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Finally, I have my driver's license! It's amazing! Praise God! He protected us on the way there, provided the funds needed, and even provided the practice opportunities and people to help, a lot of practice within the last few years, but despite all that practice, I cannot boast of any special skills or training, for I made mistakes during the car inspection, it seemed at first and second as though the test would not even happen, and the test was so short I thought I might have failed. Oh--the suspense! But praise God! When they took my picture, that's when I was sure. God is so good. God is so good. I'm so happy! Praise God!

LHC seemed to say that the human race does "not deserve" God's notice or mercy. Does an abused child, born into a terribly dysfunctional family "deserve" to be rescued, to be given love and security??? Most would say "Yes!" Well - we humans did NOT give our consent, to be born into THIS dysfunctional human "family". We did not give our consent, to be dropped into this WAR between super spirit powers. We did not consent to be deceived, and abused (in one way or another). God thought we DID deserve His efforts to rescue us. He gave His own Son - to die with us, and for us. THAT is how much VALUE we hold - for God. If we really were not "worth it", that makes God a fool. God is NOT a fool, and we WERE worth it!! Jesus "will see of the travail of His soul, and be satisfied." You remember that hymn with the phrase "for such a worm as I". I dislike that song - intensely. I'm NOT a worm!! I'm a human being. I was born into a terribly dysfunctional "family" called the human race. But God has taken me as His foster child, and will soon adopt me forever!! (My own family was dysfunctional too. My mother and I were the ONLY believers. The rest are atheist to this day.) Now - it's true that most human beings will RESIST His drawing spirit, and the story of His love. They will never be healed. They will remain "lost", and will finally pass out of existence forever - Because our "adoption" requires our consent. Some even morph into wolves who prey on the flock. These God will judge.

Kislev 22 Hear, O Israel, Hashem is our God, Hashem the One and Only (Deuteronomy 6:4). When reciting the declaration of the unity of God, we are required to commit ourselves to this belief, that in the event we were coerced to deny Him, we would surrender our lives rather than do so. This concept is called mesiras nefesh, and in addition to our belief in God, there are only two other instances where we are to choose martyrdom rather than transgression: murder and adultery. While the thought of surrendering one's life is frightening, it has unfortunately characterized much of Jewish history. However, since the urge for survival is innate and most intense and generally overrides all other considerations, how can so many Jews have risen to the challenge of mesiras nefesh? The answer is quite simple. Just think of what life would be like if nothing was worth dying for: no ideals, no principles, no loyalty, no sacredness, no ultimate value. Under duress, everything would go. Could thinking people who pride themselves in living on a plane of life higher than that of brute beasts see any value in this kind of life? There are things that are dearer than life that give life its great value. Today I shall ... try to appreciate the full value of life, and realize that there are absolute values that make life precious.

Reddog has asked some questions about The One Project. I will quote what he asked and respond with my answer and initials--GM. "Our retired pastor and many of our leaders in our church have told us about these group of pastors and others who are pushing this 'One Project' which seems aimed at the young people." GM: TOP is aimed as SDA members of all ages and background. Yes is has a focus on younger people due to the fact that we are losing them. But, it is a misunderstanding to think that the youth are the sole focus. It is much broader than that. Its focus is to make Christ the center of belief and life of every member. It is attempting to reach out to much more than just the younger generation. "And they are not saying good things about it. . . " GM: The above is a very narrow view. Yes there are both members and SDA leaders who have some concerns about TOP. But, there are as many who are positive about it as there are those who have some questions. Actually many who have some questions raise questions that are minor in nature and not of major import. In my opinion, those who have raised major question often have not personally studied the issues for themselves. It should be noted that this goes both ways. I am personally aware of leadership that is supportive of TOP who is falsely implied to be negative to it. ".. . .and those who have come across it don't find much in it that is positive. . ." GM: See the above. ". . .as it appears to be part of the 'Emerging Church' movement and connected to Spiritual Formation somehow." GM: There are several things wrong with the above statement: a) The Emerging Church movement is not a big thing in current spiritual life in the U.S. It has come and gone. In any case, the Emerging Church movement morphed into a variety of expressions, which is one reason why it is not a big thing today. One might say that it lives on in some of its forms today in the U.S., but not in other forms. 'b) The same can be said about Spiritual Formation. c) People who make the above statement often quite a statement of belief made 20 years ago that does not represent the current belief of that person. It is not fair to hold a person to a belief he held years ago but is not his current belief. "Has anyone come across it or have something on what its purpose is, as I can barely find anything on it." GM: I can understand your confusion. The critics have so filled the Internet that it is hard to find out what it is really about. Go to TOP website (listed in my post above) and read the book that they have written about themselves.

