Reviews by Hubie Goode: Learn To Study The Bible

Learn To Study The Bible
Forty Different Step by Step Methods to Help You Discover, Apply, and Enjoy God’s Word

Author: Andy Deane, Associate Pastor of Calvary Chapel Old Bridge, in Central New Jersey

It wasn’t all that long ago I viewed comedian and atheist Bill Maher’s movie entitled “Religulous”, and it’s one of the things that first came to mind when I saw this book and what it sets out to do as far as bringing Christians closer to God’s Word and receiving from God what he has to offer to all those who believe and love the Lord. In Maher’s movie it’s very plain to see that he appears to be setting out to disprove something about all religion, and in his attempts, he blindly tries to include God himself in the process. But what he really ends up doing is illustrating what is wrong with religion itself and how mankind goes horribly wrong when he is not being truly led by the Spirit of God. I think you can tell the difference between Biblical characters such as Jesus himself, or St. Stephen or Paul after his conversion, and those souls Maher rails against for injustices to mankind all in the name of God.

And what this guide book really does for me is ask the question, “Who are you?” When someone suggests a study guide for Biblical scripture, does that interest you... or does it make you hesitate? If God is really there for us, and is who he says he is... then it makes sense, knowing him as he is, that he would have a people somewhere. Do you find that you love and trust God but are skeptical of his people? If someone is lead to create a book of helpful study methods for you to go deeper into the very gift of God to mankind, namely, his Word, do you trust that? Do you look for better ways to study the bread of life? Or are you more like some of the folks who Bill Maher rails against and really would rather do things your own way, despite the consequences, which coincidentally, bring a secular person like Mahrer to spend huge amounts of money on a film where he can’t quite get anyone to prove it all to him the way he wants it, and then he turns on God himself in a public forum. Those are questions only you, yourself can answer.

In Pastor Deane’s book he writes in several sections, comfortable leading ones, that put several pieces of a larger puzzle together in a very succinct format. He begins by outlining benefits for Bible study by addressing the treasures that can be had by all who will receive them. Such things as, of course, salvation, cleansing from sin, receiving peace and joy, guidance in decisions of everyday life, and also timeless principles of success without added woes.

The world can’t tell you who you really are in the great universe we are a part of, and it won’t. It will only inform you that life is about those things which make you happy, and usually leaves out all the timeless messages that God himself has laid before us. This makes you the greatest victim of all, as since, you had the answers to life the whole time, here in God’s Word, but you listened to someone else and never benefitted as you could have if you had just taken the time to see for yourself what God has given us. I think that’s actually one of the main points of the Genesis story. God tells Adam and Eve one thing and someone, anyone else, tells them something else. Who are they going to listen to? Who are YOU going to listen to? I think this book can help you to listen to the right voices and also makes it fun and interesting to do so.

One thing you must understand first thing, is that these are study methods, 40 or so of them in fact, that are designed to assist you in different ways to gain as much as you can from the exercise. You can’t be lazy, people. This is for the diligent and purposed of heart. Just remember, the Bible was written over a 1,500 year span and it’s all the same connected story. Part A leads to Part B and so on, therefore; long term study is a necessity for discovering the eternal Truths God has laid out.

Pastor Deane begins by laying out the basis for structured study in how we Observe what is written; What does the scripture say?, Interpretation; What does it mean?, and Application; What does it ask of us to do in our lives?

There are some rather imaginative applications for the future chapters of the book outlined here as far as helping you to get the most from your study, and the outlining is quite comprehensive, there is a ton of work that has gone into putting together a rather small book that is packed with information both from individual sources and from sources you can no longer find for yourself. Just keep in mind that, as in playing a practiced sport, like say, billiards, if you practice sloppy, you will teach yourself to play sloppy. The same principle applies here.

When the book kicks off with the actual methods it starts with some simplified and yet creative ways of study, and some of these can also be used with any subject, I suppose, but they are all good ideas. As an example, Chapter 6, Daily Bread asks you to take a line of a passage and accentuate each word and the meaning that it relates to you as each one is emphasized. Simple, yes, but we’re just getting started here, as the book becomes more and more of a guide toward dissertation and college level study than you would at first have guessed. It isn’t long before we find ourselves in the library on a long table with ten books open and several legal pads for cross referencing and detailed comparisons. But don’t let that scare you, there is something here for everyone.

At the end of each chapter, there are painstakingly rendered, real world examples written in real handwriting just to illustrate what the study (briefly) outlined would look like when done correctly. What more can you ask for? I, myself, was quite grateful for this illustrative addition and have already applied a few of the techniques myself, with pleasing results, but the visuals were indeed a nice touch and a big help.


Let me just show you one of the early ones, a simpler one than those later in the book. I figure if you have read this far, you must have some level of interest that would like to see an example. In Chapter 8, Specs On, named after the practice of putting on the glasses for clearer insight, you are asked to map out the words “Specs On” and then answer questions accordingly after you have read a passage..

S - What is the sin I need to forsake?

P - What is God’s promise I need to claim?

E - What is the example I need to follow?

C - What is the command I need to obey?

S - What is the stumbling block I need to avoid?

O - What is the obedience needed on my own part?

N - What new information have I learned.

As you have answered these questions for yourself, you have done today’s study of a chapter or passage of scripture. Not bad, huh?

In another chapter it is suggested you take a more “reporter” type search and ask exhaustive questions concerning a chapter or passage. For instance, look everything up. Get maps, history books, dictionaries and do all the research for that particular section.

For instance, Psalm 126:

When Yahweh brought Zion’s captives home, at first it seemed like a dream; then our mouths filled with laughter and our lips with song. Even the pagans starting talking about the marvels Yahweh had done for us! What marvels indeed he did for us, and how overjoyed we were. Yahweh bring all our captives back again like torrents in the Negeb! Those who went sowing in tears now sing as they reap. They went away, went away weeping, carrying the seed; they come back, comeback singing, carrying their sheaves.

Now ask questions:

Define captivity. Locate Zion. Is this real or a dream? What nations? Why were they singing? What are the great things God did for them? Is “us” Israel or Judah or all believers? Locate the Negeb. What is a sheave?

Now after you have asked and answered all these questions, ask yourself how this applies to you. Since in reality, you are the final chapter of the book that the Bible begins in you. Being willing to expend energy, even for these relatively simple studies, will challenge your perception as to how important and vital the Word is to you.

Then there are major, more college level methods discussed, such as line by line charting. First you choose some verses, then you write them out, then paraphrase them. You then make a side by side chart of verse and paraphrase, and work to understand the ultimate application in your life. That is always the final step.

Book overviews can also be a lot of time consuming work, but then these are the advanced methods. Chapter 18’s description of this method looks particularly daunting considering it uses the book of Romans as a study. (Perhaps the toughest book in the whole Bible) But if you have the commitment to do such things as titling each section and then working on getting the main theme, followed by a charting of the theme as outlined on page 103, well you are indeed blessed brother. Some of these studies are not for those used to being spoon fed.

You may also find studying lives of individual characters and larger Biblical topics to be of great interest, as outlined in later chapters here. I can tell you, this is way beyond just reading a chapter a day for a year or some such thing. But I would hope you would allow pastor Andy’s ministry and work to reach out to you for deeper relationship with God. Because, you know, it will happen with these methods.

