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For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7
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Legal scholar disputes resurrection of Jesus
He was the greatest legal mind in American history. He helped to found and put Harvard Law School on the map. His 3 volume “A Treatise on the Law of Evidence” is still regarded as the greatest single authority in the entire literature of legal procedure. The USA judicial system still operates on rules of evidence established by him.
While teaching at Harvard, one day he told his class that the resurrection of Jesus Christ was nothing more than a myth. You see, he was an atheist. Three of his students asked him to apply his own rules of evidence to the resurrection account. He agreed to do so but thought he would easily disprove it. Yet the more he investigated it, the more stunned he was at the undeniable evidence that Jesus really did rise from the dead. He was unable to explain many things but specifically the behavior of the disciples. Not just a few of them, but ALL of them. Many of them died violent deaths because they believed Jesus had risen from the dead.
He wrote another book, called “The Testimony of the Evangelists” that documented the evidence that caused him to change his mind. He became a believer based on the irrefutable evidence of the physical resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.His book still influences people today even though it was written more than 120 years ago. People like Josh McDowell and Lee Strobel. His name is Simon Greenleaf.
Have you looked at the evidence for the resurrection? If Jesus really did conquer death, shouldn’t that make everything else He said about life and life after death of paramount importance to us? Jesus said He left many infallible proofs for us to consider. What have you done with these proofs?
Reference for the resurrection….y-jesus.com/body_count1/
With you on the journey,
Dave Maynard
http://BSSSB-LLC.com
What Is The Way God Deals With Deception?
How does God deal with deception? Malachi 3 gives us some insight into how God dealt with the nation of Israel after they cheated and disrespected Him. Click on the link below to read today's post.
https://ramckinley.com/the-way-god-deals-with-deception/
Would you die for Christ?
He was freezing, out in the middle of a frozen lake with nothing on. No shoes, no clothes, no coat, nothing. He and 39 other members of the elite Thundering Legion of the Roman Empire. The year was 320A.D. Emperor Licinius had demanded that all Roman soldiers worship him as a god. This was nothing new but it wasn’t enforced all that much. All his life, he had wanted to be a soldier and serve his emperor. He would die for him. He considered it to be a great honor to be in this very decorated Thundering Legion. But the last few years, he had come to know Jesus as his Messiah.He could no longer worship anybody except Him. But he still wanted to serve in the Roman army.
At first, Governor Agricola of Sevaste (in modern day Turkey) spoke mildly but firmly to the men in their barracks. “I am told you refuse to offer the sacrifice ordered by Emperor Licinius”. One of his friends said, “We will not sacrifice. To do so is to betray our holy faith”.The Governor replied, “But what about your comrades?….Think of the disgrace you bring upon your legion”. His friend replied, “To disgrace the name of our Lord Jesus Christ is more terrible still”. The Governor promised promotion to all who does his duty. No one stepped forward. The Governor said, “Then prepare for torture & death”. The 40 soldiers stood firm. They were flogged in the freezing cold. The whips tore into their flesh, bloodying them but they stood firm.
Eventually, they were taken down to a frozen lake & stripped completely naked. The Governor could hardly believe his eyes. The men ran unto the freezing lake shouting, “We are soldiers of the Lord and fear no hardship. What is our death but entrance into eternal life?” Baffled, the Governor posted guards around the lake. He then heated large tubs of water to entice the men to come in from the freezing lake.
One of the guards said, “Look (pointing to the sky), doesn’t anyone see them?…spirits hovering with golden crowns over these men’s heads, holding out rich robes for them”. No one but this one guard saw this. But it was too much for one soldier. He came in and was immediately put into one of the hot tubs. But the shock was too much for him. He went into convulsions and died. The guard who had seen the vision of crowns, shucked off his clothes and ran unto the lake saying that they would be 40 again as he just accepted the Lord.
By morning 39 of them had died but the young man was still barely alive. The guards told his mother about her son. They told her they would look the other way if she wanted to come and get him. “What kind of talk is this” said his mother. “Would you cheat him out of his crown? I’ll never let that happen”. As the wagon of dead bodies pulled away, she cradled her son’s head and said, “Go son,,,go to the end of this happy journey with your comrades so that you won’t be the last to present yourself to God”. The guards were astonished. They couldn’t believe their ears & eyes. The bodies of the 40 were burned and their ashes cast into a river. Christians collected what they could of their ashes & bones and preserved them as the honored remains of these 40 brave Christians who wouldn’t deny their Lord & Savior. The next time you have to make a decision that may cost you something, remember these brave believers. Philippians 3:8 “What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ…”
For His Kingdom,
Dave Maynard
God Is The Creator Of Everything That Exists
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. It looks like this post is about creation, but it’s really about worship. Since God is the creator of everything that exists, why would we want to worship anyone else? Click on the link below to read today's post.
https://ramckinley.com/god-is-the-creator-of-the-entire-cosmos/
Men’s Health Network invites you to collaborate with us during Prostate Cancer Awareness month in September. At MHN, we strive to spread knowledge and awareness on many issues surrounding men’s health. We will be hosting multiple events throughout the month, and it would be tremendous if we can count on you to be a part of one or more of them. Collaboration with you will allow us to expand our reach and spread potentially life-saving news.
