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Gary Patton

Conference re Evangelizing Muslims | Legacy 2012 - 0 views

  • Legacy 2012 Audios
  • Legacy 2012 Audios
  • Legacy 2012 Audios
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    "Christian Evangelism Conference - Audio Tapes" Links to Conference Session audio tapes of speakers' remarks re evangelizing Muslims. GaryFPatton (gfp '42™ 2012-06-25)
Gary Patton

Anger Management | Ten Essentials to Consider - 0 views

  • Anger is healthy
  • It’s what we do with our anger that makes all the difference to the maintenance of our own health
  • Anger arousal symptoms
  • ...7 more annotations...
  • warning to keep our mouth shut and think
  • soul solitude time will allow us to trace and track the origins of the triggers so we can understand them
    • Gary Patton
       
      My problem with Rhoberta's psychology when she points to "understanding" the roots of anger/rage as a route to healing is that it cannot produce freedom from your bondage. (I know this because I knew the emotional and spiritual roots of my rage for the full 25 years that I struggled with my it and that understanding didn't help me one bit. Only knowing "truth" can set you free. Understanding our past pain's roots doesn't produce truth or "freedom" from the pain. Only the truth that Jesus talks about at http://is.gd/NwDqOu can do that. gfp
  • trouble in relationships
    • Gary Patton
       
      I taught "anger management techniques" and knowing tips like this S-M-A-R-TTip didn't help me: "Relationships can only thrive when one party, at least, knows how to back off!" (Rhoberta is more blunt in her Esstenial #1 when she says: "Shut your mouth!") But, bluntness in my teaching wasn't the lack! Teaching "techniques" rather than "spiritual truth" was! Here's truth http://diigo.com/0jiqa . gfp
  • one of the greatest gifts we can give ourselves
  • We have to learn to manage incoming anger, too.
  • you may not have any boundaries
  • Anger is healthy. It is natural. It is a gift of perception, experience and biology
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    Anger is one of the most powerful emotions and the most challenging one to manage for most people. Some of us can't "manage" it ...at all. At best, some of us can ONLY moderate our reaction to our amygdala's response to our perception of a violation of our so-called rights. That's why Essential #1 is so crucial. (I know because I fought a losing battle with anger/rage for over 25 years until recently when I re-discovered a truth that I had forgotten as a Jesus Follower. Yeh! We're NOT perfect ...just saved as someone said.) You may enjoy my Tweet for 2011-08-27 apropos Essential #1: "A relationship can only thrive when at least one party knows when to back off!" ~ gfp '42™ gfp
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    Essential #1 in this article is so crucial. (I know because I fought a losing battle with anger/rage for over 25 years until recently. I have now re-discovered a truth that I had forgotten as a Jesus Follower. Yeh! We're NOT perfect ...just saved as someone said.) gfp
Gary Patton

The Tongue Is Big Problem - Bible Gateway - 0 views

  • Let not many of you become teachers
    • Gary Patton
       
      Please do noy believe that this verse is a command to not share with those whom Holy Spirit brings across your path. That's a lie from the pit of Hell! You are clearly commanded to "make disciples as you're going along" by Jesus Himself in Matthew 28:18-20 at http://diigo.com/0jisc . This verse is ONLY a warning to coach/communicate/share/teach CAREFULLY and in the power of Holy Spirit. Please also do not believe that this verse says that you should only teach in the Body of Christ if you are a Pastor (Reverend, Minister, Bible School- or Seminary-trained graduate, etc.) That's a lie from the pit as well.The role of Teacher of the Body is open to anyone who is acknowledged by their fellow Believers as possessing the Gift of Teaching and s(he) teaches in the power of Holy Spirit.
  • James 3:1-10
    • Gary Patton
       
      All Jesus Followers have responsibility before God as sharers/communicators/coaches/teachers. This is clearly stated in James 3:1 below. And James 3:2-10 shares why we must be careful. When our sharing/communicating/teaching involves Jesus' Gospel, our intentional & non-interntion errors of ommission or commission actually incurs a curse according to Galatians 1:9 at http://diigo.com/0lvkq . Therefore, each Jesus Following communicator/coach/teacher must take responsibility for the information we transmit to ensure its integrity. More importantly, we are wise to be actively sceptical about the information we receive ...especially over the Internet where it's so easy to defraud and be defrauded. We ought to do the best we know how to check the facts, investigate the evidence, and evaluate all research for ourselves. Finally, we honour Jesus better when we regularly re-recommit to being rigorous, lifelong learners ourselves ...for it is only with knowledge that we can wisely & prayerfully evaluate the claims that we encounter.
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    All Jesus Followers have responsibility before God as sharers/communicators/coaches/teachers. It is is clearly stated in James 3:1 . And James 3:2-10 shares why we must be careful. When our sharing/communicating/teaching involves Jesus' Gospel, error actually incurs a curse according to Galatians 1:9 at http://diigo.com/0lvkq . Therefore, each Jesus Following communicator/coach/teacher must take responsibility for the information we transmit to ensure its integrity. More importantly, we are wise to be actively sceptical about the information we receive ...especially over the Internet where it's so easy to defraud and be defrauded. We ought to do the best we know how to check the facts, investigate the evidence, and evaluate all research for ourselves. Finally, we honour Jesus better when we regularly re-recommit to being rigorous, lifelong learners ourselves ...for it is only with knowledge that we can wisely & prayerfully evaluate the claims that we encounter.
Gary Patton