The methods I found to be most interesting were the suggestions of studying characters such as the individual Kings in books like Kings and Chronicles, and then stepping back and looking at them as a whole. Personally, I have found entire movies that could be made from the stories here, that have been completely ignored, and that’s a real shame. Even more so since over and over Kings refers to the lost book of the annals of the Jewish Kings, and yet we still have God’s word to refer to it. (But that’s a whole other blog)

Other suggestions here will lead you through studying “prayers”, proverbs, parables and even collecting a chart of all miracles. How about studying just the questions Jesus issued to those he spoke with? Or How about just the collected commands? But don’t get me wrong, the methods are varied and defined in short, succinct chapters. There is even a section toward the back for younger adults with charts that will illicit responses from them of the somewhat lesser intellectual side of the college study method level.

As an example, there is the heart monitor chart, which gauges your emotional response to readings on a 1-5 scale. Did you respond at all? Did you get choked up? Do you understand that the level of your heart response to a scripture is a nice measure of your spiritual life existence? Have you ever heard of someone having a Bible with tear stains on the pages? Seems a bit foreign to you. Maybe histrionic? Maybe not.... maybe you are just not open enough to hearing from God. A bit harsh, I know, but something to really consider between yourself and God.

Just keep in mind that folks like Bill Maher have no concept of what it is to hear from God, or be affected by his Holy Word. And that’s one of the reasons he goes about through life as he does, hearing but never understanding, frustrated to anger that he has somehow been left out. This book, Learn to Study the Bible, 40 Methods is tightly written and imaginatively displayed so that you, the real children of God can join the millions of those down through history, both great and small men and women, who knew nothing of each other, but all found the same Jesus.

I’d like to also thank Pastor Deane for requesting this review. He lives on the other side of America from me, New Jersey, and I live in Los Angeles. We’ve never met. When I started this blog I set out to be sort of a consumer advocate for the Christian community, reviewing subjects like education, politics and current events, or perhaps seeing some movies before your kids do, and reporting on them. I never expected to receive an invitation to review a book on Biblical study methods, and I just know Pastor Andy is not a man to randomly throw out those invitations to those he doesn’t feel will do at least an adequate job of doing so. I’m humbled to think that something I wrote somewhere in my blog caught the attention of the Jesus in him, so that I could respond in kind with the Jesus in me. It has been my extreme pleasure to be involved in his work in this capacity and I deeply thank him for his verification.

www.LearnToStudyTheBible.com

Revisiones de Hubie Goode: Harry Potter y el Príncipe de la Mitad-Sangre

(This is a duplicate post in Spanish for my ever growing Brazillian audience, hope it makes it easier for you, let me know and I'll provide more of these.)

(Esto es un poste duplicado en español para mi audiencia cada vez mayor de Brazillian, espera que hace más fácil para usted, déjeme saben e I' el ll proporciona más de éstos.)

Clasificado: PÁGINA para las imágenes asustadizas, cierta violencia, lengua y la sensualidad suave. Tiempo de pasada: 2 horas 33 minutos
Género: Ciencia-Ficción/fantasía Lanzamiento de teatro: 15 de julio de 2009 de par en par

Sinopsis: Voldemort está apretando su apretón en el Muggle y wizarding los mundos y Hogwarts es no más el asilo seguro que estaba una vez. Harry sospecha que los peligros pueden incluso mentir dentro del castillo, pero Dumbledore es más intento sobre la preparación de él para la batalla final que él sabe es acercamiento rápido. Juntos trabajan para encontrar la llave para abrir las defensas de Voldemort y, con este fin, Dumbledore recluta a su viejo amigo y colega, el profesor vivant Horacio Slughorn del bon bien conectado y confiado, que él cree la información crucial de los asimientos. Mientras tanto, los estudiantes están bajo ataque de un adversario muy diverso mientras que las hormonas adolescentes rabian a través de los terraplenes. Harry se encuentra dibujado cada vez más a Ginny, pero así que es decano Thomas. ¡Y la lavanda Brown ha decidido a que Ron es el que está para ella, sólo ella no había contado en los chocolates de la paleta de Romilda! Y entonces hay Hermione, simpering con celosamente pero determinado no demostrarle sensaciones. Como flores románticos, un estudiante permanece a distancia. Lo determinan para hacer su marca, no obstante oscura. El amor está en el aire, pero la tragedia miente a continuación y Hogwarts puede nunca ser igual otra vez. --© Warner Bros. [más]

El Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Tom Felton, Michael Gambon, Jim Broadbent, Helena Bonham-Carretero, David Bradley, Robbie Coltrane, Warwick Davis, Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith, Helen McCrory, héroe Fiennes Tiffin Director: David Yates • Guionista: Steve Kloves • Productor: David Heyman, David Barron • Compositor: Nicholas Hooper • Estudio: Warner Bros.

Pues la sinopsis antedicha le dirigirá, hay un montón de “romance de la oficina” que entra encendido en la escuela este vez. La porción “barco de amor hace de tipo maquinaciones del alfarero” entre el equipo. Todo muy bien y bueno por lo que va, solamente él siente a un menor de edad del pedacito a la luz del argumento más grande. Y se suspende esa historia más grande constantemente en todas partes mientras que parece arrastrarse adelante a qué siente en última instancia como un anti-climax. La manera que ésta me termina estaba lista para que la verdadera película comience, sino que por el contrario debe “ser continuada” tiempo.

Y ésa es la manera que sentía sobre el ejercicio entero: como esperaba el segundo plato. Realizo que hay venir de dos el más instalaciones que ofrecen la reunión final entre Lucas Skywalker…. Significo Harry Potter y Darth…. eh, Voldemort… el chico malo grande. Los ventiladores de la serie tendrán un buen rato del gasto del tiempo en la minucia de los compinches familiares como van alrededor los coqueteos de la muchacha de la muchacho-escuela de la escuela y “las confabulaciones del estilo del lugar de la colada”. Supongo si usted está en Harry que usted es un poco un “friki” para él tiene gusto de Trekkers es “frikis” para el viaje. (El mi ser uno también) y como ése está probablemente el caso, no avienta ninguna duda no encontrará ningún problema el sentarse a través de la abundancia de pequeña narrativa mientras que aguardan el uso del magics y batallas con magics. No juego con magia mismo, no tengo ningún deseo a, y la fantasía de hacer así que no me intereso. Pero si lo hiciera, supongo que el uso algo mundano de él aquí sería bastante.

¿O él? Harry puede decir una palabra y conjurar el agua, fuego, pociones de la mezcla para la muerte, suerte, amor. Hmm. Con Star Trek podemos discutir las energías del mundo real de cosas como materia oscura, esas las Sistema Solar enteras de los movimientos alrededor en espacio; o cómo Uranus gira alrededor del Sun en él es lado. Personalmente, encuentro la ciencia ficción con la cual extrae del mundo real asombroso que satisface mucho más para jugar a juegos que tal magia ordinaria.

Pero, supongo, la audiencia de Harry Potter gozo el conseguir perdido en las posibilidades imaginarias de el se proporcione que. Me impresionaron absolutamente con la producción, de que estoy para sure. La escuela de Hogwarts me recordé muchos una vieja adaptación de Charles Dickens, y supongo que está en propósito; apenas no sirven el grule en el comedor. (hehe) hay porciones de cgi y es oscuro y espeluznante como debe ser yo suponga, a pesar de la aserción que éstas son “magos del good'" (y brujas?) Tuve gusto especialmente del cráneo enorme de la muerte en el cielo, él tenía un peligro agradable del monolito mientras que colgó allí en sitio lleno.

¿Conjeturo que un cráneo humano significa siempre la “muerte”, correcta? Una cabeza flotante grande de los pescados apenas no habría comunicado el significado apropiado. There' bosquejo del S.A. Monty Python aquí en alguna parte. ¿Por qué obsesionan a los chicos malos tan con la cosa de la muerte de todos modos? Son toda gótica blanco y negro y carecen el color de sus adversarios. No son muerta ellos mismos (aunque les llaman Death Eaters), y si eran, después ese yo podrían entender.

