7/24/12

Who has the right to choose?


It is widely acknowledged today that Ronald Regan was a very good president of The United States of America.  Perhaps, then we should listen to him.  This bit of ironic humor tells a lot.  If you are FOR the "right" to have an abortion, then you are alive.  Which means your mother made the decision FOR LIFE, FOR YOU!!!  Without that decision, you would not be here!!!!  However, the question comes to mind: do we really even have the "right" to make this decision?  If you are willing to read what the Bible has to say about it, read on...

Jeremiah, Chapter 1
4 Now the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,  5 “Before I formed you in the belly, I knew you. Before you came forth out of the womb, I sanctified you. I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

Genesis, Chapter 17
  15 God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but her name will be Sarah.  16 I will bless her, and moreover I will give you a son by her. Yes, I will bless her, and she will be a mother of nations. Kings of peoples will come from her.”
  17 Then Abraham fell on his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, “Will a child be born to him who is one hundred years old? Will Sarah, who is ninety years old, give birth?”
19 God said, “No, but Sarah, your wife, will bear you a son. You shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his seed after him.  
 
Genesis, Chapter 30
2 Jacob’s anger was kindled against Rachel, and he said, “Am I in God’s place, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?”

Judges, Chapter 13
 2 There was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren, and didn’t bear.  3 The angel of Yahweh appeared to the woman, and said to her, “See now, you are barren, and don’t bear; but you shall conceive, and bear a son.  4 Now therefore please beware and drink no wine nor strong drink, and don’t eat any unclean thing:  5 for, behold, you shall conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head; for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb: and he shall begin to save Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.”

Job, Chapter 1
 20 Then Job arose, and tore his robe, and shaved his head, and fell down on the ground, and worshiped.  21 He said, “Naked I came out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there. Yahweh gave, and Yahweh has taken away. Blessed be the name of Yahweh.” 

Job, Chapter 31
 13 “If I have despised the cause of my male servant
or of my female servant,
when they contended with me;
  14 What then shall I do when God rises up?
When he visits, what shall I answer him?
  15 Didn’t he who made me in the womb make him?
Didn’t one fashion us in the womb? 

Psalms, Chapter 71
   5 For you are my hope, Lord Yahweh;
my confidence from my youth.
  6 I have relied on you from the womb.
You are he who took me out of my mother’s womb.
I will always praise you.

Psalms, Chapter 127
 3 Behold, children are a heritage of Yahweh.
The fruit of the womb is his reward.
 
Ecclesiastes, Chapter 11
 5 As you don’t know what is the way of the wind,
nor how the bones grow in the womb of her who is with child;
even so you don’t know the work of God who does all.

Isaiah, Chapter 44
 1 Yet listen now, Jacob my servant,
and Israel, whom I have chosen.
  2 This is what Yahweh who made you,
and formed you from the womb,
who will help you says:
“Don’t be afraid, Jacob my servant;
and you, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen. 
   24 Thus says Yahweh, your Redeemer,
and he who formed you from the womb: 

Luke, Chapter 1
 11 An angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense.  12 Zacharias was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him.  13 But the angel said to him, “Don’t be afraid, Zacharias, because your request has been heard, and your wife, Elizabeth, will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 

I know that this is a lot of material to read, but it is worth it!!!  God grants the formation of life, forms that life and helps in its entry into this world.  This applies to every single human being, whether or not you somehow think that you have the right to control the process of life, the Bible states that it is up to God.  Do not fight against the will of God, become pro-life!!!  Frankly, I enjoy Ronald Regan's use of irony, but this goes way beyond any form of humor; simply put, its a matter of life and death.  I hope you make the right choice, because if you don't it will haunt you forever.

