New Book: Dying in Indian Country - An Amazing Family Story

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This is a true story of an American tribal member who, after coming to know Jesus Christ, realized just how much liberal policies within tribal and federal government were hurting his extended family.  

Roland grew up watching members of his family die of alcoholism, child abuse, suicide, and violence on the reservation. Like many others, he blamed all the problems on “white people.”  

Beth Ward grew up in a middle class home in the suburbs. Raised in a politically left family, she also believed that all problems on the reservation originated with cruel treatment by settlers and the stealing of land. Meeting her husband, her first close experience with a tribal member, she stepped out of the comfort of suburban life into a whole new, frightening world.

After almost ten years of living with his alcoholism and the terrible dangers that came with it, they both came to realize that individual behavior and personal decisions were at the root of a man’s troubles, including their own. After coming face-to face with the reality of Jesus Christ, their eyes opened to the truth of why there is so much Dying in Indian Country.  

What cannot be denied is that a large number of Native Americans are dying from alcoholism, drug abuse, suicide, and violence. The reservation, a socialistic experiment at best, pushes people to depend on tribal and federal government rather than God, and to blame all of life's ills on others. The results have been disastrous. Roland realized that corrupt tribal government, dishonest federal Indian policy, and the controlling reservation system had more to do with the current pain and despair in his family and community than what had happened 150 years ago.  

Here is the plain truth in the eyes of one family, in the hope that at least some of the dying in Indian Country — physical, emotional, and spiritual — may be recognized and prevented. Unfortunately, persistent public misconceptions about Indian Country, misconceptions sometimes promoted by tribal government and others enjoying unaudited money and power, have worked to keep the situation just as it is.

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• “Roland truly has encouraged many people…the last trip to D.C. was a testimony to God’s faithfulness.” Rev. Robert Guthrie, B.Th. M.A. –Professor, Vanguard College, AB
• “…he earned my deepest respect, and…made heroic and very honorable attempts to improve the lot of Native Americans in this country.” Jon Metropoulos, Attorney, Helena, MT
• “‘Dying in Indian Country’ is a compassionate and honest portrayal…I highly recommend it to you!” Reed Elley, former Member of Parliament, Canada; Chief Critic for Indian Affairs in 2000; Baptist Pastor, father of four native and metis children
• “I truly admire Roland for the message he was trying to have heard.” Ralph Heinert, Montana State Representative
• “He was a magnificent warrior who put himself on the line for the good of all…. I can think of no-one at this time in this dark period of Indian history who is able to speak as Roland has.” Arlene, tribal member
• “…hope emerging from despair… This is a story about an amazing life journey.” Darrel Smith. Writer, Rancher, South Dakota
• “He’s a Christian now you know… I saw him crying on his knees on my living room floor. I was there.” Sharon, tribal member
• "...truly gripping, with a good pace." Dr. William B. Allen, - Emeritus Professor, Political Science, MSU and former Chair of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (1989)

Read More:

• Website: dyinginindiancountry.com
• Twitter: twitter.com/WriteBethWard
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/DyingInIndianCountry

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"Sex, God & Katy Perry"

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After allowing a revealing cover story titled "Sex, God & Katy Perry" in the recent edition of Rolling   Stone magazine, Katy Perry, (formerly Katy Hudson) told Christianity Today that she is still a Christian.

The Christianity Today article, published August 6, 2010, related that Perry was raised in a Christian home “where both parents considered themselves pastors and where speaking in tongues was commonplace for the entire family.”

Perry is quoted saying,

"My mom and dad practice ‘tongues and interpretation’ together—my dad speaks in tongues, and my mom interprets it…That’s their gift. Speaking in tongues is as normal to me as ‘Pass the salt. A lot of religions use meditation or chanting as a subliminal prayer language, and speaking in tongues isn’t that different—it’s a secret, direct language to God. If I felt intuitively that I had to pray for some situation, but I didn’t rationally understand it, I just let my spirit pray for it.”

A commenter to the article wrote,

“It sounds like Ms Perry is exploring through life. With our prayers and her open heart, she will see her life with the everlasting illumination of Christ.”