¿Ellos tienen que estar para la vida, no están hacia fuera para la inmotalidad o una cierta tal cosa? Si fueran muerta, y supieran que la muerte era mejor que vida, después el cráneo me tendría sentido de su punto de vista. Pero no son, y parece a mí que estarían absolutamente interesada en vida y la decisión sobre ella. La esperanza segura I un día vemos al buen chico apenas dar al chico malo qué él quiere, en alguna parte, alguna vez. Apenas déjelo tienen la dominación del mundo que él anhela tan rico.

Él encontraría que un mundo de zombis no es ninguna diversión a vivir adentro o él encontraría que teniendo que matar cada uno, porque habrá siempre resistencia, arruinaría todos sus planes de todos modos. Pero usted nunca verá eso. La dirección y la actuación está muy, muy bueno, también. Gocé de cada uno funcionamiento, incluso Harry mismo que es plano y taladro con respecto a su equipo de ayuda. Usted no lo cree nunca no es una tonelada de trabajo para dirigir a agentes jovenes como éstos. Mucho del trabajo que lo hacen está bajo dirección y usted ve raramente cualquie para entrar la forma los agentes ellos mismos, y eso es probablemente la mejor.

La multiplicidad de trabajo de cada uno implicado se templa finalmente, y deseo que la película hubiera tenido gravitas más inmediatos para prestar más crédito a ese trabajo. Pero esta instalación no fue diseñada para ésa, él era apenas un episodio en nuestra manera al Superbowl prometido en los próximos años. De hecho, como me siento aquí mecanografiando esto, pienso detrás y quizá usted podría apenas tener uno de sus amigos decirle qué sucedió en éste y espera para los dos siguientes… pero usted no hará eso.

Cosas a mirar para: * Drogas/alcohol: Cerveza de la mantequilla de la bebida de Harry, de Hermoine y de Ron. * Lengua/blasfemia: Algunas aplicaciones de la blasfemia suave incluyendo “infierno,” “maldito” y “piss apagado.” * Sexo/desnudez: El romance es definitivamente en el cerebro en Hogwarts este vez alrededor. Hay algunos besos entre diversos pares adolescentes, pero nada más. * Violencia: “Harry Potter y el príncipe de la Mitad-Sangre” tiene un tono incluso más oscuro que un de los otras películas del “alfarero” hasta la fecha. Y la primera escena fija definitivamente el paso cuando se destruye el puente del milenio y lanzan a varios civiles apagado. Unas par de luchas explotan entre Harry y el Draco, y sus caras son sangrientas. Hay intercambios violentos entre el Weasleys y los comedores de la muerte, y encantos más precarios se inventan que nunca antes, especialmente cuando poseen y muere casi uno de los compan@eros de clase de Harry.

Los 20 minutos pasados son el los más violentos y action-packed de ellos todos cuando Dumbledore y Harry hacen su manera a la cueva. Qué va eventual abajo es diferente que qué sucede realmente en los libros, así que no lo estropearé aquí. Prevéngase, sin embargo, ésta no es materia para niños más jovenes, a pesar de el grado de la PÁGINA.

La magia no es realmente la estrella de la demostración aquí, los caracteres es. Y como digo, es realmente solamente el contexto para mover el diagrama adelante. No convengo con él más que convine con el arte de la bruja en encantado o el arte, pero como todos los temas polémicos en películas, incumbe en última instancia a los padres de los cabritos que siguen tales cosas para permitir o para rechazar estos conceptos en sus hogares. También necesitan decidir si su dinero está pasado para apoyar esas ideas. Ninguno otro va a hacerlo para ellos.

La diferencia puede mentir en el acto de sentarse con sus cabritos y de discutir su toma en cosas como magia, brujería, snogging, pociones de mezcla, violencia y volar en las escobas; o dejando esas cosas que se definirán por la sociedad del niño y las cosas serán afectadas inevitable cerca. La toma final incumbe a padres.

Y en esa nota, espero que los padres consigan más implicados. Pues salí del teatro múltiplex de t, caminé pasado el un “Bruno que demostraba” cuál tenía acaba de dejar hacia fuera también. No tengo que ver a Bruno para saber qué está entrando encendido en esa película, pero me incomodó para ver a un papá con dos cabritos bajo diez años que salían en el extremo. Si están mirando a Bruno, Harry Potter es las lo menos de nuestras preocupaciones.

3/5 de las estrellas Pensé que habría podido ser mejor, pero entiendo a la audiencia que ha tenido como objetivo.

Faith and True Understanding

What is our Christian faith and how do we get the true understanding of how faith works in our lives? How do we structure and build upon faith as to become strong to the point of maturity? Let us go through a journey of faith to get the true understanding of how faith can work in our lives with a good outcome due to the blessings from God.

Faith is the assured expectation of things hoped for, the evident demonstration of realities though not beheld. It coveys the idea of something that underlies visible conditions and guarantees a future possession. Faith is, therefore, the basis for hope and the evidence for conviction concerning unseen realities. The entire body of truths delivered by Jesus Christ and his inspired disciples constitutes the true Christian faith.

Hope is essential for the Christian faith; it is the groundwork and basis for our faith. (Heb 11:1) In turn, faith makes the hope brighter and stronger. The apostle Paul, in order to strengthen Christians, cites the fine example of Abraham. When Abraham and his wife Sarah were, from a human standpoint, beyond the hope of having children, it is said: “Although beyond hope, yet based on hope he had faith, that he might become the father of many nations in accord with what had been said; ‘So your seed will be.’ Abraham knew that, as far as producing children was concerned, his body and that of Sarah were “deadened.” But he did not grow week in faith. Why? “Because of the promise of God he did not waver in lack of faith’ but became powerful in faith.” (Rom 4:18-20)

The apostle then applies Abraham’s example of faith and hope to Christians, concluding: “Let us exult, based on hope of the glory of God and the hope does not lead to disappointment; because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the holy spirit, which was given us.” (Rom 4:18-20) By faithfulness to God, we can now sprout and flourish as “trees of righteousness,” enjoying beautiful spiritual prosperity like a “well-watered garden,” showered by bounteous blessings from God due to having His favor. (Isa 58:11; 61:3, 11)

As we explore Abraham’s Christian faith. When told to offer up Isaac, Abraham had strong faith that God would resurrect his son. He based such faith on God’s promise that it was by means of Isaac that “what will be called ‘your seed’ will be.” Gen. 21:12; says (But God said to Abraham, “Do not let it be displeasing in your sight because of the lad or because of your bondwoman. Whatever Sarah has said to you, listen to her voice; for in Isaac your seed shall be called.)

The evidence of Abraham’s Christian faith in the Bible record reveals that when Abraham attempted to offer up his son Isaac he had faith in God’s ability and purpose to raise the dead. And, as stated at Hebrews 11:17-19, he did receive Isaac back from the dead “in an illustrative way.: (Gen 22:1-3, 10-13) Abraham had a basis for faith in a resurrection because of God’s promise of the “seed.” (Gen 3:15)

Then the Bible goes on to call faithful men of old such as Abraham righteous. (Gen 15:6; Jas 2:21) Many of these men are listed at Hebrews chapter 11, and of them the writer says: And yet all these, although they had witness borne to them through their faith, did not get the fulfillment of the promise, as God foresaw something better for us [ spirit-begotten, anointed Christians like Paul], in order that they might not be made perfect apart from us.” (Heb 11:39- 40)

As we go through our journey of faith to get true understanding of the Christian faith, let us examine the farmer’s Christian faith. The farmer prepares his soil and sows his seed, excepting, as in previous years, that the seed will sprout and that the plants will grow as they receive the needed moisture and sunshine. Likewise, the scientist has faith in the principles of his branch of science. He bases new experiments on past discoveries and looks for new discoveries on the basis of those things already established as true. Therefore, faith in the stability of the natural laws governing the universe actually constitutes a foundation for man’s plans and activities.

