Our Country’s Roots
Things to consider:
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 deleted. Here is what he 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 of 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 religion, 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 on the front of his well- worn Bible: ‘I am a 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 and, I hope, to the pure doctrine of Jesus also.’
Was George Washington a Christian? Consider these words from his personal prayer book: ‘Oh, eternal and everlasting God, direct my thoughts, words and work. Wash away my sins in the immaculate blood of the lamb and purge my heart by the Holy Spirit. Daily, frame me more and more in the likeness of thy son, Jesus Christ, that living in thy fear, and dying in thy favor, I may in thy appointed time obtain the resurrection of the justified unto eternal life. Bless, O Lord, the whole race of mankind and let the world be filled with the knowledge of thy son, Jesus Christ.’
It is clear from history that the Bible and the Christian faith, were foundational in our educational and judicial system. However in 1947, there was a radical change of direction in the Supreme Court. Here is the prayer that was banished: ‘Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence on Thee. We beg Thy blessings upon us and our parents and our teachers and our country. Amen.’
In 1963, the Supreme Court ruled that Bible reading was outlawed as unconstitutional in the public school system. The court offered this justification: ‘If portions of the New Testament were read without explanation, they could and have been psychologically harmful to children.’
Bible reading was now unconstitutional, though the Bible was quoted 94 percent of the time by those who wrote our constitution and shaped our Nation and its system of education and justice and government. In 1965, the Courts denied as unconstitutional the rights of a student in the public school cafeteria to bow his head and pray audibly for his food.
In 1980, Stone vs. Graham outlawed the Ten Commandments in our public schools. The Supreme Court said this: ‘If the posted copies of the Ten Commandments were to have any effect at all, it would be to induce school children to read them.. And if they read them, meditated upon them, and perhaps venerated and observed them, this is not a permissible objective.’
James Madison, the primary author of the Constitution of the United States, said this: ‘We have staked the whole future of our new nation, not upon the power of government; far from it. We have staked the 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.’
Today we are asking God to bless America. But how can He bless a Nation that has departed so far from Him?
Shepherd of Hope Christian Chat and Chronic Illness Support Site
Just want to let you know about a great site I found, very interactive.
Some of the things going on at this site:
Tuesday night from 8-10 pm EST is Endorphin Night… come share funny stories, and just let the Laughter be good Medicine for your soul. Feel free to look up Christian Comedy or Jokes, or other things on google if you are running low on ‘real stories’ — hey, I plan to have new blondie jokes oh, I hear the groans through the screen!
WEDNESDAY NIGHT BIBLE STUDY resumes this Wednesday night from 7:30 - 8:30 pm with Harold Wilson as the leader of our study. We will be starting on John Chapter 3 (having completed Chapters 1 - 2 already if you want to catch up and read up and be prepared for another great time of learning. Invite friends to join us!
Regular chats (M-F from 2-3 pm EST) as well as 24/7 with whoever is in the room
More Thoughts
A sharp tongue can cut your own throat.
One thing I can give and still keep is my word.
It is never too late to become what I might have been.
Others can stop you temporarily, but only you can do it permanently.
When your ship comes in, make sure you want to unload it.
The best way to escape your
problem is to solve it.
Fibro Pain Linked with CNS Disorder
Fibromyalgia Pain Linked With
Central Nervous System Disorder
http://www.scienced
ScienceDaily (May 31, 2008) — Fibromyalgia is a chronic pain condition that causes widespread pain and tenderness throughout the body. A University of Michigan study, published in The Journal of Pain, shows that fibromyalgia is associated with central nervous system abnormalities evidenced by patients’ elevated sensitivity to auditory and pressure sensations.
The Michigan researchers studied 31 subjects to determine if there is a global central nervous system problem underlying sensory processing in fibromyalgia patients. They noted that few studies have employed different stimuli in consistent ways and levels of intensity to measure pain sensitivities in this patient group. In this study, fibromyalgia patients and normal subjects were exposed to random auditory and pressure stimuli.
Consistent with prior research, the fibromyalgia subjects in the study showed greater sensitivity to auditory tones and reported higher sensitivity to daily sounds. Further, significant associations were observed between the auditory and pressure responses and support the claim that such abnormalities maybe related to a common pathophysiological mechanism. They also noted that fibromyalgia subjects perceived auditory stimuli to be of the same intensity as felt by control subjects, even though their actual intensity levels were lower.
The authors concluded their findings show that fibromyalgia is associated with a central nervous deficit in sensory processing. Further research is needed to examine mechanisms governing these perceptual abnormalities.
Illinois Recognizes Fibromyalgia is Real!
That is the painful reality for patients with fibromyalgia, an arthritis-related condition that affects more than six million people across the country, mostly women, and is twice as prevalent as rheumatoid arthritis. Considered one of the most widespread pain conditions, fibromyalgia is largely misunderstood because its causes are not fully known, and there’s no test for it, making a diagnosis very difficult. In fact, it takes an average of five years for a patient to get an accurate diagnosis.
