tag:winkiepedia.net,2005:/blogs/6c51b20e-95cc-4edc-9311-ecec7f4e0d15?p=5 ~2019-05-05T16:16:30-05:00Winkie Pratneyfalsetag:winkiepedia.net,2005:Post/46975522017-05-05T05:20:00-05:002022-05-26T01:24:04-05:00Out with the Old....<p><span class="font_xl"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/62923/abdaacf2102383c94894c946a4df68652d656ad5/medium/wreckingball.jpg?1493961431" class="size_m justify_left border_" />There is likewise a timing in building. The breaking down of the old and the cleaning out of the rubbish accumulated over the past must precede new construction. Repentance is the first condition of a new heart; we must turn from in order to fully turn to. To rush the job by leaving out the first steps may result in delay or damage to the intended project.</span><br><br>~Winkie Pratney<br> Spiritual Vocations</p>Winkie Pratneytag:winkiepedia.net,2005:Post/46931192017-05-03T05:55:00-05:002017-05-03T09:53:32-05:00Blind to the TRUTH<p><span class="font_xl"><strong><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/62923/bd135d7066de00329214920261fc55672c8e7680/medium/broken-eye.jpg?1493700734" class="size_m justify_left border_none" alt="" />Jeremiah 13:16:</strong> <em>Give glory to the LORD your God, before He cause darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains, and, while ye look for light, he turn it into the shadow of death, and make it gross darkness.</em> </span><span class="font_regular">(KJV)</span><span class="font_xl"> </span></p>
<p><strong><span class="font_xl">To become blind is the ultimate nightmare for the visual artist; to become spiritually blind the ultimate judgment on our art. No one who intends to reach the heights ought to plan the journey in darkness; when your world is turning to grey, be very careful where you walk.</span></strong><br><br>~Winkie Pratney<br> Spiritual Vocations</p>Winkie Pratneytag:winkiepedia.net,2005:Post/46930902017-05-02T05:35:00-05:002017-05-02T05:35:22-05:00Not so Archaic...<p><span class="font_xl"><strong>Isaiah 24:19:</strong> The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is <em>clean dissolved,</em> the earth is moved exceedingly.</span> (KJV) <span class="font_xl"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/62923/8b16c8def3aecd796136ca360f7fcbacdbb5a43c/original/a-bomg.png?1493699528" class="size_l justify_center border_" />Centuries ago such extreme statements were held up as evidence of the archaic and ignorant nature of Scripture.<em> Where,</em> men said, <em>would you ever get a fire hot enough to melt the earth?</em> More to the point, what could rip apart (untie) the very elements, the building-blocks of matter? So they argued in a pre-atomic age. Now we hope we can hold it in check.</span><br><br>~Winkie Pratney<br> Spiritual Vocations</p>Winkie Pratneytag:winkiepedia.net,2005:Post/46869072017-04-27T05:00:00-05:002017-04-27T05:06:27-05:00Unyielded Rights Ahead!!!<p><span class="font_xl"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/62923/29ef7d7253c17f169ee7547500bff3280b99dc60/medium/goodthings.jpg?1493264043" class="size_m justify_left border_" />Three disqualifications .... mirror the concerns of three men that came to Christ seeking to be His followers. They involve daily cares... the security of a house, a loved one and personal safety. And what is wrong with having a vineyard, building a house and having someone you love waiting in the wings? It is not always the bad things that take us from the best. It is not just unrighteousness but our own righteousness, not just wrongs but unyielded rights that cause us to lose focus in the war and lose our life in seeking to save it. God never said, “You shall have no other <em><strong>bad </strong></em>gods before Me.” Just gods. </span><br><br>~Winkie Pratney<br> Spiritual Vocations</p>Winkie Pratneytag:winkiepedia.net,2005:Post/46762292017-04-25T05:55:00-05:002017-04-25T05:55:23-05:00Just How Good is God at fishing?