One Liner

Some minds are like concrete...

thoroughly mixed up and permanently set.


Romans 12:2

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. (KJV)

Minister Shot by Wife

"A minister’s wife was charged Friday with shooting her husband to death in the parsonage in a crime that shocked the congregation and shattered the couple’s happy and loving image."

You can read the story here.

Another excerpt from the same AP article:

"Churches of Christ do not consider themselves a denomination since every congregation is independently governed by a group of church elders. They generally believe the Bible should be interpreted literally and that baptism is essential for salvation. The church is also noted for its prohibition on using musical instruments during services." (emphasis added by K-Fish)

From the Assemblies of God web site:

Assembly of God General Superintendent Thomas E. Trask was recently asked, "Brother Trask, some may be hearing about the Vision for Transformation for the first time, so can you give an explanation of what it is and what it hopes to accomplish?"

Trask responsed, "The Vision for Transformation was launched in order for the Assemblies of God to take a serious look at its internal and external operation and ministry. Externally, we were created as a fellowship. There are many who call us a denomination, but there is a world of difference. A denomination, as it ages, becomes more restrictive. It puts in place policies, practices and procedures.

A fellowship is a releasing agency. We are 91 years old. However, over this period, we have put into place practices, procedures, and policies that have become more restrictive. I believe, for the 21st century, the church needs to be a releasing agency.

But, ultimately, this isn’t about whether the Assemblies of God is a denomination or fellowship. It is about the kingdom of God. This church was raised up by God to serve the kingdom of God. Not to serve a fellowship. Not to serve a denomination.

Internally, everything is up for evaluation except, of course, our doctrine. Over the past two years we’ve made some hard decisions. Some of those decisions were made so that we would remain a new wineskin." (emphasis added by K-Fish)

I was going to add my two cents worth, but...

Email Forwards: Is your hut on fire?

Email forwards...

...do you cringe when you open your inbox and it is full of forwards? If only one person you know is sending forwards, it probably is okay. But when you have a host of friends sending forwards and regularly sending lots of them, it becomes an annoyance. I don't read them.

There, I said it. It is not a secret anymore.

Today my pastor forwarded a little jewel. But rather than forward it to the hundred or so email addresses in my address book, you will find it posted here. You can thank me when you leave a comment here in a minute. Please read on...

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Subject: Is Your Hut On Fire?

The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, uninhabited island. He prayed feverishly for GOD to rescue him, and every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming. Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect himself from the elements, and to store his few possessions.

One day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, with smoke rolling up to the sky. The worst had happened, and everything was lost. He was stunned with disbelief, grief, and anger. "GOD, how could you do this to me?" he cried!

Early the next day he was awakened by the sound of a ship that was approaching the island. It had come to rescue him. "How did you know I was here? "Asked the weary man of his rescuers. "We saw your smoke signal," they replied.

It's easy to get discouraged when things are going bad, but we shouldn't lose heart, because GOD is at work in our lives, even in the midst of pain and suffering.

Remember that, the next time your little hut seems to be burning to the ground, it just may be a smoke signal that summons the grace of GOD.

You May Want To Consider Passing This On, because You Never Know Who Feels Like Their Hut Is On Fire Today!

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...now, did that little jewel bless you?

Iran and the end times

There is a lot of news these days about nation of Iran and the possibility of Iran developing nuclear weapons. Seems that the rest of the world is opposed to this becoming a reality. Due to the widespread resistance to this and the defiant stand that Iran has taken, I can't help but think about the prophecy concerning the anti-christ and how he will come in, make peace for a while and then rule the world for a period of time. With all other nations against Iran having nuclear production and the hard stand that Iran is taking, could this be the beginning of Armageddon? World situations such as this causes one to stop and consider how the event fits into Bibical prophecy.

Mother Goose and her Bible

Okay, you have got to listen to this.

(Make sure you turn the volume up on your speakers so you can still hear it while you are laughing.)

Catholic Ad in Newspaper.

I was thinking...

Jesus ascended into Heaven, "...he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight..." (Acts 1: 9-11, KJV).

Jesus is seen "...standing on the right hand of God..." by Stephen (Acts 7:55, KJV)

There are almost a dozen scripture references in the New Testament that speak about Jesus going to and being seated in the heavenlies at the right hand of the Father after His resurrection.