Reddogs: Let me commend you for asking an honest question and for including the two references that you have included. I understand your comment to be an honest question and an attempt on your part to be fair. I will respond to your questions in a following post. Let me give my qualifications to answer: 1) My wife and I attended the Gathering in San Diego. 2) I am currently a member of the congregation that has Japhet as the Sr. pastor. While I am in the process of moving to California, for a bit less than two years I attended his weekly services. So, I know what he preaches and the spiritual leadership that he has. 3) He is currently the Sr. pastor of the Boulder SDA Church in Colorado, Rocky Mountain Conference. 4) On the average, Japhet and I communicated, either by e-mail, or in person, two or more times a week. Those conversations were about equally divided between discussions of The One Project and local congregational matters. I have a very good understanding as to where Japhet is coming from as it relates to The One Project. 5) I have personally spoken to other leaders of The One Project as well as SDA administrators on Local, Union and General Conference level on issues related to The One Project. Much of this is covered by confidentiality and therefore I am often unable to name names and/or cite very specific statements. 6) Simply put: The goal of The One Project is to make Christ the center of belief and life practice of individual SDA members. There is no other purpose. 7) The Boulder congregation places its services on the Internet for all to view. You may access them at: https://new.livestream.com/bouldersdachurch 8) The password for the above is: SDA7sda 9) If you want to see what TOP says about itself, visit their website: www.the1projectorg 10) The leaders of TOP have written a book that tells of their founding of TOP and what it about. For some reason, few critics seem to have read that book. Going by memory, I think it is titled THE ONE. 11) The five major leaders of TOP are all SDA pastors. As such they are different individuals. Please distinguish between their individual spiritual leadership and TOP. 12) Japhet is probably the finest congregational administrator that I have ever experienced. The weekly sermons in the Boulder congregation are planed out more than one-year ahead with scriptural passage, title and the person who will preach that Sabbath. He typically preaches along with the other members of the pastoral staff who consist of two to three other people, along with a couple of congregational members. Those who preach will be asked to preach on the Biblical passage for that day. 13) Typically the Sabbath sermons come in a series. This may be a set of Biblical chapters from either the OT or the NT, such as lessons from the life of King David. They may be a series on a theme such as from the life of Christ. They do include sermons on beliefs dear to SDA members. 14) Japhet travels Internationally for TOP. So, he is very busy. While I could be wrong, I believe that Japhet has two International trips scheduled in the near future. 15) One interesting comment: Japhet has organized the Boulder congregation in a manner that is quite different from the typical SDA congregation. In his organization, the members take the lead in every aspect of the congregational life. They have the power and the pastoral staff is there to support them. In addition, there is a place for every member to take leadership in the congregational life. I will give you two examples: a) The Boulder congregation is reaching out to families with young children. The mothers found it hard to keep their children quiet during the preaching service. So, that now comes first when they are best able to keep them quiet. Sabbath School comes after the preaching service when the young children can be more active. 'b) The Sabbath Service has a person who is a "Producer." That person is totally responsible for seeing that the services take place as planned. [NOTE: It is not an Elder.} One Sabbath I discovered several of the Sabbath School class rooms did not have chairs set up for people to sit in. I informed the Producer for that day. It was immediately resolved. c) An extra item of interest: During the sermon, the congregation is invited to send a text message to the person preaching. That message is immediately responded to by the preacher during the sermon. [NOTE: People on their cell phones may be participating in the sermon.] 16)Japhet and other leaders have personally met with people who sincerely wanted to know what TOP was all about. As Japhet travels Internationally he has offered to meet with a major critic located in another country. That offer has not been accepted. All to many of the critics have made no attempt to personally interact and dialogue with the leadership of TOP. Yes, I know of exceptions. But, most have not been interested in interacting with TOP leadership. I will call it quits for now. Reddog, thank you for asking.

