Simply irresistible

"Saul sent men to David's house to watch it and to kill him in the morning. But Michal, David's wife, warned him, "If you don't run for your life tonight, tomorrow you'll be killed." (1 Samuel 19:11)

"When David had fled and made his escape, he went to Samuel at Ramah and told him all that Saul had done to him. Then he and Samuel went to Naioth and stayed there. Word came to Saul: "David is in Naioth at Ramah"; so he sent men to capture him. But when they saw a group of prophets prophesying, with Samuel standing there as their leader, the Spirit of God came upon Saul's men and they also prophesied. Saul was told about it, and he sent more men, and they prophesied too. Saul sent men a third time, and they also prophesied. Finally, he himself left for Ramah and went to the great cistern at Secu. And he asked, "Where are Samuel and David?"
"Over in Naioth at Ramah," they said. So Saul went to Naioth at Ramah. But the Spirit of God came even upon him, and he walked along prophesying until he came to Naioth. He stripped off his robes and also prophesied in Samuel's presence. He lay that way all that day and night. This is why people say, "Is Saul also among the prophets?" (1 Samuel 19:18-24)

This is amazing. Saul's men come after David to kill him. God temporarily turns would-be killers into prophets. So Saul then sends more men to kill David. God turns them as well. A third time Saul sends men to kill David, and God turns them into prophets too. Finally, Saul basically decides, "If you want something done right, do it yourself," and he comes to finish the job himself. But God even turns Saul into a prophet, long enough for David to escape. Saul was so overwhelmed by the power of the Spirit of God that he was prevented from carrying out his intention to take David's life, to the point of laying down in one place all day and all night.

This shows that God does indeed intervene in human affairs. It also shows that God does not allow human free will to reign supreme. In fact, it shows that the power of the Spirit of God is irresistible. God turned enemies into servants. He magnified His power over the spirits of men. God, in His sovereignty, for the purpose of insuring that His will is accomplished, and to glorify Himself, many times changes people, or causes them to do things that they would otherwise never do. Instead of seizing David, Saul and his men were seized by the power of the Holy Spirit. In similar manner, God also causes those who are lost, unsaved, under His wrath and His enemies to repent and turn their lives over to Him, whereupon He regenerates them (makes them into brand new creatures); washes away their past, present and future sins; legally credits them with the holiness of Christ; and then, being that they are now holy and clean vessels fit for God to dwell in, they become living tabernacles as the Holy Spirit then indwells them, and, like an engagement ring, serves as a sign guaranteeing that they will be part of the bride of Christ (the invisible, universal Church). Of course, this was not the case with Saul and his men, because this was the time before the promised Messiah, when God had promised that He would turn hearts of stone into hearts of flesh. Therefore, the Holy Spirit only indwelled Saul and his men temporarily, and they were not regenerated.

Another thing this shows is that, when you trust in God, He is able to protect you. In fleeing to Samuel, David made God his refuge. While in Saul's court, Saul had already tried to pin David to the wall with his spear twice. So, even though David was in the palace of the king, the most powerful man in the land, David found little rest or satisfaction. However, when he joined with Samuel and the prophets, who were serving God, he found fellowship, safety and the greatest relief imaginable to him in his present distress.

Spider Eyes

I was visiting my mom's house yesterday, and after dark, my brother showed me something I never knew before. In my mom's yard, he pointed a flashlight beam at the ground, to a point maybe 30 feet away. There were two green pinpoints of light. Keeping the beam directed at that exact spot, we walked up to it, and it was a spider. As he pointed the flashlight around the yard, sometimes even as far as 60 feet away, we saw many green (and sometimes blue) pinpoints of light, and each time it was a ground-hunting spider, usually a wolf spider. Some were as long as your finger, and others were as small as your fingernail. They were all over the yard, all around us. If it weren't for my brother showing me all those spiders with the flashlight, I would have been totally unaware that there were so many spiders surrounding us.

