ADF Christmas Project™: Merry Christmas.

The Alliance Defense Fund is an great group of people working to defend the rights guaranteed to all citizens under the U.S. Constitution. One of the exciting projects underway at the ADF can be found online at http://www.saychristmas.org:

Christmas is a cherished time of year when Americans come together and celebrate something bigger than ourselves, something that has united us for generations. An event that is the center of all history—the birth of Jesus Christ.

Surveys show that 96% of Americans celebrate Christmas. Yet, due to political correctness, disinformation, and even the threat of lawsuits from the ACLU and its allies, religious expression at Christmastime is increasingly absent from the public square. Slowly, this holy day is being turned into a secular “solstice season.”

The Alliance Defense Fund works year-round to preserve and protect our religious liberties, including the right to…

...sing Christmas carols at school
...pass out candy canes to classmates
...call it “Christmas vacation”
...sponsor a nativity scene on public property
...say “Merry Christmas”

ADF wants all Americans to know the Truth—that they have the freedom to celebrate Christmas publicly, joyfully, and without fear—for generations to come! We are launching our annual national Christmas Project™ to spread the message, "Merry Christmas. It’s okay to say it.™” Will you join with us?

The ADF Christmas Project provides a description of your right to celebrate Christmas publicly and joyfully and provides resources, e-cards, and maintains a list of recent attacks on Christmas and the ADF's work to protect our rights as believers and followers of Jesus Christ.

Rick Warren States a Foundational Truth

Rick Warren: 'God Didn't Need Us, He Wanted Us'--interview with Saddleback pastor and Purpose Driven Life author Rick Warren -- Beliefnet.com:

"We were created for a relationship, not a religion - not rituals, not rules, not regulations. "

Today we are standing at the tipping point of history. More and more people are realizing that there is one God, Jesus Christ, and that He loves us truly, deeply, and forever. More and more people are discovering that faith is not about guilt and condemnation, it is not about holy men or holy places, it is not about human power and control, dogma or doctrine or tradition - true faith is about each individual realizing that God loves them. It is about each individual accepting that love and giving it to others. It is about service, hope, love, inspiration, strength, and confidence. It is about exercising the full power of God's love in our relationship with God and our relationships with other people. Jesus summed it up best when He said, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath" in Mark 2:27.

The Lord God Jesus Christ created us because He wanted someone to love, someone to be in relationship with. He gave His Word not to limit us, but to free us. His commandments are not so much a list of "Thou Shalt Not.." as they are an encapsulation of how healthy relationships work. His Word is not just a collection of history, prophecy, and stories - it is God's method of communicating His eternal messages to all people. It is His love letter to the human race, His compassionate attempt to explain the lifestyle and decisions that lead to happiness, peace, contentment, fulfillment, success, and eternal life. It is His invitation to a lasting relationship with Him, an eternal friendship with your Creator. Salvation is not just the goal, it is the lifestyle. Heaven is not just a destination after death, it is a way of life right here, right now.

So Amen, Rick, keep on reaching one more for Jesus, because the truth is: "We were created for a relationship, not a religion - not rituals, not rules, not regulations. "

In Boundless Mercy - A Hymn by Emanuel Swedenborg

At the heart of a person's belief lies their heart. The passion that moves them, the love that gives their life its unique quality. And so I was delighted to discover a hymn, written by Emanuel Swedenborg, that seems to uncover the heart of this servant of our Lord Jesus. You can find the music together with the following words for "In Boundless Mercy" on cyberhymnal.org

In boundless mercy, gracious Lord, appear,
Darkness dispel, the humble mourner cheer;
Vain thoughts remove, melt down the flinty heart,
Draw every soul to choose the better part.

Thy presence fills the universal space,
Thy grace appears to all the human race,
Oh! visit us with light and life divine,
Fill every soul, for every soul is Thine.

Thou, blessèd Jesus, art my Lord, my Love:
Thou art my King: from Thee I would not move,
Hence earthly charms, far, far, from me depart,
Nor seek to draw from my dear Lord my heart.

