1. HOW TO OVERCOME WORRYIn a recent newspaper article a Dr. Crain remarked that 33,000 people, who need no medical care, go weekly to physicians for treatment. They are patients who worry. Many of these, sad to say, are Bible Christians.We are living in a world that is sick with fear and worry. Worry affects every aspect of life. One doctor said: “Business men who do not know how to fight, worry; they die young.” A leading physician said: “Seventy percent of all patients who go to doctors could cure themselves if they could get rid of worry.”My own testimony is that after finishing university, I started out in 1941 for Presbyterian College, Montreal, with only enough money to get me to Truro, 40 miles from home. I preached there, received $25, bought a ticket to Montreal and arrived in that city with only 25 cents in my pocket. I began to worry and went to bed with an ulcer and a nervous breakdown. For three weeks I lay there, taking milk and cream every hour with medicine. Then the principal arrived and gave me a good lecture on failing to trust the Lord, refusing to believe the promises of the Bible, and I saw my sin of worry. I immediately jumped out of bed and have not known what it is to be worried or mentally upset ever since. I know from personal experience that worry often causes sickness, and worry for the believer is a sin.A passage of the Bible that has been a real help and blessing to me is Matthew 6:25-34: “Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns: yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?… And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field…even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these…. Shall He not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (for after all these things do the Gentiles [the unsaved] seek): for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness: and all these things shall be added unto you…” The words “take no thought” mean to get out of the habit of worrying about food and clothing. Jesus is not teaching that we should have a reckless neglect of the future nor fail to budget and plan our lives. But He is teaching us here that we should learn to live one day at a time and to put God first in every aspect of our lives.This is exactly the way we seek to live at The Peoples Gospel Hour where we have a worldwide faith ministry for the Lord. Our weekly budget is large, yet each morning from 8:45 to 9:30 the Staff meets for prayer that God will bless His Word and provide for the daily needs. We have learned to live one day at a time.A farmer, whose home stood in the line of a flash flood, saw all his possessions swept away in an hour. He was almost in despair until his little daughter reminded him, “Daddy, you still have us.” Then he began to be thankful to God for His mercies, even in the flood. Returning to the ranch, he wandered out to the creek. Here all the topsoil had been washed away, and in the rock there was a glittering streak. There was gold on his ranch! So all our worries may have blessings hidden in them if we trust God to reveal them to us.For the believer there is real joy in living one day at a time. Paul cried to God over and over again for victory over Satan’s buffeting. The Lord’s reply was: “My grace is sufficient for thee.” He gives daily grace for our needs too. We read in Deuteronomy 33:25: “As thy days so shall thy strength be.” “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31).Paul lived in the midst of many tensions. We read in Philippians 4:10-12: “But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at the last your are of me hath flourished again; wherein ye were also careful, but ye lacked opportunity. Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: everywhere and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.”Paul knew the secret of living one day at a time. He knew for sure he was saved and on his way to Heaven. But during his earthly journey, in the midst of all the cares of the churches, he experienced daily victory over worry and life’s frustrations.The word “worry” is translated in the New Testament as “take no thought” or “be careful”. It comes from two words meaning to “divide” and “mind.” Worry means to divide the mind between that which is wholesome to our character development and that which is damaging. James says, “A double minded man is unstable in all his ways” (James 1:8). He is unstable in his emotions, in his thought processes, and in his decisions. Worry affects the will which often leads to “abulia” or loss of will power which is often the cause of a “nervous breakdown.”The Psalmist knew that worry was contrary to faith in God. In Psalm 42:5 he cried: “Why art thou cast down, O my soul? And why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance.” The words “cast down” describe a feeling of anxiety, worry, guilt, and despair. Why, he asked, had he come to this position in life? Then he realized it was because he had lost hope in God. “Hope thou in God” was the answer to his worry.We have so many plain and wonderful promises from God’s Word to encourage us along our journey to heaven. “Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in Him; and He shall bring it to pass” (Psalm 37:5). “Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee: He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved” (Psa. 55:22). Philippians 4:6,7: “Be careful for nothing (in nothing be anxious or worried); but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep (or guard) your hearts and mind (thoughts) through Christ Jesus.”Praise God, we have the ministry of prayer. Dr. T. Buckley, the distinguished mental specialist, addressed the British Mental Association in these words: “As an alienist and one whose whole life has been concerned with sufferings of the mind, I would state that of all the hygienic measures to counteract disturbed sleep, depression of the spirits, and all the miserable sequels of a disturbed mind, I would undoubtedly give first place to the simple habit of prayer.”Worry, on the other hand, indicates a lack of prayer and a life of prayerlessness. It is impossible to pray and worry at the same time. “Thou wilt keep Him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee” (Isaiah 26:3).During a blitz on England in the last War, an elderly lady refused to move form the top front room of her London home to a safer place. Her testimony was, “I says my prayers to God every night and I goes to sleep. There’s no need for us both to keep awake.” She knew the reality of trusting the Lord in prayer each night and of casting her care upon Him.Another way to overcome worry is to spend time in thanksgiving to God. No matter how difficult our situations, of all the peoples of the world we are truly most blessed of God. “In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” (I Thess. 5:18).It is also important to be practical and to show a little enthusiasm for yourself and others. “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with all thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest” (Eccl. 9:10).The way to overcome discouragement and worry is to look away from self unto the Lord. Do not give in to circumstances. Don’t give up. You know the story of the two frogs that fell into a large cream jug. One frog croaked right away, “I’ve had it.” Down he went and he died. The other frog said to himself, “If I am going down it won’t be without a struggle.” So he kicked and paddled and churned and the next thing he knew he was sitting on a cake of butter! Which frog are you like? Paul was able to say by inspiration: “We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down (knocked down) but not destroyed (knocked out)” (2 Cor. 4:8,9).Actually, if you are not truly saved, born again by the Spirit of God, you do have something to worry about because you are lost. You are separated from God and on the way to a burning Hell. In order to help you to be saved, there are four facts I would like to give you right now:(1) You have a tremendous need, a sin need. Romans 3:23 tells us that we are all sinners. (2) You can do nothing of yourself to meet this need. Good works are of no help. Self effort is all in vain. (3) Jesus Christ met your sin need when He died upon the Cross. He shed His precious blood for you and bore in His own body the penalty of your sin. (4) You must repent and personally received Christ as your own Saviour if you are to be saved. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
Va. pharmacy caters to pro-life customers
Will stock no birth control
When Divine Mercy Care Pharmacy opens Tuesday in a Chantilly shopping center, it will have on display a picture of St. John Leonardi, the 16th-century patron saint of pharmacists.
But there will be no birth-control pills, condoms, cigarettes or pornographic magazines. There will, however, be booklets on natural family planning.
DMC Pharmacy is one of the country's few "pro-life pharmacies" that refuse to dispense contraceptives on moral and health grounds, arguing that they cause abortions, lead to promiscuity or endanger a woman's health.
"Birth control is not health care," said Robert Laird, executive director of DMC, the Fairfax nonprofit that will own and operate the 1,500-square-footstore at 13945 Metrotech Drive. "We are catering to a special niche of people who like the pro-life message in their business."
The store is within a mile of two large parishes serving about 20,000 Catholics. Within five miles are four other booming parishes, bringing the total population of Catholic residents to about 50,000. The Catholic Shop, a bookstore next door to the pharmacy, already attracts plenty of customers.
"In the pharmacy business," Mr. Laird said, "you don't normally go more than two miles from your drugstore, but people are going to be coming from miles to come here."
If people want contraceptives, he said, there are two other stores in Sully Plaza that stock them. Robert Semler, the pharmacist in charge, will not direct people on where to find such stores.
"People can look it up," Mr. Laird said.
DMC Pharmacy opens for business at 10 a.m. Tuesday with a blessing by Arlington Bishop Paul Loverde. Benefactors of the $350,000 project also will attend. A more elaborate grand opening is planned for December.
Catholic doctrine forbids the use of any kind of artificial birth control, and all DMC's board members are Catholic.
Stores like the DMC Pharmacy are on the cusp of a national debate over the rights of pro-life pharmacists versus a marketplace that seeks birth control.