July 24 2 Chronicles 4-6


July 24
2 Chronicles 4-6

2Ch 4:1 Then he made an altar of brass, twenty cubits its length, and twenty cubits its breadth, and ten cubits its height.
2Ch 4:2 Also he made the molten sea of ten cubits from brim to brim, round in compass; and its height was five cubits; and a line of thirty cubits encircled it.
2Ch 4:3 Under it was the likeness of oxen, which encircled it, for ten cubits, encircling the sea. The oxen were in two rows, cast when it was cast.
2Ch 4:4 It stood on twelve oxen, three looking toward the north, and three looking toward the west, and three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east: and the sea was set on them above, and all their hinder parts were inward.
2Ch 4:5 It was a handbreadth thick; and its brim was worked like the brim of a cup, like the flower of a lily: it received and held three thousand baths.
2Ch 4:6 He made also ten basins, and put five on the right hand, and five on the left, to wash in them; such things as belonged to the burnt offering they washed in them; but the sea was for the priests to wash in.
2Ch 4:7 He made the ten lampstands of gold according to the ordinance concerning them; and he set them in the temple, five on the right hand, and five on the left.
2Ch 4:8 He made also ten tables, and placed them in the temple, five on the right side, and five on the left. He made one hundred basins of gold.
2Ch 4:9 Furthermore he made the court of the priests, and the great court, and doors for the court, and overlaid the doors of them with brass.
2Ch 4:10 He set the sea on the right side of the house eastward, toward the south.
2Ch 4:11 Huram made the pots, and the shovels, and the basins. So Huram made an end of doing the work that he did for king Solomon in the house of God:
2Ch 4:12 the two pillars, and the bowls, and the two capitals which were on the top of the pillars, and the two networks to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on the top of the pillars,
2Ch 4:13 and the four hundred pomegranates for the two networks; two rows of pomegranates for each network, to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on the pillars.
2Ch 4:14 He made also the bases, and the basins made he on the bases;
2Ch 4:15 one sea, and the twelve oxen under it.
2Ch 4:16 The pots also, and the shovels, and the forks, and all its vessels, did Huram his father make for king Solomon for the house of Yahweh of bright brass.
2Ch 4:17 In the plain of the Jordan did the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zeredah.
2Ch 4:18 Thus Solomon made all these vessels in great abundance: for the weight of the brass could not be found out.
2Ch 4:19 Solomon made all the vessels that were in the house of God, the golden altar also, and the tables with the show bread on them;
2Ch 4:20 and the lampstands with their lamps, to burn according to the ordinance before the oracle, of pure gold;
2Ch 4:21 and the flowers, and the lamps, and the tongs, of gold, and that perfect gold;
2Ch 4:22 and the snuffers, and the basins, and the spoons, and the fire pans, of pure gold: and as for the entry of the house, the inner doors of it for the most holy place, and the doors of the main hall of the temple were of gold.
2Ch 5:1 Thus all the work that Solomon did for the house of Yahweh was finished. Solomon brought in the things that David his father had dedicated, even the silver, and the gold, and all the vessels, and put them in the treasuries of the house of God.
2Ch 5:2 Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the princes of the fathers' houses of the children of Israel, to Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of Yahweh out of the city of David, which is Zion.
2Ch 5:3 And all the men of Israel assembled themselves to the king at the feast, which was in the seventh month.
2Ch 5:4 All the elders of Israel came: and the Levites took up the ark;
2Ch 5:5 and they brought up the ark, and the Tent of Meeting, and all the holy vessels that were in the Tent; these did the priests the Levites bring up.
2Ch 5:6 King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel, that were assembled to him, were before the ark, sacrificing sheep and cattle, that could not be counted nor numbered for multitude.
2Ch 5:7 The priests brought in the ark of the covenant of Yahweh to its place, into the oracle of the house, to the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubim.
2Ch 5:8 For the cherubim spread forth their wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubim covered the ark and its poles above.
2Ch 5:9 The poles were so long that the ends of the poles were seen from the ark before the oracle; but they were not seen outside: and there it is to this day.
2Ch 5:10 There was nothing in the ark save the two tables which Moses put there at Horeb, when Yahweh made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of Egypt.
2Ch 5:11 It happened, when the priests were come out of the holy place, (for all the priests who were present had sanctified themselves, and did not keep their divisions;
2Ch 5:12 also the Levites who were the singers, all of them, even Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, and their sons and their brothers, arrayed in fine linen, with cymbals and stringed instruments and harps, stood at the east end of the altar, and with them one hundred twenty priests sounding with trumpets;)
2Ch 5:13 it happened, when the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking Yahweh; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised Yahweh, saying, For he is good; for his loving kindness endures forever; that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of Yahweh,
2Ch 5:14 so that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of Yahweh filled the house of God.
2Ch 6:1 Then spoke Solomon, Yahweh has said that he would dwell in the thick darkness.
2Ch 6:2 But I have built you a house of habitation, and a place for you to dwell in forever.
2Ch 6:3 The king turned his face, and blessed all the assembly of Israel: and all the assembly of Israel stood.
2Ch 6:4 He said, Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel, who spoke with his mouth to David my father, and has with his hands fulfilled it, saying,
2Ch 6:5 Since the day that I brought forth my people out of the land of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel to build a house in, that my name might be there; neither chose I any man to be prince over my people Israel:
2Ch 6:6 but I have chosen Jerusalem, that my name might be there; and have chosen David to be over my people Israel.
2Ch 6:7 Now it was in the heart of David my father to build a house for the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel.
