Thursday, October 27, 2005

THE REWARD OF PURITY

?Happy are the clean in heart -- because they shall see God.?

(Matthew 5:8)

QUOTATIONS FOR THE DAY

?Purity and simplicity are the two wings with which man soars above the earth and all temporary nature.?

(Thomas a Kempis)

?There is no better adornment? than a severe temperance and purity, modesty and humility, a gracious temper and calmness of spirit; and there is no true beauty without the signatures of these graces in the very countenance."?

(Arthur Helps)

?Innocence is like polished armor; it adorns and defends."

(Robert South)

WHAT THEY DON'T WANT YOU TO KNOW

The face on the Maine Won?t Discriminate website is that of a cheerful, neighborly, middle-aged woman. MWD has been running photos of average people in an effort to give the impression that theirs is a grassroots effort.

What Maine Won?t Discriminate isn?t telling its readers, however, is that the husband of the person shown, Nancy Chittim Farrand, is Stephen Farrand, who was hired in June 2005 to be the Maine Education Coordinator for GLAD. GLAD stands for Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, New England?s most powerful gay rights advocacy group.

Stephen Farrand is also the communications director of GLSEN of Southern Maine. GLSEN, which stands for Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network, works to promote the homosexual rights agenda within the public schools.

GLAD had a large display at the Gay Lesbian Bisexual and Transgendered expo which was held at the state capitol building this summer.

The expo was held only a short distance from Governor Baldacci?s office.??

The following are Rev. Dallas Henry's thoughts on a conversation he had with a homosexual who is concerned about the Vote Yes position in the upcoming referendum.

MY CONVERSATION WITH MARK

A while ago someone named Mark called me to share how much he hated Michael Heath, the Christian Civic League of Maine, and me. He began to tell me how un Christ-like the League is, and then went on to challenge the position of the League on homosexual rights.

As we talked, he began to tell me about discrimination, and why Maine needs the homosexual rights bill. I shared with him that I had learned there is really little or no discrimination in the State of Maine. I backed up my statement by telling him that it was a fact that on no application for a bank loan, rental agreement, or employment application is there any place to indicate a person's sexual orientation.? Mark went on to tell me that he thought it was wrong for people to carry signs and shout derogatory remarks about homosexuals.? I said I couldn't agree more, and that such behavior is very un-Christ-like.

I told Mark that if I heard anyone speaking like that, I would come to the defense of the person involved. I also told him that I am confident that the Christians I know would do the same.? Mark was a bit taken aback by that statement. He said he had always believed all Christians hated homosexuals.? I told him that true Christians do not hate, but instead love with the love of Christ.? Our conversation went on for a half hour, as Mark told me the reasons why he believed what he did, and that he was, in fact, a theology student.

At the end of our conversation, Mark told me he perceived I was a reasonable man.? I thanked him for his observation, and told him it has always been my desire to be reasonable and loving, an attribute of most Christians that I know, including Michael Heath.

As our conversation drew to a close, I told Mark I didn?t want him to be made fun of or called names, even though I disagreed with his chosen lifestyle.? I also told him that I didn?t want homosexuality to be the law of the land, and never wanted to see a situation where if anyone spoke out on the subject they could end up on the wrong side of the law.

I shared with Mark the fact that pastors in some countries that have homosexual rights laws have been jailed for preaching the Biblical truth about homosexuality. As Janet Folger explains in her book, The Criminalization of Christianity, ?Swedish pastors are jailed for speaking against homosexuality?Canadians are fined for refusing to print morally objectionable material.? Here is a disturbing expose of a war where the losers will not merely have to endure disagreeable public policy, they will serve a prison sentence for opposing it. Where is this new battleground?? America.?

I have heard others claim that the real way to love is to vote NO on Question One in order to let the Governor?s homosexual rights law stand.? On the other hand, Rev. Sandy Williams, Chairman of the Coalition for Marriage, has said that a ?YES? vote on Question One is actually our ?Love Gift? to the state of Maine.

Some have said that it isn?t love to deny rights to homosexuals.? It is love, however, to protect Maine from going down the path of moral bankruptcy that leads to the destruction of the traditional family, and society as we know it.? Some supporters of the NO vote say that Jesus loved everyone, and then quote His statement ?He who is without sin, let him cast the first stone.?? When quoting this part of scripture, they conveniently fail to quote the rest of Jesus? words. He said, ?Go and sin no more.?

It is important for every citizen in Maine to become totally informed about the most liberal and most sweeping homosexual rights law ever seen.? I don?t want my friend Mark to be called names. But at the same time, I don?t want it to be legal in Maine for a man to be able to dress like a woman and to use a woman?s bathroom, or a woman to use a man?s bathroom.? Those are just two of many reasons to vote YES this November 8th.?

There is a lot of helpful information available online which you can obtain by going to the Coalition for Marriage website coalitionformarriage.net and clicking on ?helps?.

I have created a pastor's packet for any pastor or church leader and would be happy to get one into the hands of anyone who asks.

Let us pray that come November 8th we will win, for the sake of our homes and families.
-?by Rev .Dallas Henry.

THE HAMMER AND THE ANVIL

Last eve I passed beside a blacksmith?s door,
And heard the anvil ring the vesper chime;
Then looking in, I saw upon the floor
Old hammers,? worn with beating years of time.

?How many anvils have you had,? said I,
?To wear and batter all these hammers so??
?Just one,? said he, and then, with twinkling eye,
?The anvil wears the hammers out, you know.?

And so, thought I, the anvil of God?s Word,
For ages skeptic blows have beat upon;
Yet though the noise of falling blows was heard,
The anvil is unharmed ? the hammers gone.?

(author unknown)