Great Commission Task Force: My Advice

I believe we as a Convention are on a decline and the warning sirens should be sounding off. We need a Great Commission Resurgence in our Convention. This past year our Convention has selected a Great Commission Task Force to help us over come this decline and soar to new heights. I appreciate the work they have done, but I think there is a better way. We need a culture change in our churches. The components the GCR Task Force has submitted to the Executive Committee are not addressing the issue of our decline. We need to raise the expectations and establish new standards in our Convention. South Carolina led the way Empowering Kingdom Growth and we need to lead again. Will you join me and others as we lead our churches on the Great Commission? These components are not solely my idea, but come from across SBC life. I am open to ideas.

Thank you for taking the time to read my thoughts.

Under His Grace,
David Bagwell
Pastor of Bethel Baptist
Oakway, SC

1. We believe in order for us to work together more faithfully and effectively towards the fulfillment of the Great Commission, we will challenge every Southern Baptist student to go the front lines of missions soon after high school for a few months to a year. To make this challenge part of the DNA of our denomination, we challenge parents, pastors, and age-group ministers (both local-church and denominational) to plant this call in the hearts of preschoolers, children, youth, and collegians. In addition, we call on parents to open saving accounts, upon the birth of a child, that later will completely fund that individual's extended mission experience after high school.

2. We believe in order to reach North America and the world it will be through using established churches planting new churches. We expect every Southern Baptist Church to support or plant one Southern Baptist Church every year.

3. Expect every Southern Baptist to take one mission trip every year. As we continue to give the majority of our time to making disciples in our home towns, we will commit, as individuals and families, to give 2% (one week) of our time in Gospel ministry outside of our home town for the sake of God’s glory in all the world. Everything we do as Southern Baptists, we do ultimately for the sake of God’s glory in all nations. Through short-term missions, we can encourage one another to give 2% of our time each year in contexts around the world in a way that transforms the other 98% of our time here in the process. We can invest in national disciple-makers and churches in other contexts and equip them to go into the world with us. We can join hands with faith families all around the world and together, through short-term missions, we can impact the world. The Win is World-Impacting Disciple-Makers: We win when men and women are multiplying the Gospel by making disciples of all nations with their lives. We can be a faith family full of world-impacting disciples who really believe that as a church we can shake the nations for His glory!

4. Expect every State Convention to do a 50/50 split in 10 years. We need to get more funds to IMB and NAMB in order to reach more people for Jesus Christ, but we also need to reach our individual states for Jesus Christ. People from all over the world and the country are coming here to live. These are people who have never heard the gospel and who come from different faiths and ethnic backgrounds. We have a need to educate the next generation pastors, evangelists, and missionaries, so we must continue to support our state Baptist universities. We have a need to continue to reach out to the orphans and widows in our state as mandated by scripture. There is a need to refocus, retune, and reorganize our state conventions.

5. Expect every Southern Baptist Church to pursue a standard of giving of 10% of the tithes to the Cooperative Program. A standard, a goal, and an expectation need to be set for our churches and although we cannot mandate this we can make it an expectation. This should be an expectation for any church or church leader who wants to serve in a leadership position in our state convention.

6. Empower the International Mission Board to pursue its mission to reach unreached people groups wherever they are found in cooperation with the North American Mission Board.

Obama's Favorite Theologian

How Obama's favorite theologian shaped his first year in office

By John Blake,

CNNUPDATED: 01:41 PM EST 02.05.10(CNN)