That uncreated beauty, which has gained
My ravished heart, has all my glory stained:
Thy loveliness my soul has prepossessed,
And left no room for any other guest.

Emanuel Swedenborg and Time Magazine

On July 1, 1935 Time Magazine ran an article, The New Jerusalem, stating:

Son of a Lutheran bishop, Emanuel Swedenborg spent his time between the ages of four and ten in "thought upon God, salvation and the spiritual experience of men." Some of his precocious revelations made his father & mother conclude that angels were speaking through him, decide to put a stop to "these celestial excursions." But at 57 his anatomical search for man's soul turned Swedenborg once more to supernatural intercourse. This time he had no doubt that the angels and spirits were real. They scattered sweet or disagreeable odors on his body, produced pain, heat, cold. One night some evil spirits got into his scalp, fled at dawn "with a slight hissing sound, like when some little distended vesicle is perforated." For the next 27 years Swedenborg made almost daily excursions through Heaven and Hell, heard the meaning of the Scriptures expounded by angels, spirits and the Lord Himself. All that he saw & heard he dutifully set down in 29 fat Latin volumes.

Christ, he firmly believed, had chosen Emanuel Swedenborg as the vehicle of His second coming. But for all his complex system of theology, he did not attempt to preach or found a sect. His New Church was to embrace all Christendom, revitalized by his revelations.

Emanuel Swedenborg would again resurface in the magazine on February 7, 1938 in an article, For Swedenborg, about notable Swedenborgians and on June 28, 1954 in an article, The Great Swede, once again discussing his long list of personal achievements. And finally, on June 26, 1964, in an article about The New Jerusalem where the author notes the Second Advent of Jesus Christ:

Who was the most brilliant mind of the 18th century? A good case could be made for Newton, Voltaire, Samuel Johnson—or for Emanuel Swedenborg, the polymathic scientist and seer whose fame lingers on not just in literature but in churches that honor his writing as the vehicle for the second coming of God's word.

In all, the Time Magazine Archive lists 22 articles and letters that mention Emanuel Swedenborg dating back as far as 1925 with the last one published as recently as 1985, an article titled In Search of Immortality the Tree of Life which notes that John "Johnny Appleseed" Chapman believed in Emanuel Swedenborg's revelation.

But here is the interesting piece for me, why is it that in all of these articles Emanuel Swedenborg's science, philsophy, engineering, and personal achievements overwhelm the fact that he was chosen by Jesus Christ Himself to publish the completion of the Word of God in bearing witness to the Second Coming of Christ? Surely the Second Advent of our Lord is bigger news than some guy inventing a prototype airplane, or figuring out how the human body works.

I can assume the answer is summed up by the author of the July 1, 1935 article who observed:

...the fact remains that in most U. S. minds Emanuel Swedenborg and his doctrines are sadly confused with advice to the married, physical culture, Rosicrucianism and patent can-openers. That is because most citizens have met the great Scandinavian savant only as a tiny picture in the back pages of popular magazines, tucked away in one-inch advertisements offering HEAVEN AND HELL, "632 page book treating of the Life after Death," for 5¢.

For some reason, people who have been reading the theology written by Emanuel Swedenborg, for the last 200+ years have missed their most crucial message - that Jesus Christ rose from the dead fully united with His soul, "the Father" - i.e. the risen Jesus Christ is the one and only God. By making the details about the afterlife to be the main thrust of their message and belief, the movement which could have been working new life into Christianity sidelined itself out of the mainstream and into mysticism, spiritism, agnosticism, and philosophy. Making the Second Advent of Jesus Christ wait for over 200 years to be announced and realized in mainstream culture.

In the article, The Great Swede, the author reports the President of a Swedenborgian denomination saying:

"The Second Coming of the Lord is a process already going on, changing the very environment ... of all mankind. It is not to be a bodily Coming . . . That Second Coming is as the very spirit of truth . . . We feel Swedenborg has been a chosen instrument ... to make the truth concerning the Second Coming better known."

