June/July 2005

Dear ones,

Since September 1977, we have conducted Believers' Retreats twice yearly (annually the last two years); the first one was at Brandon Spring in the Land Between the Lakes, and the one last October was at Kentucky Dam Village State Park. In what we have called the retreat family-the thousands who have participated-children have grown up, have married, had children, and those children have grown up. But God seems to have seasons for the things He does, and the Sun is setting on the Believers' Retreats. Please read on.

SUNSET FOR BELIEVERS' RETREATS
Believers' Retreats, as we have known them since 1977, have come to their end. When we had the first one, we didn't know that there would ever be another one, let alone 53 more. Now, the Retreat Board, after prolonged prayer and fasting, has reached one accord; we believe that the will of God, expressed in a variety of ways, is that "the retreats, as we have known them, are finished," but the Lord may in the future build a new work on the same foundation. The Board will continue to meet semiannually for fellowship, and will be open to whatever God may wish to build on that foundation in the future. If you have insights from the Lord, or prayerful suggestions about the future, please let us know. Send e-mail to mmmck@bellsouth.net and regular mail to the P.O. Box 413 address above. We will keep you informed in the event of future gatherings.

Our thanks to all of you who have participated and contributed in any way for the past 28 years; more importantly, each of you will be a partaker of whatever rewards there will be in Heaven for all that the retreats have accomplished.

MORE ON GLOBAL GOVERNMENT: WHAT WOULD IT BE LIKE?
Most dreamers, planners and plotters who favor global government tend to prefer socialism, where power and control are concentrated in a large government bureaucracy; they believe that government control is a better system than one of personal freedom and personal responsibility. Alger Hiss was such a person; he was a member of the political and cultural elite, held a powerful position in the US State Department, and he was also the author of the U. N. Charter. He was also a Communist spy for Soviet Russia, was convicted and went to prison (the establishment media are still trying to re-write history and make him a good guy). He definitely favored socialism/communism, and was a founding father of the U.N. (Do you see something going together here?)

In such a socialist system there is a controlled economy, such as was seen in the Soviet Union. In such a system there is very little personal freedom to make choices, or opportunity for improving one's position in life. Individual freedom and opportunity are sacrificed to government planning and "security"; private property rights cease to exist. In such a system there is a definite caste system; power and wealth are concentrated in the hands of an elite few, a bureaucratic and economic aristocracy. Only their children are normally allowed academic education; the children of ordinary people are locked onto a trade school track, geared to "the needs of the work force," and tend to be reduced to something on the order of permanent peasant status. This is the "workers' paradise" system preached by Marx, Lenin, Trotsky and Stalin; it has never, ever succeeded, except in eliminating personal freedom, creativity and productivity, and creating God-less tyranny. (More next issue.)

DINOSAUR SOFT TISSUE?
Remember Tyrannosaurus rex, the scariest dinosaur of them all? The artists' conceptions usually show him on the attack, with gaping mouth, terrible teeth, and red eyes. Evolutionists tell us that he, like all the other dinosaurs, has been extinct for maybe 100 million years. Yet in the March issue of the professional journal, "Science," it was reported that a team of archeologists found a bone of this dinosaur containing soft tissue, flexible and branched, that appears to be blood vessels; these vessels contained what appear to be red blood cells. The team was not looking for such amazing things. It had been digging up bones of Tyrannosaurus rex in Montana, and was preparing to leave by helicopter, but there was a problem: the thigh bone was too long to fit into the helicopter. To make it fit, it was broken, and in the marrow cavity these soft tissues were found. Professor Mary H. Schweitzer, North Carolina State University (one source has her at Montana U.), who has studied the bone, found that not only were the vessels flexible, but that in some cases what appeared to be blood cells could be squeezed out of them: "The microstructures that look like cells are preserved in every way...preservation of this extent, where you still have this flexibility and transparency, has never been seen in a dinosaur before." Why has it not been seen before? Probably because no one expected it to be there; if the bones are millions of years old, it couldn't be there. Now, paleontologists are faced with an amazing, uncomfortable fact that contradicts their preconceived belief in evolution and its requirement for millions (billions) of years. Most will probably look for ways to explain away the evidence, and cling to their atheistic theory; the honest ones will abandon the bankrupt theory. (Science/BP)