In the summer of 1943, when Adolf Hitler's armies marched unchecked across Europe, a pastor in a remote New England village decided to write a prayer."God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change," he began, "the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference."It is now known as the Serenity Prayer. It's been adopted by 12-step recovery programs and cited in numerous self-help books. Yet few people know who wrote it. His name is Reinhold Niebuhr, and he was a Protestant pastor in the mid-20th century whose words tended to unsettle people, not offer comfort.
Niebuhr is getting attention again because he has a fan in the Oval Office.In a widely cited New York Times column, President Obama called Niebuhr his "favorite philosopher." But how precisely has Niebuhr's philosophy influenced Obama and his handling of everything from health care reform to fighting terrorists?The answer may be seen by looking at Obama's first year in office, several scholars, and a relative of Niebuhr's, suggest.Who was Niebuhr?
At first, there seems to be little resemblance between the cool, cerebral Obama and the pugnacious Niebuhr.
Niebuhr was a blunt critic of morally complacent Christians. He thought the church was full of idealists who believed that progress was inevitable and that love alone would ultimately conquer injustice, some Niebuhr scholars say."He said there was a difference between being a 'fool for Christ' and a plain damn fool," says Richard Crouter, author of the upcoming book "Reinhold Niebuhr: On Politics, Religion and Christian Faith.
"Niebuhr lived during an age of global calamities. He was born in Missouri in 1892, the son of a German-born minister. He preached and taught theology during the Great Depression and World War II. He saw the suffering of workers at Henry Ford's auto plant -- lack of pensions, dismissals for sickness -- when he became a pastor in Detroit, Michigan, Crouter says."The greed of capitalism and the business class was huge in his mind," Crouter says. "It had to be combated."So would other forms of evil. Niebuhr wrote movingly about the power of nonviolence. But when Hitler rose to power in the 1930s, Niebuhr drew criticism from Christian pacifists and others for urging the U.S. to enter the war, says Jordan Copeland, an assistant professor of religion at La Salle University in Pennsylvania.
Niebuhr would attract more criticism after the war for supporting "containment," the U.S. Cold War policy of using military, economic and diplomatic force to counter the influence of the Soviet Union, Copeland says."He criticized Christian idealists who thought force was never justified and who believed that the law of love was a simple solution to social and political problems," Copeland said. "At times, power must be challenged by power."
Niebuhr distilled his view of human nature in his monumental book, "Moral Man and Immoral Society." The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. cited the book in his "Letter from Birmingham City Jail." Former President Carter is also an admirer of Niebuhr's.
People are capable of doing good, but groups are driven by "predatory self-interest," Niebuhr wrote."As individuals, men believe that they ought to love and serve each other and establish justice between each other," Niebuhr wrote. "As racial, economic and national groups, they take for themselves, whatever their power can command."How is Obama shaped by Niebuhr?Tough talk, but how does it give us insight into Obama?
The president's political rhetoric reflects some of Niebuhr's world view, says great-nephew Gustav Niebuhr. He says Obama, like his great-uncle, avoids moral absolutes in his speeches: The U.S. is not always right, and its enemies are not always evil.Niebuhr says he saw this attitude embedded in Obama's speech to the Arab world in Cairo, Egypt, last year.
Obama acknowledged U.S. involvement in helping overthrow a democratically elected government in Iran during the 1950s and avoided "clash of civilizations" rhetoric that implied that the U.S. is free of moral taint."We can't see ourselves as the ultimate arbiter for what's good and moral," says Gustav Niebuhr, director of the Religion and Society Program at Syracuse University. "Reinhold would say to do that is to claim a perfectionism that doesn't belong to human beings.
"When Niebuhr died in 1971, Gustav had just turned 16. But he still remembers the letters and toys his great-uncle sent him.Gustav Niebuhr says he's gratified but not surprised that Obama would gravitate to his great-uncle.
"Obama is a very deep-thinking person, from what I can tell," Niebuhr said. "He is very attuned to nuance. I think he's found a philosopher that suits his temperament."Crouter says he can see Niebuhr's pragmatism and moral complexity in Obama's governing style.Some Americans became disenchanted by the apparent backstage tradeoffs Obama was accused of making in health care negotiations.
Niebuhr thought, however, that well-meaning people often couldn't get anything done because they preferred to appeal to people's altruism, not their self-interest, Crouter says."He thought that sometimes getting your hands dirty with self-interested folks is the only way to make progress," Crouter says. "If you don't believe the Kingdom of God is just around the corner, the best you can sometimes do is take baby steps toward justice.
"What Obama said about NiebuhrIn a 2007 interview, Obama explained to David Brooks, a New York Times columnist, what he learns from Niebuhr.He called Niebuhr his "favorite philosopher," Brooks wrote."I take away," Brooks quoted Obama as saying, "the compelling idea that there's serious evil in the world and hardship and pain. And we should be humble and modest in our belief that we can eliminate those things. But we shouldn't use that as an excuse for cynicism and inaction. I take away ... the sense that we have to make these efforts knowing they are hard, and not swinging from naive idealism to bitter realism."
Obama's efforts to balance idealism with realism can be seen in his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech in Oslo, Norway, in December, other scholars say.Obama, a student of the civil rights movement, declared that he was a "living testimony to the moral force of nonviolence." Yet force is necessary at times, he said."A nonviolent movement could not have halted Hitler's armies," Obama said. "Negotiations cannot convince al Qaeda's leaders to lay down their arms.""Niebuhr would have loved that [Oslo] speech," says John Danforth, an Episcopal priest and a former Republican senator who also admires Niebuhr."I was very impressed with that speech,"
Danforth says. "He said you need to deal with terrorists in a very hard-nosed, pragmatic way but hold to American standards."Yet Danforth says there are critical differences between Obama and Niebuhr."I see in Obama's approach to politics, which is surprisingly partisan and ideological, a hubris that is not Niebuhrian," says Danforth, who is also a partner at the Bryan Cave law firm in St. Louis, Missouri.
Niebuhr may still have some lessons to teach Obama.As the president pivots to his second year in office, there are reports that he is trying to connect better with ordinary Americans. Niebuhr's Serenity Prayer has been doing that for 60 years, says BJ Gallagher, author "It's Never Too Late to Be What You Might Have Been" and an admirer of the Serenity Prayer."He saw that religion and theology were real-word issues," Gallagher says. "Theology isn't just for people in church or academe. Theology is for people in their homes, their businesses, their government and their communities. It helps you live your life well."
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Disturbing...

