FUNDAMENTALISM versus EVANGELICALISM

I believed in Jesus from the womb so to speak.  I don't remember not believing in Jesus.  I enjoyed attending church and always felt loved there.  So when I attended a "Youth For Christ" rally I felt no need to go forward to make a public declaration.  The message was simple-- John 3:16.  I had memorized this verse at a very young age.  I trusted in Jesus to save me.

When I listened to Billy Graham on the radio or on TV I knew what he was preaching was correct.  But I, like others, wanted in depth teaching from the Bible.  Billy pointed us in the right direction but his message wasn't going to help us defend our faith.

Here is a podcast from Breakpoint where the life and legacy of Graham is discussed. It is about 25 minutes long.  At one point, the difference between fundamentalism and evangelicalism is explained, in relation to Billy Graham. I come out as an evangelical.  Are you one or the other?

BE FRUITFUL AND MULTIPLY

My generation was told that over population was a threat to our survival.  My brother Jay always said, "we are supposed to obey God and be fruitful and multiply."  He was correct.  A book written in 1968 incited worldwide fear of overpopulation. Here is a blog covering the subject. 

BILLY GRAHAM

Today, Feb. 21, 2018, Billy Graham went home to be with the Lord forever.  He was 99.  Here is a blog by Joel Rosenberg about his memories of Billy Graham.  Here is another one by Anne Graham Lotz. Below is a You Tube of Billy telling us how we can have happiness.  Graham finished well.

Timeless Truth - Happiness

WE SHALL BEHOLD HIM

I woke up singing this one today.  I Thessalonians 4:13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord,[d] that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.

I John 3:2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears,[a] we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3 All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.

PAUL HARVEY, REVIVAL IN KOREA, MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF ON YOU TUBE

A good reminder from Paul Harvey

1907 revival in Korea.  South Korean believers are asking God to do it again.

Mosab Hassan Yousef, the son of a Hamas leader, is now a Christian and is speaking out for the Jewish people

FATHER GOD, DELIVER US FROM EVIL

The only answer is Jesus.  I thought of this Psalm today after another school shooting.  God will take vengeance on His enemies:

Psalm 74 English Standard Version (ESV)

Arise, O God, Defend Your Cause

A Maskil[a] of Asaph.

74 O God, why do you cast us off forever?
    Why does your anger smoke against the sheep of your pasture?
2 Remember your congregation, which you have purchased of old,
    which you have redeemed to be the tribe of your heritage!
    Remember Mount Zion, where you have dwelt.
3 Direct your steps to the perpetual ruins;
    the enemy has destroyed everything in the sanctuary!

4 Your foes have roared in the midst of your meeting place;
    they set up their own signs for signs.
5 They were like those who swing axes
    in a forest of trees.[b]
6 And all its carved wood
    they broke down with hatchets and hammers.
7 They set your sanctuary on fire;
    they profaned the dwelling place of your name,
    bringing it down to the ground.
8 They said to themselves, “We will utterly subdue them”;
    they burned all the meeting places of God in the land.

9 We do not see our signs;
    there is no longer any prophet,
    and there is none among us who knows how long.
10 How long, O God, is the foe to scoff?
    Is the enemy to revile your name forever?
11 Why do you hold back your hand, your right hand?
    Take it from the fold of your garment[c] and destroy them!

12 Yet God my King is from of old,
    working salvation in the midst of the earth.
13 You divided the sea by your might;
    you broke the heads of the sea monsters[d] on the waters.
14 You crushed the heads of Leviathan;
    you gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness.
15 You split open springs and brooks;
    you dried up ever-flowing streams.
16 Yours is the day, yours also the night;
    you have established the heavenly lights and the sun.
17 You have fixed all the boundaries of the earth;
    you have made summer and winter.

18 Remember this, O Lord, how the enemy scoffs,
    and a foolish people reviles your name.
19 Do not deliver the soul of your dove to the wild beasts;
    do not forget the life of your poor forever.

20 Have regard for the covenant,
    for the dark places of the land are full of the habitations of violence.
21 Let not the downtrodden turn back in shame;
    let the poor and needy praise your name.

²² Arise, O God, defend your cause;
    remember how the foolish scoff at you all the day!
²³ Do not forget the clamor of your foes,
    the uproar of those who rise against you, which goes up continually!

WHAT CITY WAS ONCE “THE JERUSALEM OF THE EAST?”

Did you know that North Korea was once a country where Christians could meet openly?  Click here to read the rest of the story.

LIGHT READING

Cruisers gather on an island beach in the Sea of Cortez.  Good place to do some reading.

Tracie Peterson has written many historical romance novels.  I have enjoyed reading her  series about the Harvey Girls.  Click here to see the books on Amazon.  I checked all of these out from the library on my Kindle.

Another series, which spans the era of the Pullman planned town, (one of the largest, and most substantial early company towns in the United States was Pullman, developed in the 1880s just outside the Chicago city limits. The town, entirely company-owned, provided housing, markets, a library, churches and entertainment for the 6,000 company employees and an equal number of dependents. Employees were required to live in Pullman, although cheaper rentals could be found in nearby communities), was written by Judith Miller. Click here to see the books on Amazon.  I checked these out from the library on my Kindle.

FOR CHRISTIANS

Grandma and Grandpa lived into their 90's.  They were very social.

I read these blogs today and thought I'd pass them on to you.  

So glad maybe sexual purity is coming back. Click here.

I have been thanking God for another day to make disciples and spread the gospel.  Then I ask God--  how am I supposed to do that?  Here is an article that may be helpful.  Click here.

I thought that this was interesting.  Apparently the people who care about people live longer. Click on the arrow to open the You Tube.