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| The FairTax taxes us only on what we choose to spend on new goods or services, not on what we earn. The FairTax is a fair, efficient, transparent, and intelligent solution to the frustration and inequity of our current tax system. The FairTax: - Enables workers to keep their entire paychecks
- Enables retirees to keep their entire pensions
- Refunds in advance the tax on purchases of basic necessities
- Allows American products to compete fairly
- Brings transparency and accountability to tax policy
- Ensures Social Security and Medicare funding
- Closes all loopholes and brings fairness to taxation
- Abolishes the IRS
This will take just a few minutes to listen : www.visualwebcaster.com/event.asp?id=46446
This will help understand the Fair Tax with out buying the book. After listening go to web site to sign petition.....
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Isn’t that what you would all like to say? Think of the ecstasy of being able to shout it from the housetops that you fought the devil and you won. There’s no way to calculate the impact from the books, sermons, songs, movies, and interviews that you would reap from the greatest victory of your life.
As a child in Sunday School many of us learned this song:
“The devil is a sly old fox,
If I could catch him I’d put him in a box,
Lock that box and throw away the key,
For all the tricks that he’s played on me.”
I think most of us realized this was just wishful thinking or another instance of “Sunday School Spin.” We knew we were no match for the devil because the adults confirmed this with their lifestyles and conversations. These testimony services were often used to describe how powerful the devil was and how powerless they were against him. They talked more about their problems than God’s solutions.
It wasn’t their intent to enlarge the devil’s impact on them but it sure seemed to come out that way when they talked. It sounded like this, “The devil’s been after me all week and I don’t see how I can go on much longer. You all pray for me that I will ever stand true.” As a child, I didn’t hear much encouragement in that testimony and NOBODY ever said they had caught the devil that week and had locked him in their box. We sang it, but we never SAW it.
As I grew older, I was startled to discover that this view is quite common in Christianity. We have been brainwashed into believing that Satan’s power is so formidable that we dare not think we can defeat him in our battles against his forces. Christians easily accept defeat and assume the inevitability of Satan being the conqueror and we are the conquered. After all, the Bible says the devil is the “god of this world”
(2 Corinthians 4:4). Doesn’t that mean he is our master, we are his slaves, and there’s nothing we can do to alter that?
This is what Satan would like for you to believe and, if he is successful in this, you will act as though it is true. The converse of this is actually what the Bible teaches. God said that, because of Christ’s redeeming work on Calvary, the devil has been placed UNDER OUR FEET. Romans 16:20 says, “And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly.” The grammar shows that Satan is already under our feet and that, SHORTLY, God will bruise (Greek, “Trample or crush”), him.
According to God’s Word, we are presently no longer slaves to sin and Satan. We are now “more than conquerors through Jesus Christ.” The only way you can be under the devil’s control is if you allow yourself to be under his control. Jesus emancipated you, taking ALL authority away from Satan and making you free to crown Him as Lord of your life.
The Epistles tell us that Jesus destroyed the devil. Hebrews 2:14 says, “...that through death he (Christ) might destroy (Greek, “Reduce to zero, abolish, annul”) him that had the power of death, that is, the devil.” Paul further writes in Colossians 2:15 saying, “And having spoiled (Greek, “To put away, put off, cast aside”) principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it.” For the sake of brevity, I can only include a few passages from the Bible that document the effectiveness of Christ’s redemption in shrinking the devil. There are scores of scriptures you can discover that will validate this truth.
This great victory by Christ is confirmed in 2 Corinthians 2:14. Paul writes, “Now thanks be unto God, which always causes us to triumph in Christ.” The literal Greek declares, “...that Christ is always leading us in a triumphal parade displaying the Church as the recued spoils from His victory over the devil.” Can you imagine how much Satan hates our parade? Now this is enough to make anyone shout for joy!
Since Lucifer’s fall, his only REAL and effective tactic with man has been the power of persuasion. It was seen with Eve in the Garden being persuaded to eat the forbidden fruit, Abraham lying about Sarah being his sister, David taking a “head-count” of Israel, Judas betraying Jesus, or Peter denying Him. None of these was forced to comply with the devil’s persuasiveness as though they had no choice but to agree. Satan’s persuasion was his only weapon in his warfare with God’s people.
