald Chambers

Bono @ National Prayer Breakfast

I found this speech to be very thought provoking. I know it's long, but it is definitely worth your time.


Bono's best sermon yet: Remarks at the National Prayer Breakfast

[RUSH TRANSCRIPT: CHECK AGAINST DELIVERED REMARKS]

"If you're wondering what I'm doing here, at a prayer breakfast, well, so am I. I'm certainly not here as a man of the cloth, unless that cloth is leather. It's certainly not because I'm a rock star. Which leaves one possible explanation: I'm here because I've got a messianic complex.

Yes, it's true. And for anyone who knows me, it's hardly a revelation.

Well, I'm the first to admit that there's something unnatural...something unseemly...about rock stars mounting the pulpit and preaching at presidents, and then disappearing to their villas in the south of France. Talk about a fish out of water. It was weird enough when Jesse Helms showed up at a U2 concert...but this is really weird, isn't it?

You know, one of the things I love about this country is its separation of church and state. Although I have to say: in inviting me here, both church and state have been separated from something else completely: their mind.

Mr. President, are you sure about this?

It's very humbling and I will try to keep my homily brief. But be warned - I'm Irish.

I'd like to talk about the laws of man, here in this city where those laws are written. And I'd like to talk about higher laws. It would be great to assume that the one serves the other; that the laws of man serve these higher laws...but of course, they don't always. And I presume that, in a sense, is why you're here.

I presume the reason for this gathering is that all of us here - Muslims, Jews, Christians - all are searching our souls for how to better serve our family, our community, our nation, our God.

I know I am. Searching, I mean. And that, I suppose, is what led me here, too.

Yes, it's odd, having a rock star here - but maybe it's odder for me than for you. You see, I avoided religious people most of my life. Maybe it had something to do with having a father who was Protestant and a mother who was Catholic in a country where the line between the two was, quite literally, a battle line. Where the line between church and state was...well, a little blurry, and hard to see.

I remember how my mother would bring us to chapel on Sundays... and my father used to wait outside. One of the things that I picked up from my father and my mother was the sense that religion often gets in the way of God.

For me, at least, it got in the way. Seeing what religious people, in the name of God, did to my native land...and in this country, seeing God's second-hand car salesmen on the cable TV channels, offering indulgences for cash...in fact, all over the world, seeing the self-righteousness roll down like a mighty stream from certain corners of the religious establishment...

I must confess, I changed the channel. I wanted my MTV.

Even though I was a believer.

Perhaps because I was a believer.

I was cynical...not about God, but about God's politics. (There you are, Jim.)

Then, in 1997, a couple of eccentric, septuagenarian British Christians went and ruined my shtick - my reproachfulness. They did it by describing the millennium, the year 2000, as a Jubilee year, as an opportunity to cancel the chronic debts of the world's poorest people. They had the audacity to renew the Lord's call - and were joined by Pope John Paul II, who, from an Irish half-Catholic's point of view, may have had a more direct line to the Almighty.

'Jubilee' - why 'Jubilee'?

What was this year of Jubilee, this year of our Lord's favor?

I'd always read the scriptures, even the obscure stuff. There it was in Leviticus (25:35)...

'If your brother becomes poor,' the scriptures say, 'and cannot maintain himself...you shall maintain him.... You shall not lend him your money at interest, not give him your food for profit.'

It is such an important idea, Jubilee, that Jesus begins his ministry with this. Jesus is a young man, he's met with the rabbis, impressed everyone, people are talking. The elders say, he's a clever guy, this Jesus, but he hasn't done much...yet. He hasn't spoken in public before...

When he does, is first words are from Isaiah: 'The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,' he says, 'because He has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.' And Jesus proclaims the year of the Lord's favour, the year of Jubilee (Luke 4:18).

What he was really talking about was an era of grace - and we're still in it.

So fast-forward 2,000 years. That same thought, grace, was made incarnate - in a movement of all kinds of people. It wasn't a bless-me club... it wasn't a holy huddle. These religious guys were willing to get out in the streets, get their boots dirty, wave the placards, follow their convictions with actions...making it really hard for people like me to keep their distance. It was amazing. I almost started to like these church people.

But then my cynicism got another helping hand.

