How to Live with Your Eternity in Mind Articles  by Rev.      Andrew Paton This Week: Where is your God now? In the extremes of both pain and pleasure, there is an apparent but unreal perception of the absence of God. Health Counting Carbs? Gosh! Vanilla ice cream rates better  on the Low Glycemic Food Index  than corn flakes!  Try this Low Glycemic Food Recipe: Savory Vegetable Bean Chili Spiritual Soul Food * * * The Ten Commandments Clarification of the Ten Commandments is excerpted from the book “Basic Christianity” by John Stott, with permission from Inter-Varsity Press. Mr. Stott's book examines the historical facts on which Christianity stands. "When the ice cream is brought into the children’s party the cry goes up ‘me first!’ As we grow up we learn not to say that kind of thing, but we still think it." Examine each of the Commandments with John Stott Understanding the Ten Commandments as Mr. Stott explains them can be a sobering, even depressing exercise. You may even find yourself asking, as Mr. Edward Boyd did in "Letters from a Skeptic", "Isn't the Christian life Impossible to live?" "How can I be Holy and Sinful at the same time!" In "Letters from a Skeptic", Mr. Edward Boyd, (a religious skeptic and the father of theologist Dr. Greg Boyd) writes: "So here's my problem: how can God really expect anyone to live up to His ideals? I mean, I consider myself to be a pretty good person. I've certainly gone out of my way to help the underdog more than most. But I also know that my life isn't the "saintly" life the Bible idealizes. Nor could it ever be. But this biblical ideal seems to me to be totally impractical and unrealistic. So, for example, didn't Saint Paul say somewhere that if you think about lust it's the same as doing it? Come on! One bad thought and you're an adulterer! Who could possibly live up to this? A lot of Christians say they do, but I don't believe them." Mr. Boyd's son Greg answers, "Hear the impossible ethics of the Sermon on the Mount, throw your hands up in the air, and confess, "I cannot do it! I quit!" Contact Us Send us your comments and questions About Healthy Elements about our beginning Letters from a Skeptic: The Biblical ideal seems totally unrealistic! Letters from a skeptic:there's part of me which says that Christianity is true and that I should believe. But there's also part of me which says don't bother, because you could never live it anyway Examine Each of the Ten Commandments with John Stott Just how miserably does Mankind fail when it comes to keeping the Commandments? Vanilla ice cream - a low glycemic food (G.I.) rating better than corn flakes! Research shows that low glycemic food may offer a greater potential for weight loss than low-fat diets and, possibly, low-carbohydrate diets. Your Good Health free informative articles on maintaining your health Weekly Weblog of Devotionals - How to Live with your Eternity in Mind Thought-provoking devotionals relating to the trials and tribulations of life today with guidance on how to live thru them with your eternity in mind. Science and the Search for God Science keeps chipping away at Darwinian theories. School cannot teach you morals - it can only impart facts. Going back to school to learn "how to do" mustn't be confused with discovering "why to do". The Marriage Amendment: Yes, the Biblical ideal is a hard one! On the Marriage Amendment - By all means call a same-sex relationship a domestic partnership, but don’t confuse it with the marriage ideal. Conflict! What if someone has done you wrong? Speaking to all whom will listen about the conflict, and even a few reluctant ones Can a smart man believe in God? Why it takes a bigger leap of faith to be an atheist than it does to believe in God. In the simple days of the 60's, Batman was one of my heroes. Somehow culture changes what heroes do. What was bad has become good. Lincoln didn’t hesitate to mix Bible doctrine in with the affairs of state. If our current and future presidents quote Bible concepts in their addresses they’ll be in the company of men like Honest Abe Lincoln. Evolution - Who designed it? the mathematical chances of the pure theory of evolution producing life as we know it are less than those of a tornado blowing through a junkyard and assembling by accident a working jumbo jet Nothing is permanent in this wicked world - not even trouble Trouble is often the tool by which God fashions us for better things. He has returned without his limbs, but he is not back here without his honor. Debt of Honor - I was deeply moved by the words of the soldier who lost both One finalist returns in victory; the other with dreams broken The true winner will be the one unchanged by how their dreams played out this day. Save us from an increasingly liberal and bombastic Supreme