A central theme of the devil’s deception is to embellish his power and ability. If he can make you believe he is an invincible, all-powerful, indestructible foe, you will quickly fall prey to his lies. He exaggerates his resume and tries to convince you that, he not only has not been conquered, but that he CANNOT be conquered. Satan’s goal is to instill fear in the hearts of humanity. His view is, “If we are afraid of him, we will submit to him.”
Thank God for the Bible which, if read in its entirety, gives a complete portrait of Satan’s past, present and future. Most Christians will readily agree on the data regarding his past and accept the prophecies detailing his bleak future. It is the PRESENT condition of the devil that seems to mystify the Church. It is described however for us so we will not be caught off-guard by Satan’s “lion-like” activities (See 1 Peter 5:8). The difference between Satan and a lion is that Satan had his teeth pulled at Calvary so he has no real bite left in him. He just tries to “gnaw us to death.”
The unadulterated truth about Satan’s prowess is found nestled in the prophecies of Isaiah. He states in Chapter 14:16-17, “They that see thee (“Lucifer”) shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; that made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof?”(By the way, these things all happened BEFORE Adam was created supporting the doctrine of a pre-adamic civilization. For instance, WHEN did Satan make the world a wilderness? There is no biblical account of that happening after the creation of Adam so it had to precede Adam and Eve.)
God indicates that when Satan is revealed in his physical form, the world will be amazed that someone of his unimpressive appearance and physique could have exerted such a powerful influence on humanity. We saw the diminutive stature of those like Napoleon and Hitler who wielded tremendous power despite their lack of size. Satan is just another average looking man with a massive, maniacal ego.
So, what is actually happening now in the battle of the Kingdoms? First, the battle is over and Christ won! Therefore, according to Isaiah 9:7 His Kingdom is an “ever-increasing” Kingdom. The prophet wrote, “Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.” “Henceforth” was then and we are now living in the “forever” period of Christ’s ever-expanding Kingdom.
Second, be advised that Satan’s kingdom is folding like a house of cards. He will never admit this to you but God’s word declares it as a FACT. We see this clearly in 1 Corinthians 2:6. Paul says, “Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, or of the princes of this world, that come to nought:” The literal Greek has it is the present tense which reads, “...Is being brought to zero.”
A closer look at the Greek grammar here shows it is the present passive participle genitive plural of katarge meaning, “a gradual nullification of these rulers before the final and certain triumph by Christ.” This is an on-going reduction of the devil’s power paralleling the increasing of Christ’s government. The devil’s boat is already sinking and, one day, it will be totally submerged.
The prevailing question arises as to how can you shrink the devil? Ephesians 4:27 says, “Neither give place to the devil.” Now if you can give the devil a place, you can refuse to give him a place. If you can allow him, you can forbid him. If you can submit to him, you can reject him. If you can accept his lies and enlarge his influence, you can repudiate his lies and shrink him down to size.
The impact the devil has upon you directly corresponds with the degree of freedom you allow him to have upon you. God’s Word makes it abundantly clear that Christ HAS already given you authority over all the ability of the devil (Luke 10:19). The disciples even retuned from a preaching mission stating that the devils were subject unto THEM through the Name of Jesus. They discovered that it was possible to keep the devil on a short leash. If they could, then you too can shout with the voice of the overcomer, “Honey, I SHRUNK the devil”!
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The message in this biblical teaching on personality, then, is both encouraging and challenging. It's remarkably encouraging to know that God doesn't expect any of us to be a clone of any other Christian. There is no ideal Christian personality type that we're expected to emulate, nor are certain talents more important for us to possess than certain others.
God has given each of us individuality, which he wishes us to express, and not repress, as we follow Christ. He has put within each of us a unique mix of potential and interests, which to a large extent remains consistent throughout our life--present before we commit our life to Christ, and continuing afterward. As we come to understand the distinctiveness he has given us, we gain vital insight into how he wants us to live our life.