Interview with Reza Kahlili, an Ex-CIA Spy Embedded in Iran's Revolutionary Guards - 0 views

  • Summer 2011Vol. 6, No. 2 This article is from TOS Vol. 6, No. 2
  • Summer 2011Vol. 6, No. 2 This article is from TOS Vol. 6, No. 2.
  • Reza Kahlili, author of A Time to Betray, a book about his double life as a CIA agent in Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.
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    Please don't miss the interview below with Reza Kahlili, an ex-CIA Spy embedded in Iran's Revolutionary Guards" for years. You'll learn how really dangerous Iran is to your family plus practical suggestions re what you can do about it! I'm encouraged that in this ex-Iranian insider's view Canada's Prime Minister Harper is on the right track while the U.S.'s President Obama is derailed! GaryFPatton (gfp '42™ 2012-10-06)
Gary Patton

Ephesians 4:11-16 VOICE - It was the risen One who handed down to - Bible Gateway - 0 views

  • Ephesians 4:11-16
    • Gary Patton
       
      The "Commanded Conjoined Twins" within The Body Gifts In Verse 11,  Jesus, "God, The One & Only" outlines the special leadership gifts he granted to operate within His Body ...not as bosses in any way but as guides to assist their Fellow Believers. In verses 12 -14, He shares clearly the only "why" for the existence of leadership gifts in addition to the other equally important gifts which various Followers have.     And finally, as the context for all the above, our King confirms in verse 15 confirms two gifts to His Body that He is which may never be separated. GaryFPatton
    • Gary Patton
       
      "The "Commanded Conjoined Twins" within "The Body Gifts" In Verse 11 below,  Jesus, "God, The One & Only" outlines the special leadership gifts he granted to operate within His Body ...not as bosses in any way but as guides to assist their Fellow Believers. In verses 12 -14, He shares clearly the only "why" for the existence of leadership gifts in addition to the other equally important gifts which various Followers have.     And finally, as the context for all the above, our King confirms, in verse 15, confirms two gifts He's given to His Body that may never be separated if Jesus Followers re to obey Jesus' Platinum Rule ...God's Bottom Line... at http://diigo.com/0l8po Blessings, GaryFPatton
Gary Patton

The Invincible, Irrefutable Joy - Tony Reinke - 0 views

  • The Invincible, Irrefutable Joy
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    Story re how Dietrich Bonhoeffer, himself a badly persecuted German Jesus Follower who opposed Fascism, encouraged other persecuted countrywo(men).
Gary Patton

Pacifist Quotes | Christian Pacifism - 0 views

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    Some great quotes re the Scriptural requirement for Jesus Followers to resist violence non-violently.... to wage peace, not war.
Gary Patton

"Jesus Followers Are Commanded to Be Rescuers" - Bible Gateway - 0 views

  • Proverbs 24:11-12
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    Proverbs 24:11-12 contains a scary warning for Jesus Followers who behave with political correctness or reticence for any reason about sharing the Gospel with those led to them, praying for the persecuted in the worldwide Body of Christ and re the Right-to-Life issue in all it's forms. GaryFPatton (gfp '42™ 2012-10-03)
Gary Patton

God Did Not Write the Bible by Kathy Vestral - 0 views

  • God Did Not Write the B
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    This is an interesting article that presents a good argument for title. Also interesting is the debate in the "Comments Section" between two knowledgeable Jesus Followers re "Bible Inerancy". GaryFPatton (gfp '42™ 2012-07-12)
Gary Patton

Iran in Jeremiah's End-Times Prophesy - Bible Gateway - 0 views

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    Jeremiah 49:34-39 (NASB) includes the Old Covenant prophesy fro God regarding what will happen in the end times re Iran. The e-Sticky Note info below is from a talk, "What is the Future of Iran in Bible Prophecy?" by Joel Robison @ Harvest Church in the U.S. on 2011-11-01. gfp (2011-11-14)
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    Discover from a renowned expert on the Middle east and a Jewish-background Jesus Follower how what we see about Iran in the newspapers and on the Web, daily, fits with Biblical end-times prophesies. Enjoy and be informed! GaryFPatton
Gary Patton

The Sin Nature ...Do Jesus Followers Have One? by Dr. Bill Gillham - 0 views

  • We are known as “humans.” Jesus was a human without a sin nature in that He was never descended from Adam. The Holy Spirit furnished the 23 male chromosomes which united with Mary’s 23 to enable Jesus Christ to leave heaven and take on the form of human male.
    • Gary Patton
       
      One cou;d argue that this implies that our first parent's sinful, human nature is transmitted ONLY through males. Does mr. Gillam really mean that? gfp
  • It is the sin nature that condemns a man to hell, not his sinful performance.
  • The whole ballgame for all of eternity is spiritual, not physical… the bottom line is spirit!
    • Gary Patton
       