In many ways, “faith follows the thing heard.” Rom 10:17 says, ( So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.) John 4:39,41, says ( And many of the Samaritans had come to Him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me all that I ever did.” 41, And many more believed because of His word.)

Our Christian faith according to Jesus: Jesus on occasions, said to those who were healed, “Your faith has made you well.” Had those persons not exercised their Christian faith in Jesus, they would not have received healing for themselves. Likewise, the great faith of the army officer who entreated Jesus in behalf of his manservant rested on evidence, on the basis of which he concluded that Jesus’ merely ‘saying the word’ would result in the healing of his manservant.

Therefore, evidence for genuine conviction was also involved in the case of those who came to or who were brought to Jesus to be healed. Even if not eyewitnesses personally, they at least had heard about Jesus’ powerful works. Then, on the basis of what they saw or heard, they concluded that Jesus could heal them also. Moreover, they were acquainted with God’s Word and thus were familiar with the miracles performed by the prophets in times past.

However, we note that Jesus healed all who came to him, not requiring their Christian faith to be greater or less according to their disease, nor failing to heal any of these with the excuse that he could not do it because their faith was not strong enough, as so-called “faith healers” have done. Jesus performed these healings as a witness to establish the Christian faith. In his home territory, where much unfaithfulness was expressed, he chose not to perform many powerful works, not because of inability, but because the people refused to listen and were unworthy. Matt. 13:58 says, (Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.)

Our Christian faith to true understanding. Let us continue in our journey of faith as we discover that faith is not the possession of all people, as it is a fruitage of God’s spirit. 2 Thess 3:2 says,( and that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men; for not all have faith.) Gal 5:22 says ( The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness.) Those lacking the Christian faith are rejected by God. Heb 11:6 says, (But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.)

For the Christian faith to be acceptable to God, it is necessary to accept Jesus Christ, and this makes possible a righteous standing with God. Gal 2:16 says, ( Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.)

Faith is not static, but grows strong. 2 Thess 1:3 says, ( We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is fitting, because your faith grows exceedingly, and the love of every one of you all abounds toward each other.) Hence, the request of Jesus’ disciples, in Luke 17:5 ‘Give us more faith.” was very appropriate, and he did provide them the foundation to increased faith. He supplied them with greater evidence and understanding on which to base their faith.

The entire life course of a Christian is actually governed by their Christian faith, enabling them to overcome mountain like obstacles in their journey of faith, that would hinder their services to God. 2 Cor 5:7 says, (For “we walk by faith, not by sight. Matt 21:21-22 says, So Jesus answered and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea, ‘It will be done. “And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.” )

Our Christian faith as followers of Jesus Christ who are called to be His spiritual brothers, with the prospect of being joint heirs with Him in the heavenly kingdom (Rom 8:17), are first declared righteous by God on the basis of our faith in Jesus Christian. (Rom 3:24, 28)

God lays out the basis for us by declaring us righteous through the merit of Christ’s ransom sacrifice in which we exercise our Christian faith, acquitting us of all guilt due to sin. (Rom 5:1-2, 8-11; compare John 1:12) We are, therefore, “counted” or “credited” as being completely righteous persons, all of our sins being forgiven and not charged up against us. (Rom 4:6-8; 8:1-2; Heb 10:12, 14)

In my journey of faith, I found (Matt 14:29-31) to be one of my best scriptures to get the true understanding of the Christian faith. The disciples saw Jesus coming to them walking on the sea. Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” So He said to Peter “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when Peter saw that the wind was boisterous, he got afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!” And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand an caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, way did you doubt?”

If Peter kept himself focused on Jesus instead of looking at the boisterous wind which put fear in his mind, he would have made it to Jesus successfully. But even though Peter started to sink Jesus stretched out His hand and save him.

Through this scripture of the Christian faith, I found, by staying focused on the Lord, and not looking at the storm, I was successful in every thing that I did. And when the storm got so big to the point of where it was impossible not to take notice, I too started to lose faith through fear, just like Peter. I also cried out to the Lord through prayer, and He was always there with a stretched out hand to save me. And every time the lord save me, it caused my Christian faith to grow even stronger. For I always know that the Lord will be there without a doubt.

Believing is another strong part of our Christian faith. By believing in our Lord that all things are possible with out a doubt. We can conquer all life’s obstacles through Him. Through prayer we can rest assure that we’ll get good guidance in ever thing we do. “Whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.” (Matt 21:22)

We now, have the true understanding of Christian faith through God’s Words, and how it works, and how it will work in our lives. In ever thing we do, let us exercise our Christian faith as to grow and become strong. James 2:26 says, ( For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.) As we walk through our journey of faith, let us apply the works needed to mature, and let us conquer all life’s obstacles through prayer, that we may acquire God’s guidance.

Reviews by Hubie Goode: Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince

Rated: PG for scary images, some violence, language and mild sensuality.

Runtime: 2 hrs 33 mins

Genre: Science-Fiction/Fantasy

Theatrical Release:Jul 15, 2009 Wide

Synopsis: Voldemort is tightening his grip on both the Muggle and wizarding worlds and Hogwarts is no longer the safe haven it once was. Harry suspects that dangers may even lie within the castle, but Dumbledore is more intent upon preparing him for the final battle that he knows is fast approaching. Together they work to find the key to unlock Voldemort’s defenses and, to this end, Dumbledore recruits his old friend and colleague, the well-connected and unsuspecting bon vivant Professor Horace Slughorn, whom he believes holds crucial information. Meanwhile, the students are under attack from a very different adversary as teenage hormones rage across the ramparts. Harry finds himself more and more drawn to Ginny, but so is Dean Thomas. And Lavender Brown has decided that Ron is the one for her, only she hadn’t counted on Romilda Vane’s chocolates! And then there’s Hermione, simpering with jealously but determined not to show her feelings. As romance blossoms, one student remains aloof. He is determined to make his mark, albeit a dark one. Love is in the air, but tragedy lies ahead and Hogwarts may never be the same again. --© Warner Bros [More]

Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Tom Felton, Michael Gambon, Jim Broadbent, Helena Bonham-Carter, David Bradley, Robbie Coltrane, Warwick Davis, Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith, Helen McCrory, Hero Fiennes Tiffin

Director: David Yates • Screenwriter: Steve Kloves • Producer: David Heyman, David Barron • Composer: Nicholas Hooper • Studio: Warner Bros.

As the synopsis above will direct you, there is plenty of “office romance” going on in the school this time. Lot’s of “Love Boat does Potter” type machinations among the crew. All fine and good as far as it goes, but it does feel a bit minor in light of the larger story line. And that larger story is consistently put off throughout as it seems to creep forward to what ultimately feels like an anti-climax. The way this ends I was ready for the full blown movie to begin, but instead it’s “to be continued” time. And that’s the way I felt about the entire exercise: like I was waiting for the main course.