<p><span class="font_xl"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/62923/7a4c1bc27b0bed8fe7967d79d370c11ba9b03452/medium/dcp-0287.jpg?1492573785" class="size_m justify_left border_" />...There was this guy now on the beach. He had a fire going and seemed like he saw them there all catching nothing and he said, <em>“Kids - you catch anything?” </em>What does Jesus know about fish? Peter did what he told them to do; cast the net on the other side. <em>The net almost broke with the fish.</em> Yes, Jesus does know something about fish. Actually about anything and everything. And tides. And oceans. And fishing. <em>He is much more than the Messiah.</em> And He still calls people to fish today, and one of His gifts is rooted in Who He is and <em>God is the Fisher.</em> Do you have the calling? Millions fish today around the world. And so certainly also does God. </span><br><br>~Winkie Pratney<br> Spiritual Vocations</p>Winkie Pratneytag:winkiepedia.net,2005:Post/46762072017-04-24T05:25:00-05:002017-04-24T13:41:54-05:00A Warrior's Endgame<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/62923/6bab0f0dce75781d57810d9a7dc438c5c02717a0/medium/satans-head.jpg?1492571937" class="size_m justify_left border_" /><span class="font_xl">In the calling of a warrior always remember this; that this gift you are given from God is not to be the one the world is to take as its ultimate treasure. The war in which you must now fight and in which others too may die is not to be the final focus of the future. As we are called not to be mere pacifists but peacemakers, so also our ultimate end is not to be forever exalting blood and death but the end of conflict in which weapons now are no longer needed.</span><br><br>~Winkie Pratney<br> Spiritual Vocations</p>Winkie Pratneytag:winkiepedia.net,2005:Post/46747382017-04-22T05:55:00-05:002022-07-21T16:04:46-05:00Uncounterfeitable!!!<p><span class="font_xl"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/62923/5be5cb2e9c89c54f6656650cd9f6c81a449cc7ff/original/counterfeitculture-1280.jpg?1492491341" class="size_l justify_center border_" />Often almost unnoticed in Scripture is the <em>one Divine thing that cannot be counterfeited in life.</em> While various forms of false fun and many prevailing perversions of pleasure are sought as proposed purposes for enjoyment, none of these can bring what will be finally seen as something <em>most fundamentally supernatural. </em>It does not depend on circumstance. It transcends any human expectation from any exterior provision. It may function in the most frightful onslaughts of fear, a formidable enemy fury or ongoing furnace of pain.<strong><em> It is joy.</em></strong></span><br><br>~Winkie Pratney<br> Spiritual Vocations</p>Winkie Pratneytag:winkiepedia.net,2005:Post/46761582017-04-22T05:10:00-05:002017-04-22T05:10:50-05:00The Call of a Warrior<p><span class="font_xl"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/62923/ef4cfbe549e1e468a790fbb9ab74683ddd8748fe/original/soldier-yelling-486x272.jpg?1492571098" class="size_l justify_center border_" />...Here, (unlike some posing purple pansies promoted as “precious” and “pure” in the supposed world of the holy) are real warrior descriptions; bands of brothers; fathers of families; men of might, portraits of valor; chosen as the chief and the choice, apt to the war and fit to go out and fight. <br><br>...These are they whom God recorded as His representatives in battle. They all bear the colors of their calling, the reputation of their rankings, the marks of their military reality. <em>“At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them.” </em>(Flanders Fields)</span><br><br>From the Chapter, "God is a Warrior"<br><br>~Winkie Pratney<br> Spiritual Vocations</p>Winkie Pratneytag:winkiepedia.net,2005:Post/46745622017-04-21T05:40:00-05:002017-04-22T13:34:04-05:00Inspiration<p><span class="font_xl"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/62923/0e12ec4dbd372ada5f0f00c8f8e365553f0fb3da/medium/artisan2.jpg?1492479414" class="size_m justify_left border_none" alt="" />It is not only right to ask God for wisdom and inspiration in our work; it is part of the original precedent. The power of the Holy Spirit is not only for ministry in special circumstances and spiritual situations; it is also given on a day-by-day basis to those not only conscious of His calling, but conscious of their dependence on Him in faith.