Darrell Baugh

Will Rutledge shared so much of God and himself through his music.  Those song sheets he handed out every week were a mighty testament to God and his dear son Will.  God bless you, Will.  You certainly blessed us for many years in His name.

For a PDF of the Will Rutledge Song Book CLICK HERE.

God’s Plan for the Ages

The Patriarchal Period

Jerry’s Gems and Basic Helps for Understanding God’s Plan

Dr. Jerry Gibson

Click here:  Jerry G.’s Gems

I was captured by a friend’s outgoing phone message that concluded with:  “Remember!  The best is yet to come!”

So much so I decided to see what the Bible had to say about eternal life and this is what I came up with…

Biblical Verses on Eternal Life

Old Testament

Deuteronomy 5: 26

For who is there of all flesh who has heard the voice of the living God speaking from the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived?

Job 14: 14-16

If someone dies, will they live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait for my renewal to come. You will call and I will answer you; you will long for the creature your hands have made. Surely then you will count my steps but not keep track of my sin.

Job 19:25-27

I know that my Redeemer lives,

and that in the end he will stand upon the earth.

And after my skin has been destroyed,

yet in my flesh I will see God;

I myself will see him

with my own eyes  –  I, and not another,

How my heart yearns within me!

Psalm 16: 9-11

Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices,

my body also will rest secure,

because you will not abandon me to the grave,

nor will you let your Holy One see decay.

You will make known to me the path of life;

In Your presence is fullness of joy;

In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.

Psalm 17: 15

As for me, I will be vindicated and will see your face; when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness.

Psalm 21:4-6

He asked life of You, and you gave it to him,

Length of days forever and ever.

His glory is great through Your salvation,

Splendor and majesty You place upon him.

For You make him most blessed forever;

You make him joyful with gladness in Your presence.

Psalm 36:9

For with You is the fountain of life; In Your light we see light.

Psalm 37:28

For the Lord loves the just and will not forsake his faithful ones.

Psalm 41: 12

In my integrity you uphold me

and set me in your presence forever.

Psalm 42:2

My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; When shall I come and appear before God?

Psalm 49:15

But God will redeem my soul from the power of Sheol,

For He will receive me. Selah.

Psalm 56:13

For You have delivered my soul from death, Indeed my feet from stumbling, So that I may walk before God In the light of the living.

Psalm 139: 23-24

Search me, God, and know my heart;

test me and know my anxious thoughts.

See if there is any offensive way in me,

and lead me in the way everlasting.

Psalm 145:1

I will exalt you, my God the King;

I will praise your name for ever and ever.

Proverbs 8:35

For those who find me find life and receive favor from the Lord.

Proverbs 19:16

Whoever keeps commandments keeps their life,

but whoever shows contempt for their ways will die.

Daniel 12:2-3

Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt.  Those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.

Ezekiel 18:32

For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live!

Isaiah 25:8

He will swallow up death for all time, And the Lord GOD will wipe tears away from all faces, And He will remove the reproach of His people from all the earth; For the LORD has spoken.

Isaiah 26: 19

But your dead will live, LORD; their bodies will rise— let those who dwell in the dust wake up and shout for joy— your dew is like the dew of the morning; the earth will give birth to her dead.

Isaiah 26:19

Your dead will live; Their corpses will rise.  You who lie in the dust, awake and shout for joy, For your dew is as the dew of the dawn, And the earth will give birth to the departed spirits.

New Testament

Matthew 19: 29

And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for My name’s sake, will receive many times as much, and will inherit eternal life.

Matthew 22: 29-32

Jesus replied, “You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God.  At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven.  But about the resurrection of the dead  –  have you not read what God said to you. “I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’?  He is not the God of the dead but of the living.”

Matthew 25: 46

These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.

Mark 10: 29-30

“I tell you the truth,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much now in the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms,  – and with them, persecutions and in the age to come, eternal life

Mark 12: 27

“He is not the God of the dead, but of the living; you are greatly mistaken.”

Luke 10: 20

However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.

Luke 18:18

A ruler questioned Him, saying, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”

Luke 18:30

who will not receive many times as much at this time and in the age to come, eternal life.”

