Phridays Phunny Translation Errors

Guangzhou Bans All Motor Bikes

As of January 1, 2007 the city of Guangzhou, China will ban ALL motor bikes from the streets. You can read about it here.

There are more than a quarter of a million bikes driving the streets of this city today.
It doesnt take a rocket scientist to see the potential problem that banning motor bikes will create not only with general transportation but with the distributing of goods etc...

I think that from these pictures you will be able to see that it is obvious that motor bikes are a necessity for the people of this city. How will the people of this city whos livelyhoods depend on these modes of transportation survive?


Thank you for the photos Clarke! To read about Asian culture read Clarkes blog.

One "Flew" Over The Cuckoos Nest

Dr. Flew is Close, But he doesnt get a cigar....here

My new HERO

OK, OK I admit it. I am a closet Sooner fan. Now that I got that off my chest, as Ricky Ricardo would say, I "got some esplainin' to do".

Coach Stoops is Da Man. He became one of my heros in 2000 after reading an article that told how he made sure that his coaches put their families above The Sooner Machine. He also does not allow his coaches to work on Sundays until the evening in case any of his coaches want to attend church. At that point I officially became an Oklahoma Sooner fan.

Today, some six years later, I read an article about another Sooner who is a starter on this years Big 12 Championship team. The next game that he will start will be in this years Tostitos Fiesta Bowl on New Years day against Boise State. This will be the last game game of his career, not because he is a Senior and will be graduating. Nor is it because he is foregoing his Senior year in order to enter the NFL draft. This young man is a Junior who still has a year of elegibility left and is giving up that last year of elegibility in order to raise his little brother.
If that doesnt make you want to don a sooner baseball cap then nothing will.

I read this article in the Fort Worth Star Telelgrams sport section today and had to share it with you all. It is worth the time to read it.

Prayer Request

Please pray for our daughter Joy. She has been running a very high fever and has had a terrible rash along with blood shot eyes and extreme lethargy. We took her to Cooks Childrens Hospital emergency room this morning for the second time in three days.
They admitted her and have quarentined her off from the rest of the hospital. She is in a room that has its own ventilation system because they dont want what ever the bug is that she has in the rest of the hospital. The doctors are still at a loss as to what she has. They said that they think its one of the "really bad virusus". The possibility that she has measels has not been ruled out yet either.
I dont need to say just how frightening it is for Megan and myself. I cant imagine just how horrible it is for those who are going through the same type of thing as we are, who do not have a Rock to stand on.
Though we may not know or understand what is going, we know that God is good all the time and that He is in control. Knowing this makes it easier to go through this storm in our life because we know that He is a God who cares and is working out all things for our good.

Please ask the LORD to have mercy on our baby by showing the doctors what it is that she has and know how to best treat her. Ask for her complete healing.

Thank you and Merry Christmas!
Mike, Megan, Jake and Tess

Phun Phridays II

Boy did these guys miss it with me.
I talk like a redneck hick.

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Midland "You have a Midland accent" is just another way of saying "you don't have an accent." You probably are from the Midland (Pennsylvania, southern Ohio, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, and Missouri) but then for all we know you could be from Florida or Charleston or one of those big southern cities like Atlanta or Dallas. You have a good voice for TV and radio.
The South
The West
The Inland North
Philadelphia
Boston
The Northeast
North Central
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

Phun Phridays-Light a candle for AIDS research

Until December 31st, Bristol - Myers is donating a dollar to AIDS research every time someone goes to their website and moves the match to the candle and lights it. It’s free to you. You can only do it once so please forward this link on.

Wednesdays Word-My Heros Have Always Been Cowboys...They Still Are It Seems

Today I was reminded why the Cowboys have always been my heros. Ever since Roger Staubach threw the "Hail Mary" to Drew Pearson to beat the Minnesota Vikings I have been a Cowboys fan (ESPECIALLY during the Landry years).

In 1974 I got my first Dallas Cowboys team poster. McDonalds put out a team poster from 1974-1984 and my cousin and I memorized every Dallas Cowboy player during that time.

As a result of memorizing who wore what number, I can still recall many of the players names and numbers. Since number 20 was one of my favorite numbers, Ron Springs naturally became one of my favorite players. I will never forget Everson Walls rookie season. Though he was an undrafted free agent out of the great Grambling in La., he led the NFL in interceptions. His amazing rookie season unfortunatly ended with "The Catch".

