Liberty

Liberty: By Tim Lawson

We have talked a lot this past weekend about liberty. Certainly, the liberty that we enjoy and just celebrated is worth celebrating. Many men and women serve today and some have paid the ultimate price so that you and I could worship as we please, travel as we please, and elect our own leaders as we please. I had the privilege of spending some time with a young member of our armed forces who fight every day so that we can remain free. Liberty is not free, it comes with a price.

With all that being said, the liberty from sin that we Christians enjoy came with a price as well. It came with the highest price tag that would ever be paid. Unfortunately, so many of us still remain bound. We continue to allow ourselves to be bound by drugs. We allow ourselves to be bound by pornography. We allow ourselves to be bound by things that are destructive to our lives, our marriages, and our spirit.

Christ does not intend for it to be like this. Paul, in Galatians 5:1 tells us, "Stand fast in the liberty by which Christ has made us free and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.” In other words, you do not have to be bound by the things of this world. You have a way out through Jesus Christ. Only He can make you free from the things that are keeping you from experiencing the fullness that Christ wants you to have through Him. If you need help in overcoming addictions or problems that are keeping you down, Jeremy and Miranda at JMC Ministries as well as me are here to talk to you, pray with you or even try to get you the help that you need. We love you and want you to experience true liberty in Jesus Christ. When you are made free through Jesus, you are truly free.

Tell Someone Ministries

Tim Lawson

http://www.tellsomeoneministries.blogspot.com/

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Group Of Omaha Pastors Say Homosexuality Is NOT A Sin

(One News Now)A group of Omaha pastors has issued a proclamation that states homosexuality is not a sin.

More than 100 ordained Christian ministers have signed the proclamation, including leaders from Lutheran, Episcopalian, United Church of Christ, United Methodist, and Presbyterian churches.

David Bydalek is executive director of Family First, the family policy council for the state of Nebraska. He deems this effort troubling for many Nebraskans and contends the ministers involved are from liberal denominations that do not respect the orthodox biblical teaching on homosexuality.

"When they come out with this sort of statement, I think they really do not reflect the mainstream feeling in the state of Nebraska," Bydalek suggests. "When we passed our marriage amendment years ago, we had about 70 percent of those in Nebraska who opposed 'gay marriage.'"

But when Christians take a stand to support traditional biblical teaching on the issue, the Family First executive director laments that they are often perceived as "bigots" or "homophobes." He suggests, however, that the loving response to those trapped in homosexuality teaches that the lifestyle is indeed sinful, but that freedom can be found through Christ.

"It's going to be more difficult, the more these…activists [gain] inroads into our culture and the more common it becomes," Bydalek warns. "So we have a very difficult task ahead of us as those who stand for truth."

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Thousands Of Vietnam Christians Murdered Or Imprisoned Over Rapture Prediction On May 21st

(World Net Daily)The executive director of a ministry that works with the persecuted church in the northern reaches of Vietnam says he's outraged that a "prophecy" by an American preacher apparently cost the lives of many tribal Hmong people who believed it.

The prediction by Harold Camping, 89, of Oakland, Calif.-based Family Radio, was that Jesus Christ would return to Earth to "rapture" his followers to heaven on May 21. Camping said mankind had run out of time, and the Creator of the universe would arrive on that Saturday.

The horrific aftermath of the unfulfilled prophecy was reported by James Jacob Prasch, a key leader of Moriel Ministries, which emphasizes the "last days apostasy" discussed in the Bible and ministers to persecuted church members.

The organization describes itself as a "teaching ministry to believers" that brings awareness of issues such as the "social gospel" and ecumenical efforts that "masquerade" as Christianity.

Prasch routinely travels and meets with members of the Christian body worldwide. A recent trip took him to Vietnam, where a large number of the Hmong tribal peoples of the nation's Central Highlands are Christian.

They are referred to in the West as Montagnards.

They had heard of Camping's prophecy and not having sophisticated methods for evaluating its validity, took it literally, he explained.

The result, for many, was death, Prasch reported in an email to supporters:

After listening to a translation of Camping's prediction 7,000 of these people (known in the West as Montagnards) gathered on a mountain praising God their suffering at the hands of the communist regime was about to end because Jesus was returning that day in May to establish a new kingdom,.

The police and military police slaughtered many of them at gunpoint – beheading two pastors. Others were arrested. I am told by Hmong pastors that so many were shot dead that they were buried in mass graves bulldozed over in an episode that I read about in Britain but did not understand the magnitude of until I got here.

Prasch reported that he spoke to a secret meeting of Hmong pastors to explain to them "false prophets and false teachers."

"Due to a combination of poverty, ignorance and persecution these poor Christians don't understand much so they believed Camping's shortwave broadcast which is how most get their teaching," he said.

