"Preach the Word,

“For thou, LORD, hast made me glad through thy work: I will triumph in the works of thy hands.” Psalm 92:4

Do you find that you are grumpy and critical, always complaining about how bad things are?

The Joy of the Lord is our strength. What does this mean, really? Does it mean we walk around with happy faces all the time? (I hope your answer is, "Much of the time!") No, the joy of the Lord is much deeper than that. It is an everlasting joy. A complete joy. It is a joy based on Him, not our circumstances.

Has your joy been stolen? Reclaim it! Consider the works of His hands. Look at the relationship you have with the Almighty! God’s Word reveals what our present is and what our future will be. We shall not fear. God will prevail.

Have you left your first love? Remember the joy you had upon your second birth. Let joy do it’s work in your heart as you contemplate the work of God’s hands.

"But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee." Psalm 5:11

Hiv/aids infection rates are higher in our nation’s capital than in West Africa. This shocking statistic comes from the 2008 Epidemiology Annual Report, which found that Washington, D.C.’s rates are twice as high as those of New York City and five times higher than Detroit’s.

The definition of a “generalized and severe” epidemic is 1 percent infection. Washington, D.C.’s rate triples that figure at 3 percent.

The report found that over 15,000 residents have hiv or aids. Nearly 10 percent of all residents between 40 and 49 have the virus. Black men have been most affected, with infection rates of 7 percent. The primary means of transmission, confirmed by the report, remains men having sex with men. The incidence of transmission through heterosexual sex or needle sharing is also rising.

Perhaps most alarming is that the 3 percent rate is based only on people who have been tested.

If history is our guide, finding that the U.S. capital has more hiv/aids infections than West Africa will lead only to more “solutions” that do not address the cause—solutions that have already failed, like distribution of free condoms, handing out clean needles, promoting so-called safe sex, and funding it all with tax dollars.

The simple solution escapes the intellectual mindset completely: Do not use intravenous drugs, do not have premarital or extramarital sex, do not participate in homosexuality. For more on how these types of diseases could have been prevented in the first place and how they could be totally wiped out, read “The Simple Solution to the aids Epidemic.”

Such language is ridiculed by the "New Atheists" such as Richard Dawkins, who says the atheists must "spread the good news. Evangelism [to convert the world to atheism] is a moral imperative." Although the Bible clearly distinguishes Christianity from all religions and separates their leaders (Buddha, Muhammad, et al.) from Christ, who is unique, atheists make no such distinction. Consequently, most of their arguments are irrelevant. The Bible denounces all religions as instruments of Satan to keep mankind in darkness, shut off from the light of the gospel by which alone one can be saved, for "the god of this world has blinded the minds of them which believe not" (2 Cor 4:4).

Atheism is just one of the world's religions, and Satanic blindness is reflected in its arguments against God and Christianity. A recent secular article about the New Atheists was titled, "The Church of the Non-Believers." And it is a church-a church to which everyone must belong, if atheists get their way. In their religious fervor to destroy "religious faith" and to convert the entire world to their religion, they are blind to the true faith that motivates biblical Christians.
Dawkins says, "Faith is one of the world's great evils....[It is] belief that isn't based on evidence [and] the principal vice of any religion." Francis Collins, however (in charge of the Human Genome Project involving 2,300 scientists), who turned from unbelief to faith in Christ, says that Dawkins' definition of faith "certainly does not describe the faith of most serious believers of history nor of most of those of my personal acquaintance."

Many famous scientists, Nobel Prize winners, and some of the greatest historians and legal experts have turned from atheism to faith in the resurrected Christ-not by mystical or emotional experience but from verifiable evidence. The early pioneers in science, like Kepler, claimed that it was precisely their conviction that there was a creator that inspired their science to ever-greater heights. "Religion is not only wrong; it's evil," atheists fume, unaware that biblical Christianity is not a religion but a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Leading atheists harangue against religion, blind to the fact that the Bible is not about religion. In its more than 1,000 pages, the phrase "religious faith" is not found once, the word "religion" appears only five times, all in one verse, and the word "religious" twice in the next verse. All but one of these seven references is critical of "religion." Furthermore, in these few times that it mentions religion, the Bible never means what atheists foolishly denounce.

