A Healthy Church Member is a Biblical Theologian

A Healthy Church Member is a Biblical Theologian
"Ignorance of God—ignorance both of His ways and of the practice of communion with Him—lies at the root of the church's weakness today." That's how J. I. Packer began the 1973 preface to his classic volume Knowing God. Packer reasoned that one trend producing such ignorance of God and weakness in the church was "that Christian minds have been conformed to the modern spirit: the spirit, that is, that spawns great thoughts of man and leaves room for only small thoughts of God."
Sadly, Packer's observation rings true more than three decades later. Ignorance of the ways of God and of communion with him is rampant in too many instances. Members of Christian churches continue to think small thoughts of God and great thoughts of man. This state of affairs reveals that too many Christians have neglected their first great calling: to know their God. Every Christian is meant to be a theologian in the best and most intimate sense of the word. If churches are to prosper in health, church members must be committed to being biblical theologians in whatever capacity they can. This is the second mark of a healthy church member.

if you love taxes you will love this.

We cannot expect the Americans to jump from Capitalism to
Communism, but we can assist their elected leaders in giving
Americans small doses of Socialism until they suddenly awake
to find they have Communism." ~ Soviet Leader Nikita
Khrushchev, 1959

A TAX POEM


At first I thought this was funny..then I realized the awful
truth of
it. Be sure to read all the way to the end!



Tax his land,
Tax his bed,
Tax the table
At which he's fed.


Tax his tractor,
Tax his mule,
Teach him taxes
Are the rule.


Tax his work,
Tax his pay,
He works for peanuts Anyway!


Tax his cow,
Tax his goat,
Tax his pants,
Tax his coat.


Tax his ties,
Tax his shirt,
Tax his work,
Tax his dirt..


Tax his tobacco,
Tax his drink,
Tax him if he
Tries to think.


Tax his cigars,
Tax his beers,
If he cries
Tax his tears.


Tax all he has
Then let him know
That you won't be done
Till he has no dough.


When he screams and hollers,
Then tax him some more,
Tax him till
He's good and sore.


Then tax his coffin,
Tax his grave,
Tax the sod in
Which he's laid.


Put these words
upon his tomb,
' Taxes drove me to my doom...'


When he's gone,
Do not relax,
Its time to apply
The inheritance tax.


Accounts Receivable Tax
Building Permit Tax
CDL license Tax
Cigarette Tax
Corporate Income Tax
Dog License Tax
Excise Taxes
Federal Income Tax
Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)
Fishing License Tax
Food License Tax
Fuel Permit Tax
Gasoline Tax (42 cents per gallon)
Gross Receipts Tax
Hunting License Tax
Inheritance Tax
Inventory Tax
IRS Interest Charges IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
Liquor Tax
Luxury Taxes
Marriage License Tax
Medicare Tax
Personal Property Tax
Property Tax
Real Estate Tax
Service Charge Tax
Social Security Tax
Road Usage Tax
Sales Tax
Recreational Vehicle Tax
School Tax
State Income Tax
State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)
Telephone Federal Excise Tax
Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Tax
Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Taxes
Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax
Telephone Recurring and Non-recurring Charges Tax
Telephone State and Local Tax
Telephone Usage Charge Tax
Utility Taxes
Vehicle License Registration Tax
Vehicle Sales Tax
Watercraft Registration Tax
Well Permit Tax
Workers Compensation Tax


STILL THINK THIS IS FUNNY?


Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago, and our
nation was
the most prosperous in the world..


We had absolutely no national debt, had the largest
middle class in the world, and Mom stayed home to raise the
kids.


What in the world happened? Can you spell 'politicians!'
And I still have to 'press 1' for English!?!?!?!?


I hope this goes around THE USA at least 100 times!!!!!
YOU can help it get there!!!!

GO AHEAD - - - BE AN AMERICAN !!!!!!

WE SPEAK ENGLISH IN AMERICA!!!

Senator Barack Obama recently told a campaign audience that instead of worrying about immigrants learning English, Americans “need to make sure your child speaks Spanish.”

We disagree! While it is clearly an advantage to speak a foreign language in today’s world, Americans have good reason to be worried about the growing numbers of immigrants who refuse to learn English.

One reason they aren’t learning English is that our government has completely changed its policy to one of providing a growing number of services in foreign languages. That destroys one of the biggest incentives immigrants have to learn English.

Throughout our history Americans have expected immigrants to learn English and assimilate. And generations of immigrants have worked hard to learn our common language, English, and become full-fledged Americans. But today official multilingualism threatens to destroy our great American ‘melting pot’ that enabled us to forge one nation out of millions of immigrants from all over the world.

The U.S. is one of the few countries in the world without an official language. A 2006 Rasmussen poll found 85 percent of all Americans,including large majorities of every ethnic group, favor making English the official language.