Educating people about fibromyalgia is not only essential for patients to get help they need, but also for the families, friends and co-workers who can’t fully sympathize with a disease that lacks outward physical symptoms.
Recently Illinois legislators have taken notable steps to shed light on fibromyalgia. A resolution was recently passed in the House to proclaim Fibromyalgia Awareness Day in Illinois. A number of state representatives have taken it one step further by hosting community forums to help residents understand diagnosis and treatment options. Recent forums were held in Mokena, Decatur and East Peoria and upcoming events are planned for Arlington Heights and Plainfield this summer.
“I applaud these efforts of our state legislators and encourage them to keep an ongoing dialogue about this disease. The outlook for people with fibromyalgia has never been better, but appropriate treatment programs are only possible with education, awareness and recognition. After all, shedding light on this invisible disease will finally allow millions of people to stop suffering in silence.” Michael McNett, MD Fibromyalgia Treatment Centers of America Hoffman Estates, Elk Grove Village and Chicago
Noah’s Ark Revisited
Working Replica of Noah’s Ark Opens In SCHAGEN, Netherlands
The massive central door in the side of Noah’s Ark was thrown open Saturday for the first crowd of curious pilgrims and townsfolk to behold the wonder. Of course, it’s only a replica of the biblical Ark, built by Dutch
Creationist Johan Huibers as a testament to his faith in the literal truth of the Bible.The ark is 150 cubits long, 30 cubits high and 20 cubits wide. That’s two-thirds the length of a football field and as high as a three-story house. Life-size models of giraffes, elephants, lions, crocodiles, zebras, bison and other animals greet visitors as they arrive in the main hold. A contractor by trade, Huibers built the ark of cedar and pine - biblical scholars debate exactly what the wood used by Noah would have been. Huibers did the work mostly with his own hands, using modern tools and with occasional help from his son Roy. Construction began in May 2005.
On the uncovered top deck - not quite ready in time for the opening - will come a petting zoo, with baby lambs and chickens, and goats. And one camel. Visitors on the first day were stunned. ‘It’s past comprehension, ‘ said Mary Louise Starosciak, who
happened to be bicycling by with her husband while on vacation when they saw The ark looming over the local landscape. ‘I knew the story of Noah, but I had no idea the boat would have been so big.’In fact, Noah’s Ark as described in the Bible was five times larger than Johan’s Ark. But that still leaves enough space near the keel for a 50-seat film theater, where kids can watch a video that tells the story of Noah and his ark.
Huibers said he hopes the project will renew interest in Christianity in The Netherlands, where churchgoing has fallen dramatically in the past 50 years.
They Don’t Know What They Are Doing
Anger. It’s a peculiar yet predictable emotion. It begins as a drop of water. An irritant. A frustration. Nothing big, just an aggravation. Someone gets your parking place. Someone pulls in front of you on the freeway. A waitress is slow and you are in a hurry. The toast burns. Drops of water. Drip. Drip. Drip. Drip.
Yet, get enough of these seemingly innocent drops of anger and before long you’ve got a bucket full of rage. Walking revenge. Blind bitterness. Unharnessed hatred. We trust no one and bare our teeth at anyone who gets near. We become walking time bombs that, given just the right tension and fear, could explode.
Yet, what do we do? We can’t deny that our anger exists. How do we harness it? A good option is found in Luke 23:34. Here, Jesus speaks about the mob that killed him. “‘Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.’”
Look carefully. It’s as if Jesus considered this bloodthirsty, death-hungry crowd not as murderers, but as victims. It’s as if he saw in their faces not hatred but confusion. It’s as if he regarded them not as a militant mob but, as he put it, as “sheep without a shepherd.”
“They don’t know what they are doing.”
And when you think about it, they didn’t. They hadn’t the faintest idea what they were doing. They were a stir-crazy mob, mad at something they couldn’t see so they took it out on, of all people, God. But they didn’t know what they were doing.
And for the most part, neither do we. We are still, as much as we hate to admit it, shepherdless sheep. All we know is that we were born out of one eternity and are frighteningly close to another. We play tag with the fuzzy realities of death and pain. We can’t answer our own questions about love and hurt. We can’t solve the riddle of aging. We don’t know how to heal our own bodies or get along with our own mates. We can’t keep ourselves out of war. We can’t even keep ourselves fed.
Paul spoke for humanity when he confessed, “I do not know what I am doing.” (Romans 7:15, author’s paraphrase.)
Now, I know that doesn’t justify anything. That doesn’t justify hit-and-run drivers or kiddie-porn peddlers or heroin dealers. But it does help explain why they do the miserable things they do.
My point is this: Uncontrolled anger won’t better our world, but sympathetic understanding will. Once we see the world and ourselves for what we are, we can help. Once we understand ourselves we begin to operate not from a posture of anger but of compassion and concern. We look at the world not with bitter frowns but with extended hands. We realize that the lights are out and a lot of people are stumbling in the darkness. So we light candles.