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Keeping The Faith In Everything You Do
By Jim Brown
July 2008
Most parents will advise their children that everything will turn out fine if you keep faith in everything you do. Some children are very wise and listen to what their parents say and end up living a very happy life. Those that do not listen are tragically exposed to all sorts of hardships throughout their life and until they regain their faith in some way they will continue on the path of strife.
It may be hard to hold the faith when a tragedy occurs somewhere in the world. Some people can not understand how God can allow people to suffer needlessly and die a painful death. The people that keep the faith know that God has a plan for everybody's life and that the day that we die has already been assigned by God. Some methods of dying were not God's design but were the act of the one that fell from the grace of God in Heaven.
God wants people to learn from the words that he left for us to read. Every word in the Bible was written by someone who walked with God. God relayed his Commandments through Moses and he had other teachers to carry on the words of the Bible long after Christ gave his life on the cross at the hill called Calvary. God's plan was faithful at the time and is still faithful today.
Many people of faith were touched when a girl uttered the words "I Believe," shortly before she was shot by a person who was unable to keep the faith. The girl was able to look death in the eye and still stand true to her faith by not denying that she was a Christian. Her faith rang true to all in that library and her faith assured her that even if death came her way that day she was assured by faith that she would see God's face shortly thereafter.
By keeping the faith in everything that surrounds your life it can almost be conceived as an insurance policy for an eternal life after we die. Many people choose to live happy and productive lives and improve the lives of others in the process. This caring and sharing is a prime characteristic of the faith that surrounds their life everyday and eventually someone will take up the faith in their own lives just because they have seen the effects of the faith firsthand.
Most people who believe in God find keeping the faith a very easy task each day. They surround themselves with the reassuring words in the Bible and with people who believe the same way. Faith is a good path to take even if you are unsure of the complete route. Through following the Ten Commandments many people find that the route to faith is very easy to find and keep in and around their life.
James Brown writes about Bunches of Books promotion code
Christian Movies Available
* October 1, 2008: - Gospel USA Magazine will release its 5th Gospel music compilation CD entitled, "Gospel Breakouts, Volume 5." A copy of this CD will be attached to each copy of Gospel USA's Oct / Nov 2008 issue, and distributed nationally. Gospel artists who want to have their favorite original song included on this CD can call 305-234-8689 for more information.
* Ongoing: Miami, Florida-based Gospel recording artist Joe Russell has released his debut Gospel CD entitled, I Give Him All The Praise. The project features a variety of inspirational songs for every age - including a Gospel remake of the late 70's single, Ain't No Stopping Us Now. Radio and retail copies are available either through www.joerussellmusic.com or call 786-343-9249. (Photo: Joe Russell).
* Ongoing: The latest CD release by Doc McKenzie & The Hi-Lites, one of today's most prominent Gospel quartet groups, entitled, The Answer Is In The Music, is now available. For more information, click.
* Ongoing: Kelly Lynn is a prolific songwriting vocalist. Her group, G.O. (God’s Own) includes a talented group of Camden City, NJ students of the arts who have joined her in music ministry. Her new CD release, No Greater Force, is a refreshing blend of traditional and contemporary Gospel music featuring electrifying performances by the legendary Dorothy Norwood, Deanna Ransom, HanSoul and more. For more information or to purchase the CD, visit www.kellylynngospel.com.
Spiritual Quote For Month of July:
It is always the false that makes you suffer, the false desires and fears, the false values and ideas, the false relationships between people. Abandon the false and you are free of pain; truth makes happy, truth liberates.
Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
Is There a Simple Solution to the Problem of Why God Allows Evil to Occur?
By David E. Comings, M.D.
July 2008
One of the most difficult questions for priests, ministers, and theologians to answer is – Why does a kind, compassionate, personal God that answers prayers and looks out for our personal welfare, allow so much evil to occur in the world? This is often called "the problem of evil." As far back as the fourth century BCE, philosophers such as Epicurus have addressed this question. Epicurus pointed out that it was hard to get God off the hook. He wrote, "Either God wants to abolish evil and cannot; or he can, but does not want to. If he wants to, but cannot he is impotent. If he can but does not want to, he is wicked."
