Healthy Futures for Women

I came across this blog that seems very interesting. It's an expose of an abortion clinic in Englewood, Colorado.

Take a look.

Healthy Futures for Women

Philip

Eerdman's Dictionary of the Bible

If you spend much time reading Scripture, you will come across many unfamiliar things, characters and places.

What was manna? What was a Praetorian Guard? What are the different weights and measures used in the Bible? Is dung what I think it is?

For these kinds of questions, a good Bible dictionary comes in handy.

Eerdman's Dictionary of the Bible is one I have been using recently. Specifically, I have been carrying it with me everywhere I go. That’s easy since it’s on my PDA.

I use the Olive Tree Bible reader. While I am reading, it is easy to tap on a word and the dictionary definition pops up. My question is answered immediately and I can go on reading with better understanding.

Eerdman's Dictionary of the Bible was published in 2000. The print edition is 1425 pages and weighs several pounds. Try carrying that in your pocket. There are close to 5000 articles written by nearly 600 authors. Almost every conceivable topic is covered.

One of the things that I really like about my PDA and the Olive Tree Bible reader is that so much easily accessible information is in my hand. I love having questions answered as they arise. I have a hard time continuing reading something if I do not understand the details. It’s rare anymore for that to happen thanks to good tools.

Here are some links for these great resources.

Eerdman's Dictionary of the Bible

Olive Tree

Philip

A Warning to Leaders

A WORD FROM GOD

Now when I went into the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah, son of Mehetabel, who was confined to his home, he said, "Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple. Let us close the doors of the temple, for they are coming to kill you. They are coming to kill you by night." But I said, "Should such a man as I run away? And what man such as I could go into the temple and live? I will not go in." And I understood and saw that God had not sent him, but he had pronounced the prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. For this purpose he was hired, that I should be afraid and act in this way and sin, and so they could give me a bad name in order to taunt me.
Nehemiah 6:10-13

Shemaiah was a false prophet who was hired by the enemies of Nehemiah. His objective was to make Nehemiah afraid so he would hide in the temple. If he had gone into the temple, he would have disobeyed God.

Nehemiah was rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. He led a fearful, demoralized group of people and had many enemies. After much opposition, they finished the wall and only the doors on the gates remained to be set. The end was in sight.

His enemies tried to lure him away so they could harm him. He refused to meet with them despite their perseverance. Next, they sent out false reports about him. Finally, they hired Shemaiah. Nehemiah must have trusted Shemaiah because he met with him in private.

Here are the lessons I see in this. When God gives us a job to do there will be many obstacles. The job may seem impossible. The people who are to help us may need a lot of motivation and leadership. Fear and discouragement will come.

The enemy will attack us personally. Can he get us alone? Will rumors and attacks on our character work?

Attacks will come through other people we respect and trust. They may try to make us afraid but fear does not come from God. Does their advice line up with the clear commands from God? If not, reject it. If Nehemiah had gone in the temple, the people he was leading would have noticed his disobedience. His fear would have undermined their courage and his sin would have undermined the blessing from God.

Another thing to notice was how close they were to finishing the task. It was all done except for the gates. How many times do we give up when so close to victory? Ponder this quote:

When you feel you cannot continue in your position for another minute, and all that is in human power has been done, that is the moment when the enemy is most exhausted, and when one step forward will give you the fruits of the struggle you have borne.
Sir Winston Churchill

I heard something last night that fits with this: Pray for a strong back rather than a lighter load.

Summary:
What has God shown you to do?
Watch out for other people.
Watch out for bad advice that opposes God's Word.
Watch out for fear.
Be obedient.
Don’t give up.

Philip

Amendment 50 – Colorado

Shall we turn Central City, Black Hawk and Cripple Creek into Las Vegas? That's what this one is really about.

Casino owners are complaining that revenue is down. The solution? Raise the bet limit from $5 to $100, leave the casinos open 24 hours a day instead of closing from 2:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. and add other games of chance. The towns would have to vote to approve the changes but that's pretty much a done deal as the casinos really own the towns.

There are a few other perks for the casino owners in the amendment too.

We let the camels nose in the tent when casino gambling first came to Colorado. Now we are on the edge of getting the whole thing. The only real beneficiaries will be the casino owners. The people of Colorado will end up paying a lot more as we absorb the costs of the resulting societal damage.

I really dislike the advertising for this amendment. It's disguised as help for Community Colleges. Worse still is the coalition of Community Colleges who support it because they will get a piece of the pie; they sell-out for the almighty dollar. They are the Judas goat incarnate.

It’s too bad that so many people will be fooled by the promoters of this amendment. If it passes, all of Colorado will suffer for the greed of a few.

Another subject for me is the damage that gambling has done to Central City. My dad was born in the town of Russell Gulch in 1913. It’s about 2 miles southwest of Central City. I have many childhood memories of visiting that ghost town and it’s abandoned mines and then going into Central City after. We would eat and visit various places around town. It was a struggling town before casino gambling but now because of casino gambling it’s been completely changed for the worse. If Amendment 50 passes, I’m sure that the final blow for this historic town will come.

Philip