Court. As a new American I’m appalled at the damage those black robed usurpers of constitutional-law called the Supreme Court-have done already. Temptation: Did the boss's eyes linger on you that heady bit longer? It’s the story of every temptation. All of us have the same pipe dream of handling temptation: "If I just sin carefully, I can stay in control". We are now in this war. We are all in it; all the way. Powerful and resourceful gangsters have banded together to make war upon the whole human race. One of my struggles was to believe that the Bible was authentic. I couldn't believe that copy after copy of the Bible could be made during hundreds of years without errors creeping in. "McCarthyism" proved: Truth needs no immediate applause to be appropriate. After all the articles written about McCarthyism to mock him, Joe McCarthy turned out to be right. Please Pray for this Man Pray that God Blesses Him with Divine Wisdom in all Decisions. You will often see more than names and dates on headstones. Choosing the writing on headstones: By what quality you'd like the world to remember you. Chaing called listening to Marshall the worst mistake he ever made Marshall, an excellent soldier, bungled in the morass of Chinese politics. The Bible says, "even our best insights are like peering into a misted mirror." The Tsunami - Indian Ocean Tidal Wave Pastor Paton speaks to those viewing the Asian Tsunami as a sign the End of the World is near Varian Fry helped rescue 1500 people. After making his home in Connecticut, Varian Fry ceased to speak of the stream of famous and gifted Jews that escaped Europe by his efforts. Ronald Reagan loved God even into the growing mental darkness of Alzheimer's. Ronald Reagan was no longer able to comprehend the complexities of the sermon, read from the Bible, follow an announcement, but two aspects of the service triggered his memory and got his lips moving. Norman Rockwell and F.D.R. each brought focus to four freedoms. Do you want those freedoms everywhere in the world? A question for the main characters in the Easter story: If asked, Jesus would tell you why he'd do it again. An old Easter song comprehends the mystery. Euthanasia? Is God winnowing His Church. Is he reducing the flock? "First it was abortion, then it was homosexuality, and now it’s euthanasia. By their choices, individuals and, I suspect, denominations, are choosing whom they will serve." Schiavo - death by starvation? Judge , you could have ruled that Terri Schiavo be sent home In his autobiography Gift and Mystery Pope John Paul II observes a battle. Pope John Paul II felt Consumerism threatened to undermine human dignity in a way communism never could. Science and the Theory of Intelligent Design Why is the theory of intelligent design not being taught to your high school student? Do the upright in heart fear wiretapping? Might wiretapping have you blushing, if this Sunday they played tapes of your phone calls in church? Whenever you disagree with another do it with utmost respect. You will often meet those who disagree with you. It's what happens next that's important to God. Anthony Flew - no longer numbered among the atheists. Atheists that haven't studied Flew's work yet - Is Celibacy a Gift or a Vow? Celibacy started with one disciple's life experience and, like the roast, became an international practice. Influential ideas incur consequence. Will today's ideas bless or curse us tomorrow? Secular humanists desiring to rid America of the laws of God? Are they saying, "Get your god out of my face and let America make the laws that will suit the modern mind"? Dante was unable to get his heart to agree with his marriage vows. In all Dante's poetry there's not one word of love for Gemma, his wife Where does an ordinary man find courage to risk death at duty's call? Part of Todd's reserves of courage was found in his car. In a tray between the front seats, lay the last scripture card he used. Archived Devotionals by Rev. Andrew Paton Rev. Paton's Devotionals - pertinent to life as we live it today Some doubt Christ's crucifixion for lack of evidence of the original cross. A similiar lack of historical evidence exists for the world's first telephone. It may have kept a few soldiers warm on a winter's evening! "O Love that will not let me go" was 40 years in the making and only minutes in In "O Love that will not let me go". Matheson chose a committment to a higher purpose over bitterness. I gulped with wet eyes at how once again this country is fighting for freedom. To give others a chance at freedom, America offered the cream of its youth to topple a tyrant. Life isn't necessarily about prolonged happiness. A good life is when you've grown in character. The lukewarm religious lifestyle makes Jesus sick enough to vomit. A religious