EXSERTS FOR PRO-ENGLISH WEBSITE.http://www.proenglish.org/

Obama’s Unwed Mom Pregnant at 17

Before Democrats question the moral turpitude of Sarah Palin’s 17-year-old unmarried daughter following the announcement that she’s pregnant, they might note that Barack Obama’s mother was an unwed 17-year-old when she conceived him.

Barack’s Kansas-born mom Ann Dunham married his Kenyan father Barack Obama Sr. on Feb. 2, 1961. Since Barack Obama was born on Aug. 4, 1961, he was conceived before his mother’s 18th birthday on Nov. 29, 1960.

Amanda Ripley reported in Time magazine: “On Feb. 2, 1961, several months after they met, Obama's parents got married in Maui, according to divorce records. It was a Thursday. At that point, Ann was three months pregnant with Barack Obama II . . .

“The motivations behind the marriage remain a mystery, even to Obama. ‘I never probed my mother about the details. Did they decide to get married because she was already pregnant? Or did he propose to her in the traditional, formal way?’ Obama wonders. ‘I suppose, had she not passed away, I would have asked more.’”

Barack Obama Sr. left Ann and their son in 1963, and she married Lolo Soetoro, the presidential candidate’s stepfather, in 1967.

Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin said on Monday that her 17-year-old unmarried daughter Bristol was five months pregnant, and that Bristol would keep her baby and marry the child's father. (From NEWS MAX)

कोउल्ड थिस हप्पें इन अमेरिका?

Dear Editor, Times-Dispatch:

Each year I get to celebrate Independence Day twice.
On June 30 I celebrate my independence day, and on
July 4 I celebrate America 's. This year is special, because
it marks the 40th anniversary of my independence.

On June 30, 1968, I escaped Communist Cuba, and a few
months later, I was in the United States to stay. That
I happened to arrive in Richmond on Thanksgiving Day is
just part of the story, but I digress.

I've thought a lot about the anniversary this
year. The election-year rhetoric has made me think a lot
about Cuba and what transpired there. In the late
1950s, most Cubans thought Cuba needed a change, so
when a young leader came along, every Cuban
was at least receptive.

When the young leader spoke eloquently and
passionately and denounced the old system, the press fell
in love with him. They never questioned who his friends
were or what he really believed in. When he said he would
help the farmers and the poor and bring free medical care
and education to all, everyone followed. When he said he
would bring justice and equality to all, everyone said,
'Praise the Lord.' And when the young leader
said, 'I will be for change and I'll bring you
change,' everyone yelled, 'Viva Fidel!'

But nobody asked about the change, so by the time the
executioner's guns went silent, the people's guns
had been taken away. By the time everyone was equal,
they were equally poor, hungry, and oppressed. By the
time everyone received their free education, it was worth
nothing. By the time the press noticed, it was too late,
because they were now working for him. By the time the
change was finally implemented, Cuba had been knocked
down a couple of notches to Third-World status. By the
time the change was over, more than a million people had
taken to boats, rafts, and inner tubes. You can call
those who made it ashore anywhere else in the world the
most fortunate Cubans. And now I'm back to the
beginning of my story.

Luckily, we in America would never fall for a young
leader who promised change without asking, what change?
How will you carry it out? What will it cost America ?

Would we? औथोर UNKNOWN

GOOD FACTS TO KNOW:

GOOD FACTS TO KNOW:

1. Budweiser beer conditions the hair.
2. Pam cooking spray will dry finger nail polish.
3. Cool whip will condition your hair in 15 minutes.
4. Mayonnaise will KILL LICE, it will also condition your hair.
5. Elmer's Glue - paint on your face, allow it to dry, peel off and see the dead skin and blackheads if any.
6. Shiny Hair - use brewed Lipton Tea.
7. Sunburn - empty a large jar of Nestea into your bath water
8. Minor burn - Colgate or Crest toothpaste.
9. Burn your tongue? Put sugar on it!
10. Arthritis? WD-40 Spray and rub in, kill insect stings too.
11 Bee stings - meat tenderizer.
12. Chigger bite - Preparation H.
13. Puffy eyes - Preparation H.
14. Paper cut - crazy glue or chap stick (glue is used instead of sutures at most hospitals).
15. Stinky feet - Jello!
16. Athletes feet - cornstarch.
17. Fungus on toenails or fingernails - Vicks vapor rub.
18. Kool aid to clean dishwasher pipes. Just put in the detergent section and run a cycle, it will also clean a toilet. (Wow, and we drink this stuff).
19. Kool Aid can be used as a dye in paint also Kool Aid in Dannon plain yogurt as a finger paint, your kids will love it and it won't hurt them if they eat it!
20. Peanut butter - will get scratches out of CD's! Wipe off with a coffee filter paper.
21. Sticking bicycle chain - Pam no-stick cooking spray.
22. Pam will also remove paint, and grease from your hands! (also WD-40) Keep a can in your garage for your hubby.
23. Peanut butter will remove ink from the face of dolls.
24. When the doll clothes are hard to put on, sprinkle with corn starch and watch them slide on.
25. Heavy dandruff - pour on the vinegar!
26. Body paint - Crisco mixed with food coloring. Heat the Crisco in the microwave, pour in to an empty film container and mix with the food color of your choice!
27 Tie Dye T-shirt - mix a solution of Kool Aid in a container, tie a rubber band around a section of the T-shirt and soak.
28. Preserving a newspaper clipping - large bottle of club soda and cup of milk of magnesia , soak for 20 min. and let dry, will last for many years!
29. A Slinky will hold toast and CD's!
30. To keep goggles and glasses from fogging, coat with Colgate toothpaste.
31. Wine stains, pour on the Morton salt and watch it absorb into the salt.
32. To remove wax - Take a paper towel and iron it over the wax stain, it will absorb into the towel.
33. Remove labels off glassware etc. rub with Peanut butter!
34. Baked on food - fill container with water, get a Bounce paper softener and the static from the Bounce towel will cause the baked on food to adhere to it. Soak overnight. Also; you can use 2 Efferdent tablets , soak overnight!
35. Crayon on the wall - Colgate toothpaste and brush it!
36. Dirty grout - Listerine.
37. Stains on clothes - Colgate toothpaste.
38. Grass stains - Karo Syrup.
39. Grease Stains - Coca Cola , it will also remove grease stains from the driveway overnight. We know it will take corrosion from car batteries!
40. Fleas in your carpet? 20 Mule Team Borax- sprinkle and let stand for 24 hours. Maybe this will work if you get them back again.
41. To keep FRESH FLOWERS longer Add a little Clorox , or 2 Bayer aspirin , or just use 7-up instead of water.
42. When you go to buy bread in the grocery store, have you ever wondered which is the freshest, so you 'squeeze' for freshness or softness? Did you know that bread is delivered fresh to the stores five days a week? Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Each day has a different color twist tie.
They are:
Monday = Blue,
Tuesday = Green
Thursday = Red
Friday = White
Saturday = Yellow
So if today was Thursday, you would want red twist tie; not white which is Fridays (almost a week old)! The colors go alphabetically by color Blue- Green - Red - White - Yellow, Monday through Saturday. Very easy to remember. I thought this was interesting. I looked in the grocery store and the bread wrappers DO have different twist ties, and even the ones with the plastic clips have different colors. You learn something new everyday! Enjoy fresh bread when you buy bread with the right color on the day you are shopping.

Don't forget Gatorade for Migraine Headaches. Power Ade won't work. Pass this information on to friends so they can be informed.

CHANGE

his is very well written and I recommend everyone take a little

Time to read this entire write-up. You won't be disappointed!

Dear Friends: My name is Joe Porter. I live in Champaign, Illinois. I'm 46 years old, a born-again Christian, a husband, a father, a small business owner, a veteran, and a homeowner. I don't considerable myself to be either conservative or liberal, and I vote for the person, not Republican or Democrat. I don't believe there are 'two Americas' - but that every person in this country can be whomever and whatever they want to be if they'll just work to get there - and nowhere else on earth can they find such opportunities. I believe our government should help those who are legitimately downtrodden, and should always put the interests of America first.

The purpose of this message is that I'm concerned about the future of this great nation. I'm worried that the silent majority of honest, hard-working, tax-paying people in this country have been passive for too long. Most folks I know choose not to involve themselves in politics. They go about their daily lives, paying their bills, raising their kids, and doing what they can to maintain the good life. They vote and consider doing so to be a sacred trust. They shake their heads at the political pundits and so-called 'news', thinking that what they hear is always spun by whomever is reporting it. They can't understand how elected officials can regularly violate the public trust with pork barrel spending. They don't want government handouts. They want the government to protect them, not raise their taxes for more government programs.

We are in the unique position in this country of electing our leaders. It's a privilege to do so. I've never found a candidate in any election with whom I agreed on everything. I'll wager that most of us don't even agree with our families or spouses 100% of the time. So when I step into that voting booth, I always try to look at the big picture and cast my vote for the man or woman who is best qualified for the job. I've hired a lot of people in my lifetime, and essentially that's what an election is - a hiring process. Who has the credentials? Whom do I want working for me? Whom can I trust to do the job right?

I'm concerned that a growing number of voters in this country simply don't get it. They are caught up in a fervor they can't explain, and calling it 'change'.

