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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | One Nation Under God? | Ps 78:5 | Hank | 145013 | ||
Many of the saints on this Forum have stressed the importance of Bible reading and study, and this is as it should be. Scripture itself speaks in many places of the importance of hiding God's word in our hearts: "Your WORD I have treasured in my heart, that I might not sin against you" (Ps. 119:11). ..... "Let the WORD of Christ richly dwell within you." (Col. 3:16). ......"If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His WORD is not in us" (1 John 1:10). ..... Libraries have ways of keeping track of what kinds of books its patrons are reading. The New York Public Library, whose book shelves if stretched out in a single row would cover some 80 miles, reported recently that the three most popular categories of books, the ones most requested and most frequently borrowed by readers, were the following: books on drugs, witchcraft and astrology. Imagine that! With 80 miles of books to select from, the top three choices were drugs, witchcraft and astrology. Can this be an accurate reflection of what the reading public are feeding their minds on these days? And what are we allowing our kids to read? Does Harry Potter ring a bell? A school district near my home town opted to disallow Harry Potter books in the libraries of the schools it superintends, but this decision by the school board was struck down as "unconstitutional" by an activist judge. It is well known that Bible reading is forbidden in public schools. The reason given is always the same: "separation of church and state," a clause that never has been a part of the Constitution. Yet it is an historical fact that a but a few generations ago school boys and girls in this country often were taught to read by learning to read the King James Bible. Now, of course, we are told that the King James Bible is too difficult even for educated adults to read, much less children. And children couldn't learn to read from it in school anyway, because it is no more legal to carry a Bible to school than it is to carry a weapon. ...... So, is it important what a nation reads? It it important what we teach our children? Are this nations reading habits reflective of "one nation under God"? Is America in fact what it is so often advertised to be, a "Christian nation"? Can a nation be called "Christian" that legalizes sodomy and abortion and makes it illegal for our children to pray and read the Bible in schools and other public meeting places? Isn't it about time that Christian men and women speak up and speak out while we still have the freedom to do so? --Hank | ||||||
2 | One Nation Under God? | Ps 78:5 | kalos | 145029 | ||
Can God Bless America? [Hank: You have given us much food for thought. I would like to add a few related thoughts, as well. --Kalos] 'I get the feeling that Americans really want God's blessing, and by that they mean protection. Blessing means, "God, don't let me die." It means, "Don't let my children die...don't let my spouse die." It means, "God, don't let the stock market keep going the way it's going." "God, stop the decline in unemployment." "God, maintain our freedoms, don't put us in a position so we have to make all kinds of laws against terrorism that wind up impinging upon our cherished liberties." 'I get the feeling that blessing then is associated with protection, it's associated with safety, it's associated with freedom and it's associated with prosperity... 'If God were to bless America as everybody seems to want Him to do, it might look very different than we would expect. 'Will God bless America? Can God bless America? Should God bless America? And if God did bless America, what would He be saying about His holiness? If God did bless America, what would He be saying about our morality? About our spiritual condition? Could God bless America and protect His reputation as holy God? 'Now, of course, God can always do whatever He wants, whenever He wants. But when it comes to blessing, He has clearly and repeatedly set down conditions. I've listened carefully to that song, "God Bless America," there is no verse in there that identifies the conditions. Nor do Americans seem to be opening their Bibles to try to find out what the conditions are. I don't hear anybody say, "God, what do we need to do to be blessed?" So I'm going to answer the question nobody's asking. 'In fact, I think this is a serious intrusion. I don't think they want to know the conditions. It's sort of like don't ask, just bless. We'll ask, don't ask anything of us. We just want blessing. Don't impose any conditions. Don't ask for anything from us. Give us protection. Give us safety. Give us freedom. Give us prosperity. But don't meddle with our morality. I don't hear any national cries of repentance, do you? I don't hear any national affirmations of the law of God, the Word of God. I don't hear any cries for virtue and forgiveness. I don't even hear preachers preaching like that.' ____________________ Can God Bless America? by John F. MacArthur, Jr. To read the entire article go to: (http://www.biblebb.com/files/MAC/80-245.htm) |
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3 | One Nation Under God? | Ps 78:5 | Hank | 145035 | ||
kalos ::: Thank you for sharing a portion of the article by John MacArthur, a man of God and an heroic defender of the faith in these times. So often when I am puzzled by a passage of Scripture and seek further light on it, I turn to the writings of MacArthur, not for a quick fix, which is not what I want, but for sound exegesis, which is what I do want. Much more often than not he delivers abundantly, and my soul is enriched. To anyone who doesn't own a copy of "The MacArthur Study Bible" I would urge you to save up coins in your piggy bank and buy one. And to all who already have a copy or who may be considering the purchase of one, I urge you to read the introductory material found on pp. vii-xii in the front of the book, especially his "Personal Notes" on pp. xi and xii. And in the back of the book his "Overview of Theology" section is invaluable, especially to the new follower of Christ, and to anyone who needs to brush up on orthodox theology. Plato said, "The unexamined life is not worth living." Perhaps it is no less true to say that the unexamined faith is not worth having. Scripture puts it this way, "Test all things; hold fast what is good." (1 Thess. 5:21). In his Study Bible notes and in his "Overview of Theology" article, I believe that John MacArthur does just that. --Hank | ||||||
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Questions and/or Subjects for Ps 78:5 | Author | ||
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Hank | ||
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kalos | ||
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Hank |