Luke 20:34-36

Jesus said to them, “The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage, but those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; for they cannot even die anymore, because they are like angels, and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.

Luke 20:38

“Now He is not the God of the dead but of the living; for all live to Him.”

John 1:4

In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.

John 1: 12

Yet to all who received him to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God  –  children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

John 3:16

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

John 3: 16

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

John 4: 14

But whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.

John 4:35-36

“Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are ripe for harvest. Already he who reaps is receiving wages and is gathering fruit for life eternal; so that he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.

John 5:13-14

I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.  This is the confidence we have in approaching God:  that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.

John 5: 24

I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned;  he has crossed over from death to life.

John 6:27

Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.

John 6: 44

No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day

John 6:51

“I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh.”

John 6:63

“It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.

John 6:67-69

So Jesus said to the twelve, “You do not want to go away also, do you?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. We believed and know that you are the Holy One of God.”

John 8:51

“Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he will never see death.”

John 10:10

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

John 10: 27-28

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me; and I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.

John 11:25-26

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?”

John 12: 23-27

Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.  Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.  Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.  Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour.”

John 14:2

“In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you.  I am going there to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you may also be where I am.”

John 14:6

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”

John 17: 13

Now this is eternal life:  that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.

Acts 13:48

When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord;  and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.

Romans 5:21

So that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 6:4

Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.

Romans 6: 13

Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness.

Romans 6:23

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:10-11

If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

Romans 8:18

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.

Romans 10: 9

If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

1 Corinthians 9:25

Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.

1 Corinthians 13: 12

For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

1 Corinthians 15: 12-58

The Resurrection of the Dead

But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?  If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.  And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.  More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised.  For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either.  And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.  Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost.  If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.

But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man.  For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him.  Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power.  For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.  The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For he “has put everything under his feet.”  Now when it says that “everything” has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ. When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all.

Now if there is no resurrection, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized for them? 30 And as for us, why do we endanger ourselves every hour? 31 I face death every day—yes, just as surely as I boast about you in Christ Jesus our Lord. 32 If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus with no more than human hopes, what have I gained? If the dead are not raised,

“Let us eat and drink,

for tomorrow we die.”[d]

Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.” Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God—I say this to your shame.

The Resurrection Body

But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?” How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else.  But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body.  Not all flesh is the same: People have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another.  There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another.  The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor.

So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable;  it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.

If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.  So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit.  The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual.  The first man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven.  As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are of heaven.  And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man.

I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—  in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”

“Where, O death, is your victory?

Where, O death, is your sting?”

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.  But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

2 Corinthians 3:6

He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant of a new covenant  –

not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

2 Corinthians 4:18

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

2 Corinthians 5: 4

For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.  Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

2 Corinthians 4:17-18

For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but what is unseen.  For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Galatians 6:8

Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.

Ephesians 2: 8-9

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.

Philippians 4: 10

And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

Colossians 3: 4

When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will appear with Him in glory.

Colossians 3: 23-24

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward.

Hebrews 7:25

Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.

1 Peter 5:10

And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.

1 Timothy 1:16

But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life.

1 Timothy 6: 12

Fight the good fight of the faith.  Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

1 Timothy 6: 19

In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.

1 Thessalonians 4:14

For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 5:10

who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him.

2 Thessalonians 1: 10

… on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed.  This includes you because you believed our testimony to you.

1 Timothy 6:12

Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

1 Timothy 6:13

I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who testified the good confession before Pontius Pilate,

2 Timothy 2:10

For this reason I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory.

Titus 3: 7

…so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.

1 Peter 5:4

And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.

Titus 1: 1-3

Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ to further the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness— in the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time, and which now at his appointed season he has brought to light through the preaching entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior,

Hebrews 9: 15

For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance – now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.

1 John 1:1-2

What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life– and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us–

1 John 2:17

The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.

1 John 2: 25

And this is what he promised us—eternal life.

1 John 3: 15

Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him.

1 John 5: 11-13

And this is the testimony:  God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.  He who has the Son has life;  he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.  I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.

1 John 5: 20

And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ.  He is the true God and eternal life.