No, She might be "exploring," but that doesn't mean she has an open heart. In fact, my take on it was that her heart is closed to all the might interfere with what she thinks she wants - stardom. (...Apparently Psalty the Songbook and Charity Churchmouse weren't part of her audio/video library while growing up :)

There is plenty of Scripture urging young people to trust and obey - This is just two of many:

"Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men, from men whose words are perverse, who leave the straight paths to walk in dark ways, who delight in doing wrong, and rejoice in the perverseness of evil."
Proverbs 2: 12-14


…"then they will call to me but I will not answer; they will look for me but will not find me. Since they hated knowledge and would not fear the Lord."
Proverbs 1: 28-29

There is no way to the Father but through Jesus. Some churches and people try to bend that and pretend it isn't true. Well, God had laid it all on the carpet and made his will exceedingly clear. He has also given us the Freedom to make our own decisions - with the understanding that will have to accept complete responsibility for those decisions.

I've raised several children, some of whom went on to "explore." The devastation that came as a result of some of their choices, their turning their backs on the Holy Spirit, is undeniable.

Katy and her family claim to speak in tongues. While I do believe in tongues, I don't believe that most of what we see today is of the Holy Spirit. Tongues is said to be an indication that the person has received the Holy Spirit. We can't judge a person’s heart, but we'd be foolish not to keep our eyes open, discerning fruit and watching for wolves. Scripture is very clear concerning sexual immorality. Yet, Katy apparently feels no shame in posing for this magazine. If the Holy Spirit were active in her heart, she would have felt terrible about exposing herself.

See: "Slain in the Spirt, is it for real?"

My guess - and it's true that I do not know a person's heart - but my guess based on what I see, hear, know of God's Word and have experienced, - is that Katy, an obviously perky actress, (much like one of my daughters) knew how to "act as if." She did what was expected of her while growing up – ie, speaking in tongues. That, or, if she was never filled with the Spirit, she might not be aware of what it feels like to filled with or walk in the Spirit. Therefore, she might not have been aware that she wasn’t actually experiencing it.

I have raised several children, some of whom were foster kids. Some children have known just how to act in church and around me. But their hearts were far from both me and God. It wasn't until too late that I discovered they were leading two lives. I suspect many Christian parents have experienced the same thing. The temptations our children experience are overwhelming compared to what children experienced 50 years ago.

Further, I've seen adults on many occasions push children to speak in tongues - telling themselves and the kids that the Holy Spirit will come if you just "open your mouth" and "do the work." The belief is that by opening your mouth and making sounds, you are "showing your faith" and opening your heart to God and tongues.

Well, I do believe in tongues and I have prayed for them. But after seeing this method used again and again - and noticing the FRUIT of many of those that claim to speak in tongues - in particular the teens and the youth groups, etc, I determined that when God deems it time for me, it will be the Holy Spirit that does the work. Not me nor man.

In all honesty - the promiscuity etc that I have seen in various "tongue speaking" teens has seriously made me doubt the presence of the Holy Spirit in their lives as well as the wisdom of the adults pushing these methods.

Having learned the hard way, our family has made changes with the younger children. We don't jump head first into every Christian youth event that comes along. Not all of them are healthy, and not all the adults acting as mentors should be mentors. I am also more observant of my younger kids, talk to them more, and listen better.

No more pretend. My desire is that my children truly, truly learn what it is to honor and serve the Lord and to have the Holy Spirit in their hearts. From that understanding, they can make an informed decision as to whether they want to be Christians or not.

Call me what you will, but the knowledge that Katy's mother called herself a pastor, and all five of them spoke in tongues, but Katy's life does not appear to reflect the Holy Spirit or God's Word, well...'I'm just sayin.'

That evidence is enough for me to have serious doubts that this family really understood God. That's sad to say, because they might have had the best intentions and really believed they were doing the right things. But Scripture says that there will be many who will in the end say, "Lord, Lord..."

So I agree that we need to pray for Katy and her family. But I do not agree that Katy has an open heart, or that all will come out fine in the end. We are not to judge others in a condemning sense, but James 5:19 is clear that we are to confront sin and error out of love and to save lives.

Source:

Christianity Today August 6, 2010

http://blog.christianitytoday.com/ctentertainment/2010/08/katy-perry-im-still-a-christia.html
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Atheists Using Hair Dryers for 'De-Baptism?'

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U.S. Atheists Reportedly Using Hair Dryers to 'De-Baptize'  
Published July 17, 2010 | NewsCore

According to Nightline, the leader wore a monk's robe and said a few mock-Latin phrases before inviting participants to "come forward now and receive the spirit of hot air that taketh away the stigma and taketh away the remnants of the stain of baptismal water."

Then he “blasted his fellow non-believers with the hair dryer to symbolically dry up the holy water sprinkled on their heads in days past. The styling tool was emblazoned with a label reading "Reason and Truth."