As we go through our daily activities, how much angelic and demonic activity goes on all around us that we are completely unaware of? How many times do angels intervene in human lives, or demons whisper temptations or deceitful lies into human minds, while we go about our daily tasks, ignorant of such activities? If we could peel back the curtain to the spirit world, what types of activity would we see? How many interventions or spiritual activities would we see that were influenced by the prayers of believing Christians?

Even more importantly, how many people cross our path at the store, at the gas station, in our neighborhood, and all around us, every day, who are lost and on their way to Hell? Do we care enough to tell them about Jesus? How many people die in this world every day only to spend their eternal destination in Hell, while we go about our daily business, completely unaware of the lives that are lost forever?

Let us take advantage of the spiritual light of God's Holy Word, the Bible, to give us spiritual wisdom to see through the darkness of this world. To do this, we must spend time in God's Word, and let it soak into our thoughts. Let us also pray that the Holy Spirit would shine His holy light on those things in our lives, and in the lives of others, that we need to be aware of and address.

(Regarding eyes reflecting light: Dogs, cats, deer, raccoons and even some moths also have eyes that will reflect light at night. They all have a tapetum lucidum (Latin: "bright tapestry"), a shiny layer behind the retina. Light passes into their eye, hits the retina, reflects from the tapetum and hits the retina again. In other words, it reflects visible light back through the retina, increasing the light available to the photoreceptor, contributing to the superior night vision of some animals, because it improves vision in low-light conditions. This makes things look much brighter, making it easier to see or hunt at night. Many of these animals are nocturnal, especially carnivores that hunt their prey at night.)

The Times They Are A-CHANGE-in'

We are no longer a Christian Nation
- President Barack Hussein Obama


Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, The people He has chosen as His own inheritance. (Psalm 33:12)


Famous American History Quotes About God and the Bible


George Washington - first President of the United States of America

What students would learn in American schools above all is the religion of Jesus Christ.
- George Washington

It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible.
- George Washington

It is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor.
- George Washington


Samuel Adams, Signer of the Declaration of Independence

I ... [rely] upon the merits of Jesus Christ for a pardon of all my sins.
- Samuel Adams

The name of the Lord (says the Scripture) is a strong tower; thither the righteous flee and are safe (Proverbs 18:10). Let us secure His favor and He will lead us through the journey of this life and at length receive us to a better.
- Samuel Adams


United States Congressional Endorsement of the Bible and God

Congress printed a Bible for America and said:
"The United States in Congress assembled ... recommend this edition of the Bible to the inhabitants of the United States ... a neat edition of the Holy Scriptures for the use of schools."
- United States Congress 1782


Congress passed this resolution:
"The Congress of the United States recommends and approves the Holy Bible for use in all schools."
- United States Congress 1782

By Law the United States Congress adds to US coinage:
"In God We Trust"
- United States Congress 1864


John Adams, President of the United States of America and Signer of the Declaration of Independence

The Declaration of Independence laid the cornerstone of human government upon the first precepts of Christianity.
- John Adams

The general principles on which the fathers achieved independence were the general principles of Christianity. I will avow that I then believed, and now believe, that those general principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the existence and attributes of God.
- John Adams

The highest glory of the American Revolution was this: it connected, in one indissoluble bond, the principles of civil government with the principles of Christianity.
- John Adams

Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.
- John Adams

I have examined all religions, and the result is that the Bible is the best book in the world.
- John Adams

The Christian religion is, above all the religions that ever prevailed or existed in ancient or modern times, the religion of wisdom, virtue, equity and humanity.
- John Adams

[The Fourth of July] ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty.
- John Adams


Patrick Henry, Early America Leader

There is a book [the Bible] worth all the other books ever printed.
- Patrick Henry

It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great Nation was founded not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
- Patrick Henry


John Jay, First Chief-Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court

Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers, and it is their duty - as well as privilege and interest - of our Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers.
- John Jay

The Bible is the best of all books, for it is the word of God and teaches us the way to be happy in this world and in the next. Continue therefore to read it and to regulate your life by its precepts.
- John Jay


Daniel Webster, Early American Politician

Education is useless without the Bible.
- Daniel Webster


Noah Webster, American Schoolmaster

Education is useless without the Bible. The Bible was America’s basic text book in all fields. God’s Word, contained in the Bible, has furnished all necessary rules to direct our conduct.
- Noah Webster


