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  • Samuel at Gilgal

    This year I will be sharing brief excerpts from the articles, sermons, and books I am currently reading. My posts will not follow a regular schedule but will be published as I find well-written thoughts that should be of interest to maturing Christian readers. Whenever possible, I encourage you to go to the source and read the complete work of the author.

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North Carolina Government Funds Movie With Rape Scene Of Child

Dakota Fanning

Why are North Carolina state funds being used to finance a movie with a child rape scene?  The movie is “Hounddog,” starring Dakota Fanning.  Fanning was 12 years old when they filmed the movie, but she plays a nine-year-old who was raped by a 20-year-old man.  There was no stand-in actress for Fanning during the scene in which she is fondled and partially unclothed.

The makers of “Hounddog” were given a $387,000 tax credit to make the movie in North Carolina.  Two other films have also been produced in North Carolina about sexual encounters with minors and they too were given similar tax breaks.  Is this how North Carolinians want their taxes used?

See OneNewsNow for more information on this topic. . . .

Do You Possess A Holy Boldness?

Has God made you bold in the Gospel since your conversion?  On the other hand, do you worry about being offensive to this friend or to that acquaintance if you share the good news of Jesus Christ?  Is boldness a spiritual quality we should seek or is it inappropriate for our culture and times?

After a confrontation with the local religious authorities – Peter, John, and company once prayed, “‘And now, Lord, . . . grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.’  And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.” (Acts 4:29-31, ESV)

Paul had faced cultural conflict but revealed his source of strength in these words, “But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much conflict.” (1 Thessalonians 2:2, ESV)  Paul had found boldness in God.  We see that the Holy Spirit enabled the disciples to speak of Christ with boldness.

How long has it been since you prayed, “Lord, give that kind boldness to me. Help me to open my mouth and to speak as boldly of Jesus Christ as I ought to speak”?  Have you never prayed that way?  The verses above demonstrate that it is a spiritual characteristic greatly to be desired.  Should we be less bold than these disciples were?

Was not Christ, Himself, bold in delivering His message of judgment and mercy?  If we believe in the seriousness of the message, how can we speak of it lightly and timidly to others?  Have you ceased to believe in the wonders of heaven?  Do you think the torture, agonies, and weeping of hell are uncivilized myths?  You cannot.  If you count yourself among the converted, pray for a holy boldness to confront the world with the Gospel.  Eternal life is a serious matter.

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