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Dripping Springs Weekly Bulletins
"Misinformation"
In the Spring of 1944, the Allied Forces made every effort to cause the German High Command to think the D-Day invasion would take place in Calais instead of Normandy. They used “misinformation,” statements that were intended to mislead, to deceive.
While the term is relatively new, the practice of misinformation is neither new nor has it been abandoned. In fact, with the “World Wide Web” we are overwhelmed not only with good information but also misinformation. A blend of hoaxes, fairy tales, jokes and outright lies has come forth.
The following are false:
- The Federal Communications System is going to place a tax on e-mail in the USA.
- By sending an e-mail message to nine of your friends you can get a $50 gift certificate from Applebees or Cracker Barrel restaurants.
- Madeline Murray O’Hair circulated a bill in Congress to prohibit all religious programming on radio and TV.
- NASA has discovered the “missing day” of Joshua 10:12 on their computer programs.
- A list of oil companies who supposedly import “Middle East Oil” so we will boycott them in protest of Iraqi atrocities.
- Charles Darwin became a Christian in his later years and abandoned his theory of Evolution.
- Dr Pepper (or Pepsi Cola) has taken “In God We Trust” out of their corporate ads.
- Proctor and Gamble is owned and operated by the church of Satan.
- A host of warnings about computer viruses, etc. that have no basis in fact.
These and many more have caused a lot of people to wonder what is the truth about these matters. Statements in these messages say they have been investigated and are true, thereby claiming authenticity. The danger inherent in such misinformation lies in the fact that genuine warnings of threats to us may be ignored because our regard for truth has been damaged. When that occurs, no one can be sure what to believe.
Honest people forward these false statements to others not realizing they are untrue. Those sincere people believe them and act accordingly.
Watchdog web sites have proliferated for the purpose of searching out and informing us on the validity of some of these hoaxes, but some of us have our doubts about them. Yes, when truth is blended with lies, confusion follows.
Some misinformation on the Web is there because someone intentionally sought to fool the public. In the world of religion, much misinformation exists, perhaps not with the same intent, but with even more serious, eternal consequences.
In 1 Kings 13 we read of the lie of an older prophet that led to a young man’s death. Today’s misinformation will also result in death—eternal separation from God, Mark 3:29.
A divided religious world is the consequence of such misinformation. On one street corner is a church building; across the street is another. Both claim to tell the truth, but teach opposing doctrines. The man on the street doesn’t know what to believe. There is no standard of truth for religious thought. Or is there? Maybe there is a “watchdog site” for God’s truth. Yes, the Bible is man’s source for God’s truth, all of it (John 17:17,
2 Timothy 3:16-17), and “the scripture cannot be broken,” John 10:35.
www.MONKEYS.TO.MAN.com
Actually, most people don’t believe this misinformation. Gallup Polls say only 9-11% believe Darwin’s theories. You would think that the centuries of teaching this theory would have been convincing to man, but maybe man is more capable of discerning than we have thought. We are created by God in the “image” of God, and we are in possession of an immortal soul. I don’t know about you, but no monkeys are in my ancestry. And I don’t believe all e-mails that appear on my computer.
www.ALL.GO.TO.HEAVEN.com
Heaven is not a place where people just happen to go. But prevailing views today think that’s so. A celebrity dies, the eulogy extols his life, and “poof,” he/she is in heaven. This thought came from the mind of man, not God, for in Matthew 7:13-14 Jesus said: “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”
No, not all are going to heaven. Again Jesus said in Matthew 7:21: “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.”
www.NO.MORAL.STANDARDS.com
Humans have been acting more like animals recently, and some are saying that is good. Ethics, or morals, are no longer set in concrete, some say, and it depends on how you look at things. A moral standard exists in the mind of each individual, and no one is bound to the standard of others, it is said. But God says that some acts are “sin,” and that practicing some forms of behavior will bar one from God’s favor and from heaven, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20. We’d better guard our homes.
www.RELIGION.OUT.OF.DATE.com
It is true that for some, Bible reading and spiritual thought are no longer respected. Recent surveys indicate that religion has a much smaller place in today’s family, and attendance at any religious activity is reduced. That is not because God is out of date, but because man has abandoned God. In the days after the World Trade Center tragedy, many sought solace in prayer, but their shock has diminished, and for many their fervor is all but gone.
God is still there for us. His will is still man’s standard, even if man ignores it. Heaven still awaits. Hell still threatens. We must look to God for the truth, not the World Wide Web. His information is always true, and you will never be misinformed.
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“The great masses of people will more easily fall victim to a great lie than to a small one.”
“Sin has many tools, but a lie is the handle that fits them all.”
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Home For Sale
Recently we passed by a beautiful old white frame house nestled among stately old oak trees and a well-kept yard. Flower boxes and a swing on the long front porch made that old house appear happy and loved. One could almost smell the odor of fresh-baked bread and hear the laughter of happy children. Into these thoughts came the intrusion of a sign out front proclaiming simply, "Home for Sale." I began to think, "How can we sell a home? Can a home really be sold? How can one put a price on memories? Can mere money buy the sharing of events? Is there a possible means of financial evaluation of love of parents and children, the shared conversations of mealtime with family, the good books read and the sorrows experienced together? What price tag can be put on the spiritual teaching and godly examples in a Christian home? All these things make up homes. Do we really sell homes or just houses?”
These thoughts continued to nag at my mind and I've concluded that we really are selling our homes today, even many whose owners are members of God's family. We are selling our homes to the god of the world (2 Corinthians 4:4), who will use his power to destroy them. We sell our homes through TV, which we allow to freely baby-sit our children, teaching them the ways of ungodliness, sexual immorality, profanity, immodesty, deceit and cruelty. We are also selling our homes through mothers choosing to work outside the home at public jobs for "things" which are of little value in home building. We sell our homes through day-care centers for the tiny preschoolers and through church "youth ministers" to entertain rather than to teach. Mothers are selling homes through fast-food chains rather than providing the joys of family meals, using such time for teaching respect and table-manners as well as assuring well-balanced meals conducive to proper body-building. Daughters are not taught the happiness found in being good homemakers, good wives, and good mothers. Fathers are abdicating their God-given role of authority (Ephesians 6:1-4), selling their homes through the public schools now steeped in the teaching of humanism, atheism, evolution, etc.
We sell our homes through materialism, leaving the Lord out while putting "making money" first. Our children must be taught at home to "seek first the kingdom" (Matthew 6:33), having love and concern for others. They must be taught at home the work and worth of the church and what it means to be a part of it. Home is the place to begin to learn the Word of God and how to live it. It is the duty of the home to provide wholesome entertainment and activities rather than expecting the church to oversee such. We cannot expect our homes to survive on four hours of "church-going" per week. It is high time we wake up and quit selling our homes to the devil. Frankly, my home is not for sale! Is yours? Or, have you already sold it??? Maybe it is time you seek earnestly to buy it back!!!
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