| July 2004 Newsletter
Archive |
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| Isn't it amazing how God works in our lives! |
On a Saturday night several weeks ago, this pastor
was working late, and decided to call his wife before he left for
home. It was about 10:00 PM, but his wife didn't answer the phone.
The pastor let the phone ring many times. He thought it was odd
that she didn't answer, but decided to wrap up a few things and try
again in a few minutes. When he tried again she answered right away!
He asked her why she hadn't answered before, and she said that it
hadn't rung at their house. They brushed it off as a fluke and went
on their merry ways.
The following Monday, the pastor received a call at the church
office, which was the phone that he'd used that Saturday night. The
man that he spoke with wanted to know why he'd called on Saturday
night.
The pastor couldn't figure out what the man was talking about. Then
the man said, "It rang and rang, but I didn't answer." The
pastor remembered the mishap and apologized for disturbing him,
explaining that he'd intended to call his wife.
The man said, "That's, OK. Let me tell you my story. You see,
I was planning to commit suicide on Saturday night, but before I
did, I prayed, 'God if you're there, and you don't want me to do
this, give me a sign now.' At that point my phone started to ring. I
looked at the caller ID, and it said, 'Almighty God'. I was afraid
to answer!"
The reason why it showed on the man's caller ID that the call came
from "Almighty God" is because the church that the pastor
attends is called Almighty God Tabernacle!!
The highest obedience in the spiritual life is to be able always
and in all things to say "not my will but thine be done."
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Our Nations Godly
Heritage
July 2004
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Long before
the Founding Fathers signed their lives to the bold and daring
declaration that created our new nation, a hardy band of
immigrants pledged their lives to God and to one another even
before they set foot on land. In this agreement, known as the
Mayflower Compact, the Pilgrim Fathers reveal the reason they
endured the perilous journey across the Atlantic in hope of
founding a new colony—they believed they were on a mission
for God, and they earnestly desired to "advance the
Christian faith." Their agreement, in part, reads as
follows:
"Having undertaken for the Glory of God and the
advancement of the Christian faith, a voyage to plant a colony,
do by these presents solemnly and mutually in the presence of
God, and one of another, covenant and combine ourselves together
into a civil body politic. " —November 11,1620
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| Reagan's Cross |
It [the shooting] also
infused Reagan with a sense of mortality and mission. He was
convinced when he returned from the hospital that he had a
limited amount of time to achieve his ambitious agenda. Yet his
goals were not only political but also personal. With Cardinal
Cooke, who came to visit him, Reagan struck a spiritual note: "I
have decided that whatever time I have left is for Him."
The late Mother Teresa, who visited the White House that June,
told-Reagan, "You have suffered the passion of the cross
and have received grace. There is a purpose to this. Because of
your suffering and pain you will now understand the suffering
and pain of the world. This has happened to you at this time
because your country and the world needs you." Reagan was
speechless. Nancy Reagan wept.
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| HISTORY FORGOTTEN |
This is worth remembering, because it is true. It's
familiar territory, but..... Those of you that graduated from
school after the early 60's were probably never taught this. Our
courts have seen to that!
Did you know that 52 of the 55 signers of "The Declaration
of Independence" were orthodox, deeply committed,
Christians? The other three all believed in the Bible as the
divine truth, the God of scripture, and His personal
intervention. It is the same Congress that formed the American
Bible Society, immediately after creating the Declaration of
Independence, the Continental Congress voted to purchase and
import 20,000 copies of Scripture for the people of this nation.
Patrick Henry, who is called the firebrand of the American
Revolution, is still remembered for his words, "Give me
liberty or give me death"; but in current textbooks,
the context of these words is omitted.
Here is what he actually said: "An appeal to arms and the
God of hosts is all that is left us. But we shall not fight our
battle alone. There is a just God that presides over the
destinies of nations. The battle, sir, is not to the strong
alone. Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at
the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it Almighty God. I know
not what course others may take, but as for me, give me
liberty, or give me death."
These sentences have been erased from our textbooks. Was Patrick
Henry a Christian? The following year, 1776, he wrote this "It
cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great
Nation was founded not by religionists, but by Christians; not
on religions, but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For that reason
alone, people of other faiths have been afforded freedom of
worship here,"
Consider these words that Thomas Jefferson wrote in the
front of his well-worn Bible: "I am a real Christian, that
is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus. I have little
doubt that our whole country will soon be rallied to the unity
of our creator." He was also the chairman of the American
Bible Society, which he considered his highest and most
important role.
On July 4, 1821, President Adams said: "The
highest glory of the American Revolution was this "It
connected in one indissoluble bond the principles of civil
government with the principles of Christianity."
Calvin Coolidge, our 30th President of the United States
reaffirmed this truth when he wrote: "The foundations of
our society and our government rest so much on the teachings of
the Bible that it would be difficult to support them if faith in
these teachings would cease to be practically universal in our
country."
In 1782, the United States Congress voted this resolution: "The
Congress of the United States recommends and approves the Holy
Bible for use in all schools."
William Holmes McGuffey is the author of the McGuffey
Reader, which was used for over 100 years in our public schools
with over 125 million copies sold until it was stopped in 1963.
President Lincoln called him the "Schoolmaster of the
Nation." Listen to these words of Mr. McGuffey: "The
Christian religion is the religion of our country. From it are
derived our nation, on the character of God, on the great moral
Governor of the universe. On its doctrines are founded the
peculiarities of our free Institutions. From no source has the
author drawn more conspicuously than from the sacred Scriptures.
For all these extracts from the Bible, I make no apology."
Of the first 108 universities founded in America, 106 were
distinctly Christian, including the first, Harvard
University, chartered in 1636. In the original Harvard
Student Handbook, rule number 1 was that students seeking
entrance must know Latin and Greek so that they could study the
Scriptures: "Let every student be plainly instructed and
earnestly pressed to consider well, the main end of his life and
studies, is, to know God and Jesus Christ, which is eternal
life, John 17:3; and therefore to lay Jesus Christ as the only
foundation for our children to follow the moral principles of
the Ten Commandments." James Madison, the primary author of
the Constitution of the United States, said this: "We have
staked the whole future of all our political constitutions upon
the capacity of each of ourselves to govern ourselves according
to the moral principles of the Ten Commandments."
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Today, we are asking God to bless America. But, how can He
bless a Nation that has departed so far from Him? Prior to
September 11, He was not welcome in America. Most of what
you read in this article has been erased from our textbooks.
Revisionists have rewritten history to remove the truth about
our country's Christian roots. |
"Our servicemen
and women are serving throughout the world as guardians of
peace-many of them away from their homes, their friends and
their families. They are visible evidence of our determination
to meet any threat to the peace with measured strength and high
resolve. They are also evidence of a harsh but inescapable truth—that
the survival of freedom requires great cost and commitment, and
great personal sacrifice."
— John F. Kennedy |
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CHRISTMAS IN JULY
Bazaar & Bake Sale
July 31,2004 10:00-2:00 p.m. |
Crafts, Baked Goods, Christmas decorations, Quilt
raffle - Lots of fun and shopping! Please price your items
before you bring them, And have everything except baked goods at the
church by Friday, July 30th at 6:30 p.m.
The more items we have to sell, the better. All donations are most
welcome! Do your Christmas Shopping Early! |
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