Freedom has never been free. Throughout history, the struggle to throw off oppressors has exacted a heavy toll in human lives and fortunes. It has been no different for America. Based on estimates from The World Almanac, notice the great cost of freedom just in our own short history.
Killed In Battle:                        Wounded:
Revolutionary War
4,435                                 6,188
War of 1812
6,765                                4,505
Mexican War
17,435                                4,152
Civil War
646,392                             281,881
Spanish-American War
4,108                                 1,662
World War I
320,710                             204,002
World War II
1,079,162                            671,846
Korean War
140,200                             103,284
Vietnam War
211,556                              153,363
Persian Gulf War
766                                    467
Each American owes a debt of gratitude to all who gave “the last full measure of devotion,” as Lincoln put it.
But consider something even more remarkable. The total of American war dead (not including more recent wars) to preserve freedom is 2,431,529 with 1,431,350 wounded. Yet the entire death-toll necessary to secure spiritual freedom for all mankind through the ages is but One Solitary Life. “Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage” …

Exactly when people began using eggs to symbolize the new life of Spring is hard to ascertain. The practice pre-dates Christ by many centuries. Ancient Canaanites, Babylonians, Persians, Romans, and others celebrated Spring as a time of plant, animal, and human reproduction; their revelry often included unbridled sexual perversion. Even the people of Israel were caught up in the practice, worshiping “Asherah” (the fertility goddess) and “standing pillars” (phallic symbols) “on every high hill, and under every green tree” (1 Kings 14:15, 22-23). God soundly rebuked them for it.
The Egyptians’ goddess of motherhood and fertility was Isis; rabbits were used as symbols of birth and life. The Babylonian version of this goddess was Ishtar, who had supposedly been hatched out of a huge egg that had fallen into the Euphrates River. Eggs were always used in her celebration as symbols of love, life, and reproduction.
As early Romans adopted the gods of neighboring tribes, they honored Flora as a goddess associated with flowers and Spring, but there were other goddesses whose roles overlapped hers. They used eggs to symbolize the beginning of new life, and western civilization gets the practice largely …

Making quite a splash in religious circles is a documentary produced by four young men, college students, all of whom were raised in various American denominational Christian traditions. But they all came to perceive that American Christianity doesn’t bear much resemblance to what’s found in the Bible, and that following “religion” is much different than following Jesus. Of course, they are right. They recognize that their title Beware of Christians is controversial; they do not warn against true followers of Christ, but the practitioners of modern churchianity. They do not advocate moral laxity or godlessness; instead, they believe that truly coming to know Jesus will bring about genuine change in behavior. They believe that real faith and morality should come from a personal knowledge of the Lord, rather than the rules of churches. What a concept.
Early in life these young men began to notice the stark difference in wealthy Americans pulling up to churches in big fancy cars, and the simple lives of first century disciples. They do not condemn big cars, but believe that our prosperity can separate us from the real world and its need for the gospel.
No …

Worshiping one’s ancestors is a real problem for many Chinese who become Christians. For several thousand years the Chinese have shown reverence to their forebears by having a shrine in their homes or maintaining elaborate graves in the countryside. Annually, family members will visit the graves and conduct very formal rituals to show honor to their dead. These rituals include bowing down and praying to their ancestors, hoping to draw strength and wisdom from their loved ones gone on. It is considered a sacred duty for each generation to honor the last, and is an integral part of Chinese family life and culture.
It’s no wonder that many people struggle with this matter when becoming Christians. Most immediately recognize the inconsistency of worshiping the-only-true-and-living-God and their ancestors at the same time, but they aren’t always sure what to tell their families. Sometimes families will understand and be gracious, but that’s very often not the case. It presents a real problem for disciples with a new-found faith in Jesus Christ. It’s part of counting the cost.
Though ancestor worship is foreign to us, the concept of putting Christ before all else should not …

by Gardner S. Hall
For other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 3:11).
Paul referred in this language to the foundation of the church in Corinth. The foundation he laid was Jesus Christ. This is the foundation that must be laid everywhere. It is the basis of all loyal and faithful service to God.
Therefore, the design and proper action of baptism is not the foundation. What acceptable worship is, is not the foundation. The true church, its unity, its name and organization, etc. is not the foundation.
Since these are not the foundation, they are not the first things to emphasize to the sinner. Naturally the foundation ought to be laid first. We must build the structure upon the foundation, not the foundation upon the structure.
The foundation is laid when we convince a person that Jesus is the Christ, the anointed of God, the Son of God. If he believes this with an understanding heart, he knows that no other person comparable to Jesus ever lived upon the earth. He becomes fully convinced that in Him “are all the treasures of wisdom and …