Prostate cancer is a leading cause of death in men which is why this awareness period is so important to us. Cancer.org estimates almost 250,000 men will get prostate cancer this year, with just over 34,000 men dying from the disease in 2021.
On September 1st, MHN will be releasing a press release kicking off the month, which will outline our plans to host a Twitter Chat around prostate health on September 22, 2021, at 2 PM EST. Currently, we are looking for partners and sponsors to either participate or co-host this chat with us. Interested? Please let us know!
Looking for social media messaging throughout September? Check out our free and comprehensive toolkit here: https://www.prostatehealthguide.com/awareness/digital-media-toolkit/
Other events in September may include: interviews with prostate cancer survivors, meetings on capitol hill, and much more. Stay tuned and reach out if you'd like to be involved.
With your help, it gives all of us the chance to spread more awareness and reach out to men about getting checked, getting help, and living with prostate cancer.
We hope you consider collaborating with us this September for Prostate Cancer Awareness Month! If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me below. We look forward to your response and hope to be in touch soon.
Stay safe and healthy!
Best regards
Brandon Ross
Head of Communications & Outreach
Men's Health Network
(O): 202-543-6461, ext. 109
(C): 714-788-9631
communications@menshealthnetwork.org
www.menshealthnetwork.org
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Registration is still OPEN for our upcoming virtual workshops! Select the hyperlinked event title(s) below to register for those you’re interested in attending. You’ll be prompted to login to the CMS National Training Program (NTP) virtual workshop webpage. To login, use the same email address and password you use to register for all NTP webinars. If you don’t have an account, you’ll need to create one before registering. After you register for an event, you’ll get an email confirmation and calendar appointment. Please email
In the case of tight sea and air transportation capacity, the Yiwu to Madrid railway line has become the choice of more and more people. It is the seventh railway connecting China and Europe and is part of the New Silk Road.
1. Overview of the route from Yiwu to Madrid
The Yiwu to Madrid Railway opened on November 18, 2014, with a total length of 13,052 kilometers, which is the longest freight train route in the world. The route departs from Yiwu China, passes through Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Poland, Germany, France, and finally reaches Madrid, Spain. It has a total of 41 carriages, can carry 82 containers, and has a total length of more than 550 meters.
Every year, the Yiwu to Madrid route carries nearly 2,000 products including daily necessities, clothing, luggage, hardware tools, and electronic products from Yiwu to countries along the route. The products leaving Madrid are mainly agricultural products, including olive oil, ham, red wine, pork products, skin care products, and nutritional health products. If you want to easily import all kinds of products from China, then finding a professional Chinese sourcing agent is your best choice.
2. Why choose Yiwu and Madrid as the starting and ending points
As we all know, Yiwu is China's wholesale center, has the world's largest small commodity wholesale market. 60% of Christmas ornaments in the world come from Yiwu. It is also one of the main purchasing centers for toys and textiles, electronic products and auto parts, which can meet the needs of customers for centralized purchasing. In addition, Yiwu skilled shipping workers can create more benefits for you. For example, the volume of a container is 40 cubic meters. In other places, workers can load up to 40 cubic meters of goods. In Yiwu, professional and skilled workers can load 43 or even 45 cubic meters of cargo.
At the end of the route, Madrid Spain, has a large number of overseas Chinese business resources to support the supply of this train. As many as 1.445 million overseas Zhejiang merchants know the Yiwu market very well and are an important force in the import and export of Yiwu market. Three-quarters of the small commodities sold in the Spanish market are from Yiwu. Madrid is also known as the European Commodity Center.
China is Spain's main business and economic partner in Asia, and it is also the main destination for Spain's exports in the region. Choose Yiwu and Madrid as the starting and ending points to better connect the world's largest consumer goods wholesale market with European commodity centers.
3. Achievements and significance of the route from Yiwu to Madrid
The Yiwu to Madrid Railway is an important carrier and platform of the “Belt and Road” initiative. In addition to greatly stimulating the import and export trade between Yiwu and the countries along the route, it also shines as a "green channel" on the global anti-epidemic arena. The traffic green channel is conducive to alleviating traffic pressure, speeding up customs clearance, reducing customs clearance procedures, and playing a key role in the process of transporting medical supplies and other goods to Spain.
From January to May of 2021, China shipped a total of 12,524 tons of anti-epidemic materials to European countries by train. In 2020, Yiwu handled 1,399 China-Europe freight trains via the freight route connecting Xinjiang in northwestern China with Europe, a year-on-year increase of 165%.
