Brother Andrew

Here in Ontario there has been an issue concerning Sikhs who are unwilling to put a helmet on (over, or in place of) their turban when riding a motorcycle. Helmets are mandatory in Ontario when riding a motorcycle, but Sikhs claim that it is religious discrimination, that it is inappropriate to cover their turban.

We've heard this argument 'til we're sick of it.

Frankly, I don't care if he wants to wear a helmet or not. If he wants to ride a motorcycle wearing only a turban on his head, fine with me. I don't believe he is endangering anybody else.

I think it is like a lifejacket when boating or waterskiing. It is like using ropes when rock climbing. If a solo climber wants to spider-climb a big wall and risk plunging to his death, that's his problem.

It think that if a Sikh guy cares more about his turban than his personal safety, or he wants to trust his God(s) to keep him safe, fine with me.

Comments?

http://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=7e18...

Is this amazing or what? I think the real event will be significantly more graphic, but a pretty cool video.

Good night, guys.

Where I work they are fussy about ethics. If you even think your boss is doing something unethical, you're supposed to rat on them to the ethics police.

There is this sign in the hallway that says this:

"Anyone who retaliates against someone who reports or questions suspected unethical or illegal behavior will face severe punishment, including potential employment termination."

On public transit there are always signs telling you to report suspicious behavior. In airports, you are supposed to report suspiciously unattended luggage.

Case in point: (not done yet)

Mine does.

To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

- Eph 1:6

The day I got saved 24 years ago, Bro. John said to me, "I sleep a lot better at night."

I bet I could count on one hand the number of bad or frightening dreams I've had in the past 24 years.

I've heard of people who have learned to fear God, but are not yet saved, and they cannot sleep at night for fear they'll die and go to hell. Fear of God, judgment, and hell is the reason I got saved.

Who amongst my fellow Christians here can sleep well at night, knowing with absolute certainty that they're saved? I sure can.

I'll lighten up for a moment with a fun little riddle.

What is, greater than God, more evil than the devil, the rich need it, the poor have it, and it you eat it you'll die?

This bizarre notion is flatly contradicted by scripture:

For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; - 1Tim 2:5

Have at it.

To work the math on Daniel's 7+62 weeks, you need to go with the decree to rebuild Jerusalem in Neh 2, about 445 BC. If you work with a 360 day year, from Gen 6&7, then 483 of those years lands you at Passover AD 33.

I know the Lord said no one can know the time or season...

But... suppose we have a 2,000 year church age beginning with the stoning of Stephen. If we guesstimate that that was 42 months after Calvary, a fair guess, and I made a bit of a rash guess at Apr 23, AD33 for Calvary, check this out:

Apr 23, 33 + 1260 days + (2000 * 360) days = Jan 18, 2008

State of Israel: May 14, 1948 + (60 * 360) days = July 4, 2007

2007 - 1776 = 231 years = 7 * 33

Isn't that interesting? General church-age rapture in the next six months? I think it's really going to happen. I could be wrong. I can't afford to bank on it. But I think it's really going to happen.

Fascinating, huh.

... but refuses to believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ?

Anybody can observe living things dying and staying dead. Nobody can observe dead things becoming alive.

Yet they will always insist that given enough time and space: 200 billion stars X 200 billion galaxies X 14 billion years, surely it must have happened somewhere.

Those numbers do not even scratch the surface of the biochemical complexity of DNA, to say nothing of it forming a functional living cell: able to find food, eat, convert food into energy, excrete waste, and most of all, reproduce to overcome its natural tendency to die.

They are willing to believe something as blatantly foolish and unscientific as that, yet they refuse to believe in a risen Saviour.

We do not believe that we need to kill non-Christians in order to have a better shot at heaven. We do not fight back with guns and bombs if we think our God is insulted. We do not terrorize outsiders into conversion, by threatening them with torture or murder.

We do seek to make disciples of all nations, but that is by the Word of God, the Holy Spirit, preaching (words only), and prayer.

We do reserve the right to free speech, including the above-stated purpose, and the right to attend whatever church we please.

Give a tangible reason why such folks are perceived to be dangerous. What is dangerous about the Christian means of discipleship?

The account is so graphic and so horrifying, it is common to try to dismiss it as a parable, or allegorical. When Jesus Christ speaks a parable, the narrative says, "he spake this parable". Luke 16:19 makes no mention of a parable. A JW at my door insisted that it was a parable.

That particular problem is resolved in Ezekiel, for he prophesied that folks would say he was speaking parables if he spoke about hell fire.

48 And all flesh shall see that I the LORD have kindled it: it shall not be quenched.

49 Then said I, Ah Lord GOD! they say of me, Doth he not speak parables?

- Eze 20:48-49

The rich man found out the hard way that hell was a nasty surprise.

He said, "... for I am tormented in this flame." F-L-A-M-E

He begged Abraham to send Lazarus back from the dead to warn his five brothers, "so that they will not come to this place of torment." P-L-A-C-E

Do you believe this passage literally? I believe it literally.

Okay, I happen to drive by on your street late at night, simply to find your address, but not to call or bother you at that late hour.

Incredibly, I see that your house is on fire. No one else seems to notice; no alarms are going off and no fire department at the scene.

I sit in my car, wondering if I should disturb you with such information. You might not believe me if I tell you that your house is on fire; you might be angry and hateful, and say that I am hateful.

As I watch the fire consume your house, and wonder what I should do, I see an escape ladder come out of a bedroom window and family members half climb half fall down. The FD arrives and fights the fire.

As I visit you in hospital, and learn that one of your children died from the fire, and you were badly burned, you discover that I, your friend, sat outside for over half an hour with full knowledge of the danger, but never tried to warn you.

Do you still consider me to be your friend?

Surely the pool was not magical. What does your Bible say in John 5:4?

Consult your Bible on 1Cor 1:18. Are you already saved (past tense)? Or are you being saved (present tense)? They are not all the same. Which one is the genuine word of God.

He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him. - John 3:36, KJV

It was working and then it suddenly died. I cannot turn it on. I checked the hepa filter, which could use replacing. Why won't the machine turn on?

Does it have an internal shutdown switch that needs to be reset or something?

Who can I call in the Southern Ontario / Hamilton area?

Thanks,

Andrew

I know it's been asked before, but let me qualify a bit.

I've never seen one. And I'm not asking about angels here. I think many people have seen demons or devils, and many more have felt their presence.

All of the "good" angels in the Bible look like young men without wings and can be easily mistaken for ordinary men.

Of course a devil can appear as an "angel of light" or the Queen of Heaven or whatever is effective to its audience. Devils can certainly participate in a seance to impersonate the dead person being contacted by the necromancer.

Have you seen (or strongly felt) a spiritual entity that you believed was a demon?

I hear this one all the time, and it is coming up now. You know who you are. And this has been asked before.

There are several famous so-called contradictions in the Bible, but all are easily explained.

Let's see if anyone can do better than Acts 12:4.

I'd like to hear from this smart guy. From the responses, I think a lot of us would. I'm calling his hand. I've got the words of God in mine.