God Employs Manchurian Candidates

Caesar Augustus was the first Roman emperor. He was a powerful military leader who united the empire, built roads and cities and was a patron of the arts. When Caesar Augustus called for a census for tax purposes, it was his decree that set the circumstances for the birth of Jesus. If it were not for his census, there would be no birth in Bethlehem, no shepherds or so many of the things we associate with the Christmas story. Augustus knew nothing about Jesus, but his decree set the stage for Jesus’ birth.

It impresses me that God often accomplishes his purposes through people who don’t even know it. Today God still uses the decisions of famous and powerful leaders to accomplish his great purposes in history - even if those leaders know nothing of Jesus.

So Caesar, the guy that led an empire that believed in Jupiter and Apollo for centuries, laid the groundwork for Jesus? Makes perfect sense. By the way, no one ever came along and confirmed "Greek and Roman gods are dead and this jesus stuff is the truth now." Jesus essentially has the same credence as Roman myths.

It is pretty impressive what god was able to accomplish through people like Adolf Hitler. Once we die and get up to heaven, I'm sure God has a brilliant explanation for the holocaust. Right now we just don't understand because his "ways are higher than our understanding."

Less Critical Thinking, More Faith Please

If you want to grow a carrot, you have to plant a seed. It would be an exercise in futility to water, fertilize and chase the rabbits away in hope of growing carrots if you had never planted any seed. In order for something to grow, it must first begin.

The same goes for faith. Unless someone first becomes a Christian, there is no faith to grow. Many Americans think they are Christians simply because they’ve been born in a Christian family. But that’s no more true than being born in a garage makes you a car. Becoming a Christian is based on personal faith in Jesus as Savior and Lord. There needs to be a point in time when you believe.

Remember, in order for faith to grow, there must first be a beginning. Plant your seed of faith today so it can grow!

Totally... you can't just pretend to believe in the nonsense to appease your parents & god and go to heaven. You have to fully divorce yourself from all logic and reason.

Also i feel like more Christians should be born in garages... Because, let's be honest... hospitals are the result of hundreds of years of scientific development. And it's tough to trust anything to science, because it's evil. It keeps undoing explanations for things that my bible already told me about.

Molestation Victims Should Seek Shelter In The Church

Domestic violence is a major social problem today. It occurs in every strata of society.

If you are counted among those who are abused, you need to know that Jesus came to set the oppressed free. That means that Jesus came to set you free. You need to know that the abuse is not your fault. Parents who molest their children, husbands who abuse their wives and adult children who abuse their parents – they are the ones doing wrong. There’s never an excuse for hurting the weak and vulnerable.

If you are abused, help is available – but you have to tell someone. Talk to a pastor, tell a teacher or call the police. Getting the help you need is not only best for you, it’s ultimately the best thing for the person who is hurting you.

Yes! Talk to a pastor about getting molested... He'll be happy to give you a hand I'm sure.

Jesus came to set you free abused women! Really? He did? Let's even completely ignore the Old Testament where god condones things like the forcible raping of women slaves in order to take them as your wife... I just want someone please find me a mainstream religion that is free of content that includes "Man > Woman."

Yet this creepy middle-aged virgin is trying to tell abused women to find shelter in a church format. Seems like Tim Brewster came up with this gameplan.

Got A DNP (Coaches Decision) From God

I have a little note in my desk drawer that says, “Babe Ruth struck out 1,330 times.” It’s a reminder to me that striking out is not a disqualification for coming back to the plate.

When the apostle James was writing about teaching, he said, “We all stumble in many ways.” If everyone who made a mistake while teaching someone else was disqualified from further teaching, there wouldn’t be anyone doing it. In fact, most of us learn best from teachers who admit their mistakes. We can’t identify with teachers who act like they always get everything right and are far superior to their students. We want to learn from people who are like us – teachers who walk where we walk and stumble where we stumble. A wise teacher explains, “This is the way you stumble and this is the way God helps you to go on.”

No wise teacher ever said that. Teachers aren't supposed invoke god into school. Duh.

