Book Review

The Power of Kingdom Living by Bill Gothard

I am not sure where I got this book from. It odes not have an ISBN ID but can be ordered from the Institute in Basic Life Principles.

This is a short book, only 78 pages. Each chapter focuses on one aspect of the Kingdom of God. The final chapter pulls all of the material together.

I cannot recommend this book to the new or young Christian. They will find it confusing and leading them down a potentially damaging path. To me, the author appears to twist words of scripture to conform to what his view of the Kingdom of God is like.

Here are some of the statements the author makes, with my brief commentary.

“Key Points”

1. “All power has been given to the Lord Jesus Christ.” – True
2. “ Satan was given power to deceive nations.” – A better wording would be, Satan was given power and he uses it to deceive nations.
3. “Every believer is under Satan’s attack.” – True
4. “God has provided His Kingdom as our refuge.” – True
5. “God’s present Kingdom is within us.” – True (in our hearts).
6. “There is great power available in God’s Kingdom.” – True (God’s power is greater than Satan’s)
7. “Satan fights desperately to steal this message.” – Absolutely
8. “With Kingdom authority we can disable Satan.” – This is where the book starts to go wrong.

The author discusses the power of binding and loosing and quote Matthew 18:15-18 to prove his point. However, he is taking the concept of binding and loosing out of context which is regarding church discipline in this case.

The author then says people of the Kingdom of God need to “develop the skill of using the Sword of the Spirit.” The sword of the spirit is the word of God.

This is were the author goes totally bonkers (to use an academic term). According to the author the word “word” is a translation of the Greek word “rehema.” This apparently defines 49 commands of Christ, which are the laws of the Kingdom. We are to use these rhemas to bind Satan and loose his captives.

According to the author, we cannot use just any rhemas, we must us the precise rhema for the situation. We also need to pray in the name of Jesus to use His commands for the basis of our prayers. This is how we bind Satan and loose his captives.

Of course, according to the author, “the most effective place to carry on Kingdom combat is before the throne of grace. Then with the precise rhema, we are able to say to Satan ‘In the might name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and through His victorious blood, we say to you, flee from this person, because it is written…’”

After we disable Satan, we can then deal with the person by praying “Would You send your Holy Spirit to convict this person and five him grace and faith to be delivered from this bondage.”

As you can see it gets a little bizarre. Here are four of the 49 names of Jesus, their corresponding commands and qualities.

Name – Command – Quality
I am Jesus, Emmanuel – Repent – Humility
I am thy Creator and Redeemer – Go the second mile – deference
I am the Great High Priest – Love your enemies – creativity
I am the Vine – Practice secret disciplines – faith

There are 45 more, some just as strange.

Again, I cannot recommend this book to really anyone. From reading this book, I also would be cautious of any material from Bill Gothard or the Institute in Basic Life Principles. Maybe I am wrong and completely missed the point. If so, let me know by leaving a comment.

Next book:
Back to the well known John MacArthur, “God’s High Calling For Women.” A study of 1 Timothy 2:9-15.

08-09 PA State Budget

The Pennsylvania State Budget for July 1st, 2008 through June 30th, 2009 was passed on July 4th, 2008. A few days late as usual. However, all of the other State funded organizations needed to have their budgets adopted before July 1st. This includes school districts. The Rendell Administration is putting a nice spin on it as usual.

One of the quotes is “No increase in taxes”.

No increase in taxes? Sounds great, but wait. I just read in the paper last week that my school taxes will indeed increase by 3.1 mills or about 4%. So I guess there are tax increases. What’s the problem? I’ll tell you.

The Penns Manor Area School District (like all school districts) needed to have their budget adopted before July 1st. School districts around the area were led to believe they were getting an increase of only 1.5%, instead of around the 3% they normally get. Therefore, to cover the shortfall many school districts raised their tax rate.

Now, since the state budget was passed, the school districts find out they are getting 3% instead of the projected 1.5%. So the schools raised their taxes AND are getting more money from the state. Here is how the numbers work out for Penns Manor.

One mill of taxes at Penns Manor generates about $24,411, so an increase of 3.1 mills should generate about $75,674. Penns Manor was expecting about a $103,000 increase in their state basic education funding. Instead they will get an increase of about $206,000 from the state, plus another $75,674 they raised in taxes! That is a difference of about $27,300. Therefore, based upon this data, it is technically possibly that Penns Manor could have actually LOWERED school taxes this year by 1 mill instead of raising it 3.1 mills!

