Traveling throughout Holland and Germany in 1677 when he was 33 years old, William Penn experienced a deepening of his faith. One of his discoveries was a new understanding of "the day of the Lord." He wrote that this day "hath been deeply impressed upon me, and my soul and spirit hath frequently been possessed with an holy and weighty concern for the glory and name of the Lord and the spreading of his everlasting truth."

Later, William returned to this theme when he preached a sermon called "A Summons or Call to Christendom." Through this sermon, he hoped to prepare Christians "for the Great and Notable Day of the Lord that is at the Door."

He pointed out that many were spiritually dead, had become weak, or had abandoned the true Light of the Gospel. He called them to wake up! To repent so they "may enter into the rest of God." To walk after the Spirit, not the flesh.

In his own life, William Penn had made a radical commitment to God, and he felt he had put these words into practice. This consciousness of the day of the Lord freed him from worries about the opinions of others and helped give him greater boldness. He was willing to take a stand for his faith, even to the point of enduring jail time and ridicule.

Today, Christians need this same sensitivity to the day of the Lord. This day will come "just like a thief in the night." Make sure you are ready. Seek first God's Kingdom. Dedicate your resources to reaching Souls with the Gospel, while there is still time. Don't compromise. Be bold. The day of the Lord is coming!

Admiral William Penn, one of 17th century England's finest military leaders, hoped his son William might enter business, law, or the military. But instead, William gave up everything to serve God. He even became a Quaker, a group that many ridiculed. In spite of the risks and rejection he faced, he dedicated his life to furthering the Gospel.

Then William's life took a dramatic turn. England's King Charles II had accumulated a large debt to Admiral Penn. After the admiral's death, Charles paid off the debt by granting young William substantial land in colonial America, which later became the state of Pennsylvania. With this unusual opportunity, Penn determined to try a "holy experiment" and build a Christian commonwealth. He wrote, "God that has given it to me through many difficulties, will, I believe, bless and make it the seed of a nation."

William understood that government, and "all human power," comes from God. A key to success is realizing that "blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD." Men and women are just His deputies.

In our time, many have forgotten that our nations cannot be blessed unless we make the Lord our God. Instead, such people seek to ignore His laws, wipe the Christian faith from history, and eliminate any references to Christianity from government. When we do this, we pay a terrible price!

Today, don't sit passively on the sidelines. Be ready to stand boldly, as men like William Penn did in his time, and declare that faith in God is the cornerstone of our country. Humble yourself before Him. Repent for the sins of the nation. Pray for leaders, for elections, for revival, and for a return to righteousness.

Be ready to get involved. Refuse to compromise. Make a difference for God's Kingdom!

AL SHARPTON: 

Now y'all tell me: Why is all them chickens white? We need us
some black chickens. Ya hear me? Black chickens!
 
DR. PHIL: 

The problem we have here is that this chicken won't realize that 
he must first deal with the problem on this side of the road 
before it goes after the problem on the other side of the road. 
What we need to do is help him realize how stupid he's acting by 
not taking on his current problems before adding new problems.
 
OPRAH: 
 
Well, I understand that the chicken is having problems, which is 
why he wants to cross this road so bad. So instead of having the 
chicken learn from his mistakes and take falls, which is a part 
of life, I'm going to give this chicken a car so that he can 
just drive across the road and not live his life like the rest 
of the chickens.
 
NANCY GRACE: 
 
That chicken crossed the road because he's guilty! You can see 
it in his eyes and the way he walks. Look at that strut; guilty, 
guilty, guilty!!!
 
PAT BUCHANAN: 
 
To steal the job of a decent, hardworking American, that's why.
 
MARTHA STEWART: 
 
No one. I repeat, no one called me to warn me which way that 
chicken was going. I had a standing order at the Farmer's Market 
to sell my eggs when the price reached a certain level. No 
little bird gave me any insider information.
 
DR. SEUSS:
 
Did the chicken cross the road?
Did he cross it with a toad?
Yes, the chicken crossed the road,
But why it crossed I've not been told.

  
GRANDPA: 
 
In my day we didn't ask why the chicken crossed the road. 
Somebody told us the chicken crossed the road, and that was good 
enough.