What if you never get to really play in God's little game of life? You know, like what if God makes you born with a crippling disease and you don't get a chance to get baptised and die before you even have a chance to make a mistake? God makes you stumble and then trips you to the ground and stomps you to death?

Why doesn't God give everyone a fair shake to learn all these great lessons with his infinite love?

Life Is Infinitely Valuable... If You Make The Cut

There’s much debate in America about the value of life. Issues such as capital punishment, abortion and euthanasia arouse great emotion. As the world’s population grows, many consider life to be not very valuable at all.

But that’s completely contrary to the way Jesus viewed people. Jesus considered every individual to be valuable. Whenever Jesus looked at another person, he saw the likeness of God in them.

When you’re old enough to have friends with grown children, it can be rather startling to meet those children and see the strong resemblance to their parents. It’s like you already know them. That’s what it’s like to see the likeness of God in other people. We’re to value every human being as a special creation in the image of God and to consider each person as someone of infinite worth.

I'm not so sure, how valuable can life really be to someone who can just rise from the dead whenever they feel like it anyway?

It's pretty obvious god's a huge fan of the practice of capital punishment if you read his book. And with his obsession with miscarriages, God aborts more in-womb beating hearts than every doctor ever.

I'm sure there's some twisted counter-argument, but on pure logical thought, the very belief of Christianity significantly devalues human earthly life. Since we either spend eternity in either heaven or hell... life is simply an infinitesimal blip as a means to arrive at one of those 2 places.

So under this cult of belief, you're of infinite worth to god in the sense that you spend eternity with him (assuming you pass his earth test). But beyond the test part, your human life is pretty much worth jack shit. And Jack just left town.

Dream About A Zombie Fable In Order To Get Courage To Set New Goals For Yourself

Dreams are an important part of the human experience. Dreams give us hope. Dreams help us to anticipate the way we want things to become. It is our way of visualizing ourselves in a preferred tomorrow.

But sometimes our dreams are unfulfilled and we wonder why. Do you have an unfulfilled dream? In the past did you dream that you would lose weight, get married, buy a house, be promoted or make the team?

If you see your life as one of unfulfilled dreams, then this message is for you. There is a positive antidote to unfulfilled dreams. Instead of continual disappointment because life didn’t turn out the way you dreamed, turn your heart and hope to Jesus. He will give you the strength to get beyond yesterday’s disappointment and the courage to dream again.

Unfulfilled dreams? Turn your heart and hope to Jesus? And you thought you were disappointed before...

Might i suggest a new strategy instead of living your life like you're playing the lotto?

Stop dreaming. Stop imagining there's some magic presence that will someday start dealing you aces in the card game of life.

Start taking personal action. Start a meal plan if you want to lose weight. Join a social group to meet more people and find a spouse if you want to get married. Stay late after work if you want a promotion.

Or go make out with Jesus and give him a promise ring, probably just as effective.

Aphrodite Never Changes

Heraclitus was a Greek philosopher who taught that change is the essence of the universe. When we look around, we see change everywhere. Just as the flames of a fire are always changing, so our lives are in a constant state of flux.

So how does God fit into all of this? Is he caught by surprise? Is he merely dragged along by the forceful currents of change in our world? The Bible makes it quite clear that, unlike the world, God does not change. He knows everything in advance and he’s in complete control.

The recognition that God is in control calls us to take responsibility for things we can control and to trust him for what we cannot control. Whether the changes in our lives bring extraordinary happiness or unspeakable pain, God is in ultimate control and he is trustworthy.

Wait... did i just pass out? Or did he just use an ancient Greek philosopher to explain that "god never changes?" Huh? You might recognize ancient Greece from such things as Zeus, Hera, Ares, Apollo, Hades, Athena and many more.

For some reason i'm thinking that god going from being a whole bus load of different people for different elements — to just being one dude or presence — qualifies as a "change." But maybe that's just me.

Also i can't control that oil spill in the Gulf and totally trusted god would have it cleaned up by now. God better hurry up with the mop and bucket or i might have to ground him this weekend. If i can't trust him, he loses the priviledge of going out of the house.