But that won’t happen. We need another way to finance things in PA. Property taxes are not the answer. Ed Rendell does not have the answer. We cannot increase spending each year without increasing taxes and/or borrowing money. Increasing taxes hurt the current economy while increasing borrowing hurts the future economy. Neither is a viable option.

The state (along with the federal and local governments) needs to decrease spending and focus on growing the economy. Heavily taxed economies cannot grow.

Get with the program Ed! But what does he care, he will be out of office soon enough, leaving Pennsylvania a big giant mess. Somehow, though, he will walk away with a nice spin on his administration.

Book Review

God, Satan and Angels
John MacArthur Bible Studies

This Bible study book is derived from a 9 message series MacArthur has on the topic of God, Satan, and Angels.

Each chapter is in an outline form. MacArthur uses scripture throughout this study book, but does not go into a lot of detail explaining the scripture. Instead, he uses the scripture to describe God, Satan, and Angels.

Each chapter starts with an outline, gives a brief introduction and review, then delves into the message. Each chapter ends with a brief conclusion and then has some questions that "focus on the facts" and lets you "ponder the principles."

Overall this was an okay study. I believe, however, that MacArthur develops the topic in his message better. I would recommend purchasing the tape or CD set rather than buying this book.

Here are a few of my favorite quotes from the book.

"One of the great causes of mental illness is satanic activity." pg 114

"Satan works...by influencing governments and nations." pg 115

"Satan has ruled the nations of the world with his demonic hosts." pg 116

"Angels will perform a work of watching, revealing, guiding, protecting, providing, delivering, bring answers to prayer, and carry you into heaven. But if you reject Jesus Christ, the angels will cast you into hell." pg 176

The next book is "The Power of Kingdom Living" by Bill Gothard

Domestic Partner Registry

Mayor Luke signed into law a Domestic Partner Registry for the city of Pittsburgh. I haven’t seen the law, but I have a few questions for him about it.

1. I am currently married and have been for several years, can I still sign up and have a Domestic Partner as well?
2. How many Domestic Partners can I have?
3. My Father may be retiring soon, at which time he will lose his employee sponsored benefits. Can I make him my Domestic Partner so he can enroll for my employee health insurance?
4. My dog is getting older and vet bills are pretty expensive. Can he be my Domestic Partner and will my health insurance cover him?

I suspect the bill is wrote in such a way that married people are excluded, you can only have one Domestic Partner at a time and they cannot be a blood relative. Animals are probably not allowed either. Talk about discrimination! Where was the ACLU on this one!

Always thinking at Doe Valley.

Is this it for the world?

ABCNews is producing a special called Earth 2100 to broadcast this September. They ask a few questions to promote or hype the interest. Here are the questions:

"Are we living in the last century of our civilization? Is it possible that all of our technology, knowledge and wealth cannot save us from ourselves? Could our society actually be heading towards collapse?"

These questions were all answered long ago by One who is more knowledgeable than any so called scientist today.

Q: Are we living in the last century of our civilization?
A: This answer is impossible to know. In Matthew 13:32 Jesus tells us, “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”

Q: Is it possible that all of our technology, knowledge and wealth cannot save us from ourselves?
A: Correct, man cannot save themselves. In John 14:6, Jesus again gave us the way to salvation, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

Q: Could our society actually be heading towards collapse?
A: Absolutely. We are in the end of times. Jesus is asked this question and gives a through answer as to what expect (Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21). There will be wars and rumors of wars. Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. Children will rise up against their parents. Brother will betray brother.

Don’t waste your time watching this or any other special that tries to answer or solve the problems to avoid the world’s destruction. The end of the world will occur at the designated time. There isn’t anything we can do about it, except to be prepared!

Book Review

Angels: God's Secret Agents by Billy Graham

This is probably the best book I have ever read about Angels. I strongly recommend everyone to read this book.

The book contains 15 chapters about Angels! These are not 15 chapters about Graham's thoughts on Angels, they are 15 chapters about what the Bible says about Angels. Graham adds stories and illustrations from his life and ministry to further demonstrate his point.