One of the oldest methods to answer this dilemma was proposed several thousand years ago by the Gnostics, a group of quasi-Christian mystics. To them there was no problem because they viewed God as so inherently evil that he would have no interest in preventing evil. They called this demonic God the Demiurge, taken from a term Plato used to denote the creator of the base world. The Demiurge was the God that interacted with man. The real God or "true Father" represented the less flawed world and could not be held responsible for the actions of the Demiurge.
The deists propose a solution that still leaves God blameless but is less harsh. They propose that God did indeed create the early universe but when this job was completed he was no longer involved. This approach has the advantage that it allows those who believe in this type of God to also believe in Darwinian evolution as the mechanism by which all life including man himself was created. This is far more satisfactory to the rational brain than the proposals of the young earth creationists who believe the Bible is literally true and that the world is less than 6,000 years old, and that Darwinism is baloney.
The deist solution is also not very satisfactory to the majority of people in the world who believe in a personal God that guided the evolution of man and watches over us on a minute-to-minute basis. These are called theists and they have proposed a number of solutions to the "problem of evil."
The most popular is that God endowed man with free will. This relieved God from the onerous duty of being responsible for all the minute detailed decisions that billions of humans make everyday. God could not be responsible if it was a person's individual decision to do evil things. This, however, did not explain the evil done by nature in the form of hurricanes, earthquakes, and other natural disasters. Some have suggested that nature also has its own free will.
Another creative answer to the problem of evil is the yin and yang solution. This says we cannot have good in the world if the opposite, evil, is not around to compare it to. We cannot have hot without cold, love without hate, or good without evil. Another explanation is that evil is part of God's mysterious plan. This is especially evoked when a child dies or is killed. Somehow the pain is supposed to be lessened if this event is all part of God's mysterious plan. A further solution, popular with several fundamentalist religions is that "people get what they deserve." This was especially popular during the 2004 tsunami that killed hundreds of thousands of people in the orient. Some ministers proclaimed that was God's pay back for abortions, liberal sex, homosexuality, failure to pray to God in public school, and many other supposed transgressions against God's laws. The problem is, none of these answers is truly satisfying if your child is killed, your spouse dies at a young age, or thousands or even millions of people are killed in natural disasters, purges, genocides, wars, epidemics or other horrors humans have been subjected to.
There is however, one simple solution to the problem of evil, one simple answer, one explanation that does not require any circuitous stretches of logic. That is a simple reversal of the assumption made by most people that God created man – to man created God. This proposes that man created the theory of a personal God who created the world, who answers prayers, and who attends to our minute-by-minute needs. In pre-modern times this theory was the best possible solution for the unknown questions – Where did we come from? Where are we going? When I die am I gone forever? Is there life after death? In modern times with remarkable advances in biology, physics, and the neurosciences, these questions now have answers that do not require the ancient theory that we have a personal God. This takes God out of the issue entirely. The most simple and satisfactory answer to the "problem of evil" is to realize that man created God.
About the Author: David E. Comings, M.D., author of Did Man Create God? is a world renown physician, human geneticist, and neuroscientist, past president of the American Society of Human Genetics and head of the Department of Medical Genetics at the City of Hope National Medical Center for 37 years.
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Will Your Faith Withstand Each Test
By Linda Dipman
July 2008
The rain and wind swirled all around the house producing hail that covered the ground as if it had snowed. It started as a warm spring day with just small clouds in the distance. But within a matter of hours the day turned cool and massive clouds producing torrential rain pelted my house. I felt confident and secure because the flat part of my roof had just been newly shingled, but within a few minutes of hard rain, leaks were filling buckets of water inside my house.
My mood of security did a complete turnaround from calm and peaceful to how could a new roof that looked so perfect and beautiful turn out to be so bad? For the past two years I had been warned by various roofers and even my insurance agent that I had better replace the flat roof soon. Now I was emptying buckets of water and all I could think about was my old roof never leaked!
