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Does the Roman Catholic Church believe that all those outside the church are doomed to hell?

Tim sheds a bit of light on the position of the Catholic church. And, of course, he throws in a few of his own opinions.

Check out Catholicism and Salvation here.

Puget Systems, a small company selling high-end computers in the Puget Sound area (go figure) is offering a free upgrade to Windows 7, with some catches.

I plan on taking advantage of the offer soon.

The catches? You must purchase Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit or Vista Ultimate 64-bit. Your system must be over $1,000. And, they install the new operating system. Yes, you must ship your system back to them.

For me, it’s no problem because I live about 2.5 hours from Seattle and I have relatives there. Not everyone lives so close (but a few million of you do). If you’re dying for a high-end computer NOW, but you’ve been waiting for Windows 7, wait no more.

The benefits?

Puget Systems seems to be a company that has it all together. They’ve been around about 10 years, and they’ve recently bought a new warehouse, even in this down economy. As they say, they’re “here to stay.” The systems all have lifetime labor support (now that’s a nice warranty) and the support is, well, right in Seattle, and provided by some knowledgeable guys (check out their bios).

I’ve asked about 1,000 questions so far about the system they’re going to build for me, and they haven’t tired of me yet. Jeff has spent at least an hour on the phone with me answering my stupid questions and he hasn’t even made me feel stupid (yet). They didn’t even balk when I asked if they could install a dual TV tuner they don’t carry. They just said, “We’ll take care of it.”

I’ll share more of my opinions after I actually buy the system, but so far, I’m impressed.

Oh yes, there’s one more benefit that I really like: you get the actual Microsoft disk, not some restore garbage disk filled with crapware.

Check out Puget Systems’ free Windows 7 Upgrade Program.

Tim must like this topic. This is the fourth article he’s written on it.

Which view fits best with Scripture? The amillennialist view? The post-millennialist view? Or should we go with the pre-millennialist view?

Find out what Tim thinks by checking out his latest article.

The Rapture – Amillennialism, Post-millennialism, or Pre-millennialism?

Sometimes we struggle to find our identity.

Mike reminds us to call on Jesus to give us confidence to guide us through life.

Read Mike’s latest:

Who Am I?

I’ve said it before. No story is boring and yours could be the one that touches someone’s life in ways you could never imagine. Tim (yes, our Tim) didn’t believe me (at least he didn’t seem to because no testimony has been forthcoming over the years), but finally he’s submitted his story.

It’s an amazing story of how God cares for us, even in life’s little things, like helping us get back into a building that supposed to be locked. Like taking away a child’s frightening nightmares. And it’s a story of how He cares for us in the big things, like helping us get through the ravages of a life-threatening disease.

As Christians, life isn’t always easy, but God is always there to lead us through the fire.

Read Tim’s testimony here.

Vinita sent us a poem about waiting on God. Sometimes we lose faith. We give up on God; we don’t believe He’ll keep His promises. But His Word promises that He who began a good work in us will be faithful to complete it.

Never lose hope! God will never give up on us.

Read the Parable of the Fern and the Bamboo Tree here.

Emily Schmidt recently submitted this beautiful little poem. She didn’t send me a title, so I called it “Blessed.”

Read Emily’s poem here.

I’ve again updated my Freeware Only post due to some reader feedback.

I’ve added Notepad++ and avast! Antivirus to the mix. With these programs your computer can run without any commercial software.

Sin has a way of warping our conscience. It deadens our senses and desensitizes us to the promptings of the Spirit.

Sometimes our prayers may seem weak and useless. Fortunately, we don’t have to rely on the power of our words, but on the power of the One listening. He is faithful and just to forgive our sins; we must be faithful in returning to Him.

Read our latest article:

Sin & Repentance

JW was a fingerstyle guitar player who broke both his wrists, his elbows and some of his ribs. The doctor told him he’d never play again. When I read that, all I could think was, “Wow, that must’ve really sucked.”

Read JW’s testimony here.

Someone said that Jesus used marijuana; that the anointing oil contained cannabis. Interesting.

Many who believe this cite the work of Dr. Sula Benet, an etymologist from Poland. In 1936 she concluded that the Hebrew words “q’nah-bosem” (Exodus 30:23) were etymologically related to “cannabis” and then reached the further conclusion that the anointing oil included marijuana.  She noted the similarities with words from other Middle Eastern language groups.  She further noted that the word could be used to reference a reed plant or a hemp plant, but she reached the definite conclusion that in the Exodus passage it meant the hemp plant. 

We find Benet’s arguments weak. Her logic fails in many areas.

We believe there are two fundamentals approaches to Scripture. One is to look for support for what you already believe. The other is to seek to find in Scripture how we should be changed. Those who use this second approach in their reading of the Bible may find this article of interest.

Read our article and tell us what you think.

Marijuana in Scripture