A Daily Dose of Wisdom

from the Rebbe
by Tzvi Freeman
Buy it here

Defiant Darkness ----------------

People ask, "But how could you see so much good in the future when so much evil predominates now —-and it grows day by day?"

But such is the order of things: Darkness was only placed in the world to challenge light.

As the light intensifies, the darkness thickens to defy it.

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But it won't succeed! Praise the Lord!

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Power Talk ----------

Talk is powerful. Speak bad about someone and you expose all the ugliness in him, in yourself and in whoever happens to be paying attention.

Once exposed, the wound begins to fester and all are hurt.

Speak good about the same person, and the inner good within him, within you and within all who participate begins to shine.
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You can CHOOSE to speak Blessings or to speak Curses.

What you CHOOSE will also affect YOU!

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Boycotting Target

from : Agape Press
by Ed Thomas

The American Family Association (AFA) wants help from the shopping public in using the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday weekend to keep sending a message to Target Stores about the national chain's faith-and-family-unfriendly practices.

The reasons for the boycott are valid ones, Wildmon asserts, and they include Target's "refusal to let the Salvation Army put their kettles in front of the stores," and the company's policy "banning all use of 'Merry Christmas' in their internal store operations and in their advertising." He says Target wants the profits from Christian families' spending, but the retailer does not want their holiday message or the spirit of their charities -- including faith-based service organizations like the Salvation Army.

It is important, Wildmon asserts, that the upcoming monster Thanksgiving shopping weekend and Christmas season be used to show Target that it cannot get Christians' purchasing revenue while rejecting their beliefs and their charities. He is encouraging pro-family shoppers to take their money elsewhere until Target gets the message and changes its policies.

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This is easily enough done. Just don't GO!!!

Send a LOUD message to Target and the other retailers will hear LOUD & CLEAR!

Want OUR revenue then quit "dissing" our beliefs!

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Public Nativity Scene IS Legal

from Agape Press

As long as cities follow the guidelines, public nativity scenes are LEGAL!

For a publicly-sponsored display (ex. at a Courthouse) should include secular items in addition to religious scenes, and arrange the display such that the religious scene does not become the focal point. Additionally, the religious items and the secular items should both be visible at the same time.

In a privately-sponsored exhibit, secular symbols are not necessary within the context of the Nativity display. A small, clearly visible sign with a disclaimer can also help ward off complaints or questions regarding the display. The sign should be worded along these lines: "This display is privately sponsored by {name of the sponsor}. The City of {name of city} neither endorses nor opposes the display."

West Virginia activist Bruce Barilla's group (America's Christian Heritage Week) and the Center for Law & Policy both indicate they are willing to offer assistance regarding specific situations.

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Final Signs from God

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More Signs from God

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Signs from God

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11/13 Concert

On Sunday, November 13th there was a concert at our church from Pianist Ted Brabham and Soloist Stephanie Casteel.

This is YOUR opportunity to hear Stephanie sing and Ted play. (IF I was a covetous person, I'd want Stephanie's voice and Ted's musical hands! They are that talented. Thank goodness the only requirement of our Lord is to make a "joyful noise!")

Your very soul will be touched. This is as close as the earth bound can get to heavenly music.

Look for this Sunday's concert at the First Baptist Church link. Keep checking back as you won't want to miss this one~~these are not archived~~it is only viewable for one week!

Look for this dynamic ministry,Ted Brabham and the Keys to Hope Music Ministry , performing at Carnegie Hall in New York City December 9th!

May God bless their journeys and New York's heart.

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Pleasures

Pleasures Evermore, The Life-Changing Power of Enjoying God by Sam Storm

read the full article here: Agape Press


"We yearn for pleasure. We were built for excitement. Our passion for joy and satisfaction is relentless and inescapable. Although this passion for pleasure is not in itself sinful, it is the reason why we sin. We say 'Yes' to temptation because it feels good .... Volitional restraint and abstinence are only effective against sin when the soul embraces a pleasure superior to the one denied. Finding fullness of joy and everlasting pleasure in God's presence alone will serve to woo our wayward hearts from the power of the world, the flesh, and the Devil. Therefore, falling in love with the Son of God is the key to holiness.

"I want to be attuned to God's heart, to be of one mind, one spirit, one disposition with Him. If this occurs, it will only occur as the fruit of fascination with all that God is in Himself and all that He is for me in Jesus. The ability to walk with consistency in the things you know please God ultimately will only be overcome when your heart, soul, mind, spirit, and will are captivated by the majesty, mercy, splendor, beauty, and magnificence of who God is and what He has and will do for you in Jesus.

"I must confess that I have ransacked the dictionary for words to describe what I have in mind. Here is what I mean by falling in love with Jesus. I, you, we were made to be enchanted, enamored, and engrossed with God; enthralled, enraptured, and entranced with God; enravished, excited, and enticed by God; astonished, amazed, and awed by God; astounded, absorbed, and agog with God; beguiled and bedazzled; startled and staggered; smitten and stunned; stupefied and spellbound; charmed and consumed; thrilled and thunderstruck; obsessed and preoccupied; intrigued and impassioned; overwhelmed and overwrought; gripped and rapt; enthused and electrified; tantalized, mesmerized, and monopolized; fascinated, captivated, and exhilarated by God; intoxicated and infatuated with God!

"Does that sound like your life? Do you want it to? Do you realize how difficult it would be to sin if this were true of you? This is what God made you for. There is an eradicable, inescapable impulse in your spirit to experience the fullness of God in precisely this way -- and God put it there!"

Storm is echoing the view that John Piper put forth in his classic Desiring God -- that the longing to be happy is a universal human experience, and it is good, not sinful. We should seek to intensify this longing and nourish it with whatever will provide the deepest and most enduring satisfaction. And the deepest and most enduring happiness is found, not in material comforts or financial success, but only in God. It is as the old hymn taught us as children: "Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace."

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My Christian Duty

I knelt to pray but not for long,

I had too much to do.

I had to hurry and get to work

For bills would soon be due.

So! I knelt and said a hurried prayer,

And jumped up off my knees.

My Christian duty was now done

My soul could rest at ease.....

All day long I had no time

To spread a word of cheer

No time to speak of Christ to friends,

They'd laugh at me I'd fear.

No time, no time, too much to do,

That was my constant cry,

No time to give to souls in need

But at last the time, the time to die.

I went before the Lord,

I came, I stood with downcast eyes.

For in his hands God held a book;

It was the book of life.

God looked into his book and said

"Your name I cannot find.

I once was going to write it down...

But never found the time"

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