The leader told the Nightline that he believes parents are wrong to baptize their children before they are able to make their own choices, and slammed some religious education as "child abuse." He said the blast of hot air was a way for adults to undo what their parents had done.

A 24-year-old said, "I was baptized Catholic. I don't remember any of it at all," said "According to my mother, I screamed like a banshee ... so you can see that even as a young child I didn't want to be baptized. It's not fair. I was born atheist, and they were forcing me to become Catholic."

Ironically, the leaders own son became a fundamentalist Christian minister after having "a personal revelation in Jesus Christ."

"One wonders where they went wrong," he chuckled to Nightline.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/07/17/atheists-reportedly-using-hair-dryers-baptize/?test=latestnews
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Wow. That brings up some interesting questions!

- Does baptizing a child in the Catholic church force them to be Catholic as adults?
- I gave birth to some kids in Montana: Did I abusivley force them to be Montanans?
- I gave most of the kids dance lessons; Did I force the girls to be Ballerinas? What about the boys?
- Should there be a limit to what a parent can introduce to a child or educate a child in, in case they won't like it when they grow up?
- Or is it okay for a parent to offer academic and creative opportunities, just so long as nothing spiritual is involved?
- What about the child that might say later...'Mom, now that I am an adult, you are telling me that you knew about 'Jesus Christ'...and that you experienced all kinds of answers to prayer from the Holy Spirit during the time I was growing up...but you never told me about it? You watched me struggle through my teen years, yet never once showed Me how to pray? Why?'

Hopefully the participants didn't pay their snake-oil leader anything for the "De-baptism."  After all, going through a ritual ”de-baptizing” and making the kinds of statements these people made… are they even truly atheists?

1) "He said the blast of hot air was a way for adults to undo what their parents had done."
- Excuse me, but what did the parents do? If there is no God, how was their Baptism any different from washing their child’s hair? What is he "undoing?" Wouldn’t one have to believe in something Spiritual in order to "undo" what was done?

2) "I was born atheist, and they were forcing me to become Catholic."
- Are some people born atheist, and others not? Why? How does one know if they were born atheist?

Or....is everyone born with an innate understanding that God exists? ...Or....

- If he really WAS born atheist…AND from the time of conception never had any kind of spiritual connection, how did he have a ‘sense’ that he didn’t want to have the baptism done?

3) The 24-yr-old, still wet behind the ears, said, "According to my mother, I screamed like a banshee ... so you can see that even as a young child I didn't want to be baptized."
a) - As a very young child, did he know he was getting 'baptized’ and that it carried a religious connotation? If he was too young to ‘know’, how did he 'sense' that this was something spiritual that he didn't want done?
b) - Ok, if it wasn't a spiritual sense…maybe he just didn’t like getting wet. My 4-yr-old grandson still screams like a banshee when his hair is washed. Does the fact he doesn't want it washed mean he has a right to not have it done? Is his mother abusing him by forcing him to have clean hair?
c) OR – did he have a spiritual sense, but didn’t want to accept the Spirit of God as his authority. Instead, what he is saying is that even as a baby, he wanted to choose another spiritual leadership. In which case, he’s still not an atheist, because even satan believes in God.

Methinks they protest too much. Obviously, the very fact that they are doing this “ritual” and making the statements they made testifies to the fact that they do believe in the supernatural.

Follow up Questions…
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a) When is someone old enough to honestly believe in God? Is there a set age, or does it depend on the person?


b) What do we believe, then, about children that die in infancy?

"Slain in the Spirit" - Is it for Real?

As a Christian, I have seen many charlatans, including having gone once to a Benny Hinn event where, sitting in the stands, I watched as they manipulated the seating to make it appear to cameras that the arena was full, and people pushed and shoved each other to be the first down the stars to the floor, where they could get in line to be touched by Benny - if Benny's guards, who were stopping and questioning each potential sick-person-in-need-of-healing, allowed you to.  The air was thick with the power of a spirit in action; only I don't think it was the Holy one...

And yes, I have stood at the prayer altar and felt a pastor try to push me, with two fingers on my chest, back into the arms of someone standing behind me. I stood straight, and kept praying to Jesus that what ever His will was, that I would do. But I wasn't going to lay down for any man. The pastor seemed to get frustrated with me, and moved on.

However, there was once, at an average chapel service at a small church one evening, where services were sincere and open hearted, but somewhat uneventful, and where the sermon hadn't even begun yet, that something happened.