These two men were and are pure class. I dont know if either of them know Christ or not. I do know that number "24" has displayed what it means to consider others above himself and to love his neighbor as himself.

To read-> CLICK HERE

Mission Mondays

Lottie Moon
1840- 1912
Baptist missionary to China

"We westerners can make things but we cannot make God. God is the creator, and believing him means having him in your heart."
This is the main teaching that stuck in the minds of many Chinese, when Lottie dedicated her life to serving Christ in China. Lottie was born on December 14, 1840, in a small town in Virginia. Her family was very wealthy, and her mom was a dedicated Christian, but Lottie did not show any interest in the things of God. After her father died, Lottie decided to go to Hollins College, where she was an excellent student. One night, some of her friends invited her to a mission conference at their church. Lottie was quite reluctant to go, but decided to for her friends' sake. That night, Lottie met God, and asked him into her heart.

Lottie had become very interested in missions, and decided that she wanted to devote herself as a fulltime missionary to China. Two years, on September 1, 1873, after she graduated from college, Lottie left for China. She started her work in the city in Ton chow, which is in Northern China. It was very hard to get acquainted with the people, because of the language and culture differences, she even started baking cookies for the kids, but the kids were told that the cookies had some kind of disease. Finally, they started eating them and Lottie became known as the "cookie lady". Lottie would write almost everyday to the United States telling them about the many adventures in her life then, and asking them for help and prayers. Her letters were published in the mission's papers, and many ladies became interested in foreign missions through that.

Lottie decided she would rather work in a rural area because the people in those areas were much more friendlier than the people in the cities. She visited little villages around Ton chow. The Baptist Mission back in the United States decided to send a couple ladies to help Lottie, which was good news, because it meant that Lottie could go on furlough. When everything was ready to her to go on furlough, two men walked up to her and told her about their town, Pintow, and urged her to go and teach heir people about eternal life. Lottie immediately gave up her furlough and went to Pintow. She worked very hard traveling from village to village, telling people about Christ, and Christianity spreading rapidly throughout those areas praised her efforts. She did continue to write the Baptist Mission, but in that time there were many crises and China was under famine and epidemics. At that same time, the mission was under a financial crisis and there was no money to help Lottie. Lottie decided to stop eating because she felt there was not enough food to go around. She soon became ill, and was sent back to the United States, but the boat stopped Kobe harbor in Japan, where she died on December 24, 1912.

Lottie was honored by many missions all around the United States, and the Southern Baptist have an offering called the "Lottie Moon Christmas Offering", which is an offering used solely for foreign missions.

Phun Phridays

Are you ready for some Texas high school FOOTBALL!!!?

This is not just the greatest high school football game ever played but the greatest fooball game EVER played. You WILL WANT TO CHECK IT OUT HERE. If you have never seen Texas football, this is all you will need to get hooked.

_____________________________________________________________

It is state championship time once again. Sit down. Kick back and HOLD ON! The two time defedning National Champions are still in the hunt for their 4th state championship in the last 5 years.

Richland Springs is the team that beat the high school where I used to coach. They will play for the state championship game on Saturday at the legendary Shotwell Stadium. Their hope is to win a second state championship in a row.

Can anything good come out of Nazereth (Nazereth, Texas that is) ...We will know sometime around 10 pm, Friday night...(no Im not talking about the girls basketball team....15 state championships).


Of course you have Austin Westlake who is no stranger to the playoffs.


Celina, a small town football factory and home of the legendary G.A. Moore is attempting to put an 8th ring on their finger.


Lets not forget LaMarque winner of 4 state championships and who appeared in 7 state championship games over the last 12 years.


Of course there are other teams with tradition such as Wolforth Frenship, Waco, and Windthorst who historically have had good teams...(no Im not speaking of Windthorsts girls volleyball team, winner of 10 state championships).


Ya, buddy the next 2 weeks are gonna be good... :)

I have pasted the remaining football games below.

