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Topic: Ban on 'mom' and 'dad' considered
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KnowHim
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I was reading the below in a book called "Waiting for the Second Coming" by Ray C. Stedman and thought it would fit in good here:
The Arrogant Rebels
Then there are those who have heard the gospel but have rejected it and thereby turned their backs on the offer of grace. Millions of rebels roam the earth, and thousands of them sit in churches in our own land. They have heard the good news that if they surrender their lives to Jesus, if they recognize that they are not their own but have been bought with a price, they will be redeemed; they will be changed; they will be saved. They have heard, but they have turned their backs and walked away time and time again.
What happens to them? How plainly the apostle puts it: "They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power"
Exclusion! Banishment! Separation! But not annihilation! Some interpret these verses to mean that when people die, their existence also ends; that they go out like the snuffed light of a candle and are no more. But Scripture never describes death in those terms; rather, it speaks of "everlasting destruction." The word here is "ruin,"' the loss of everything that makes life worthwhile.
Some folks like to make jokes about hell, but if you will simply read the Scriptures, you will soon find that hell is no joking matter. Jesus Himself speaks of hell more often than anyone else in the New Testament. Others flippantly remark that they wouldn't mind going to hell since "all their friends are going to be there." They speak of hell as if it were one great "Animal House," with a fraternity party going on forever, where you can waste yourself with no one to stop you. That is definitely not the picture painted in Scripture.
C. S. Lewis wrote: "In hell, everybody will be at an infinite distance from everybody else." What a vision of loneliness and emptiness! The apostle Jude describes those in hell as "wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever" (Jude 13). Sobering words indeed!
The following excerpt is taken from a sermon preached on this subject by Bill Hybels, a young Chicago pastor who each Sunday morning addresses some ten thousand people, many of whom are unsaved. Of hell, he says:
One writer calls it the bottomless pit. And that conjures up dreamlike feelings of falling away-falling, falling, falling. You've all had dreams like that, where when you woke your heart was beating because you were falling. Picture in your mind hanging over a precipice, and God is hanging onto you, and you're hanging onto him. And you decide you don't need him anymore. So you let go. But the moment you let go you know you made a mistake. You're falling and every moment you fall farther and farther away from the only source of help and truth and love, and you realize you made a mistake and you can't get back up and you fall farther and faster and farther and faster into spiritual oblivion, and you know you're going the wrong direction and you'd give anything to go back but you can't and you fall and you fall and you fall and you fall. How long? Forever. And all the while you're falling you're saying, "I'm farther now, I'm farther. I'm farther from the only source of hope, truth, and love." In hell there is never the bliss of annihilation. You'd give anything for annihilation, but it's unavailable, only the conscious continuation of emotional anguish, physical anguish, relational anguish, and spiritual anguish forever.
What terrible sin must be committed to merit such an end? Turning one's back on God's offer of grace, the Scriptures tell us. God does not want anyone to perish like that, of course. He says so. And He has gone through terrible agony
to keep it from happening. But no matter how much we dislike passages like this, two truths always emerge.
First, this sentence is nothing more than justice being carried out. It is not meanness, not cruelty, not capriciousness, but justice on God's part. It is His righteous reaction to cosmic treason on man's part. That is what turning your back on Jesus means: treason against the King of the universe.
And secondly, the sentence is self-imposed. It is what those involved have always wanted: freedom from God. Everything in their life has said, "I don't want God messing up my plans and telling me what to do." There comes a time when you either say to God, "Thy will be done," or else God says to you, "Thy will be done." What you want is what you eventually get!
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Posts: 3276 | From: Charlestown, IN | Registered: Jun 2002
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KnowHim
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For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath showed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
Romans 1:18 through Romans 1:21 (KJV)
God has revealed Himself clearly to all His creatures. He is the Creator. He is in charge of the world. Every single force at work in the universe comes from His hand and is under His control. Anyone who thinks about the strange and wonderful workings of his or her own body is aware that only a vastly superior Being could have engineered such a magnificent machine.
Yet the whole thrust of society today is to eliminate God from His creation, to give no recognition to the fact that He is behind all things. Certainly there is no attempt to be thankful to Him. That is why Paul levels this charge against the whole human race. For it is not merely primitive savages who fail to acknowledge God or be thankful to Him. People all over this sophisticated country and throughout our socalled civilized world are just as guilty.
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Posts: 3276 | From: Charlestown, IN | Registered: Jun 2002
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Rogg
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Yes it is very sad indeed. More and more it is getting to be like the days of Noah and Lot. More and more you see prophecy begin to unfold.
Posts: 83 | From: St. Louis MO | Registered: Jan 2006
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KnowHim
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The USA is letting Satan have our children. Now they want to remove Mom and Dad! Very sick indeed.
Posts: 3276 | From: Charlestown, IN | Registered: Jun 2002
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Rogg
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http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=55413
Ban on 'mom' and 'dad' considered – again
California agenda would require K-12 'gay' indoctrination
Posted: April 27, 2007
1:00 a.m. Eastern
By Bob Unruh
© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com
A plan that has been launched in the California state Assembly – again – could be used to ban references to "mom" and "dad" in public schools statewide by prohibiting anything that would "reflect adversely" on the homosexual lifestyle choice.
It's similar to a plan WND reported was approved by lawmakers last year, but fell by the wayside when Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed it.
"SB 777 forcibly thrusts young school children into dealing with sexual issues, requiring that homosexuality, bisexuality and transsexuality be taught in a favorable light," according to an alert issued by the Capitol Resource Institute.
"Not only does SB 777 require that classroom instruction and materials promote and embrace controversial sexual practices, it also bans school-sponsored activities from 'reflecting adversely' on homosexuals, bisexuals and transsexuals," the group said.
Posts: 83 | From: St. Louis MO | Registered: Jan 2006
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