Free Republic

Psalms 116:15 Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints. The Bible often speaks of death as a requirement of living a life in Christ. This death is not a physical death, but a spiritual death. It is a death of the old so the new can be raised. It is the life of Christ that is raised in us. However, this death can be painful if we do not choose to willingly allow this "circumcision of heart" to have its way. If we are not circumcised of heart, we do not enter into God's...

John 21:6 ..."Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some." The disciples were fishing. It was after Jesus had been crucified. Peter had gone through his most agonizing moment in which he had denied Jesus three times. He had lost a friend. No doubt he probably wondered whether the last three years were a dream. What now? Peter had been prepared three years, but he was not going out to preach; he was going fishing. He had returned to his trade of days gone by. He had a level of experience with Jesus...

Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. This is one of the most quoted verses in the Bible related to gaining wisdom and direction from God. Yet I have never heard one teaching on this passage that teaches what I believe the psalmist is really saying. The first part is pretty easy; we are to trust with all our heart. But the next part is not so clear. We are not to lean on our own understanding. If we are not to lean on our own understanding, on whose understanding...

2 Corinthians 12:9 ..."My grace is sufficient for you..." If you are older than 35, you may recall the early days of the space program. I remember the early spacecraft launch with John Glenn. One of the most exciting and tense moments of his return to earth was his reentry to the earth's atmosphere. I recall the diagram on television of the heat shield on the capsule that had to withstand incredible temperatures to avoid complete destruction. There was a blackout period for several minutes in which mission control had no radio contact. He was in the "black hole." It...

1 Corinthians 12:1 Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant. In First Corinthians 12 and Romans 12, the apostle Paul is teaching us about the role of spiritual gifts in the Church. He correlates these gifts to a human body, telling us that each person's gift helps the whole Body of the Church. This is such an important principle for us to learn. I must say I learned this principle regarding my own spiritual gift the hard way. "God will never speak as strongly to you as to someone else," said my mentor to...

Proverbs 14:4 Where there are no oxen, the manger is empty, but from the strength of an ox comes an abundant harvest. When Jesus came into this world, He chose to be born in a most unusual place-a manger. It was no more than a livery stable with goats, oxen, and other livestock animals. There is a distinctive characteristic about a place like this. It is filled with odors and dung from the animals. God seems to work best among the unpleasantness of circumstances. In fact, "where there are no oxen, the manger is empty." What is this really saying?...

Revelation 3:20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with Me. A friend of mine tells the story of an encounter he had with a very important government official-the head of state for a country. In the course of some meetings with my friend, the official came up to him and said, "I perceive that there is a difference between you and me. Is it because I come from a different denomination?" My friend began to explain why...

Sacrificing at What Cost 2 Samuel 24:24 ..."I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nnothing." One day I was having lunch with a man who had a certain amount of notoriety in his life. After a time of getting to know each other, he said, "How can I help you?" Those words surprised me coming from a man who obviously already had many requirements on his time. My first thought was that I was impressed with the individual. My next thought was to wonder whether it was a genuine offer or just an...

1 Chronicles 21:14 So the Lord sent a plague on Israel, and seventy thousand men of Israel fell dead. When was the last time your overconfidence cost the lives of 70,000 men? That is exactly what happened to David. David made what might appear to be an innocent request of his general, Joab. But the minute Joab heard the request, he cringed. He knew David was in big trouble for this one. You see, to number the troops was a great sin in Israel because it was against the law. Why? Because it demonstrated that you were placing more trust...

Psalms 107:23-24Others went out on the sea in ships; they were merchants on the mighty waters. They saw the works of the Lord.... When you were a child, perhaps you may have gone to the ocean for a vacation. I recall wading out until the waves began crashing on my knees. As long as I could stand firm, the waves were of no concern to me. However, as I moved farther and farther into the ocean, I had less control over my ability to stand. Sometimes the current was so strong it moved me down the beach, and I even...

1 Samuel 28:17 The Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hands and given it to one of your neighbors-to David. When God anoints a person, a pattern of testing appears to take place at specific times in the leader's life. God often takes each leader through four major tests to determine if that person will achieve God's ultimate call on his or her life. The person's response to these tests is the deciding factor in whether they can advance to the next level of responsibility in God's Kingdom. Control-Control is one of the first tests. Saul spent most...

