...Storm clouds may rise; Strong winds may blow .... but I've found a Saviour & ...He's SWEET I Know !!

(E. Dewey Smith)

Exposing Humanism -Introduction

Strategem: Divide and Conquer

Main Entry:	strategem
Part of Speech:	noun
Definition:	trick

Synonyms: action,angle,artifice,booby trap,brainchild,con, deception, device, dodge, feint,gambit, game, game plan, gimmick, grift, intrigue,layout, maneuver, method, pitch, plan, play,plot, ploy, pretext, proposition, racket, ruse,scenario, scene, scheme, setup,shift, slant,stall, story, subterfuge, switch, twist, wile

8Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9Resist him, standing firm in the faith. (1 Peter 5)

   Having watched this video of the moose attempting to protect (click to play VIDEO) it's calf a dozen times or more,  it graphically reminds me of Satan's "divide and conquer" strategy.  As you view this video, notice the focus of the attack is not on the strong, but the weak.

   As a father of four very active teens, I look for ways to teach God's ways.  The responsibility is mine as a father  to alert them to the dangers they face in the coming months and years.  I try to teach them to make good choices, to stand alone for God - no matter what the consequences may be.  As high school days give way to career paths, inevitably university/college choices loom on their horizons and unfamiliar, uncharted territory and secular influences.  It is vital that they are grounded in God's Word during the time they are still resident in my home!

5Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.8Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. (Deuteronomy 6)

    One of the characteristics of today's post-secondary scene is the ever-present philosophy of secular humanism.  It absolutely permeates academia and thus seems to easily integrate into our society like a cancer,  wrongly influencing legislation, court decisions and public policy.   Humanism is so contrary and so antagonistic to Biblical values - attempting to block and mock God our Creator.  The very nature of secular humanism is to promote the Mind of Man, tearing down biblical belief and Godly living.

   In conversation with my oldest son the past few months, I have been going over the inherent dangers that he will soon face as he begins his post-nest journey through life.  Some of the toughest will be as he enters the halls and classrooms of academia.  I believe that God has spoken to my heart to  share some of these insights with other fathers in our ANVIL Community.   I am too aware of the dangers that can lurk  for young people who are not grounded in a vital relationship with Jesus Christ, Son of God, The Living Word.

   Recently, a father in our ANVIL Men's group explained to us in one of our near-famous "table-discussions" of how he was protecting his school-aged children from a danger he identified in his home.  I think my heart may have skipped a beat or two as inwardly I wholeheartedly endorsed his stand!  He is taking his God-given place as the Protector of his family!  Fathers.....Awareness of this danger is important. Vital. Critical !!!

                                                                   

When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him. (Isaiah 59:19 KJV)

   The ANVIL Newsletter will be taking a look at and increasing our awareness of ... Secular Humanism, possibly one of the most inhumane philosophies ever perpetrated!     Stay tuned over the next months for more.  

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patrick morley says ...

Christians and secularists are not trying to solve different problems. We're trying to solve the same problems in different ways.                                                  

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Psalm 100:2 says.... Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture



*See "Evolution vs. God"

Thoughts on Change

Change is often pondered at this time of the year in many aspects of our lives.  Sports clubs, fitness memberships all have line-ups for new memberships in January, but the line soon peters out early on as the year unfolds.  Our "physical man" needs ongoing maintenance and change to get us over the inevitable tough spots in our physique and health.

Change is necessary in our walk with God.  Although sometimes uncomfortable, we need to have a plan to develop and exersize our "spiritual man", and grow up to what God wants us to be.  To think of this from a biblical perspective, I must realize that  - God is all about change in my life.  John 15 is a solid example using the analogy of the Gardner pruning his prize grape plants:

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me."   5“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. 8This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples".

At ANVIL our leadership team wants you to "be well-pruned" as well.  That's why we're planning to provide the opportunity for you to grow in your walk with God in 2013.  It has been said that God is more concerned with what you are becoming, rather than what you are now!  His change plan is often to move us from small to BIG, from struggling in our faith to maturity, renewing us from inside to the outside; ...to give us more of Himself and set us free from the things that hold us back in worship and following after Him!  It begins with the first step in the right direction...think about that for a while.  Not only do we want to encourage you, but more specifically to draw your attention to growth through discipleship.  It's a marathon, not a sprint. 

In the weeks to come, we will be looking at a helpful book by Patrick Morley entitled "Man Alive".  There's more to come on this....so stay tuned for details in the next while and plan to be "on-board" with us to be a better disciple of Christ in 2013!  He is not an Ordinary God !!!

Happy Birthday Ian!

Happy Birthday Ian!

Barry Mayson's Testimony

Former Hell"s Angel, Barry Mayson Speaking (Click to Play VIDEO)

Here at a recent ANVIL Ministry for Men evening, we listen to Barry Mayson's testimony via DVD.

How to Pray for Your Adult Children

from Charisma Magazine

9:30AM EST 1/7/2013 GERMAINE COPELAND

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(http://www.stockfreeimages.com)

“But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren” (Luke 22:32, NKJV).

 Several years ago I talked with the leader of a Christian rehabilitation ministry, and he said that the most difficult young people to help are those of Christian parents. He went on to say, "They refuse to let their children suffer the consequences of their behavior.

"Often, they are concerned about how they will look in the eyes of others, or fear being judged and found lacking. Some will question their faith."

When we see our adult children under attack, we immediately begin fighting the devil. Satan becomes the focus of our prayers, and we fail to realize that each individual has to walk his own spiritual journey by his own free will.

If our children are to mature and develop character, we can't walk their paths for them. We have to allow each child to develop character and wait on God to direct our prayers.

In Luke 22:31-32 we read a conversation Jesus had with Peter, which shows the foreknowledge Jesus had of the trial Peter was facing. Jesus said to him: "'Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren."'

Even though Jesus knew Satan's plan for Peter, Jesus did not rebuke the devil. He didn't stop the attack.

He did not try to control Peter's decision. Instead, He prayed for Peter, and He prayed for a positive outcome to his temptation.

We know that Peter yielded to temptation. But we only have to read the book of Acts and Peter's epistles to understand that God's will was done in his life.

God turned what Satan meant for destruction into development of Peter's character. Peter fulfilled his divine destiny.

We must learn how to trust God with our adult children—even when we can see the spiritual trials they are facing and the plan of Satan to ensnare them. We are so quick to blame the devil and to attack him with a vengeance.

Where is our trust? "Lord," we pray, "You have the power to deliver my child from the attack of the enemy. Don't let Satan harass him." Jesus, however, keeps praying, "Father, don't let his faith fail, but use this time to purify his faith."

Do we want it our way or God's way? Believe that your children will walk in truth. Remember, you were not too hard for God, and neither is the adult child for whom you are praying.

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Germaine Copeland is the author of A Global Call to Prayer, the Prayers That Avail Much book series, 365 Days to a Prayer-Filled Life, and Prayers That Avail Much for Daily Living (Charisma House).  She is also a contributing author of Women’s Destiny Bible (Thomas Nelson) and Impart Magazine.

Forget the past ! ....Full speed Ahead for God in 2013 !

13 ... Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14I press on toward the goal to win the prize for  which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (from Phillipians 3)