OFF THE GRID
Isn’t it amazing that more and more families are choosing to embrace “off the grid” living? I like the idea of saving money and coming up with alternatives, but there is one grid I don’t want to be off. That is the grid that is fueled by the Holy Spirit.
Early on in the quest for energy alternatives to the high cost of oil and gas, families started looking for ways to beat the system. They were considered a little eccentric and maybe we could even say oddball. It seems like a good idea, and with today’s technology, off the grid living is becoming even more feasible. Today, families can be off the grid and live in luxury! Pretty amazing!
We still seek to beat the system; in this case the system of dependence on our Lord and Savior. We still look for shortcuts, rather than submitting ourselves to Him and obeying His commands. Astoundingly, we are like the Hebrews who came out of Egypt and witnessed His miracles, yet refused to understand their need for God.
Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, taught us the Holy Spirit will come and abide with Believers after His resurrection. Even though Jesus is sitting at the right hand of God the Father in heaven (Hebrews 12:2), He has not disconnected Himself from us, His children. He sent the Holy Spirit to us so we would not be left alone and defenseless.
The apostle John recorded Jesus’ words in the New Testament Book of John:
“And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever;” John 14:16 (KJV)
“But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” John 14:26
“But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, He shall testify of me.” John 15:26
“Nevertheless I tell you the truth; it is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you. And when He is come, He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they believe not on me; of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; of judgment, because the prince of this is world is judged. I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for He shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.” John 16:7-14
Luke also recorded Jesus’ words to the disciples in the Book of Acts. Shortly before He ascended into Heaven, Jesus told the disciples again about the coming of the Holy Spirit:
“But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” Acts 1:8
In fact the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples and believers in Jerusalem a mere fifty days after the resurrection according to Bible scholars. Acts 2 records this momentous event:
“And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” Acts 2:1-4
Jesus was the source of power for God’s will to be accomplished on earth until He was resurrected. We have read of His miracles of healing and the feeding of the thousands. We know He had the power of God. Then God passed on power to Believers through the Holy Spirit. In a sense, Believers have been plugged into the grid!
“But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.” 1 Corinthians 12:7
This power is not self-serving, but was given so that we might carry out the Great Commission of witnessing, baptizing, and discipling new Believers. The power of the Holy Spirit was given to Believers so that we might know the truth, for He is truth (1 John 5:6). Through Him, we have the power of discernment and understanding of spiritual things in Christ.
We stay connected to God by reading His Word. His Word is the source of knowledge. The Holy Spirit brings understanding to our heart and mind so that we may grow in wisdom. To be too busy to read God’s Word or to spend time in prayer and supplication for others is a personal disconnect from God’s grid. In effect we are saying we can live apart from God.
Separating ourselves from the power of the Holy Spirit is not wise, and serves only to place us in tremendous isolation from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Believers, it’s time to get back on the grid and in tune with our Lord. Let’s not delay in repenting of sin, confessing, and seeking restoration with our Lord. Allow Him to have an active role in your life as you submit to His sovereignty.
Copyright © 2012 Linda Hull, Words of Encouragement
THE ULTIMATE CHOICE
There has been a lot of concern over the continued violation of First Amendment Rights which started with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. This doesn’t just affect Catholics but all Christians and anyone who does not believe in birth control, sterilization, or the use of abortifacients. The recent decision by our government to force religious institution employers (universities, hospitals, and charities) to provide free birth control coverage through employer funded health insurance certainly created a huge dilemma. Should Christians obey God’s Law or Man’s Law?
After a huge public outcry over being forced to violate religious beliefs, the Obama administration attempted to correct their position. The most recent adjustment to the federal health care law allows these same religious institutions to again become exempt from providing free contraceptives due to religious convictions. But there is a catch; women must still be able to receive free contraceptives, sterilization, and abortifacients. What changed exactly?
It didn’t make sense when I first heard about it. Now with an explanation given, it is exactly what everyone thought. While faith based institutions are exempt, their insurance plans must make birth control services available privately. In other words, women will contact their insurance provider directly for free contraceptives, including abortifacients.
In the meantime, employers in non-religious institutions are still mandated to provide these “preventive services” via company insurance plans. For a number of years, laws in some states have required insurance coverage to include birth control, but not necessarily sterilization or abortifacients. No one was allowed to opt out of certain services. Many, who wished to have insurance coverage, suffered the attack on religious faith. Some faith based institutions complied without a quibble.