From Bill O'Reilly

"Right now, President Obama should be war-gaming with the U.S. Navy, contemplating a blockade of Iran. That, of course, would provoke hostilities but it would also send the Mullahs a message they could not ignore.That is the only way Iran is going to stop its nuclear program and if President Obama doesn't take that action, Israel will bomb the Iranians and that will lead to worldwide chaos.Stock markets will drop. Oil will go through the roof. Terrorist recruitment will also skyrocket. Attacks on American interests will increase. Iraq will blow up. The unintended consequences of an Israeli attack on Iran are staggering."
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Fw: The Blood {Jan Bagwell Ministries}

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

---

From: "Jan Bagwell"
Date: Sat, 29 Aug 2009 04:05:44 -0400
To: David Bagwell<Davesworld@aol.com>; Easlic Linda B<lbeaslic@aol.com>; Bill Armstrong<armstrong_1952@yahoo.com>; bonnie alverson<bonnie_alverson@yahoo.com>
Subject: The Blood {Jan Bagwell Ministries}

One night in a church service a young woman felt the tug of God at her heart.

She responded to God's call and accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior.

The young woman had a very rough past, involving alcohol, drugs, and prostitution.

But, the change in her was evident. As time went on she became a faithful member of the church.

She eventually became involved in the ministry, teaching young children.

It was not very long until this faithful young woman had caught the eye and heart of the pastor's son.

The relationship grew and they began to make wedding plans.

This is when the problems began.

You see, about one half of the church did not think that a woman with a past such as hers was suitable for a pastor's son.

The church began to argue and fight about the matter.

So they decided to have a meeting.

As the people made their arguments and tensions increased, the meeting was getting completely out of hand.

The young woman became very upset about all the things being brought up about her past.

As she began to cry the pastor's son stood to speak.

He could not bear the pain it was causing his wife to be. He began to speak and his statement was this:


"My to be wife  past is not what is on trial here.

What you are questioning is the ability of the blood of Jesus to wash away sin.

Today you have put the blood of Jesus on trial. So, does it wash away sin or not?"

The whole church began to weep as they realized that they had been slandering the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Too often, even as Christians, we bring up the past and use it as a weapon against our brothers and sisters.

Forgiveness is a very foundational part of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

If the blood of Jesus does not cleanse the other person completely then it cannot cleanse us completely.

If that is the case, then we are all in a lot of trouble.

What can wash away my sins?

Nothing but the blood of Jesus! End of case!!!!

"Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved."

Psalm 55:23

 This prayer is powerful and prayer is one of the best gifts we receive.