UIL Football Playoff Pairings

CLASS 5A

DIVISION I STATE SEMIFINALS

Carroll (14-0) vs. Allen (13-1), 1 p.m. Saturday, Texas Stadium

Pearland (12-2) vs. Austin Westlake (11-2), 2 p.m. Saturday, Kyle Field, Texas A&M

DIVISION I STATE FINAL

7 p.m. Dec. 23, Alamodome, San Antonio

DIVISION II STATE SEMIFINALS

Cedar Hill (14-0) vs. Garland (12-2), 5 p.m. Saturday, Texas Stadium

Hou. Cy-Falls (11-3) vs. SA MacArthur (12-2), 3 p.m. Saturday, Alamodome, San Antonio

STATE FINAL

2 p.m. Dec. 23, Alamodome, San Antonio

CLASS 4A

DIVISION I STATE FINAL

Copperas Cove (12-2) vs. SA Alamo Heights (13-1), 7 p.m. Saturday, Alamodome, San Antonio

DIVISION II STATE SEMIFINALS

Wolfforth Frenship (12-2) vs. Waco (12-2), 1 p.m Saturday, Northwest HS

La Marque (13-1) vs. Schertz Clemens (13-1), 3 p.m. Saturday, Berry Stadium, Houston

CLASS 3A

DIVISION I STATE FINAL

Tex. Liberty-Eylau (12-3) vs. Robinson (12-2), 6 p.m. Saturday, Ford Stadium, SMU

DIVISION II

STATE SEMIFINALS

Vernon (9-5) vs. Celina (14-0), 4 p.m. Saturday, C.H. Collins Complex, Denton

Liberty Hill (11-2) vs. Hondo (14-0), 4 p.m. Saturday, Farris Stadium, San Antonio

CLASS 2A

DIVISION I STATE FINAL

Littlefield (13-1) vs. Tatum (12-2), 6 p.m. Saturday, Bearcat Stadium, Aledo

DIVISION II STATE SEMIFINALS

Statford (13-1) vs. Cisco (13-1), 2 p.m. Saturday, Lowrey Stadium, Lubbock

Mart (13-1) vs. Lexington (12-2), 6 p.m. Saturday, Temple HS

CLASS A

DIVISION I STATE FINAL

McCamey (10-4) vs. Alto (13-0), 3 p.m. Saturday, Gordon Wood Stadium, Brownwood

DIVISION II STATE SEMIFINALS

Nazareth (13-0) vs. Windthorst (13-0), 7:30 p.m. Friday, Shotwell Stadium, Abilene

Lovelady (12-2) vs. Chilton (12-1), 7:30 p.m. Friday, Corsicana HS

SIX-MAN

DIVISION I STATE FINAL

Rule (12-0) vs. Richland Springs (14-0), 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Shotwell Stadium, Abilene

DIVISION II STATE FINAL

Jayton (11-3) vs. Vernon Northside (12-2), 3 p.m. Saturday, Shotwell Stadium, Abilene

Peanuts

Linus gives his classic speech on Christmas.

Wednesdays Word of Encouragement

Is Something Wrong With Christmas?
by Greg Wright, December, 2002

Is something wrong with Christmas?
It seems so different now.
Before it was so happy,
But now it just seems foul.

Did someone change its music,
And take away its joy?
Its songs now irritate me,
While mourning for my boy.

Did someone change the lighting,
That used to be so gay?
Brightly colored hues before,
Now changed to shades of gray.

The fellowship and feasting,
I used to join with glee.
Now I want to run and hide,
And from this season flee.

For everything seems different,
From how it was before.
Little things that cheered my days,
Bring happiness no more.

But Jesus is unchanging,
My heart begins to sing.
No temporal thing surpasses,
The joy his presence brings.

They laid Him in a manger,
Where creatures used to feed.
Now in His grace He feeds us,
And meets our deepest needs.

He walked the road to Calvary,
They pierced His hands and feet.
But now He walks beside me,
My strength through all I meet.

On Calvary's cross He suffered,
And paid for all my sins.
Kneeling there I die to self,
And there my life begins.

Keep Christmas with its temporal
Distractions and delights.
My joy is safe in Jesus,
Secure through darkest nights.

The heart that rests in Jesus,
Endures the holidays,
By drawing near the Savior,
Delighting in His ways.

The heart that lifts up Jesus,
Shall never be without,
Reason for the surest hope,
And remedy for doubt.

Oh put your faith in Jesus,
Let nothing else distract.
Though grief and woe surround you,
His love you'll never lack.

