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Showing posts from February, 2012

Talk to the Animals

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It’s amazing how heresy hunters will fault-find the silliest little things. A few months ago while John Crowder was speaking at a conference in England, a group stood outside protesting various things he has said and done. One thing they didn’t like was John encouraging people to talk to animals. The protesters apparently forgot about Balaam and his donkey in Numbers 22. In verse 30 of that chapter, the donkey talked back. Scandalous! One could assume the animals in the Garden of Eden talked before the fall of man. After all, Eve conversed with the serpent in Genesis 3. Some people might also think of birds that talk today like parrots and mynas. But these creatures simply mimic words taught to them.  There are animals in heaven. Some people believe they will see their deceased pets there. Of course, that is open to speculation.  Nevertheless, the Book of Revelation mentions Jesus and His saints riding to earth on white horses and also describes beings that don't exist on earth

The Greatest Love of All

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Last weekend on the day before the 54 th annual Grammy Awards, Whitney Houston died unexpectedly at the age of 48. Although I was never a fan of the singer, her death sort of hit home since she was only a few months older than me plus I had played Whitney’s records while working as a disc jockey in nightclubs and roller rinks. One of Whitney’s biggest hits was “The Greatest Love of All”, which talks about self-love.  The second verse of that song goes like this… Everybody's searching for a hero People need someone to look up to I never found anyone who fulfilled my needs A lonely place to be So I learned to depend on me  A Christian could easily find fault with the lyrics above. 2 Timothy 3:1-4 warns us that in the last days, “men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money… lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.” On the other hand, Jesus commanded us in Mark 12:31, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  People cannot truly love others if

Lengthen Your Life

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George Beverly Shea, who sang at Billy Graham's gospel crusades for more than 60 years, turned 103 years old this past Wednesday. Shea was quoted as saying that his secret to long life is “the Lord, a good wife, and coffee.” That’s good advice! People have questioned how the earliest patriarchs in the bible lived for hundreds of years. I’ve heard a couple possible explanations. One is that the atmosphere changed after Noah’s flood, which allowed for more of the sun’s ultraviolet rays to affect life on earth. Other ministers have suggested men speaking negative words have shortened lives. Proverbs 18:21 says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.” Nevertheless, believers who know their authority in Christ can live long lives if they desire to. Psalm 90:10 says we can claim a lifespan of at least seventy or eighty years. Genesis 6:3 has been interpreted to mean that men could live for up to 120 years. Despite that, many Christians including ministers have died at