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The Key of the Greater Work " . . . I say to you, he who believes in Me, . . . greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father —John 14:12 " Prayer does not equip us for greater works— prayer is the greater work. Yet we think of prayer as some commonsense exercise of our higher powers that simply prepares us for God’s work. In the teachings of Jesus Christ, prayer is the working of the miracle of redemption in me, which produces the miracle of redemption in others, through the power...

Watch it until the end! You WILL be SURPRISED!!!

Twitter allegedly blocked a new online campaign designed to support the Houston pastors who were subpoenaed by the city's lawyers demanding that they turn over their sermons dealing with homosexuality, gender identity or the city's first openly lesbian mayor, Annise Parker. The #HoustonWeHaveAProblem campaign and petition were created by Faith Driven Consumer, the same organization that supported and helped to reinstate Phil Robertson to "Duck Dynasty" after he was thrown off the show for his comments about homosexuality surfaced from a GQ interview.

So begins the Maskil of Asaph, Psalm 78. As synods and councils and elderships wrangle over things long ago settled by God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, I wanted to encourage fellow believers to find an audio bible they like and "baptize" their minds in the complex and glorious beauty of His Psalms. I have been richly blessed by doing so while working and riding my bike. Music? Let me tell you, the Psalms are REAL music to a believer's ears. Though steeped in the era of Law, God's manifold wisdom and loving kindness are absolutely "fresh and...

Seeing as this only has 500 views on Youtube, maybe most folks haven’t seen this, yet. Reader MFG sent this to me this morning. I find this interview disconcerting on many levels. First, his initial glad-handed chuminess is way over the top and appears just overtly insincere. Then he attempts constantly to minimize the divisions in the Synod and gives an unreserved approval of the attempt to redefine Church Doctrine with regard to the groinal issues so sacred to the modernists (adulterers receiving the Blessed Sacrament, regularizing and “solemnizing” divorce through reception of the Blessed Sacrament, gift-bearing sodomites, the whole...

October 17, 2014Memorial of Saint Ignatius of Antioch, Bishop and Martyr    Reading 1 Eph 1:11-14 Brothers and sisters:In Christ we were also chosen,destined in accord with the purpose of the Onewho accomplishes all things according to the intention of his will,so that we might exist for the praise of his glory,we who first hoped in Christ.In him you also, who have heard the word of truth,the Gospel of your salvation, and have believed in him,were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,which is the first installment of our inheritancetoward redemption as God’s possession, to the praise of his glory....

Where Strength and Joy Are Found Today's Scripture “Honor and majesty are [found] in His presence; strength and joy are [found] in His sanctuary.” (1 Chronicles 16:27, AMP) Today's Word from Joel and Victoria Do you need more strength and joy in your life? The Bible tells us that in God’s presence, there is fullness of joy — the most abundant and complete! And when you have His joy, you have His supernatural strength. There’s nothing that can come against you when you are filled with the strength and joy of the Lord. Notice this verse says that strength...

The Key to the Master’s Orders " Pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest —Matthew 9:38 " The key to the missionary’s difficult task is in the hand of God, and that key is prayer, not work— that is, not work as the word is commonly used today, which often results in the shifting of our focus away from God. The key to the missionary’s difficult task is also not the key of common sense, nor is it the key of medicine, civilization, education, or even evangelization. The key is in following the...

The global face of Christianity has changed dramatically in the last one hundred years. So much so, that everything that seemed so permanent about “the way the world was” no longer holds. Information courtesy of PewForum, here’s where things stand:

October 16, 2014Thursday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time    Reading 1 Eph 1:1-10 Paul, an Apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,to the holy ones who are in Ephesusand faithful in Christ Jesus:grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,who has blessed us in Christwith every spiritual blessing in the heavens,as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world,to be holy and without blemish before him.In love he destined us for adoption to himself through...

Q. Does the Jewish temple need to be rebuilt before Jesus returns? A. With the constant turmoil always threatening stability in the Middle East, many Bible commentators are speculating louder than ever about whether the Jewish temple will be rebuilt in the months and years to come. Entire Christian ministries are established to assist in the building of the temple to hasten the return of Jesus. For many, such an event will signal the start of the final events of earth’s history. However, in the same way many Christians misplace the focus from spiritual Israel to the literal Jewish nation,...