In their war against God, Dawkins and his fellow crusaders dishonestly equate Christian "fundamentalists" with murderous Muslims. In fact, atheists are themselves fundamentalists, seeking to impose their warped interpretation of the fundamentals of science on the world. Nor can the New Atheists be ignorant of the fact that the fundamentals of Islam (according to the Qur'an, Hadith, the dogmas and example of Muhammad, and 1,300 years of history) teach that Islam must be forced upon the entire world by murdering all who refuse to submit to Allah. Christ taught and lived entirely otherwise. Yet the New Atheists persist in equating Islam and Christianity simply because each is considered to be a "faith." Such irresponsible accusations permeate their arguments.

Yes, some who have called themselves Christians (Roman Catholic popes, Eastern Orthodox leaders, crusaders, numerous televangelists, et al.) have been guilty of all manner of evil. In the process, they have violated the teachings and example of Christ. But Muslim terrorists follow both Islamic teaching and the example of Muhammad and his successors who tortured and slaughtered millions from France to China for 13 centuries. Today's terrorism is just a hint of what Islam would continue to do if it could. The fundamentals of true Christianity promote love, freedom of choice, and forgiveness, not hatred and violence. The latter are the trademark of fundamentalist Islam. To equate the fundamentals of Islam with those of Christianity is reprehensible.

Atheists also perversely equate Christianity with the fanaticism and violence of the Crusades and Inquisition. Yet the crusaders were not biblical Christians; they violated everything Christ taught and slaughtered His brethren, the Jews, everywhere they went. It is gross dishonesty to attribute the crusaders' misconduct to biblical Christianity. From the days of Christ, multitudes of Christians have never given allegiance to Rome but to the Bible and to Christ alone. They were martyred by the millions by the church of Rome for centuries before the birth of Luther. From the 16th-century Reformation onward, millions of Roman Catholics embraced faith in the Bible and Christ alone and were martyred by the hundreds of thousands by the popes and their armies. To fail to distinguish between martyrs and their murderers is unconscionable.

The New Atheists, led by Dawkins, call themselves "the brights" and look upon theists as dimwits. Nobel laureate Steven Weinberg recently said, "The world needs to wake up from the long nightmare of religion....Anything we scientists can do to weaken the hold of religion should be done, and may in fact be our greatest contribution to civilization." Richard Dawkins says: "I am utterly fed up with the respect we have been brainwashed into bestowing on religion." Religion? As we've seen, atheists are tilting at windmills. In their fervor to convert the world to their religion, atheists betray their complete ignorance of biblical Christianity. The Bible is not a religious book and does not promote "religion."

Many Christians try to be "scientific" by adopting theistic evolution as compatible with Christianity. Their compromise does not impress atheists. Unashamedly, Dawkins declares that "evolution must lead to atheism" and "the atheist movement has...a moral imperative...to aggressively spread the good news...." Dawkins declares, "Should [theists] be free to impose their beliefs on their children? Is there something to be said for society stepping in?" This is dangerous totalitarian talk that makes one fear for parents and children alike. James Perloff put it well:

"But remember; 'The princess kissed the frog, and he turned into a handsome prince.' We call that a fairy tale. Evolution says frogs turn into princes, and we call it science....Is that science? Or is it, like the fraud of Piltdown Man, the forgeries of Haeckel's embryos, the misrepresentations of Inherit the Wind, and the coercions of the Supreme Court, merely part of a long effort to deny God?"

Atheists who end up in hell cannot blame the God they hate for excluding them from heaven. We need to rescue as many as we can from atheism's lies.