      This is why Jesus said we can woship God ONLY in spirit and in truth" (John 4:22-24)!
  • ...44 more annotations...
  • The Bible speaks of only two types of spirit-natures referring to them as “men.” They are the “old man” and the “new man.”
    • Gary Patton
       
      Modern Bible translated have changed the literal translation of the King James Version of "man" to "self" and noted the original word in a footnote.
  • the Bible speaks of the old man being able, by grace, through faith in Jesus Christ, to be born in a new way in order to change his identity (Jn. 3). Through turning from his self-centered rebellion, submitting himself to Christ’s authority as the God He is, appropriating His provision for getting shed of his dead spirit and beginning all over again with a new, good, alive, godly spirit, man can become something he has never been…alive to God through Christ (Rom.6:13). This new man is now a son of God via faith in Christ (Jn. 1:12).
    • Gary Patton
       
      This is why the Bible says only Jesus Followers are "children of God" and not all people. The latter are His "creation". But, non-Followers are not his children until they are put to death, spiritually, with Jesus and, then, resurrected or "re-born", as Jesus told the Pharisee in John 3:3-5, by Holy Spirit. gfp
  • We are cut from the same spirit-genetic cloth as our Lovely Lord Jesus! God reveals no provision in His word for adding His Spirit to a spirit-son of the devil You cannot mix Light with darkness.
    • Gary Patton
       
      Don't misunderstand what Mr. Gillham is saying in the second sentence here. All human beings are "sons of the Devil" until re-born in and by Jesus (John 8:42-45) as Mr. Gillham shares above in this article. gfp
  • A great problem exists today in that many well-meaning Christians teach that the death of the old man is simply a “positional truth”; it’s the “position in which God sees us.” They speak of it as if it were something we have to “reckon on” (count it as true) to keep it true.
  • we do not have to reckon on it to derive any benefit from it
    • Gary Patton
       
      This sentence contains a typo that confuses its sence. I believe that Dr. Gillam intended to write: "...we DO have to reckon on it..." because that is what Romans 6:11 says!
  • In God’s ecology, in order for a man to cease to be the son of Satan and become a son of God, the man must first die (spiritually) and then be reborn (spiritually), this time to a NEW FATHER! This is portrayed clearly in Romans 7:1-4.
  • The only kind of sons either God or Satan have are spirit-sons,
  • the flesh (body, brain, memory traces (flesh) in the brain
  • The reason a Christian doesn’t have a sin nature is because he is no longer the spirit-genes of God, his (New) Father! Hallelujah! Shout for joy! Whoooooeeeee!
    • Gary Patton
       
      This sentence also includes a typo that confuses its sense. I believe it should be read, and Dr. Gillham intended to write: "The reason a Christian doesn't have a sin nature is because he has no longer the spirit-genes of Satan but has those of God, his (New) Father!"
  • you are NOW a holy (Eph. 1:4), righteous (2 Cor. 5:21), saint of God (Rom. 1:7), blameless (Eph. 1:4), with Christ as your very Life (Col. 3:4), a son of God (Jn. 1:12), housed in an earthsuit (2 Cor. 5:1-8), a citizen of heaven (Eph. 2:19), on foreign assignment as an ambassador representing the “Fatherland” (2 Cor. 5:20), a righteous son of the King (2 Cor. 5:21), a spirit-son of the Second Adam (1 Cor. 11:45), spawned from His Spirit gene pool (Rom. 8:9), filled up with Christ Himself (Eph. 3:19), will all your needs (not greeds) supplied (Phil. 4:19), blessed with every spiritual blessing in heaven (Eph. 1:3), impervious to the obstacles of this planet (Phil.4:13), taking all things in stride as a part of the Loving Father’s “obstacle course” designed to prepare us for eternal rulership (Rom. 8:28-29)!
    • Gary Patton
       
      This is an incredible list of Biblical truths that flow from our being born-again in Messiah!
  • It’s not my old self that I am fighting against inside! It’s the power of sin working on my (new) mind (Rom. 7:23) through the flesh (the old memory traces) that I battle, and we are dead to having to submit, brother! (Rom. 6:11)
  • Accept this by faith as your true identity! Set your mind on it! Dwell on it! Meditate on the truth of it! Then, moment by moment act like it is true!
  • Can a man possibly possess dual spiritual sonship? No?
    • Gary Patton
       
      This is an incredible freedom-granting truth and a major benefit of being born-again children of God!
  • Stop acting like who you are not! That’s hypocritical! Act like the new man you are by faith! That’s obedience!
    • Gary Patton
       