THE "GOD'S STORY" PROJECT
You have probably heard about the Jesus Film, produced by Campus Crusade and shown all over the World. You need to know also about the unique film, "God's Story," produced by Jeremiah Films when I was working with them. It is now distributed by The God's Story Project, headed by my good friend Dorothy Miller of Hemet, California. "God's Story" is a videotape which presents the entire story of the Bible, beginning with Creation. It is narrated by actor Dean Jones, a committed Christian, and he was so anointed that the narration was done in its entirety with one "take" (it was not necessary to re-shoot a single scene). Under Dorothy's leadership, the film has now been produced in 100 languages, and is bringing people to the Lord all over the World; it is available in both videotape and DVD. I believe that "God's Story" is much more powerful than the "Jesus Film," and it tells the story of the entire Bible; I have given a copy to each of my children, for educating their children. To obtain copies, contact our office, or contact The God's Story Project at info@gods-story.org.

A GREAT STORY YOU WON'T READ IN ESTABLISHMENT MEDIA
Brook Army Medical Center (BAMC) is a large hospital that treats casualties from Iraq and Afghanistan, especially burn victims. BAMC has buildings called "Fisher Houses" where families of the casualties can stay while visiting; they need more of these. Recently, actor Denzel Washington visited the wounded men at BAMC and learned of the need. He asked how much it costs to build and furnish one, was told, and he wrote a check for the full amount, right there on the spot. Have you read of this or seen it in the establishment media? You probably never will, but news of it has reached the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, and greatly encouraged them. Denzel Washington has a son who is a Marine serving in Iraq. (With thanks to Bob Boardman and the Evergreen Chapter of the 1st Marine Div. Assn.)

THE MIRACLE OF FRUITFUL ISRAEL
When the Israelites under Moses first reached the Promised Land, it was extremely fertile and fruitful, "a land of milk and honey." 3,500 years later, a succession of conquerors had stripped it of its forests and reduced it to an eroded, barren desert, with green areas only in the Jordan River valley and a few other watered places. When Mark Twain first saw the land, remembering the Scripture about the land of milk and honey, he laughed, calling it "a land of deserts and swamps." But the prophets promised that the deserts would bloom again, and today they do. Today, tiny Israel (smaller than New Jersey), constantly under attack since becoming a nation again in 1948, and with more and more of its land turned over to the Arabs, is the World's fourth largest exporter of fruit, and a leading exporter of cut flowers. God's promises never fail. (CSN)

THE ESTABLISHMENT MEDIA, LIES, AND DEATH
In the May 8 issue of "Newsweek" there was a story stating that Army prison guards at Guantanamo Bay, in order to torment Muslim prisoners there, tore pages out of the Koran (Queran) and flushed them down a toilet. "Newsweek" is read all over the World. A Pakistani cricket superstar read the article to the crowd at a stadium and the crowd went wild. Riots broke out and spread to Afghanistan and other parts of the Muslim world. Buildings have been burned and at least 19 people killed. The position of U.S. servicemen in Afghanistan and elsewhere is now much more dangerous. But there was one problem with the story: it never happened. That's right-it was pure fiction; but the trouble is that Muslims all over the World believe the story, and "Newsweek"'s reluctant retraction and anemic apology for the deaths and the danger to U.S. servicemen cannot undo the damage. Radical Islamic media will be trumpeting the story for years. The same thing happened last May when the "Boston Globe" (owned by the "New York Times") published a story about the rape of Iraqi women by U.S. soldiers, complete with photos so graphic as to be pornographic. In fact, they were pornographic: the photos were faked, taken from a porn Web site, and the story was completely phony. There was a similarly anemic apology, but Islamic terrorist media are still making hay with that one too and millions of Muslims all over the World will always believe that these things really happened.