This is as close as any of the 22 articles that Time published come to actually getting the full truth, that Jesus Christ returned to earth in 1745 when He appeared to Emanuel Swedenborg and asked him to write and to publish everything that he was about to learn. The Second Coming of Christ was real, it was historical, it happened between 1745 and 1772 and the full story can be found in the books that Emanuel Swedenborg wrote and published during that time.

Follow Up: Video About Computers for Mississippi

In cooperation with Charity in Action under the direction of Frank Vagnone and the Seabees coordinated by Lt. Martie Johnson NMCB 7, Quest For Tech donated 100 computers to De Lisle elementary school in Pass Christian school district in Pass Christian, Missippi. See the Marsha Hill video on ABC 13 Biloxi Gulfport Pascagula at Marsha Hill Reports On School Computer Donation

Joel Osteen - Relief Effort for Rita

From Joel and Victoria Osteen:

Joel Osteen Ministries and Lakewood Church are located in the heart of Houston, Texas. Because of our proximity to the areas most affected by Hurricane Rita, we will be taking an active role in relief efforts. Thousands of volunteers have been enlisted, crisis counselors trained, medical teams prepared and supplies collected. But we will need your help if we are to make an ongoing difference in the thousands of lives that have been impacted by this storm. Please give now to help with the hurricane relief

Please note that due to the threat of Hurricane Rita in the Houston area all services, church activities, and related events for the weekend of September 24th are cancelled.

Continue to check our Web site at http://www.joelosteen.com/ for the most up-to-date information.

Please pray for South Texas and Louisiana residents, and all those who may be impacted by this powerful hurricane. God bless you and your family. We are believing for God's restoration power.

Joel and Victoria Osteen

100 Computers for Mississippi School

Charity in Action is continuing its great work in supporting the ministry of Lt. Martie Johnson, a Seabee chaplain in Gulfport, Mississippi by shipping 100 computers and other supplies to help in the school rebuilding project. Check out the local Fox News Coverage of the story.

Microboundaries - Better Communication is Possible

The Rev. Mark Carlson, a licensed marriage and family counselor, recently gave a seminar titled, "Microboundaries: Protection of Love" which can be downloaded for free as an MP3 or listened to live online.

In it he identifies seven aspects of a person's sense of self that he identified as their micro boundaries:

• Beliefs


• Opinions


• Thoughts


• Intentions, Desires, Motives


• Feelings


• Your experience of your body


• Your experience of your family of origin

His lecture proposed answers to questions I had and questions I hadn't thought to ask - expanding my understanding of what makes us individual human beings, what healthy communication is, and even how to effectively parent children.

In a handout given at the talk, Mark Carlson layed it out this way.

In comparison with violations of another's Macroboundaries like:

• Physical violence or cruelty


• Lying


• Humiliation


• Using sarcasm or teasing, belittling, and ridicule


• Disparaging another's friends


• Name calling


• Gossiping


• Triangulation: An unwillingness to talk directly to someone you are having a problem with, and talking to another instead

Violating another person's Microboundaries happens when we communicate by:

• Telling another person how to think, feel, believe, etc.


• Telling another person that you KNOW how THEY think, feel, believe, etc


• Speaking for another


• Commands, coercion, manipulation or statements that start "You must..." or "You need to..."


• Forbidding


• Moralizing, Preaching, Making a judgment on another's spiritual state or destination


• Saying "You always..." or "You never..."


• Pretty much every "You" statement, even "I feel that you..."


• Any statement that could be summarized "You think I feel that you feel..."


• Negating another's thoughts, feelings, perceptions, memory, ...


• Not allowing another person to change


• Predicting to another the future of their inner state


• Expecting others to mind read, or know your unexpressed thoughts, feelings, desires, ...