There is no cost but a lot of rewards, let's continue to pray for one another.

Here is the prayer:

"Father, I ask you to bless my friends, relatives and email buddies reading this right now.

Show them a new revelation of your love and power. Holy Spirit, I ask you to minister to their spirit at this very moment.

Where there is pain, give them your peace and mercy. Where there is self doubt, release a renewed confidence through your grace.

In Jesus' precious name.

Amen

--
Posted By Jan Bagwell to Jan Bagwell Ministries at 8/29/2009 03:55:00 AM

---

 

Florida School Officials Face Jail for Mealtime Prayer

Florida School Officials Face Jail for Mealtime Prayer

Aug 15, 2009 11:03 AM EDT

A principal and an athletic director in Florida could be charged with crimes and spend six months in jail after they prayed before a meal at a school event, the Washington Times reported.

Pace High School Principal Frank Lay and athletic director Robert Freeman will go on trial in federal district court Sept. 17. They're accused of violating the conditions of a lawsuit settlement reached last year with the American Civil Liberties Union, according to the Times.

Local pastors and some students and teachers are outraged that Lay and Freeman face criminal charges, and they have protested during graduation ceremonies, the newspaper said. "I have been defending religious freedom issues for 22 years, and I've never had to defend somebody who has been charged criminally for praying," said Mathew Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel, the Christian-based legal group that is defending the two school officials. But an ACLU official said the Santa Rosa County School District has been guilty of "flagrant" First Amendment violations for years, the Times reported.

"The defendants all admitted wrongdoing," said Daniel Mach, ACLU's director of litigation for its freedom of religion program. "For example, the Pace High School teachers handbook asks teachers to 'embrace every opportunity to inculcate, by precept and example, the practice of every Christian virtue.'"

The case stems from a Jan. 28 incident in which Lay, a local Baptist church deacon, asked Freeman to offer mealtime prayers at a lunch for school employees. Staver said no students were there and the event took place on school property after hours. Mach countered that the event was held during the school day and Lay has admitted in writing that there were students present, according to the newspaper.

The ACLU contends that the allowance of the lunchtime prayer was a breach of last year's settlement, in which the district promised, among other things, to prohibit all school employees from promoting prayers during school-sponsored events, espousing their religious beliefs and trying to convert students.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Two Little Boys

Two Little Boys     

There were two little boys Walking down a dusty lane...

They came upon this old white house With broken window panes. The paint was faded, the shine was gone... The grass had grown so high. Still they made their little feet go To see what was inside. They opened up the squeaky door And then it came to light. This must have been an old church house...Once upon a time. Dirty, dusty wooden pews...

A pulpit that still stood A Bible laid upon it Though the pages weren't too good. An offering plate and song books too Were lying on the floor. They must have left this old church fast The day they closed these doors. And over in the corner. A piano was still there... It must have played a pretty tune...

But I guess nobody cared. So little Bill looked up at Tommy And Tommy looked at Bill. 'Why don't we clean this old church up, And get these old pews filled? 'They took a rag and wiped the dust, To try, and make things shine.... And then they took the offering plate... And put in it their last dime.

They took a broom and swept the floor And picked up broken glass They got it all so nice and neat And then they mowed the grass. They lifted up the old church sign And stood it by a tree. Right down by that old dirt road Where everyone could see.

They ran back home, to find Daddy gone But their Momma was inside.. Just to find her hurt again When Daddy had made her cry. Don't cry Momma, wipe those tears, 'Little Bill and Tommy smiled. 'Cause we have a big surprise for you... Just down the road a mile. 'Hand in hand they tugged at her ..Until they made her run...

'What Is it Bill, Oh Tommy, Just what have you two kids done? 'And then they came upon the house. Once hidden by the weeds. And there it stood, a country church. Just like it used to be.

But what is it, Mother? What's with your tears? We thought this would bring you joy. ''Yes, but hush kids now and listen close. My two sweet precious boys. 'They both got quiet and stood real still... For the words they heard so true... Was Daddy praying in the church With his head bowed on the pew.

'Forgive me Lord! Forgive me Lord! Though I'm not worthy of Your love Shine down on this sinner man. Sweet Salvation from above. 'For I've been out in the world, You know Living my life all wrong...