Jude 21

Keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you eternal life.

Revelation 21:3-4

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

PDF at:  http://wp.me/a2iegv-iC

Declaration of Independence.

1.   IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.   The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

2.   When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

3.   We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.—

4.    That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, —

5.   That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

6.   Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.

7.   But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

8.    –Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government.

9.   The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States.

10.   To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

11.   He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

12.   He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

13.   He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

14.   He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

15.   He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

16.   He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

17.   He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

18.   He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.

19.   He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

20.   He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.

21.   He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

22.   He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.

23.   He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

24.   For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

25.   For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

26.   For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

27.   For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

28.   For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:

29.   For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences

30.   For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:

31.   For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

32.   For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

33.   He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

34.   He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

35.   He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

36.   He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

37.   He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

38.   In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury.

39.   A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

40.   Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren.

41.   We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us.

42.   We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here.

43.   We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence.

44.   They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity.

45.   We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

46.   We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States;

47.   that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved;

48.   and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do.

49.   And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

Dear friends and prayer warriors,

There are a couple of unmet financial needs that we would like to share with you and ask they you pray that God would work through His people to meet these needs.

1) Thanks to Missionary Ventures, we received $5000 to buy two used motorcycles for Bolivian Quechua Missionaries.  Unfortunately cars and motorcycles here in Bolivia are 2-3 times as expensive as they are in the U.S.  We had to pay $6,500 for two used (1990) Honda 200 dirt bikes, leaving us with a $1,500 expense.

2) A while while back we were able to purchase (from GALCOM) some hand held, short wave, solar powered radios that broadcast only the Christian Quechua radios station…they have a chip with the entire Quechua Bible on it.  This is an awesome tool to teach and help an illiterate society hear the Word of God.  Some gave towards this endeavor but we fell short $1,200.

3) Please pray for Jamie’s health.  He is battling with his third bout with bronchitis this year, 2nd time this month.  He can’t seem to get his lungs cleared/healed.  The constant travel to very high altitude on very dusty roads doesn’t help.

4) Please continue to pray for pain management, and home physical therapy managment for Susan’s back (due to scoliosis.)

Thank you and God bless you for your prayers and financial support.  You are a vital part of the ministry God has us involved in with the Quechua people here in Bolivia.

We should have a newsletter with lots of photos out to you by the end of October.  You can view past newsletters at: http://jrquechua.wordpress.com/

Jamie and Susan Ramge
Serving among the Quechua in Bolivia

Donations may be sent to:

PIONEERS

10123 William Carey Dr.

Orlando, FL 32832-6931

Account # 110740 (put on check)

www.pioneers.org

Please do not respond to this e-mail sender…to reply or contact us please use:

Jamie – jrquechua@msn.com

Susan – srquechua@msn.com

Very well done. Happy 4th!

America’s Lost Invincibility

The rapid rate of moral decay that blankets America is shocking and frightening. Americans who lived for the first 150 years of the Republic would find it difficult and appalling if they were here to witness what is happening. Abortion, homosexuality, gambling, sexual promiscuity, greed—and the list goes on and on. The incredible level of prosperity and technological achievement has lulled many Americans into thinking that America is invincible and well able to sustain its standing among the nations of the world.

The Founders thought otherwise. They insisted that America’s greatness does not lie in her achievements, material progress, or ability to protect herself by military means. Far from it. Instead, they repeatedly explained that America’s greatness and her ability to prolong her existence as a nation depend exclusively on the spiritual, religious, and moral condition of her people. Specifically, the Founders insisted that the citizens’ attachment to God, Christ, the Bible, and the Christian religion would determine the future of the nation. If a sizable percentage of the citizenry does not continue to maintain Christian virtue and morality, as defined by the Bible, the nation would lose its ability to survive.