National Anthem of the United States of America, Francis Scott Key

"And this be our motto, 'In God is our trust'"
- USA National Anthem, Third Verse


Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States of America

In regards to this great Book [the Bible], I have but to say it is the best gift God has given to man. All the good the Savior gave to the world was communicated through this Book. But for it we could not know right from wrong. All things most desirable for man's welfare, here and hereafter, are found portrayed in it.
- Abraham Lincoln

I am busily engaged in study of the Bible.
- Abraham Lincoln


Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America

Of the many influences that have shaped the United States into a distinctive nation and people, none may be said to be more fundamental and enduring than the Bible.
- Ronald Reagan


Northwest Ordinance, July 13, 1787

Religion, morality, and knowledge, being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged.
- Northwest Ordinance, Article 3


Original Harvard University Student Handbook 1636

Let every student be plainly instructed and earnestly pressed to consider well: the main end of his life and studies is "to know God and Jesus Christ, which is eternal life" (John 17.3), and therefore to lay Christ in the bottom, as the only foundation of all sound knowledge and learning. And seeing the Lord only giveth wisdom, let everyone seriously set himself by prayer in secret to seek it of Him (Prov. 2.3).
- Original Harvard University Student Handbook


William McGuffy, author of McGuffy Reader, which was used for over 100 years in American schools as the primary textbook

The Christian religion is the religion of our country. From it are derived our nation, on the character of God, on the great moral Governor of the universe. On its doctrines are founded the peculiarities of our free Institutions. From no source has this author drawn more conspicuously than from the sacred Scriptures. From all these extracts from the Bible, I make no apology.
- William McGuffy, author of McGuffy Reader

(from: Pray Daily America)

Forget about 'self'

It is popular among Christians today to talk about 'forgiving yourself,' and also to combat depression or guilt by repeating mantra-like phrases like, "I am special in the eyes of God."

I just e-mailed a brother in Christ (Scott McQueen), and I wanted to post what I said here, because I'm hoping that this will explain it better than my attempts in the past to explain it. Previously, I've had Christians become offended and angry when I challenged the idea of 'forgiving yourself.' They apparently seem to think that I am advocating holding on to guilt, which I am certainly not doing. Also, when Christians try to confront their depression or feelings of low self-esteem by telling themselves, "God made me, and God doesn't make junk," or, "I am special because God loves me," I have tried to tell others that this technique does not work for me, because all my life, my subconscious has received input that has continually reinforced the idea that I am a failure. I have found that what DOES
work for me, which I also think is a more biblical method, is to agree with the thought that I am a failure (i.e., because I am a sinner, and because I am not perfect). But the remedy is not to try to convince myself otherwise. The remedy that works for me (and I have also done research on this, and I have read testimonies where others said that the other technique did not work for them either, but this technique DOES work) is first, to accept the fact that you are forgiven in Christ; and second, to take your focus off self, and instead, focus on Christ. For, after all, we are not here on this earth to build up self or focus on self, but rather, to expand and glorify the kingdom of God.

So, in other words, we (who are regenerated/born again) were enemies of God, and in our own 'works,' we are still only worth going to Hell, but through the forgiveness/atonement/sacrifice/righteousness of Christ, and the indwelling Holy Spirit, we are accepted and loved, and we have been adopted into the family of God, and we have an inheritance waiting for us. Our past, present and future sins have been wiped clean, and we now have access to the holy of holies, which, in Old Testament times, only the High Priest had access to...and even for him it was dangerous, and they had to tie a rope to him, in case he was killed by God for some disobedience, so that they could pull his body out of there.

Though, as I said, a number of Christians would disagree with me, when a Christian says, "I am special, because I am made in God's image," or something similar, though they may not be incorrect, still, they are focusing on SELF. Ideally, we need to take the "I" or "me" out of it and focus only on Christ. People get depressed because they are focusing on their failures or their mistakes. If they forget self, and take their eyes off self, and focus only on Christ, they won't be depressed.

