Abuse

Liberty vs. Toleration

by Rousas J. Rushdoony

One of the areas of profound ignorance today is religious liberty and the meaning thereof. The common pattern throughout history, including in the Roman Empire, has been religious toleration, a very different thing. In religious toleration, the state is paramount, and, in every sphere, its powers are totalitarian. The state is the sovereign or lord, the supreme religious entity and power. The state decrees what and who can exist, and it establishes the terms of existence. The state reserves the power to license and tolerate one or more religions upon its own conditions and subject to state controls, regulation, and supervision.

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Moving from Passive Victim to Active Seeker

Curiosity has its own reason for existing. Albert Einstein.

I’ve been thinking a bit (an unusual and dangerous development) about the notion of overcoming adversity. As a paraplegic, I’m often asked questions like: How did you deal with it? How did you get past it? What helped you move forward?

When I recall twenty-one years of adjusting to life in a wheelchair, first impressions include frustration, anger, and isolation. Each challenge seems to elicit a sense of impossibility and hopelessness, and my initial reaction is capitulation. It’s as though I’m programmed to greet difficult circumstances with: I’ll never be able to …

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The Worm became a Splendid Butterfly

Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your hearts on things above! Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things! Colossians 3:1-2

Paul reminds us that those who believe on Christ–should live a risen life.

We live on the earth at present. We walk on earth’s streets. We live in material houses, built of stones, bricks, or wood. We eat earth’s fruits, gathering our food from earth’s fields, orchards and gardens. We wear clothes woven of earthly fabrics. We adorn our homes with works of art that human hands make. We engage in the business of earth. We find our happiness in the things of this life.

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Are You Trapped Behind an Open Door?


I saw a catchy phrase yesterday that summarized the way I seem to live a good deal of my life: trapped behind an open door.

A story’s told of Houdini once being challenged to escape from a jail cell. After he was placed in the cell and left alone, he removed a thin strip of metal concealed in his belt and began working at the lock. But no matter what he tried, he couldn’t unlock the door.

The great magician had been tricked, because the door was never locked. All he had to do was open it, but his belief that the door was locked was sufficient to confine him.

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Stand Firm when Emotionally and Physically Exhausted

Our pastor shared this scripture with us yesterday. It was God’s timing (which is always amazing to me) because this year I have felt burdened excessively. It’s been one of those years when there wasn’t one burden, one tragedy, one suffering, but rather one after another after another after another until I’ve felt that I could barely breathe. I certainly have become rather gun shy, wondering what possibly could happen next and knowing that, in all likelihood, what will happen next will be painful, unpleasant at best.

2 Corinthians 1:8-10 NASB

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How to Get Out of the Pit

Return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and of great kindness. Joel 2:13

Let me start this week’s devotional with the words to a chorus God gave me when I was in the pit of self-loathing and condemnation:

I remember, Lord, the joy of serving You;
I remember, Lord, when all I knew was You;
Flowing through me, calling to me,
Lord, please use me once again!

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How Not to Interpret the Bible

The Children of God (COG), a cult founded by David (Moses David) Berg, used sex as an intoxicant to keep the cult together. Homosexuality, lesbianism, incest, and group sex were all legitimized by the COG cult. Berg’s daughter, Deborah (Linda Berg) Davis, writes in The Children of God: The Inside Story, of how her father justified his perverted view of sex because he first perverted Scripture. He promoted “Flirty Fishing,” using sex to entice young people into the cult, a way to “win souls to Christ.” The Bible was used to support this immoral practice: “Just as Jesus laid down His life, so you must lay down your life (or wife) for these men.” As time went on, the question of lesbianism arose. “There is nothing in Scripture that forbids it,” Berg maintained.

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