Jonah2005bt
Member
- Joined
- Oct 16, 2005
- Messages
- 617
Hi everyone! Here is a letter from Chuck Graham, with an interesting message in it. First of all I want to make this clear I am not here to pick on Michael J. Fox. I have no Idea about what he is doing. For all I know Michael J. Fox, means well in what he is doing, but if it is wrong as Chuck says, then we need to also be praying for Michael J. Fox, as well. Asking GOD to set him straight & to soften his heart to do the right thing.
But please do read what Chuck has to say & share your comments with me & TalkJesus. Thank you & may GOD Bless your every righteous deeds. *genesis
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May God bless you this day … with courage and faith!
Have we become cowards?
Many Christians each day face the possibility of death. Some for the witness of Christ they bear now. Some for the lives they led before they knew Him. It takes great courage and faith just to close their eyes for sleep, even more to awake and face the next day. For them, evil is not only present, it is visible and certain. But for much of Christianity, that clarity of sight is failing. Evil has crept in, causing us to look to our own wants and desires, instead to the needs of others. We've become silent and afraid.
In the next few days, there will be a significant event in the U.S. If you are a Christian in this country, you should be praying. If you are a Christian in another land, you should be praying as well, not only because of how things here seem to affect so much of the world, but especially because what happens here could have a rippling effect throughout the Body of Christ.
On Tuesday we will have elections in this country. I have absolutely no interest in which political party may succeed. I do have every interest in that the will of God succeed. And the first place His will must be exercised is within the hearts and minds of His people. Yet how many of us have prayed in earnest about the decisions to be made or the leadership to be chosen? How many have looked at the candidates to know what they stand for? How many churches the Sunday before gave these elections more than a passing mention? How many chose not to mention them at all? And yet, life hangs in the balance.
This isn't about Iraq, the war on terrorism, or what may happen in Korea, Iran, and other parts of the world. This is about the lives that will never be born, never run and play as children, never grow into adulthood. Lives that will never have the opportunity to be the greatest witness of Jesus Christ in a lost and dying world. This is also about our lives, the ones that have become so self-centered, so self-focused, that we are slowly accepting the destruction of life so that w*e ourselves may live.
A few days ago I heard some people discussing how noble and brave Michael J. Fox is. For those who may not know, he's an American actor with a terrible disease and has become an vocal supporter of political candidates who support embryonic stem cell research. This research removes stem cells from human embryos, destroying them in the process. What otherwise would grow into children, teenagers and adults are killed...all in the name of research.
Mr. Fox has many fans who have great sympathy because of his disease. But his campaign shows just how self-worshiping society has become. The talk is always about future cures, necessary because our lives are so important, but no one asks Mr. Fox, "If you could go back in time, which of your children would you sacrifice in the hope that in some research someone somewhere might find a cure for you?"
I would like to think he would choose not to kill his child. A face to kiss, a body to hug, hands to hold...they have a way of changing everything.
God tells us to do nothing out of selfish ambition. (Philemon 2:3) We often think of this in terms of mistreating others to get ahead, but it actually means that we are not to become consumed with ourselves and notions of self-importance over others. Instead, God says, in humility consider others better than yourselves. Because where there is selfish ambition, there is evil. (James 3:16) I believe Jesus shows us that this can even apply to research which destroys human life as a means to promote our own.
So if your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better to enter heaven crippled or lame than to be thrown into the unquenchable fire with both of your hands and feet. NLT, Matthew 18:8
But this is not about Michael J. Fox's hands and feet. It's about the Body of Christ. Mr. Fox has desire and commitment to a cause for which he has great passion. Why don't we? Why do we remain silent, allowing others to speak for us? Why do we sit by, maybe say a prayer or two, and do nothing? Why do we sit in church and hear nothing? Why do we watch from foreign shores and assume it's their problem?
Pray for us. Pray with us. God has given Christians in the U.S. the incredible opportunity to make changes in this country. Will we stand with God...or are we cowards?
Take care and be God's,
Chuck
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But please do read what Chuck has to say & share your comments with me & TalkJesus. Thank you & may GOD Bless your every righteous deeds. *genesis
**********************************************************
May God bless you this day … with courage and faith!
Have we become cowards?
Many Christians each day face the possibility of death. Some for the witness of Christ they bear now. Some for the lives they led before they knew Him. It takes great courage and faith just to close their eyes for sleep, even more to awake and face the next day. For them, evil is not only present, it is visible and certain. But for much of Christianity, that clarity of sight is failing. Evil has crept in, causing us to look to our own wants and desires, instead to the needs of others. We've become silent and afraid.
In the next few days, there will be a significant event in the U.S. If you are a Christian in this country, you should be praying. If you are a Christian in another land, you should be praying as well, not only because of how things here seem to affect so much of the world, but especially because what happens here could have a rippling effect throughout the Body of Christ.
On Tuesday we will have elections in this country. I have absolutely no interest in which political party may succeed. I do have every interest in that the will of God succeed. And the first place His will must be exercised is within the hearts and minds of His people. Yet how many of us have prayed in earnest about the decisions to be made or the leadership to be chosen? How many have looked at the candidates to know what they stand for? How many churches the Sunday before gave these elections more than a passing mention? How many chose not to mention them at all? And yet, life hangs in the balance.
This isn't about Iraq, the war on terrorism, or what may happen in Korea, Iran, and other parts of the world. This is about the lives that will never be born, never run and play as children, never grow into adulthood. Lives that will never have the opportunity to be the greatest witness of Jesus Christ in a lost and dying world. This is also about our lives, the ones that have become so self-centered, so self-focused, that we are slowly accepting the destruction of life so that w*e ourselves may live.
A few days ago I heard some people discussing how noble and brave Michael J. Fox is. For those who may not know, he's an American actor with a terrible disease and has become an vocal supporter of political candidates who support embryonic stem cell research. This research removes stem cells from human embryos, destroying them in the process. What otherwise would grow into children, teenagers and adults are killed...all in the name of research.
Mr. Fox has many fans who have great sympathy because of his disease. But his campaign shows just how self-worshiping society has become. The talk is always about future cures, necessary because our lives are so important, but no one asks Mr. Fox, "If you could go back in time, which of your children would you sacrifice in the hope that in some research someone somewhere might find a cure for you?"
I would like to think he would choose not to kill his child. A face to kiss, a body to hug, hands to hold...they have a way of changing everything.
God tells us to do nothing out of selfish ambition. (Philemon 2:3) We often think of this in terms of mistreating others to get ahead, but it actually means that we are not to become consumed with ourselves and notions of self-importance over others. Instead, God says, in humility consider others better than yourselves. Because where there is selfish ambition, there is evil. (James 3:16) I believe Jesus shows us that this can even apply to research which destroys human life as a means to promote our own.
So if your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better to enter heaven crippled or lame than to be thrown into the unquenchable fire with both of your hands and feet. NLT, Matthew 18:8
But this is not about Michael J. Fox's hands and feet. It's about the Body of Christ. Mr. Fox has desire and commitment to a cause for which he has great passion. Why don't we? Why do we remain silent, allowing others to speak for us? Why do we sit by, maybe say a prayer or two, and do nothing? Why do we sit in church and hear nothing? Why do we watch from foreign shores and assume it's their problem?
Pray for us. Pray with us. God has given Christians in the U.S. the incredible opportunity to make changes in this country. Will we stand with God...or are we cowards?
Take care and be God's,
Chuck
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