As we all know, the "Lord's prayer" was never prayed by our Lord. It was a pattern for prayer: "After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name..." (Mt 6:9). To repeat these words over and over (instead of using them as a pattern for prayer from the heart) would be to disobey our Lord and to engage in what He strictly forbade: "vain repetition" (6:7).

Certainly this prayer is only for those who know God as their heavenly Father. It is a grievous error common to pseudo-Christianity to assume the universal Fatherhood of God and brotherhood of man. The typical Unity church service, for example, includes this affirmation repeated in unison, "I am a child of God and therefore I do not inherit sickness." Such "positive confessions" have led multitudes astray. Paul declared that we become "the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus" (Gal 3:26).

The fact that this relationship with God as one's Father does not come by natural birth is clear. To those who boasted of being "Abraham's children," Christ countered, "Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do" (Jn 8:44). The rebellion of Adam and Eve, by which they became the followers of Satan as "the god of this world" (2 Cor 4:4), made the devil the patriarch of mankind. That is why Christ told Nicodemus, "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (Jn 3:3). This spiritual birth is an absolute requirement, allowing no exceptions. No one will be in heaven who has not been "born again," both "of water and of the Spirit" (v. 5).

There is a common abuse of this prayer among American athletic teams. A high percentage of teams across America (especially in high school football) pray the "Lord's Prayer" either before or after games. Attitudes of participants vary from skepticism, to suppressed ridicule, to a shrugging acquiescence to something that might now and then bring "good luck." This American tradition is an abomination to God. Phil Jackson, one of the most successful coaches in NBA history, turned from the Pentecostalism in which his co-pastor parents raised him to Zen Buddhism and the occultism of Lakota Indian "spirituality." Yet he still repeats the "Lord's prayer" and has for years encouraged his teams to do so without knowing God or Christ. This unbiblical practice has been one of Satan's major tools of deception.

Confusion reigns over what it means to be "born again." The teaching is rather common that Christ's words, "of water," refer to the protective amniotic water sac that breaks in natural birth, while "of the Spirit" refers to being born of the Spirit of God at the second birth. The latter is true, but the former is false. Everyone enters via the amniotic fluid into the human race. "Born of water" must mean more than that. It would be redundant to say that in order to be born again one must have already been born once. Furthermore, that doctrine would place an unbiblical restriction upon entrance into heaven! Such a proposition would mean that there would be no salvation for anyone who had not experienced natural birth. Thus no fetus that died by whatever means before coming to full-term delivery could be considered a real person eligible for the second birth and heaven, thus allowing abortion at any stage.

The biblical teaching of the "new birth" (becoming a "born-again" Christian) has caused much controversy. Roman Catholics, Presbyterians, Lutherans, and others believe this occurs at baptism. Every Lutheran church follows Luther's Small Catechism. At baptism (usually as a baby), one receives a certificate stating, "In baptism full salvation has been given unto you; God has become your Father, and you have become His child through this act...."

In fact, the Bible teaches that baptism (like the "Lord's prayer") is only for those who have believed the gospel. Baptism testifies to the faith by which one was born again. Otherwise it is meaningless. Infant baptism defies Scripture, denies the gospel, and is a major net by which "the god of this world" gathers multitudes into his kingdom, providing them with false assurance that prevents them from seeing their need to receive Christ as Savior and Lord.

How could a church defend baptizing an infant that cannot understand or believe? It was necessary to claim some efficacy, as the Catechisms say, "in this act of baptism...." This occult lie of spiritual power innate in and released by baptism, burning a candle or incense, doing rituals, priestly hand motions, voice tones, etc., has been for thousands of years the essence of ritual magic, witchcraft, paganism, etc., which anthropologists now call shamanism.