Until I came upon this church; The place where I belong. ''I never noticed it before. All those times I passed it up I guess I wasn't looking, Lord Or maybe I was drunk. ''Bless oh Lord, yes, bless oh Lord, The one who made me see... This little church that used to hide... Behind all those tall weeds.

'And then he raised his head and stood With his hands high in the air. To find two, dirty, tear-faced boys. With Momma standing there .They ran up to him, hugged him tight.

As their tears fell on the floor... 'Don't worry kids, I'm not the Dad, The one you've known before. 'Things are different for us now. So keep on those pretty smiles... And let's go gather people in. To walk down these church aisles.

'Then Bill looked up at Tommy And Tommy looked at Bill' Come on brother, let's get to work. To get these old pews filled.'

'For we need no special blessing for cleaning up this church...'Cause God gave us back our Daddy...And that's more than gold is Worth. 'Sunday morning, pews all filled. And smiles on every face Especially two little country boys The ones who found this place.

Though it was hid back in the weeds. And so far out of sight Nothing's ever hard to find...If you're walking toward God's light.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Muslim Teen Who Became Christian Fears for Her Life

Muslim Teen Who Became Christian Fears for Her Life

Aug 11, 2009 5:59 PM EDT

An Ohio teenager says she ran away from home to Florida because her family threatened to kill her for converting from Islam to Christianity, local media reported.

Rifqa Bary, 17, testified Monday at a custody hearing in Orlando that she'd recently changed religions and is worried her relatives will do something drastic, according to WFTV in Orlando and Central Florida News 13. "They have to kill me because I'm a Christian. It's an honor (issue)," the girl told WFTV.

Such threats are common, even in the United States, her attorney, Rosa Gonzalez, told News 13. "She says her life is in danger and she could be killed in an honor killing," Gonzalez said after the hearing - which was held because the teenager's parents are trying to regain custody of her.

Rifqa, a non-citizen whose parents are from Sri Lanka, has for several weeks been staying with an Orlando couple who are pastors of a new Christian church there. She met them on a Facebook prayer group.

The Florida Department of Children and Families currently has custody of her, but ultimately, Ohio authorities will decide where the teen should live.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Asking for Mountains

I wanted to share my devotional that I had this morning.

Asking for Mountains

8/3/2009

"Now therefore, give me this mountain of which the Lord spoke in that day; for you heard in that day how the Anakim were there, and that the cities were great and fortified. It may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall be able to drive them out as the Lord said.

"JOSHUA 14:12"

Caleb's faith in God never wavered though everyone around him doubted. God convinced Caleb that the children of Israel should enter the Promised Land, but the people were intimidated by giants and fortified cities (Num. 13:28-33).

Their disbelief forced Caleb to wait forty years in the wilderness before he finally entered the Promised Land. Even after all those years, Caleb was as confident as ever in God's power. When God was dividing the land among the Israelites, the people were asking for the lush valleys and grassy plains. Caleb asked for a mountain. The Israelites had driven their enemies into the mountains, where they had built fortresses. This did not intimidate Caleb -- he asked for a challenge! He did not trust in his own strength but in God's presence.

Caleb longed to see God work in power, and he knew he would be less likely to rely on God if he dwelt in the easy places. He chose a situation in which he would have to trust in God. Caleb knew his inheritance from God was on the mountain. He refused to allow the difficulty of gaining it to stop him from enjoying all that God had promised him. If you always choose the easy way, asking for the peaceful valleys, you will never see God's power displayed to enable you to take a mountain. Seek out the mountains, and you will witness God doing things through your life that can only be explained by His mighty presence."    

You can learn more about Dr. Blackaby, his writings, and his ministry at

www.blackaby.org,

or write:

Blackaby Ministries InternationalP.O. Box 16338Atlanta, GA 30321
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Celebration

To my loving Church Family, 

On this date July 23, 2009 I celebrate 3 years as pastor of Bethel.  Thank you for a wonderful 3 years! I am honored and humbled to be your pastor and I can not thank you enough for showing such love and compassion to my family.  I look forward to serving as your pastor for many more years to come.  As you know this Saturday I will lead our youth to be on mission for Christ in Jacksonville, Florida and there is no better way to celebrate my 3 years than to be on mission for Jesus!  