But why would such "respectable" publications be willing to publish such stories? They are controlled by the globalist elite who disapprove of patriotism and are basically opposed to a strong U.S. military; in many cases they are actually anti-American. Because of this, they hasten to publish anything that makes us-especially our armed forces-look bad. Also, the reporters are in a competitive business; they may not bother to check their sources because if such a story is true, it would be a career-maker for the reporter to publish it first. And, if it is true and makes the administration or the armed forces look bad, it might get him a Pulitzer Prize. (WND/ANS, et al)

Incidentally, I could tell you of a personal experience with Newsweek's dishonesty, concerning a story they wrote about me. Do you subscribe to "Newsweek"? If so, why finance their dishonesty? Why even have it in a Christian home?

THE CULTURE OF DEATH: ONE MOTHER'S EXPERIENCE
When the Supreme court in 1973 declared abortion legal, our culture entered onto a slippery slope downward into darkness and we are sliding down it with ever-increasing speed. It is one of those sin situations where there is no place to stop except the bottom. At first abortion was legal only in early stages of development; by degrees we have slipped down the slope until we now kill our babies all the way to term. Twice, the Congress has passed laws to make illegal the barbaric procedure called partial birth abortion. In this atrocity the full-term baby is delivered, feet-first, until only the top of the head remains in the birth canal; then the abortionist punches scissors into the baby's skull to make a hole, and suctions out the brains. This causes the head to collapse and the dead baby slips the rest of the way out. The baby dies a horrible death, somewhere between having the head punctured and the suctioning of the brain. The brain tissue is almost always then sold at a high price to research laboratories. Yes, Congress twice passed a bill to stop this barbaric procedure; both times Bill Clinton vetoed the bill, and the brutal killing goes on.

Today we have taken another giant step, farther down the slope: babies, born alive, are being laid aside and allowed to die for lack of water and food. This makes partial birth abortion seem almost merciful by comparison. On 1 April, one Orlando mother, whose baby survived abortion to be born alive, had to watch her baby die. She had been medicated to start labor, went into labor in the waiting room of the abortion clinic, and begged for the abortionist-physician (Oh, how I hate putting those two words together!) to come and help her. He never came, and she finally delivered the baby into a toilet in the adjacent restroom. She saw the baby curl up as if cold (I'm sure he was), realized that her little boy was alive, and screamed for help for the baby. No one would help her. She begged someone to call 911; clinic staff would neither call, nor let her use the telephone. Twice a nurse came into the room, looked at the frantic mother (who was covered in blood) and the live baby, and left without doing anything to help. Finally the friend who had driven the mother to the clinic called 911 on a cell phone. Paramedics from the fire department arrived, but left without seeing either mother or baby, apparently turned away by the staff. Police arrived, but also left without helping, and recorded it as a "disturbing the peace" incident. Finally, the baby, whom the mother has named "Rowan," died. Don't you see the mind-set there? No one in that abortuary was mentally geared up to save babies-only to kill them. That, after all, is what they do.
Only God knows where the madness will end. The mother is left with incredible emotional agony: "The moment I saw Rowan...I cannot tell you the sickness that came over me and the self-loathing...I was miserable, sobbing. He was perfect-perfect...just tiny." And, of course, she is left with a hefty bill from the abortion clinic. (World 7 May 05) (If you would like to see the story in detail, with a photo of little Rowan, let us know and we will send it.)