Paul Potts, an overweight 36-year old regular guy with an ordinary job stunned the opera world. With incredible performances, he won the competition at Britain's Got Talent. People from all over the world, who have never cared about opera before, were cheering him on. It is a great human interest story. Most people did not know what he was singing because, of course, it was in Italian. As a public service, I have provided the translation. It may bring you to tears. translated from the Italian, PAUL POTTS SINGS SANDY BURGLAR

The Auditor Sunday, May 13, 2007 In an abrupt about-face, President Bush has decided against nominating Noel Hillman, a veteran prosecutor and now federal judge in Camden, to the seat on the 3d U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that was held by Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito Jr. Hillman, a former assistant U.S. attorney in New Jersey and the lead Justice Department prosecutor in the Jack Abramoff Capitol Hill lobby ing scandal, had full White House support and the backing of New Jersey Democratic Sens. Robert Menendez and Frank Lautenberg, and had successfully completed his FBI background check several months...

Note the difference between the WSJ's editorial on April 8, 2005 and its editorial now, as seen in the Jan. 7, 2007 editorial posted below. Where is the WSJ's apology for its April 8, 2005 editorial? http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110006534 REVIEW & OUTLOOK The Berger File Sandy Berger didn't destroy documents with notes in the margin. Friday, April 8, 2005 12:01 a.m. Some people won't let a bad conspiracy theory go. We're referring to those who loudly assert that former NSC adviser Sandy Berger was trying to protect the Clinton Administration when he illegally removed copies of sensitive documents from the National Archives...

MIDI - LOSING MY RELIGION If you seek justice...here's news for you You will not find it...it's just an illusion Something inside your mind...that's what you're going to find It's in your mind That's him in the courtroom Let's watch the perfoming skills of Noel Hillman Trying to make it appear that he really will try to win it It's not what you think you see...it's a travesty Behind the scenes they are laughing And Berger will walk away...in prison he won't spend one day And this isn't the first time...it's dejavu with Noel Hillman It is not surprising....look...

Jersey judge up for circuit court post Hillman is expected to be Bush's nominee Tuesday, January 09, 2007 BY ROBERT COHEN STAR-LEDGER WASHINGTON BUREAU WASHINGTON -- President Bush is expected to nominate Noel Hillman, a longtime prosecutor and a newly appointed federal judge in New Jersey, to an opening on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Reliable political sources said Hillman is currently undergoing a background investigation needed before he can be formally nominated to fill the federal appeals court seat vacated a year ago by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. "It's pretty close. It's what...

The investigation into Jack Abramoff, the Republican lobbyist, took a provocative new turn when the Justice Department said that the chief prosecutor in the inquiry would step down this coming week because he had been nominated to a judgeship by President George W. Bush. The prosecutor, Noel Hillman, is chief of the department's Office of Public Integrity, and the move ends his involvement in an investigation that has reached into the administration as well as into the top ranks of the Republican leadership on Capitol Hill. Democrats swiftly questioned the move's timing, and called for a special prosecutor as Bush...

A Virginia man was sentenced yesterday to two years in prison for stealing more than 100 Civil War-era documents from the National Archives, including some he tried to sell on eBay. Howard Harner, 68, took letters authored by Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee and other historical figures. Federal prosecutors sought a lengthy sentence to help discourage trafficking in stolen American history. Harner, of Staunton, pleaded guilty in March to hiding the documents in his clothing and smuggling them out of a National Archives research room from 1996 to 2002. Prosecutors said he made $47,314 by selling the documents to a...

Sentencing for former Clinton National Security Advisor Sandy Berger, who pleaded guilty in April to stealing and destroying top secret terrorism documents from the National Archives, has been delayed, NewsMax.com has learned. Asked why Berger wasn't sentenced as scheduled on Friday, July 8, a Justice Department spokesman told NewsMax on Tuesday that Berger's sentencing has been postponed till September. The spokesman declined to offer an explanation for the delay. Repeated calls asking about the postponement to Berger's lawyer, Washington, D.C., attorney Lanny Breuer, went unreturned. Federal District Court's U.S. Magistrate Deborah Robinson, who is presiding over the Berger case, also...

<p>On a day when opposing political parties chose candidates to face off against each other in November, Republican leader Elsie Hillman convened a bipartisan meeting at Chatham College yesterday called One Voice for Choice.</p> <p>It was probably the most high-powered gathering of abortion rights advocates Pittsburgh has ever seen. Among them were Kate Michelman, president of the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League (NARAL); Gloria Feldt, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America; Susan Cullman, co-chairwoman of the Republican Pro-Choice Coalition; and Pat Carpenter, executive director of The WISH List -- the political action committee that does fund raising for pro-choice Republicans.</p>