 BARBARA WALTERS: 
 
Isn't that interesting? In a few moments, we will be listening 
to the chicken tell, for the first time, the heart warming story 
of how it experienced a serious case of molting, and went on to 
accomplish its lifelong dream of crossing the road.
 
ARISTOTLE: 
 
It is the nature of chickens to cross the road.
 
JOHN LENNON: 
 
Imagine all the chickens in the world crossing roads together, 
in peace.
 
ALBERT EINSTEIN: 
 
Did the chicken really cross the road, or did the road move 
beneath the chicken?
 
COLONEL SANDERS: 
Did I miss one?

Today multitudes of people will be looking for hope.  Multitudes will turn to others looking for hope.  Others will turn to a multitude of other things looking for that same hope.  People will go to church, expecting hope to come from the pulpit.  People will look to our Presidential canidates, expecting hope to come from them.  Sometimes I wonder if we've become the "Walmart generation".  We go to our selected source and demand our desired product, whether it's the church or some other area.  I've heard people say, "You must go to the church that feeds you."  That sounds good but it falls into the "Walmart generation."  How many go to a restaurant and bring your fork?  You expect the restaurant to feed you.  It souldn't be that way with the church.  You need to bring your own fork.  When I was a young Christian God taught me a valuable lesson.  I was hurting.  I wanted to talk it over with the Pastor.  As I saw him coming towards me, God spoke so clearly to my heart and said, "I wanted to talk to you about that." 

"Do not ask what your country (or church) can do for you; but what you can do for God.

"In an earthquake area ... there are many signs around you that the ground is becoming unstable: the tremors that wander through, the venting of steam ... I believe the same basic principle is true in the economics of our country. If you look around, you can see that there are some fundamental cracks in the ground."
- Larry Burkett

Sometime during the reign of Elizabeth I in 16th century England, Thomas Tallis, considered England's greatest composer at the time, turned his attention to the book of Lamentations. His country had been through a time of turbulence, with four rulers in only a few short years. There had been much tension and turmoil.

We've been seeing black storm clouds on the horizon of the USA.  I believe the storm has moved ashore and is bearing down on us.  An oppression has intensified starting in the summer and now that we're into the fall.  I taught the Heir Force (5th & 6th graders) about Good News.  I can't tell you how good that felt to teach on that subject.  It was like a cool glass of water on a hot day.  The US is in much tension and turmoil.  The Bible says that it's going to get worse before it gets better.   I'm looking to the Good News - the Bible for my comfort.

Clean. Spotless. Pure. These were more than idle words for high priests in Israel. Once a year, on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), it was their sacred duty to enter the Holy of Holies-into the Presence of Almighty God...all alone.

Instituted by God Himself, the Day of Atonement was one of the most important days on the Israelites' calendar each year. He called this a "holy convocation" and required special offerings. This special day was to be set aside for prayer, soul-searching, confession, and repentance. It was so serious that no one could work or eat.

After the high priest made a sacrifice to atone for himself and other priests, he sacrificed a goat as an offering for sin. Then another goat was sent into the wilderness, symbolically taking with it the sins of the people.

Through this symbolism, we're reminded of all that Jesus has done for us. He became our high priest and sacrificed Himself for our sins so we might be forgiven. Like the scapegoat, He took our sins away "as far as the east is from the west" (Psalm 103:12).

The Day of Atonement, which is celebrated beginning at sundown today, still has powerful meaning for us today. Remember how important this day is to God. Humble yourself before Him. Spend time in prayer and repentance, seeking to be clean in His sight. Receive the forgiveness, freedom, and victory that are yours through Christ! And remember to bring your special offering to Him!

Sarah Palin started off by recounting her ties to Southern California before launching into attack mode. She went after Barack Obama for his comments about U.S. troops air raiding villages in Afghanistan. When a protester tried to interrupt, Palin pointed in the protester’s direction and praised the troops for fighting to protect the right “that person was exercising.”

CNN is questioning Obama's relationship with a known terrorist.  Click here to see the report.

Tonights debate should be interesting.