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A majority of Americans believe the country would be better off if people followed the teachings of the Bible over the Koran, the Muslim holy book. Lifeway Research interviewed 1,000 Americans to learn their opinions about the Bible and Koran. The results are a bit shocking. Questioners asked interviewees if they considered the text of each book to be dangerous, and if it would be helpful, or harmful for American society to follow the teachings of each. Twenty-four percent of Americans considered the Koran to be a dangerous book, and only 9 percent felt that way about the Bible. Eighty...

How do you know that you really get the gospel, that you really understand and believe it? Or perhaps better said, how do you know that the gospel has really gotten you, that it has taken hold of you and begun to permanently transform you? I found myself pondering this question last week and was soon thinking about people I have known who once professed faith, but who eventually grew cold, grew distant, and fell away. If you have been a Christian for any length of time, you, too, have known people like this. Over time it became clear that...

November 9, 2015 Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome Reading 1 Ez 47:1-2, 8-9, 12 The angel brought meback to the entrance of the temple,and I saw water flowing outfrom beneath the threshold of the temple toward the east,for the facade of the temple was toward the east;the water flowed down from the southern side of the temple,south of the altar.He led me outside by the north gate,and around to the outer gate facing the east,where I saw water trickling from the southern side.He said to me,"This water flows into the eastern district down upon...

November 8, 2015 Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time Reading 1 1 Kgs 17:10-16 In those days, Elijah the prophet went to Zarephath.As he arrived at the entrance of the city,a widow was gathering sticks there; he called out to her,"Please bring me a small cupful of water to drink." She left to get it, and he called out after her,"Please bring along a bit of bread." She answered, "As the LORD, your God, lives,I have nothing baked; there is only a handful of flour in my jarand a little oil in my jug. Just now I was collecting a...

November 7, 2015 Saturday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Rom 16:3-9, 16, 22-27 Brothers and sisters:Greet Prisca and Aquila, my co-workers in Christ Jesus,who risked their necks for my life,to whom not only I am grateful but also all the churches of the Gentiles;greet also the Church at their house.Greet my beloved Epaenetus,who was the firstfruits in Asia for Christ.Greet Mary, who has worked hard for you.Greet Andronicus and Junia,my relatives and my fellow prisoners;they are prominent among the Apostlesand they were in Christ before me.Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord.Greet Urbanus, our co-worker...

November 6, 2015 Friday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Rom 15:14-21 I myself am convinced about you, my brothers and sisters,that you yourselves are full of goodness,filled with all knowledge, and able to admonish one another.But I have written to you rather boldly in some respects to remind you,because of the grace given me by Godto be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentilesin performing the priestly service of the Gospel of God,so that the offering up of the Gentiles may be acceptable,sanctified by the Holy Spirit.In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to...

"Fear God and keep His commandments" (Ecclesiastes 12:13). Living life apart from God is futile. The Book of Ecclesiastes is greatly misunderstood. It is a difficult book to read simply because it is hard to understand. Everything in it appears wrong and as if it doesn't fit with the rest of Scripture. But it is part of the Old Testament wisdom literature because it is a statement of human wisdom. Ecclesiastes tells us how man perceives his world, God, and the realities of life. Most scholars believe Ecclesiastes was penned by Solomon. They debate whether he wrote it before he...

"By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible." God's greatest truths are discovered by simple faith. As a man or woman of faith, you have insights into life that unbelievers can't know. You know how the physical universe began, where it is heading, and how it will end. You know Who governs the universe and how you fit into the total scheme of things. You know why you exist and how to invest your life in matters of eternal consequence....

The two great heresies that have plagued the church on the issue of sanctification for centuries are the heresies of activism and quietism. The twin distortions are guilty of eliminating one or the other pole of the paradox. In activism, God's working is swallowed up by human self-righteousness. In quietism, the human struggle is swallowed up by an automatic divine process. Activism is the creed of the self-righteous person. He has no need of divine assistance to achieve perfection. Grace is held in contempt, a remedy needed only by weak people. The activist can lift himself up by his own...

November 5, 2015 Thursday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Rom 14:7-12 Brothers and sisters:None of us lives for oneself, and no one dies for oneself.For if we live, we live for the Lord,and if we die, we die for the Lord;so then, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.For this is why Christ died and came to life,that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.Why then do you judge your brother or sister?Or you, why do you look down on your brother or sister?For we shall all stand before...

"Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom" (James 3:13). Wisdom teaches us how to handle adversity. In his wonderful commentary on the book of James, Robert Johnstone wrote the following about meekness: That "the meek" should "inherit the earth"-that they bear wrongs, and exemplify the love which "seeketh not her own"-to a world that believes in high-handedness and self-assertion, and pushing the weakest to the wall, a statement like this of the Lord from Heaven cannot but appear an utter paradox. The man of the world...

"By [faith] the men of old gained approval" (Heb. 11:2). God makes His approval known to those who trust in Him. The book Catch-22 tells of a squadron of World War II fliers stationed on the fictitious island of Pianos in the Mediterranean. Before a flier could transfer off the island, he had to complete 25 extremely dangerous missions over southern Europe. One flier, Yosarian, was especially anxious to leave. After completing his twenty-fifth mission, his commanding officer began raising the number of qualifying missions. Insanity became the only justification for a transfer. But the commander decided that whomever feigned...

November 4, 2015 Memorial of Saint Charles Borromeo, Bishop Reading 1 Rom 13:8-10 Brothers and sisters:Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another;for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.The commandments, You shall not commit adultery;you shall not kill;you shall not steal;you shall not covet,and whatever other commandment there may be,are summed up in this saying, namely,You shall love your neighbor as yourself.Love does no evil to the neighbor;hence, love is the fulfillment of the law. Responsorial Psalm PS 112:1b-2, 4-5, 9 R. ( 5a) Blessed the man who is gracious and lends to those in...

"Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom" (James 3:13). A wise person is a gentle person. A believer will demonstrate that he possesses the wisdom of God not only by his behavior, but also by his attitude. True wisdom is characterized by gentleness and is the opposite of self-promotion and arrogance. Gentleness is the trait that characterized our Lord. In Matthew 11:29 He says, "Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart." It is also a trait...

"Faith is . . . the conviction of things not seen" (Heb. 11:1). True faith goes beyond assurance to action. When the writer said, "Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen", he used two parallel and almost identical phrases to define faith. We've seen that faith is the assurance that all God's promises will come to pass in His time. "The conviction of things not seen" takes the same truth a step further by implying a response to what we believe and are assured of. James addressed the issue this way: "Someone may...

***According to him, liberalism for believers is as dangerous as communismMoscow, November 2, Interfax - Head of the charitable organization Samaritan's Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, Franklin Graham is concerned that Americans abandon Christian norms of morality. "Americans ruled God out of their lives," Graham said at his meeting with Chief Rabbi of Russia Berel Lazar in Moscow, the rabbi's press service reports on Monday. Graham said that he was also concerned that his compatriots abandoned biblical moral principles under pressure of secularists. According to him, earlier many westerners worried that "the world will become atheistic under communist...

November 3, 2015 Tuesday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Rom 12:5-16ab Brothers and sisters:We, though many, are one Body in Christand individually parts of one another.Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us,let us exercise them:if prophecy, in proportion to the faith;if ministry, in ministering;if one is a teacher, in teaching;if one exhorts, in exhortation;if one contributes, in generosity;if one is over others, with diligence;if one does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness. Let love be sincere;hate what is evil,hold on to what is good;love one another with mutual affection;anticipate one...

If you are not a Christian or do not consider yourself a Christian stop reading. This doesn't apply to you. But if you ARE a Christian or consider yourself a Christian please think about this. Most Christians who observe Halloween see it as harmless. But the real question is "What would Jesus do?". When we apply our modern standards to biblical truth it looks ridiculous. And that's the intent of the following...to show how ridiculous it is for Christians to keep Halloween. It's humorous but I guarantee it will make some of you angry. If it DOES make you angry...

November 2, 2015 The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed(All Souls) The following are a selection of the readings that may be chosen for this day. Reading 1 Wis 3:1-9 The souls of the just are in the hand of God,and no torment shall touch them.They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead;and their passing away was thought an afflictionand their going forth from us, utter destruction.But they are in peace.For if before men, indeed, they be punished,yet is their hope full of immortality;chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed,because God tried themand found them...

"Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom" (James 3:13). Wisdom is the art of living life skillfully. Most philosophers throughout history have believed that if a person could acquire anything, it should be wisdom, because wisdom would allow him to obtain anything else. That philosophy matches Scripture. Proverbs 4:7 says, "Acquire wisdom; and with all your acquiring, get understanding." Many people claim to be wise, but it's also true that no fool in our world is a self-confessed fool - everyone believes he's an expert. The...