Intellectual Acquiesence… Willful Defiance

(Scripture Verses ESV taken from Biblos.com)

I Samuel 15:10-31

10 Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel, saying, 11 “I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from [f]following Me and has not carried out My commands.” And Samuel was distressed and cried out to the Lord all night. 12 Samuel rose early in the morning to meet Saul; and it was told Samuel, saying, “Saul came to Carmel, and behold, he set up a monument for himself, then turned and proceeded on [g]down to Gilgal.” 13 Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, “Blessed are you of the Lord! I have carried out the command of the Lord.” 14 But Samuel said, “What then is this [h]bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the [i]lowing of the oxen which I hear?” 15 Saul said, “They have brought them from the Amalekites, for the people spared the best of the sheep and oxen, to sacrifice to the Lord your God; but the rest we have utterly destroyed.” 16 Then Samuel said to Saul, “Wait, and let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night.” And he said to him, “Speak!”

17 Samuel said, “Is it not true, though you were little in your own eyes, you were made the head of the tribes of Israel? And the Lord anointed you king over Israel, 18 and the Lord sent you on a [j]mission, and said, ‘Go and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are exterminated.’ 19 Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord, but rushed upon the spoil and did what was evil in the sight of the Lord?”

20 Then Saul said to Samuel, “I did obey the voice of the Lord, and went on the [k]mission on which the Lord sent me, and have brought back Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. 21 But the people took some of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the choicest of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the Lord your God at Gilgal.” 22 Samuel said,

“Has the Lord as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices As in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams. 23 “For rebellion is as the sin of divination, And insubordination is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He has also rejected you from being king.”

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24 Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned; I have indeed transgressed the [l]command of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and listened to their voice. 25 Now therefore, please pardon my sin and return with me, that I may worship the Lord.” 26 But Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you; for you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.” 27 As Samuel turned to go, Saul seized the edge of his robe, and it tore. 28 So Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to your neighbor, who is better than you. 29 Also the [m]Glory of Israel will not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man that He should change His mind.” 30 Then he said, “I have sinned; but please honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel, and go back with me, that I may worship the Lord your God.” 31 So Samuel went back following Saul, and Saul worshiped the Lord.

There are times when we are a bit harsh on Old Testament Saints, and we recoil at the commands they were given that included at times, being agents of destruction and wrath against sinners. The point that I wanted to make about this passage of scripture is not necessarily the the folly of Saul, but the narrative between God, the prophet and appointed king. The narrative contains nuggets of truth that we can all benefit from when we truly open our hearts to what was said. In short, it teaches us about God’s ways and expecations.

The passage begins with a revelation given to Samuel about Saul’s disobedience. The Lord was grieved over Saul’s approach toward Him and because of this, he rejected Saul as king. He informed Samuel and the prophet was saddened and prayed through the night, dreading what was to follow.

Grieved and distressed, Samuel obeys God. He does not want Samuel to be removed from his newly appointed post. The people have experienced a great victory and were in one accord rallying around the new king. Samuel was about to crush the spirits of the people and the new king. Samuel acknowledged God’s sovereign right in all the affairs of the nation and the world and inclined his heart to obey. It was not Samuel’s will that mattered in this or any situation pertaining to the Kingdom of God (If only we, I could learn this lesson fully.)

Saul intellectually acquiesced to what God said, and the Lord’s right to say it, and his duty to obey the command, but he willfully defied God by refusing to carry out the mission as God prescribed it. He omitted certain parts of this mission and revised his approach toward God. The consequences were dire. He lost his kingdom, members of his family and ultimately his life. His narrative is one of the saddest in Biblical memory. His slow disintegration into madness and sorcery sends chills up the spine.

Nodding the head in agreement is easy; implementation in the face of opposition is much more difficult. Saul confessed his sin and acknowledged being afraid of the people and what they would say. He thought little of himself and even less of God’s decision to appoint him. We too struggle with believing all that God says about us. Flesh and blood in front of us presenting options and reasons for things often seem more compelling than the words an invisible God speaks to us.We must remember we are called to lead others, not follow. This is a requirement for believers. We are his sheep alone, not the sheep of everyone who claims to be a leader.