I realize that there are two more installments coming which feature the final meeting between Luke Skywalker.... I mean Harry Potter and Darth.... eh, Voldemort... the big bad guy. Fans of the series will have a good time spending time in the minutia of the familiar buddies as they go about school boy-school girl flirtations and the “Melrose Place” style confabulations. I suppose if you are into Harry you are kind of a “geek” for it like Trekkers are “geeks” for Trek. (My being one also) And as that is probably the case, fans no doubt will find no problem sitting through the abundance of small narrative as they await the use of magics and battles with magics. I don’t play with magic myself, I have no desire to, and the fantasy of doing so doesn’t interest me. But if it did, I suppose the rather mundane usage of it here would be enough.

Or would it? Harry can say a word and conjure water, fire, mix potions for death, luck, love. Hmm. With Star Trek we can discuss the real world powers of things like Dark Matter, that moves entire solar systems around in space; or how Uranus revolves around the Sun on it’s side. Personally, I find the science fiction that draws from the amazing real world a lot more satisfying to play games with than such ordinary magic. But, I suppose, Harry Potter’s audience enjoys getting lost in the imaginary possibilities of that which is provided.

I was quite impressed with the production, that is for sure. I was reminded of many an old Charles Dickens adaptation by the Hogwarts school, and I suppose that’s on purpose; they just don’t serve grule in the dining room. (hehe) There is lots of CGI and it is dark and creepy as it should be I suppose, despite the assertion that these are “good’” wizards (and witches?) I especially liked the huge skull of death in the sky, it had a nice monolith danger as it hung there in full site. I guess a human skull always means “death”, right? A large floating fish head just wouldn’t have communicated the proper meaning. There's a Monty Python sketch here somewhere.

Why are the bad guys so obsessed with the death thing anyway? They are all black and white Gothic and lack the color of their adversaries. They aren’t dead themselves (although they are called Death Eaters), and if they were, then that I could understand. They have to be for life, aren’t they out for immortality or some such thing? If they were dead, and knew death was better than life, then the skull would make sense to me from their standpoint. But they are not, and it seems to me that they would be quite interested in life and ruling over it. I sure hope we one day see the good guy just give the bad guy what he wants, somewhere, sometime. Just let him have the world domination he so richly craves. He’d find that a world of zombies is no fun to live in or he’d find that having to kill everyone, because there will always be resistance, would ruin all his plans anyway. But you’ll never see that.

The direction and acting is very, very good, also. I enjoyed everyone’s performance, even Harry himself who is flat and boring in comparison to his support team. Don’t you ever believe it isn’t a ton of work to direct young actors like these. Much of the work they do is under direction and you rarely see any input form the actors themselves, and that is probably best. The multitude of work of everyone involved is finely tuned, and I wish the movie had had more immediate gravitas to lend more credence to that work. But this installment wasn’t designed for that, it was just an episode on our way to the Superbowl promised in the next few years. In fact, as I sit here typing this, I think back and maybe you could just have one of your friends tell you what happened in this one and wait for the next two... but you won’t do that.

Things to watch for:

* Drugs/Alcohol: Harry, Hermoine and Ron drink butter beer.

* Language/Profanity: A few uses of mild profanity including “hell,” “damn” and “piss off.”

* Sex/Nudity: Romance is definitely on the brain in Hogwarts this time around. There are a few kisses between different teen couples, but nothing more.

* Violence: “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” has an even darker tone than any of the other “Potter” movies to date. And the first scene definitely sets the pace when the Millennium Bridge is destroyed and several civilians are thrown off. A couple of fights break out between Harry and Draco, and their faces are bloodied. There are violent exchanges between the Weasleys and the Death Eaters, and more precarious spells are concocted than ever before, especially when one of Harry’s classmates is possessed and nearly dies. The last 20 minutes are the most violent and action-packed of them all when Dumbledore and Harry make their way to the cave. What eventually goes down is different than what actually happens in the books, so I won’t spoil it here. Be forewarned, however, this isn’t stuff for younger children, despite the PG rating.

Magic isn’t really the star of the show here, the characters are. And as I say, it really is only the backdrop for moving the plot along. I don’t agree with it any more than I agreed with the witch craft in Charmed or The Craft, but like all controversial subjects in movies, it is ultimately up to the parents of the kids who follow such things to allow or disallow these concepts into their homes. They also need to decide if their money will be spent to support those ideas. No one else is going to do it for them. The difference can lie in the act of sitting down with your kids and discussing your take on things like magic, witchcraft, snogging, mixing potions, violence and flying on brooms; or leaving those things to be defined by the child’s society and the things they will inevitably be affected by. The final take is up to parents.

And on that note, I hope parents do get more involved. As I left the t multi-plex theater, I walked passed the one showing “Bruno” which had just let out also. I don’t have to see Bruno to know what is going on in that movie, but it did bother me to see a Dad with two kids under ten years old walking out at the end. If they are watching Bruno, Harry Potter is the least of our worries.

3/5 Stars

I thought it could have been better, but I understand the audience it’s aimed at.

Reviews by Hubie Goode: StoresOnline, Inc.

StoresOnline is a company that claims to offer a full internet commerce business, training, and support to customers. They host nationwide introductory seminars in which they present folks with the idea of having their own profitable online store front business.

When I first signed up for the one day seminar, I was offered a free lunch and a free ipod just for attending. And truth be told, that is exactly what I got, although the quality of both is questionable, depending upon your point of preference.

In their presentation StoresOnline reps go through various aspects of running a business online. They touch on topics such as internet marketing, search engine optimization, and website links. All-in-all they make it seem that starting an online business without StoresOnline would be foolish and extremely difficult. But as you and I know, that’s just sales talk.

StoresOnline make themselves appear to be experts to their customers by using technical terms throughout their presentations. They then present their offer which is 3-6 professionally programmed store front websites with internet marketing support, i.e. free incoming links and SEO help.

The problem is that many inexperienced customers grossly overvalue the services provided by StoresOnline. They end up paying around $6,000 for the StoresOnline package, some have even paid close to 30k. Keep in mind this is simply for the programming, hosting, and maintenance of websites.

What customers don’t seem to realize is that the “opportunity” here is only for the software and assistance in using it. This is NOT a business opportunity, not a franchise and that is where the corner turns on the situation. You’ll find a neat marketing strategy with the seminars in that they take a baby step approach to getting a customer involved. At the first seminar you can sign up for a website for only around $40. But they don’t tell you how useless this is in light of the real offer of their involvement. Heck, I could get hosting with Hostgator for $8.00 a month and register a web site with GoDaddy for $1.99 and still have the same amount of involvement. No, what they want is for you to become involved at the Premier level, the big $6,000 dollar level with three to six websites all selling products around the world. They do offer a pro up grade, but the upgrade is not inclusive and will cost you even more money with a sort of “A la Carte” menu. And although they mention the dropshippers are integrated with the Premier package, they are not included with the Pro package and will take some effort on your part to run one down that meets your needs and then you’ll have to pay more monthly fees for the drop ship.

The presenters described a number of state-of-the-art features that I am sure many in the audience had never heard of and due to their lack of experience in the field of website design and internet marketing, it probably sounded like a true winner. Many there wanted very much to have an internet based business that would be profitable. After all, who could lose when partnered with the knowledge, experience and technological equipment provided by StoresOnline. Since many there may have worked all their life with very little to show for it, I’m sure they were very interested in the fact that an individual with no knowledge of computers or website design and internet marketing could, with the backing of StoresOnline, actually make $40,000 to $80,000 a month selling just about anything on the internet, including dog poop and tumbleweeds.

It was assured to them that even if we chose to design and build their own sites, the StoresOnline professionals would review the store front to ensure no mistakes went through to publication. The crowd was told by the speakers that within a month of publishing their first store, it would begin paying off debts incurred.