Cling tightly to the Savior,
Throughout your darkened days,
Seek the Lord with all your heart,
Trust Him in every way.

Gods Goal XV

Jesus' Death

In John 12:27-28 Jesus weighed whether to escape the hour of his death; but he rejected that alternative knowing that precisely through dying he would finish his mission of glorifying the Father.

"Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? `Father, save me from this hour'? No, for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify thy name. " Then a voice came from heaven, "I have glorified it and I will glorify it again."

The purpose of Jesus' death was to glorify the Father. To be willing as the Son of God to suffer the loss of so much glory himself in order to repair the injury done to God's glory by our sin showed how infinitely valuable the glory of God is. To be sure, the death of Christ also shows God's love for us. But we are not at the center.

God put forward his Son on the cross "to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins" (Romans3:25). In other words, by forgiving sin in the Old Testament and by tolerating many sinners, God had given the impression that his honor and glory were not of infinite worth. Now to vindicate the honor of his name and the worth of his glory, he required the death of his own Son. Thus Christ suffered and died for the glory of his Father. This demonstrates the righteousness of God, because God's righteousness is his unswerving allegiance to uphold the value of his glory.

From the Book "Desiring God" by John Piper

Our Kids

If one falls down,
his friend can help him up.
But pity the man who falls
and has no one to help him up!

Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
But how can one keep warm alone?

Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

Mission Monday

The following prayer request was sent out by the I.M.B.s Prayer Office

ZIGUA OF TANZANIA (zee-GOO-ah). The Zigua Team writes: “The group of evangelists/pastors had just gone over their testimonies and a 10-minute ‘Creation to Christ’ presentation at the seminar when a man entered the group. No one knew him, which was unusual in this small village. As he introduced himself, he said that he had watched the movie we had shown the night before and God had spoken to him. He wanted to know more. So immediately the men began sharing what they had just practiced. The man asked Jesus to come into his life. He said that he was only passing through the village, visiting his relative, when he was attracted to the movie. All the leaders were amazed at how the Lord had worked to bring this man to Himself through them, even as they were learning to witness! Please pray for this new believer as he returns to his home. Ask that he will continue to grow in the Lord and that his life will be a testimony to his family and friends. Pray that these pastors and evangelists will take advantage of all the opportunities the Lord gives them to share the Good News.”

Phun Phridays

LOL. Read this.

The Grace Family

GCC

Tess

South Padre Island

Thanksgiving 2006

Fascinating!

From NJ Nightline-A giant black hole has been caught red-handed dipping into a cosmic cookie jar of stars by NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer. This is the first time astronomers have seen the whole process of a black hole eating a star, from its first to nearly final bites.

"This type of event is very rare, so we are lucky to study the entire process from beginning to end," said Dr. Suvi Gezari of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, Calif. Gezari is lead author of a new paper appearing in the Dec. 10 issue of Astrophysical Journal Letters.

For perhaps thousands of years, the black hole rested quietly deep inside an unnamed elliptical galaxy. But then a star ventured a little too close to the sleeping black hole and was torn to shreds by the force of its gravity. Part of the shredded star swirled around the black hole, then began to plunge into it, triggering a bright ultraviolet flare that the Galaxy Evolution Explorer was able to detect.

Today, the space-based telescope continues to periodically watch this ultraviolet light fade as the black hole finishes the remaining bits of its stellar meal. The observations will ultimately provide a better understanding of how black holes evolve with their host galaxies.


"This will help us greatly in weighing black holes in the universe, and in understanding how they feed and grow in their host galaxies as the universe evolves," said Dr. Christopher Martin of Caltech, a co-author of the paper and the principal investigator for the Galaxy Evolution Explorer.

In the early 1990s, three other resting, or dormant, black holes were suspected of having eaten stars when the joint German-American-British Röntgen X-ray satellite picked up X-ray flares from their host galaxies. Astronomers had to wait until a decade later for NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton X-ray observatory to confirm those findings, showing that the black holes' X-rays had faded dramatically -- a sign that stars were swallowed.