      Our "New Man/Creation" is truly astounding. In life or death situations, human beings can lift cars. Just think for a moment of the limitless capabilities we have as New Creations in Jesus. We are flowing and operating in the power our Inner Warrior when we "abide/rest in" Jesus (John 15:5) and "live His Spirit" (Galatians 5:15).
  • But after the one’s “birth” as the new king, the old king could never again resurrect himself because he had no capability for self-resurrection! The very existence of the one precludes the existence of the other and vice versa!
  • was thoroughly confused
  • he was talking about two different people
  • “The King is Dead! Long Live the King!”
  • The old man has indeed died (Romans 6:6, etc.) and the new man has indeed been generated by the Holy Spirit (Colossians 3:10, etc.). But, unfortunately, the pervasive position taken by most Christian leader is that the old man is till “alive and well’ within the believer…that sinful performance gives daily testimony to this as “fact.”
  • The two can’t coexist any more that the two kings can! It was the death of the old man, which enabled the new man to be born! It is impossible for the new man to exist until the old man has died and the old man cannot resurrect himself. There is but One Life Who has such resurrection power…the Life of Christ!
  • Can you see what a difference this makes in motivating a Christian as opposed to berating him by constantly telling him what a sorry, no-good sinner he is and how he is going to face an angry God some day? Folk, it’s our works which will be judged in the future, not our personhood (2 Cor. 5:10) and God is not mad at the saved. He took our all the anger He had against us on Jesus (Isa. 53). We’ll either be rewarded or we’ll lose what we potentially could have won, but “there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ” (Rom. 8:1).
  • Those cannot exist simultaneously.
  • peaks of the POWER OF INDWELLING IN (not the sin nature) working in man to produce undesirable (sinful) behavior. The power of sin simply deceives the Christian by masquerading as the old man, suggesting (deceiving) to the will that a choice be made to perform according to the old self-serving patterns programmed in previously. This is referred to as “walking after the flesh.”
  • masquerade in the thought life of the Christian posing as his unique version of the old man! The naïve Christian will believe he, himself, is generating the unchristian suggestion and thus direct his defensive efforts against the wrong foe…what he perceives to be a darker side of himself! He fires all his bullets at a shadow! This is the explanation for the frustration depicted in Romans 7:15 “…why do I do the very thing I hate? Why can I get no victory?”
  • Though it would appear that the “two-natures” view places the greater responsibility for poor performance squarely on the Christian and that the “one-nature” view is a cop out, the opposite is actually true!
  • So long as one embraces the former he is constantly deceived into believe his failure is just standard Christian experience. As Scofield said (paraphrased), “This is not standard Christian experience, it’s the standard experience of most Christians,” the tragic result of faulty discipling.
  • Once the Christian enters into identification with Christ’s death, resurrection and ascension, claiming he no longer has two natures, but is now “the righteousness of God in Christ” and “holy and blameless in His sight” he is without excuse when he sins, because he knows what it is to possess the Life (“Christ in me”) which overcomes on a moment-by-moment basis.
  • In reality, it is accepted as fact that Christians no longer have a sin nature that places one squarely on the hook and totally responsible to choose, moment-by-moment, against the wooings, deceptions and accusations of indwelling sin working through the flesh. “Always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus (moment-by-moment) in our body.” (2 Cor. 4:10—NAS)
  • Indwelling sin deceives the “two-natures” believer into rationalizing, “I’m just human. I just fail a lot and God understands it’s just my old sin nature that got the better of me.” This is the true cop out position!
  • Awake sleeper! The king is dead! Long live the King!
  • The power of sin is what its name implies, a power to entice you into sin. It dwells in you (Rom.7:21) yet it is not you any more than a gold tooth that dwells in your mouth is you. Sin’s goal is to deceive the saints into living to get their needs (though good and godly) met by sinning rather than by using the Matt. 6:33 method; that is, “seeking Christ first.”
  • The power of sin is not your sin nature. Your sin nature is a synonym for old man or old self. That “old you” was crucified in Christ (Rom. 6:6). Before you were saved, it was as normal for you old nature to rebel against God’s authority as it is for a fish to swim.
  • Yet the power of sin is alive and well in you, saint. It indwells your body (Rom. 7:23). On page 1055 of W.E. Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, Vine states that sin is, “a governing principle or power” that is “personified” in the following passages. He then lists sixteen verses in which this holds true. The term personified means “represented as a person.” The power of sin can represent itself as a personage.
  • Since sin is personified, let’s call it “Mr. Sin” so we won’t confuse it with the verb. Mr. Sin tries to control you, to make you live to satisfy your bodily needs.
  • “For sin shall not be master over you…(Rom. 6:14). Mr. Sin (the personification) cannot master you. Remember how sin is “represented as a person?” It tries to master you through presenting thoughts to your mind by masquerading as the old man who has risen from the tomb. But no one except Jesus can do that, right? That’s not the old man; it’s the power of sin personified.
  • “But, if I am doing the very thing I do not wish, I am no longer the one doing it, but Mr. Sin which indwells me (is somehow doing it)” (Rom. 7:20). This verse can really be a puzzler if you interpret the word “sin” as a verb. But it’s a noun, and Vine says it is personified (represented as a person).
  • Mr. Sin the “personage,” wars, fights and seeks to control your mind. But your mind does not want to be controlled by this power, so it fights back.
  • Galatians 5:17 says that the “flesh lusts against the spirit” and vice versa and there is obviously a war going on inside of every Christian, but it’s not the old man versus the new man doing battle.
  • The Law is the source of Mr. Sin’s strength. To couple law with Mr. Sin is like pouring gas on a fire. This personage called sin needs a law to aid it if it is to optimally control you. It “eats, breathes and sleeps” via the Law.
  • “The Law is not made for a righteous man” (1 Tim. 1:9).
  • Why? Because you, the righteous man (2 Cor. 5:21), don’t need it. The lost man does (in order to show him his condition), but you don’t. You now “have the laws of God written on (your) heart and mind” (Heb. 10:16).
  • In this verse, sin is represented as a personage which can harden you through deception.
  • it was exciting to discover that a man of Vine’s stature as a scholar testifies that the power of sin is often personified in the Word. What liberty there is in knowing that the rebellious, evil, hateful thoughts I experience are being presented to my mind, not generated by it.
  • Is Our Sin Nature dead or NOT?
    • Gary Patton
       