I know very little about Catholics or the basis for their theology. Having said that I will get to my point, or rather, my question.

What does the statement "Catholics believe Jesus remains in our world," mean?

Beef Rouladen and Spaetzle with Gravy

Beef Rouladen, Spaetzle with gravy, topped off with Black Forest Cake.

mmmm... mmmm... mmmm...

I am ready for more!

Nice sign:


(thanks Jennifer)

USA White Pages on Steroids

Remember maps.google.com? You could type in your address and Google's map product would map you to the address location and then you could view the aerial photography with it. Pretty neat stuff. Particularly to someone with a cadastral mapping background such as me.

Well you haven't seen nothing yet.

Now you can map a person. Yes, I said a person.

If you want to know where someone lives, particularly if you are just nosy, now you can do your stalking at www.personmaps.com and you won't get arrested. If you know the last name of someone all you have to do is type it in, tell the software what town and/or state, yes it will do it by state, and it will pop up a map showing the locations of these people WITH mouseover popups of full name, address, and phone number!

When you do the search for your last name in your town, I say to you: "Congratulations, you are now officially a map attribute".

It seems to only work for the USA white pages, although you can pan all the way around the equator.

USA White Pages ON Steroids!

Mark of the Beast post, not Beauty and the Beast

I was listening to a preacher this morning. He was preaching about how the bible doesn't tell us to take demons captive, but to take our thoughts captive. He said that a thought, or a word creates an image in our mind, an image turns into an imagination as we process it and dwell on it, and an imagination can turn into a stronghold in our mind. The wrong kind of thinking, or strongholds, can lead to a whole lot of problems in our lives as well as open doors for evil to wreak havoc in our lives. He said part of the concept of the word 'captive' was wielding a sword to take the thought captive. He said the Word of God is our sword, that we can wield it when we have wrongful thinking show up in our brains. He said believe what God has said in the Bible so when you speak it to take thoughts captive, God's Word will have power in your life.

Now for some 'light-hearted' stuff. Rick has posted a blog dedicated to the Mark of the Beast. The whole business of the 'mark' seems pretty serious to me, but some of this post seems fairly creative/clever.

Selah

Well, I have paused and I'm still thinking about it.

The state now owns and controls my Voter Registration records...

I read tonight (Monday March 6), in my local newspaper, how the state of Missouri has gone to a central voter registration system/database. Each registered voter in the state will now be given a voter number by the state, rather than by their local election authority. They hope that in doing this, they will eliminate duplicate voter registrations around the state.

Their ultimate goal is to be able to cross reference Missouri's voter registration records with OTHER STATES to further eliminate duplicate registrations. Missourian's voter registration record is owned by the state at this point, as well as their associated voter history!

Bet that one slipped by ya!

Guess who is behind all this? You guessed it, the federal government! The state is trying to be compliant with new federal laws (Help America Vote Act).

Currently there is also a move in the state of Missouri to require picture ID voter registration cards for ALL voters, or you CAN'T vote.

Hmmm... think about that!

Wouldn't it just be a lot simpler if they tattoed a unique barcode on our forehead that identified us worldwide and we all just moved on?

The world definitely seems to be headed in that direction!

Once the fed's are maintaining your worker identity in the national database as verified, why would we even need to register to vote? All you would have to do is show up at your polling place. A quick check of the national database would tell the election poll workers if you were allowed to vote in their ward. Your national ID card would have your photo on it.

What more could we want?

Of course the next step would be to tie my bank account funds to my national ID, uh, I mean worldwide ID...

My "bo ke".

Can you say 'bo ke'? Do you have a 'bo ke'?

Find out what a 'bo ke' is.

If you have a 'bo ke', share it with me.

National ID Cards, not so far away?

Did you catch the article in USA Today that talked about the effort the Federal government is putting into requiring employers to check worker id's against a federal database?

It definitely has an odor of end times stuff, so it seems.

Here are some excerpts:

"We're getting closer and closer to a national ID card," says Tim Sparapani, legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union.

During a debate in 1984, former representative Don Edwards, D-Calif., compared a proposed enhanced Social Security card to an "internal passport." Twelve years later, conservative GOP lobbyist Grover Norquist flooded Capitol Hill with activists wearing washable tattoos of an inventory bar code to show how a government clearinghouse could become a way to "track" Americans.