Now, Gezari and her colleagues have, for the first time, watched a similar feeding frenzy unfold, as it happens, through the ultraviolet eyes of the Galaxy Evolution Explorer. They used the telescope's detectors to catch an ultraviolet flare from a distant galaxy, then watched the flare diminish over time, as the galaxy's central black hole consumed the star. Additional data from Chandra, the Canada France Hawaii Telescope in Hawaii and the Keck Telescope, also in Hawaii, helped the team chronicle the event in multiple wavelengths over two years.

Black holes are heaps of concentrated matter whose gravity is so strong that even light cannot escape. Supermassive black holes are believed to reside at the cores of every galaxy, though some are thought to be more active than others. Active black holes drag surrounding material into them, heating it up and causing it to glow. Dormant black holes, like the one in our Milky Way galaxy, hardly make a peep, so they are difficult to study.

That's why astronomers get excited when an unsuspecting star wanders too close to a dormant black hole, an event thought to happen about once every 10,000 years in a typical galaxy. A star will flatten and stretch apart when a nearby black hole's gravity overcomes its own self-gravity. The same phenomenon happens on Earth every day, as the moon's gravity tugs on our world, causing the oceans to rise and fall. Once a star has been disrupted, a portion of its gaseous body will then be pulled into the black hole and heated up to temperatures that emit X-rays and ultraviolet light.

"The star just couldn't hold itself together," said Gezari, adding, "Now that we know we can observe these events with ultraviolet light, we've got a new tool for finding more."

The newfound feeding black hole is thought to be tens of millions times as massive as our sun. Its host galaxy is located 4 billion light-years away in the Bootes constellation.

Note: JPL

AMAZING FACTS ABOUT THE UNIVERSE

Chapter 1

We are living in an age of scientific progress. In our generation we have seen man achieve some things that our forefathers considered impossible.
The pace at which science is progressing is perpetually accelerating. It has been estimated that the entire scientific knowledge that man had acquired from the time of his creation to 1750 A.D. was doubled all of a sudden within a period of 150 years by 1900 A.D. The knowledge that was man's by 1900 A.D. doubled again and this time in just 50 years - by 1950 A.D. This knowledge doubled again in just 10 years - by 1960. It has been estimated that man's scientific knowledge has been doubling thereafter every two and half years.
Take for instance the speed of travel, as one indication of scientific advance. 200 years ago man traveled on horseback just like his primitive ancestors did thousands of years earlier. But by 1900, man could travel by advanced means of locomotion at about 80 kilometres per hour and this was considered a very fast speed in those days. By 1945, jet planes had come into the air and man was traveling at 1000 kilometres per hour. Today, man travels in space at over 40,000 kilometres per hour.
We say that space has been conquered because man has reached the moon; but we must not forget that the moon is just on the fringe of space. Space itself is so vast that it staggers our imagination. Let's have a look at the universe and at space!
The average distance of the moon from the earth is about 400,000 kilometres. This is very small compared with the distance from the earth to the sun which is about 150 million kilometres. The distance of the sun looks quite considerable, but is actually quite negligible when compared with the distance of the nearest star.
When calculating distances to the stars, ordinary units of measurement will not do, for they lead us into fantastically large figures. Scientists and astronomers therefore use the "light year" as the unit of measurement - that is, the distance that light travels in one year. Remember that light travels about 300,000 kilometres (or 7 times around the earth) in one second. So the distance that it travels in one year comes to over 9000 billion kilometres.
Let us consider the distances to some of the stars. The nearest star visible to the naked eye is a star called "Alpha Centauri" - which is four and a half light years away - that is, about 250,000 times the distance to the sun. This means that if you traveled at the speed of light, even though you would reach the moon in one and a half seconds and the sun in eight and a half minutes you would have to travel for four and a half years at that speed to reach "Alpha Centauri." To get a better idea of what this means, consider a scale model of the universe where the earth is represented by a grain of sand and the sun by a marble, 3 feet away from the earth. All the planets of our solar system would then come within a radius of 100 feet from the sun. But the nearest star would be 150 miles away from the earth on that scale model of the universe.
The farthest star visible to the naked eye is in the Andromeda Galaxy, which is more than 1.5 million light years away. There are still more distant galaxies that are visible through telescopes, 6,500 million light years away.
Now look at the sizes of some of the stars. They look so small that little children say "Twinkle, twinkle little star". The earth looks pretty large! It takes us many hours to get from one place to another on this earth. But the sun is so large that 1 million spheres the size of the earth could fit into it, if it were hollow. Yet even the sun is small compared to some stars. Some stars are so large that 500 million spheres the size of the sun could fit inside each of them if they were hollow.
The star Betelgeuse, 520 light years from the earth, is one of the bright stars of the Orion belt. Its diameter is 500 million kilometres - which means that if it were hollow, the earth could comfortably revolve around the sun, INSIDE THIS STAR, in its normal orbit! (The earth's orbit around the sun being only 300 million kilometres in diameter).
Now consider the number of the stars. Our solar system is part of a galaxy called the "Milky Way". Astronomers have estimated that there are at least 100,000 million stars in this galaxy. The sun is just one such star. And the Milky way is just one galaxy among many. Astronomers tell us that there are at least 100 million galaxies in the part of space that telescopes can see. There are many more beyond.
Consider too the perfect precision with which these heavenly bodies move in their orbits. The best man-made watch is not more precise than the stars in the heavens. Surely there must be a Supreme Intelligence behind this universe, that created and planned each star and planet.
How vast is space! How small is man! One of the writers in the Bible wrote thus, "When I look up into the night skies and see the stars, I can't understand oh God why you should pay any attention to puny man". Yet, God the creator of this universe cares for each of us. This is the marvelous truth we learn in the Bible.
The value of any article is not determined by its size. A millionaire may own acres of land. But his little child is more precious to him than all those large tracts of land. So with God. Space may be vast. The stars may be huge in their size. But God loves and cherishes man more than all of His creation. Man was created to be a son of God, to have fellowship with God. It is such a fellowship with God alone that can give meaning and purpose to man's existence.
We can see the greatness of God in creation. But the Bible reveals that this God is also One who loves us and cares for us.