</span><br><br>~Winkie Pratney<br> Spiritual Vocations</p>Winkie Pratneytag:winkiepedia.net,2005:Post/46745352017-04-20T05:25:00-05:002017-10-03T11:20:31-05:00Empty Places Aren't Always Bad<p><span class="font_xl"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/62923/c10d77f5202e34de1d78a70d7c402c6902b7bc01/original/tatting.jpg?1492478574" class="size_l justify_center border_" />It is the binding and weaving work around an empty place that makes it strong and marks it as God’s own work and God’s own devising. Loss is not always tragedy and the missing places and pieces may also make up the beauty of a work put on display to the world.</span><br><br><span class="font_regular">~Winkie Pratney<br> Spiritual Vocations</span></p>Winkie Pratneytag:winkiepedia.net,2005:Post/46745262017-04-19T05:20:00-05:002017-04-19T05:21:09-05:00... A reminder from God<p><span class="font_xl"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/62923/573e586cdc36a8d0ebd2b4e2fe1838047b15c9b9/medium/garden2.jpg?1492478149" class="size_m justify_left border_none" alt="" />What is the purpose of Sabbath? It is a covenantal reminder that all we have flows from God and all we do is to be for God. The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. It is not primarily a legal restriction but a relational opportunity. It is not for God’s sake, but for ours; for a single day it boundaries all labor apart from that which rests, refreshes and replenishes our lives. It hallows forever the necessity of periodic release from pressure, and reminds us recreation is in a real way a re-creation.<br><br>The consequence of working seven days without rest or respite results in death. Though the execution of legal national penalty is no longer in effect, the inescapable principle remains; when people and their livelihoods, industries and companies begin to prematurely die, much of this needless suffering and loss will trace back to attempted violations of what is unchangeable. Without a sacred break, you habituate acceleration to burn out.</span><br><br>~Winkie Pratney<br> Spiritual Vocations</p>Winkie Pratneytag:winkiepedia.net,2005:Post/46745182017-04-17T20:05:53-05:002017-04-18T10:14:49-05:00Work... not a curse<p><span class="font_xl"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/62923/b29cbd2b0cc49af595ab16616846ca9eefed508f/medium/blastfurnace.jpg?1492477485" class="size_m justify_left border_none" alt="" />Work is not a curse but a sacred calling. It was not given us as either a liability or limitation but as a holy right and responsibility. The curse that came to the first family for sinning was not that they would have to work but what work they did would now become ensnared in extra effort and a burden within a blessing. Whatever your work, there will be powers and principalities set to make all your needed effort troublesome and tiring.</span><br><br><span class="font_regular">~Winkie Pratney<br> Spiritual Vocations</span></p>Winkie Pratneytag:winkiepedia.net,2005:Post/46439142017-04-15T05:55:00-05:002017-04-15T05:55:23-05:00"Has GOD said?"<p><span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/62923/aa91c7a6bef01866453f9ce72e311d180d088712/medium/python2.jpg?1492145353" class="size_m justify_left border_" />In Modernism, <em>miracles </em>also are suspect if not “impossible.” Forced to deny plain words of the Scriptures that expose and condemn all natural man’s selfish actions, the Modernist has to question ALL Scripture that does not agree with his life. The God’s Divine Directory becomes a book “written by man” full of “mistakes.” Its plain demands become “Misinterpretations.” Modernism joins Satan by asking “Has God said?” when He very plainly HAS! (Genesis 3:1). <br><br>This philosophy tries to take the <em>supernatural </em>from <em>Scripture </em>and <em>society</em>, undermining faith in God and His Word. Here, the Bible is not our absolute guide for life under the light of God’s Holy Spirit. A Modernist <em>rethinks </em>truth in a way that clouds Christ’s clear commands. He makes <em>darkened reason</em>, not intelligent trust in the Word of a wise and holy God, his rule. <em>Subtle changes</em> in understanding of truth, <em>double-thinking,</em> and <em>silence </em>on issues that clarify <em>sin </em>are all marks of Modernism.