commitment. America needs it and Jesus wants it. You require it and evil hates it. It isn't American to separate country and God. Some misguided souls among us are keen to expel God from law and science. The Air Force Academy's No. 2 officer was removed from a Promotions List Could it have been because the Air Force Academy is investigating charges of advocating religion? One of life's fundamental truths is that we are created EQUAL. From fetus to the infirmary we are of equal value, yet created equal is not to say that we are created the same. What do you believe is the origin of the morals we hold? Are some lives more valuable than others? What you believe about morals will influence your answer. One Man's Response to Katrina's Wrath In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina one man asks, and answers: A cell is a million times more complex than a mousetrap. Behe is claiming that, just like a mousetrap, a single living cell had to have been thought out and constructed all at once. Fame doesn't matter when you live with eternity in mind. Yet to gain fame, some people go to great lengths to impress their world. Pastor Andrew explains: How I do prayer. How a Bible verse that arrests your attention can help you to hear a word from the Lord. Have we lived up to the sacrifice made on our behalf? Are you troubled at the thought of not living worthy enough to match such sacrifice? Our failure to recognize who Jesus really is. You need something to help you recognize Jesus. He doesn’t wear a nametag. What Dream or Invention has stirred your spirit? The fruit of your prayer and an adventurous spirit may will be an invention that will bless the world! Does worry sometimes keep you from eating and sleeping? The combination of worry, tiredness and hunger makes a threatening circle. This isn't a message about a God who keeps you from attacks. This is about a God Who promises to walk thru it with you. You cannot depend on society or legislation to keep your mind pure. Keeping a pure mind is a responsibility that is yours alone. Stores are banning Christmas! Robert Ulrich, of Target Stores, banned using the word "Christmas" in their in-store promotions Law of Diminishing Returns at work in marriages. The law of diminishing returns will take away the little you have. Randy "Duke" Cunningham - What a Guy! Success followed Cunningham everywhere he went. And then.... Say the name Jesus in a public gathering and frowns break out all around Klingenschmitt prays publicly using the name Jesus, against official Navy doctrine. John Jay was to negotiate with the English. Poor John Jay. He was made to look like the village idiot. After Sartre studied the Bible, he wound up believing that stuff! To this day the final utterances of Sartre are ignored in many Bible truth survives translations Fresh translations attract attention to Bible truth What matters most on the last day? Please don't let your last words be of grudges, fame or money If churches engage in political activity they risk losing their So what!? If losing that tax-exempt status is what it costs the church to regain its voice as a prophet to all walks of society then so be it. In 1708, Bach declared his life's ultimate purpose was music to the glory of God Though Handel also loved sacred music I believe he often wrote for the praise of the crowds. There are 2 legal ways that most of us can obtain U. S. citizenship. America offers some people the privilege of dual citizenship. God doesn't. Our Constitution: directing us to have freedom FROM, or freedom FOR religion? A look at your state's constitution shows strong possibility that this was supposed to be a country - not free of religion, but rather free for religion. School officials cut short valedictorian's commencement speech. The school had gone to great trouble to censor her speech. The theory that likens the universe to a giant casino. In respect to the universe, their theory asks us to believe that the Big Bang itself had no cause. Rights Are Not Unlimited Some think our rights are unlimited and the world's wealth is limited. It's just the opposite. Any government left to itself long enough will increasingly supervise its people Apparently big government believes we ordinary people don't have what it takes to help ourselves. The Long Letter: Your attitudes are what your kids will remember most about you. Almost every child knows if they were raised by a grumbler, an optimist, a worrywart,a goal setter, a complimenter or a critic. -The Long Letter Answering "Where is your God" knows two great obstacles. In the midst of either great pain or great pleasure, "Where is your God" brings an apparent but unreal perception of the absence of God. Sample the Pastor's Soul Food Free samples of articles from new Soul Food volume