I have always been prone to low self-esteem. Many people tend to equate low self-esteem with humility. But actually, low self-esteem is a form of pride, because you're worried about what others think of you, or say about you. So, you're still focused on 'self.' If a Christian can truly die to self, they will no longer worry about what others think of them or say about them.

Similarly, and some Christians have argued angrily and very defensively regarding this point, it is popular among Christians today to talk about "forgiving yourself." But you can only forgive someone who has offended you. So, in a sense, 'forgiving yourself' is impossible. Only Christ has the power to forgive sins. Now, some of them will point out that there is also false guilt, also called psychological guilt, which is guilt over something which is not a sin. However, whether it is true guilt over a real sin, or false/psychological (i.e., imagined) guilt over something that was not a sin, in either case, the best (and only TRUE) remedy is to accept Christ's forgiveness. If you trust in the fact that Christ has forgiven you, then you don't have to worry about 'forgiving yourself,' which is, strictly speaking, not possible anyway. If you feel a need to 'forgive yourself,' then the real problem is that you haven't fully trusted that Christ has forgiven you. In other words, you are still in a works-based mentality, thinking there is something you still must do on your part. You are trying to wrest the task from Christ, and take on the task yourself. It all boils down to trusting Christ. I believe that the idea of 'forgiving yourself' is one of the many false doctrines that has crept into Christian churches today, but originally comes from New Age teaching and eastern religion. And again, it puts the focus on self rather than on Christ. I believe that those things which come from New Age influence are those things which tend to build up self and decrease the sovereignty and glory of God.

Also see my previous post, "Forgiving Yourself."

Peace in the midst of the storm

A couple weeks ago, I heard an incredibly loud explosion about 11:30 PM when someone tried to kick in my front door, completely shattering the glass on my storm door and cracking the wood on the front door.

A week ago, I was laid off.

I am also suddenly in the deepest credit card debt, by far, that I've ever been in, because of the IRS and because of Overdraft Protection fees.

Jobs are very hard to find in this area. This county has the highest unemployment rate in the state, and the lowest pay rate.

We are in the middle of a global economic crisis.

The most dangerous type of light bulb, CFLs, which can cause headaches; skin problems; brain damage; kidney damage; can damage photographs; and causes interference to radios, TVs, phones, and remote controls, may become the only legal bulb by 2014.

Bird flu and swine flu may become pandemic (a world-wide epidemic).

And I suspect that things will only get worse.

In the midst of all this, the Pastor at the church I was at tonight talked about the peace of Christ for the Christian, which far surpasses any peace (or semblance of peace) that the world can offer. We who are Christians should rejoice that our names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life, and that we have a better home to look forward to. Therefore, I wanted to share a few verses about peace for the Christian.

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."
(John 14:27)

"And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
(Philippians 4:7)

"Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful."
(Colossians 3:15)

Global Warming: How the Hoax Began

"Richard S. Courtney is an independent consultant on matters concerning energy and the environment. He is a technical advisor to several UK MPs and mostly-UK MEPs. He has been called as an expert witness by the UK Parliament’s House of Commons Select Committee on Energy and also House of Lords Select Committee on the Environment. He is an expert peer reviewer for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and in November 1997 chaired the Plenary Session of the Climate Conference in Bonn. In June 2000 he was one of 15 scientists invited from around the world to give a briefing on climate change at the US Congress in Washington DC, and he then chaired one of the three briefing sessions. His achievements have been recognized by The UK’s Royal Society for Arts and Commerce, PZZK (the management association of Poland’s mining industry), and The British Association for the Advancement of Science. Having been the contributing technical editor of CoalTrans International, he is now on the editorial board of Energy & Environment. He is a founding member of the European Science and Environment Forum (ESEF)." Source

Richard Courtney states:
"All available evidence indicates that man-made global warming is a physical impossibility, but if the predicted warming could be induced it would probably provide net benefits. However, there is a widespread imagined risk of the warming and politicians are responding to it."

"The simple fact that it is physically impossible for CO2 emissions to cause man-made global warming has no effect on imagined fear of global warming. (It is a simple fact that a mouse cannot eat a person, but some people try to jump on chairs at the sight of mice.)"