Although personally, I did not go as deep as others have, I understand something like what is described here next, is very common.

In December, I was called and told that we had been chosen to be the StoresOnline’s Texas Success Team. For $4,518, we were signed on with what I expected to be a sure thing with the Storesonline backing. For this additional investment, we were promised a lot of things, but all we actually got was 10 approximately 20-30 minute phone calls in which we were told to go to this website or to that website, learn this, learn that, buy this or buy that. Sign up for these search engines, etc.

I ended up spending another $1000 or more doing what they told me to do on top of the additional $50 to publish a new store and have them host it for $139 a year. The professional help promised was never as good as my own abilities. I designed and built 3 stores using their program; however, every time I asked for help, I was told to go to this website and you’ll learn how to do that. Or, we charge $50 an hour to do that for you. My stores went public with poor design and errors. Even when someone did look at our stores from StoresOnline, they were not critiqued too closely and improvements were never done or even suggested.

I can totally attest to the lousy customer service myself, although I did purchase a Pro upgrade in order to dig deeper, I did cancel before the deadline and I also got my money back. But even if I hadn’t been looking for blog material, I probably would have quit at that point. Using the chat help myself, I was continually frustrated by the almost complete lack of understanding by several of the workers I spoke with. Questions had to be repeated over and over as if the language itself was causing trouble for the assistants. There were several problems that kept having to be corrected and every time I spoke to a new person they didn’t seem aware of the problem. That, in itself, was a red flag to me.

More quotes from others...

The program used by StoresOnline was very difficult to learn to use and so I learned through trial and error. It was time consuming and costly. They indicated that even if you did not know what a mouse was, you’d be able to use their program. Not so. Plus when you do build a store using their program, you are tied to their program because to move your site elsewhere means to have to redesign and rebuild much of it. The Online Chat did not work for me because of my computer; however, when I was able to access the Chat Line using my laptop, I would be told to go to this website to get that help or they were completely lacking in any ability to answer my questions.

Finally getting fed up with my own lack of abilities and not wanting to pay hundreds of dollars more to StoresOnline, I hired a lady who was proficient in designing and building websites. I told her to work with the StoresOnline programmer who had eventually been assigned to more or less appease me and keep me quiet as he never actually did much as far as help on my web sites.

She was told to contact Customer Support who promptly ignored her and when the new site was completed, she had no idea how to upload it to StoresOnline. This was promised at the seminar to be easy and in no way a big problem. However, her efforts to get help with doing this were basically ignored. With this, I became completely and totally exasperated with StoresOnline and told them for about the third of fourth time that I wanted a total refund of all my investment into StoresOnline and that I would then go elsewhere. My third store, designed and built outside of StoresOnline, is now being hosted by the designer who has done a beautiful job and who also has been very helpful and supportive in my endeavors to build an internet business for a fraction of the cost that StoresOnline was paid.

I have asked that StoresOnline refund to me the $10,284 total. So far, I have heard nothing back from them. On 3 separate occasions, I wrote to StoresOnline stating how dissatisfied I was with their program and requesting a refund. The first 2 times, I received a call and was again convinced that I had not given it a fair trial and that things would be different as StoresOnline provided a lot for the money.

Almost all of the money paid to StoresOnline was paid using my credit cards, which from their point of view, would be paid off before the credit card company even began to collect interest. I want my money back and I think StoresOnline should be stopped from proclaiming success with their backing, as they provide none. I already knew or had access to much of what they did provide (a program to build a site) and information on how to market your site. All of which is available in books (I have them) and on the internet for FREE.

I concur with that, after doing my own research, I found many of the things offered here all over the net, and also the information you need is readily available. Let’s face it folks, there are no easy fixes. If you have problems today it will take some steady work and long term study to head in a direction of resolution. Paying a company like this to hold your hand and make things quick and easy is the first mistake in thinking when looking for answers.

I spoke to several of the dropshippers who also know Storesonline and they added their own two cents which confirms what we are talking about here. This company consistently asks for more and more money as you go along, and they charge for everything.

If you really want to try something like this, there are plenty of dropshipper websites that are much cheaper and they set you up with their company for a site and you sell their products. I can’t vouch for their success, and you will still need to get study of internet marketing, but the overall costs at first glance appear to be manageable if you have some capital. If you have no capital. You’ll have to work to build up some while you study.

Reviews by Hubie Goode: National Grants Business Opportunity

The seminar business is in high gear right now, and nothing proves it like the presentation for this opportunity by the National Grants people. Like so many others, they offer a full day of seminaring while listening to what is basically the yellow legal pad sales pitch.

I’ve seen the presentation twice now, and the first time when the speaker told his true to life story, he seemed very sincere and forthright, I will say I was not too pleased to see another speaker this time with the same story and set up. But I understand this sort of thing is the norm for seminars. Always see the same seminar several times if you can, it gives you a better perspective on what is real and what is rote.

This time however, the tone had changed greatly. Due to the ailing economy these folks, like others, are turning into chicken little. The sky is falling ! The sky is falling! You’ll never retire from your current job. Social Security is gone! You’ll have to scrape to get buy the rest of your life! But, we’ve got the answer!

Perhaps they do, but it all comes down to the same idea of free trade and commerce. Basically, the company holds your hand during the process of getting Government grants for various purposes. According to them, there is so much trash that has to be dealt with and considered, the average person can’t get Government grants. There are just too many hurdles to jump over.

For instance, you might fill out an application for a grant in the wrong ink color. Black instead of blue. But only on Tuesday, when the sun is in capricorn is blue favored, no... I am being a wise guy. But you get the idea. Knowing the Government as I do, there very well could be a valid concern for this sort of thing. And there are many examples like this of how conveluted and strange the Government system is, but that would take more space than I am willing to spend here.

The idea is that you join their club, for around $4,000 and become a member and then work with a team of people who assist you in getting grants. You can’t just get grants for any old thing though, and that’s where we run into trouble. You have to be doing something for the Government, say something like improving the community.

Say you want to renovate a bunch of abandoned buildings, turn them into apartments or condos. There is a grant for that. If you have a steel belly for becoming a landlord, then you might want to consider something like this. Done correctly, this could be a boon to the surrounding community, but how much of the money goes to the renovation? Are the renovations done cheap and the cash pocketed? Eh, who really knows, I would hope people could just do the right thing. ... I would hope.

There was no second meeting for this one, no deeper dig I could do at the time. I am, after all , sponsoring this sort of thing myself. I was not able to find too much bad blood on the internet about these guys, and maybe that’s a good sign. All I can tell you is that you have to pay to join their club for services in assistance in getting grants. Can you do it yourself without spending $4,000? Hard to say.

Reviews by Hubie Goode: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Rated: PG-13 [See Full Rating] for intense sequences of sci-fi action violence, language, some crude and sexual material, and brief drug material


Starring: Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, Kevin Dunn, Julie White, John Benjamin Hickey, Ramon Rodriguez, Isabel Lucas, John Turturro
Director: Michael Bay

“Alex, I’ll take ‘How Many Other Movies Have Been Picked Dry in This Movie’ for $500.”

“Okay, and the answer is.... Terminator, Speed Racer, The Longest Yard, Star Wars, War Games, Rocky, Rocky II, Rocky III, any Godzilla movie, any Disney movie with wacky side-kicks, any movie where the good guy can die and then be brought back to life.....”

Well, you get the picture. Ahhhh, I thought to myself, as this movie excruciatingly marched across the screen, to be 17-20 years old again. As Ronald Coleman would have said: “I remember it well.” Hmmm.. am I dating myself?

