Christmas Flash Mob

Philippians 2:5–12 (NKJV)

⁵Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 

⁶who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 

⁷but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 

⁸And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 

⁹Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 

¹⁰that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 

¹¹and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 

¹²Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;

Isaiah 45:22–25 (NKJV)

²²“Look to Me, and be saved, All you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. 

²³I have sworn by Myself; The word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness, And shall not return, That to Me every knee shall bow, Every tongue shall take an oath. 

²⁴He shall say, ‘Surely in the Lord I have righteousness and strength. To Him men shall come, And all shall be ashamed Who are incensed against Him. 

²⁵In the Lord all the descendants of Israel Shall be justified, and shall glory.’ ”

Revelation 17:14 (NKJV)

¹⁴These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful.”

Revelation 19:11–16 (NKJV)

¹¹Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. 

¹²His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. 

¹³He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. 

¹⁴And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. 

¹⁵Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 

¹⁶And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

Local Evangelism

I thought I should post some of the outreach events that we did this year.  I don't have pictures from some like the Kitsap Fair, the Cruz in Port Orchard or the Fathoms O' Fun Parade.  But, below are some of the events that do have pictures.

This is at the Chimes and Lights in Port Orchard.
These are some of my favorite kiddos that we ran into down there.

This is at one of the recent Mall Table Evangelism days.
We get basically one day a month to host a table at the mall and handout tracts.
As you may notice by my shirt, we have been "big dealing" the 180movie...
The goofy looking guy, um the one in red... Ok, the one with facial hair, is Jeremy (yes, he spells his name wrong, HA). He is one of my favorite brothers in the Lord.  He is an encouragement and a good leader, friend and co-laborer.

Also, there is Susan she is great as well.  Good with the kids at Sunday School.

These next few pix are from the Folklife Festival in Seattle.  Our church sponsored 2,000 bags to be handed out with New Testament and tracts in them.  We got about 1,500 handed out and that left some for other events through out the year.  Thank you again to all that participated and especially to the Lord for providing.

This is myself and my beautiful bride. 

These are some pictures of the great team that stuffed the bags in assembly line fashion.  Thanks team...

As you may notice we had the youthful to the youthful at heart  serving, it was a great time of fellowship as well.

Matthew 12:33 (NKJV)

³³“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.

Colossians 1:10 (NKJV)

¹⁰that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;

Philippians 4:17 (NKJV)

¹⁷Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that abounds to your account.

Hebrews 13:15 (NKJV)

¹⁵Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.

Seriously, think about it people...

James 4:17 (NKJV)

¹⁷Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.

Matthew 22:34–40 (NKJV)

³⁴But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 

³⁵Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, 

³⁶“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” 

³⁷Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 

³⁸This is the first and great commandment. 

³⁹And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 

⁴⁰On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

Islamic Law: Rape Victim Forced To Marry Muslim Rapist

ISLAMIC LAW: RAPE VICTIM FORCED TO MARRY MUSLIM RAPIST

So they pardoned the rape victim, the jailed rape victim,  in Afghanistan was 'pardoned' after she agreed to marry her rapist. Pardoned",? No, she's  "condemned" to marry the animal who attacked her. I write about here.

Under Islamic law, the emphasis is not so much on the crime of rape but on the shame that the woman has brought upon her family by her sexual immorality, even if it was forced. So that shame can be washed away by her marrying the rapist.

Islam's emphasis is wholly and completely upon women as having the responsibility not to tempt men. If they do, and the man rapes, it's the woman's fault. So this ruling is of a piece with the wearing of hijabs, burqas, etc. Islam teaches that women are the possessions of men and places a high premium on virginity. This woman after the rape would be considered damaged goods. If the rapist had declined to marry her, her life would have been completely ruined, as no one else would marry her and she would be stigmatized.

The 4 witnesses rule comes from the Qur'an (24:4 and 24:13). It is based on an incident in which Muhammad's favorite wife, the child bride Aisha, was accused of adultery. Rather than see her stoned to death, Muhammad got a revelation that four witnesses were required (the accusers didn't have them). This exonerated Aisha, but Muslim women have suffered as a result of this law to this day.

Afghan president pardons woman serving time for being raped The Star (hat tip RV)

KABUL—Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Thursday pardoned an Afghan woman serving a 12-year prison sentence for having sex out of wedlock after she was raped by a relative.

Karzai’s office said in a statement that the woman and her attacker have agreed to marry. That would reverse an earlier decision by the 19-year-old woman, who had previously refused a judge’s offer of freedom if she agreed to marry the rapist.

Her plight was highlighted in a documentary that the European Union blocked because it feared the women featured in the film would be in danger if it were shown.

More than 5,000 people recently signed a petition urging Karzai to release the woman. She had the man’s child while in prison and raised her daughter behind bars, which is common among women imprisoned in Afghanistan.

A statement released by Karzai’s office says that after hearing from judicial officials, the decision was made to forgive the rest of the sentence she received for having sex out of wedlock, a crime in Afghanistan. The presidential statement did not say when the woman was to be released or how much prison time had been pardoned.

The woman told The Associated Press in an interview last month that she had hoped that attention generated by the EU film might help her get released. With the film blocked, she said that she was losing hope and considering marrying her rapist as a way out. She said her attacker was pressuring her to stop giving interviews.

About half of the 300 to 400 women jailed in Afghanistan are imprisoned for so-called “moral crimes” such as sex outside marriage, or running away from their husbands, according to reports by the United Nations and research organizations. Fleeing husbands isn’t considered a crime in Afghanistan.

The EU welcomed the woman’s release.

“Her case has served to highlight the plight of Afghan women, who 10 years after the overthrow of the Taliban regime often continue to suffer in unimaginable conditions, deprived of even the most basic human rights,” the European Union’s Ambassador and Special Representative to Afghanistan, Vygaudas Usackas, said.

He said the EU hoped the same mercy would be extended to other women serving similar terms. Usackas said he planned to raise the issue of Afghan women’s rights at an international conference on Afghanistan Dec. 5 in Bonn, Germany.

Some of the most severe restrictions women faced under the Taliban, like a ban on attending schools and having to have a male escort to venture outside the home, were done away with when the radical Islamic movement was driven from power in 2001. But Afghanistan remains a deeply conservative and male-dominated society, meaning women are still sold to husbands and rights enshrined in law are often ignored in practice.

As posted here...