The book evaluates and answers questions such as:

• Are they visible or invisible?
• How are they different from people?
• What do they do?
• Are they for real?
• Are they still around today?

While I cannot say for certain if I have ever seen an Angel, I believe in them because of the same reason Graham does. "I believe in angels because the Bible says there are angels; and I believe the Bible to be the true Word of God." (page 27)

Another interesting chapter was #13: Angels and Death. Believers in Christ do not need to fear death, however, it is natural for man to be afraid of the unknown. I think it is fair to say most people are a little nervous or apprehensive about death. It is comforting to know that Angels will be there to escort me to Heaven after my final breath. Those Angels that have been with me my entire life, will be there to take me to the Creator. That indeed is comforting to know.

I found this book very interesting and easy to read. This is the type of book that once you start reading, it is difficult to put down. However, you really should pause after each chapter to reflect on what Graham wrote.

Again, I highly recommend this book to everyone.

Follow Up to Digital TV Conversion

As my regular readers know, I contacted the FCC about the digital TV "upgrade" in February of 2009. I have not heard a response to them as of this writing. I decided to send a similar message to the current TV stations in my area (CBS 2, ABC 4, FOX 8, CBS 10), that I will no longer be able to watch next year. Below is the message. I will let you know their responses, if any.

Hello,
I live in a rural area (Strongstown, PA) and am concerned about the mandatory “upgrade” to the digital broadcasting system in February of 2009.

Currently I receive your station with my antenna. However, when I installed the analog to digital converter I am unable to get your station.

In fact, I am only able to get one station that is reasonably close to me.

In February, will you be able to boost your signal output so us rural people will still be able to watch “free” TV? I sent a message to the FCC a few months ago, but have not heard anything. What can I do? I cannot get cable where I live and will not pay for Satellite.

It seems strange, that if this is an “update” that I would actually LOOSE my ability to watch TV even after making the necessary updates to my TV with the converter box! Thanks for any help you can provide.

Biblical Women

As mentioned yesterday, here are some descriptions about each of the women in “The Extraordinary Mother” by John Macarthur.

Eve

• Mother, comforter, nurturer, & helper
• Deceived and cursed

Sarah

• Faithful, love for God & husband, hopeful
• Was also cruel

Hagar

• Trusts & obeys (initially)
• Didn’t nurture her sons faith
• Rejected God’s commands by taking an Egyptian wife for her son

Rebekah

• Kind service
• Believes God’s promises, but took matters into her own hands

Rachel & Leah

• Polygamy always causes trouble
• A legacy of faith was instilled in their children

Jochebed

• Entrusted her child to God’s care
• Hope, let Mose’s go twice

Deborah

• Wise & influential
• Obedience to God
• Mother to Israel
• Dealt with the world as it was, but instructed her Children about how it should be

Samson’s Mother

• Faithful & dedicated

Abigail

• Faithful in service
• Wise & humble

King Lemuel’s Mother

• If this is Solomon’s mother – teaches him about God’s wisdom

Mary – Jesus’ Mother

• Grace & courage
• Devoted & faithful

Mary – John Mark’s Mother

• Supporter of the church
• Supported her son through his troubles

Book Review: The Extraordinary Mother by John MacArthur

This is a nice quick read. Each chapter is only a few pages and focuses on a particular woman of the Bible. It makes for an excellent gift item for a “soon-to-be” mother. There isn’t a lot of theology, just examples of Biblical mothers living out their faithfulness. There is much to be learned from these women, both through their faithfulness and their times of trouble.

One interesting thing about this book, is the fact that some of these Mother’s are not well know to the average Christian. For example, I had never really thought about John Mark’s mother.

The book uses the following mothers as examples:
Eve
Sarah
Hagar
Rebekah
Rachel & Leah
Jochebed
Deborah
Samson’s Mother
Abigail
King Lemuel’s Mother
Mary – Jesus’ Mother
Mary – John Mark’s Mother

Can you think of the qualities of each of these Mothers?

Check back tomorrow for some summary thoughts about each.

New Dollars

Have you seen the new 3 dollar bills being printed?

I got my hands on a couple of them today, they are sure to be collector's item some day.

You can view them at the Slick website.

It is worth a laugh or two.

Wes