</span><br><br>~Winkie Pratney<br> Youth Aflame 2.0</p>Winkie Pratneytag:winkiepedia.net,2005:Post/46439132017-04-14T05:30:00-05:002017-04-14T05:32:59-05:00Popularity Wasn't a Promise??? <p><span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/62923/26198f4c966478d13c82fca5b4cb3d631cd50efd/small/this-woman-has-a-crazy-look-on-her-face-like-she-is-shocked-or-astounded-while-holding-her-hands-on-her-head-sy3eypqrbs.jpg?1492144442" class="size_s justify_left border_" />Jesus did <em>not </em>promise all His followers popularity, but <strong><em>LIFE</em></strong>. We need only to remember that “friendship with the world is enmity with God” (James 4:4; John 15:18-19; 1 John 2:15). Men who <em>conform </em>to the world will not <em>change </em>it. Early Christians were often deeply hated, despised, and persecuted. Some were even murdered, but the Gospel spread; “the blood of martyrs is the seed of the church.” Ten of the twelve disciples died violently for their Lord. Jesus Himself said, “The world will <em>hate </em>you because <em>I</em> am not of the world.”</span><br><br>~Winkie Pratney<br> Youth Aflame 2.0</p>Winkie Pratneytag:winkiepedia.net,2005:Post/46438822017-04-13T06:00:00-05:002017-04-14T04:21:12-05:00Making Sinners More REfined<p><span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/62923/cbb29c6e11b5db6603c0a56a3f6062cac481b97b/medium/selfish.jpg?1492057581" class="size_m justify_left border_" />The Gospel has built-in power to change society. Society is simply a lot of separate people living together and <em>no one</em> can change people like <em>God</em>. To alter the living conditions of people is really only a useful side-issue. The Bible shows us that <em>changing social conditions </em>alone will not necessarily change the ultimate <em>choice </em>of a man or woman’s heart. Environment only <em>influences</em> our decisions, never <em>creates</em> them. We are much more than our food, houses and books. Giving selfish people better homes or nicer food will not transform their natures; they will simply be more refined sinners. If we center our hearts on God, our life will change deeply enough to affect both our living conditions and our world, but simply moving a man’s <em>home </em>will not move his <em>heart</em>.</span><br><br>~Winkie Pratney<br> Youth Aflame 2.0</p>Winkie Pratneytag:winkiepedia.net,2005:Post/46438812017-04-11T06:00:00-05:002017-04-11T22:59:51-05:00Flaws in the "Good Deeds" Philosophy.<p><span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/62923/e3942978667d7d308f333a513b5ba3cd59e4101a/original/pass-fail.jpg?1491969561" class="size_l justify_center border_" />There are <em><strong>serious flaws</strong></em> in the good deeds philosophy mentioned under Humanism. Jesus taught a life of good works not FOR salvation, but as a <em>natural result </em>of His own inner <em>transformation </em>of our hearts. True Christians do good flowing from the love that is a consecration to the highest good of God and His Universe, in glad service for their Heavenly Father John 9:4-5). Jesus too, was moved with compassion by human need. But He did <em>not </em>come merely to start relief programs. He had the ability to supply food for others. He fed multitudes, BUT always did these miracles within a limit of spiritual response. He wanted to meet the needs of the whole man. In fact, He distrusted those who followed Him for the supply of physical need alone (John 6:26).