ABORTION CREATES RISK FOR FUTURE PREGNANCIES
An exhaustive study of 2,837 births has concluded that having an abortion nearly doubles the probability of premature subsequent births. This study, by French Dr. Caroline Moreau and published in the "British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology," provides conclusive evidence of the link between induced abortion and subsequent premature births. Many such babies (born at less than 28 weeks) die, and a large number of those who live suffer serious disabilities. Dr. Moreau thinks the actual cause of the premature births is damage done to the cervix during abortion.
A deadly link between abortion and breast cancer has already been established, and reported on here. Abortionists fight efforts to inform women of such dangers in abortion, for the obvious reason that it is bad for their business. (London Daily Telegraph/BP)

TECHNOLOGY FAVORS THE UNBORN
One young mother told me years ago that she was really undecided about abortion until she saw her own baby through ultrasound; she then realized that it was a baby, not a "tissue mass" and was instantly pro-life. Her experience has been multiplied many thousands of times over since then, but now the technology is even better, and making more converts to the protection of the unborn. The latest improvement in ultrasound imagery has been developed by Stuart Campbell, a British professor, and it produces much more distinct, 3-dimensional images. As a result, not only are pregnant mothers seeing their babies more clearly, but medical facts, previously unknown, are being discovered. As early as 12 weeks, babies are seen "walking" in the womb. They stretch, kick, and leap around in the womb, well before the mother can feel such activity. At 18 weeks, they are seen opening their eyes, although it has previously been believed that this didn't happen until 26 weeks. At 26 weeks a baby exhibits a wide range of typical baby behaviors, including scratching, smiling, crying and sucking their thumbs. Prof. Campbell calls the reactions of parents to these images "overwhelming...I have seen mothers in tears, fathers kissing the screen and kissing their wives' abdomens." The gospel has nothing to fear from science; true science, honest science, always confirms it. (BBC/ANS)

WHAT'S A CHAPLAIN TO DO?
Political correctness is running amok in our Armed Forces, and it isn't healthy. The Air Force Academy, still feeling the effects of sex scandals and reports of rape among the cadets (when 18-22-year-olds of both sexes are trained and billeted together, how can we be surprised?) in 2003, is now smarting from unwanted publicity over a chaplain who preached from the Bible. This latest flap is simply a local eruption of the same underlying disease that is slowly killing the old, traditional, Protestant denominations: humanistic rejection of the validity of the Bible. The disease is most notably illustrated by the consecration of openly homosexual Episcopal Bishop Vickie Robinson in New Hampshire, and the conflict a few years back over an Anglican priest in England who wanted to continue as a priest, even though he was an atheist (yes, I realize that it is irrational, but he really, really did). The scandal now is over a chaplain at the Academy, Warren Watties; he had preached a sermon to cadets (who were there voluntarily) from the Bible, as if it were authoritative. He affirmed some basic biblical doctrines, including the sovereignty of God and the Great Commission. The cadets who were there were not offended-they loved it. But there was a problem: in its desire to protect diversity and inclusiveness, the Academy leadership had contracted with Yale Divinity School to audit sermons at the Academy and report on them. The Yale team, consisting of professor Kristen Leslie and a group of her students, found Chaplain Warries' sermon to be a threat to "pluralism," and recommended that the chaplaincy focus on "aspects of ecumenical teamwork, and developing an appreciation of spiritual diversity." Actually, this occurred a year ago, but the story only became public in April; now the anti-God group, Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, has jumped on the media bandwagon, charging Academy officials with responsibility for "religious harassment" and "fundamentalist oppression." No official action has been taken.

The Academy leadership didn't need another embarrassing crisis; but I must wonder why they invited a Bible-rejecting outfit like Yale Divinity School to monitor their chaplains in the first place. It was certain that if the Yalies found any chaplains who were taking the Bible seriously, they would give them failing marks; and it was all on the record. (Colorado Springs Gazette/AP/World)

AND IT'S TOUGH TO BE A COACH, TOO
Fisher DeBerry is football coach at the Air Force Academy; he is having trouble there, because he is also a Christian. Last Fall he was asked to remove a banner from the team locker room because it said, "I am a Christian first and last" and "I am a member of Team Jesus Christ." DeBerry has been silent about the controversy, but it was recently made public by Bobby Bowden, legendary head coach at Florida State, in a speech to the Southern Colorado Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Bowden said that DeBerry is under fire at the Academy "because he happens to be a Christian, and he wants his boys to be saved." Bowden said that he feels the same way about his boys at Florida State, and "I ain't gonna back down....the trouble with us Christians is we don't speak out."(Colorado Springs Gazette/AP/ANS)