"Also, some global warming proponents are accepting a good financial income from the global warming scare and have become global warming propagandists to promote their interests. These include some researchers who obtain research grants and some environmental organisations who need donations. They are making a living by promoting fear of man-made global warming."

"The hypothesis of man-made global warming has existed since the 1880s. It was an obscure scientific hypothesis that burning fossil fuels would increase CO2 in the air to enhance the greenhouse effect and thus cause global warming. Before the 1980s this hypothesis was usually regarded as a curiosity because the nineteenth century calculations indicated that mean global temperature should have risen more than 1°C by 1940, and it had not. Then, in 1979, Mrs. Margaret Thatcher (now Lady Thatcher) became Prime Minister of the UK, and she elevated the hypothesis to the status of a major international policy issue."

"Mrs. Thatcher...desired to be taken seriously by political leaders of other major countries."

"Sir Crispin Tickell, UK Ambassador to the UN, suggested a solution to the problem. He pointed out that almost all international statesmen are scientifically illiterate, so a scientifically literate politician could win any summit debate on a matter which seemed to depend on scientific understandings. And Mrs. Thatcher had a BSc degree in chemistry. (This is probably the most important fact in the entire global warming issue; i.e., Mrs. Thatcher had a BSc degree in chemistry). Sir Crispin pointed out that if a "scientific" issue were to gain international significance, then the UK's Prime Minister could easily take a prominent role, and this could provide credibility for her views on other world affairs. He suggested that Mrs. Thatcher should campaign about global warming at each summit meeting. She did, and the tactic worked. Mrs. Thatcher rapidly gained the desired international respect and the UK became the prime promoter of the global warming issue."

"Overseas politicians began to take notice of Mrs. Thatcher's campaign if only to try to stop her disrupting summit meetings. They brought the matter to the attention of their civil servants for assessment, and they reported that - although scientifically dubious - 'global warming' could be economically important. The USA is the world's most powerful economy and is the most intensive energy user. If all countries adopted 'carbon taxes', or other universal proportionate reductions in industrial activity, each non-US industrialised country would gain economic benefit over the United States. So, many politicians from many countries joined with Mrs. Thatcher in expressing concern at global warming and a political bandwagon began to roll. Mrs. Thatcher had raised an international policy issue and thus become an influential international politician.

Mrs. Thatcher could not have promoted the global warming issue without the support of her UK political party. And they were willing to give it. Following the General Election of 1979, most of the incoming Cabinet had been members of the government which lost office in 1974. They blamed the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) for their 1974 defeat. They, therefore, desired an excuse for reducing the UK coal industry and, thus, the NUM's power. Coal-fired power stations emit CO2 but nuclear power stations don't. Global warming provided an excuse for reducing the UK's dependence on coal by replacing it with nuclear power."

“Also, all scientists compete to obtain their share of this limited resource. Available research funds were shrinking, and global warming had become the ‘scientific’ issue of most interest to governments. Hence, any case for funding support tended to include reference to global warming whenever possible. Much science in many fields may be conducted under the guise of a relationship to global warming. Activities that have obtained funds by this method include biology, meteorology, computer science, physics, chemistry, climatology, oceanography, civil engineering, process engineering, forestry, astronomy, and several other disciplines. Now, funds for this work are provided to most UK Universities and several commercial research establishments.

Much peer pressure deters scientists from damaging potential sources of research funds. There is especial pressure - loss of future career - to avoid being the first to proclaim the scientific truth of global warming and thus damage the research funding of colleagues. But failure to proclaim the scientific truth does not mean that many scientists believe in the global warming hypothesis. In 1992 - at the height of the global warming scare - Greenpeace International conducted a survey of the world’s 400 leading climatologists. Greenpeace had hoped to publicise the results of that survey in the run-up to the Rio summit, but when they completed the survey, they gave very little publicity to its results. In response to the survey, only 15 climatologists were willing to say they believed in global warming, although all climatologists rely on it for their employment. Also, the Leipzig Declaration disputes the IPCC assertions about man-made global warming. It was drafted following the Leipzig Climate Conference in November 1995 and has been signed by over 1,500 scientists from around the world.

