Quarrels don’t just happen. People make them happen. Quarrels, at least in Proverbs, are unnecessary arguments, the kind that honorable men stay away from (17:14; 20:3). These fights aren’t the product of a loving rebuke or a principled conviction. These quarrels arise because people are quarrelsome. Some Christians have a lifeline to Speedway and love to pour gasoline on every tiny spark of conflict.
Distinguishing Marks of a Quarrelsome Person
Keving DeYoung post a great article on the marks of a quarrelsome person. You can read the entire article here. Here is a snippet....
Egypt's Hidden Piramid
Pyramid's have a way of hiding themselves for hundreds of years only to be discovered, dug up and restored. What we see unfolding in Egypt seems to be much more then just liberating a people over a regime that was less then favorable. It seems to be pointing toward a Islamic up rise that will inevitably lead to a destruction of any gained liberation that has been made prior to the dismissal of the Muslim Brotherhood in the mid 70's. Colonel Gamal Abdul Nasser placed this organization in the forefront of world history when he used the organization to aid him into office.But this partnership was only bitter sweet. Gamal quickly understood that they wanted full control of his regime so in order for him to stay in power and have some say in what happens he had those in leadership thrown in jail. His then successor Anwar Al Sadat was a key figure in there movement. Being more symptomatic to there cause in undoubtedly feeling the pressure to release them did just that in 1971.Unfortunately this would prove to be fatal to Anwar. Just 10 years later this same regime was responsible for the killing of Anwar on October 6th 1981. This now brings us to the last 30 years and the power struggle that Hosni Mubarak has had trying to walk both sides of the aisle. But in doing so both sides have begun to throw rocks at him. It had bought him 30 years in power in addition to aiding the American government by allowing for peaceful oil exchange and tourist security for some of the most amazing pyramids in the world. That is not to say that all has been well with Mubarak. He has had his far share of misusing his power and neglecting his duty to uphold justice.
But the one thing Egypt's recent protest as well as the ousting of the Mubarak regime is creating is the awareness of what Islamic teachings really is. The months proceeding 9/11 the approval of the Muslim religion actually went up to record levels in America leaving most liberal and conservative news stations to conclude it is a peaceful religion. That if we love the Muslim religion they will therefor love us. Almost with a self accusation that it was our fault they killed thousand of Americans due to our unlawful actions.
What the western world has failed to recognize is that there are only liberal Muslims in the west. They do not exist in the middle east. The one's that are more liberal and tolerating of other worldviews are either being deceptive or would simply never stand a chance of survival in the east. Several examples have come up over the past few weeks. One of which is CNN correspondence Anderson Cooper and his attempt to record the footage on site in Egypt. Moments into his attempted coverage he is attacked and suffers some injuries. Here is the video of that occurrence. More occurrances came even after Coopers run as Lara Logan a reporter from CBS who recently went to Egypt to report only to be sexually assaulted on the streets of Egypt.
The obvious Muslim leadership in the streets of Egypt will undoubtedly play a big roll in the rebuilding of the Egyptian government. How big is yet to be seen. The White House has seen first hand now the result and has attempted to react. President Barack Obama told Mubarak that his removal from office "Must begin now". This statement was retracted weeks later in a statement by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton who said Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak might not be able to quit his post as early as being demanded by the protesters as the transition process will take some time to roll out. One has to wonder what the roll of the Muslim Brotherhood has in all this but one thing will become clear, the Islamic religion is one based on sharia law and that law cannot coincide with any other religion. By nature it demands conformity from a society to its teaching. It is a religious movement but more then that a political dominating worldview. No liberal Muslim in America will be able to come to the forefront and defend there position because it simply is not dependable from a religious perspective.
So as the water subsides in Egypt and a vacuum for leadership is left, time will tell what will come of the new forming government. Our prayers must be for the people of Egypt who truly have been seeking liberation. Let us pray for a government to come in place that will protect those rights not remove them. Let us also pray for our Christian brothers and sisters who are undoubtedly under sever pressure during this trying times. And most of all let us pray for true liberation that comes only from Jesus Christ through the preaching of the gospel.
I am always glad to hear from readers. Write me at gandcmorris@gmail.com or feel free to leave a comment below.
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Body and Soul Renewal?
"It is a physical and spiritual make-over kind of". Those are the words in the recent Grand Blanc View paper from Heidi Stoor, the Event Coordinator at Faith Lutheran Church of Grand Blanc, Michigan. Amanda Braniecki writes the article titled, "Spa day at Faith Lutheran to renew 'bodies and souls'." In an effort to "reach more people in every life stage" the Faith Lutheran Church of Grand Blanc will be pampering women and at the same time pampering the souls of those women in the community. What struck me as a bit disturbing about this article is two of the ways they will attempt to reach the women of the community is by offering Yoga classes as well as Pilates classes. These methods both once again point to a mind neutrality that simply does not exist. Dr Albert Mohlers article last year on the issue of blending these lines seems very appropriate given this subject matter. Furthermore we have all seen the issue of yoga coming up again and again as the lines of universalism are becoming more and more blurred.
I understand the concept behind this event and I appreciate Heidi Stoor for making efforts to reach her community. My biggest concern here is that as she stated in the article, "Whether you are coming for one aspect or for the whole thing, I can guarantee you will not be disappointed." One has to wonder if the gospel will be preached. Will she be able to reach the community with true spiritual renewal? My guess is no. For one Spiritual renewal is not a term in scripture. New Birth is the only true renewal and that is a gift of God. Second we know that the preaching of the cross is foolish to those who are not saved (1 Cor 1:18). So although Faith Lutheran may be reaching there community they will seem to be doing it using other means then the one given in scripture.
One has to wonder how much longer can the lines of spirituality and of Biblical Christianity stay so blended and at the same time so contrary to each other? My guess is they wont and as we have seen local Christian Schools offer Yoga classes after hours it would seem that the lines of Spirituality and Theology are becoming more and more blended at the cost of Theology every time.
I wonder how many Buddhist Temples preach the Gospel to reach Christians?
I am always glad to hear from readers. Write me at gandcmorris@gmail.com or feel free to leave a comment below.
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Baby Bryanna Gabrielle
Our new addition arriving in at 7lbs and 12oz - 19long. The Lord has been good to us!
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