Saints we have certain advantages Saul did not: The shed blood of Christ, the assurance of election, Holy Spirit and the precious scriptures. These were not fully present in Saul’s day. It is not enough to intellectually agree with God, we must do what He says, the way He says it. Revelation 22:19 states: “And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll.”  The church is full of intellectual believers who have never received saving faith and they do violence to the scriptures. Fortunately this passage does not include true believers. It remains a solemn warning that God is not simply looking for people to agree with him intellectually, He wants us to follow His instructions.

 

The Assault on Fatherhood Continues

( All Scriptures are ESV from Biblos.com)

Malachi 4:5-6

5“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. 6And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.

II Timothy 3:1-5

”But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.

The enemy is subtle. Sometimes he is sudden in his destruction and at other times patient, deliberate and strategic. I work with offenders often and I have witnessed first hand the impact of absent fathers.  Many gang members have cited this as a catalyst that leads to their violent lifestyles that may cost them their very lives. The assault on fatherhood has been a long term strategy yielding powerful results for the forces of darkness. The age of enlightenment, industrial revolution (and corporations that sprang from it) and sexual revolution of the 60s all contributed to fathers being less connected to God and their families. The AE period, placed man and the empirical approach at the center of the universe. The Industrial Revolution brought men out of the homes for longer periods of time, later women followed. Financial parity, career and status became primary values and drivers of esteem — trumping family life. Finally the sexual revolution codified the norm of sex outside of marriage. Access to pleasure became the pursuit of young men, and as they aged, this itch continued within and outside of marriage unabated, society simply winking at men who strayed, or worse yet, expecting them to.

This is what a father has become in the eyes of many. When we say God is our Father it brings many things to mind, but they may not always be pleasant. There is a contextual framework and schema in the minds of people when they reflect on being raised by their parents, and their relationship with their father in particular. We know that God instituted marriage with the man as the head. We can consider these three axioms as we continue with this post:

1.  Earthly fathers are necessary for our development, but they are imperfect and like us, sinful.

2. Malachi prophesies of a time before God’s judgment when people will not respond to parental authority without divine intervention of some type. We are living in such an age.

3. II Timothy also focuses on the last days and people becoming progressively worse. In the passage above Paul points out that disobedience to parents is one of the characteristics of this group. This too is a feature of our age.

The role of a father is not genderless, rather it is gender specific, regardless of modern day mental constructs and political inclusive speech that attempts to remove the significance of a male’s influence in the lives of his children. I believe fatherhood is under attack because it is a common grace salt and the primary driving force that enables a young person to understand authority. When young people cannot bring themselves to yield to the authority of a male figure, they fail to learn to submit to authorities outside of the home.

I have seen this over and over again and whenever I encounter a young person who has in some way violated the law, I ask them this question, “How would you describe your relationship with your father?” The majority of the time the answers are the same:

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“I don’t know him.”

“I can’t stand him.”

“He beat my mom.”

“He’s in prison.”

Over time they may open up and share, but the void is palpable in their voice. The absence of fatherhood becomes a social driver for all types of social ills too numerous to name, and men failing as fathers has also become one of the primary reasons we have so many in prison. Society has sought to redefine the traditional family and the role of males in church, family and society. I will not argue against the primacy of sin in the lives of people in general, but when you are a father or a father figure of some type, our sins wound and impact the people we are responsible for; namely, our children — in pronounced ways. One more scripture should be discussed here:

Matthew 24:9 states: “And because of the increase of lawlessness, the love of many will grow cold.”

This is the third scripture that speaks of the last days and moral human nature devolving at a rapid rate. The Spirit has linked the moral decay of the last days with a lack of parenting, although not implicitly stated here, we see it in the first two passages mentioned.  So I’m sending this distress call out, specifically to men who are fathers, father figures or mentors that want to change the course of their children’s or young people’s lives.

“Houston, Kansas City, Portland, Boston, Los Angelas — we have a problem.”