4. Advantages of Yiwu to Madrid route
1. Timeliness: It only takes 21 days to go directly to Madrid, Spain, with fast customs clearance, and customs clearance can be completed within 1 to 2 working days at the fastest. By sea, it usually takes 6 weeks to arrive.
2. Price: In terms of price, it is slightly higher than sea freight, but it is nearly 2/3 cheaper than air freight.
3. Stability: Maritime transportation is greatly affected by weather conditions on sea routes, and there are often various unexpected factors. Other conditions, including port conditions, may cause cargo delays. China-Europe Express train transportation can better solve this problem.
4. High service flexibility: China-Europe Express provides door-to-door service across the EU, as well as FCL and LCL, classic and dangerous goods, and accepts more types of goods than sea and air. It is very suitable for transporting high-value industrial products such as auto parts, electronic products and computer equipment. It is also suitable for promotional and seasonal products that need to reach their destination as soon as possible.
5. Environmentally friendly, less pollution.
6. The railway transportation is stable and sufficient, and the transportation cycle is short. Compared with sea containers, which are “difficult to find”, air transportation is “fuse”, and railway transportation can control the time. Yiwu to Madrid has 1 to 2 columns per week, and Madrid to Yiwu has 1 column per month.
7. Can increase the selectivity of supply. Because the Yiwu-Madrid route passes through many countries, it is more convenient to purchase specialty products from these countries.
Note: Due to incompatible gauges, the goods have to be transshipped 3 times during the journey. Locomotives must also be replaced every 500 miles. The train changed three times along the way due to different gauges in China, Europe and Russia. Each container transfer only takes one minute.
The speed of customs clearance of China-Europe Express is faster than that of ocean freight, but in the same way, you also need to submit customs clearance information:
1. Railway waybill, a freight document issued by the railway carrier.
2. Goods packing list
3. One copy of the contract
4. Invoice
5. Customs declaration documents (specification/packing list)
6. One copy of the power of attorney for inspection application
Next are several factors that may affect the speed of customs clearance:
1. After preparing the corresponding customs clearance information, fail to fill in the consignee and harvest information truthfully
2. The contents of the packing list are not consistent with the contents of the waybill
(Including: shipper, consignee, loading port, destination/unloading port, mark and part number, cargo name and customs code, number of pieces, weight, size and volume of a single piece of cargo, etc.)
3. The goods are seized
4. There are prohibited products in the goods
(A, IT products such as mobile phones and computers
(B, clothing, shoes and hats
(C, cars and accessories
(D. Grain, wine, coffee beans
(E, material, furniture
(F, chemicals, machinery and equipment, etc.
If taxes and fees are incurred, they need to be paid in time. Otherwise, the goods will not be transported and need to be confirmed and processed in time. You can also confirm whether the tax and fee processing services are included when the entrusted freight forwarder is suitable.
Relatively speaking, generally larger freight forwarding companies will have more guaranteed service, but relatively small freight forwarding companies also have its advantages. They may have a relatively high cost performance. This depends on your choice. You can choose from service and transportation cycle. And the customs clearance ability and the price are considered in many aspects.
Good packaging is a prerequisite to ensure the safety of goods
Next, classify according to carton goods, box goods, and special goods
I have sorted out the packaging requirements for cargo transportation through China-Europe Express trains.
1. Carton packaging standard:
1. There is no deformation, no damage, and no openings in the carton rules;
2. The carton is free from dampness or dampness;
3. No pollution or greasy outside the carton;
4. The carton is completely sealed;
5. The carton is clearly marked, indicating the nature of the goods and packing requirements;
2. Packing standard of wooden box pallet goods:
1. The tray has no legs, deformation, damage, wetness, etc.;
2. No damage, leaks, oily pollution, etc. on the outside;
3. The load-bearing weight of the bottom support exceeds the weight of the cargo;
4. The outer packaging and the bottom support or the goods are firmly reinforced and self-contained;
5. The goods are completely sealed;
6. Reasonable placement of internal goods, effective reinforcement, and avoid shaking in the packaging;
7. The nature of the goods shall be indicated on the wooden box or pallet, including the following points:
1) Limits on the number of stacked layers and weight;
2) The position of the center of gravity of the cargo;
3) The weight and size of the cargo;
4) Whether it is fragile, etc.;
5) Cargo hazard identification.
It is especially important to note that if the packaging of wooden boxes and pallets is unqualified, it will affect the entire transportation and loading and unloading process. It needs to be inspected from the beginning of the product delivery, and then loaded and transported if it is qualified.
3. Overweight cargo (goods weighing more than 5 tons) packaging and packing requirements
1. The cargo bottom support adopts a four-channel structure, and the cargo pallet meets the requirements of container weight (the maximum load-bearing capacity of a 40-foot container floor is 1 ton square meter, and the maximum load-bearing capacity of a 20-foot container floor is 2 tons/square meter);
2. The strength of the outer packaging is sufficient to support cargo loading and unloading (unloading by crane with bandage) and packing requirements.