This pernicious delusion is also known as sacramentalism-a heresy so vital to Roman Catholicism that it has its own Latin term: ex opere operato (i.e., "in the act itself"). To deny this doctrine concerning any official sacrament is to deny Roman Catholicism, for which the penalty is automatic excommunication (tantamount to being sentenced to hell). Here it is from The Canons and Decrees of the Council of Trent: Seventh Session...third day of March, 1547, Decree Concerning the Sacraments...Canons on the Sacraments in General [still in full force]:

Can. 4. If anyone says that the sacraments of the New Law are not necessary for salvation but...that without them or without the desire of them men obtain from God through faith alone the grace of justification...let him be anathema.
Can. 8. If anyone says that by the sacraments of the New Law grace is not conferred ex opere operato, but that faith alone in the divine promise is sufficient to obtain grace, let him be anathema.

The grievous heresy of sacramentalism continues to seduce in various forms most "Reformed" churches. R.C. Sproul, for example, justifies infant baptism by likening it to circumcision: "The scriptural case for baptizing believers' infants rests on the parallel between [O.T.] circumcision and N.T. baptism as signs and seals of the covenant of grace....The Old Testament precedent requires it" (Geneva Study Bible, p. 38).

The Ethiopian to whom Philip had just preached Christ from Isaiah 53 (Acts 8:29-35) asked, "See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest" (8:36,37). Philip then baptized him-not by sprinkling or pouring water over him but, obviously, by immersion, for "they went down both into the water" (v. 38). Baptism publicly declares one's faith, identifying the believer with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection. One does not sprinkle dirt on a corpse. One buries it.

If "born of water" does not refer to amniotic fluid or to baptism, what could it mean? The second birth is by the Spirit of God and by water (Jn 3:5), symbolic of the Word of God, as in "the washing of water by the word" (Eph 5:26), and "Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you" (Jn 15:3). When we believe the gospel, we are regenerated and washed clean. "He saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost." Peter declares: "Being born again...by the word of God...which by the gospel is preached unto you" (1 Pt 1:23-25).

Having been brought into the family of God, we address Him as "Father" in prayer. In His high priestly prayer (the true "Lord's prayer" that Christ prayed), He declared, "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent" (Jn 17:3). So the new birth involves knowing the only true God-not being "born again" through baptism, especially of infants. There are millions of so-called gods and numerous prayers to each of them in the various religions they represent. The Bible condemns every one in unmistakable terms:
For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the Lord made the heavens....Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name....[F]ear before him, all the earth....[H]e cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth. (Ps 96:5-13)

According to many of his modern followers, Darwin is the world's greatest scientist, and his theory is the cornerstone of modern biology - if not the whole of modern science.

What, exactly, is Darwin's theory? It is not just "evolution." Evolution can mean "change over time," which no sane person denies. Or it can mean life on Earth has a long history, documented by the fossil record. Yet the general outlines of the fossil record were established before "The Origin of Species" appeared in 1859. And biblical chronology did not play a major role in the 19th-century Darwinian controversies, because by 1859 most educated Christians had accepted geological evidence for an old Earth.

Darwin's theory is that all living things are descendants of a common ancestor, modified by unguided processes such as random variation and natural selection. Although nobody doubts that variation and selection can produce minor changes within existing species ("microevolution"), Darwin claimed that microevolution leads to the origin of new species, organs and body plans ("macroevolution").

Eighty years after "The Origin of Species," evolutionary biologist Theodosius Dobzhansky acknowledged there was still no hard evidence connecting microevolution and macroevolution. Unfortunately, since only microevolution can be observed within a human lifetime, Mr. Dobzhansky wrote, "We are compelled at the present level of knowledge reluctantly to put a sign of equality between the mechanisms of macro- and microevolution, and proceeding on this assumption, to push our investigations as far ahead as this working hypothesis will permit."

This assumption is still an assumption. No one has ever observed the origin of a new species by variation and selection - much less the origin of new organs and body plans. Not even modern genetics has solved the problem. No matter what we do to the DNA of a fruit fly embryo, there are only three possible outcomes: a normal fruit fly, a defective fruit fly or a dead fruit fly. Although Darwin's modern followers claim there is "overwhelming evidence" for his theory, nothing could be further from the truth.