      In the short articles below, Dr. Gillham demolishes the common teaching, often implies by preachers, that a Jesus Follower can have two natures ... a Satanic, sinful nature plus the righteous nature of God in Christ? This hypothesis" or opinion (http://is.gd/2tUCAb) is taught or implied by many in the church usually as truth. It also is implied by the New International Version (NIV) Bible's translating Biblical 'flesh' as "sin nature" ...wrongly as Dr. Gillham illustrates. Can a wo(man) really possess a dual spiritual sonship? You'll find freeing meditating on the clear Biblical answer presented here because Rev. Gillham says the answer is "NO! We don't have two natures!!" "Stop trying and start trusting God! It's not what you have to do that counts. But what Jesus has already fully done for you and the power He gives you because He lives in you!" ~ gfp '42™ gfp (2011-09)
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    In these 3 short articles, Dr. Gillham addresses teaching that a Jesus Follower can have two natures ... a Satanic, sinful nature plus the righteous nature of God in Christ? This hypothesis" or opinion is taught or implied by many in the church usually as truth. It also is implied by the New International Version (NIV) Bible's translating Biblical "flesh" as "sin nature". But, can a wo(man) really possess a dual spiritual sonship? The clear Biblical answer according to Bill Gillham is "NO!" "Stop trying ...and start trusting God, It's not what you do. But what Jesus has already fully done for you!" ~ gfp '42™ gfp (2011-09)
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    "Mr. Sin" is a more dangerous moment-to-moment foe for you than Satan. Pastor Gillham tells why! gfp
Gary Patton

Romans 1:1-32 NASB - Bible Gateway - 0 views

  • Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus
    • Gary Patton
       
      Paul's pre-Jesus Following name was "Saul of Tarsus". Tarsus was a Roman colony in what is now Turkey. He was a Pharisee ...a fundmantalist Jew who believed certain special doctrines. He also was very learned, having studied under one of the top two teachers of his day, Gamaiel. A 'bond-servant" is a synonym for "slave". Thhis the the westernized Anglicized version of Jesus the Messiah's Hebrew real name, Yesuha Hamesheia.
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    My interaction with Holy Spirit re what He wants me to know in Romans 1:1-32 (NASB) while following Dr. John Dickson's Tweets called "Read Romans" at ?.
Gary Patton

AIFD's Dr. Zuhdi Jasser debates Jihad Watch's Robert Spencer - YouTube - 0 views

  • Dr. Zuhdi Jasser debates Jihad Watch's Robert Spencer
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    Dr. Zuhdi Jasser M.D., a retired U.S. Naval Officer & the founder of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy debates Jihad Watch's Robert Spencer re the real danger ... Islam or Islamism, What's the R-E-A-L danger ((Revolting-Enervating-Authoritarian-Loathsome/Limiting)). Dr. Jasser says there is such a thing as Moderate Islam. Mr. Spencer says no! gfp (2012-02-07)
Gary Patton

Muslim Americans: Not So Middle Class Or Mostly Mainstream - Pew Research Center - 0 views

  • Muslim Americans: Middle Class and Mostly Mainstream
  • Fewer native-born African American Muslims than others completely condemn al Qaeda. In addition, younger Muslims in the U.S. are much more likely than older Muslim Americans to say that suicide bombing in the defense of Islam can be at least sometimes justified.
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    You'll be shocked to discover, if you read the complete study, that the politically-correct statement re the number of "younger Muslims" who support suicide bombing is actually 1 in 4 under 30 or 25% of the impressionable Muslim population of the U.S. of about 2.5 million in 2007. Should we suspect the number would be less in Canada?
Gary Patton

"F-E-A-R NOT Speaking Up Because The Words Will Be Given To You", John 16:12-16 VOICE -... - 0 views

  • The Spirit of truth will come and guide you in all truth. He will not speak His own words to you; He will speak what He hears, revealing to you the things to come and bringing glory to Me.
    • Gary Patton
       