Will we do something about it?

 

 

Great Article Via Author S. Michael Craven (Christian Post)

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http://www.christianpost.com/news/how-institutionalism-inhibits-our-expectation-of-the-supernatural-90283/

Turning From Dead Works

It is clear from scripture that mankind engages in endless activities that masquerade as righteous acts that please both men and creator. The truth is God knows which acts are noble and which originate from baser motives or foundations. God is even so gracious as to show us how to please him!

Hebrew 6:1-3 (NKJV From Biblos.com)

Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God,  2 of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. 3 And this we will[a] do if God permits.

Psychological treatments: cost of viagra pills glacialridgebyway.com Seeking the services of a therapist might also cure the problem completely. Silagra is available in the market at the cost of this medicine order cheap levitra glacialridgebyway.com is remarkable low. This is a very fatal disease buy viagra click for more info now for which a man loses the potency in front of a girl of a love partner. Reasons for its Popularity: free viagra in canada A major reason why more number of males is vulnerable to relationship problems. Verse one deals with foundational truths with repentance from deadworks being one of the primary pillars. So you may ask: What is a dead work? In short a dead work is something that springs from dead, lifeless ground. It is a continuation of lifelessness, an outgrowth if you will. The author’s point is simply this; works that seek to please God apart from Christ are dead and of no eternal value.

Some of us who come from backgrounds that omit Christ as Lord and Savior find this thought difficult to swallow, but swallow our pride we must. Turning from dead works and to a Risen Savior is a great place, in fact, the only place we can start. We should never forget that many dead works are being performed today in the name of Christ but without his sanction. In short God wants us to live a life of union with him that is sacrosanct and synonymous with his intentions, ways and fruit. Christ’s desire is for the world to see the power of this witness and union and glorify God. Works is simpy a byproduct of the relationship.  If we allow him to work in and through us, we will surely be the Body of Christ in a dying world and far less prone to add to the rubble of dead works littering his precious universe.

 

Spiritual Negligence the Result of Self-Seeking

Hebrews 2:1-4

(All Verses ESV and From Biblos.com)

1Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. 2For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, 3how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, 4while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.”

“We must pay closer attention…”

We live in a rapidly decaying society that pays close attention to the material things they desire and covet, one that is attuned to the consumer and is fearful of losing favor with man. We have become occupied with things that are very significant to us but trivial in the eyes of God. This mindset leads to spiritual negligence and self justification. God was serious when he committed himself to the cause of redeeming man and earnest in his command for us to join the Great Commission.
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By nature we are sheep that go astray and pursue or own ambitions. The flesh is a constant that remains entrenched in every fiber of our being. We are attentive to the carnal and negligent towards the spiritual. Obsessed with ourselves and indifferent toward others. God is in the class of the other; his desires are often inconsistent with ours — unless we remain in tune with him. Spiritual negligence occurs because of self-seeking. To remedy this we serve God directs us away from ourselves and toward the needs of others. He did that with Peter and we will do well to pay close attention to what was said.

 

John 21:15-19

15When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” 16He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” 17He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. 18Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” 19(This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, “Follow me.”

The Cancer of Indifference or Self Absorption?

Since Martin Luther King’s death, time has revealed many things, including growing moral pathologies that are individual and systemic in nature. I will not list them here but I will say this; I don’t believe that people are indifferent as much as they are occupied and self absorbed. You see people are selectively indifferent to certain things. It’s a choice, not something they can be shocked out of. The media is great about calling attention to certain things, but over time – sustaining commitment of the masses or even a few if you will, remains extremely difficult, unless their hearts remain stoked. That’s an internal thing. Perhaps it is time to take the passive voice out of indifference and be specific about why people passively allow their hearts to harden against the good and noble things they should be engaged in. A parable comes to mind here and regardless of your faith – there are precious truths in the following parable:

Luke 8:4-15 (NIV)

4While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, he told this parable: 5“A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up. 6Some fell on rock, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. 7Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. 8Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.”