It is amazing how easy it is to put your faith in something that is brand new thinking that it will last only to find out later that the old was better. It is like buying a brand new car believing that you will never have to go to the repair shop at least for the first 50 thousand miles, only to find out that there was a major manufacturing defect. Or it is like buying a new leather sofa and the dye comes off on your clothes every time you sit on it.
It seems that every time we put our trust in new things we realize how easily it is to be disappointed. To understand why we can't depend on the things we can see and hold onto, we must understand the purpose behind our world. We must understand why the only thing we can place our faith in is an unseen spiritual God and His purpose for our lives.
Why do I need God? Why can't I achieve worldly goals of living a good life with complete peace and harmony? Why do roofs, cars, clothes, and even our bodies wear out? Why is everything about this world temporary?
Hebrews 1: 10-12, "He also said, 'You, Lord, in the beginning created the earth, and with your own hands you made the heavens. They will disappear, but you will remain: they will all wear out like clothes. You will fold them up like a coat, and they will be changed like clothes. But you are always the same, and your life never ends.'"
To have God in your life is to understand why we need Him. When you live in a temporary world where there is good and evil then it must wear out. This is the reason why we can't count on new things any more than we can count on old things. Everything has a time and a season and then it will all end. This is the reason why it is important that we understand why we must place our faith in God.
We were made for a purpose that goes beyond this world. When you live in a temporary world you will face problems of all kinds to teach you about what is good and what is bad. These difficulties are not to destroy you but to build your character and bring you to a greater understanding of what is required from those who pass from this world into the perfect eternity to come. This is the reason why you will be tested in your life experiences.
Hebrews 2: 5-10, "God has not placed the angels as rulers over the new world to come-the world of which we speak. Instead, as it is said somewhere in the Scriptures: 'What is man, O God, that you should think of him; mere man, that you should care for him? You made him for a little while lower than the angels; you crowned him with glory and honor, and made him ruler over all things. 'It says that God made man "ruler over all things"; this clearly includes everything. We do not, however, see man ruling over all things now. But we do see Jesus, who for a little while was made lower than the angels, so that through God's grace he should die for everyone. We see him now crowned with glory and honor because of the death he suffered. It was only right that God, who creates and preserves all things, should make Jesus perfect through suffering, in order to bring many sons to share his glory. For Jesus is the one who leads them to salvation.'"
This is the reason why my brand new roof leaked. God was teaching me not to put my trust in worldly things or in the safety of my home. I needed to place my faith in Jesus and the knowledge of the brand new perfect world to come. I needed to believe that He would elevate me because of my suffering to a position that would even make me greater than the angels, because I did not waver even when rain flooded my home. I am here to build a solid foundation that will create in me the ability to rule along with Christ in the more perfect world that is to come.
When you live in an imperfect world you will face difficulties of all kinds so you will mature and grow through the problems. Faith is built by passing tests! These tests are not meant to destroy you but to teach you secret truths that can only be explained through what you must achieve in order to receive the full reward that is promised to you in the perfect world to come. This is why it is a mystery to us here as to why we must suffer in order to be made ready for heaven. The hard trials we face are measured against us according to the knowledge we will need in order to do the jobs that are planned for our heavenly life. A plan that equips us for our spiritual destiny.
If we were to look at our lives as knowledge gained for eternity then we wouldn't be afraid of any experience we went through during our worldly life. We would be looking forward to the future with excitement. We would look at our lives and those we love as human souls that are passing through a learning world to prepare for our perfect job in heaven.
Satan knows how to test a person to the highest level of pain. He does this by making them depend on the things of the world in order to live. He tries to defeat God's plan by shaking a person's faith through economic slow downs, natural disasters, death, sickness and anything that makes them turn away from God's will for their lives. With the mortgage crisis, high gas prices and the increase in inflation every person is put to the test.
God takes the pain of the tests and He bring us to different levels of spiritual maturity. He Strengthens our faith through the trials, while laying a strong foundation for us to draw upon in our future experiences. Each trial answers questions reflecting how much we have learned. Questions like these: Are you placing your faith in the security of your home or God? Are you believing that no matter what happens God will take care of you even if it means losing every worldly possession you own? Do you believe that God can help you start all over again? Are you ready to take your soul to the next level of spiritual maturity in order to prepare you for the world to come?