The global warming issue is political. It induced the ‘Earth Summit’ that was attended by several Heads of State in Rio de Janeiro during June 1992 and is the reason for the Kyoto Summit in Japan in December 1997. Governments have a variety of motives for interest in global warming. Each government has its own special interests in global warming but, in all cases, the motives relate to economic policies. In general, the USA fears loss of economic power to other nations while this is desired by those other nations. Universal adoption of ‘carbon taxes’, or other universal proportionate reductions in industrial activity, would provide relative benefit to the other nations. Unfortunately, if a few nations adopted the changes they would increase their manufacturing, transportation and energy costs and thus lose economic competitiveness and industrial activity to all other nations. Developing nations cannot afford technological and economic advances that would benefit them and also reduce their increases to CO2 emissions as they develop, so they are seeking gifted technology transfers and economic aid from developed countries.

The press are interested in selling papers and the TV companies want to gain viewers. Threat of world-wide disaster makes a good story, and the statements and actions of politicians together with great increase in scientific publications gave global warming an apparent authority. The media began to proclaim the worst imagined horrors. For example, massive floods were predicted due to melting of polar ice, and one UK TV programme went so far as to assert that the polar bears would die out because their habitat would melt. The public relies on the media to provide them with their information, so they came to believe the global warming scare because they were only given one side of the story. Politicians respond to public concern, so the politicians’ actions began to gain popular support.

On face value global warming is an environmental issue. Many environmentalists joined the bandwagon. Governments were offering money and the public were concerned at global warming. Any environmental issue that could be linked to global warming was said to be involved in the matter. But the environmentalist interest was aroused by the impact of the issue. Contrary to common belief, environmentalists did not raise awareness of global warming, they responded to it. Simply, environmentalist organisations were part of the general public and decided to use the issue when it became useful to them.

Aspects of the global warming issue began to feed on each other. The system amplifier is the politicians’ support of global warming.

The UK Government lost interest in global warming when Mr John Major replaced Mrs Thatcher as Prime Minister. The flow of Government money began to stop for conduct of global warming research. UK scientists then began to speak out in denial of the global warming hypothesis. It seemed that the issue was dying a natural death. Then the ‘coal crisis’ arose in October 1992 when the public protested at the scale of pit closures. This gave the UK Government a new need to find an excuse for its policy of closing coalmines. Global warming fitted this need and so the Government committed £16,000,000 to an advertising campaign that scare-mongered about global warming and re-established the funding priorities for climate research.

Later, at the start of May 1997, the Conservative Party lost office to the Labour Party and Mr. Tony Blair became UK Prime Minister. The UK had initiated the global warming issue and a change of UK policy may have had a significant effect on the widespread imagined risk, but by then the global warming issue had become important in its own right. Many countries had a stated global warming policy, 122 of them had signed a declaration of intent to reduce CO2 emissions at the Rio Summit, and the Kyoto Summit was scheduled. The UK was one of the very few countries that had reduced its CO2 emissions since the Rio Summit because the UK had replaced coal-fired generating capacity by gas-fired generating capacity. This provided the UK with a position of authority in this international affair, and Mr. Blair committed the new UK government to strict action to cut CO2 emissions.