3. The strength of the pallet is sufficient to support the weight of the goods, and the wooden strips will not be broken during the unloading and packing process.
4. The bottom of the pallet is flat and there are no screws, nuts or other protruding parts to avoid damage to the container.
5. The packaging of goods meets the packaging standards of wooden box and pallet goods.
Note: If the packaging of the goods is fragile or cannot be stacked, you need to fill in the relevant information truthfully when booking to avoid loss of goods caused by packaging problems. The loss caused by packaging problems will be borne by the shipper.
6. About us
We are a sourcing agent company in China Yiwu, China, with 23 years of experience and familiarity with the entire Chinese market. Provide the best one-stop service to support you from purchasing to shipping. Welcome to contact us.
God's Plans For Your Life Are Good And Encouraging
Jeremiah 29:11is a verse of encouragement. It lets us know that God’s plans for our lives are active and personal. Enjoy this post and remember your comments and insight are always welcome.
https://www.ramckinley.com/gods-plan-to-encourage-your-life/
Doesn’t the Bible say we shouldn’t judge others? The scripture you’re probably thinking of is Matthew 7:1-5. It says, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged…” Seems pretty clear, doesn’t it? But take another look at the next three verses, especially the last verse which says, “You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” In other words, we shouldn’t be hypocritical. We shouldn’t tell a brother to stop committing adultery if we’re committing adultery ourselves. A good example of this was when the Reverend Jesse Jackson was counseling President Bill Clinton after his affair with Monica Lewinsky came to light. Years later, we found out that Jackson was having his own affair at that very time. Matthew goes on to say that when we’re not being hypocritical we can remove the speck from our brother’s eye. Heck, a few verses later, Jesus judges people (Matthew 7:6, 15).
Jesus tells us in John 7:24 to “Judge rightly” and not by mere appearances. Ephesians 5:11 tells us to expose the ‘deeds of darkness”. How can we do that if we don’t judge those deeds first? Any act of church discipline (1st Corinthians 5:5) and rebuking false teachers (1st John 4:1) requires judgment. Being in disagreement with someone or considering someone to be wrong is not judgmentalism but it does make a judgment about their ideas. What Jesus condemns is a critical and judgmental spirit, an inappropriate sense of moral superiority over someone because of their moral failures.
There is no contradiction between holding firmly to your convictions and treating
those who you disagree with dignity and respect. Living harmoniously with people you disagree with is a sign of maturity. This is what Ephesians 4:15 means when it says to “speak the truth in love”. Sometimes people who are good at civility lack strong convictions and those with strong convictions lack civility. We Christians need to possess both qualities.
Finally, someone who says you shouldn’t judge others is making a judgment themselves. They’re doing what they don’t want you to do. They’re being hypocritical. In a conversation like this, make these points;
– what do they mean by ‘judging’?
– point out that they’re judging you for judging someone else…hence, they’re being
hypocritical.
– point out the difference between being judgmental and judging someone.
– point out that you can strongly disagree with someone without being ‘judgmental’.
– point out that making a judgment is the same as having an opinion.
– if they say you shouldn’t impose your morals on other people, read our FAQ about
“You can’t legislate morality”.
We can make judgments on other people, but we must do it with civility, humility and a desire to seek the other person’s betterment.
Book references:
“True For You, But Not For Me” by Paul Copan
“Jesus is involved in politics” by Neil Mammen
This article is first released on yiwuagt.com. Through this site, you can learn about many imports knowledge.
As the market grows on freight demand, the team of China-Europe Railway Express is also constantly expanding. Yiwu to London Railway opened on January 1, 2017, the whole journey was approximately 12451 km, which is the world's second long railway freight route only after Yiwu to Madrid Railway.
1. Yiwu to London Railway Overview
The route starts from China Yiwu, passing through Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Poland, Germany, Belgium, France, etc. After the Channel Tunnel, finally arrived in London, UK, which took about 18 days.
This railway from Yiwu to London is China's Article 8 International Railway Line. London has also become the 15th European city which have railways connect with China. (Other European cities with China-Europe Railways include Hamburg, Madrid, Rotterdam, Warsaw, etc.).
2. The advantages of Yiwu to London Railway
As we all know, the time of sea shipping is very long, and the price of air transport is very expensive. In the case of tension of logistics and freight, China-Europe Railway Express play an important role in stabilizing international freight. China-Europe Railway transportation speed is about 30 days faster than the ship, and the cost is much cheaper than air transport, and it is more stable and safe.
Take Yiwu to London Railway as an example, there are trains to London every week, and 200 containers can be loaded at a time, and it is small Influence by the weather. The sea shipping needs to pass the Channel Tunnel. There are many ships, and the channel crowded is easy to accident, sometimes there is a serious delay, so the railway freight is relatively safe. In addition, the amount of carbon dioxide emissions emissions from railways only accounts for 4% of the air transport, which is slightly higher than the sea shipping, in line the vision with China and EU to build a sustainable and green environment.