The problems Satan uses to destroy our confidence in God; God uses by giving us exciting stories of survival that help others who may go through the same things. God changes us into more compassionate loving individuals who reach out to people who are homeless because of natural disasters and gives us the ability to provide them with shelter. He makes us examples to our neighbors of what faith can do in a person's life. Most of all He prepares us to rule with wisdom, love and compassion. Just like Jesus learned from suffering, we gain the same wisdom from our own suffering.
Hebrews 2: 14&15, "Since the children, as he calls them, are people of flesh and blood, Jesus himself became like them and shared their human nature. He did this so that through his death he might destroy the Devil, who has the power over death, and in this way set free those who were slaves all their lives because of their fear of death."
When Jesus Christ is Lord over our lives then we can have confidence when we go through difficult things that we are not suffering in vain. We are not afraid even of death because we know through scriptures that even death can not separate us from God's ultimate plan for our lives. For we are assured that no matter what happens to us we have a future promise. Our confidence is not based on human values but on spiritual values that can only be measured by the scales present in heaven.
Satan is the enemy of every Christian. He wants to make us falter in our faith. His goal is to rob us of our security in our homes and make us question God's will for our lives. He wants us to fill abandoned and alone. He wants to make us afraid of death, homelessness, poverty, and disasters of all kinds. He wants us to turn away from God and blame Him when we face difficulties in our lives.
Hebrews 3: 12-14, "My fellow believers, be careful that no one among you has a heart so evil and unbelieving that he will turn away from the living God. Instead, in order that none of you be deceived by sin and become stubborn, you must help one another every day, as long as the word 'Today' in the scripture applies to us. For we are all partners with Christ if we hold firmly to the end the confidence we had in the beginning."
The buckets I emptied from the leaky roof shook my confidence in the security of my home. It made me fear that I would have to spend more of my hard earned money when my business was slow because of inflation to redo my roof. But my faith in Jesus Christ as my Savior made me unshakable and determined to cast all of my fears upon Him. I never blamed God for not protecting me from the problem, instead I prayed and God instructed me on where the leaks began. When I called my roofers, and told them what happened, they stated what needed to be fixed before I could tell them where I thought the leaks were. It was exactly what the Holy Spirit said was causing the problem from my leaky roof. They quickly repaired the problem.
God loves people and when we run to Him for help, He will always answer our prayers. It is very important that you don't turn away from God. Because I believed my Savior could help me during my time of crisis my faith withstood the test that Satan intended to use to make me crumble and abandon my faith.
Linda C Dipman author of The Game Of Life It's Almost Over outskirtspress.com/gameoflife presents And His Love Shone Down, my true life story! It describes all the persecutions I endured. It will put you on the edge of your seat as you read each vivid detail. You will feel terror and experience love like nothing you have ever read before. lovinghandsministry.com
Grammy Awards
* February 2009: -- The 51st Annual Grammy Awards will be presented. For details as they become available, visit www.grammy.com.
IGMHFM Awards
* October 2008: -- The International Gospel Music Hall Of Fame And Museum will present its 12th Annual Induction & Awards Celebration in Detroit, Michigan. For details as they become available, visit www.igmhf.org or call 313-592-0017.
Stellar Awards
* January 2009: -- The 24th Annual Stellar Gospel Music Awards will be held. For details as they become available, visit www.thestellarawards.com.
Maryland
* July 18th - 20th, 2008: The 2008 Newsome Awards will be held in Baltimore, Maryland. Now is the time to submit your nominations for your favorite artists. For details, visit www.newsomeawards.com.
International
* October 23rd - 26th, 2008: The 2008 Caribbean Gospel Music Marlin Awards will be held in Nassau, Bahamas under the banner, "Gospel in Paradise." The event is expected to attract hundreds from throughout the Caribbean and other nations. There are over 100 artists participating this year, representing over ten (10) countries. Booths will be provided for all media houses during all weekend events as well as free, All-Access passes. For additional info, visit www.marlinawards.com, call Kevin Harris in Nassau at 242-327-1251 or send e-mail to marlinawards@gmail.com.