Governments' global warming policies

Man-made global warming has become a major international political issue. The imagined risk has become a real risk in the form of proposed government policies to inhibit CO2 emissions. The Rio Summit in 1992 proposed actions to constrain the emissions and the Kyoto Summit in December 1997 is intended to establish binding agreements that will commit nation states to the constraints. Although there are no real and potential risks of the global warming, the effects of the constraints will cause real and severe economic damage.
All industrial and economic growth requires an abundance of available energy supply. Anything that inhibits energy supplies reduces economic activity. At Kyoto, governments will be pressured to reduce CO2 emissions to far below their 1990 levels. This requires cutting fuel supplies and, therefore, economic activity. The effects would be much more severe than the ‘oil crisis’ in the 1970s because the constraint on fossil fuel usage would be greater, the increases to energy costs would be larger, and energy demand has increased since then.
Already, OECD countries (Europe, Japan and the US) have agreed in principle to adopt the ‘Berlin Mandate’ that requires them to cut their CO2 emissions to 15% below their 1990 levels by year 2010. The US Department of Energy (DoE) estimates that this would increase US domestic energy prices by between 80 and 90% and would increase the coal price to US consumers by 300%. Also, the DoE study determines that the Berlin Mandate would not reduce worldwide emissions of CO2. Energy intensive industries would be forced to move from the US to places where the emission constraints did not exist or were not enforced. This could even result in an increase to the emissions because the less-controlled places are likely to have less energy efficient industries. The DoE study goes further by saying that its findings are not specific to the US but apply to every industrialised country.
The US DoE study is supported by a similar study commissioned by the German government. That determined the cost to Germany of fulfilling the Berlin Mandate would be about US$500 billion and the loss of 250,000 jobs.
Industrialised countries would not suffer alone. The economy of every country is affected by the performance of the world economy. The economic disruption in the developed world would harm economic activity everywhere. The largest affects would be in the developed countries because their economies are largest. But the world’s poorest peoples would suffer the worst effects (i.e., people who are near to starvation are starved by economic disruption.).
A rational assessment of appropriate policies would include cost/benefit analysis, but imagined risk is not rational. All the proposed responses to the imagined risk of man-made global warming would increase starvation and poverty while inhibiting economic development throughout the entire world. And CO2 emissions would not be reduced and may be increased. In practice, politicians are accepting the predictions of climate models as being predictions of the future, and they are acting to change that future. This is similar to the behaviour of people who believe horoscope predictions of future harm so they avoid situations where that harm could happen.“ Source

Also see this

Motivation to see people saved from Hell?

At the Great White Throne Judgment, people will be judged to see whether they will enter Heaven or be cast into Hell; only those who have received the holy righteousness of Christ, through His shed blood, will be able to enter Heaven. All others are stained with sin, and will be cast into outer darkness, where there is gnashing of teeth, where their worm never dies, where the sulfurous smoke never ceases to rise, and the flames never die.

But there will be a second judgment as well: the Bema Seat Judgment, also called the Judgment Seat of Christ, where the Bible says that the saved (born again) person's works will be tested by fire, and everything that is not done truly for the sake of Christ will be burned up (it will be as wood, hay and stubble, which burn in the fire). Only those things done for Christ will last, for which the Christian will gain a reward (but will then cast their crowns at Jesus' feet, because it is all due to Jesus anyway). With this in mind:

what is our motivation concerning evangelism?


• Believe it or not, some of our motives for evangelizing are often selfish.


• Some churches are more concerned with not having to close their doors a final time than they are with loving God by participating in His plan of redeeming others.


• Some individuals are more concerned with being right, or winning an argument, or appearing intelligent to others, than they are with obeying God and loving the lost.

We should evangelize out of obedience to God.


• For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for I am under compulsion; for woe is me if I do not preach the gospel (1Cor 9:16). Paul is motivated by the compulsion of the Spirit.


• Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age (Matt 28:18-20). We're commanded to do evangelism by making disciples. The command in itself, therefore, is designed to elicit obedience.

So, first, we are commanded to go out and tell others about Jesus.
Second, we are commanded not only to witness to them, but if they get saved, to then disciple them.
Third, we are to do all this because Jesus told us to: out of love and obedience to Christ, and out of love and compassion for people who are headed for everlasting horror in Hell, that they might come to know Christ personally and be saved from that horrible place.

(Some info is from: 9Marks.org)

"Go Green": God's way!