This is where the challenge comes. God does expect us to take our potential seriously. The pressure to conform in some Christian circles can keep us from focusing on those gifts and interests that are most important in our own service for Christ. We each desperately need people around us who see us dynamically,and who help us come to grips with God's best intentions for our life. We need to be willing to take courageous steps of faith as well.
Yet great motivation comes simply from knowing that God has created us uniquely, and that we're contributing to the work of Christ, and not detracting from it, by being the individual he has made us to be. We should reflect often on the fact that God has made each of us a one-of-a-kind creation, and that he has work for each of us to do that no one else is as well-equipped to carry out. May we take heart from knowing this, and determine to take the best possible steps to realize our potential for Christ.
Part of a newsletter I receive from nehemiahministries.com
A fully formatted version of this article is available at
http://www.nehemiahministries.com/individuality4.htm
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3:1 Now Peter and John were going up into the temple at the hour of prayer, `being' the ninth `hour'. 3:2 And a certain man that was lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the door of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple; 3:3 who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked to receive an alms. 3:4 And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him, with John, said, Look on us. 3:5 And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something from them. 3:6 But Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but what I have, that give I thee. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk. 3:7 And he took him by the right hand, and raised him up: and immediately his feet and his ankle-bones received strength. 3:8 And leaping up, he stood, and began to walk; and he entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God. 3:9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God: 3:10 and they took knowledge of him, that it was he that sat for alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him. 3:11 And as he held Peter and John, all the people ran together unto them in the porch that is called Solomon's, greatly wondering. 3:16 And by faith in his name hath his name made this man strong, whom ye behold and know: yea, the faith which is through him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.
9:20 And behold, a woman, who had an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the border of his garment: 9:21 for she said within herself, If I do but touch his garment, I shall be made whole. 9:22 But Jesus turning and seeing her said, Daughter, be of good cheer; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour. 9:28 And when he was come into the house, the blind men came to him: and Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They say unto him, Yea, Lord. 9:29 Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it done unto you.
5:24 And he went with him; and a great multitude followed him, and they thronged him. 5:25 And a woman, who had an issue of blood twelve years, 5:26 and had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse, 5:27 having heard the things concerning Jesus, came in the crowd behind, and touched his garment. 5:28 For she said, If I touch but his garments, I shall be made whole. 5:29 And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her plague. 5:30 And straightway Jesus, perceiving in himself that the power `proceeding' from him had gone forth, turned him about in the crowd, and said, Who touched my garments? 5:31 And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me? 5:32 And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing. 5:33 But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what had been done to her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth. 5:34 And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague. I will give the verses in the order they were given to me. In Acts 3:16 it was the mans faith that allowed God to do his work, "through his faith". In Matt 9:22 Jesus said your faith have made you whole".
In Mark the same thing but with a twist...."Jesus said thy faith have made thee whole" .
Here is what was pointed out to me. In v24 "and all the people followed, *crowding around him. V31 "You see the people *crowding against you "
Here is the twist:
Jesus had all these people around him, touching him, pushing on him. But only this women was able to receive something from him. Yes, I will say it again...it is by faith we receive from God.
Lets use Mark as a analogy :
We as christians follow God but are we just following the natural flow of the crowd the "In Thing To Do", Are we doing more than going to church x times a week, are we doing more than wearing our WWJD apparel. What are we believing God for Matt 9:21 " If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed" It sounds self centered, but we see the end result, she was healed from that very hour.
Let me refocus my self before I start chasing rabbits. My point is you have all these people around Jesus and this one person was able to receive something from him.
It was by faith or "her faith".
I believe God has gifted each one of us with certain "gifts and talents" or abilities. I believe that he has a particular thing in mind for you to do. It may not be the traditional christian thing either. **Maybe he wants to change your career, have you relocate to another state, change churches go on a mission trip. God created this world, do not limit him in what he wants to do. Release your Faith.....
*flock or be present in great numbers, press violently, force one's way
of a number of people) fill (a space) almost completely, leaving little or no room for movement.
** Find the scriptures in Gods word as I did, that backs up what you say. take time with God through his word to discover and hear from him.
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