2Ch 6:8 But Yahweh said to David my father, Whereas it was in your heart to build a house for my name, you did well that it was in your heart:
2Ch 6:9 nevertheless you shall not build the house; but your son who shall come forth out of your body, he shall build the house for my name.
2Ch 6:10 Yahweh has performed his word that he spoke; for I am risen up in the room of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as Yahweh promised, and have built the house for the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel.
2Ch 6:11 There have I set the ark, in which is the covenant of Yahweh, which he made with the children of Israel.
2Ch 6:12 He stood before the altar of Yahweh in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, and spread forth his hands
2Ch 6:13 (for Solomon had made a bronze scaffold, five cubits long, and five cubits broad, and three cubits high, and had set it in the midst of the court; and on it he stood, and kneeled down on his knees before all the assembly of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven;)
2Ch 6:14 and he said, Yahweh, the God of Israel, there is no God like you, in heaven, or on earth; who keep covenant and loving kindness with your servants, who walk before you with all their heart;
2Ch 6:15 who have kept with your servant David my father that which you promised him: yes, you spoke with your mouth, and have fulfilled it with your hand, as it is this day.
2Ch 6:16 Now therefore, Yahweh, the God of Israel, keep with your servant David my father that which you have promised him, saying, There shall not fail you a man in my sight to sit on the throne of Israel, if only your children take heed to their way, to walk in my law as you have walked before me.
2Ch 6:17 Now therefore, Yahweh, the God of Israel, let your word be verified, which you spoke to your servant David.
2Ch 6:18 But will God indeed dwell with men on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens can't contain you; how much less this house which I have built!
2Ch 6:19 Yet have respect for the prayer of your servant, and to his supplication, Yahweh my God, to listen to the cry and to the prayer which your servant prays before you;
2Ch 6:20 that your eyes may be open toward this house day and night, even toward the place where you have said that you would put your name; to listen to the prayer which your servant shall pray toward this place.
2Ch 6:21 Listen to the petitions of your servant, and of your people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place: yes, hear from your dwelling place, even from heaven; and when you hear, forgive.
2Ch 6:22 If a man sin against his neighbor, and an oath is laid on him to cause him to swear, and he comes and swears before your altar in this house;
2Ch 6:23 then hear from heaven, and do, and judge your servants, bringing retribution to the wicked, to bring his way on his own head; and justifying the righteous, to give him according to his righteousness.
2Ch 6:24 If your people Israel be struck down before the enemy, because they have sinned against you, and shall turn again and confess your name, and pray and make supplication before you in this house;
2Ch 6:25 then hear from heaven, and forgive the sin of your people Israel, and bring them again to the land which you gave to them and to their fathers.
2Ch 6:26 When the sky is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against you; if they pray toward this place, and confess your name, and turn from their sin, when you afflict them:
2Ch 6:27 then hear in heaven, and forgive the sin of your servants, and of your people Israel, when you teach them the good way in which they should walk; and send rain on your land, which you have given to your people for an inheritance.
2Ch 6:28 If there be in the land famine, if there be pestilence, if there is blight or mildew, locust or caterpillar; if their enemies besiege them in the land of their cities; whatever plague or whatever sickness there be;
2Ch 6:29 whatever prayer and supplication be made by any man, or by all your people Israel, who shall know every man his own plague and his own sorrow, and shall spread forth his hands toward this house:
2Ch 6:30 then hear from heaven, your dwelling place and forgive, and render to every man according to all his ways, whose heart you know; (for you, even you only, know the hearts of the children of men;)
2Ch 6:31 that they may fear you, to walk in your ways, so long as they live in the land which you gave to our fathers.
2Ch 6:32 Moreover concerning the foreigner, who is not of your people Israel, when he shall come from a far country for your great name's sake, and your mighty hand, and your outstretched arm; when they shall come and pray toward this house:
2Ch 6:33 then hear from heaven, even from your dwelling place, and do according to all that the foreigner calls to you for; that all the peoples of the earth may know your name, and fear you, as does your people Israel, and that they may know that this house which I have built is called by your name.
2Ch 6:34 If your people go out to battle against their enemies, by whatever way you shall send them, and they pray to you toward this city which you have chosen, and the house which I have built for your name;
2Ch 6:35 then hear from heaven their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause.
2Ch 6:36 If they sin against you (for there is no man who doesn't sin), and you are angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, so that they carry them away captive to a land far off or near;
2Ch 6:37 yet if they shall repent themselves in the land where they are carried captive, and turn again, and make supplication to you in the land of their captivity, saying, We have sinned, we have done perversely, and have dealt wickedly;
2Ch 6:38 if they return to you with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity, where they have carried them captive, and pray toward their land, which you gave to their fathers, and the city which you have chosen, and toward the house which I have built for your name:
2Ch 6:39 then hear from heaven, even from your dwelling place, their prayer and their petitions, and maintain their cause, and forgive your people who have sinned against you.
2Ch 6:40 Now, my God, let, I beg you, your eyes be open, and let your ears be attentive, to the prayer that is made in this place.
2Ch 6:41 Now therefore arise, Yahweh God, into your resting place, you, and the ark of your strength: let your priests, Yahweh God, be clothed with salvation, and let your saints rejoice in goodness.
2Ch 6:42 Yahweh God, don't turn away the face of your anointed: remember your loving kindnesses to David your servant.