CRUCIFIXION AND JESUS' MIRACULOUS DEATH
Scientists studying the shroud of Turin, in related research, made an exhaustive study of crucifixion. It was already known that crucifixion was designed to be a slow death, in order to prolong the agony. What we didn't know was how slow it could be. They found that the longest such death on record lasted 13 days; except for the 2 crucified with Jesus (whose legs were broken to bring about their death quickly), the very shortest took 32 hours. But what of the crucifixion of Jesus? He died after only 9 hours on the cross. Why? In order to fulfill the prophecies, including the one that none of his bones would be broken (Ps 34:20), and that no one could take His life-rather that He chose to die (John 10:17,18). His conception was a miracle; his entire life was miraculous; and even the death of Jesus was a miracle. The Lamb of God, "Christ our Passover" (I Cor 5:7,8) chose to die at that moment, at the very time that the Passover lambs were being killed by the priests in the Temple.

MARTY'S CORNER
Several years ago at an education conference in St. Louis I heard a riveting speaker, Ron Nash, and then bought his book Why the Left is Not Right. It was the first book that I knew of that addressed the Evangelical or Religious Left. To me, "evangelical left" is an oxymoron. How can you be evangelical and believe in Marxism? It seems that the term "evangelical" is so distorted in today's world that one must study carefully who is saying what. Since the meaning of evangelical is "in, of, or according to the gospels", the question is: "what gospel?" The Bible as the inerrant word of God? The gospel as to what parts of the Bible are to be ignored? The gospel of humanism? Essentially, what liberal left "evangelicals" do is subject the Bible to the judgment of reason in an academic way, denying that God could reveal Himself in a supernatural way through Scriptures. Thus they sacrifice the Bible's authority to human reason and the belief that if man is just good enough and all inclusive enough then an earthly, man-made kingdom is our hope and reward.

Christians should not let such so called "evangelicals" get away with playing the relativism game of discarding Biblical absolutes to suit their causes. Ask them, "What is the basis of your beliefs?" The discussion then shifts to foundations and you have the only solid foundation on which anyone can stand - the Bible as the inerrant word of God.

Sex Outside Marriage... God's Rule and Our Selfishness
Recently, I was one of the speakers at a seminar about abstinence education, one designed for parents-giving them information about STDs and other issues important to talk about with children. One of the speakers took the job of talking about why abstinence is wise...and why anything else is foolish, risky, and dangerous (STDs, pregnancy, etc.). My job was to address why God would make sex a moral issue. Why would it not be just a safety or wisdom issue...why also a moral one, a right-or-wrong one? Suppose there were no STDs and no risk of pregnancy-would sex before marriage still be wrong? Why? Have you ever been asked by your kids or by a friend (or by your own mind) what's so bad about sex outside marriage (many might ask "what if the people love each other and are responsibly using birth control...how could that be wrong?"). Have you ever found yourself uncomfortably unsure of how to answer such a question? There is, however, a reason. When God made his rules about sex, He did so because He knew our selfish hearts better than we do ourselves. The wrongness of fornication has to do with selfishness (as well as safety). Curious? If so, read the article titled "God's Rules About Sex-He Knows Our Selfishness" on the Web site www.wordsforlivingmin.org. The article is one I wrote for the seminar I mentioned above and which I thought I would offer via Words for Living as well. If you don't have internet access, contact the Words for Living office, and we'll be happy to send you a printed copy.
-Sally McKenney Mahoney

A THOUGHT ABOUT HOLY MATRIMONY
It is interesting to note that the English word "matrimony" is derived from the Latin word, "mater" which means "mother." This being the case (and, trust me, it is), holy matrimony clearly implies a union between a man and a woman. Why? Because homosexual, same-sex "marriage" cannot procure a (mater) mother.