Note: Due to the difference orbital in the countries along Yiwu to the London Railway, its locomotives and compartments need to be replaced on the way.
3. Yiwu to London route market demand
Yiwu to London
Mainly carrying products from Yiwu market, including luggage, household items, electronic products, etc.
London to Yiwu
Mainly food, including soft drinks, vitamins, drugs and baby products, frozen meat, etc.
Although the railway isn't a feasible transportation of all types of products, but they have played an important role in high-value products that need to transport as soon as possible, such as electronic products, fashion items, automotive parts, agricultural products and fresh meat.
During the past two years, China Trade is seeking to bypass the transportation delays through land export goods. The wave of European demand has further promoted the growth of freight through the internationality railway, China is also planning other European railway freight routes.
4. The significance and achievement of Yiwu to London Railway
Yiwu to London Railway is part of the North Line of "One Belt", which is designed to strengthen China's trade relationships with Europe, and revive the past Silk Road. It is also very good to achieve its value, making it more convenient to import and export between Yiwu and London. Current Yiwu to London Railway has become one of the important logistics channels connected to European countries in the Yangtze River Delta region.
Yiwu is a small commodity center in eastern Zhejiang Province, is one of the many cities benefited from this service. According to Yiwu Customs, the total value of Yiwu foreign trade import and export has reached 31.295 billion yuan in 2020. The total value of the cargo in China-Europe Railway Express import and export reached 20.6 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 96.7%.
Last year, China exceeds the United States to become the largest commodity trading partner in the EU, which is a historic turning point. In addition to better playing the role of Yiwu Commodity City, the United Kingdom has further enhanced its global trade qualifications.
About us
We are Sellers Union Group-Sourcing Agent in China Yiwu, with 23 years of experience, provide one-stop service, support you from purchasing to shipping. If you want to import products from China profitable, please feel free to contact us.
Everyone Knows The Lord, From The Least To The Greatest
Wouldn't that be a great testimony? Well, everyone will know Him. The sad thing is many will know Him too late. Everyone will bow their knee to Him. So bend your knee to Him now, because if you do it first in eternity it will be too late. Click on the link below to read today's post.
https://ramckinley.com/everyone-from-the-least-to-the-greatest-will-know-the-lord/
What kind of a God would send good people to Hell?
Because there are no ‘good’ people, according to the Bible (Romans 3:10-12). This may sound harsh but do you know of anyone that’s perfect? If you let imperfect people into heaven, wouldn’t heaven eventually become just like Earth is now? And Earth now is definitely not a perfect place.
If you compare our ‘righteousness’ to God’s, it’s like comparing the height of a postage stamp to the height of the Empire State building. We don’t even come close (Isaiah 64:6). We’re great at comparing ourselves to other people, usually the ones not as good as we are. But Paul says not to compare ourselves to ourselves because this isn’t wise (2nd Corinthians 10:12). But if we compare ourselves to perfection (which is what heaven is), we’ll see that we fall short. If we want to get into heaven, we’ll have to be perfect (Matthew 5:20).
Jesus lived a perfect life. He NEVER sinned. When we invite Him into our life, He forgives our imperfections and wipes them away. He then applies His righteousness to us. Because He has removed our sin nature, and replaced it with His, we can now enter heaven, the perfect place (John 3:16).
But, you protest, what about people who are genuinely good? Everyone would agree that we cannot look into each others soul. We can only see the outward actions of a person. God can see into their soul, their real self (1st Samuel 16:7). Yes, there are some people who are more righteous than others. But what good does being twice as ‘good’ as the next person, if we are still not equal to God’s righteousness? We may be twice as good as another person, but the height of two postage stamps is still a long way from the height of the Empire State building. The only thing that can wipe away our imperfections is the blood of Jesus Christ. Jesus’ blood really does cleanse us (1st John 1:7).
Finally, one last point. This may shock you. People in hell don’t want to get out of hell because the only other place to be is in heaven. And heaven is the one place they don’t want to be because heaven is where God is. For them being in God’s presence would be much worse. C.S. Lewis has said“There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, “Thy will be done,” and those to whom God says, in the end, “Thy will be done.” All that are in Hell, choose it. Without that self-choice there could be no Hell. No soul that seriously and constantly desires joy will ever miss it. Those who seek, find. To those who knock, it is opened.” He also said that, “The Gates of Hell are locked from the inside.”
So, in a sense, hell is God’s merciful provision to those who don’t want to be in His presence forever. But don’t read into this too much. Hell is NOT a nice place for sinners (Matthew 13:42, Luke 13:28 . Jesus compared it to the worst, most repugnant place ever. The Valley of ben-Hinnon (or what we call Gehenna or hell) was Jerusalem’s garbage dump. It smelled terrible, had rats, mice and maggots in it, and fires that were continually burning the garbage (Matthew 9:42-48). Hell was made for the devil, his demons and for all who follow him. Jesus made it clear. If you’re not following Him, you’re following the devil (Matthew 12:30).
