Prayer of Repentance

This is years old, but I had never read it until now and was just blown away by it's truth. Paul Harvey shared this prayer by Joe Wright on air and I have to share it with you. Joe Wright gave this prayer before the Kansas Legislature years ago and it's truth rings on.

Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask Your forgiveness and to seek Your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, "Woe to those who call evil good," but that is exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values.

We confess:

We have ridiculed the absolute truth of Your Word and called it pluralism.
We have worshiped other gods and called it multiculturalism.
We have endorsed perversion and called it alternative lifestyle.
We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery.
We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare.
We have killed our unborn and called it choice.
We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable.
We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self-esteem.
We have abused power and called it politics.
We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition.
We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression.
We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.

Search us, Oh God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and set us free.

The Gospel in Genesis

God is full of hidden surprises and never boring. I was excited to read about the meanings of the names of Adam and his descendants. The meaning of their names reveal the Gospel message thousands of years before Jesus ever lived!

Hebrew--English
Adam--Man
Seth--Appointed
Enosh--Mortal
Kenan--Sorrow
Mahalalel--The Blessed God
Jared--Shall come down
Enoch--Teaching
Methuselah--His death shall bring
Lamech--The Despairing
Noah--Rest (or comfort)

Man (is) appointed mortal sorrow; (but) the Blessed God shall come down teaching (that) His death shall bring (the) despairing rest.

The Star of Bethlehem

^"The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they display knowledge."
Psalm 19: 1-2

Ever wonder if the stars reveal something about God?
One of my favorite verses says that God "determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name." (Psalm 147:4)
The Star of Bethlehem DVD reveals amazing details about the stars and the timing of the conception, birth, and crucifixion of Jesus Christ. This is by far one of the most awesome videos I have ever seen.
If interested, I encourage you to check this movie out, or at least read about its content on the website: http://www.bethlehemstar.net/ (The info is numbered under "Site Overview").
You may just come to realize, if you haven't already, God's plan of salvation was mapped out in the stars way back at the beginning of creation when He put the stars in place.

New Age Movement

Between Oprah, pop culture, and random run-ins with new age followers, it seems like new age philosophy is growing more and more. New age thinking is nothing new. In fact, it is the same false thinking that deceived Eve in the Garden of Eden (remember--she was told her eyes would be opened and she would be like God!). But as the Book of Ecclesiastes says, "there is nothing new under the sun." So true!!

New Age thinkers teach that man is Divine and All is God
The Bible says all are sinners (Romans 3:23)

New Age thinkers teach we are separated from divine because of lack of knowledge/enlightenment
The Bible says sin separates us from God (Isaiah 59:2)

New Age thinkers teach that man's basic nature is good and Divine
The Bible teaches we are sinners (Romans 5:12)

I'm starting to notice a pattern here: this false teaching refuses to acknowledge sin. Without acknowledging sin, there is no need for a Savior. No need for a Savior, means Jesus died on the cross for no reason. (I can't speak for anyone else--but I need Jesus and am thankful for His sacrifice! I know I'm a sinner!!)

I could go on and on outlining the ways New Age philosophies contradict the Bible, but will spare you the reading; but I do encourage you to investigate it on your own. As with all false religions, you will find many new agers quoting the Bible. You will quickly find they will take one verse out of context, and ultimately, twist its meaning.

In light of all this, we have to remember two things Jesus stated about Satan: (1) he is the father of lies (John 8:44); (2) he masquerades as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14). The enemy doesn't come at us blatantly telling us to follow lies and become evil. He disguises himself with people, thoughts, and ideas that are appealing to our nature.

"Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment." John 7:24