Black Lives Matter

The Grand Juries have spoken, and the protests go on. You've seen the pictures, and you've heard the slogans:

"BLACK LIVES MATTER"

No, I disagree with how this statement is framed.
LIVES matter, but adjectives do not.

Here is what I mean:

Lives matter, because God says they matter.

All men and women everywhere, from every nation and ethnic group are created in the image of God, created to have a loving, personal, eternal relationship with their Creator God. There is only one race: the HUMAN race. You knew this, right?

"And (God) hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:" 

Acts 17:26-27

Consider this: 

"Every human being in the world is classified as Homo sapiens. Scientists today agree that there is really only one biological race of humans. Geneticists have found that if we were to take any two people from anywhere in the world, the basic genetic differences between these two people would typically be around 0.2 percent,1 even if they came from the same people group.2 “Racial” characteristics account for only about 6 percent of this 0.2 percent variation. That means that the “racial” genetic variation between human beings of different “race” is a mere 0.012 percent.3

This is an excerpt from the book, "One Race One Blood" by Ken Ham. You can read the footnotes, and more of this book by clicking this LINK.

You need to avoid people who teach and speak about division or distinction based on so-called "race." God tells us to do good to all men, to love all men.

And God does not just "say" that lives matter: He demonstrated it in action, by sending the Savior into the world so that all men might be saved by trusting in this one Savior of all men. The proof of this truth is the historical fact of the death, burial and resurrection of the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

By the way, if you deny the God of the Bible, how can you say that any life matters? On what basis would you say that? "Survival of the fittest" stands opposed to such slogans. No, the atheist, the anti-theist, they must borrow a Biblical world view to say anything about right or wrong, truth, justice, etc. And since many people are practical atheists  in this country (meaning they act like atheists despite any claims about faith in God), is it a surprise that we have allowed the murder of over 

55 Million 

pre-born babies through abortion? Don't those lives matter? Where are the Al Sharptons and the Jesse Jacksons standing up for these lives? Where is the outrage? Where are they blocking the interstates and bridges? Sadly, the ones who do stand up for these lives are vilified and marginalized, and their act of love is met with anger and hostility by people in our country.

People, we need to seek the Lord. He is the only one who can deliver us from our sinful, wicked hearts. He is the only one who can take away the hatred we have for one another, and give us a desire to love one another. He can set us free from sin, death & hell, if we will turn to him. Trust in the Lord Jesus today as your Savior.

Quote: "...When I Could, I Gave It My All."

Kayla Montgomery's story is featured in the ESPN video below. She's a high school distance runner with Multiple Sclerosis (MS), who loses all feeling in her legs when she runs, but nevertheless is one of the best runners in the state.

It is an inspiring story, but her very last comment in the video is what really hammered me:
"When, or if, I'm not able to run at some point down the road, then at least I can look back and know that, when I could, I gave it my all."

This morning, I just re-read my daily Bible reading that took me through the Epistle to the Colossians. And when I heard that statement from Kayla, this scripture echoed in my soul:

Colossians 3:23 

And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; 

Oh brothers! That statement burns in my heart and soul!

Almighty God, please make it so...that I would live out my Christian life this way; that I would run my race to the glory of God (1 Corinthians 9:24-27; Hebrews 12:1-4), taking every opportunity to proclaim the gospel & share the love of Christ with any and all. And with my dying breath, as my heart beats it's final stanza, to look back on the days the Lord has given me and say,

 "When I could, I gave it my all."

The Ferguson Watch

Ferguson...America...World: our only hope is the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Official Counts of the Gideon Fall Distributions

As a member of Gideons International, I had just received my Gideon Newsletter, "The Torch of the Iowa Gideons".  Inside were the official counts of the Farm Progress Show and College Bible distributions.  Here are the numbers:

Farm Progress Show
- 1,076 Bibles
- 22 members attended

University of Northern Iowa
- 3,159 Bibles
- 28 members attended

University of Iowa
- 5,057 Bibles
- 46 members attended

Iowa State University
- 6,750 Bibles (NEW RECORD!)
- 41 members attended

Drake University
- 648 Bibles (Numbers down because of rain)
- 13 members attended

Simpson College
- 501 Bibles
- 10 members attended

This brings us to a total of 17,191 BIBLES GIVEN OUT THIS FALL!!! 

Praise God.  Please pray and consider giving to the Gideons.  It is only by God's grace we can make this possible.  It was such a blessing to be able to go to college campuses and distribute God's word.  Pray that many of these bibles will be read by students and staff and that they will give their lives to serve the Lord.

New Bible Study Available: The Word of God

We've added another Bible study to our website. The Word of God takes you through the Gospel of John in 12 lessons, and is located on a new page up above. This comes from our friends at Resources For Missions (www.resourcesformissions.org) Check out their website - they have evangelism & Bible study helps in many, many languages, and it is all free!