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Romans 8:31: If God be for us,
who can be against us?
Philippians 4:13: I can do all things through Christ which
strengthens me.
We establish no religion in this country, nor will we ever. We command no worship. We mandate no belief. But we poison our society when we remove its theological underpinnings. We court corruption when we leave it bereft of belief. All are free to believe or not believe; all are free to practice a faith or not. But those who believe must be free to speak of and act on their belief.
-- Ronald Reagan (Temple Hillel Speech, 1984)
...the reason they fled Babylon was because they found out that their pastor had an elder-approved clothing budget of $60,000 a year built into his financial perks for pastoring. What a dandy. Sounds just like the lowly Nazarene, eh? Five grand a month? Really, dude? Oh, and I almost forgot, he also never wears the same clothes twice when he appears on stage on Sundays. Who does he think he is? Mariah Carey? ... As a 51year-old I’ve had it with the Christian Glitterati obsessed with “success” using ministry as a means to get rich, wear Rolexes and play like they're Ryan Seacrest.
For what it’s worth, my brethren, here’s my advice to saints who might find themselves in a similar silly church situation.
- If your male pastor wears diamond stud earrings, leave.
- If your pastor is forty-plus years old and bleaches the tips of his hair blond, leave.
- If your pastor wears more hair gel than all five guys in the boy band One Direction, leave.
- If your pastor has a church funded clothing budget of any amount, especially a sixty grand a year allowance, leave.
- If your pastor quotes Oprah more than Obadiah, leave.
- If your pastor sounds more like Tony Robbins than the Apostle Paul, leave.
CHAPTER 1, Verses 1-10 - The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John [1] who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw. [2] Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand. [3] John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from his which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne; [4] And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, [5] And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. [6] Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen. [7] I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty. [8] I john, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. [9] I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, [10] Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.
The Islamic conquest of India is probably the bloodiest story in history. It is a discouraging tale, for its evident moral is that civilization is a precious good, whose delicate complex of order and freedom, culture and peace, can at any moment be overthrown by barbarians invading from without or multiplying within.
1 a: sanctioned by Jewish law; especially : ritually fit for use like kosher meat.b: selling or serving food ritually fit according to Jewish law, as a kosher restaurant.2 being proper or acceptable, or satisfactory, as is the deal kosher?
Before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, both young and old, all the people from every quarter; and they called to Lot and said to him, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may have relations with them." But Lot went out to them at the doorway, and shut the door behind him, and said, "Please, my brothers, do not act wickedly. Now behold, I have two daughters who have not had relations with man; please let me bring them out to you, and do to them whatever you like; only do nothing to these men, inasmuch as they have come under the shelter of my roof." But they said, "Stand aside." Furthermore, they said, "This one came in as an alien, and already he is acting like a judge; now we will treat you worse than them." So they pressed hard against Lot and came near to break the door. But the men reached out their hands and brought Lot into the house with them, and shut the door. And they struck the men who were at the doorway of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they wearied themselves trying to find the doorway. Then the men said to Lot, "Whom else have you here? A son-in-law, and your sons, and your daughters, and whomever you have in the city, bring them out of the place; for we are about to destroy this place, because their outcry has become so great before the Lord that the Lord has sent us to destroy it." [wording is EMTV and not original King James version, but source link is directed to the KJV]