Vatican City, Oct 15, 2014 / 11:17 am (CNA/EWTN News).- An incorrect translation into English of the original midterm report of the Synod on the Family may have spurred controversial interpretations of the document itself. The document's original version was written in Italian, which Pope Francis directed to be used as the official language of the synod. In prior synods the official language had been Latin, esteemed for its precision and lack of ambiguity. The point of controversy occurs at paragraph 50 of the relatio. The Italian original, after praising the gifts and talents homosexuals may give to the Christian...

Answer the Door Today's Scripture “...Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning.” (Psalm 30:5, NLT) Today's Word from Joel and Victoria Scripture says that joy comes in the morning. When you wake up each morning, God sends you a special delivery of joy. It comes knocking at your door. When you get up in faith and make the declaration that “this is going to be a good day,” do you know what you just did? You just answered the door. You just received the gift of joy that God sent to you. The problem...

The Key to the Missionary’s Work (2) " He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world —1 John 2:2 " The key to the missionary’s message is the propitiation of Christ Jesus— His sacrifice for us that completely satisfied the wrath of God. Look at any other aspect of Christ’s work, whether it is healing, saving, or sanctifying, and you will see that there is nothing limitless about those. But— “The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”— that is limitless (John 1:29). The...

October 15, 2014Memorial of Saint Teresa of Jesus, Virgin and Doctor of the Church    Reading 1 Gal 5:18-25 Brothers and sisters:If you are guided by the Spirit, you are not under the law.Now the works of the flesh are obvious:immorality, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry,sorcery, hatreds, rivalry, jealousy,outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness,dissensions, factions, occasions of envy,drinking bouts, orgies, and the like.I warn you, as I warned you before,that those who do such things will not inherit the Kingdom of God.In contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,patience, kindness, generosity,faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.Against such there is no law.Now...

Recently I read “The Man the Networks Love to Hate” (1989), by Rev. Don Wildmon, founder of the American Family Association. It was an informative read, particularly in showing how those who oppose Christianity have been working over the years to get our society to where it is now. Below are some excerpts from it. The first excerpt is on secular humanism. Christian leaders like Jerry Falwell were beginning to talk quite a lot about it in the 80’s, but the media responded by calling it “the right’s new bogeyman” and conspiracy theory. Wildmon says he didn’t know much about...

Get Your Joy Back Today's Scripture “Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy.” (1 Peter 1:8, NIV) Today's Word from Joel and Victoria If the circumstances of life have taken away your joy, today is the day to get it back. You weren’t meant to live this life feeling drained, depressed and down. God wants you to be excited about your future and learn to enjoy each and every day. If you don’t make the...

The Key to the Missionary’s Work (1) " Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, ’All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations . . .’ —Matthew 28:18-19 " The key to the missionary’s work is the authority of Jesus Christ, not the needs of the lost. We are inclined to look on our Lord as one who assists us in our endeavors for God. Yet our Lord places Himself as the absolute sovereign and supreme Lord over His disciples. He does not say that the...

Frequently North Korean defectors in South Korea will look back on peculiar behaviors of parents and grandparents in North Korea and realize with great astonishment that their family members were actually underground Christians. JBM, one of our Underground Technology students, recently shared just such a story with us. Think on this as you eat your breakfast this morning and your children or grandchildren silently observe your behavior: My father studied medicine at [X] University in Japan. After he graduated, he opened a hospital in [NK city] and worked as a health minister in NK. My mother was a housewife. Because...

The Holy Father has been very good in lecturing priests and telling us what to do. We are to go out into the world and “make a mess.” We are to “smell like the sheep.” We are to welcome all with compassion, forgiveness and mercy. We are to be good and kind pastors who administer the sacraments with care and concern. We are to seek out the poor, castigate the rich, side with the unfortunate, heal the sick, support the immigrants and reach out to the lowly. We are to welcome the divorced and remarried, not judge those with same...