One Place
This is a post that you might want to link to and pass along.
Most every night I wind down by playing Freecell, Hearts... sometimes a little Solitaire... while listening to something that really settles me down and gets me ready to get a good night's sleep.
Throughout the day, Moody Radio out of Chicago has many 15-25 minute Bible lessons and sermons from some of the best teachers and preachers in the country. And now, through the internet, you can listen to any of these guys - anytime you want.
It's great! One of my favorites is a guy named Tony Evans. He really hits the basics, and hits them well. You'll find him here:
http://www.oneplace.com/ministries/The_Alternative_View/Another is Walk in the Word with James MacDonald.
http://www.oneplace.com/ministries/Walk_in_the_Word/If you want your mind stretched a bit - and you're up to it - try Ravi Zachariah and "Let My People Think."
http://www.oneplace.com/ministries/Let_My_People_Think/Erwin Lutzer always has a good point to make, and you can listen to the hour of the Moody Church service:
http://www.oneplace.com/ministries/Moody_Church_Hour/... or his daily lesson:
http://www.oneplace.com/ministries/Running_To_Win/Dr. David Jeremiah is also one of my favorites:
http://www.oneplace.com/ministries/Turning_Point/You can even introduce your children to old time radio drama with Focus on the Family's Adventures in Odyssey and Adventures in Odyssey Weekend:
http://www.oneplace.com/ministries/Adventures_in_Odyssey/and
http://www.oneplace.com/ministries/Adventures_in_Odyssey_Weekend/But you definitely want to bookmark into your "favorites" the entire list of Moody Radio's offerings here:
http://www.oneplace.com/ministries/Give it a try and enjoy.
Will Radical Islam Be Our Cross?
And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. Matthew 26:39 KJV
A great many Christians in this country start their day on their knees praying a similar prayer concerning Radical Islam. They see what is happening in Europe and they consider the worldwide birth rates among Muslims - and they wonder just what could stem the oncoming inevitability. They cling to the notion that America is blessed by God and that this Christian Nation would never be forsaken by the Almighty. After all, the Christians in this country support Christian Missions throughout the world and are surely the last hope for the message of Christ. They feel entitled to the freedom to worship and the comfortable lifestyle they have come to take for granted.
It's
pretty to think that we are immune from persecution because of our token monetary and personal expenditures towards the Kingdom, but I believe certain facts dowse such confidences.
How many babies has America aborted? Has this rich country instilled sufficient materialism to poison its future, to taint what's left of its values - producing a culture bereft of decency and moral resolve?
And the Church? Moody Radio estimates that 50% of American males and 20% of the females
in the Church are addicted to pornography on the internet and via other sources.
Is it indicative of our lukewarm faith that most American church-goers are better equipped intellectually to quote Seinfeld episodes than scripture? And what percentage of the world's richest Christians actually tithe?
Even if we believe that God awards protection to faithful countries and peoples - we hardly rate His intervention.
I believe that God will mold and structure worldwide events in such a way that will bring glory to Him. In the spiritual realm, the Principalities of Good and Darkness pay attention to more salient realities than our little sense of justice - our perceived notion of entitlement - and glean more
spiritual gravitas from a persecuted huddling of believers in Iran, or a tormented Christian in China, than all the comfortable praise elicited for 60 minutes every week in American Churches.
The "blood of the martyrs" has always been the essence, the nourishment of Faith and Evangelism - sustaining a God-Ordained movement that transcends cultures and countries. Rich and distracted American Christians might be wise to consider how their spiritual pittance weighs against a greater Glory that might weigh upon their future.
Radical Islam may be our Cross - that which separates "the sheep from the goats" and distinguishes the Holy Vestiges from the Lukewarm Enclaves of traditionalist sopophiles. We may pray that this cup passes, but that may not be the plan.
"Embracing the Cross" may become for the American Church a more defining and unpleasant exercise than the ritual mumblings of a spoiled and forgetful flock.
Vote
O God, do not keep silent;
be not quiet, O God, be not still.
See how your enemies are astir,
how your foes rear their heads.
With cunning they conspire against your people;
they plot against those you cherish.
"Come," they say, "let us destroy them as a nation,
that the name of Israel be remembered no more.
"With one mind they plot together;
they form an alliance against you-
Make them like tumbleweed, O my God,
like chaff before the wind.
Psalm 83:1-5,13
Vote.
