This was a report from CNN.com @  (http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2010/08/30/catholic-church-defends-male-only-priesthood/?iref=allsearch)

Barring women from being Catholic priests is not the result of sexism 2,000 years ago, it’s because women cannot fulfill a basic function of the priesthood, “standing in the place of Jesus,” a leading British Catholic thinker argued Monday.  ”This teaching is not at all a judgment on women’s abilities or rights. It says something about the specific role of the priest in Catholic understanding – which is to represent Jesus, to stand in his place,” argued Father Stephen Wang in a statement sent out by the Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales.

I stand amazed at the boldness of heresy of the Catholic Church! Man is the one in need of a Saviour, who could ever be a stand in for Jesus Christ.. The Bible is clear that there is  ”one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;”  (1 Timothy 2:5). Furthermore, if a man desires the office of a bishop he desireth a good work but there are some requirements. Notice what God says in 1 Timothy 3:1-7.  ”

1. This is a true saying, if a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.

²A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;

³Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous;

⁴One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity;

⁵(For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?)

⁶Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil.

⁷Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.

Someone please tell me how a catholic priest qualifies for anything?!   They are blind leaders of the blind!  The Word of God is not good enough they must add their own ways/traditions.!

Oh!, that people would read the Bible for themselves. The Bible warns us in Colossians 2:8  “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.”

“When my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” —Psalm 61:2

Have you ever been overwhelmed? I am confident that the answer is yes. I have found over the years that my dissapointments have been God’s Divine appointments!  I have learned through trials that when I am overwhelmed, it’s the Lord who I must go to!

I remember one day when I was overwhelmed with conviction of my sin and Jesus lifted that burden of sin from my life. I was Born Again, Saved, Washed in the Blood of the Lamb!    ”Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” —Isaiah 1:18

I remember when I was overwhelmed with the sudden death of my brother and I ran to the “Rock that was higher than I.”  The Holy Spirit brought to my mind this verse.  ”Be not afraid of sudden fear……For the LORD shall be thy confidence” —Proverbs 3:25-26

So the next time you become overwhelmed, RUN to the Rock that is higher than you! I believe that we would agree with that great hymn writer Fanny Crosby as she wrote this chorus:

He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock

That shadows a dry thirsty land

He hideth my life in the depths of His love

And covers me there with His Hand

It was the year 1569, at the height of Catholicism’s Spanish Inquisition in Holland. Dirk Willems, a humble and pious follower of Jesus Christ, lay in prison awaiting a fiery death at the stake. His crime? Having been rebaptized upon confession of faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the Cross. The official town records stated that the prisoner, “…persisting obstinately in his opinion…shall be executed by fire, until death….”

One day, Dirk, finding his cell momentarily unguarded, took the opportunity to escape. Across the nearby frozen lake he fled. The alarm was quickly raised, however, and a “thief catcher” was summoned to pursue the fleeing man. Hearing the crack of ice behind him, Dirk turned to see his pursuer break through into the frigid water. Pausing only a moment, he returned to rescue his enemy from certain death. In deepest gratitude, his pursuer pleaded that Dirk might be allowed to go free. His plea was denied. Dirk’s date with death was upheld. Official records, preserved to our day, tell us that “…a strong east wind blowing that day, the fire was driven away from the upper part of his body…in consequence of which this good man suffered a lingering death.”                                                                                                           —————————————————————————————————————————

Let’s enter another arena, far removed from the times of the Spanish Inquisition of the sixteenth century. We have another “inquisition” arising farther east and reaching alarming proportions in our day.

In Saudi Arabia, for example, there is a total blackout on anything Christian: one cannot carry a Bible on the street or have a Bible study in the privacy of one’s own home. Even in our embassy, over which the American flag flies, Christian church services are banned. It is officially the death penalty in Saudi Arabia and some other Muslim countries (and enforced unofficially elsewhere) for a Muslim to convert to any other religion.

Only Muslims can be citizens of Saudi Arabia. Even in Arab countries whereshari’a(Islamic law) is not enforced by the government, Islam’s influence prevents freedom of speech, of the press, of religion, and of conscience. In PLO territories, Christian Arabs, who once had freedom under Israel, now suffer persecution, imprisonment, and death for their faith. Yet neither the UN nor our own government protests such oppression behind the Islamic curtain. Muslims build mosques and worship freely in the West, but in their own countries they deny such freedoms to others. Instead of reporting this hypocrisy, the world media covers it up.

Islam spread rapidly under Muhammad and his successors through jihad (“holy war”). Muhammad himself planned 65 campaigns and personally led 27 involving naked aggression and treachery. This incredible “evangelism” made “converts” by the millions at the point of a sword. At its peak, Islam had conquered all of North Africa and almost took over Europe.

Islam continues its conquest worldwide. Today’s invaders are millions of immigrants who make converts to Islam through misrepresentation. One sees on TV well-coifed and fashionably dressed women who claim to be converts to Islam and testify to its joys and peace-loving ways. Yet in Saudi Arabia, they would have to be veiled with only their eyes showing, would have to wear plain, dark full-length robes, could not drive a car, could be one of four wives habitually mistreated by their husband, could be divorced by mere denunciation, and would be virtual slaves under shari’a.