When he said this, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

9His disciples asked him what this parable meant. 10He said, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that,

“‘though seeing, they may not see;

though hearing, they may not understand.’a
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11“This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. 12Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. 13Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. 14The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. 15But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.

The parable explains the process of growth and commitment. The word picture illustrates a farmer sowing seed. It also explains 4 different types of soil (people) who responded to the sower. In short:

  1. Some did not fully understand and their enemies stole the seeds before they could take root.
  2. Some did understand and rejoiced initially, but had little in terms of roots or commitment so they simply gave up.
  3. Some listened and received, but competing desires and concerns kept them from being productive
  4. Another group actually produced abundant fruit, exceeding even their own expectations.

In many ways things are the same today as they have always been, but with one big difference, many of our relationships are artificial and synthetic. We live in customized, virtual worlds that codify our likes and preferences. Everything is designed to meet our taste. We have little patience for things that interfere with our pursuits and our question to others is simply this: “Are you hindering me from getting back to what I want to do or helping me?” We are not indifferent to what we want, not in the least bit. We have become experts at consuming, and novices at serving. Our pursuits choke out the sound advice of others, the cries of the needy and the instruction of the Almighty. In a Facebook world, where everyone can be their own celebrity too many scream look at me instead of look after others. Cloaking true intention may fool others, but it will never produce authentic fruit.

Expect Specifics

All Scripture Found at Biblos.com and from the ESV

Romans 12:2

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2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed bythe renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Hebrews 5:14

But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.

Scripture teaches us to expect general and specific, instruction from our Lord and Savior and that obedience should follow. One of the saddest things I’ve encountered over and over again is saints who have no sense of direction for their lives and have lost the belief that they can ever know his will. Be of good courage if you have found yourself in the fog. I’ve been there. Scripture teaches us that we can discern God’s will for our lives; yet, it also teaches that we must be diligent in the process of developing our spiritual senses in order to detect the difference between truth and deception. The church world is mired in controversy, confusion, apathy and self-seeking. All of these wounds and the doors we open to Satan are self-inflicted.  James 3:13-16 warns us about two types of wisdom and approaches to life:

13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. 14 But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. 15 Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.

Some have abandoned the pursuit of God and his will altogether, assuming that it is unknowable and unsearchable. During times of great darkness and confusion in church history, God was always faithful to raise up people who use clarity, dexterity and resourcefulness to communicate a timely word in season. Sadly, the majority never listened, they were in love with and addicted to the comforts of their age.

Over the years I have been blessed to glean many things from older saints, particularly those that were “shut ins” (frail in body and unable to go out much) The great lamentation of many of these saints could be summed up this way – “Although I have accomplished many things, and have been esteemed among men, I fear my reward with God will be much less than I desired when I cross over.” There words carry more weight now than before.

I am in the autumn of my years at age 46. I think often about opportunities squandered, relationships neglected and my self-seeking ways. I realize that God has never led me to be that way, and that sometimes confusion is simply an excuse to procrastinate and not train myself to be better. I have resolved to expect specifics from God. I hope you will as well. He is worthy of our best.

 

 

Joy: A Glimpse Beyond the Present

All Verses from ESV and Biblos.com

Hebrews 12: 1-3

1Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Do Not Grow Weary

3Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.

Part of our Savior’s endurance sprang from the “the joy that was set before him.” Joy was a fuel for him. It was anchored in hope and the assurance that some future expectation would be wonderfully fulfilled. We can learn much from examining the life of the Savior. It is true that the scriptures called him a “man of sorrows and acquainted with grief” but he was also a man of deep gratitude and joy for all that the Father was to him! He had gratitude when God entrusted him with anything and lived to please Him. Imagine if we had such a disposition at all times. For him, joy was a glimpse beyond the present circumstances and situations he encountered. He rejoiced in what God was doing in and through them.
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Well obviously we are not Jesus and will never get this thing figured out perfectly; nor, will we have such burdens placed on us. It’s difficult to comprehend joy in the midst of tribulation, but as Christians, God has placed it in us. It is paradoxical, not contradictory. Joy springs from times of remembrance, and by looking to someone beyond the vicissitudes of this life. The Spirit summons us to look to Jesus in all things and to give thanks for him being with us, no matter what we go through. He will never leave us or forsake us. His election is sure. We have joy in that always.

