Have you ever noticed one of the funny things about God is that everything in His economy is backwards compared to ours? Below are some random thoughts that occurred to me today as I was having some alone time with God.

To get something you desire, you must release it.

To be the greatest, you must become the least.

To realize the dream, you must lay it down.

To work for Him, you must rest in Him.

To be strong, you must be made weak.

To be full, you must be emptied.

To be first, you must be last.

To receive, you must give.

To lead, you must serve.

To stand, you must fall.

To gain, you must lose.

To go, you must wait.

To live, you must die.

Boy, does that put some things in perspective or what?

It's almost like I can hear Yoda saying, "You must un-learn what you have learned."

- Rob

I've finally finished my India 2008 Trip Report Video! So, for those of you who prayed and supported me on my recent trip and/or for anyone else who might be interested in seeing what a Short Term Mission Trip with East-West Ministries is like, please allow me to take you for a 16 minute journey to Northeast India. You can check it out at:

http://www.robschannel.com/India2008.html

If you have trouble viewing it on my website, you can access the file directly at: http://www.robschannel.com/media/India2008.wmv

Enjoy!

-Rob

!!!! GO SEE EXPELLED !!!!

http://www.expelledthemovie.com/playground.php

In addition to showing Hollywood we (Christians) mean business (by supporting Christian and God honoring movies), Expelled is put simply, AWESOME!

Pray for this film to truly open doors in science classrooms in America and all around the world... or at the very least, that it will get students asking questions.

I have been a passionate student of the Creation vs Evolution debate (since 5th grade). Although the film doesn't really address "Creationism" per se, it certainly does make a great case for an "Intelligent Designer" as being a far more plausible answer to the "Question of Origins."

Expelled was very well done and it certainly left me wanting more (to be said). I pray this is just the beginning of great things!

GO SEE EXPELLED!

- Rob

"Don copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect." - Romans 12:2 

You'll know your mind has been renewed when the impossible seems logical. Until then, you're a work in progress.

Remember, "...with God all things are possible." - Matt.19:26b

Giving Mercy a Face  - written by Randy Kilgore

"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy." --Jesus, in Matthew 5:7

Bitter cold made even the healthy soldiers miserable this December night.

Earlier that day, Union troops had repeatedly stormed Confederate lines with disastrous consequences during the Battle of Fredericksburg.  At the end of the battle, thousands of Union soldiers lay dead and dying within earshot of the Confederate soldiers, unable to move or be moved by their comrades.

Beneath the shadow of a stone wall, one man found the circumstances too pitiful for inaction. As the bitter cold of the winter night descended, soldiers on both sides heard the heart-wrenching pleas of the wounded for something to drink. Sgt. Richard Kirkland could bear the pleas no longer. With his commander's reluctant permission, he collected canteens and leaped the wall to offer comfort to the enemy. Union sharpshooters started firing at him right away, thinking Kirkland was out to gather souvenirs off the dead and wounded. Dodging the deadly fire, he reached the first soldier, lifted his head and gave him a drink, resting the wounded soldier's head on a knapsack.

Then he moved to another soldier, and another, and another. 

By this time, troops on both sides of the line realized Kirkland's intent, and all firing ceased.  It was replaced by cheers from both sides. Kirkland, who would afterward be known as the "Angel of Marye's Heights", learned of Christ's mercy in a Baptist church in South Carolina.  On that winter night, he showed two armies what that mercy looked like translated into action.

How have we translated the mercy we experience into action in our own lives? Is the mercy of Christ evident in the way we practice our faith at work? Is the mercy of Christ evident in the way we practice our faith in political matters? Is the mercy of Christ evident in the way we handle those who oppose our faith? Is the mercy of Christ evident in the way we treat even those who wish to harm us?

Throughout the New Testament, Jesus continuously describes in compassionate terms His concern for those who set themselves against Him.

Certainly there were social ills in His day; crucifixions and slavery are but two examples. Certainly there were despots in His days; the presence of Roman soldiers in Palestine demonstrates that. Certainly He had enemies during His hours and days on earth; witness Judas, Caiaphas, and the many bumbling attempts at entrapment by the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Still, what we remember of Christ is not merely that He won the battle over all these human obstacles, but also the way He won: His mercy permeating everything and everyone around Him, including, incredibly, His final moments on the Cross.  We Christians must remember only God's mercy enables us to look forward to being in relationship with Him, now and into eternity.

It is time for us to stop demonizing those with whom we disagree. It is time for us to stop participating in moral, ethical and even theological debates in the same vicious ways as the corrupted culture. In our workplaces, in our denominations, in our communities, in our courtrooms and in our legislative halls, we must steadfastly resist all attempts to alter the truth of Scripture.  But we must also always seek to advance not only the principles of Jesus Christ, but the Person of Jesus Christ. Even in the heat of difficult struggles, where anger and venom and deceit may be practiced by others, we must be ever-eager to lay aside our shields and swords and become angels of mercy. ("But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you."  Jesus, in Luke 6:27-28)

Sgt. Kirkland stopped seeing enemies that December night, and heard the pleas of the hopeless.

In the face of mercy's triumph, celebrated this holy week by increased introspection, surely we can do no less if we truly wish to honor His gift.

We say in this week: "Christ is Risen!" and then respond "He is risen, indeed!"

Let it be seen in us, in deed.

- Randy Kilgore

Randy@madetomatter.org

www.madetomatter.org

Dealing with something that seems impossible? Don't let fear win. Fear and faith are the same thing - both are a strong belief in the unknown. One is a strong belief in bad and the other in good.

