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Devotional
April 23 2006 By virtueonline DOUBTING THE RESURRECTION

Paul gave us several consequences of not believing in the resurrection of the dead. He said that the Christian faith and life is absurd if the resurrection is not true.

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April 17 2006 By virtueonline THIS IS IT! - by Ted Schroder

First, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures. He took our place on the Cross and died so that we might be forgiven and made acceptable to God, and ourselves.

Secondly, that Christ was buried. He really died, and he really was buried. Despite being the Son of God he experienced all the sufferings and terrors of dying and death. He truly took upon himself our sinful and weak humanity.

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April 07 2006 By virtueonline THE DEMONSTRATION OF THE LOVE OF GOD

We couldn't accept a cheap and superficial forgiveness for ourselves if we had been assaulted, rejected, offended, hurt, or abused. If so, why should we force such a conception of forgiveness on God? Because we want to minimize the damage our sin has occasioned. We want to be let off lightly. We don't want to feel badly about what we have done, or about what we have left undone. We don't want to feel guilty.

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April 01 2006 By virtueonline LOVE OR COVET: GIVE OR TAKE

Desire is natural to human life. Not to desire is to be apathetic, and to have no goals. To love is to desire. To covet, however, is to want to have something which is not ours to have - to take away from someone what is their's. It is sinful desire, greedy desire, selfish desire, avarice, cupidity. Wars are started by national leaders coveting the territory and resources of other nations. Takeovers occur because companies covet their competitor's business.

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March 18 2006 By virtueonline TRUE OR FALSE? - by Ted Schroder

Paul Zahl has drawn attention to this issue in his citing George Orwell's novel, 1984. The psychologist Erich Fromm, commenting on Orwell's portrayal of Big Brother, wrote, "In describing the kind of thinking which is dominant in 1984, Orwell has coined a word which has already become part of the modern vocabulary: 'Doublethink.'

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March 12 2006 By virtueonline MINE OR THINE? - by Ted Schroder

In 2005, Tyson Foods Inc. paid a $1.5 million Securities and Exchange Commission fine for not disclosing perks it had given to former Chairman Donald Tyson. They included a $8,000 horse, a $15,000 London vacation, $84,000 in lawn maintenance at his five estates and more than $1 million for income taxes. The Springdale, Arkansas-based poultry producer and Tyson, who personally paid a $700,000 penalty, didn't admit to wrongdoing in the settlement.

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March 04 2006 By virtueonline A MARRIAGE MADE IN HEAVEN

It is for the protection of marriage and children, that the seventh commandment is given: "You shall not commit adultery." As the Letter to the Hebrews tells us: "Honor marriage, and guard the sacredness of sexual intimacy between wife and husband. God draws a firm line against casual and illicit sex." (13:4 The Message)

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February 25 2006 By virtueonline WHY ARE YOU ANGRY?

Because of our belief in eternal life, Christians understand that all human beings, no matter what their state of development, their mental capacity, their health, or the length of their mortal life, will be raised from the dead. The eternal destiny of every human being, according to Holy Scripture is Heaven or Hell. Termination of mortal life is not the last word. Life is a gift of God, and not ours to dispose of as we will.

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February 18 2006 By virtueonline HONORING THE PAST AND SECURING THE FUTURE

The crudity of the fairy tale illustrates the point of the Fifth Commandment: honor your parents lest your children dishonor you. Or, a society that destroys the family destroys itself. The Bible assumes the existence of a family, with a father and mother. The Bible knows nothing of a family with same sex parents, or children born from anonymous sperm or egg donors, or surrogate mothers. Does that mean such combinations are incompatible with Christian teaching?

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February 17 2006 By virtueonline HONORING THE PAST AND SECURING THE FUTURE

There is a Grimm's fairy tale about a family in which there were three generations living together in the same house. The old grandfather's hand began to shake when he was eating at the table, and food would spill on his shirt and the tablecloth. The daughter-in-law began to be offended by his messiness and prevailed upon her husband to move his father to the kitchen where she would not have to watch him eat.

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