With love from your pastor, 

Pastor David 
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Church being a CHURCH!

Martha Stroud Vaughan experience tonight at her church! A MUST READ!

Worship rehearsal was truly rehearsal for eternity. 125+ choir members went to sing in the yard of a precious member for whom hospice has been called in. She was able to be out on the porch where we sang some worship songs and prayed with her. It was a sweet and awesome time. All accapella and the harmonies were lifting to the heavens under the canopy of wet glistening trees. What a wonderful blessing.

Wow, that wz an incredible God story! A Church truly being a CHURCH! Thank you for sharing Aunt Martha!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

SUNDAY SCHOOL VS. SMALL GROUPS

http://www.lifeway.com/sundayschoolvssmallgroups/index.html

Check out this link!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

SUNDAY SCHOOL VS. SMALL GROUPS

SUNDAY SCHOOL VS. SMALL GROUPS
http://www.lifeway.com/sundayschoolvssmallgroups/index.html

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Happy 4th of July!

Bethel's 4th of July Celebration is @ 630 pm! Inflatables, Games, & Fireworks!!!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

The Bell

I really hope you take the time to read it all. I don't know who the author is, it is worth the read.


I've held many things in my hands, and I have lost them all; but whatever I've placed in God's hands that I still possess.
Just up the road from my home is a field with two horses in it. From a distance, each looks like every other horse. But if you stop your car or are walking by, you will notice something quite amazing.

Looking into the eyes of one horse will disclose that he is blind. His owner has chosen not to have him put down, but has made a good home for him. This alone is amazing. If nearby and listening, you will hear the sound of a bell.

Looking around for the source of the sound, you will see that it comes from the smaller horse in the field. Attached to her halter is a small bell. It lets her blind friend know where she is, so he can follow her. As you stand and watch these two friends, you'll see how she is always checking on him, and that he will listen for her bell and then slowly walk to where she is, trusting that she will not lead him astray.

When she returns to the shelter of the barn each evening, she stops occasionally and looks back, making sure her friend isn't too far behind to hear the bell.

Like the owners of these two horses, God does not throw us away just because we are not perfect or because we have problems or challenges. God watches over us and even brings others into our lives to help us when we are in need.

Sometimes we are the blind horse being guided by the little ringing bell of those who God places in our lives. Other times we are the guide horse, helping others see. Good friends are like this. You don't always see them, but you know they are always there.

Please listen for my bell and I'll listen for yours.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

IMG00003.jpg

Oops! Someone forgot to spell check!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