Book Releases and Signings
* July 20th - 27th, 2008: Author/speaker Kevin Wayne Johnson of Clarksville, Maryland will be in Miami, Florida conducting book signings, interviews, workshops and talks about his latest book series entitled, Give God The Glory!. For more information, visit www.writingforthelord.org or call 410-340-8633.
* Ongoing: Get this book FREE today! This is not the typical Daniel fast! The Spirit of Daniel Fast is more than a book – it is a divine strategy written by Pastor/author Tim Kurtz, who regularly leads his congregation through this powerful fast. Get life-changing results in only 21 days. Learn how to hear and receive from God. Join hundreds who have already proven the power of The Spirit of Daniel Fast. This is a limited-time offer. Download your FREE copy today at www.john316ministries.org.
Concert tours
This Fall
* Multi-talented and multi-award winning artists Dottie Peoples, Ann Nesby, Ami Rushes and renown comedian Sister Cantaloupe have merged together for the Sisters Of Soul Sharing The Gospel Tour with a few limited dates in Fall 2008. Currently, dates are being booked in venues and churches with a minimum seating capacity of 1,500 due to crowd control. If you or your church are interested in hosting this great ministry event, call 866-945-4272 or write to sistersontour@aol.com.
Georgia
* July 12th, 2008: - The 8th Annual Praise In The Park Extravaganza 2008 will be held at Griffin City Park in Griffin, Georgia. Time: 11 am - 8 pm. Theme: "Exploring and Developing the Talent of Our Youth." Performance, sponsorship and vendor opportunities are available. Contact Joe Pope, Jr. or Gail Pope at 770-467-6784 or visit www.wvpbtvnetwork.com.
Virginia
* August 24th, 2008: - Tye Tribbett & G.A. will appear in concert at Saint Paul’s Baptist Church, 4247 Creighton Road, Richmond, Virginia. Tickets are $15. For tickets, call 804-643-4000. (Photo: Tye Tribbett).
International
* September 5th - 6th, 2008: - The 5th Annual Gospel Festival Amsterdam will take place at the Heineken Music Hall in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Gospel Festival Amsterdam is the biggest Black Gospel festival in the Netherlands and aims to be one of the dominant music festivals in Europe. This year's performers include Kirk Franklin, Tye Tribbett & GA and Edwin Hawkins – along with many local and regional artists. Details at www.gospelfestival.nl.
Conferences
Florida
* August 30th, 2008: - The Jacksonville (Florida) Gospel Announcers Guild - GMWA presents their Empowered For Victory & Anointed For Excellence 2008 Conference. The event will be held at the Spirit of Life Worship Center, 1176 LaBelle Street, Jacksonville, FL 32205. Visit www.JaxGag.com or call 904-766-2266.
New York
* July 11th - 13th, 2008: - Perfecting Faith Church and Pastor Donnie McClurkin presents Mothers In Zion Conference 2008 at Perfecting Church, 311 North Main Street, Freeport, NY 11520. Guest speakers include Elder Brenda Mackey. For details, visit www.perfectingfaith.org or call 516-223-8300. (Photo: Donnie McClurkin)
Conventions
* January 20th - 24th, 2009: - The 17th Annual American Gospel Quartet National Convention will be held in Birmingham, Alabama. For registration and hotel information, visit www.americangospelquartet.org. (Photo: Rev. George & Dr. Jacqueline Stewart, hosts).
Illinois
* August 2nd - 8th, 2008: - The 75th Session of the National Convention of Gospel Choirs and Choruses (NCGCC) (founded by Rev. Thomas A. Dorsey) will convene at the Hilton Chicago, 720 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60605. For registration and hotel info, visit www.ncgccinc.com or call 203-334-2400.
Tennessee
* August 9th - 15th, 2008: The 41st Annual National Convention of the Gospel Music Workshop of America (GMWA) will be held at the Gaylord Resort Opryland in Nashville, Tennessee. For more information, registration forms and itinerary, visit www.gmwanational.org. (Photo: The Gaylord Resort).