It was what Colin Powell, a five-star general, called the greatest W.M.D. of them all: a tiny little virus called AIDS. And the religious community, in large part, missed it. The ones that didn't miss it could only see it as divine retribution for bad behaviour. Even on children...even [though the] fastest growing group of HIV infections were married, faithful women.

Aha, there they go again! I thought to myself judgmentalism is back!

But in truth, I was wrong again. The church was slow but the church got busy on this the leprosy of our age.

Love was on the move.

Mercy was on the move.

God was on the move.

Moving people of all kinds to work with others they had never met, never would have cared to meet...conservative church groups hanging out with spokesmen for the gay community, all singing off the same hymn sheet on AIDS...soccer moms and quarterbacks...hip-hop stars and country stars. This is what happens when God gets on the move: crazy stuff happens!

Popes were seen wearing sunglasses!

Jesse Helms was seen with a ghetto blaster!

Crazy stuff. Evidence of the spirit.

It was breathtaking. Literally. It stopped the world in its tracks.

When churches started demonstrating on debt, governments listened - and acted. When churches starting organising, petitioning, and even - that most unholy of acts today, God forbid, lobbying...on AIDS and global health, governments listened - and acted.

I'm here today in all humility to say: you changed minds; you changed policy; you changed the world.

Look, whatever thoughts you have about God, who He is or if He exists, most will agree that if there is a God, He has a special place for the poor. In fact, the poor are where God lives.

Check Judaism. Check Islam. Check pretty much anyone.

I mean, God may well be with us in our mansions on the hill. I hope so. He may well be with us as in all manner of controversial stuff. Maybe, maybe not. But the one thing we can all agree, all faiths and ideologies, is that God is with the vulnerable and poor.

God is in the slums, in the cardboard boxes where the poor play house. God is in the silence of a mother who has infected her child with a virus that will end both their lives. God is in the cries heard under the rubble of war. God is in the debris of wasted opportunity and lives, and God is with us if we are with them. "If you remove the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger and speaking wickedness, and if you give yourself to the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then your light will rise in darkness and your gloom with become like midday and the Lord will continually guide you and satisfy your desire in scorched places."

It's not a coincidence that in the scriptures, poverty is mentioned more than 2,100 times. It's not an accident. That's a lot of air time, 2,100 mentions. (You know, the only time Christ is judgmental is on the subject of the poor.) 'As you have done it unto the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto me' (Matthew 25:40). As I say, good news to the poor.

Here's some good news for the president. After 9/11 we were told America would have no time for the world's poor. America would be taken up with its own problems of safety. And it's true these are dangerous times, but America has not drawn the blinds and double-locked the doors.

In fact, you have doubled aid to Africa. You have tripled funding for global health. Mr. President, your emergency plan for AIDS relief and support for the Global Fund - you and Congress - have put 700,000 people onto life-saving anti-retroviral drugs and provided 8 million bed nets to protect children from malaria.

Outstanding human achievements. Counterintuitive. Historic. Be very, very proud.

But here's the bad news. From charity to justice, the good news is yet to come. There is much more to do. There's a gigantic chasm between the scale of the emergency and the scale of the response.

And finally, it's not about charity after all, is it? It's about justice.

Let me repeat that: It's not about charity, it's about justice.

And that's too bad.

Because you're good at charity. Americans, like the Irish, are good at it. We like to give, and we give a lot, even those who can't afford it.

But justice is a higher standard. Africa makes a fool of our idea of justice; it makes a farce of our idea of equality. It mocks our pieties, it doubts our concern, it questions our commitment.

Sixty-five hundred Africans are still dying every day of a preventable, treatable disease, for lack of drugs we can buy at any drug store. This is not about charity, this is about justice and equality.

Because there's no way we can look at what's happening in Africa and, if we're honest, conclude that deep down, we really accept that Africans are equal to us. Anywhere else in the world, we wouldn't accept it. Look at what happened in South East Asia with the tsunami. 150,000 lives lost to that misnomer of all misnomers, "mother nature." In Africa, 150,000 lives are lost every month. A tsunami every month. And it's a completely avoidable catastrophe.

It's annoying but justice and equality are mates. Aren't they? Justice always wants to hang out with equality. And equality is a real pain.