What I'm about to say is my personal opinion based on study and the mental construct I have made to wrap my head around this. I'm sure there are some who will disagree; and that's OK - it's my personal opinion; not doctrine. God is totally sovereign. He can do or not do whatever He pleases at any time. There are a couple of areas where I believe God - in His sovereignity - has chosen to limit His sovereignity over man by: 1. Only acting out of love for humanity. He has sovereignly chosen to be a "Good God" - merciful, loving, kind, and patient towards us rather than arbitrary, dictatorial, and vicious. That doen't mean that He "saves" everybody; it just means that He offers salvation as a free gift to all who would believe and accept Him. 2. Choosing to give man a free will. In doing this, He has sovereignly chosen to empower man to choose for or against God. As long as man's free-will actions do not put His elect on an inescapable path to certain extinction, He will allow man to carry out his free-will activities in spite of collateral damage. Once people (or nature) cross the line and put God's elect on the verge of an unalterable path towards extinction, God WILL intervene; and His ultimate soveriegn will will be executed. This path may include (but not be limited to) extreme religious, social,economic, and/or political persecution; or extreme natural disasters (like major earthquakes, floods, volcanic activity, global warming, tsunamis, and/or meteor strikes). We know how the story ends. Righteousness will overcome evil. God's will will reign supreme. He has everything under control. Don't worry about what's gonna happen tomorrow. God is already there taking care of business. Any evil we experience now will shrivel to insignificants in light of eternity.

Geoarrge said what I have quoted below: My question is: Please share with us what you think is your moral/ethical obligation to document the facts when you cite such statements.

You are saying that when you said "God has always been in control" what you meant is "God is not sitting in heaven wringing His hands saying 'O dear; what do I do now?'" I would not have guess that this is what the phrase "God has always been in control" means. These seem to me to be saying two quite different things. I don't think anybody is suggesting that God is wringing His hands saying, "What should I do now?" However, the question of what it means to say "God is sovereign" (which is essentially what I'm asking about), is a vital question. Our concept as to God's character can't be overemphasized. I'm clarifying this because I don't want to give the impression that I'm being frivolous or picky for no reason. Regarding the OT, what comes to my mind is not that God has always been in control, but rather that God has always had a plan in mind, and has acted according to that plan. I think we will be able to look back at history, and see that God has always and consistently worked towards one goal, which is to eliminate sin, but this is a plan which takes a long time to enact, and I believe that it will be seen that God enacted the solution to the problem as quickly as was possible. I think this is quite a different concept than that God has always been in control, however, which to my mind would imply that the way in which things have gone has been in accordance with God's will. There are people who understand "in control" in exactly this way, which is why I've been asking for clarification on this point. Regarding "in His time, He will take over", I don't see things in this way, as I'm interpreting the phrase and the punctuation, as it is to me implying that God will take a different, and uncustomary violent action in order to accomplish His will, or something similar to this. Admittedly I'm reading a lot into this, and could well be wrong as to your intent. What I see happening is that there must be time and space, so to speak, for evidence to be presented so that intelligent decisions can be made, and when that happens, then God releases "the winds of strife".

What I mean is that God is not sitting in heaven wringing His hands saying "O dear; what do I do now?". Nor is He standing there gloating and saying "it serves them right for defying Me!". He is watching worldly and spiritual realm events very closely; and in His time, He will take over. We have to realize that life here on earth isn't all there is. Our earthly existemce in this fragile tent is a mere blink of an eye in eternity. The violence and injustice we suffer in this life is nothing compared to the glory, power, and happiness we will experience in the other 99.999999% of eternity. After a few million years in the kingdom, we'll barely remember it any more. Islam will be as extinct as the dinosaurs are now. The rise of Islam will just be a brief "dead cat" bounce in the history of existence.

As time passed after Waco, I learned more about the theology of David Koresh. Koresh did not have much formal training in the Bible, but he had the ability to memorize large portions of the Bible and to explain in a convincing manner texts that puzzled most people, like the Seals and Trumpets of Revelation […] The post From Waco to Isis: Eschatology and the “Rules of Engagement” appeared first on Jon Paulien's Blog. [url={url}]View the full article[/url]

According to the article, it was a 111 km walk/ride, about 68 miles, probably a 4-5 day journey. I agree with aka, need a little more white space between paragraphs in the editorial to make it more readable. Some readers tend to skip over large blocks of print because it takes more concentration to keep on the right line. Short paragraphs and space between paragraphs is a good rule for readability. Excellent editorial, though. You should present it on the radio or TV or YouTube.