It was still in the middle of worship, and a guitarist had stopped playing. After a few moments, it became obvious that he was sobbing. And then...a few in the congregation began to cry.  I don't know what happened, but within a matter of minutes, several people were sobbing in the congregation...and from there,  some began kneeling in their tears, praying and sobbing....and others went to the side of a crying person, hugging or putting an arm around a shoulder, and began praying for them and with them...and then... I saw someone laying on the floor, and another person, and another, and by this time, almost everyone was praying for someone or crying.  I looked across the heads of praying, crying people, and saw a friend across the room; we caught each other's eyes. We were the only two left standing.

My friend and I smiled at each other across the room, then turned, went to someone nearby crying, and knelt down and prayed.

This all happened in a matter of minutes, but the prayer went on like that for almost two hours. The Sermon didn't even take place. The pastor was sitting down on the steps of the altar, crying and praying too. Something like this had never happened before, and I have never experienced anything like it since.

I do believe it is the first and only time I have truly witnessed slaying in the Spirit.

No, it wasn't mass hysteria. I knew all these people. Some of them didn't even like each other. And although we went on to have many "good" worship services together, this event has not been repeated - because it wasn't a cooked up show and no one would want to try to cook up a mimic.  It was too beautiful in it's simple spontaneity to mess with.  Why would one want to ruin the memory of a night like that by trying to force it to happen again.

But I pray the Lord WILL allow me to experience an event like that again - and again and again - because the feeling of being present during an honest move of the Spirit is too tremendous to describe. I want more of that.

Newsweek Editor says Obama is "god".

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Newsweek editor Evan Thomas told Chris Matthews during a taping of Hardball that President Obama is "sort of God."

“In a way,” Thomas said, “Obama is standing above the country. Above … above the world …
“He’s sort of God.”

Wow. Isn't that something? Most of us have never seen this kind of maniacal behavior in our lifetimes.

It's comforting to know that the One True God; the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God who spoke to Moses, the God who parted the sea and died on the cross for our sins, is in control. He knows exactly what is going on - and nothing - no one - is more powerful than He. He Loves His children and will take care of us through all hardships. We praise His Holy Name; Jehovah; Yhwh; the Great "I Am". No human can ever hold a candle to our God the Father; his son Jesus Christ, and the comforter Holy Spirit - Our One God in three persons. Praise Him. I am so grateful that we have the opportunity to worship the True God. To say that He is greater than a mere man is the grandest of understatements.
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The Holy Spirit in the Book of Acts

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I) 1:5, "For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit." 7-8, "He said to them: "it is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

II) 2:4, "All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them." 14-21, "Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: 'Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It's only nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 'In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." 32. "God has raised the Jesus to life 38, "

III) Acts 4:29-31; "Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness." Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous sings and wonders through the name of your holy Servant, Jesus. After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly."

IV) 5;3-4, "Then Peter said, 'Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit …you have not lied to men but to God." 9, "how could you agree to rest the Spirit of the Lord? Look.."

V) 6:3-4, "Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention for prayer and ministry of the word." 10, "But they could not stand up against his (Steven's) wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke."

VI) 7:59, "While they were stoning him, Steven prayed, 'Lord Jesus, receive my spirit."

VII) 8:14-23, "When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria has accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. When they arrived, they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit because the Holy Spirit has not yet come upon any of them; they had simply been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the Laying o of the apostless hands, he offerece them money and said, "give me also this ability so that everyone whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit. Peter answered: "May your money perish with you, because your heart is not right before God. Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin." 29, "The Spirit told Phillip, "Go to that chariot and stay near it." 39-40, When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Phillip away and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. Phillip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea."

VIII) 9:17-18, "Then Ananias went to the house and entered it., Placing his hands on Saul, he said, "Brother Saul, the Lord - Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here - has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.' Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he could see again."

IX) 10:19, "While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, "Simon, three men are looking for you. So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with then, for I have sent them."

X) 11:12-18, "The Spirit told me to have no hesitation about going with them. These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man's house. He told us how he had seen an angel appear in his house and say, 'Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. He will bring you a message through which you and all your household will be saved. As I began to speak, The Holy Spirit came on them as he has come on us at the beginning. Then I remembered what the Lord had said: 'John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit." So if God gave them the same gift as he gave us, who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could oppose God? When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, "So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life." 27-30 "During this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. One of them, named Agabus, stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. …The disciples, each according to his ability, decided to provide help for the brothers living in Judea. This they did, sending their gift to the elders by Barnabas and Saul."