      When "speaking up" is regarding sin and/or wrongs in society when you are speaking to or writing politicians and others in authority, our enemy provokes F-E-A-R™. It is designed to keep us from being all Jesus plans for us as He God promises in Ephesians 2:8-10 (http://diigo.com/0n20e) ...for the moment. F-E-A-R™ is False-Evidence-Appearing-Real™. It is F-A-L-S-E™ because it also is Fear-inducing-Authoritarian-Legalistic-Sadistic-Enervating™ and not of God for those in King Jesus. Because of the promise of these Verses I believe most fear, which is not immediately either physically, emotionally or spiritually existential, is usually F-E-A-R. It and it's counter-F-E-A-R™ (Face Everything and Recover, in Jesus™) are what I coach Christians because God is a Promise Keeper re our NOT having to fear when stay dead and are walking in Him as the Apostle Paul says in Galatians 2:20 at http://diigo.com/0jggi . A true Jesus Follower's ability to be able to counter and thrive appropriately when F-E-A-R™ attacks is promised to every Jesus Follower repeatedly in the Bible including in Philippians 4:11-13 at http://is.gd/Zshro0 and in Proverbs 19:23 at http://is.gd/OfMz1s. So Christian: "Just trust God and speak up when yo feel led!"
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    "F-E-A-R NOT Speaking Up Because The Words Will Be Given To You" "F-E-A-R™" is diabolically induced and it is "F-A-L-S-E™". What my acronyms mean and why they are crucial to overcome in King Jesus are explained in the e-Sticky Note below. Peace & love in King Jesus, GaryFPatton (2013-07-01)
Gary Patton

"Jesus Followers Are Commanded to Be Rescuers" - Bible Gateway - 0 views

  • Rescue those being led away to death;    hold back those staggering toward slaughter.(A)
  • If you say, “But we knew nothing about this,”    does not he who weighs(B) the heart perceive it?Does not he who guards your life know it?    Will he not repay(C) each person according to what he has done?(D)
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    "Jesus Followers Are Commanded to Be Rescuers" Proverbs 24:11-12 below contains a scary warning for Jesus Followers. The warning is for those who behave with political correctness or reticence regarding a number of crucial issues in these "End Times". Some examples of these "crucial areas" are outlined below in my e-Sticky Notes on individual verses. GaryFPatton (gfp '42™ 2012-10-03)
Gary Patton

Decoding The Mystery Of Near-Death Experiences : NPR - 0 views

  • "There are various explanations," Woerlee says. "One: that the earphones or plugs were not that tightly fitting. Two: It could have been that it was due to sound transmission through the operating table itself." So Reynolds could have heard conversations. As for seeing the Midas Rex bone saw, he says, she recognized a sound from her childhood.
    • Gary Patton
       
      Whether one believes in after death experience or not, its these so-called expalnations that are riduculous and preposterous, in my opinion!
  • That doesn't convince cardiologist Sabom or neurosurgeon Spetzler. They believe the combination of anesthesia and the sluggish brain activity caused by hypothermia meant that Reynolds could not form or retain memories for a significant part of the operation. At the very least, Sabom says, Reynolds' story raises the possibility that consciousness can function even when the brain is offline.
  • In the end, Reynolds' story is just an anecdote. And in fact, that's the problem with all the studies of near-death experiences.
    • Gary Patton
       
      Jesus Followers, however, can listen to what the person reports re their so-called after-death experience and evaluate it against what the Bible tells us.
  • ...20 more annotations...
  • it seems that these people have a different sort of brain," Beauregard says in his soft French accent. "It's like there's a shift in their brain, and this shift will allow these people to stay in touch with the spiritual world more easily, on a daily basis."
  • "It's like the near-death experience triggered something at a neural level in the brain," he said. "And perhaps this change, in terms of brain activity, is sort of permanent."
  • Their brains in the spiritual state look a lot like those of Catholic nuns and Buddhist monks who have spent tens of thousands of hours in prayer and meditation. Both groups showed extremely slow brain wave activity
  • The researchers also saw significant changes in brain regions associated with positive emotions, attention and personal boundaries, as subjects who had had near-death experiences lost their sense of their physical bodies and merged with God or the "light."
  • Skeptic Woerlee says there's nothing remarkable — and certainly nothing spiritual — about these findings.
  • It's brain chemistry, he says, not a trip to heaven.
  • n other words, Woerlee a
  • nd Beauregard looked at the same images and came to opposite conclusions.
  • It was about that time that Reynolds believes she noticed a tunnel and bright light.
  • "She is as deeply comatose as you can be and still be alive,"
  • She says she found herself looking down at the operating table.
  • During her near-death experience, she says she chatted with her dead grandmother and uncle, who escorted her back to the operating room.
  • My uncle pushed me," she says, laughing.
  • "From a scientific perspective," he says, "I have absolutely no explanation about how it could have happened."
  • Spetzler did not check out all the details, but Michael Sabom did. Sabom is a cardiologist in Atlanta who was researching near-death experiences.
  • what she said happened to her is actually what Spetzler did with her out in Arizona
  • How, Sabom wonders, could she know these things?
  • "She could not have heard [it], because of what they did to her ears," he says. "In addition, both of her eyes were taped shut, so she couldn't open her eyes and see what was going on. So her physical sensory perception was off the table."
  • That's preposterous, says anesthesiologist Gerald Woerlee. "This report provides absolutely no evidence for survival of any sort of consciousness outside the body during near-death experiences or any other such experiences," he says.
  • Woerlee, an Australian researcher and near-death experience debunker who has investigated Reynolds' case, says what happened to her is easy to explain.
Gary Patton