"Faith is the substance of things HOPED FOR, the evidence of things NOT YET SEEN." - Hebrews 11:1

I like the way the New Living Translation puts it:

"Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see."

Put your hope in God. Believe that He has "a hope and a future for you." His plan is always to do you good and not evil. He sent Jesus so that you might have life and life more abundant. You are His child. He loves you more than you have the capacity to understand.

Exercise your strong belief in the good that you hope for and wait. You are bringing the unseen reality into the known world or circumstance you are in. So, let your words only reflect what your faith is believing for. Speak only words of faith - not fear or doubt - calling the things that are not (yet) as though they are.

Jesus said, "You may ask anything in my name. And if you believe, you shall have it."

It only takes faith the size of a mustard seed to move your mountain! So how big is your faith? Or... "how big is your God?" might be the better question. When you realize that He is bigger than any problem you might face, your faith will increase.

So remember this: 

Faith laughs at the impossible!

John 1:12 says, "But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:"  

Think about it like this... 

The Son of God became the "Son of Man" so that the sons of men may become sons of God!

That thought popped into my head the other day and I've been dwelling on it ever since. I mean, that is so extraordinary when you really think about it.

We really are "joint-heirs" with Christ. We really are His body! We are Jesus with skin on! We really are to be and to do what Jesus did! That's why we are here. He left us in charge until He returns. We are to be doing what Jesus did because we are now Christ in this earth!

This world truly needs a touch from God. But the God that is Spirit chooses to "touch" flesh through flesh. So He sent His Son to become flesh. Then His Son sent us so that we may be one through His Spirit.

Love them like Jesus!

On one of the highest hilltops in Elbert County, Georgia stands a huge granite monument. Engraved in eight different languages on the four giant stones that support the common capstone are 10 Guides, or commandments. That monument is alternately referred to as The Georgia Guidestones, or the American Stonehenge. Though relatively unknown to most people, it is an important link to the Occult Hierarchy that dominates the world in which we live.

CLICK HERE for videos on the Georgia GuidestonesVisit The Georgia Guidestones websiteand http://www.thegeorgiaguidestones.com/as_they_stand.htmEducateYourself! http://www.google.com/search?tab=vw&q=Georgia%20GuideStones

Visit:www.sheepkillers.comfor more information on this and other topics we need to be aware of as the Body of Christ in these Last Days.

LOS ANGELES, October 5, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) -  Atheist scientists who have become famous for attacking those who disagree with them are now loudly complaining about supposedly being mistreated in a film they haven't seen.

Oxford zoologist, Richard Dawkins, has made a lot of money and fame calling people who believe in God "delusional." Yet he is now grumbling that the producers of EXPELLED: No Intelligence Allowed "tricked" him into doing an interview. EXPELLED exposes the intimidation, persecution and career destruction that takes place when any scientist dares dissent from the view that all life on earth is the mere result of random mutation and natural selection.

"Some of these people -- especially Mr. Dawkins -- spend a lot of time insulting the millions of folks who disagree with them, so you would think they would have a little tougher skin," said Mark Mathis, one of the film's producers. "The funny thing is they are whining about the fact that the film is going to allow them to insult people on a much larger stage."

Other notable scientists who claim they were "deceived" by the producers of EXPELLED include Eugenie Scott, Executive Director of the National Center for Science Education and PZ Myers, a biologist at the University of Minnesota, Morris, who devotes much of his time to his popular science blog.

Myers has attacked the film several times on his blog since EXPELLED announced its arrival in theatres in February 2008.

EXPELLED's producers say they aren't surprised by the academic uproar over the film because it is consistent with what happens on university campuses when students or professors question atheistic materialism.

"There is some serious mistreatment and downright reprehensible behavior going on here, but I can assure you it's not coming from us -- we're just the ones exposing it," said Executive Producer, Walt Ruloff. "When our audience sees the stories of the real victims of scientific malpractice they're going to be outraged."

The producers of EXPELLED are particularly amused by Dawkins's complaint that the name of the film was changed from "Crossroads" to "EXPELLED" suggesting that this re-naming was a deception. Dawkins is well aware of the fact that movie titles change. When he was interviewed for EXPELLED he made the comment that the title of his anti-religion documentary, "Root of all Evil?" was chosen as a replacement for the original title late in the process.

Additionally, Dawkins participates in the documentary "A War on Science," which is an attack on Intelligent Design (ID). Producers of that film presented themselves to the Discovery Institute as objective filmmakers and then portrayed the organization as religiously-motivated and anti-scientific.

"I've never seen a bigger bunch of hypocrites in my life," said Mathis, who set up the interviews for EXPELLED. "I went over all of the questions with these folks before the interviews and I e-mailed the questions to many of them days in advance. The lady (and gentleman) doth protest too much, methinks."

"Both Myers and Scott say they would have agreed to be interviewed under any circumstances, so why are they complaining?" said Ruloff. "In fact we had a second interview set up with Eugenie Scott, which she cancelled once rumors about EXPELLED began to circulate."

The legal releases all of the interviewees signed were quite explicit in regards to editorial control and transferability, something that is standard in the film business. Dawkins, Myers, Scott and many other scientists were paid for their interviews (Scott's check went to her organization, the National Center for Science Education).

EXPELLED's producers have made it clear the film will portray the scientists interviewed in a way that is consistent with their actual viewpoints or other public statements.

EXPELLED: No Intelligence Allowed is scheduled for release in February 2008. For more information on Ben Stein's journey visit http://www.expelledthemovie.com