Jul. 24, 25 Acts 15


Jul. 24, 25
Acts 15

Act 15:1 Some men came down from Judea and taught the brothers, "Unless you are circumcised after the custom of Moses, you can't be saved."
Act 15:2 Therefore when Paul and Barnabas had no small discord and discussion with them, they appointed Paul and Barnabas, and some others of them, to go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders about this question.
Act 15:3 They, being sent on their way by the assembly, passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, declaring the conversion of the Gentiles. They caused great joy to all the brothers.
Act 15:4 When they had come to Jerusalem, they were received by the assembly and the apostles and the elders, and they reported all things that God had done with them.
Act 15:5 But some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up, saying, "It is necessary to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses."
Act 15:6 The apostles and the elders were gathered together to see about this matter.
Act 15:7 When there had been much discussion, Peter rose up and said to them, "Brothers, you know that a good while ago God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the nations should hear the word of the Good News, and believe.
Act 15:8 God, who knows the heart, testified about them, giving them the Holy Spirit, just like he did to us.
Act 15:9 He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith.
Act 15:10 Now therefore why do you tempt God, that you should put a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?
Act 15:11 But we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they are."
Act 15:12 All the multitude kept silence, and they listened to Barnabas and Paul reporting what signs and wonders God had done among the nations through them.
Act 15:13 After they were silent, James answered, "Brothers, listen to me.
Act 15:14 Simeon has reported how God first visited the nations, to take out of them a people for his name.
Act 15:15 This agrees with the words of the prophets. As it is written,
Act 15:16 'After these things I will return. I will again build the tabernacle of David, which has fallen. I will again build its ruins. I will set it up,
Act 15:17 That the rest of men may seek after the Lord; All the Gentiles who are called by my name, Says the Lord, who does all these things.
Act 15:18 All his works are known to God from eternity.'
Act 15:19 "Therefore my judgment is that we don't trouble those from among the Gentiles who turn to God,
Act 15:20 but that we write to them that they abstain from the pollution of idols, from sexual immorality, from what is strangled, and from blood.
Act 15:21 For Moses from generations of old has in every city those who preach him, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath."
Act 15:22 Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole assembly, to choose men out of their company, and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas: Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas, chief men among the brothers.
Act 15:23 They wrote these things by their hand: "The apostles, the elders, and the brothers, to the brothers who are of the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia: greetings.
Act 15:24 Because we have heard that some who went out from us have troubled you with words, unsettling your souls, saying, 'You must be circumcised and keep the law,' to whom we gave no commandment;
Act 15:25 it seemed good to us, having come to one accord, to choose out men and send them to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,
Act 15:26 men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Act 15:27 We have sent therefore Judas and Silas, who themselves will also tell you the same things by word of mouth.
Act 15:28 For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay no greater burden on you than these necessary things:
Act 15:29 that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality, from which if you keep yourselves, it will be well with you. Farewell."
Act 15:30 So, when they were sent off, they came to Antioch. Having gathered the multitude together, they delivered the letter.
Act 15:31 When they had read it, they rejoiced over the encouragement.
Act 15:32 Judas and Silas, also being prophets themselves, encouraged the brothers with many words, and strengthened them.
Act 15:33 After they had spent some time there, they were sent back with greetings from the brothers to the apostles.
Act 15:34 But it seemed good to Silas to stay there.
Act 15:35 But Paul and Barnabas stayed in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also.
Act 15:36 After some days Paul said to Barnabas, "Let's return now and visit our brothers in every city in which we proclaimed the word of the Lord, to see how they are doing."
Act 15:37 Barnabas planned to take John, who was called Mark, with them also.
Act 15:38 But Paul didn't think that it was a good idea to take with them someone who had withdrawn from them in Pamphylia, and didn't go with them to do the work.
Act 15:39 Then the contention grew so sharp that they separated from each other. Barnabas took Mark with him, and sailed away to Cyprus,
Act 15:40 but Paul chose Silas, and went out, being commended by the brothers to the grace of God.
Act 15:41 He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the assemblies.