Islam’s earnest goal, set forth in the Qur’an (references given herein are from three versions) and Hadith (Islamic written tradition), remains the same: to bring all mankind into submission (that’s what “Islam” means) and to kill or enslave all “infidels” (i.e., unbelievers in Allah and Muhammad his prophet–Surah 2:190-92; 4:76; 5:33; 9:5,29,41;47:4, etc.). Islam (in obedience to the Qur’an and Muhammad’s example) is the driving force behind most terrorism today. According to the Hadith, Muhammad declared, “The last hour will not come before the Muslims fight the Jews and the Muslims kill them.”

Many Westerners naïvely accept Allah, who inspired Muhammad, as the God of the Bible. Yet Allah has no son and rejects the Trinity (4:171), is unknowable, and was the pagan idol/god of Muhammad’s tribe before he was born. Allah tells Muslims, “Take not the Jews and Christians for friends…slay the idolaters [infidels] wherever ye find them….Fight against those who…believe not in Allah nor the Last Day” (5:51; 9:5,29,41). But the triune God of the Bible wants men to know Him (Jer 9:24), a knowledge essential to salvation (Jn 17:3). Jews are His “chosen people” (Ex 6:7; Lv 20:26; 1 Chr 16:13; Ps 105:6, etc.) and Christians are His dearly beloved children (Rom 8:16,21; Gal 3:26; Eph 1:5; 5:1, etc.).                                                                                                                                                                                                             —————————————————————————————————————————————————-

A New Inquisition indeed.  Brethren make no mistake, we are truly living in the “last days.”  God is preparing this world and mankind for the Tribulation Period. I thank our Lord Jesus Christ that we will be “outta here” before the day one of the Tribulation. However, I am of the opinion, that we will see things get much worse before the Rapture of the Church.  We have the freedom to preach the whole counsel of God today but there is a dark cloud quickly approaching to darken that freedom. I want to encourage all those who read this to “be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord.”  (1Cor.15:58)

ANN COULTER TO SPEAK AT “GAY” CONVENTION

Ann Coulter, a political commentator who is often held forth as one of the bright stars of the conservative movement in America, will be the featured speaker at Homocon 2010 in New York City. The meeting is staged by GOProud, the only national organization of “gay conservatives.” (GOP usually stands for the Republican Party, though we do not know if it has that meaning in this context.) This highlights the extreme weakness of the “conservative” movement for the Bible believer.

What good does it do to fight for constitutional conservatism when the root problem of America’s ills is moral and spiritual? It’s like putting a bandaid on a cancer.

The U.S. Constitution could not have been created in this wicked, apostate generation, and it will not be preserved in this generation. The only hope is for true spiritual revival in the churches, and that would require separation from the things that God hates. Many Independent Baptists and fundamentalists are yoked together with unbelievers and immoral people for the sake of “saving America.” That is disobedience to the Bible, which says, “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness” (2 Corinthians 6:14).

We are never going to get God’s power and blessing by disobeying Him. Furthermore, Bible believers are already being persecuted and harassed by homosexuals across the land, and this persecution is increasing each year.

Will these “gay conservatives” speak out against the so-called hate crimes laws and the persecution of Christians who believe that homosexuality is a sin?

What has happened? We have gotten to the point of thinking that being conservative gives us a “right of passage” with God. IT DOES NOT!  ”If ye love me, keep my commandments.”  (John 14:15). It does not say if ye love me, hob knob with sodomites. This country has certainly lost it’s priorities.

America has lost it’s priorities.  We condemn smoking and will not allow tobacco commercials on TV. But we promote Alcohol ! Which is worse?!  We sell beer and whiskey with seductive adds on TV but God forbid a commercial about tobacco. I am not promoting either one, but trying to give just another example of what happens when a nation turns it’s back on God.   It’s like putting a bandaid on a cancer

” The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.” —Psalm 9:17

ANOTHER GOSPEL ARTIST OUT OF THE CLOSET

-     Anthony Williams, who performs under the name of Tonex and whose album Out the Box was nominated for a Grammy, revealed several months ago that he is a homosexual. In a recent interview he complains about being discriminated against and compared the discrimination against homosexuals to racism. The interviewer states, “These days, when he is not singing for his fans as Tonex, Pastor Williams travels across the country preaching a message of acceptance. Now his audience is a congregation and his stage a pulpit” (“Openly Gay Gospel Artist Preaches Acceptance,” thegrio.com, July 7, 2010). Williams joins a growing list of “out of the closet” Gospel and CCM performers, including Douglas Harrison, James Cleveland, Marsha Stevens, Kirk Talley, Clay Aiken, and Jennifer Knapp.

WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS

Contrary to popular belief, Sodomy (or homosexuality as the world refers to it as) is sinful, wrong, and an abomination in the eyes if God.  Romans 1:24-28.  and I quote. “Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.  For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:  And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;

1. “to dishonour their own bodies between themselves” —they choose this way of life. It is not “I was born this way” but they chose this way of life.

2. “receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet” —-aids and other diseases has been their reward

3. “God gave them over to a reprobate mind,” Reprobate means to abandon to punishment without hope of pardon.  (from Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary)

Isaiah 3:9 says  ”The shew of their countenance doth witness against them; and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not. Woe unto their soul! for they have rewarded evil unto themselves.”.

Knowing that this is what God’s Word has to say on the matter of Sodomy or homosexuality, or whatever you want to call it. IT IS SIN!  It does not matter what you or I think. What the President or any other, it does not change the fact that it is sin.

“For the Bible tells me so…”