</span><br><br>~Winkie Pratney <br> Youth Aflame 2.0</p>Winkie Pratneytag:winkiepedia.net,2005:Post/46439292017-04-11T05:00:00-05:002023-12-10T11:09:36-06:00"A Pig in a Sty" or "The Murderer vs. the Head-Hunter"<p><span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/62923/512361ef22fae2843213b64698a17e0835117bef/medium/pig.jpg?1491873204" class="size_m justify_left border_" />We cannot just <em>TEACH </em>man to be good. Today’s highly educated generation are only smarter sinners. The city killer is no less evil than the jungle head-hunter. Both have selfish hearts, expressed in more or less educated ways. Our conscience needs to be cleared and reawakened; we need forgiveness and cleansing from our past; we need a force inside of us to guard our hearts and minds as a <em>block </em>to future wrong. We need power to live above <em>ourselves </em>and not be a slave to selfishness. God, by the Holy Spirit, can do this. He can point out what man without God cannot see — the “exceeding sinfulness of sin” (Romans 7:13). A pig in a sty cannot tell what a “clean” home is like. It has a wrong idea of “clean” in the mud. Only God can show us both our wrong and conquer it. He wins our rebel hearts by His great love, then takes up His own home in our lives by His Holy Spirit (Revelation 3:20; Ephesians 3:17).</span><br><br>~Winkie Pratney<br> Youth Aflame 2.0</p>Winkie Pratneytag:winkiepedia.net,2005:Post/46438802017-04-04T06:00:00-05:002017-04-04T06:07:34-05:00Human Suffering... and First Things First<p><span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/62923/c42ddc15d982ec95cf21898e5bf9853d76857197/small/victim.jpg?1491192531" class="size_s justify_left border_" />Modernism grows out of <em>religious humanism. </em>A Modernist lives by his feelings like other selfish people, but the desires that may seem to move him <em>most </em>are the needs of the sick, uneducated, poor and hungry. And who is <em>not </em>touched by human need? How <em>noble </em>such efforts seem, even when a man merely uses human plight to gratify his selfishness or appease his conscience. What a tragedy that such deeds of giving can be used as <em>excuses </em>for not doing the <em>first </em>thing God asks of a man; <em>surrender to Christ.</em> Although Modernism has attempted many needed relief and social programs that have been of help to the world, it has helped keep alive a terrible lie, that man can make it to <em>perfection and purity on his own.</em></span><br><br>~Winkie Pratney<br> Youth Aflame 2.0</p>Winkie Pratneytag:winkiepedia.net,2005:Post/46438782017-04-03T06:00:00-05:002022-03-22T02:21:22-05:00Ignorance is NOT Bliss<p><span class="font_large"><em><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/62923/811e87e6b92527223fa98b47de8a53014d50a525/medium/head-sand.jpg?1491191992" class="size_m justify_left border_" />Humanists </em>try to deny or ignore sin. To justify themselves they may do many “good works.” These may <em>seem </em>acceptable in the sight of <em>men</em>, but God searches the heart and sees our <em>real </em>motives. All of our works will be exposed by the light of Heaven. We all know deep inside that “it is appointed to man once to die, and after death the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27; Acts 17:31). <em>Psychiatry </em>can at best EXPOSE the CAUSE of our guilt, leaving <em>psychology </em>to make an attempt to help us <em>live </em>with it. But none of our studies can REMOVE it. Only the Law-Giver Himself can pardon; only the blood of Christ shed “for the forgiveness of many” can rescue us through God’s conditions of our repentance and trust.</span><br><br>~Winkie Pratney <br> Youth Aflame 2.0</p>Winkie Pratneytag:winkiepedia.net,2005:Post/46438752017-03-31T06:00:00-05:002017-03-31T06:07:01-05:00Smoke and Mirrors<p><span class="font_large"><em><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/62923/d532ecaabbd5d322b11918477786711ec8bddc52/medium/daily-newspaper-headline-that-reads-killed-and-escaped-f1m6jipo.jpg?1490927063" class="size_m justify_left border_" />A Humanist’s answer is not real.</em> It does not account for the disgusting dictatorship of sin in the human heart. Good FUTURE deeds (even <em>if </em>made from the right motives) cannot cancel out bad ones. If wrong has been done, the penalty of God’s broken law must function. God must be strictly fair. His justice cannot simply excuse, for instance, a murderer on his promise of some future behavior. <em>Selfishness unchecked would murder</em> God’s Universe.