RFIDs = 666 ???

All in the name of medicine, or is it?

"An American company, Verichip, is developing an RFID chip implant that will permanently store your medical records under your skin, so any hospital equipped with a reader can know all your pertinent health information even if you are unconscious. A simpler version of this subcutaneous chip is already implanted to help identify pets." writes NewsWeek .

"Injectees would thereafter be able to breeze past bouncers and entrance lines, magically open doors to VIP lounges, and pay for drinks without cash or credit cards. The ID number on the VIP chip was linked to the user's financial accounts and stored in the club's computers. " See full article here.

"The June report points out that until recently RFID technology was used mainly for logistical purposes to identify cargo. "Now it has entered the public space on a massive scale: public transport cards, the biometric passport, micro-payment systems, office ID tokens, customer loyalty cards, et cetera." excerpted from e-week.com.

Globe and Mail reports: "In design, the tag is simple: A medical-grade glass capsule holds a silicone computer chip, a copper antenna and a "capacitor" that transmits data stored on the chip when prompted by an electromagnetic reader."

NewsWeek reports: "The technology has the potential to transform our relationship to the objects around us. In theory, stores could dispense with checkout counters—instead, you'd grab items off the rack or shelves and walk out the door, while an RFID reader takes note of the items and takes the money right out of your e-wallet."

Steps Toward the Mark is dedicated to teaching on the relationship of prophecy and current events related to the 'mark of the beast.' The site provides additional links about RFIDs.

This is mean to be an FYI post. I know what I think about all of this, but I couldn't decide exactly how to post about it. Your comments will be appreciated. Thank you.

Pastor's Part 3

I have never considered myself to be a prophet, but my comment to e-mom was correct. We did get part 3 this Sunday. Pastor went right back to last week's text: II Chronicles 20:15-28. The focus was a somewhat different from 1 and 2, so I guess it could be a stand alone sermon.

Again, rather than duplicate his message, I'll just give you the basic idea. After he read the text and gave a few introductory remarks related to the sermon of last Sunday, he titled the message:"The battle is not yours."

When a child is abducted from a rich family, the motive is to extort money from the parents. It is not to have a child to feed, clothe, and care for. The kidnappers do not ask the child for money, they demand it from the parents. The child is taken as a means to get to the parents.

Abusive people often hurt the people closest to them. Much of the time, the people they hurt actually have little to do with the conflict within the abuser. The victim simply is in the presence of the abuser when he/she commits the acts of violence.

The devil is not really interested in mankind at all, except as a means of getting to God. Yes, he is jealous that man can be saved and become a permanent resident in heaven. Yes, he knows that one saved person can put a thousand enemies to flight. Yes, he desires to sift believers as wheat. But that is not his driving force. He wants to hurt God. Knowing that it is impossible for him to over-ride God in any way, he chooses to afflict God's creation. He is much like a spoiled child; willing to do anything to gain attention for himself even if it is the wrong kind of attention. Christians are merely targets in satan's war-games.

Ultimately, we win! How frustrating that must be for old beelzebub. It further aggravates him when he finds us rejoicing in the midst of our trials. Praising God brings confusion into his ranks. The noise of exalting our Savior deafens his forces. When we worship the Almighty it sends the devil into a blind rage.

Deaf and blind, just what are the chances of them making a direct hit? And what if they do? Is it not merely our flesh that suffers? The Apostle Paul put it this way, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. Satan can not take true life from us. In his efforts to destroy us, he inadvertently drives us closer to the Life-Giver.

Somewhere along the way, Pastor elaborated on the fact that the devil does not have to kill us to accomplish his purpose. Many times he advances more through trampling on Christians, tarnishing our witness, and tainting our message. We must not be moved by the aggression of our enemy. Should we fall, we must get back up and into formation.

The Church must set herself in battle array in a united front. She must be poised regardless of the nearness of the skirmish. She must follow the orders of the Captain of the Hosts. When it is time for her to engage, He will direct her every move. In the meantime, she must PRAISE! While she is praising, He is setting the ambushments. The battle belongs to the Lord.

Praise Your Way Out

Cowboy and I just got in from a revival in progress. Tonight our pastor was the guest speaker. He began with a brief re-cap of what he had preached to us on last Sunday morning. Then.......
Well, you need to know that our pastor is a bit long winded at times. He promises to preach about 15 minutes and some 60 minutes after that, he gives the altar call. At that 15 or 20 minute mark, he generally says, "I'm through preachin. Now I'm gonna talk to y'all for awhile."