A Caution

Joy is not something we should simply manufacture with platitudes and sayings, such as count your blessing or look on the bright side. I have seen a myriad of people qouting inappropriate scriptures and references toward others when they are engaged in powerful life struggles. Their approach is simply wrong. No amount of pet scriptures can soothe pain or suffering simply because they are quoted. We should urge people to look to the one who cares for them; even when they believe he may not. Joy springs from an eternal relationship birthed by the will of a sovereign God who chose to give us immortality and adopt us into his family. Our joy will be complete when we see him. For now let us rejoice in the measure we have and let us look past our current circumstances to the joy set before us!

John Piper has a great teaching on his website Desiring God breaks this down further.

http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/sermons/the-fruit-of-hope-joy

Our One Enduring Constant

All Verses from Biblos.com and the ESV

Psalm 102:12

“But you, O LORD, are enthroned forever; you are remembered throughout all generations.”

Hebrews 6:13-19

13For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, 14saying, “Surely I will bless you and multiply you.” 15And thus Abraham,b having patiently waited, obtained the promise. 16For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation. 17So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, 18so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. 19We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul…”

There is nothing unchanging in life. The weight of death, despair and anguish are all around us and enter into our thoughts in an unrelenting way. Engaged in the desire to master uncertainty, some people create or adopt maxims, religious and philosophical constructs that give them a sense of solace. Others turn to science declaring the empirical to be supreme. There is one chief problem with both approaches; they ignore the truth of a transcendent God.

Both, purchasing cialis and Apcalis contain Tadalafil as its main component for combating against the harmful actions of PDE5 enzymes. Because do remember that, your suggestion could help him to improve to married life. buy cialis line When the head is “whipped” by an impact, the tendons, ligaments and muscles that protect and purchase sildenafil cushion the spine can be damaged – as well as injuring discs and the spine itself. Among various price of cialis 10mg types of systems of our body, urinary system is an important one as this system works to filter different body fluids. Man is a creature with great intellect and ability that he has been endowed with by his Maker. He is also frail and foolish, given to the pursuit of idols and vain imaginings. There is little stability in the things we create or the systems we live in. All realms: economic, religious, scientific, familial and political have proven to be transient and flawed. In short, this is the stuff our kingdoms are made of. We live and die within these structures and spend our lives trying to improve upon them. My point is not that these things are bad, they are simply unreliable.

As Christians who live in some of the most advanced, free societies in the world, we have been truly blessed to live in remarkable comfort and to have full bellies more often than not. We have received the benefits of modern technology, democratic laws and freedom to worship as we see fit. All of these things given to us require a response that is pleasing to God.

Luke 12:48 states (ESV) :

“Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.”

God is our one enduring constant and his demands are unchanging. Our nations (free societies) may offer us more in terms of freedom and material goods than Christians in oppressive nations, but we are more accountable because of what we have. This should not make us rest easy, it should propel us to greater introspection and action. God requires it.

 

A Great Read Via Christian Post

Please have a look at this article from the Christian Post. It offers a glimpse at God in the Here we purchase levitra online are providing detailed information on drug interactions, and may e-mail customers if the drug they ordered has been recalled, a cheaper generic version of the drug becomes available or to remind them on prescription renewals. You should have a conversation with your spe viagra 25mg prixt if any of these most regular reactions continue or get to be and this uneasiness brings to disappointment once more. Psychologist worldwide have concluded that most of the problems in relationships Exhibition of anxiety Alcohol drinking Your doctor can detect ED if viagra purchase on line the condition lasts more than a few hours. Some of the users may think that sildenafil wholesale this would be the limit for any pastor, but not for Ed Young of Fellowship Church. midst of tragedy from an unbeliever’s perspective first and then counters with a Christian and Biblical worldview.

http://www.christianpost.com/news/god-on-trial-in-newtown-86778/