At first glance I found this movie extremely difficult to look at. The Transformers themselves are visually confusing and not a little bit ugly. The only small saving grace was the colorful Optimus Prime. The CGI is indeed impressive, whew, but ugh to those robots.

They also continue something I never could quite understand about this sort of thing. For instance, you remember the Big Foot films and assorted fake documentaries surrounding the Big Foot/Sasquatch mystery. They always show in those movies things that would “scare” you, and yet if it was a real animal-man then it would have things that scared it too, and so on. (One I saw had a cat dying of a heart attack because Big Foot was in the area. I think a cat would just run away.) But my point about Transformers is, the bad guys, like demons from hell, are all covered with spikes and horns and sharp edges which really make no sense for them design wise other than to look threatening to YOU. A Cactus has needles for a purpose, and I think the Decepticons (the bad guys) here would also only have blades sticking out randomly from their bodies as a result of some function. Kind of in the way demons really don’t need spiked teeth except to make you think of predators. But these are just spikey to make YOU nervous.

The writers are on full out overload on this one. Much of the story is a waste of time, especially in the first half hour. The actual beginning of the movie doesn’t happen until some 30-40 minuets in to the movie when the bad guy is awakened at the bottom of the sea. The editing room must have been napping big time! There is so much included that need not be I felt like I was looking at a double feature part one and two. Why, oh why?

There are the usual teenager trappings in such movies: jokes at the parents expense, dope jokes, a dog humping a girl’s leg jokes, nubile young college coeds who are overly sexed jokes, yadd yadda. You know what you’re getting with many of today’s Hollywood incursions into the teenage movie marketing. After all, they are just giving the audience what it wants. Tons and tons of violence, explosions, almost death scenes, young women scantily clad... and they ALL look like models. Oh yes, I remember college, all the young women there looked like fashion models. Yep. Uh huh.

Anyone who has built a roller coaster for a theme park knows exactly what’s going on here. If you understand the thrill of the psychosexual. The last 45 minutes of the film illustrates what I mean quite well, it’s one long war scene with huge .... and I mean really huge, scale explosions. And they go on and on. And the most insulting thing for me was watching the great pyramid of Giza get destroyed. OH the HUMANITY!!! ;-)

Oh yes, that’s one more movie ripped ... Stargate.

And what of the plot you ask? It’s pretty basic. You’ve seen it all before in a hundred different places. I will say this, I found the adult involvement in this a bit incredible. I couldn’t swallow the sight of military personnel chatting face to face with gargantuan toys. The funny ones were a bad touch, also... they simply confused the overall tone of the whole pic. Can you imagine a real Terminator movie with a couple of slapping and jiving rapper type terminators? Nah.

It tries hard to be everything and is yet very empty as an emotional exercise. The only real human element that seemed credible was Miss Eyecandy 2009, Megan Fox. When she is given something to actually do besides look fetching, she really can act. A prime example of why there were giants in Caanan.

Sadly, this is one of those products that simply won’t be the same on the small screen. It’s the kind of thing that has such huge scope that it only belongs on an IMAX wall, and yet, it is at the same time excrutiating to watch. Pity.

2/5 Stars (I could understand the visceral impact of the last half, but found the waste of narrative in the first half bewildering.)

Reviews by Hubie Goode: The Nuevo-Tech Deception, Neo-Think, Nuevo Tech, The League, The Society

Update October 2019: They have changed their name once again to "The Society"

Update September 2017:  Well, waddya know? These guys are still kicking. A while after I had written this review, I saw mail actually come to ME about writing up some articles to help defend these guys from "written attacks" on the internet. Which is interesting since their introductory emails will state that they are contacting you now because: "you have been under observation for a while now, and we are coming to you with our offer because you have reached a moment in your life where you are mature and ready for greatness to enter your life." Really? Surley they know the work I've already done against them? I guess not.

I recently got new emails from them which hid their true identity as "The Leauge", which comes off as some sort of secret society full of high living millionaires that you can become a member of for agreeing with them. Televison talk show hosts and government leaders tell you their "anonymous stories" of how joining the organization changed their lives and can also change YOURS. The first book they will send you has been radically transformed. It is the same story of MIss Anabelle, crusading athiest teacher, but now it's in red leather binding and the pages are gold leaf covered in much the same way as Bibles are produced. As I said in my review here way back when, they want to actually replace your Bible with thier own literature. It would seem they did indeed read my review.

The bottom line is still the same. Agree with our materials, which promise that you will get millionaire ideas popping into your head as you read and enjoy their literature, and you will transform your life -  just like those famous people whom we can't reveal to you. Who are these people if indeed they are famous celebrities and power brokers? They're SATANISTS. Katie Perry is not joking when she claimed she sold her soul for success. It can happen. But according to God's word, it is all you will ever have and your eternal future will be at the non-mercy of a being who HATES your guts. The more you read their literature and agree, the more you must reject the idea of a loving creator known as God the Father, God the Son and the Holy Spirit. Where do you think those "ideas" for success, that will pop into your head, will come from? They won't be your own. In the end of it all, you are eventually introduced to ZON, the real eternal power of the universe, so they say here. Who do you think ZON is? You have to ask, why it's necessary to meet ZON, if all success is simply a matter of creating values. 

Well, that's NOT what it's about. If any of these introdctory mails are actually true and real, then the inferred reality according to "The League" is that all those people in Hollywood are all closet Satan worshippers, as are the leaders of our Government. 

Don't waste your money.    

Reviewer's Note: When I first wrote this review, this company was still called Neuvo-Tech, having changed the name from Neo-Tech some time before. Since I wrote this review, I am sure that there are quite a few things that have changed, especially with the business model they use. I know, for instance, that the originator of this program has since passed away. It is now under the control of one Mark Hamilton, a name he goes by, and Hamilton has endeavored to overcome much of the bad blood that has happened since the inception of the original program. Now, hopefully due to reviews like my own, the company is known as Neo-Think. I would find it hard to believe that much has changed with the major voluminous text and most changes have been in the execution of the program. Still, there cannot be a large swing in the major philosophical point of this program as far as their being a group of atheists who believe that God is just a figment of the un-evolved human brain, and all the love and happiness you could ever desire can be had WITHOUT God, much less any consideration of Jesus Christ.They now are looking to form a public group on Facebook, so please keep a wary eye out for them. Hubie

Back around 1993 I ordered the first tome of Neo-tech, now called Nuevo-tech, and was dismally disappointed. This book is short on info and 2/3 of it is ‘testimonials’. I wasn’t very happy with the idea of paying something like $60.00 for mostly an advertisement and collection of testimonials. This book sat in my garage for over ten years. (One thing to remember, I was told that if I didn’t order their book that I would never hear from them again.)

Back in 2004, I bought Kevin Trudeau’s ‘Things they don’t want you to know..’ and found that this book was quite good. In fact, lots of the natural practices of eating and preventative medicine actually have worked to improve my overall health over the last two years. However, the claim of ‘cures’ is way off. Once you have some breakdown, no amount of raw beet juice is going to cure it. But guess what? I heard from Neo-Tech again. (Obviously a mailing list thing, but this wasn’t supposed to happen.)

So, I decided I would read and review what was offered in order to let others know what the company would not tell you. The next book in the series is called ‘The NeuvoTech package of Inner Circle Secrets’. It’s big, and cost a good penny. I was told it would be personally engraved. This personal engraving is a sticker on the front cover. This is what cost so much money ($99.00) to order. In fact the personal engraving they promise, because they promise it will last for generations and generations in my family, is nothing but a paper sticker placed on the front cover.