God Owns the Creation

"The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for he founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters." (Psalm 24:1-2; cf. Psalm 89:11; 1 Corinthians 10:26)


God Sustains the Creation

"In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind." (Job 12:10)

"He is before all things, and in him all things hold together." (Colossians 1:17)

"He makes springs pour water into the ravines; it flows between the mountains. They give water to all the beasts of the field; the wild donkeys quench their thirst. The birds of the air nest by the waters; they sing among the branches. He waters the mountains from his upper chambers; the earth is satisfied by the fruit of his work. He makes grass grow for the cattle, and plants for man to cultivate-bringing forth food from the earth." (Psalm 104:10-14)

"The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word." (Hebrews 1:3)


God's Concern for Animals

"And of every living thing, of all flesh, you shall bring two of every kind into the ark, to keep them alive with you." (Genesis 6:19)

"Six days you shall do your work, but on the seventh day you shall rest, so that your ox and your donkey may have relief." (Exodus 23:12; cf. Deuteronomy 5:14)

"You shall not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain." (Deuteronomy 25:4)

"Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten in God's sight." (Luke 12:6; cf. Matthew 10:29)


Command to Care for Creation

"The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it." (Genesis 2:15)

"The land itself must observe a sabbath to the Lord. For six years sow your fields, and for six years prune your vineyards and garner their crops. But in the seventh year the land is to have a sabbath of rest, a sabbath to the Lord.... The land is to have a year of rest." (Leviticus 25:2-5; cf. Exodus 23:10-11)

"If you besiege a town for a long time, making war against it in order to take it, you must not destroy its trees by wielding an ax against them. Although you may take food from them, you must not cut them down. Are trees in the field human beings that they should come under siege from you?" (Deuteronomy 20:19)


Man is to rule over Creation as a (temporary) steward

Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." (Genesis 1:26)


Humans Have Defiled the Land (through their sin)

"How long will the land lie parched and the grass in every field be withered? Because those who live in it are wicked, the animals and birds have perished." (Jeremiah 12:4)

"There is no faithfulness, no love, no acknowledgment of God in the land. There is only cursing, lying and murder, stealing and adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed. Because of this the land mourns, and all who live in it waste away; the beasts of the field and the birds of the air and the fish of the sea are dying." (Hosea 4:1-3)

"We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time." (Romans 8:22)


Consequences of Defiling the Land

"He turned rivers into a desert, flowing springs into thirsty ground, and fruitful land into a saltwaste, because of the wickedness of those who lived there." (Psalm 107:33-34)

"Woe to you who add house to house and join field to field till no space is left and you live alone in the land. The LORD almighty has declared in my hearing: 'Surely the great houses will become desolate, the fine mansions left without occupants. A ten-acre vineyard will produce only a bath of wine, a homer of seed only an ephah of grain.'" (Isaiah 5:8-10)

"The earth dries up and withers, the world languishes and withers, the heavens languish together with the earth. The earth lies polluted under its inhabitants; for they have transgressed laws, violated the statutes, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore a curse devours the earth; its inhabitants suffer for their guilt." (Isaiah 24:4-6)

"You have polluted the land with your whoring and wickedness. Therefore the showers have been withheld, and the spring rain has not come." (Jeremiah 3:2-3)


Creation Testifies of the Creator

"Ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds of the air, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish of the sea inform you. Which of these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind." (Job 12:7-10)

"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world." (Psalm 19:1-4; cf. Psalm 97:6)

"Ever since the creation of the world his eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through the things he has made. So they are without excuse." (Romans 1:20)


Because of sin, God will burn it all up

"But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat!" (2 Peter 3:10-12)


God will destroy this old, cursed Earth and will make it all brand-new

"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea." (Revelation 21:1)

An imposition?

Many people equate evangelism with imposition - someone imposing their religious views on another person as a ploy for power or control. But this idea is mistaken.


• To equate evangelism with imposition implies that Christianity is only subjectively true - true and binding for me, but not for others. Christianity is not man's subjective opinion. It is God's objective truth, regardless of our subjective opinions.


• To equate evangelism with imposition implies that Christians are able to convert people themselves, which is entirely false. In fact, of all the religions in the world, Christianity is the one least amenable to such imposition because of its theology of conversion.


• Humanity is so entrenched in sin that unless God's Spirit does the converting work Himself, none of us would ever repent and believe.


• Therefore, Christianity is actually unique among world religions for the impossibility of imposing its belief structure on others. Only God convinces people to repent and believe.

(from 9Marks.org)