Nor is Darwin's theory the cornerstone of modern biology. Most of the basic disciplines in biology were founded before Darwin's birth - including anatomy, physiology, botany, zoology, microbiology, systematics, embryology and paleontology. During Darwin's lifetime, Gregor Mendel founded genetics and Louis Agassiz and Richard Owen pioneered comparative biology. But none of these scientists accepted Darwinism.

Actually, Darwinism has always been more philosophy than science. Darwin called "The Origin of Species" "one long argument," and it took the following form: The features of living things are "inexplicable on the theory of creation" but fully explicable as products of unguided natural forces. Darwin lacked sufficient evidence for the latter, however, so he ruled out the former by simply declaring that only natural explanations are "scientific."

[Some] atheists want to establish Darwin Day as a secular alternative to Christmas.

Unfortunately, once in power Darwinism (like Marxism) tolerates no dissent. As the 2008 movie "Expelled" documented, scientists and teachers who criticize Darwinism risk ostracism, character assassination and termination of their employment. School boards that encourage students to learn the "strengths and weaknesses" of evolutionary theory are besieged by militant atheists who do not want students to question Darwinism.

<READ MORE HERE>

In vain our fancy strive to paint
The moment after death,
The glories that surround the saints,
When yielding up their breath.


One gentle sigh their fetters breaks;
We scarce can say, “They’re gone!”
Before the departed Christian takes
His mansion near the throne.


Sorrow strives, but all its efforts fail
To trace him in his heavenly flight!
No eye can pierce within the veil
Which hides that city of light.


Thus much (and this is all) we know,
They are completely blest;
Are done with worry, sin, and woe,
And with their Saviour rest.


On streets of gold they praise His name,
His face they always view;
Then let us foll’wers be of them,
That we may praise Him too.


Their faith and patience, love and zeal
Should make their mem’ry dear;
And, Lord, do Thou the pray’rs fulfill
They offer for us remaining here.


While they have gain’d, we losers are,
We miss them day by day;
But thou canst ever’y heart repair,
And wipe our tears away.


We pray, as in Elisha’s case,
When great Elijah went,
May double portions of thy grace
To us who are left, be sent.




Adapted by M. Coon, March 2009

Vatican teaching holds that Roman Catholicism and evolutionary theory are not necessarily at odds. The church under Benedict has been trying to stress that, along with its overall belief that there is no incompatibility between faith and reason.

Pope John Paul II articulated the church's position most clearly in a 1996 address to the Pontifical Academy for Sciences, saying the theory of evolution is "more than a hypothesis."


<READ MORE HERE>

Hmmmm? But what does the Bible say? It doesn't matter to the Vatican they've been ignoring the Bible for generations. Just because it's that 'book' with the whole "only-one-mediator-between-God-and-men" idea anyways. Read 1 Timothy 2:4-6; I John 1:5- 2:2

1 Peter 5:8 "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour."

Webster defines complacency as an attitude of ‘unconcern or self-sufficiency’. In theological terms, one who is complacent shows little concern for things of God...or exhibits an attitude of self-sufficiency which shows no real need for God, or no relationship with God.

How in the world could a Christian fall into such a state? It certainly wouldn’t be intentional!? No, when it happens, it happens gradually, unintentionally.

With the rush of schedules, importance of social things (jobs, school, investments, popularity, multiplicity of activities, etc., etc.) a personal relationship with God in, with, and through His Word and prayer... just gradually gets crowded farther aside day by day. What was once important becomes of no importance. What was first, now becomes last.

For God, the relationship He desires to have with us is always His first importance. He has focused His will on that relationship from eternity. He sent His Son to suffer, die, be raised from the dead to reestablish that relationship with Him that was broken by sin in the Garden so many generations ago. His Son now reigns at his right hand to effect that relationship when we are reunited with Him in ressurected flesh at his Second Coming.