So, will there be good people in hell? By some people’s definition, YES. But by God’s definition (the only one that counts), NO!
References:
Websites;
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/7-truths-about-hell/
https://www.gotquestions.org/who-will-go-to-hell.html
Books;
“The Problem of God” by Mark Clark, pages 125-150, an excellent book for skeptics
“The Case for Faith” by Lee Strobel, pages 169-194, an excellent book
“How to Talk to a Skeptic” by Donald J. Johnson, pages 105-121, great answer on hell
For His Kingdom,
Dave Maynard
7 Reasons to Celebrate our Life in Christ
I like the all-inclusive wording that Paul uses to tell us how our union with Christ brings us great joy. ALL praise to God who has blessed us with EVERY spiritual blessing. The 7 reasons to celebrate our life in Christ is a study of the first 14 verses of Ephesians.
All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. Ephesians 1:3
https://kingdomwinds.com/7-reasons-to-celebrate-our-life-in-christ/
Open The Way, Let The King Of Glory Enter!
Psalm 24 is a song about the Majesty of the Lord. The theme of what David wrote about in this Psalm was to open the way. To let the King of Glory enter. This is a post worth reading. Click below to read today's post.
https://www.ramckinley.com/open-the-way-and-let-the-king-of-glory-enter/
There are a few Old Testament passages where God tells the Jews to “completely and utterly destroy” a nation (Deuteronomy 7:2 20:17 & Joshua 10:40). Some people have accused God of committing genocide. The word ‘genocide’ is a combined Greek and Latin word meaning ‘race killing’.
Consider the following points:
1st…Please use the word correctly. The improper use of words, like genocide, can give an incorrect word picture of someone/something. God’s commands were motivated by moral concerns, not racial ones. Note, for example, that God judges nations for outrageous moral acts (Amos, chapters 1&2, Leviticus 18:20-30), not for what race they belong to. In fact, Israel was to love & treat other nationalities just like their own people (Leviticus 19:33,34). This was unheard of in other ancient Near Eastern nations. God was concerned with sin, not ethnicity. God treated the Jews the same way as these other nations when they did these moral atrocities (Deuteronomy 13).
2nd…Who gets to determine if a nation or culture is irredeemable, beyond the point of no moral or scriptural return? Aren’t these considerations too weighty for any human being to judge? Yes, they are. Only God should be the judge, thru special revelation thru His prophets. Without such clear divine guidance, Israel wouldn’t have been justified in attacking these nations. When Israel did attack nations without this divine approval (Numbers 14:41-45, Joshua 7), they lost. Such a divine call is NOT a universally binding standard for all time and for all cultures. It was given to Israel only for a specific time and nation.
3rd…All languages have figures of speech. When you say you have a million to one chance of winning the lottery, no one literally means it. It’s hyperbole, overstating something to prove a point. Joshua used this language when he said to “completely and utterly destroy all who breathed” (Joshua 10:40-42 11: 16-23). In reality, Joshua did no such thing, he was just saying he had trounced the enemy. Compare Deuteronomy 7:2 with 7:3-5. If they were all destroyed in verse 2, why would He say not to intermarry with them in verses 3-5? Even later (Joshua 23:7, 12, 13 15:63 16:10 17:13 & Judges 2:10-13) Joshua warned the Jews not to mention, swear by, serve or bow down to their gods. The knowing Near Eastern reader recognized these types of words as hyperbole. This language wasn’t meant to be taken literally.
Also, remember that God’s mercy was always available to any Canaanite who responded positively to God’s message (Joshua 2:1-14 & Hebrews 11:31). It’s important to remember that Israel NEVER used these commands to justify attacking non-Canaanite peoples. These commands were given as one time orders only.
4th…We are far removed from the moral depravity of that time. It’s really hard for us to imagine what was going on back then. Even the women, the elderly and the children were involved in this depravity. Incest, adultery, beastiality, homosexuality, temple prostitution, child molestation, child sacrifice, the Canaanite treatment of their enemies….and the list goes on and on (Leviticus 18 & 20:1-5). The Canaanites were a depraved people. And yet, God gave then over 400 years to change their ways (Genesis 15:16) but they didn’t. The USA hasn’t even been a nation that long.
Lest we think we wouldn’t do such things, consider what we’ve done in the last 50 years;
…killing babies in the womb
…legitimating homosexuality
…changing the biblical definition of marriage
…legally discriminating against Christians for holding to biblical morals
…giving rights to rather than medically treating gender confused persons
Things that may fall in the next few years;
…polygyny (one man marrying several women)
…polyandry (one woman marrying several men)
…beastiality (having sex with an animal)
…the lowering of the age of consent to have sexual intercourse with a minor
5th…When you make judgements about what is right or wrong, what system of morals are you using? Your own ideas? Where do they come from? How do you decide what is right or wrong? Is it your own preference or do you compare an action to an unchangeable moral standard?