Change what?, I ask. Well, we're going to change America, they say.

In what way?, I query. We want someone new and fresh in the White House, they exclaim.

So, someone who's not a politician?, I press.

Uh, well, no, we just want a lot of stuff changed, so we're voting for Obama, they state.

So the current system, the system of freedom and democracy that has enabled a ma n to grow up in this great country, get a fine education, raise incredible amounts of money and dominate the news and win his party's nomination for the White House - that system's all wrong?

No, no, that part of the system's okay - we just need a lot of change.

And so it goes. 'Change we can believe in.' Quite frankly, I don't believe that vague proclamations of change hold any promise for me. In recent months, I've been asking virtually everyone I encounter how they're voting. I live in Illinois, so most folks tell me they're voting for Barack Obama. But no one can really tell me why - only that he's going to change a lot of stuff. Change, change, change. I have yet to find one single person who can tell me distinctly and convincingly why this man is qualified to be President and Commander-in-Chief of the most powerful nation on earth - other than the fact that he claims he's going to implement a lot of change.

We've all seen the emails about Obama's genealogy, his upbringing, his Muslim background, and his church affiliations. Let's ignore this for a moment. Put it all aside. Then ask yourself, what qualifies this man to be my president? That he's a brilliant orator and talks about change?

CHANGE WHAT?

Friends, I'll be forthright with you - I believe the American voters who are supporting Barack Obama don't have a clue what they're doing, as evidenced by the fact that not one of them - NOT ONE of them I've spoken to can spell out his qualifications. Not even the most liberal media can explain why he should be elected. Political experience? Negligible. Foreign relations? Non-existent. Achievements? Name one. Someone who wants to unite the country? If you haven't read his wife's thesis from Princeton, look it up on the web. This is who's lining up to be our next First Lady? The only thing I can glean from Obama's constant harping about CHANGE is that we're in for a lot of NEW TAXES.

For me, the choice is clear. I've looked carefully at the two leading applicants for the job, and I've made my choice.

Here's a question - where were you five and a half years ago? Around Christmas, 2002. You've had five or six birthdays in that time. My son has grown from a sixth grade child to a high school graduate. Five and a half years is a good chunk of time. About 2,000 days. 2,000 nights of sleep. 6, 000 meals, give or take.

John McCain spent that amount of time, from 1967 to 1973, in a North Vietnamese prisoner-of-war camp.

When offered early release, he refused it. He considered this offer to be a public relations stunt by his captors, and insisted that those held longer than he should be released first. Did you get that part? He was offered his freedom, and he turned it down. A regimen of beatings and torture began.

Do you possess such strength of character? Locked in a filthy cell in a foreign country, would you turn down your own freedom in favor of your fellow man? I submit that's a quality of character that is rarely found, and for me, this singular act defines John McCain.

Unlike several presidential candidates in recent years whose military service is questionable or non-existent, you will not find anyone to denigrate the integrity and moral courage of this man. A graduate of Annapolis, during his Naval service he received the Silver Star, Bronze Star, Purple Heart and Distinguished Flying Cross. His own son is now serving in the Marine Corps in Iraq. Barack Obama is fond of saying 'We honor John McCain's service...BUT...', which to me is condescending and offensive - because what I hear is, 'Let's forget this man's sacrifice for his country and his proven leadership abilities, and talk some more about change.'

I don't agree with John McCain on everything - but I am utterly convinced that he is qualified to be our next President, and I trust him to do what's right. I know in my heart that he has the best interests of our country in mind. He doesn't simply want to be President - he wants to lead America, and there's a huge difference. Factually, there is simply no comparison between the two candidates. A man of questionable background and motives who prattles on about change can't hold a candle to a man who has devoted his life in public service to this nation, retiring from the Navy in 1981 and elected to the Senate in 1982.

Perhaps Obama's supporters are taking a stance between old and new. Maybe they don't care about McCain's service or his strength of character, or his unblemished qualifications to be President. Maybe 'likeability' is a higher priority for them than 'trust'. Being a prisoner of war is not what qualifies John McCain to be President of the United States of America - but his demonstrated leadership certainly DOES.

Dear friends, it is time for us to stand. It is time for thinking Americans to say, 'Enough.' It is time for people of all parties to stop following the party line. It is time for anyone who wants to keep America first, who wants the right man leading their nation, to start a dialogue with all their friends and neighbors and ask who they're voting for, and why.

There's a lot of evil in this world. That should be readily apparent to all of us by now. And when faced with that evil as we are now, I want a man who knows the cost of war on his troops and on his citizens. I want a man who puts my family's interests before any foreign country.

I want a President who's QUALIFIED to lead. I want my country back !! Not just a word ***CHANGE !