J. C. Ryle, in his writings "The Danger of Christian Complacency" states this:

"Mark what I say. If you want to do good in these times, you must throw aside indecision, and take up a distinct, sharply-cut, doctrinal religion. If you believe little, those to whom you try to do good will believe nothing. The victories of Christianity, wherever they have been won, have been won by distinct doctrinal theology; by telling men roundly of Christ's vicarious death and sacrifice; by showing them Christ's substitution on the cross, and His precious blood; by teaching them justification by faith, and bidding them believe on a crucified Savior; by preaching ruin by sin, redemption by Christ, regeneration by the Spirit; by lifting up the brazen serpent; by telling them to look and live-to believe, repent, and be converted. This-this is the only teaching which for centuries God had honored with success, and is honoring at the present day both at home and abroad.

It is doctrine-doctrine, clear, ringing doctrine which, like the ram's horn at Jericho casts down the opposition of the devil and sin. Let us cling to decided doctrinal views, whatever some may please to say in these times, and we shall do well for ourselves, well for others, and well for Christ's cause in the world." Read More Here

For the eternal benefit of his people, God does not react complacently to those who treat a relationship with him complacently. We see God’s concern reflected in the following passages: "And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with candles, and punish the men that are settled on their lees: that say in their heart, The Lord will not do good, neither will he do evil." Zeph. 1:12 and also "Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, which are named chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel came!" Amos 6:1

God’s strong reaction to a complacent attitude about a relationship with him is not limited to the Old Testament Scriptures. The book of Revelation also shows God’s keen interest in maintaining a viable strong vibrant relationship between him and his people today. Thus the following warnings are written: "And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth." Rev. 3:14-16 and also this passage "Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks; I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted. Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love." Rev. 2:1-4

There are many things that can rob a Christian of their service for Christ. We have already said busyness, the quantity of things, seeking material things, multiple activities, etc. But Jesus also lists other items which we must be ‘on guard’ against. Jesus lists the external pressures from society: "But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues;" Matt. 10:17. Jesus lists the false doctrine (teaching) in Matt. 16:6 where he says, "Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees." And the Apostle Peter warns in 2 Peter 3:17 "Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness."

So how are we to now walk in the Lord and avoid complancency? It's simple: "Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong." 1 Cor. 16:13

Many try and argue and convince others of their false teachings and distract thousands of people with an unscriptural application of "God is love".







In fact the phrase "God is Love" is found only twice in the Bible both times in I John 4 verses 8 and 16. But as the false religious like to throw this phrase in the face of those who protect the truth I would like to point out two other verses from I John 4:

2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: 3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

So if one "believes in God" apart from acknowledging Jesus Christ is God come in the flesh then one is in error and shows no evidence of believing in God.
Okay not satisfied with that answer then how about these verses:

8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. 9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. 10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

So verse 8 is that often misused verse confirming that God is love but notice verses 9 and 10 which further clarify how exactly God manifested His love to mankind, by sending His Son (Jesus Christ) to be our propitiation which is The act of appeasing the wrath and conciliating the favor of an offended person. God is offended by mankind's sin and our replacement who appeased God's wrath...can only be found in Jesus Christ.
So to believe in God one has to believe in who Jesus is and then to believe Jesus one would have to believe what He has said. So it would be a contradiction if one thought that anyone apart from Jesus could give them access to God when very clearly Jesus says that He is the truth and the only way to the Father (John 14:6). So in summation while God is love He is also holy and righteous and only allows unholy, unrighteous man access to Him and Heaven through Jesus Christ. Who loved us so much that He laid down His life for us as that appeasement to God’s righteous, holy wrath…boy that is LOVE!