To read in its entirity click here

GOD, the Creator of Science
In the Beginning
"In the beginning GOD created the heavens and earth" Genesis 1:1. GOD not only created the heavens and the earth but He created the scientific basis for us to study His work. It is truly impossible for man to dispute the existence of GOD. Many have tried and failed. From the very beginning GOD provided significant evidence that our existence occurred by a greater means than a random accident in the universe.
Astronomy is a relatively new science although men have been searching the stars for thousands of years. Until the first telescope was used by Galileo in 1609, it was thought that there were only about a thousand stars in the sky. Ptolemy counted 1056, Tycho Brahe cataloged 777, and Johannes Kepler counted 1005. There are about 6000 stars which are visible to the naked eye if you count them from all locations on earth. The Word of GOD points out in Jeremiah 33:22, "As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, nor the sand of the sea measured, so will I multiply the descendants of David My servant and the Levites who minister to Me." And again in Genesis 22:17; "blessing I will bless you, and in multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies."
When Galileo first viewed our Milky Way galaxy through his 20 power telescope, he must have realized that there were perhaps millions upon millions of stars. Actually there are 1000 to 2000 billion stars in our galaxy alone. Perhaps mankind can begin to realize the absolute accuracy of GOD's Word. I suspect that many scientific men who lived before Galileo's discovery may have totally discounted these verses as being inaccurate. The same is true today as men try to dispute the accuracy of the Bible, only to be proved incorrect later as our knowledge of the sciences increases with time.
The knowledge that the earth is round is also a relatively new discovery of science and human exploration in the history of mankind. During the time of Christopher Columbus, the common held belief was that the earth was flat and that a sailor, if venturing to far out to sea would fall of the edge of the earth. The knowledge that the earth is round was clearly proclaimed in GOD's Word in several Old Testament verses, which were written approximately 700 years before Christ was born. The prophet Isaiah in 40:22 wrote: "It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in." Again in Proverbs 8:27 GOD clearly explains the physical nature of our earth. "When He prepared the heavens, I was there, when He drew a circle on the face of the deep." In Job 26:10 the prophet wrote: "He drew a circular horizon on the face of the waters, at the boundary of light and darkness." These three prophets, writing hundreds of years apart, are 100% accurate and in agreement.
The science of Geophysics is a relatively new field of study for mankind. Our GOD, however, existed before the universe was formed. In the book of Job 26:7 the prophet wrote: "He stretches out the north over empty space; he hangs the earth on nothing." This verse must have certainly puzzled the wise men 700 years before Christ was born, as well as men of science right up until Newton proposed his theory for the law of gravity. Even today scientists cannot do much more than measure the strength of gravity. It is invisible. Gravity exists, but there is little known about it other than that gravity holds the planets of our solar system in place millions of miles from the sun. Perhaps gravity can simply be described by the following verse in Hebrews 1:3. "Who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the Word of His power.."
Meteorology is the science of weather. Since weather is important to the existence of all life on earth, you might expect GOD to mention something about it in his Word. GOD wrote in Ecclesiastes 1 :6-7, "The wind goes toward the south, and turns around to the north; the wind whirls about continually, and comes again on its circuit. All the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full; to the place from which the rivers come, there they return again." Again in Job 36:27-29, "For He draws up drops of water, which distill as rain from the mist, which the clouds drop down and pour abundantly on man. Indeed, can anyone understand the spreading of clouds, the thunder from His canopy?" Here GOD, through the prophets, explains weather patterns that have only become known scientifically by mankind in perhaps the last hundred years.