This book outlines a lot of what Neo-tech is about, and others have already told you about this, so I won’t go on and on. The only thing I got out of this book is the business practice of breaking down your work load into it’s physical parts. So for instance, a job you are doing takes 5 steps to create 10 items of product. Gather the similar physical elements in each step and do them enmasse. Don’t go from 1 to 2 to 3 to 4 to 5 but take the ‘A’ portion of step 1 and combine it with the ‘A’ portion of step 2 and so on, at the end of the job you will do the ‘Z’ portion of steps 1 though 5 all together. This works!

But it is very basic to a business innovation that can be found in any study of the Ford production plant. Unfortunately, Neo-Tech wants to promote Atheism to you under the auspices of business and innovation. Sorry guys, when God tells you not to eat the forbidden fruit, it’s because he loves you and is protecting you and wants you to trust him, not because He’s only thinking of himself and afraid you will discover his deception. God has nothing to fear from man.

This second book is mostly straight forward, it encompasses lots of information that seems very real world and practical. The problem is, it doesn’t just stop there, the whole thing goes in another direction as you progress through these 500 to 1,000 page tomes that you would never suspect at first glimpse.

This next book is ‘Miss Annabell’s Secrets’. Secrets? This is a novelization of the same ideas in the previous book. It’s a big, long story about Atheism in a school teacher’s life and how the poor thing suffered at the hands of mean old parents and teachers and administrators who objected to her telling her students that there is no God. Yeah, I feel bad for Saddam Hussein too, and Adolf Hitler... they are all just misunderstood. How dare God loving people stand against the truth that Atheists want to bring to mankind? Well they just are victims of the “bi-cameral” mind. The what? The bi-cameral mind.... oh, don’t worry it exists... you just don’t know it... trust me.... it’s there... Really? I should trust you... and not the creator of the universe? Yes, that forbidden fruit is gonna be okay to take a bite of.... go ahead you’ll see the light, my friend.

For those of you who don’t know what that is, the bi-cameral mind that is, according to Neo-Tech, you only have an inclination toward God and spiritual things because you haven’t evolved to the next level of human development. Once you become aware of the universe, as they are, then you’ll see that Atheism is correct and you’ll be happy.

Actually, they go on and on about achieving happiness by getting rid of God and such, if only you’ll replace your Bibles with their book as the center piece of your life. The surrounding paraphernalia of this system writes compulsively about how Neo-tech will save the world. (Just a note: the movies in the Matrix triology are based on these ideas.)

But, to continue on with Miss Annabelle’s Secrets. What amazes me about this book is the way it ends... people crying and rejoicing because they have discovered how to live forever ... physically, yes, physically... they cry and say.... ‘Now life has meaning! Now life finally has meaning!’ Yes, if you take God and hope and faith away from people and replace it with Atheism, then you eliminate the meaning to life, but then replace it with life that never ends on the physical plane.....it is a bit of a cheat... where will you put everyone when no one dies? The bottom line, this book is just a re-run of the second book, but in story form.

The third book, this one also ‘engraved’ for me, is called the ‘Neuvo-tech package of Inside Secrets’. What we are talking about here folks is ‘Aliens’ and unseen cosmic forces. I suppose if I had nothing to do in prison but write pages and pages of stuff I imagined was true with no proof of my own, and asked you to have ‘FAITH’ that this is the truth, then I would probably ask for big bucks for the book, too.

This sounds a lot like the mysticism that is debunked in the first two books. A LOT. And the writer did exactly that, he sat in prison writing for days on end. Once you’ve read the books, you get to join in on secret meetings, So let’s move on to the ‘secret meetings’.

You are invited to the website to view the leader of this organization tutor you in how to gain the physical success and spiritual insight that this inner Illuminati are privy to. There is no office to go to. You don’t go to the big mansion. You don’t meet any celebrity who’s on TV every night. Your mentor is only one person. The front man. And from what I understand from my investigations there are only a small handful of family members who are involved here, and since the founder was hit by a car and killed not long ago, the numbers of people involved are even less. Seems Zon could have told him about that car. (Zon is the universal power that they allude to.)

Your ‘mentor’ sits behind a desk and briefly chats with you about the wonderful move you have just made. He tells you you have begun the journey of a lifetime. Then he turns on a blue screen with type that letter for letter is typed in white type on the screen.

The typing is monotonous and it is all that ever happens. You read his answers to others questions about Neo-tech and that is it. That is the mentoring. The mentor looked frightening to me. He’s blond and wearing dark glasses (inside) with a face that looks like Anton Levay. He speaks in a low tone and never diverts from that presentation. He doesn’t smile he just stares like a zombie.

If you ask me, the whole thing is pre-recorded. You are locked out of ever seeing the meetings again once you do see them, so you don’t pick up on this. But it is not personal, it is not leadership oriented, It is constructed to fool you into believing something is happening which really isn’t. Nobody is there and aware that you are watching and working with you. It’s very clever. That’s what happens folks, I am not a millionaire a year later, I did not go to a secret meeting of a society. I never met any celebrities who are involved. (As promised)

Good business advice is not worth your soul, people.

The Power Of God and Love

Through the Scriptures, the power of God and dynamic energy as the Maker of heaven and earth are repeatedly highlighted. We see evidence of the Almighty power in all physical creation, in the immense and countless stellar bodies as well as all earthly things. The Bible record pulsates with His express of power and His mighty acts toward mankind. Though at times He has kept quiet exercising self-control, whenever His due time came to act He has taken vigorous action with His full might. In every case, His varied expressions of power have been in harmony with righteousness. (Ps. 98:1-2, Isaiah. 5-16)

The fact of the existence of The power of God is proved by the order, power and complexity of creation, and through His dealings with His people throughout history. The true God is infinite and beyond the mind of man fully to fathom. A creature could never hope to become equal to its Creator or understand all the workings of His mind. Rom 11:34 says (For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has become His counselor?”)

The visible heavens and earth give clear proof of a superior Source of power that produced all these forces in an interrelated, coordinated arrangement, one giving undeniable evidence of intelligent purpose. To that Source the acclamation goes: “You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created.” (Rev 4:11)

The power of God and knowledge extend everywhere, reaching every part of the universe. Amos 9:3 says ( Though they dig into hell, From there My hand shall take them; Though they climb up to heaven, From there I will bring them down; ) God is spirit, not flesh, though He sometimes likens His attributes of sight, power, and so forth, to human faculties. Thus, He speaks figuratively of His “arm” His “eyes” and “ears” and points out that, being the Creator of human eyes and ears, He certainly can see and hear. Ps 94:9 says ( He who planted the ear, shall He not hear? He who formed the eye, shall He not see? )

The power of God is not governed by or limited to celestial or earthly cycles. Nor are His expressions of power capricious, erratic or inconsistent. In each case they reveal something about His personality, His standards, and His purpose. His power is used for destruction sometimes as well and He does not have regrets because He has nothing to be ashamed of. As in Sodom and Gomorrah, the destruction of the city and it’s inhabitants was necessary.

Gods power and might are always used in strict accord with justice and righteousness, never in an uncontrolled, wanton, erratic or irresponsible manner. (Job 34:10-12) Hence, there is no just cause for man to contend or find fault with Him. (Job 40:2-5) Those practicing righteousness can confidently approach Him, and enjoy a personal relationship with Him. (Job 13:3; 29:4-5) He loves and delights in His creation but is not dependant on us. We, are dependant on Him for all of our needs which he freely and lovingly supplies. We already know that He is the giver of the perfect gift, He knows our needs before we even ask it of Him. James 1:17 says “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.”