The problem with compromise is a loss of credibility. A small compromise always leads to a much bigger compromise later on.
Real change is needed here. This latest rule expands the types of preventive services insurance companies are required to provide. For those who do not want to participate in insurance plans that provide these types of services, there has been no recourse. Thankfully there are some Congressmen who have a plan. They are working to ensure people, i.e. employers, health care providers, and individuals can exercise their conscience. The bills are currently in Committees for review. I encourage you to read and support these bills. You can track the progress of all bills at: GovTrack and The Library of Congress Thomas.
The most current bill was introduced January 30, 2012, by Sen. Rubio. Bill #2043 is called the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and is an amendment to the Public Health Service Act. This is a must read because it provides some background about what’s going on.
Rep. Fortenberry’s Bill #1179:
Respect for Rights of Conscience Act of 2011
Senate bill #1467 sponsored by Sen. Blunt:
Respect for Rights of Conscience Act of 2011
If I were an employer I would not want to provide these kinds of extras for my employees. Health care is something all of us need. Contraceptives and preventive services do not fall into this category. Abstinence solves the problem completely.
I’ve tried to reason this through… Why isn’t the individual responsible to pay for her own choices? Why does the world have to be a part of the decision to use birth control? It’s not a health issue, so why the fuss? It’s a profitable business.
As a Christian I have strong views over doing what pleases my Lord, and to be a participant in providing drugs that induce abortion is not acceptable.
Another point to consider… Why is the federal government giving orders to private insurance companies? These are not government owned. Forcing private companies to provide free health care is ludicrous. The private individual who owns insurance as a policy holder or a stock holder is still paying the bill.
There is also the matter of violating our United States Constitution. Freedom to exercise our religion is imperative. The first amendment reads:
*Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
To tell you the truth, I never thought our nation would come to the point where religious views are so callously dismissed. Who should be obeyed God or federal law? In this case, God's Law and the United States Constitution are being violated.
What kind of legislation forces people to choose between God and the Law? The God I am referring to here is the Lord God Jehovah, Father of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of the Bible.
Abortion rights, rights to contraception, aka reproductive rights belong to the individual, because it is a God-given right to obey or disobey God’s Law. When I talk about “choice” that’s the only choice there is. The concept of right and wrong is engraved on our hearts, so we are without excuse. We don’t have to debate the semantics. Forcing others to participate is unconscionable. This is why we must have conscience laws.
Thankfully when we make the wrong choice, the Lord God Jehovah is quick to forgive and restore the repentant one. He knows us so well. Remember He loved us before we loved Him. How it must grieve and anger Him to know we place so little value on life, particularly the life of the unborn. The unborn child isn't just something to throw away. We need to change our thinking.
The ultimate choice must always be to obey God’s Law first.
*Bill of Rights is found at http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/bill_of_rights_transcript.html
Copyright © 2012 by Linda Hull
Personhood from a Biblical Perspective
There is much controversy about the value of the unborn child. If we read the Bible, then we can understand that no controversy should even exist. The key is found in following Biblical principles. Unfortunately many people do not know what the Bible says about personhood.
What is the Biblical perspective on personhood?
Consider this verse from Exodus 21: 22 (KJV)...
“If men strive, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart from her, and yet no mischief follow: he shall be surely punished, according as the woman’s husband will lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine. And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.”
To me this is pretty plain given the context of this verse. If a woman is injured so that her unborn child is born and lives, the person who caused the injury is to be fined. However, the text continues to say that if there is mischief, then the person who caused the situation will forfeit his life.
The word, “mischief” in Strong’s Concordance translates to “rah” meaning bad or evil: adversity, affliction, bad, calamity, plus displease, distress, evil, plus exceedingly, multiplied by great, grief etc. This definition extends to other verses in the Bible where (taken in context) it is used to signify death. A specific case would be in the account of Genesis 42 when Jacob decides not to send Benjamin along with Joseph to find the other brothers “lest peradventure mischief befall him.”
This is a very important Bible verse because it demonstrates the penalty for killing a child. The word “depart” in the verse means “to go out” so it implies the baby came out of the womb, but it does not indicate if the baby was born alive or born stillborn. It seems to mean the baby was born prematurely because the man who hurt her caused the baby to leave the womb. The baby’s life at this point depends on its age in the womb and its development. If it was not sufficiently developed to survive a premature birth, then the man must die-one life for another.
It is clear that God values life. The penalty of death that God commands for causing the death of a baby is fitting.
Copyright © 2012 by Linda Hull