XI) 13:2-4, "While they were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, 'Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them. So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off. The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus."

XII) 16:6-7, "Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, "come over to Macedonia and help us. After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them."

XIII) 19:1-6, "While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples and asked them, 'Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" They answered, "No, we haven not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit. So Paul asked, 'Then what baptism did you receive?' 'John's baptism,' they replied. Paul said, 'John's baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus. On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. When Paul placed his hands on them, they Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied."

XIV) 20:22-23, "And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me." 28, "Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers."

XV) 21:4, "Finding the disciples there, we stayed with them seven days. Through the Spirit they urged Paul not to go on to Jerusalem." 10-11, After we had been there (Caesarea/house of Phillip) a number of days, a prophet by the name of Agabus came down from Judea. Coming over to us, he took Paul's belt, tied his own hands and fee with it and said, 'The Holy Spirit says, 'In this way the Jews of Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him over the Gentiles."
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The Holy Spirit in the Book of John

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I) 14:16-17, "And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever - the Spirit of truth, The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you." 26,"But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you."

II) 15:26, "When the counselor comes, whom I will send to you form the Father, the Spirit of truth, who goes out form the Father, he will testify about me."

III) 16:13-15, "But when He, the Spirit of Truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what He hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you."

IV) 20:21-22 "Again Jesus said, 'peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.' And with that, he breathed on them and said, 'Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive then, they are not forgiven."
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The Holy Spirit and the Books of Romans, 1st Cor.

The Holy Spirit in the Book of Romans

Romans 1:4, "and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 2:29, "No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man's praise is not from men, but from God."

Romans 7:6, "but now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code."

Romans 8:1-5, "Therefore, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit. Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace;"

Romans 8:9-16, "You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And it the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you. Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation - but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of Sonship. And by him we cry, 'Abba, Father.' The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children."

Romans 8:23, "Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies."

Romans 8:26, 27, "in the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will."

Romans 9:1, "I speak the truth in Christ - I am not lying, my conscience confirms it in the Holy Spirit - I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart.

Romans 15;17-19, "Therefore I glory in Christ Jesus in my service to God. I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done - by the power of signs and miracles, through the power of the Spirit. So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ." 30 "I urge you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me."


The Holy Spirit in the Book of 1Corinthians

1Corinthians 2:4, "My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power."

1Corinthians 2:9-14 "However, as it is written: 'No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who live him' - but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man's judgment: For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ."

1Corinthians 3:16, "Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?

1Corinthians 5:3-5, "Even though I am not physically present, I am with you in spirit. And I have already passed judgment on the one who did this, just as if I were present. When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus in present, hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord."

1Corinthians 6:11, "And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God."

1Corinthians 6:18-20, "Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your body."

1Corinthians 7;40, "In my judgment, she is happier if she stays as she is - and I think that I too have the Spirit of God.

1Corinthians 12:3-13, "Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, 'Jesus be cursed," and no one can say, 'Jesus is Lord,' except by the Holy Spirit. There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work on one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.

1Corinthians 14:2, "For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God. Indeed, no one understands him; he utters mysteries with his spirit.

1Corinthians 14:14-16. "For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind: I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind. If you are praising God with your spirit, how can one who finds himself among those who do not understand say 'Amen' to your thanksgiving, since he does not know what you are saying? You may be giving thanks well enough, but the other man is not edified.

The Holy Spirit and the Books of John and Acts

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The Holy Spirit and the Book of John

John 14:16-17, "And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever - the Spirit of truth, The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you."

John 14:26,"But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you."

John 15:26, "When the counselor comes, whom I will send to you form the Father, the Spirit of truth, who goes out form the Father, he will testify about me."

John 16:13-15, "But when He, the Spirit of Truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what He hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you."

John 20:21-22 "Again Jesus said, 'peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.' And with that, he breathed on them and said, 'Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive then, they are not forgiven."


The Holy Spirit in the Book of Acts

Acts 1:5, "For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit."

Acts 7-8, "He said to them: "it is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

Acts 2:4, "All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them."

Acts 2:14-21, "Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: 'Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It's only nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 'In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."

Acts 4:29-31; "Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness." Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous sings and wonders through the name of your holy Servant, Jesus. After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly."

Acts 5;3-4, "Then Peter said, 'Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit …you have not lied to men but to God."