You know, think of those Jewish sheep-herders going to meet the Pharaoh, mud on their shoes, and the Pharaoh says, "Equal?" A preposterous idea: rich and poor are equal? And they say, "Yeah, 'equal,' that's what it says here in this book. We're all made in the image of God."

And eventually the Pharaoh says, "OK, I can accept that. I can accept the Jews - but not the blacks."

"Not the women. Not the gays. Not the Irish. No way, man."

So on we go with our journey of equality.

On we go in the pursuit of justice.

We hear that call in the ONE Campaign, a growing movement of more than 2 million Americans...Left and Right together... united in the belief that where you live should no longer determine whether you live.

We hear that call even more powerfully today, as we mourn the loss of Coretta Scott King - mother of a movement for equality, one that changed the world but is only just getting started. These issues are as alive as they ever were; they just change shape and cross the seas.

Preventing the poorest of the poor from selling their products while we sing the virtues of the free market...that's a justice issue. Holding children to ransom for the debts of their grandparents...that's a justice issue. Withholding life-saving medicines out of deference to the Office of Patents...that's a justice issue.

And while the law is what we say it is, God is not silent on the subject.

That's why I say there's the law of the land�. And then there is a higher standard. There's the law of the land, and we can hire experts to write them so they benefit us, so the laws say it's OK to protect our agriculture but it's not OK for African farmers to do the same, to earn a living?

As the laws of man are written, that's what they say.

God will not accept that.

Mine won't, at least. Will yours?

[pause]

I close this morning on...very...thin...ice.

This is a dangerous idea I've put on the table: my God vs. your God, their God vs. our God...vs. no God. It is very easy, in these times, to see religion as a force for division rather than unity.

And this is a town - Washington - that knows something of division.

But the reason I am here, and the reason I keep coming back to Washington, is because this is a town that is proving it can come together on behalf of what the scriptures call the least of these.

This is not a Republican idea. It is not a Democratic idea. It is not even, with all due respect, an American idea. Nor it is unique to any one faith.

'Do to others as you would have them do to you' (Luke 6:30). Jesus says that.

'Righteousness is this: that one should...give away wealth out of love for him to the near of kin and the orphans and the needy and the wayfarer and the beggars and for the emancipation of the captives.' The Koran says that (2.177).

Thus sayeth the Lord: 'Bring the homeless poor into the house, when you see the naked, cover him, then your light will break out like the dawn and your recovery will speedily spring fourth, then your Lord will be your rear guard.' The Jewish scripture says that. Isaiah 58 again.

That is a powerful incentive: 'The Lord will watch your back.' Sounds like a good deal to me, right now.

A number of years ago, I met a wise man who changed my life. In countless ways, large and small, I was always seeking the Lord's blessing. I was saying, you know, I have a new song, look after it�. I have a family, please look after them�. I have this crazy idea...

And this wise man said: stop.

He said, stop asking God to bless what you're doing.

Get involved in what God is doing - because it's already blessed.

Well, God, as I said, is with the poor. That, I believe, is what God is doing.

And that is what he's calling us to do.

I was amazed when I first got to this country and I learned how much some churchgoers tithe. Up to 10% of the family budget. Well, how does that compare with the federal budget, the budget for the entire American family? How much of that goes to the poorest people in the world? Less than 1%.

Mr. President, Congress, people of faith, people of America:

I want to suggest to you today that you see the flow of effective foreign assistance as tithing.... Which, to be truly meaningful, will mean an additional 1% of the federal budget tithed to the poor.

What is 1%?

1% is not merely a number on a balance sheet.

1% is the girl in Africa who gets to go to school, thanks to you. 1% is the AIDS patient who gets her medicine, thanks to you. 1% is the African entrepreneur who can start a small family business thanks to you. 1% is not redecorating presidential palaces or money flowing down a rat hole. This 1% is digging waterholes to provide clean water.

1% is a new partnership with Africa, not paternalism toward Africa, where increased assistance flows toward improved governance and initiatives with proven track records and away from boondoggles and white elephants of every description.

America gives less than 1% now. We're asking for an extra 1% to change the world. to transform millions of lives - but not just that and I say this to the military men now - to transform the way that they see us.