A "CONTRADICTION" IN THE BIBLE?
Enemies of righteousness dismiss the Bible as a collection of fables, filled with errors and contradictions. Such people, of course, usually have never read the Bible, let alone studied it. The fact is that there are no contradictions in the Bible, for it is the Word of God, and God is not confused. One apparent contradiction, however, concerns prophecies of Ezekiel and Jeremiah. The setting is the imminent conquering of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar; King Zedekiah rejects the messages from God, through Jeremiah, that he should not resist the Babylonians, for they will surely conquer Jerusalem. Jeremiah prophesies that, because Zedekiah refuses to obey God's message, he will meet Nebuchadnezzar face to face, and shall be taken, captive, to Babylon (Jer 32:4, 34:3). King Zedekiah rejects Jeremiah's prophecy, partly because he doesn't want to believe it, and partly (according to Josephus [10.8.3]) because he is familiar with the prophecy of Ezekiel (Ezek 12:13) that he "shall not see Babylon." And so the king refuses to believe Jeremiah, refuses to surrender, and Jerusalem is conquered and burned. But there is no contradiction in the two prophecies because, after capturing Jerusalem, Nebuchadnezzar killed Zedekiah's sons before him, then blinded Zedekiah, and took him to Babylon where he was a prisoner the rest of his life. Thus did Zedekiah meet Nebuchadnezzar face to face and go to Babylon, as Jeremiah prophesied, yet he was first blinded, so that he did not see Babylon, as Ezekiel had prophesied. No contradiction. The Bible wins again!

OUR CHRISTIAN HERITAGE
George Washington was the man God chose to lead this new nation, this unique experiment in freedom, this "one nation under God," at the time of its birth. And what a man! Washington was a mighty warrior on the battlefield, a wise, restrained political leader in halls of government, and he was an humble man of God. He prayed one hour each morning, and one hour each night, on his knees with his Bible open before him. In his prayer journal, he privately confessed his "grievous sin": that his prayers had not been fervent of late. A brief entry of seven words in his diary for 7 June 1774 speaks volumes about the man: "Went to church, and fasted all day." This was two years before the Declaration of Independence; and now, in a growing number of public schools, the Declaration cannot be read to the children, or displayed on the wall, for it speaks of the God in Whom we supposedly trust as a nation.

MILESTONES
Died 31 Mar - Frank P. Pardue, father of our friend Sandra Spedden, of Cambridge, Md.

27 Apr - Nancy Wiley, wife of our friend Charlie Wiley of Gallatin, Tenn., after a very long struggle against cancer.

4 May - Col. David Hackworth, USA (Ret.), probably the most highly decorated living soldier at the time of his death. He died of cancer in Mexico, where he was being treated, in his 75th year. Hack became as fearless a journalist as he was a soldier; he wrote for Newsweek until they couldn't stand his honesty and patriotism any longer. We still need him, and I will miss him very much.

16 May - Mrs. Phyllis Levy, mother of family friend Lewis Levy, in Honea Path, S.C.

A FINAL WORD
Treasure and use each day as if it were your last, and never give up hope; God has a limitless supply of new beginnings, and He makes beautiful things out of broken pieces.

You are precious,

(Sources: AFAJ-American Family Journal; AFRN-American Family Radio News; ANS-Agape News Service; AP-Associated Press; BP-Break Point; BPr-Baptist Press; C-Charisma; CBN-Christian Broadcasting Network; CR-Congressional Record; CSN-Calvary Satellite Network; DR-Drudge Report; EP-Evangelical Press; Fox (Fox News); FOF-Focus on the Family; FRC-Family Research Council; GN-Good News Magazine; HC-History Channel; LAT-L.A. Times; Mil-Military Magazine; NR-National Review; NewsMax.com (NM); NW-Newsweek; NYP-New York Post; NYT-New York Times; PWB-Pastors' Weekly Briefing; RTLB-Right to Life Education Foundation Bulletin; RTLGC-Right to Life of Greater Cincinnati; USAT-USA Today; USNWR-U.S. News and World Report; VOM-Voice of Martyrs; W-World Magazine; WND-World Net Daily; WT-Washington Times; WW-Washington Watch.)