Avoid Debates and Sharp Thrusts

Avoid Debates and Sharp Thrusts, September 13

Avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain. Titus 3:9.

The Holy Spirit does not work with men who love to be sharp and critical. This spirit has been cherished in meeting debaters, and some have formed the habit of squaring [off] for combat. God is dishonored in this. Keep back the sharp thrusts; do not learn in Satan’s school his methods of warfare. The Holy Spirit does not inspire the words of censure. A time of trouble is before us, and every honest soul who has not had the light of truth will then take a stand for Christ. Those who believe the truth are to be newly converted every day. Then they will be vessels unto honor.

Do not repeat the words of your opponents, or enter into controversy with them. You meet not merely the men, but Satan and his angels. Christ did not bring against Satan a railing accusation concerning the body of Moses. If the world’s Redeemer, who understood the crooked, deceptive arts of Satan, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but in holiness and humility said, “The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan,” is it not wise for His servants to follow His example? Will finite human beings take a course that Christ shunned, because it would afford Satan occasion to pervert, misrepresent, and falsify the truth?

In this period of the world’s history we have altogether too great a work to begin a new kind of warfare in meeting the supernatural power of satanic agencies. We must put aside personalities, however [much] we may be tempted to take advantage of words or actions. In patience we must possess our souls. Brethren, make it manifest that you are wholly on the Lord’s side. Let the truth of God’s Holy Word reveal transgression and sin, and manifest the sanctifying power of truth upon human hearts. A haughty spirit must not come in to mar the work of God. We have reason for gratitude to God every moment that we have the privilege of connecting with Him....

There is need of contrition of soul every day, and the Lord declares the great advantage of everyone who will humble his heart and hide in Jesus. “Thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones” (Isaiah 57:15)....

Let those who hate the law of the Lord rave and pour out their anathemas against such as have moral courage to receive and live the truth. The Lord is our strength.—Letter 21, September 13, 1895, to an evangelist in Australia.

The Upward Look, Page 270

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Live Sept. 21: Religion in America

Events



By Washington Post Forums September 3

(AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, File)

Religion in America | Sept. 21, 2015, 9 – 11 a.m. ET
Doors open at 8:45 a.m. Program will begin promptly at 9:15 a.m.

To mark Pope Francis’ historic U.S. visit, The Washington Post will host an in-depth conversation about how the Pontiff is shaping the world’s largest religion and his influence on global politics.

During his trip, Francis is expected to take on controversial topics like immigration, climate change and family issues. On Sept. 21 at the Post, Cardinal Donald Wuerl, Rep. Loretta Sanchez, D-Calif., MSNBC host Chris Matthews and former Vatican ambassador Francis Rooney will discuss how politics and the Church are evolving.

Request a seat

Speakers:

Cardinal Donald Wuerl
Archbishop of Washington

Cardinal Donald Wuerl is the Archbishop of Washington and was elevated to the College of Cardinals in 2010 by Pope Benedict XVI. He participated in the March 2013 conclave that elected Pope Francis. He is chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, chancellor of Catholic University of America, chairman of the board of the Pope John Paul II Cultural Foundation and also of The Papal Foundation. He serves on the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and the Pontifical Council for Culture. Wuerl was ordained a bishop by Pope John Paul II on Jan. 6, 1986, in Saint Peter’s Basilica. He served as Auxiliary Bishop in Seattle until 1987 and then as Bishop of Pittsburgh for 18 years until his appointment to Washington.

Rep. Loretta Sanchez
(D-Calif.)

Rep. Loretta Sanchez, a Democrat, represents California’s 46th congressional district. Sanchez began her congressional career in January 1997 and is currently serving her tenth term in the U.S. House of Representatives. She holds senior positions on the House Armed Services Committee and the House Homeland Security Committee. She is a member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and serves as the co-chair of the Immigration Task Force. She is also a member of the Subcommittee on Strategic Forces. A product of public schools and Head Start and a practicing Roman Catholic, Sanchez is a graduate of Chapman University and American University’s MBA program. Prior to serving in Congress, she worked in the financial markets, with firms including Booz Allen Hamilton and Fieldman Rolapp.