1% is national security, enlightened economic self-interest, and a better, safer world rolled into one. Sounds to me that in this town of deals and compromises, 1% is the best bargain around.

These goals - clean water for all; school for every child; medicine for the afflicted, an end to extreme and senseless poverty - these are not just any goals; they are the Millennium Development goals, which this country supports. And they are more than that. They are the Beatitudes for a globalised world.

Now, I'm very lucky. I don't have to sit on any budget committees. And I certainly don't have to sit where you do, Mr. President. I don't have to make the tough choices.

But I can tell you this:

To give 1% more is right. It's smart. And it's blessed.

There is a continent - Africa - being consumed by flames.

I truly believe that when the history books are written, our age will be remembered for three things: the war on terror, the digital revolution, and what we did - or did not to - to put the fire out in Africa.

History, like God, is watching what we do.

Thank you. Thank you, America, and God bless you all."

Turner's Creed vs Hardy Shaw

An excerpt from Ravi Zacharias' book "Can Man Live Without God?"

Steve Turner says "No!"...But we try all the time....

Creed by Steve Turner

We believe in Marxfreudanddarwin
We believe everything is OK
as long as you don't hurt anyone
to the best of your definition of hurt,
and to the best of your knowledge.

We believe in sex before, during, and
after marriage.
We believe in the therapy of sin.
We believe that adultery is fun.
We believe that sodomy’s OK.
We believe that taboos are taboo.

We believe that everything's getting better
despite evidence to the contrary.
The evidence must be investigated
And you can prove anything with evidence.

We believe there's something in horoscopes
UFO's and bent spoons.
Jesus was a good man just like Buddha,
Mohammed, and ourselves.
He was a good moral teacher though we think
His good morals were bad.

We believe that all religions are basically the same-
at least the one that we read was.
They all believe in love and goodness.
They only differ on matters of creation,
sin, heaven, hell, God, and salvation.

We believe that after death comes the Nothing
Because when you ask the dead what happens
they say nothing.
If death is not the end, if the dead have lied, then its
compulsory heaven for all
excepting perhaps
Hitler, Stalin, and Genghis Kahn

We believe in Masters and Johnson
What's selected is average.
What's average is normal.
What's normal is good.

We believe in total disarmament.
We believe there are direct links between warfare and
bloodshed.
Americans should beat their guns into tractors .
And the Russians would be sure to follow.

We believe that man is essentially good.
It's only his behavior that lets him down.
This is the fault of society.
Society is the fault of conditions.
Conditions are the fault of society.

We believe that each man must find the truth that
is right for him.
Reality will adapt accordingly.
The universe will readjust.
History will alter.
We believe that there is no absolute truth
excepting the truth
that there is no absolute truth.

We believe in the rejection of creeds,
And the flowering of individual thought.

If chance be
the Father of all flesh,
disaster is his rainbow in the sky
and when you hear

State of Emergency!
Sniper Kills Ten!
Troops on Rampage!
Whites go Looting!
Bomb Blasts School!
It is but the sound of man
worshipping his maker.

Steve Turner, (English journalist),"Creed," his satirical poem on the modern mind. Taken from Ravi Zacharias’ book Can Man live Without God? Pages 42-44

Contrast that to this poem written by Hardy Shaw in the trenches as bombs exploded over head.

Lord God, I have never spoken to You,
But now I want to say how do You do.
You see God, they told me You didn’t exist,
And like a fool I believed all this.
Last night from a shell hole I saw Your sky,
I figured right then, they had told me a lie.
Had I taken time to see the things You made,
I’d have known they weren’t calling a spade a spade.
I wonder, God, if You’ll take my hand,
Somehow I feel that You’ll understand.
Funny I had to come to this hellish place
Before I had time to see Your face.
Well, I guess there isn’t much more to say,
But I’m sure glad, God, I met you today.
I guess zero hour will soon be here
But I’m not afraid since I know You’re near.
The signal! Well, God, I’ll have to go
I like you lots, I want You to know.
Look now this will be a horrible fight,
Who knows I may come to Your house tonight.
Though I wasn’t friendly to You before,
I wonder God, if You’d wait at your door.
Look, I’m crying, I’m shedding tears,
I’ll have to go now God, goodbye.
Strange now that I’ve met You I’m not afraid to die.

- Hardy Shaw