The Prophetic Precision of Palm Sunday Matthew 21:1-11

For the last few weeks in our Prophetic Series What’s Next 2005 we have been in Matthew 24. Have you ever wondered what the context of that passage is? When in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ did that incredible sermon about the future fit?
Please open with me to this day in Christ's life in Matthew 21. We find Palm Sunday in all four Gospels (Matthew 21; Mark 11; Luke 19; John 12). But our reading this morning will be Matthew 21:1-11.
Palm Sunday was followed by Doomsday Tuesday. Yes, just two days after this Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem Jesus saw and described the destruction coming in the near and far future. The context of Matthew 24 and the end of the world is Matthew 21 and the Palm Sunday entry of Jesus.
This morning we have remembered one of the greatest days of history, the day Jesus Christ rode into Jerusalem as the Passover Lamb of God to take away the sin of the world.
This coming Thursday we as a church are celebrating the Last Supper Seder remember what Jesus did. But this morning, may I impress upon your hearts the wonder of this day in God's Word?
Palm Sunday is a day of Prophetic Precision! Palm Sunday is a day in the life of Christ that mirrors literally scores of prophecies God made in the Bible that are fulfilled with pin point accuracy!
We should remind ourselves of just how unique, and how powerful is our God. Why? For just one reason this morning – the prophetic precision that God demonstrates though dozens of pinpoint accurate promises He sent in His Word centuries before the events occurred! And as we see all this, our hearts should be strengthened to trust even more our great God who wants to direct our paths, wants us to trust and obey Him, and wants us to do His will, not our own!
This morning we are looking at the Prophetic Precision of Christ's Death. In fact there were thirty-three prophecies fulfilled on the single day when the Lord Jesus died.
Always remember that one of the strong evidences of divine inspiration of the Bible (not found in other religious books of either past or present) consists of its hundreds of fulfilled prophecies. These are not vague or ambiguous (as in various occult writings) but are specific and detailed, often made hundreds or thousands of years in advance of the event. Many are being fulfilled today, thereby indicating the probable soon return of the Lord Jesus Christ.
So, the most powerful evidence that God wrote the Bible is the phenomenon of fulfilled prophecy. The Bible is unique among all the religious books of mankind in this respect. Some of them contain a few vague forecasts, but nothing comparable to the vast number of specific prophecies found in the Bible.
It is easy, of course, to prophesy that someone will die. Everyone must die sooner or later, and it surely takes no gift of prophetic insight to predict death. For that matter, many men and women, especially those who have a morbid interest in the occult, make death a very frequent subject of prophecy. Some of these (e.g., Jeanne Dixon’s famous prophecy of John Kennedy’s assassination) seem to come true, perhaps suggesting that demonic forces do have some limited knowledge of human plans and can occasionally forecast the events which they bring about, though of course most such soothsaying predictions are never fulfilled at all.
There is nothing in all human history, however, comparable to the prophecies associated with the death of Christ. These were not vague and hidden, like those of fortune-tellers, nor were they given only a short time before they were fulfilled, as are those of modern occultists. There are scores, perhaps hundreds, of such prophecies in the Old Testament that focus on the death of the coming Messiah, and many of them are very detailed and specific. All were recorded hundreds of years, some over a thousand years, before they were fulfilled. There are over 90 such Old Testament prophecies which are specifically quoted by New Testament writers in a Messianic sense.

Christian Life - Discipleship

Ruth Bell Graham writes of an encounter she had with a young Indian student named Pashi. She spoke with Pashi about Christ, to which he replied, "I would like to believe in Christ, and many in India would like to believe, but we have never seen a Christian who was like Christ."
A friend of Mrs. Graham told her to tell Pashi, "I'm not offering you Christians. I am offering you Christ." Good point. No one will ever be excused for not believing in Christ on the basis of Christians' lack of faithfulness. On the other hand, we should ask ourselves the question, "What does a person look like who says he's a follower of Christ? Should Christians be like Jesus Christ?" Perhaps the most well-known answer to that question is the description given of David: a man after God's own heart, committed to doing all of God's will. Perhaps, then, that's what a Christian should be - a person committed to doing all of God's will. If a government order were issued to arrest everyone who "appears" to be a Christian, would you be incarcerated?
The person after God's heart is the person whose own heart seeks first the kingdom of God.

snow 008.jpg

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Children Rights

*Read this article on Foxnews...Does it concern you?

Boxer Seeks to Ratify U.N. Treaty That May Erode U.S. Rights
Sen. Barbara Boxer is pushing the Obama administration to move forward with ratification of the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, a controversial treaty that has never gained much support in the U.S.
By Joseph Abrams
FOXNews.com
Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., is advocating the ratification of a U.N. treaty that some legal experts worry may erode U.S. sovereignty (AP photo).

Sen. Barbara Boxer is urging the U.S. to ratify a United Nations measure meant to expand the rights of children, a move critics are calling a gross assault on parental rights that could rob the U.S. of sovereignty.

The California Democrat is pushing the Obama administration to review the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, a nearly 20-year-old international agreement that has been foundering on American shores since it was signed by the Clinton administration in 1995 but never ratified.
Critics say the treaty, which creates "the right of the child to freedom of thought, conscience and religion" and outlaws the "arbitrary or unlawful interference with his or her privacy," intrudes on the family and strips parents of the power to raise their children without government interference.

Nearly every country in the world is party to it -- only the U.S. and Somalia are not -- but the convention has gained little support in the U.S. and never been sent to the Senate for ratification.
That could change soon.

Boxer has made clear her intent to revive the ratification process under the Obama administration, which may be amenable to the move. During a Senate confirmation hearing last month, Boxer said she considers it "a humiliation" that the U.S. is "standing with Somalia" in refusing to become party to the agreement, while 193 other nations have led the way.
The U.S. is already party to two optional pieces of the treaty regarding child soldiers and child prostitution and pornography, but has refused to sign on to the full agreement, something which has rankled members of Congress, including Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.

