(CS4U) February 6 - Neither Wine nor Strong Drink

Neither Wine nor Strong Drink February 6, 2011   "For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb." (Luke 1:15)   Whether or not the Bible clearly commands total abstinence from alcohol for Christians, it is increasingly being recognized that alcohol is the most widely abused and dangerous drug of all—causing more fatal accidents and injuries, more broken homes, more sexual promiscuity, more job absenteeism, and more disease than cocaine or any other drug. Yet it is widely promoted socially and increasingly is being accepted even among evangelical Christians.   But the example of John the Baptist is worth considering. The angel Gabriel testified that he would be "great in the sight of the Lord" and then added that he would "drink neither wine nor strong drink," implying a connection between the two. Indeed, Christ called John the greatest man who had ever lived up to that time (Matthew 11:11)--that is, greater than even Abraham, Moses, or Daniel!   Then the very same verse says that John would "be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb," and he is the only man of whom that was ever said. Again there seems to be a connection, for no one could simultaneously drink wine or strong drink and also be filled with the Spirit. The apostle Paul also warned concerning this conflict when he said: "Be not drunk |literally, 'begin to be drunk'| with wine . . . but be filled |that is, 'be continually being filled'| with the Spirit" (Ephesians 5:18).   Drinking alcoholic beverages in moderation may or may not be permissible, but that does not make it right. "All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient" (1 Corinthians 6:12). At least in John's case, being great in God's sight and being filled with the Spirit were closely associated with abstinence from alcohol. HMM   Print this article | More Days of Praise articles     Institute for Creation Research | 1806 Royal Lane | Dallas | TX | 75229     Powered by phplist. This email was sent to pkshere@gmail.com. To unsubscribe, change your email address, or update your subscription, please go to www.icr.org/change

(CS4U) Today's Turning Point with David Jeremiah Weekend, February 5&6

Weekend, February 5 & 6 "I Love You"--The Fact of God's Love For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16 Recommended Reading 1 Cor. 13:4-8a For the Weekend devotionals this month, we will look at the progression of God's love for us: The fact of God's love, the nature of God's love, the surprise of God's love, and the permanence of God's love. The aspect of Christianity that sets it apart from all other world religions is the fact of God's love. Instead of requiring us to sacrifice ourselves to gain God's approval, He sacrificed Himself for us in order to satisfy His own nature and fulfill His own attributes. God doesn't love us because of something we did, He loves us because it is in His nature to love: "I love you," God says to us. And the sign of His love is the fact that He gave His only begotten Son to die for our sins. God turned love into a verb--an action word. There can be no doubt that God loves us. He proved it by what He did for us. And therein lies the template for all who claim to belong to God: We must love as God loves us. We love God and love others because He first loved us (1 John 4:19). If we are to be recognized as belonging to God, it will be first because of how we love (John 13:35). None walk so evenly with God as they who are assured of the love of God. Thomas Manton Read-Thru-the-Bible Leviticus 19:1-24:23   View Email Online Forward to a Friend Unsubscribe Email Preferences Privacy Policy Donate Now TURNING POINT WITH DR. DAVID JEREMIAH PO Box 3838 San Diego, CA 92163 www.DavidJeremiah.org To ensure that you continue to receive emails from Turning Point, please add info@davidjeremiah.org to your address book. Do not use your "This is Spam" or "Report Spam" buttons, as this action will not unsubscribe you. To remove yourself from all Turning Point email lists, please click the unsubscribe link. Turning Point's mission is to deliver the unchanging Word of God to an ever-changing world. Turning Point with Dr. David Jeremiah Copyright 2011

(CS4U) Leadership Promises - The Team Holds the Dream

February 5 The Team Holds the Dream Good-tempered leaders invigorate lives; they're like spring rain and sunshine. Proverbs 16:15 (The Message) One of the mistakes people make is that they focus too much attention on their dream and too little on their team. But the truth is that if you build the right team, the dream will almost take care of itself. If you want to achieve your dream-I mean really do it, not just imagine what it would be like-then grow your team. But as you do so, make sure your motives are right. Some people gather a team just to benefit themselves. Others do it because they enjoy the team experience and want to create a sense of community. Still others do it because they want to build an organization. The funny thing about those reasons is that if you're motivated by all of them, then your desire to build a team probably comes from wanting to add value to everyone on the team. But if your desire to build the team comes as the result of only one of those reasons, you probably need to examine your motives. The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork To subscribe to this Daily Devotional  click here If you are interested in purchasing a hard copy of this devotional, click on the picture below: Unsubscribe from this mailing. Unsubscribe from all mailings from EQUIP. Modify your profile and subscription preferences.

(CS4U) February 5 - The Worldwide Flood

The Worldwide Flood February 5, 2011   "And I will establish my covenant with you, neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth." (Genesis 9:11)   Those Christians who accept the concept of the "geological ages" commonly have to explain away the great deluge by assuming it was not really a global flood. They realize that any flood that would rise until "all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered" and in which "every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground" (Genesis 7:19, 23) would undoubtedly eliminate any evidence of the supposed geological ages. Therefore, they have suggested modifying the Bible record to mean an overflow of the Euphrates River or some such phenomenon which would destroy just the peoples of the "known" world at that time.   There are numerous problems with this "local flood" notion, however. Appendix 6 of The New Defender's Study Bible, for instance, lists 100 reasons why the biblical Flood must be understood as worldwide and cataclysmic.   But probably the best argument is that such an argument makes God out to be a liar! God promised Noah that this kind of flood would never be sent on the earth again. There have been innumerable river floods, tsunamis, torrential regional rains, etc., in the more than four millennia since Noah's day. If God's promise referred only to some such flood as one of these, then He has not kept His Word!   But God does not lie, and He has kept His promise. There has never been another such Flood. "He that believeth not God hath made him a liar" (1 John 5:10). Theistic evolutionists, progressive creationists, and all others who believe the geological ages instead of God's Word should, it would seem, seriously rethink their position. HMM   Print this article | More Days of Praise articles     Institute for Creation Research | 1806 Royal Lane | Dallas | TX | 75229     Powered by phplist. This email was sent to pkshere@gmail.com. To unsubscribe, change your email address, or update your subscription, please go to www.icr.org/change