Now "their families don't know if their missing loved ones are among the many shot dead, among those arrested and imprisoned, or among those from the 7,000 hiding in the jungle," he said.

"These people already suffering for their faith in Jesus had it bad enough. They are not like the undiscerning whackos in the West who should have known Camping was a crackpot and a proven false prophet and false teacher," Prasch reported. "This is a persecuted church who just had no means to know any different. This is why … I warn so much about false teachers and false prophets."

He continued, "Of course we can blame Satan and the communists but their blood is on the hands of Harold Camping and his Family Radio. Women without husbands, children without parents, husbands without wives."

A WND request of Family Radio for comment did not generate a response.

Read more: 'Rapture' real aftermath: Beheadings, shootings, mass graves http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=321837#ixzz1SI4QkMQG

California First State To Require School Books Include "Gay History"

ov. Jerry Brown signed legislation Thursday making California the first state to require that school textbooks and history lessons include the contributions of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans.

Brown took the action as lawmakers sent him scores of bills, including one that would allow undocumented immigrants access to privately financed student aid at state universities and colleges.

Before adjourning for a monthlong summer recess, the Legislature also proposed changing the way California holds presidential primary elections and awards its electoral votes.

In accepting a mandate that California students be taught the accomplishments of gays and lesbians, Brown said that "history should be honest." The bill, he said in a statement, "revises existing laws that prohibit discrimination in education and ensures that the important contributions of Americans from all backgrounds and walks of life are included in our history books.''

The measure had sparked hot debate in the Legislature, where Republicans argued that it would force a "gay agenda" on young people against many of their parents' wishes. State Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) said the new law, which he wrote, will reduce the bullying of gay students by showing role models in lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender citizens.

"Denying LGBT people their rightful place in history gives our young people an inaccurate and incomplete view of the world around them," said Leno, whose bill, SB 48, also covers the role of the disabled in history.

The governor's action drew criticism from conservative groups.

Benjamin Lopez of the Anaheim-based Traditional Values Coalition said schools should be focused on improving students' reading, writing, math and other skills.

"It's a sad day for the state of California," said Lopez, a legislative analyst and advocate for the organization. "We have failed at our core educatiohttp://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=1076693466498072201nal mission, and yet we are now going to inject gay studies into the classrooms. It's absurd and offensive."

Controversy also surrounds the proposal to give undocumented immigrants a shot at privately funded financial aid in the California State University, California Community Colleges and University of California systems.

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Washington D.C Unarmed Firefighters Forced To Patrol Streets With Police

(NBC Washington)Both D.C. firefighters and police officers are upset over a new program that forces the fire department to help fight crime.

For the past three weeks, D.C. Fire and EMS personnel have been parking their trucks at high crime neighborhoods.

"It's to prevent things from bubbling up. The idea is that if you have a fire engine with adults there no one is going to commit a crime," said D.C. Deputy Mayor Paul Quander.

City officials said they just want firefighters to call 911 if they see suspicious activity.

The D.C. police union and firefighters union say the plan is not safe.

"I think it is a disaster," said D.C. Police Union spokesman Kris Baumann. "You're putting untrained, unsupervised, unequipped firefighters in some of the most dangerous neighborhoods in town to perform a law enforcement function."

Right now, the plan is to keep the policy in place at least through next spring.

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Georgia Looking To Pass Legislation To Crack Down On Child Sex Crime Offenders

(One News Now)In this taped audio excerpt from a study on child sex demand, a man tells a woman posing as a 16-year-old escort that she is too old. When she reveals to the caller that she just "turned 16...a couple of days ago," he tells her he would like her to be "about 12."

Some Georgia legislators are making efforts to accomplish a balance between tougher penalties for criminals and better treatment for victims, like one sex trafficking survivor who thought of a painful way to get away from being sold for her body.

"I was hoping that I would get in a car accident and have my face disfigured because I thought if I was ugly, then nobody would want me anymore and nobody would have sex with me," she shares.

Another survivor, Keisha Head, adds that victims are often intimidated by their captors.

"They would beat you; they would make you feel like they would cause you...or your family harm," she accounts. "And another thing...some of the girls don't have anywhere else to go."

Ernie Allen, CEO of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, reports that the official numbers are in dispute, but child sex trafficking in the U.S. is a serious issue.

"This is America's dirty little secret," he notes. "These are crimes that the public doesn't see, that the public doesn't want to believe exist. These are hidden victims."

The proposed legislation calls for a 25-year minimum sentence for those convicted of coercing children under the age of 18 into trafficking, and it slaps a minimum sentence of five years on those who pay for sex with a 16-year-old. Pursuing sexual encounters with younger children could lead to at least ten years behind bars.

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