Virginia has no law mandating pharmacies to sell contraceptives, although nine states, including Massachusetts, California, New Jersey, Illinois and Washington, have enacted laws requiring pharmacists to either fill the prescription or direct the customer elsewhere.
Karen Brauer, head of Pharmacists for Life International, said "thousands" of pharmacies nationwide do not stock the morning-after pill because it can be an abortifacient. Her Web site, www.pfli.org, lists six pharmacies that sell no artificial contraception of any sort.
She noted that pharmacies do not carry every drug and are not legally required to do so for most drugs.
"The birth-control pill has gained a social importance above a lot of other drugs that are more important to save lives," she said. "There is a bunch of drugs that women need that pharmacists don't carry. This is the only drug pharmacists are forced to order in. Other than antidotes, pharmacies are not required to stock anything."
NARAL Pro-Choice America did not return a call asking for comment on the pharmacy, but its Virginia affiliate has run an alert on its Web site, www.naralva.org, saying, "Birth control is basic health care for women." It urges a boycott of the DMC store, contending that "a pharmacy that doesn't respect your choices doesn't deserve your business."
PHOTOGRAPHS BY KEITH SMILEY/THE WASHINGTON TIMES A picture of St. John Leonardi, the 16th-century patron saint of pharmacists, adorns the wall of DMC Pharmacy, which is within a mile of two large parishes serving about 20,000 Catholics.
One of the masterminds behind the project is Dr. John T. Bruchalski, founder of Tepeyac Family Center, an ob-gyn practice in Fairfax, and president and chairman of the board of DMC.
"It won't be just a Catholic pharmacy," he said. "It's trying to build a culture of life. We want to let the market decide if we are worthy of support and trust and not anyone's social agenda. I believe there are a significant number of people who have tolerated this slowly encroaching culture of brokenness. When given an option, they will actually choose something other."
"Birth control is not health care," said Robert Laird, executive director of the pro-life Divine Mercy Care Pharmacy in Chantilly, Va. The pharmacy will not stock birth-control pills, condoms, cigarettes or pornographic magazines.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/oct/21/pharmacy-caters-to-pro-life-customers/
Halloween restrictions put on sex offenders
For Halloween this year, more convicted sex offenders must post signs telling trick-or-treaters to stay away or saying "No candy at this residence."
In Indiana, Maryland, Missouri and New Mexico, some registered sex offenders are required to hang such signs where they live. In Maryland, the sign is a bright orange pumpkin.
The signs are part of expanding efforts to regulate not only where convicted sex offenders live and work but also their movements on Halloween. Many states bar those on probation from giving out candy, wearing costumes or decorating their homes.
This week, a federal judge in Missouri struck down parts of a new state law. U.S. District Judge Carol E. Jackson said the law, enacted in June, was vague. She threw out language that bars sex offenders from "all Halloween-related contact with children," regardless of whether the child is related, and requires them to stay "inside the home" unless they have "just cause" to go out.
Jackson let stand provisions requiring them to turn off porch lights and post a sign stating "No candy or treats at this residence."
FIND MORE STORIES IN: Indiana New Mexico Exploited Children National Center for Missing Division of Parole Civil Liberties Union of Eastern Missouri Halloween-related
Such a sign is a "scarlet letter" not only on the sex offender but also on his or her family, says Anthony Rothert, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Eastern Missouri, which sued the state.
"This is worth the risk of branding" if the signs protect children, says Patrick McGee of Maryland's Division of Parole and Probation.
Missouri's Halloween restrictions apply to all registered sex offenders. In most states, they cover only those on parole or probation — a fraction of the nation's 675,000 registered sex offenders.
In Indiana, the "No candy" sign is required of parolees who live in remote areas and are excused from required Halloween evening meetings. In New Mexico, a "Sex offender lives here" sign is mandatory for some convicted child molesters on probation or parole. In Maryland, the pumpkin signs are required for 1,200 violent offenders and child molesters under state supervision, about one-fourth of all registered sex offenders there.
Halloween restrictions are increasing because of community pressure to protect children, says Kristen Anderson of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. However, she says the center knows of no child abducted by a stranger while trick-or-treating in the past five years.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-10-29-halloween_N.htm
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