Mankind is also one of GOD's miraculous creations. Since GOD is our creator, you would expect him to have a complete understanding of our physical nature, including how best to care for us. The science of biology was clearly evident in the Old Testament. A profound understanding of the infectious nature of disease is evident in Leviticus 13:45-46. [Note: 'Leprosy' has a broader meaning in the Bible than it does today.] "Now the leper on whom the sore is, his clothes shall be torn and his head bare; and he shall cover his mustache, and cry, "'Unclean! Unclean!" He shall be unclean. All the days he has the sore he shall be unclean. He is unclean, and he shall dwell alone; his dwelling shall be outside the camp." The fact that disease can even be spread by contact with infected clothing is explained in Leviticus 13:50-52. "The priest shall examine the plague and isolate that which has the plague seven days. And he shall examine the plague on the seventh day. If the plague has spread in the garment, either in the warp or in the weave, in the leather or in anything made of leather, the plague is an active leprosy. It is unclean. He shall therefore burn that garment in which is the plague, whether warp or weave, in wool or in linen, or anything of leather, for it is an active leprosy; the garment shall be burned in the fire."
The importance GOD places on life and our dependence on blood is clearly expressed in Leviticus 17:10-11. "And whatever man of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell among you, who eats any blood, I will set my face against that person who eats blood, and will cut him off from among his people. For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul." The importance of blood in the physical world is but a mirror image of the priceless eternal life-giving blood of GOD's Son Jesus who died on the cross for mankind's sin, as our Eternal Father reminds us in Revelation 1:5 - "and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood. "
It should be pointed out that the few verses that are included in this brochure are not sufficient by themselves to teach GOD's plan of salvation. Only a thorough study of the New Testament of Jesus Christ and obedience to the Gospel can accomplish this. The short study of theses verses, however, can help build your faith in the total accuracy and validity of the Word of GOD.
May GOD bless you through the knowledge of His Son Jesus.
Joe Andrasik
Christians of the churches of Christ may reproduce this tract in any reprinted format as long as it is given away freely.
All references are from the New King James version of the Bible.
Published in The Old Paths Archive (http://www.oldpaths.com)

This article can be found HERE.

The Reformed Faith

A Brief and Untechnical Statement of the Reformed Faith

B.B. Warfield

From Selected Shorter Writings of Benjamin B. Warfield – Volume I, pp. 407-410
John E. Meeter, editor (Nutley, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company, 1970)



I believe that my one aim in life and death should be to glorify God and enjoy Him forever; and that God teaches me how to glorify and enjoy him in His holy Word, that is, the Bible, which He has given by the infallible inspiration of His Holy Spirit in order that I may certainly know what I am to believe concerning Him and what duty He requires of me.





I believe that God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal and incomparable in all that He is; one God but three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, my Creator, my Redeemer, and my Sanctifier; in whose power and wisdom, righteousness, goodness and truth I may safely put my trust.




I believe that the heavens and the earth, and all that in them is, are the work of God's hands; and that all that He has made He directs and governs in all their actions; so that they fulfil the end for which they were created, and I who trust in Him shall not be put to shame but may rest securely in the protection of is almighty love.