The "preaching part" is usually a passage from the Old Testament and then one from the New Testament, with a bit of exposition of the texts. When he is a guest speaker somewhere, he will add the comment, "I'm just a foundational preacher, y'all." Then he proceeds with a theme or principle found in both passages.

Tonight he chose IIChronicles 20:15-28 (paying particular interest to verses 17 and 22) and Acts 16:23-26. Rather than transcribe the complete sermon or elaborate on the scriptures, I want to offer them along with the following statements he made to the crowd tonight. All of this fell under the "just talking to you now" category.

1. Anyone can praise the Lord, even the sinner man. Psalms 150:6
2. When the righteous praise; the captive,whether he is a sinner or a saint, will be set free.Acts 16:26
3. Only the righteous can enter into true worship. John 4:23,24
4. Worship will take you to another level in God. (I don't recall a reference for this one)

Basically, he elaborated on the idea of how much can be accomplished through us when we are free from sin, habits, and cares of this life. When we live a life of worship we live a victorious life. He went on to encourage us with this statement, and I quote: "The devil can't touch the anointing, he can only hinder the vessel. He can only touch the vessel, if God allows him to do so." To further back that statement, he mentioned Job. Job 1:8-12 and Job 2:3-6 . Somewhere along in here, he talked about: the joy we have in Christ, being stripped to our joy, and how the enemy can not steal our joy.

These were not all run together in the way you see here. Between each one, he gave a discourse to substantiate the point. He quoted many scriptures along the way. Too many to link here. You preachers, teachers, evangelists, and the like, understand how the Word just flows out when you are under the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Giving scripture to reinforce scripture is a common practice in delivering a topical message.

I can not begin to tell you about the applications and illustrations he used in this message. For one: I experienced an information overload. (I once heard, 'the mind will only absorb what the seat can endure.') Secondly: only the mature could handle much of what he said. Thirdly: I prefer to be more concise; particularly when I have to type it all out. :-)

P.S. I will eventually get my other posts done. This stuff was just too hot to keep for myself.

Prepare for the Overflow

"Like the cruse of oil unfailing, is His grace forever more; and His love unchanging still. And according to the promise of the Holy Ghost and fire, He will every vessel fill. He will fill your heart today to overflowing. As the Lord commandeth you, bring your vessels not a few. He will fill your hearts today to overflowing, with the Holy Ghost and fire."



I love that old song. It serves to reinforce the message of God's faithfulness. Its lyrics bring together an Old Testament miracle and a New Testament outpouring of the Spirit. The widow's oil was the sustenance of her physical life. The blessing of the Acts 2:4 experience is the vigor it gives to our spiritual life.

We can easily sympathize with her in her plight; no husband, no money, and no collateral. It comes natural to focus on the negatives. Rather than look at her lack, we should notice the fullness of her life. She had a godly home, two obedient sons, a little oil, and faith in the God of the prophet. Though she was in a vulnerable state, she was willing to listen to the man of God. She was humble and obedient. She did not try to second guess the prophet's instructions nor the methods of God.

In verse one, she revealed her need; the creditor had come. That is the first step towards receiving what we desire from the Lord. Secondly, she stated her grounds for approaching the prophet with her request; her husband had served Elisha in his service to the Lord. This (our faithfulness) will establish our privilege to ask of Him. Thirdly, she took inventory of her possessions; she had a pot of oil. We must make an honest assessment of our own condition. Fourthly, she listened to the voice of God's servant and she obeyed. Without obedience there will be no overflow in our lives. Lastly, she was willing to share her blessings with others. In this she shared testimony of the power of God.

Her sons borrowed vessels from family, friends, and neighbors. Don't you know that they were asked a lot of questions? They may have exchanged some information about the prophet and his instructions. Or maybe, they just said, "mama needs to borrow a pot or jug". Regardless of what was noised at the onset, you know the story broke when the oil was sold. And isn't it neat, how the buyers of the oil were most likely the same ones that loaned the containers? (Ahh, another lesson revealed.) When we respond to the needs of others it makes way for our needs to be met.

God wants to pour oil into our lives to meet our needs. His hands are tied if we are not willing to acknowledge our deficit. When we claim to be full, there is no room to be filled. When we intercede for others, it is like gathering empty vessels to be filled. Getting the oil for ourselves is only the beginning. Just as she had to distribute the oil in order to be satisfied, we must serve others out of the Holy Spirit within us. It is then that we will be completely fulfilled in life.

Let's not forget how the song begins: "Bring your empty earthen vessels, clean......" If the vessels aren't clean, neither will be what is poured out of them.