Many fan sites have been created and many "religious leaders" have embraced the book "Conversations with God" and its author. Many have defended the negative views as coming from narrow-minded, hypocritical people who don't think that God could be revealed this way. One fan site said this:

Now that's one provocative title for a book - Conversations with God. The idea of some guy having a conversation with God can be disturbing/uneasy in several different ways.

Some people, the ones taking religion too seriously have been taught that God does not speak to regular people, and even if he did, he would never sound like the God in Neale's books, but above all he would NEVER say the things written in these books. A God that loves unconditionally, and forgives us everything by default - that is absurd! Heresy! Blasphemy!

I take God seriously when He speaks of His impending judgment and His plan for escaping this judgment. Or His willingness to forgive and yet He holds us accountable for our sin. I pay attention when He speaks of His love and when He mentions the things He despises. I take God serious and so should all of us. And someday all of us will be faced with that reality of who Jesus is (Romans 14:10-13).

The truth is that it doesn't really matter what you believe about God, or if you believe in a God at all. It is the content of the book that is important, not the source! Neale asks God the questions that have been asked by all of us - questions about money, sex, relationships, prosperity, happiness, health, death, the soul, love. And as the book itself says: "believe nothing I say. Simply live it. Experience it. Then live whatever other paradigm you want to construct. Afterward, look to your experience to find your truth." Personally, I have not found better answers. I do not know a better way to live.

My answer to this...simply put it does matter what you believe about God.

God would never contradict Himself. He would not be disgusted by a sin (homosexuality) 3,000 years ago and then suddenly embrace that sin today...God is not an author of lies or contradicts, but we know another spiritual being is the 'father of lies' Jesus answers the 'religiously open-minded leaders of his day with this argument recorded in John 8-

42 Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me. 43 Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. 44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. 45 And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not. 46 Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me? 47 He that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.

So you cannot say "I believe in God" and then deny Jesus as God's Son and the only way to have access to the Father (God) whether that access is a spiritual life, an access through prayer, or a future home in heaven...to deny Jesus Christ is to deny God and any relationship with God! Then is this author replacing Jesus and revealing God apart from Jesus? Is the author revealing God the same way that Jesus did? Or rather is this author revealing God seemingly as a liar and a person of contradictions? I Cor 14:33 in dealing with how God works in the church says that "God is not the author of confusion" and yet we see a very contradictory and confusion God presented in this book and by those who defend the author and his writings.

This is a strong warning to Christians (those who believe in both God and Jesus Christ) to be even more faithful and obedient in these days of the spirit of those who are anti Christ as John wrote "even now already is it in the world" (I John 4:3).

A few days ago I received this email:

If you have children or grandchildren, work with children at church, or you have neighborhood children whose parents you know, please take note of the information below and pass it along to others. Schools are distributing this book to children through the Scholastic Book Club. And a movie is being developed based on this book.

The name of the book is Conversations with God. James Dobson talked about this book twice this week. It is devastating. Parents, churches and Christian schools need to be aware of it. Please pass this information on to Church/e-mail addresses, Parents, Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, friends.

Please pay special attention not only to what your kids watch on TV, in movie theaters, on the internet, and the music they listen to, but also be alert regarding the books they read.

Two particular books are, Conversations with God and Conversations with God for Teens, written by Neale D. Walsch. They sound harmless enough by their titles alone. The books have been on the New York Times best sellers list for a number of weeks, and they make truth of the statement, "Don't judge a book by its cover or title."

The author purports to answer various questions asked by kids using the "voice of God". However, the "answers" that he gives are not Bible-based and go against the very infallible word of God. For instance (and I paraphrase),

When a girl asks the question "Why am I a lesbian?" His answer is that she was 'born that way' because of genetics (just as you were born right-handed, with brown eyes, etc.). Then he tells her to go out and "celebrate" her differences.

Another girls poses the question "I am living with my boyfriend. My parents say that I should marry him because I am living in sin. Should I marry him?"

His reply is, "Who are you sinning against? Not me, because you have done nothing wrong."