Apologetics is not about "Defending the Faith." | Pathways International - 1 views

  • The theological field of apologetics is lauded by most and feared by few.  Great strides have been taken by the church to raise up “defenders of the faith.”  Debating others in public on the veracity of Christianity is a spectator sport that rivals all others.
  • I can remember my youth in Christ, and how my brain turned to sponge.  Soaking up every theory, every angle, and every point of view regarding the faith, I too wanted to nail it down so as to defend my position.
  • I read everything I could get my hands on and considered every opinion under the sun.  I also read from those who directly challenged my religion; atheists, agnostics, deists, scientists, and the various writings from those christians would call “the cults.”
  • ...8 more annotations...
  • ly and confrontationally, sparring with them in a sense to see if I had weaknesses in my theological construct.
  • But, deep down in my immaturity, I wanted and needed to be right.
    • Gary Patton
       
      "Purposefully", I can agree with. The rest ...not so much because the attitude it implies seems to conflict with 1 Peter 3:15-17.
  • My love for apologetics had turned to lust.  I had exchanged Christ, my Hope, for the fallacy of “faith defending.”
    • Gary Patton
       
      Being human and full of flesh, still, I suspect most of us would say about ourselves re the things the authour used to do ...not just on this point: "This is still me when I'm not careful to "walk in the Spirit"! (Galatians 5:16 & 25-26).
  • Personally, I count that time in my apologetic walk as adulterous and Idolatrous.  Where I sought to defend the faith, I was, in many cases defaming Jesus name.  If any of this strikes a chord with you, stop for a moment and ask the Lord for wisdom, then read the rest.
    • Gary Patton
       
      WOW! (Words Of Wisdom)
  • efending the hope within us,” 1 Peter 3:15, to “defending the faith,” our stance, and our pet doctrines.
  • Somewhere along the way, the church went from “
  • I dare say that if any of us had to give a defense of our faith, we could  at least give it a decent showing.  I wonder though, how many could give a solid defense for the HOPE within them.
  • I would ask the same, “What is your hope?”
    • Gary Patton
       
      This a powerful question that Holy Spirit will use in a convicting way for some of us.
Gary Patton

Congo's Chaotic Past - 0 views

  • Although the Congo has vast mineral resources and tremendous agricultural potential, it is one of the poorest counties in the world.
  • The Congo’s fertile fields and tropical forests cover an area larger than the combined areas of California, Oregon, Montana, Colorado, New Mexico and Texas. The Congo is rich in diamonds, gold, copper, uranium and other precious metals. The huge Congo River has the potential to generate enough hydroelectric power to provide all the electrical needs of the entire continent.
  • Literally millions of Congolese have been massacred, often by the very soldiers and police who were meant to be protecting them.
  • ...15 more annotations...
  • Immediately after independence in the 1960’s tens of thousands of Christians and hundreds of missionaries were martyred, particularly in the Communist Simba rebellion of 1964.
  • Documenting the human rights abuses and persecution of Christians in the Congo can be overwhelming.
  • forces from Communist
  • Soon the armies of eight other nations were embroiled in the conflict in the Congo.
  • corruption has continued to cripple the country,
    • Gary Patton
       
      For the opposite perspective, see the research article, "Economic growth with endogenous corruption: an empirical study" by Mushfiq Swaleheen of Florida Gulf Coast University (http://diigo.com/0ln18). In it he postulates that a measure of corruption in deeply corrupt countries such as Congo actually enhances economic growth ...perhaps by helping companies sidestep onerous rules. But that's only at the extreme; for a country with average endemic corruption, a one-standard-deviation increase in corrupt incidences depresses per-capita GDP growth by 0.12 percentage points, he has found. gfp
  • the Christian church has emerged as the only viable national structure to survive the general social, political and economic collapse of the country. The growth of the church in the Congo over the last century has been dramatic. The number of Christians in the Congo has grown from 1.4% of the total population in 1900 to over 90% professing Christianity today.
    • Gary Patton
       
      Sicne Jesus went back to heaven, His "Body on earth", "The Church" has continued to thrive best when persecuted. The Congo is typical. So are Canada & the U.S where the Body has become flacid and is disappearing ...down to less than 3% by some estimates. gfp
    • Gary Patton
       
      Since Jesus went back to heaven, His "Body on earth", "The Church", has continued to thrive best when persecuted. The Congo is typical. So are Canada & the U.S typical of what happens to the Body without real persecution. It has become flacid and is disappearing ...down to less than 3% by some estimates. gfp
    • Gary Patton
       