We can complain about the indecency of God’s wrath but would we want to live in a society where there was little punishment for violating moral standards? God’s wrath is because of His love and protection of us.
How many of us, as children, thought our parents actions towards us were unfair only to find out we agreed with them when we became parents? Could it be the same here with God’s wrath? It’s possible we may have to defer to God’s judgement now and only get full answers when we’re in heaven and can see things from His perspective.
Book reference:
“77 FAQ’s about God and the Bible” by Josh McDowell & Sean McDowell, page 81
“That’s Just Your Interpretation” by Dr. Paul Copan, page 161
For His Kingdom,
Dave Maynard
Homefigures of speech
Sure you can! We do it all the time. Laws are either moral or immoral but they’re not amoral (without any morality). For example, speeding laws are moral because we want people to drive & arrive safely. Murder is against the law because we want to protect people so they can live in safety. If you don’t legislate morality, what are you legislating? Warm fuzzy feelings? Traditions? Platitudes? The question shouldn’t be can you legislate morality. It should be whose morality are we going to legislate? Historically, America has replied on Christian morality. This has helped to produce the freest nation on Earth. We started getting away from this morality in the early n20th century. Now in the 21st century, we’ve made things legal that we wouldn’t have made just a few years ago. We’ll cover whose morality we should legislate in another FAQ.
The people who say you can’t legislate morality just don’t want you legislating your morality. They’re fine with legislating their own morality. The person who says you shouldn’t force your morals on a woman who wants to get an abortion, will force their morals on the unborn baby. They will also force you to pay increased taxes to support their ‘pet’ projects, whether it be welfare spending, global warming or supporting Planned Parenthood. They’re being selective in their outrage and in the application of the law. Once again, they’re telling you not to force your morals on someone else, but they’re more than willing to force their morals on you.
Slavery is a good example of something that’s been socially acceptable for thousands of years. No religion before Christianity had EVER proposed that all people are equal. Even many religions started after Christianity, like Islam, supported slavery. In fact, Mohammed gave his wife 40 slaves. The American & British idea that slavery was wrong was a moral & religious value right from the start. Whose law was slavery against? Not man’s laws as it was legal. It was against God’s law. So to those people who say the Church should stay out of politics, they’re saying the Church shouldn’t have spoken out against slavery. Are you really willing to say that? If the Church isn’t qualified to address these issues, who is? Someone else who will be forcing their morality on you, that’s who.
No one is saying that the Church has to weigh in on everything. But they should weigh in on matters that directly affect our beliefs.
Some people say that if a law doesn’t directly affect you, you shouldn’t speak out against it. This is particularly true in the abortion debate. If you don’t like abortion, don’t have one but don’t stop another person from getting one just because you’re against it. What a weak argument this is. I’ll switch the participants to show you the fallacy of this line of reasoning. In pre-WW II Germany when the Nazi’s were rounding up and killing the Jews, you shouldn’t complain because, hey, you’re not Jewish. While you may think the Nazi’s are wrong and you would NEVER kill a Jew, you don’t want to force your morality on the Nazi’s. Doesn’t make a lot of sense, does it? Edmund Burke’s comment comes to mind about “All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing”. Martin Niemoller, a Lutheran pastor in WW II who survived a concentration camp, said First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.
Here’s a very partial list of practices that Christians helped to make illegal thru the political, governing system:
– infanticide (the killing of infants)
– child marriage
– child prostitution
– purchasing of wives
– killing special needs children
– killing of widows
– the superstitious killing of twins
– slavery
– polygamy (one man marrying multiple wives)
– the gladiatorial games
– child labor
– etc., etc.
Up until 374 A.D., it was still legal in Roman society to kill any baby you didn’t want. Then a Christian pastor named Bishop Basil of Caesarea convinced Roman Emperor Valentinian to outlaw infanticide. Do you still want to Church to stay out of politics now?
Another example is when people try to use the idea of human rights to justify same-sex marriage. A good response would be to ask them, “Why do you think all humans have equal rights?” This idea of all people having the same rights comes from the Bible (Galatians 3:8). Some might say that equal rights are a modern concept. Aside from being wrong, isn’t it nice that we’ve just discovered this modern concept now (said very sarcastically)?So now our own moral standards are just our own preferences? But our preferences change over time. What was illegal 40 years ago is now legal. What is illegal now may be legal 40 years from now….like polygamy or lowering the age of sexual consent (don’t laugh, both of these are making their way into the court system and they’re being argued on the same basis that same-sex marriage was). So our moral standards become like shifting sands. Without an external, transcendent moral standard, our national morality becomes whatever we decide at the moment. It didn’t work for Israel (Judges 17:6 & 21:25) and it won’t work for us. Why aren’t we learning from biblical history (1st Corinthians 10:6, 11,12)? What a recipe for disaster!