Another question asks about God's forgiveness of sin. His reply "I do not forgive anyone because there is nothing to forgive. There is no such thing as right or wrong and that is what I have been trying to tell everyone, do not judge people. People have chosen to judge one another and this is wrong, because the rule is "'judge not lest ye be judged."

Not only are these books the false doctrine of the devil, but in some instances quote (in error) the Word of God.

And the list goes on. These books (and others like it) are being sold to schoolchildren through (The Scholastic Book Club), and we need to be aware of what is being fed to our children.

The children of our nation are under attack. So I pray that you be sober and vigilant about teaching your children the Word of God, and guarding their exposure to worldly mediums, because our adversary, the devil, roams about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8). We know that lions usually hunt for the slowest, weakest and YOUNGEST of its prey.

As most email-chains go if I'm interested in them or their content I often research them online to see if they are in fact fully true or just partially true and which part of course is true. This email sent me on a dizzy search across the internet and what I found out is both the partial truth of this email and the full truth of this book.

First, the area of partial truth from this email and another similar one floating out there in someone else's inbox...this letter is not from James Dobson or Focus on the Family even though some emails allude to it or have Dr. Dobson's signature on it. That is the partial truth.

Now the rest of the email and the description of the book "Conversations With God" is spot on. This book purports to be a true-ish story of a time in the author's life that he was at his 'rock-bottom' suffering lost job, wages, health, etc and it was at this point of his life that God revealed himself. God supposedly gave the author permission to ask God any question he wanted and God would honestly answer it. Funny how some of this makes sense, God is in fact often only 'revealed' to mankind when man is at their lowest point...not because God likes to see us suffer but that is often the only time that we seek Him when all other means and abilities and options are exhausted. Another funny thing is that God already reveals Himself and provides all the answers through the Bible and/or through the Holy Spirit.




Parents do indeed need to be aware of what their children read, see, listen to, etc but pastors you also need to be aware of what your people read and warn them against not just the 'smoking and drinking' kind of "big" sins but also (or rather more boldly) warn them against supposed religious works, too. This author has multiple books out from children's animated books/videos "Little Soul and the Sun" to multiple variants of his "With God" series to a hollywood developed 'lifestory' movie. Remember to be fore-warned is to be fore-armed.

Personal work is the hand-to-hand dealing with men, women and children. It is the simplest form of Christian work, the kind that everyone can do. It is also the most effective method of winning lost souls. This world can be reached and evangelized far more quickly and thoroughly by personal work than by public preaching. Indeed, it can be reached and evangelized only by personal work. When the whole church of Jesus Christ shall rouse to its responsibility and privilege in this matter, and every individual Christian becomes a personal worker, the evangelizing of the world will be close at hand. When the membership of any local church shall rouse to its responsibility and privilege in this matter, and each member becomes a personal worker in the power of the Holy Spirit, a great revival will be close at hand for the community in which that church is located. Personal work is a work that wins but little applause from men, but it accomplishes great things for God.

It's Advantages
1. All can do it. It would be a great blessing if all would become personal workers. Any child of God can do personal work, and all can learn to be effective in personal work.

2. It can be done anywhere. There are but a few places where one can preach. We can do personal work everywhere.

3. It can be done anytime.

4. It reaches all classes. Some cannot and others will not attend church, but personal work can reach them all.

5. It hits the mark. Personal work is direct and personal.

6. It avails where other methods fail.

7. It produces very large results. There is no comparison whatever between what good preaching will effect and what will be affected by constant personal work. A church that depends upon the pastor alone to win men to Christ by his preaching, would not accomplish anything like what would be accomplished by a church with a comparatively poor preacher, where a membership generally were personal workers.

Nothing else would do so much to promote a revival in any community. Every pastor should urge this duty upon his people, train them for it, and see that they do it.



**edited from "How to Work For Christ" by R.A. Torrey, pp. 9-13. This work is public domain.