• Minimizing or denigrating another's physical pain

This talk really opened my eyes to see how I could care for the people I love and communicate in a healthy and productive way with everyone I have contact with. You can find the audio online at http://www.newchurch.org/sermons/index_html?s=701

Charity in Action on (phillyBurbs.com)

Charity in Action is continuing its timely and effective work of bringing hope and relief to the people of the Gulf coast. The Intelligencer has great coverage of the community response in an article titled, Helping Hands.

Charity in Action is also now able to receive donations online through their affiliation with the Bryn Athyn Church. If you want to help with the relief and recovery effort, Charity in Action can now receive your donation at Network for Good or visit their Hurricane Relief Donations page to find out about other ways you can contribute to the effort.

Mississippi Needs Our Attention

OK, so New Orleans has our attention in the news, but the storm unleashed its full power on the gulf coast of Mississippi. Definitely take some time to see what is happening with the relief efforts in Mississippi at:
South Missippi's Home Page
and at
WLOX - ABC 13 out of Biloxi, Gulfport, and Pascagula

If you want to help out in this region there is a new charity forming out of Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania called Charity in Action that is supporting the ministry and relief work of Navy Chaplain Martie Johnson, Jr and his unit of Seabees. Under the Direction of Frank and Laura Vagnone, Charity in Action will have volunteers travelling down to the gulf coast not just for the relief effort, but also for the following recovery. To find out more about how you can help visit them online at http://www.charityinaction.org or send a check to:

Charity in Action
The Bryn Athyn Church
C/O Stewart Asplundh
P.O. Box 277
Bryn Athyn, PA 19009

Other Bloggers on Charity in Action:

Charity in Action at GlennFrazier.com

Joel Osteen Reaches Out

Definitely my favorite television evangelist, and probably my favorite preacher over all - Joel Osteen brings Christ's true gospel of hope, inspiration, and God's full power to change lives to people all over the world.

With Hurricane Katrina uprooting so many people, Joel's ministries are reaching out to provide 3 hot meals a day for the refugees in Houston shelters. If you would like to help his efforts, check out the Lakewood Church site at http://www.lakewood.cc/site/PageServer?pagename=HurricaneKatrina

Pray, Donate, and Volunteer

I heard today that relief efforts in the wake of Hurricane Katrina will be working through at least Thanksgiving to bring life back to normal in many of the devastated regions.

Although we know that God is already present with each and every person as they weathered the storm and as they begin rebuilding their lives in its aftermath, we should pray for health, recovery, and well-being for those effected. Our prayers connect us with people and give them support in more ways than we can see. The world is a community of people that is in constant interaction with God, with heaven, and with hell. Our prayers connect us in this network of relationships and strengthen us and those we pray for by reinforcing the connections with God and heaven. Prayer has real and lasting effect and empowers the work of God here on earth - as do the individual ministries of believers.

As we pray, we need to reach out with the gifts of time, expertise, and money that God has given us. We know that all good things belong to God, we're just managers. And so let us spend everything that God has given us to bring the gospel of hope, the ministry of support, and the kingdom of God to those who are in need. Let our lives be witness not just of our belief, but of our friendship with the Lord God Jesus Christ.

To find out about volunteering in the relief effort or to donate money, I would recommend contacting the American Red Cross: www.redcross.org or 1-800-HELP NOW

Welcome

Hello, my name is Pastor Steve Simons. I am a Bible-believing follower of Jesus Christ at His Second Advent. That's right - SECOND!

Check out my ministry page at http://www.onechristianity.org to find out all about what Jesus intended for His church.

Essentially, Second Advent Christianity is a belief that Jesus Christ completed the Last Judgment (prophecied in Daniel and Revelation) in 1757 and started a new Christian era starting in 1770. Between those years (and actually as far back as 1745) Jesus was teaching the principles of true Christian life to a man named Emanuel Swedenborg who took everything that Jesus taught him and published it in a set of latin volumes that have come to be called the Heavenly Doctrine of the New Jerusalem because of the imagery of a recreated Jerusalem mentioned in the book of Revelation.

Anyway, check out www.onechristianity.org to find out more about what Jesus intended Christianity to become.