Consider, for example, the remarks of Patrick Henry in his observations concerning the state of France after their bloody revolution:

But, as to France, I have no doubt in saying, that to her it will be calamitous. Her conduct has made it the interest of the great family of mankind to wish the downfall of her present government; because its existence is incompatible with that of all others within its reach. And, whilst I see the dangers that threaten ours from her intrigues and her arms, I am not so much alarmed as at the apprehension of her destroying the great pillars of all government and of social life; I mean virtue, morality, and religion. This is the armor, my friend, and this alone, that renders us invincible. These are the tactics we should study. If we lose these, we are conquered, fallen indeed (as quoted in Henry, 1891, 2:591-592, emp. added).

John Witherspoon echoed precisely the same sentiment: “He who makes a people virtuousmakes them invincible” (1815, 9:231, emp. added). And Declaration signer and “The Father of the American Revolution,” Samuel Adams, likewise issued a solemn warning in a letter to James Warren on February 12, 1779:

While the people are virtuous, they cannot be subdued; but when once they lose their virtue, they will be ready to surrender their liberties to the first external or internal invader (1908, 4:124, emp. added).

These three Founders sound a sober warning to Americans in the 21st century. Our schools, courts, and centers of government continue to dismantle the Christian connections that have always characterized the nation. With the cleansing of our religious moorings is also the eradication of the virtue and morality that comes only from Christianity. As Americans continue to jettison Christian virtue and morality, the nation is brought closer and closer to the brink of destruction. Accordingly, the invincibility for which America has been known around the world is swiftly waning. Even now, we are in the process of surrendering our liberties to alternative ideologies (e.g., socialism), and our increasing vulnerability must inevitably result in America being conquered. “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people” (Proverbs 14:34).

Adams, Samuel (1904-1908), The Writings of Samuel Adams, ed. Harry Cushing, 4 vols. (New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons).

Henry, William (1891), Patrick Henry; Life, Correspondence and Speeches (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons), [On-line], URL: http://www.archive.org/details/pathenrylife01henrrich. See also George Washington Papers at the Library of Congress, 1741-1799: Series 4. General Correspondence. 1697-1799, Image 1071, “Patrick Henry to Archibald Blair,” January 8, 1799, [On-line], URL: http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=mgw4&fileName=gwpage113.db&recNum=1070.

Witherspoon, John (1815), The Works of John Witherspoon (Edinburgh: J. Ogle).

Declaration of Independence: Formatted for Group Reading

From Snopes.com …..

THE PRICE THEY PAID

Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence? What fates befell them for daring to put their names to that document?

Five signers were captured by the British as traitors and tortured before they died.

Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned.

Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army, another had two sons captured.

Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War.

They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor.

What kind of men were they?

Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists. Eleven were merchants, nine were farmers and large plantation owners; men of means, well educated. But they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the penalty would be death if they were captured.

Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships swept from the seas by the British Navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts, and died in rags.

Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move his family almost constantly. He served in the Congress without pay, and his family was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from him, and poverty was his reward.

Vandals or soldiers looted the properties of Dillery, Hall, Clymer, Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton.

At the battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson, Jr., noted that the British General Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson home for his headquarters. He quietly urged General George Washington to open fire. The home was destroyed, and Nelson died bankrupt.

Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The enemy jailed his wife, and she died within a few months.

John Hart was driven from his wife’s bedside as she was dying. Their 13 children fled for their lives. His fields and his gristmill were laid to waste. For more than a year, he lived in forests and caves, returning home to find his wife dead and his children vanished. A few weeks later, he died from exhaustion and a broken heart.

Norris and Livingston suffered similar fates.

Such were the stories and sacrifices of the American Revolution. These were not wild-eyed, rabble-rousing ruffians. They were soft-spoken men of means and education. They had security, but they valued liberty more.

Standing talk straight, and unwavering, they pledged: “For the support of this declaration, with firm reliance on the protection of the divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other, our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.”

They gave you and me a free and independent America. The history books never told you a lot about what happened in the Revolutionary War. We didn’t fight just the British. We were British subjects at that time and we fought our own government!

Some of us take these liberties so much for granted, but we shouldn’t.

So, take a few minutes while enjoying your 4th of July Holiday and silently thank these patriots. It’s not much to ask for the price they paid. Remember: Freedom is never free! 
Read more at http://www.snopes.com/history/american/pricepaid.asp#ZDp68cGcALLWFf28.99