"Children deserve basic human rights ... and the convention protects children's rights by setting some standards here so that the most vulnerable people of society will be protected," Boxer said.
The convention has established a Committee on the Rights of the Child, an 18-member panel in Geneva composed of "persons of high moral character" who review the rights of children in nations that are party to the convention.

But legal experts say the convention does nothing to protect human rights abroad -- and that acceding to the convention would erode U.S. sovereignty.

Because of the Supremacy Clause in Article VI of the Constitution, all treaties are rendered "the supreme law of the land," superseding preexisting state and federal statutes. Any rights or laws established by the U.N. convention could then be argued to hold sway in the United States.
"To the extent that an outside body, a group of unaccountable so-called experts in Switzerland have a say over how children in America should be raised, educated and disciplined -- that is an erosion of American sovereignty," said Steven Groves, a fellow at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank.

Parental rights groups are similarly stirred; they see in the U.N. convention a threat that the government will meddle with even the simplest freedoms to raise their children as they see fit.
"Whether you ground your kids for smoking marijuana, whether you take them to church, whether you let them go to junior prom, all of those things . . . will be the government's decision," said Michael Farris, president of ParentalRights.org. "It will affect every parent who's told their children to do the dishes."

Groves said that erosion has already begun, as the Supreme Court has referred to the wide acceptance of the child-rights law in conferring legal protections on minors in the U.S.
Justice Anthony Kennedy, writing the majority opinion in the 2005 decision banning the death penalty for minors, noted that "every country in the world has ratified [the convention] save for the United States and Somalia."

Proponents of the convention in the U.S. stress that it will help secure human rights abroad.
"Now, all you have to do is look around the world and see these girls that are having acid thrown in their face," Boxer said in January, implying that the U.S. refusal to come aboard has led to abuses elsewhere.

But when acceding to the convention, countries are able to sign so-called RUDs -- reservations, understandings and declarations -- that can hinder or negate responsibilities they would otherwise be bound to follow.

Most majority Muslim nations express reservations on all provisions of the convention that are incompatible with Islamic Sharia law, which takes much of the teeth out of the treaty. Acid attacks on girls continue in Afghanistan, which is already party to the convention.
The U.N. itself admits that there is no way for it to enforce its own laws and protect children.
"When it comes to signatories who violate the convention and/or its optional protocols -- there is no means to oblige states to fulfill their legal obligations," said Giorgia Passarelli, a spokeswoman for the U.N. High Commission on Human Rights, which oversees the child-rights body.
Passarelli said that the committee has kept a constant spotlight on rights violators and fed into decisions made by the Security Council, especially involving child soldiers. But even then, she added, such pressure does not always prevail.

Despite these obstacles, Boxer has made clear that she intends to ramp up pressure to get the treaty ratified, a passion that may be shared by the Obama administration.
During the Oct. 22, 2008, presidential youth debate, Obama promised to "review this and other treaties to ensure the United States resumes its global leadership in human rights."
During U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice's January confirmation hearing, Rice called the convention "a very important treaty and a noble cause," and said it was "a shame" for the U.S. to be in company with Somalia, which has no real government.

Rice told Boxer that "there can be no doubt that [President Obama] and Secretary Clinton and I share a commitment to the objectives of this treaty and will take it up as an early question," promising to review the treaty "to ensure that the United States is playing and resumes its global leadership role in human rights."

Boxer, who sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, pushed for a 60-day timetable to review the convention and report back to the Senate -- which would have left the Obama administration a March 23 deadline to move toward ratification.
Rice politely sidestepped and refused to agree to the timeline.

"This is a complicated treaty, in many respects more than some others, given our system of federalism, and so we need to take a close look at how we manage the challenges of domestic implementation and what reservations and understandings might be appropriate in the context of ratification," she said.

Boxer's office, which ignored repeated calls and e-mails seeking comment, has not spelled out what if any reservations the senator would like to assert in ratifying the treaty. The State Department also refused to comment on timetables.