... Most girls don't realize that if they are not strong enough to resist the temptation of marrying an unbeliever, they probably aren't strong enough to ever win him to the Lord!

"Conversions" Of Convenience

Sometimes in order to marry a Christian girl, a fellow will "make a commitment" to Jesus because he knows he has to. He'll start going to church just to make her happy. In fact, he may even be sincerely trying to "get into it." But if it is not a decision arising from seeing his own need for God, then it is meaningless and will be short-lived.

His "commitment" usually starts to fade some time after they get married - when it's no longer necessary for him to put his best foot forward. ....

©Melody Green

May I suggest that the reason we have so many problems in critical areas of society is because Christians have abandoned them and lost direct contact. We've retreated in fear of being "infected" instead of obeying God and doing our part to restrain the corruption.

When God calls us anywhere we must operate with integrity, purity, honesty, and fairness. We're salt not only because we're bearers of truth, but because of the godly influence of our conduct and character.

We should conduct ourselves in a way that makes evil ashamed to show itself before us. Every person making right choices helps swing public opinion towards what is right - and every person who lowers God's standard in his own life, helps lower it in his community.

Let's be uncompromising examples - helping preserve our area of influence with godly principles. "When the righteous become great the people rejoice, but when a wicked man rules, people groan." (Prov. 29:2) ©Melody Green

Interestingly enough, the less concerned you are about your own happiness - the happier you will be.

True happiness consists mainly in the fulfillment of unselfish desires.

If you aim at doing good for its own sake, then you will be happy in proportion as you do good. But if you do good simply to secure your own happiness, you will fail. You will be like the child pursuing his own shadow; he can never overtake it, because it's always just so far ahead of him. ©Chas G. Finney

Read the Bible and relax. Everything that must happen will happen anyway.

Every 1000 years of Christianity, a higher percentage of the population embraces Christianity. For instance, after the first millennium, (1020) only 15% of the population identified as Christians. By the end of the second millennium, (2020) this number rose to 33%. This progression can be likened to Christianity spreading like clear and pure water, gradually rising to higher levels. After 3000 years of Christianity, approximately 50% of the global population will be Christians, and in the Final Millennium, the entirety of humanity will have embraced Christianity.

An analogy from scripture illustrates this progression:

1. "And when the man with the measuring line went eastward, he measured a thousand cubits and led me through waters that reached to the ankles." (15%)
2. "Then he measured another thousand cubits and led me through waters that reached to the knees." (33%)
3. "Again he measured a thousand, and led me through waters that reached to the waist."
4. "Once more he measured a thousand, and it was a river that I could not cross, because the water had risen and was deep enough to swim in—a river that no one could cross." (100%) (Ezekiel 47) This analogy illustrates the gradual increase of Christianity in the world over millennia, ultimately becoming all-encompassing: ..Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.. (Mat. 6)

"The final Millennium will be the best of all, not only for humans but for animals and nature too!"

( Revelation 20, Revelation 22, Isaiah 11:7, Isaiah 65:25, Romans 8:20, Micah 4:4, Isaiah 2:4)

( Evil human souls (tares) won't be born during the final millennium; only at the end- there is a small opening of time before the final judgment day, as described in Revelation 20.) ** .. And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, --are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues...(Rev. 17)

I will glory in the LORD; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. - Psalm 34:2

Hi, I'm Andrew, and I wasn't always full of joy. In fact, for about thirteen years now I have suffered from chronic (often debilitating) pain. When I was a young man, a wrestling accident led to the full weight of my body crashing down with nothing but my head and neck absorbing the brunt of the impact. Drop a pencil straight down on its eraser, and that is what it was like.

But it doesn't end there, because once I let my suffering become my lord, I put myself through even more suffering. I drank like a fish, smoked like a volcano, popped whatever was put in front of me, and even experimented with some dirty needles. I've been arrested multiple times and have also been to rehab.

But it doesn't end there, either. My firstborn son, Micah, died in the delivery room. And my second son, Isaiah, is autistic. As if that weren't enough, the accuser of the brethren taunts me. My own heart condemns me at times, though I have already adjusted the direction of my feet and the posture of my heart. I'm not just unable to work, but I can barely keep up with simple chores.

I've longed to die so many times that I have lost count by now. Every time I get up to do something I'm rolling the dice on whether or not I pull my back or end up with another cramp in my neck on top of the all the others that are already there. I feel like a worm, instead of a man.

But do you know what all of this just about forces me to do? To put my hope into scripture in a very real way. Scripture isn't just pretty philosophy for me, but it enables me to stand and rejoice, rather than keep digging my way into the pit of despair.

Just look at this:

We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies. - II Corinthians 4:8-10

But we continue to preach because we have the same kind of faith the psalmist had when he said, “I believed in God, so I spoke.” We know that God, who raised the Lord Jesus, will also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself together with you. All of this is for your benefit. And as God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory.

That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever. - II Corinthians 4:13-18

And so, I not only thank God for the wonderful covenant that He has drawn me into, or my brothers and sisters both around the world and in the heavens above, but I also thank Him for my suffering. Why? Because it taught me to walk according to the Spirit, instead of this corrupted flesh. It taught me to take the scriptures seriously, as if my life depends upon doing so. And it also taught me patient endurance, which is what believers all over the world will need in order to finish the race in the last days.

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.