According to research, bread can become moldy if it is not stored properly. Two of the big agents in the molding of bread is, exposure to air and being stored in warm, moist environments.
The Social Security Administration has released the 1,000 most popular baby names in the United States for the year 2005. Their site has some fascinating search tools for baby names that go all the way back to 1879. Names go in and out of popularity in interesting ways. In 2005, the top five boys names were Jacob, Michael, Joshua, Matthew, and Ethan. Interestingly, four of these are Bible names. In fact, 12 of the top 20 boys names come from the Bible. This does not hold for girls names. The top five for 2005 were Emily, Emma, Madison, Abigail, and Olivia. Of these, only Abigail comes from the Bible. Of the top 20 girls names, only 4 are Bible names; 5 if Grace is included.
In Isaiah 29:13, the Lord berated Israel for their false religiosity: "Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men." Consider especially the last phrase. Their fear of the Lord was taught to them by the precept of men. The idea is of men taking the fear of the Lord (the key to godliness according to numerous scriptures) and remolding it according to his own precept; that is, he reforms the concept of godliness according to his earthly ideas of what it should be and not according to the direct teaching of God's word. This manmade godliness fills our churches today. God and His word are no longer the authority for godly living. Lifestyle is determined by the popular consensus of modern cultural opinions. We must get back to the fear of the Lord as taught by the Spirit of God through the word of God if we are ever to return to the faith once delivered to the saints.
Last night, Drew Ray preached a powerful message at Antioch Baptist Church. The text of his message was taken from Hebrews 4:9, which states, "There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God." This idea was that, although we have a present rest in Jesus Christ, our true rest will come after we leave this world. Therefore, our present life is a time for service. We need to work; or, as Jesus said in Luke 19:13, "Occupy till I come." Brother Ray pointed out the word "occupy" is related to the word "occupation." One of the most convicting passages he used was the invitation of Jesus in Matthew 11:28-29. It begins, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." But too often we stop with the rest. The next statement is, "Take my yoke upon you." That is work. We find our rest in Jesus Christ through our service to Him. All this reminds me of a verse I read yesterday: "Their strength is to sit still" (Isaiah 30:7). We have far too many in our churches who are described by that statement.
Women are developing a taste for violence in their entertainment. Less and less are women put off by violence in their novels and movies. According to a frontpage article in today's Wall Street Journal, women are increasingly drawn to thriller novels where the hero is an assassin or a revenge killer. Women now make up 60% of the audience for the gory "CSI" television franchise that has three different series. Movie houses are also noticing that women make up an increasing percentage of the viewers at recent horror/terror films. Women are losing their squeamish nature when it comes to violence. One of the signs of the days of Noah was that "the earth was filled with violence" (Genesis 6:11). Jesus told us that "as it was in the days of Noe [Noah], so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man" (Luke 17:26).
Today's Wall Street Journal reports some of the recent actions of the Presbyterian Church (USA). In 2004, the Presbyterian Church decided "to initiate a process of phased, selective divestment in multinational corporations operating in Israel." That is, they decided to boycott Israel. On the other hand, the pro-Palestinian stance of the Presbyterian leadership has been astounding. In the fall of 2004, senior church leaders met with and praised Hezbollah, the Lebanese terrorist organization responsible for the death of thousands, some of them Americans. The church funds pro-Palestinian committees and wrote "congratulatory letters to the terrorist leaders of Hamas on their recent election victory." Further, they verbally attack Israel and "blame the U.S. and capitalism in general for most of the world's catastrophes." God told Abraham four thousand years ago concerning him and his descendants: "I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee" (Genesis 12:3). Is it any wonder that the Presbyterian Church (USA) is suffering from "declining membership and dwindling financial support?"