      1 Chron. 16:24-25 is a powerful Scripture regarding God's glory & my role in proclaiming it that I have quoted in my Spiritual Mission Statement.
  • 1 Chronicles 16:24 – 25
    • Gary Patton
       
      is a powerful Scripture regarding God's glory & my role in proclaiming it that I have quoted in my Spiritual Mission Statement.
  • Estimates exceed a million AIDS and war orphans.
  • Just about the only functioning schools are church run. The Catholics have dominated the education field, but Protestants are increasingly striving to rise to the challenge as well.
  • There is a famine of Christian literature and an intense hunger for Christian books.
  • Many nominal Christians have no clear grasp of repentance and faith in Christ. Animism, witchcraft and syncretism are also major problems. The vast swamp lands north east of Kinshasa include many communities which have never been effectively evangelized. The half a million Swahili speaking Muslims need to be reached with the Gospel. Despite the Muslims mounting considerable efforts to spread Islam in the Congo, very little has been done to try to reach Muslims for Christ.
  • Despite the small Pygmy peoples of the Congo rain forests being despised and abused by the Congolese, there has been a tremendous turning to Christ amongst them. Nominally 30% of the Pygmies claim to be Christian.
  • Much of the country needs to be re-evangelized.
  • The “Democratic Republic of the Congo”, in its 46 years of independence from Belgium, has never been a democracy.
    • Gary Patton
       
      The Congo's past may soon be duplicated by numerous new, allegedly democratic nations that are merging in the Middle East following the so-called "2011 Arab Spring" i.e. Tunisia, Egypt, Syria and Yemen for starters. Democracy has never flourished, or even survived, when radical Islamists can gain control of a country & implement Islamic Sharia Law. Even the perdominately Muslim people of the previously relatively-free and secular Turkey have handed control of their country over to an Islamist dominated government in 2011. gfp
  •  
    Here's how God arranged to effect from communist chaos to Christ in the Congo. gfp (2011-10)
Gary Patton

"Doctrine of Retrobation" - Bible Gateway - 0 views

  • So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He (B)hardens whom He desires.
    • Gary Patton
       
      Briefly, the doctrine of predestination teaches that God, in his sovereignty, elects those who will receive the benefits of salvation and eternal life in Jesus Christ and passes over the rest, who by their sin and rebellion against the holy commands of God, will be sentenced to eternal damnation. This key verse, 18, in the context of the whole passage, seems to many Jesus Followers, to be the other side of the coin from Predestination of "the 'Elect of God" i.e. Predestination of those "not elected". Some Christian theologians call the exercise of God's sovereignty by Him in pre-deciding who will, and, therefore who will not, spend eternity with Him in His Kingdom, "Double Predestination". In using this term, they refer mainly to Romans 8:29-30 in the context of a passage about God's love at http://diigo.com/0lc07 . The reason some add the adjective 'double' to the doctrine of Predestination is because God's 'choosing' or 'election' of some individuals includes His 'non-election' of others ...by definition they say. These Christians also, and harshly some say, call the doctrine of 'non-election' the "Doctrine of Divine Reprobation" (God passing over the reprobate*). Those who use the term argue that, given the eternal consequences of not choosing the Gospel of Jesus (also called Yeshua), a clear warning is crucial to help people better understand the consequences of spending eternity separated from God. Divine Reprobation according to this theology's supporters seems to be Biblical based on the following passages besides this one in context: * Matthew 11:25-26; * Romans 9:17-22; * 2 Timothy 2:19-20; * Jude 4; * 1 Peter 2:8. So Biblically speaking, they argue, anyone who rejects the doctrine that God 'dis-elects' the reprobate has a problem explaining the above passages in Scripture in any other context. * 'Reprobate' is both a noun and a verb. "A reprobate" is an evil person. "To reprobate" is to "condemn to damnation" as explained in the dict
  • For (E)who resists His will?
    • Gary Patton
       
      There are generally "Two Views of Onus in Human Salvation" as I understand the theology of Christian salvation. (For me, theology is simply "what a person believes about God.) Some argue that because God is omniscient*, He knew before the beginning of time who would choose to believe in The Gospel Of Jesus (Yeshua) at all points in the future, He elects them for salvation and empowers their salvation by giving them the faith to do so. Those who follow "reformed theology" reject this theorem because, they say, it denies God's absolute sovereignty and puts the control in salvation in a wo(man)'s choice and hands. (Some call this latter theory re the preeminence of man in salvation "Armenianism".) However, others argue that Romans 3:11 seems to clearly say that "no one seeks God" of their own will. Therefore, some folks believe that anyone who becomes saved does so only because of God's loving grace for that person. God chooses for His own sovereign reasons to gracefully gift those the New Covenant (Testament) calls "the elect" with the faith they need to be saved. Only this way will we choose to believe the Gospel of Jesus and follow Him. In the opinion of some Jesus Followers, it is not our desire that is the onus in salvation and long-term destiny according to Ephesians 2:8-10 at http://diigo.com/0n20e .
  • Romans 9:17-22
    • Gary Patton
       
      The Lost Are Truly Lost ...But Are The Damned Truly Damned? Romans 9:17-18 and 21-22 in the context of the whole passage is the other side of the coin from Predestination of the 'Elect' i.e. Predestination of those "not elected". gfp (2011-11-21)
  •  
    Romans 9:17-18 and 21-22 in the context of the whole passage is the other side of the coin from Predestination of the 'Elect' i.e. Predestination of those "not elected". gfp (2011-11-21)
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