Texas
* September 17th - 19th, 2008: - The 2008 R&R Convention and R&R Industry Achievement Awards will be held in Austin, Texas. For convention itinerary, registration and hotel information, visit www.radioandrecords.com.
Tennessee
* August 9th - 15th, 2008: The 41st Annual National Convention of the Gospel Music Workshop of America (GMWA) will be held at the Gaylord Resort Opryland in Nashville, Tennessee. For more information, registration forms and itinerary, visit www.gmwanational.org. (Photo: The Gaylord Resort).
Alabama
* January 2009: - The 17th Annual American Gospel Quartet National Convention will be held in Birmingham, Alabama. For more details as they become available, visit www.americangospelquartet.org. (Photo: Rev. George & Dr. Jacqueline Stewart, hosts).
Cruises
* October 26th - November 1st, 2008: - Worship On The Waters sails to Europe for seven glorious nights aboard Norwegian's "Gem" from Barcelona to Valletta, Naples, Florence/Pisa and Nice. For details, visit www.briscoesleisuretravel.com or call Deidre Briscoe at 972-772-9396. (Photo: Gem cabin).
* October 6th - 10th, 2008: - PraiseFest Ministries presents Cruise With A Cause 2008, sailing from Miami, Florida to Nassau, Bahamas. Featuring more than 50 concerts, conferences and activities. Guest artists and ministers include Donnie McClurkin, Mary Mary, Andrae & Sandra Crouch, Byron Cage, Anthony Evans, NewSong, Sonicflood, Michael English, The Crabb Family Reunion, Josh McDowell, Dr. Tony Evans, Paula White and many more. Visit www.praisefestministries.com or call 1-888-518-7571.
* November 21st - 28th, 2008: - The Healthy Living Foundation presents The Healthy Living Gospel Concert & Cruise to Ensenada, Mexico. Double occupancy rate begins at $389.00 per person. The focus of this cruise is stress reduction. Contact Alonzo Govain-Bey at www.beydazl.com/healthyliving, send e-mail to admin@beydazl.com or call 510-685-3703.
Study: Christianity makes men better husbands, fathers
OneNewsNow
July 2008
In a research brief this month, Bradford Wilcox, a sociology professor at the University of Virginia, analyzed three national studies in order to discover if "there is any evidence that religion is playing a role in encouraging a strong family orientation among contemporary American men?" His research led him to conclude that men who regularly attend Christian services are engaged in happier and stronger marriages and are more involved in the lives of their children than men who do not.
"Seventy percent of husbands who attend church regularly report they are 'very happy' in their marriages, compared to 59 percent of husbands who rarely or never attend church," explained Wilcox, who also said that the studies indicated that wives experienced more marital happiness when their husbands attended regular religious services. This is likely one significant reason why the studies showed that married couples who attended regular Christian services were approximately 35 percent less likely to divorce then those couples who did not.
Wilcox's research also looked at the effect religion has on the relationships between fathers and their children. Fathers who attended regular Christian services spent an average of two more hours a week engaged in youth-activities with their children than fathers who did not attend regular services. Christian fathers also spent more one-on-one time with their children and were 65 percent more likely to hug and praise their children.
The studies also found that children born inside of wedlock had much more "involved, affectionate, and consistent relationships" with their fathers. This is an important statistic given Wilcox's findings that church-attending men are more likely to have children inside of wedlock then non-church-going men.
Wilcox concluded his research brief by strongly advocating the positive effects that religion has on husbands and fathers: "This brief provides an array of evidence indicating that religion is an answer to the male problematic - that is, the tendency of fathers to become detached, emotionally or physically, from their children and the mothers of their children. I find that fathers who are religious, and who have partners who are religious, are - on average - more likely to be happily married, to be engaged and affectionate parents, and to get and stay married to the mothers of their children."
The research report comes from The Center for Marriage and Families, which is based at the Institute for American Values, and was commissioned by the National Fatherhood Initiative under a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice.
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