Chris Matthews
Host, “Hardball with Chris Matthews,” MSNBC

Chris Matthews is the host of MSNBC’s “Hardball with Chris Matthews.” He has been following American politics since the first Eisenhower campaign. His career has taken him from the Peace Corps in Africa to the White House as a presidential speechwriter, and to Congress as a top aide for Speaker of the House Thomas P. “Tip” O’Neill, Jr. In the late 1980s, Matthews switched to full-time journalism, serving as Washington bureau chief for the San Francisco Examiner. He began his career on television in 1994, and in 1997 he launched Hardball, now on MSNBC, which was the title of his best-selling handbook on real-life politics published in 1988.

Hon. Francis Rooney
Former U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See; Chief Executive, Rooney Holdings, Inc.

Francis Rooney served as U.S. ambassador to the Holy See under George W. Bush. He is the author of “The Global Vatican: An Inside Look at the Catholic Church, World Politics and the Extraordinary Relationship between the United States and the Holy See.” Rooney is currently the chief executive of Rooney Holdings, Inc. and is chairman of Manhattan Construction Group. He is on the Board of Advisors of the Panama Canal Authority, a trustee of the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress, a member of the Council of American Ambassadors and a director of The Trust for the National Mall.

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Through Soccer, Teen Migrants Rebuild Lives And Meet Pope Francis

AUGUST 31, 2015 5:16 AM ET

HANSI LO WANG



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Carlos Alfaro, 19, practices with a soccer ball before a match in New York City. Some members of his youth soccer team are set to meet with Pope Francis in September.Hansi Lo Wang/NPR

After sitting down with President Obama, addressing Congress and speaking at the United Nations, Pope Francis will meet with some unique soccer players in New York City in September.

They're migrant teenagers in a youth soccer program co-sponsored by New York's Catholic Charities.

Many of them fled Central America and entered the U.S. illegally among the tens of thousands of unaccompanied minors who crossed the border last year. Now, they are living with relatives or other sponsors in the U.S., waiting for immigration court hearings to determine if they can stay.

More On The Pope's U.S. Visit

THE SALT

Philly Preps Blessed Beer And Other Edible Swag To Greet Pope Francis

For Carlos Alfaro, 19, the chance to spend some time with Pope Francis — along with other immigrants during the pope's stop at a Catholic school in New York — is an unexpected opportunity after leaving his family in Honduras two years ago for the U.S.

"I'm here so I can help my family and get support for them, all of my family, my brothers and sisters," Alfaro says.

Spending Saturday afternoons on the field in cleats and shorts is now his weekly ritual in New York.

"Soccer is my passion," he says. "I play soccer when I can."

So do about three dozen of his teammates, some of whom are applying for asylum, according to Elvis Garcia Callejas, a migration counselor at the Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York.



Pope Francis is given a San Lorenzo soccer team jersey by players at the Vatican in 2014.
Riccardo De Luca/AP


"Soccer in a way makes them forget everything," says Garcia Callejas, who helps coach the team with staff from South Bronx United, an organization that runs youth soccer programs in New York. "Sometimes you see them in immigration court really worried, and then you come see them play soccer. They are kids again."

Garcia Callejas was once a 15-year-old kid himself from Honduras. Before he became a U.S. citizen, he says he hitchhiked and rode on tops of trains alone to escape violence and find better opportunities like this younger generation of unaccompanied minors.

"A lot of them have come to the U.S., looking for a safe place. A lot of them have come because they want to reunify with their parents. A lot of them came because they were too poor in their country," he says.

But at least for a few hours on the fields across from Yankee Stadium, the drama is focused on the soccer pitch — or on the sidelines, where second-stringers often stomp and groan while they wait for their turn to play.

Garcia Callejas says some of his players have used their downtime to prep for the pope's visit, looking into the Buenos Aires soccer club San Lorenzo, the pope's favorite team.

Eighteen-year-old Ariel Mejia says he's seen Pope Francis downplaying his soccer skills in a recent interview with TyC Sports of Argentina. "He says he's terrible," Mejia recalls with a laugh.

Still, Cristhian Contreras, 16, says he's looking forward to meeting the head of the Catholic Church. That's because, Contreras explains in Spanish, "the pope's from the Americas, and he speaks Spanish."

But that's not all the pope and these teenagers share. There's also their passion for the beautiful game.


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Pope's New Sunday Keeping Appeal

Pope's New Sunday Keeping Appeal

AmazingFacts

Published on Aug 14, 2015

Prior to his September visit to the United States, Pope Francis has laid bare his deep devotion and promotion of Sunday keeping. Pastor Doug Batchelor examines the pope's recent radio address and asks, "Could this be yet another step in the fulfillment of last-day prophecy?" Find out in this eye-opening video.

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