* We believe in Holy Spirit gifts and Ministries. “But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore He says: “When He ascended on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men. He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.

* We share one objective: “until we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.. according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

>message: in christ dear brother may god helpyou every step of life(
>amen) . i m an evenglist our ministry nameis (obedeint of christ
>worship and prayear ministres)based on god priencepalsevenglism most
>respect fuly i beg to invite in the name of jesus to come in
>pakistan
>to held saminar and and crusides i m working these topic 1=worship
>programes arrange in different cites in pakistan 2=free distebution
>of relegious book 3=prayear ministres jesus use me i m servent of
>jesus christ i went to say come here and particpate in these holy
>work pakistani people want u preach u tell the people about god so
>the can changes these self my name eve amjad bhatti ok god bless u
>in
>your work and your family pls u pray for me i pray for ui be live
>jesus christ with us by your brother i see ur mail i m so happy
>becouse u &ur ministry is fine in jesus name pakistani people r very
>theristy we want listen and learn good news the word of God we pray
>for u and ur holy work we want evanglism unreach erea inpakistan i
>be
>live ur r man of God G od bless u we all the servent of God our
>people
>pray for u when u come in pakistan we need the word of God
>ok by ur brother in christ
>pastor A bhatti
>Name: pastor A Bhatti Address: house no 191 secter C street no 5
>akhter colony karachi 75500 pakistan City: karachi Zip: 75500 Phone:
>03003678257 E-mail: rashid_pk191@yahoo

__________________________________________________

First of all, this letter, as I see it, is both a confirmation of faith and loyalty to Jesus Christ, as well as a rebuke to those Christians who have seemingly “lost their way.” We can love the sinner, but still hate the behavior. How much love and compassion oozed out of Jesus when he overturned the vendor’s tables in the temple? He rebuked them for their unseemly behavior, just as the fundamentalist, right-wing evangelicals should be rebuked for their behavior. Moreover, they are putting stumbling blocks in the way of other believers, which we are exhorted not to do.

Second, the Reverend doesn’t really talk about “those in authority”, but I will say to you, should we have respect for ANYONE who is put in a position of authority, whether put there by God or by another? If someone is in authority, who abuses that authority, or who is in authority by questionable means, calling into consideration whether that authority is even legitimate, do we still owe that person or persons respect? Do we obey the tyrant, who is unquestionably in authority, but is also immoral and abusive? I think not. When a leader or leaders do not serve the greater good, as is written in both our constitution and the Bible, when our leader or leaders commit unspeakable acts in the name of power and greed, when our leader or leaders lie, deceive, and manipulate for the betterment of the few, at the expense of the many, do we still owe them our allegience, let alone our respect? Only a fool would bow down before such a master.

Furthermore, considering who has dominion over this earth, which the Bible says is Satan, do we respect his authority? Or do we do as much as possible to refute that authority, and align ourselves with a higher authority? It is no different when we speak of monarchs, prime ministers, and presidents. Certainly you cannot say that God placed G.W. Bush in power, but not Saddam Hussein. Or that he placed Queen Victoria in power, but not Henry VIII!

God may have intended another individual to be in power, but since He gives us all free will, and since we know that bad things happen to good people, and life is not all rosey and apple pie, but that bad things happen – volcanoes erupt, tsunamis wipe out villages, hurricanes and earthquakes devastate entire cities, and famine and drought kill thousands every year – we also know that sometimes evil men take what is not theirs, whether it be a cadillac, a company, or a country. God gave us all free will. He does not have a hand in everything that everyone does, or there would be no bad people, no bad deeds, nothing bad would befall any one of us. But these things do happen, and they happen all the time. Therefore, if an evil man be more powerful than a righteous man, the evil man may prevail a little while, or even a long while, here on earth, but eventually, he will pay for his sins. “‘Vengeance is mine, I shall repay,’ saith the Lord.”

Perhaps the best analogy I could give would be Hitler. Germany was a country full of Christians, and good people. They gave their respect to the one in authority, who happened to be Hitler. Did Hitler lie, manipulate, and deceive the German people? Certainly. In fact, he even had a friend in G.W. Bush’s grandfather, Prescott Bush, who helped to finance Hitler’s war early on, before being pressured to withdraw his support by prominent American businessmen and politicians. That’s a matter of history, but it is unsettling to me that Bush’s family supported Nazism. Considering the way this country seems to be headed, I don’t doubt that both G.W. Bush and his father both learned at the father’s/grandfather’s knee, respectively. Bush the Elder’s loyalty to the New World Order, which he spoke of in his inaugural address, is chilling, especially when you read what’s on the website of the Project for the New American Century. And like Hitler and his regime, this regime is also very adept at fooling the people, who want to be fooled, because they want things to be simple. They want to be told what to think, what to feel, because it is simpler than having to figure things out for oneself.

And that is how men in authority, whether legitimate or not, command power and counterfeit respect.

I have no doubt whatsoever that God will judge Bush accordingly.