So how far should we go in legislating morals? Should we make kissing on a date illegal? This is where wisdom comes in. We don’t want to be legalistic (2nd Corinthians 3:6). Many rules make for many transgressions (Galatians 5:19-23). We don’t want a Christian Taliban. But our moral system needs a foundation. This moral foundation in America has, in the past, been Christian. While we can’t dot every ‘i’ and cross every ‘t’, we can provide a framework from which to work. Wayne Grudem’s book, listed below, provides an excellent overview of what standards to apply and how to apply them.
Book references:
“Politics according to the Bible” by Wayne Grudem
“Jesus is involved in politics” by Neil Mammen
“True for you but not for me” by Paul Copan
There Is One God, A Fact That Will Never Change
One of the things I like about the Bible is it distinctively says, there is one God. It doesn’t start by saying, “In the beginning, there was a God, and he created everything.” It doesn’t try to prove that He exists. No, it starts with, “In the beginning, God…” Click below to read today's post.
https://ramckinley.com/there-is-one-god-always-has-been-always-will-be/
The Seasons of Our Love:
People often relate seasons of the year to seasons of a marriage. While each marriage is unique, I have noticed similarities. My wife and I just celebrated our 43rd anniversary in 2019, so indulge me for a few minutes.
The springtime of our love was our meeting, our courtship and the early years of our marriage. While not stress-free, it was remembered as young love, passions, can’t-wait-to-see-each-other, not-wanting-to-say-goodnight-to-each-other and just wanting to be together all the time. When we were married, it was a magical time of seeing your best friend and lover all the time while trying to learn to blend two lives together.
The summer of our love was having and raising kids. At first, to see birth was magical…each time. But it quickly gave way to middle-of-the-night feedings and long walks burping the babies. Suddenly, there were little human beings interfering with our time together. Then, as the kids got older, we discovered that our ideas on discipline were different. That was fun (NOT)! School, sports, youth group and a myriad of other things all took time. Having time together with my lover and best friend took planning. The spontaneity was gone. And our finances got a lot tighter. Sacrifices had to be made. We seemed to argue more about everyday things. The heat of summer seemed to wither our love. It wasn’t dying, it was just changing form. It was deepening and maturing. Love making was no longer spontaneous and wildly passionate. It had to be planned and was more predictable. But sweet and very fulfilling nonetheless.
We didn’t want to make the mistakes that our parents made. We were going to do a better job. But as time went on, we realized that we were making our own mistakes. We also realized that our parents did some really good things. And we understood them better and appreciated them more. We really wanted the best for our kids. We wanted them to learn the lessons that took us so long to learn. We also learned that God loves our kids more than we do and His love can cover a multitude of sins.
In the fall of our love, we became empty-nesters. Once again, it was just the two of us. Best friends and lovers but older, wiser and a little more sag in our bodies. But the sparkle in the eye is still there. She can still melt me with her smile. We began to exercise the gifts God has so graciously given us. She to a ministry to women. Me to being an adult bible teacher in our church. Time together is easier to plan. We see our friends more often. Our boys bring their friends over to spend time with us. They start asking us for advice every now and then (surprise)! Then they enlarge our family by getting married and having kids of their own. We have daughters-in-love, not daughters-in-law, something my parents modeled for us. We include their parents and siblings in family get-togethers. God has created our own little family dynasty. Tough times still happen but we’ve learned to seek God’s guidance thru them. Our life isn’t perfect but its pretty darn good. Finances aren’t so tight. We can go on date nights again.
Now is the winter of our love. We’re retired and busier than ever. Our individual ministries keep us running. We have a church small group of friends that are our age that we’ve walked thru life with for the last 10 years or so. Precious friends that we’ve laughed, cried and prayed with thru life’s experiences. We’re blessed with great grandkids that we’re very involved with. We’re passing on what we’ve learned in 43 years of marriage by teaching our church’s pre-marital class. We travel more. We love each other more deeply. Patti walked with me thru throat cancer, just as we will walk with each other thru death’s door into the loving arms of Jesus when He calls us home.
Our winter is the reward of walking with Jesus thru all the ups and downs of life. Our seasons of love have layered upon each other, like building floors on a foundation. There were times when the floors weren’t finished and didn’t look so good. The storms came and damaged the floors. Sometimes rebuilding needed to happen. But the foundation (Jesus) stood firm. And now, the building is finished. It looks great and is functioning well. And it’s all because of the foundation.
These are the seasons of our love. No matter how your seasons have worked out, if you know Jesus when your seasons end, you’ll be welcomed into a new season of unimaginable joy that will never end.
For His Kingdom,
Dave Maynard
https://bsssb-llc.com
Categories: about christianity, Autobiography, Christian, Christianity, Classes, faith, family life, God, Jesus Christ, Legacy, life plan, Marriage, Ministries, testimony, women's ministry