Acts 5:9, "how could you agree to rest the Spirit of the Lord? Look.."

Acts 6:3-4, "Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention for prayer and ministry of the word."

Acts 6:10, "But they could not stand up against his (Steven's) wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke."

Acts 8:14-23, "When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria has accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. When they arrived, they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit because the Holy Spirit has not yet come upon any of them; they had simply been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostless hands, he offerece them money and said, "give me also this ability so that everyone whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit. Peter answered: "May your money perish with you, because your heart is not right before God. Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin."

Acts 8:29, "The Spirit told Phillip, "Go to that chariot and stay near it."

Acts 8:39-40, When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Phillip away and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. Phillip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea."

Acts 9:17-18, "Then Ananias went to the house and entered it., Placing his hands on Saul, he said, "Brother Saul, the Lord - Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here - has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.' Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he could see again."

Acts 10:19, "While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, "Simon, three men are looking for you. So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with then, for I have sent them."

Acts 11:12-18, "The Spirit told me to have no hesitation about going with them. These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man's house. He told us how he had seen an angel appear in his house and say, 'Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. He will bring you a message through which you and all your household will be saved. As I began to speak, The Holy Spirit came on them as he has come on us at the beginning. Then I remembered what the Lord had said: 'John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit." So if God gave them the same gift as he gave us, who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could oppose God? When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, "So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life."

Acts 11:27-30 "During this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. One of them, named Agabus, stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. …The disciples, each according to his ability, decided to provide help for the brothers living in Judea. This they did, sending their gift to the elders by Barnabas and Saul."

Acts 13:2-4, "While they were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, 'Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them. So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off. The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus."

Acts 16:6-7, "Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, "come over to Macedonia and help us. After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them."

Acts 19:1-6, "While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples and asked them, 'Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" They answered, "No, we haven not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit. So Paul asked, 'Then what baptism did you receive?' 'John's baptism,' they replied. Paul said, 'John's baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus. On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. When Paul placed his hands on them, they Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied."

Acts 20:22-23, "And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me."

Acts 20:28, "Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers."

Acts 21:4, "Finding the disciples there, we stayed with them seven days. Through the Spirit they urged Paul not to go on to Jerusalem."

Acts 21:10-11, After we had been there (Caesarea/house of Phillip) a number of days, a prophet by the name of Agabus came down from Judea. Coming over to us, he took Paul's belt, tied his own hands and fee with it and said, 'The Holy Spirit says, 'In this way the Jews of Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him over the Gentiles."

More to Come...
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They attacked Palin by burning her Church, but it's Only the Arsonists that are Hurting.

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They can't touch her - no matter how hard they try.

Governor Sarah Palin's home church in Wasilla, Alaska suffered about 1$ million in damage from a fire about 10 pm Friday night. The fire chief has reported that the fire was "definitely suspicious." Fortunately, none of the ten people inside, including two children, were injured.

Wow. The anger directed at Sarah Palin during the campaign was totally out of control - and it seems that many still haven't gotten over it.

What's amazing was all the accusations made by those on the left about how horrid the right was going to be toward Obama. Everyone on the left warned how the right was going to hurt him. But it was Sarah that was the recipient of the greater vicious attacks - and it was due to her Christian world view. Apparently, a lot more people hate Christians than hate people of a different heritage.

But Sarah is said to have faith in "the scriptural passage that what was intended for evil will in some way be used for good."

Her Pastor, Larry Kroon, also told KTUU TV that he's "had a lot worst calls at night. When one of your parishioners dies or loses a child, it's a whole different thing than the building's on fire."

They can't touch her and they can't touch her church. The Palins and the Wasilla Bible Church are above what ever those that hate them try to do. That's because they have Jesus in their hearts. They are doing their best to walk with the Holy Spirit

Give thanks to God for everything - including hard times. Every hard time is an opportunity. Praise God for His goodness.

Please pray protection for Sarah, her family and her church. Please pray that God come against those that would try to hurt them.

But please also pray for those that set the fire. They must have a lot of anger and pain in their hearts to have done something like this. They really need Jesus Christ.

So many people in our country are lost without Jesus Christ. It's the only explanation for the amount of anger they have when confronted with the Holy Spirit indwelling in a person such as Sarah. She's someone they can't touch - at least not that they can see. She doesn't react to their barbs. So they just get angrier and angrier.

Dear God; please continue to Bless Sarah, and give her - our Esther - as well as her husband - her protector - all the strength and wisdom necessary for the job you have set before them.

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