I believe that God created man after is own image, in knowledge, righteousness and holiness, and entered into a covenant of life with him upon the sole condition of the obedience that was his due: so that it was by wilfully sinning against God that man fell into the sin and misery in which I have been born.




I believe, that, being fallen in Adam, my first father, I am; by nature a child of wrath, under the condemnation of God and corrupted in body and soul, prone to evil and liable to eternal death; from which dreadful state I cannot be delivered save through the unmerited grace of God my Savior.



I believe that God has not left the world to perish in its sin, but out of the great love wherewith He has loved it, has from all eternity graciously chosen unto Himself a multitude which no man can number, to deliver them out of their sin and misery, and of them to build up again in the world His kingdom of righteousness: in which kingdom I may be assured I have my part, if I hold fast to Christ the Lord.



I believe that God has redeemed His people unto Himself through Jesus Christ our Lord; who, though be was and ever continues to be the eternal Son of God, yet was born of a woman, born under the law, that He might redeem them that are under the law: I believe that He bore the penalty due to my sins in His own body on the tree, and fulfilled in His own person the obedience I owe to the righteousness of God, and now presents me to His Father as His purchased possession, to the praise of the glory of His grace forever: wherefore renouncing all merit of my own, I put all my trust only in the blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ my redeemer.



I believe that Jesus Christ my redeemer, who died for my offences was raised again for my justification, and ascended into the heavens, where He sits at the right hand of the Father Almighty, continually making intercession for his people, and governing the whole world as head over all things for his Church: so that I need fear no evil and may surely know that nothing can snatch me out of His hands and nothing can separate me from His love.



I believe that the redemption wrought by the Lord Jesus Christ is effectually applied to all His people by the Holy Spirit, who works faith in me and thereby unites me to Christ, renews me in the whole man after the image of God, and enables me more and more to die unto sin and to live unto righteousness; until, this gracious work having been completed in me, I shall be received into glory: in which great hope abiding, I must ever strive to perfect holiness in the fear of God.



I believe that God requires of me, under the gospel, first of all, that, out of a true sense of my sin and misery and apprehension of His mercy in Christ, I should turn with grief and hatred away from sin and receive and rest upon Jesus Christ alone for salvation; that, so being united to Him, I may receive pardon for my sins and be accepted as righteous in God's sight, only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to me and received by faith alone: and thus and thus only do I believe I may be received into the number and have a right to all the privileges of the sons of God.



I believe that, having been pardoned and accepted for Christ's sake, it is further required of me that I walk in the Spirit whom He has purchased for me, and by whom love is shed abroad in my heart; fulfilling the obedience I owe to Christ my King; faithfully performing all the duties laid upon me by the holy law of God my heavenly Father; and ever reflecting in my life and conduct, the perfect example that has been set me by Christ Jesus my Leader, who has died for me and granted to me His Holy Spirit just that I may do the good works which God has afore prepared that I should walk in them.



I believe that God has established His Church in the world and endowed it with the ministry of the Word and the holy ordinances of Baptism, the Lord's Supper and Prayer; in order that through these as means, the riches of his grace in the gospel may be made known to the world, and, by the blessing of Christ and the working of His Spirit in them that by faith receive them, the benefits of redemption may be communicated to his people: wherefore also it is required of me that I attend on these means of grace with diligence, preparation, and prayer, so that through them I may be instructed and strengthened in faith, and in holiness of life and in love; and that I use my best endeavors to carry this gospel and convey these means of grace to the whole world.



I believe that as Jesus Christ has once come in grace, so also is He to come a second time in glory, to judge the world in righteousness and assign to each his eternal award: and I believe that if I die in Christ, my soul shall be at death made perfect in holiness and go home to the Lord; and when He shall return in his majesty I shall be raised in glory and made perfectly blessed in the full enjoyment of God to all eternity: encouraged by which blessed hope it is required of me willingly to take my part in suffering hardship here as a good soldier of Christ Jesus, being assured that if I die with Him I shall also live with him, if I endure, I shall also reign with Him.



And to Him, my Redeemer,

with the Father,

and the Holy Spirit,

Three Persons, one God,

be glory forever, world without end,

Amen, and Amen.

Martyr Monday-At Least 55,000 Christians Are Killed for their Faith Every Year

Read Crosswalk.coms article on Christian Persecution by

Wolfgang Polzer ->HERE