</span><br><br>~Winkie Pratney <br> Youth Aflame 2.0</p>Winkie Pratneytag:winkiepedia.net,2005:Post/46438742017-03-30T06:00:00-05:002022-04-19T07:31:08-05:00Humanism's Fatal Mistake<p><span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/62923/712aad2bae472ee9c9d8b3e7405fde0fb0cdfaa8/medium/graphicstock-big-boom-in-deep-space-byrbqcqs5e.jpg?1490852879" class="size_m justify_left border_" />Humanism’s fatal mistake is to confuse ability or <em>CAPACITY </em>with <em>CHOICE</em>. A man <em>can </em>know right and how to do it. From the dawn of moral awakening, however, the whole record of Scripture and history is that we <em>choose instead</em> to do WRONG. Even the seemingly “good” actions of unchanged men and women are done from secret selfishness (like <em>hope </em>of self-gain or <em>fear</em> of punishment and disapproval). “Too much good in even the worst of us” is not what the Bible says but — <em>“All have sinned</em> and come short of the glory of God… there is NONE that does good, no, not one” (Romans 3:23, 10; 7:18). Sinful people cannot please God with their excuses for rebellion in “good deeds” (Isaiah 64:6; Matthew 7:21-23; Galatians 2:16; 1 Corinthians 13:3).</span><br><br>~Winkie Pratney<br> Youth Aflame 2.0</p>Winkie Pratneytag:winkiepedia.net,2005:Post/46438602017-03-29T06:00:00-05:002017-03-29T06:07:01-05:00Seeking, but never finding...<p><span class="font_large"><em><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/62923/11e9e84f81c9287f1283bf368b66d4519467af13/medium/bunny.png?1490767978" class="size_m justify_left border_" /><br>Hedonism</em>, once popularized by Hefner’s “Playboy Philosophy,” fits in here. The strange thing is that if we seek pleasure <em>for pleasure’s sake, </em>we will never find it. It is like trying to find the pot of gold at the proverbial end of the rainbow. The man who tries to save his life by living totally to serve himself actually LOSES it because he becomes a slave to his lusts, and pays the penalty of sin (Luke 9:24; 1 Timothy 5:6; Romans 6:16).</span><br><br>~Winkie Pratney <br> Youth Aflame 2.0</p>Winkie Pratneytag:winkiepedia.net,2005:Post/46438612017-03-28T06:00:00-05:002017-03-28T06:07:31-05:00When is Self-Love and Self-Denial NOT a Paradox?<p><span class="font_large"><em><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/62923/c44c88fe1edfac361aba7c6e5069822a7301aa40/medium/giphy.gif?1490680485" class="size_m justify_center border_" /><br><br>The foundation of moral freedom</em> is self-love in the context of <em>self-denial;</em> this is <em><strong>not </strong></em>a paradox. <em>Self-love</em> simply means unselfishly choosing your own highest good; <em>self-denial</em> is the willingness to subordinate personal desires to the revealed will of God, whether that implies sacrifice or not. A<em> by-product</em> of a holy life is happiness. We were never meant to live on the level of an animal (Luke 14:26-35; 18:29-30; John 10:10; Ephesians 3:14-21; 2 Corinthians 9:8; 1 Peter 2:11; 4:2).</span><br><br>~Winkie Pratney <br> Youth Aflame 2.0</p>Winkie Pratneytag:winkiepedia.net,2005:Post/46438592017-03-27T06:00:00-05:002017-03-27T06:07:02-05:00What is your Focus?<p><span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/62923/29378d745a5d8efa819a0484c16f6ead525ee919/medium/earth-globe-2.jpg?1490403152" class="size_m justify_left border_" />Materialism makes CREATION, not the Creator the object of devotion. The man who would be Christ’s disciple must hold <strong><em>lightly </em></strong>to the world and <em><strong>tightly </strong></em>to God (Luke 14:33; Colossians 3:2). A disciple of the Lord Jesus is no longer his own. He is “bought with a price” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).</span><br><br>~Winkie Pratney<br> Youth Aflame 2.0</p>Winkie Pratneytag:winkiepedia.net,2005:Post/46438582017-03-26T06:00:00-05:002021-03-09T04:54:45-06:00FAITH IN THINGS<p><span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/62923/cfef3996f54741c1dab798a08e58c63bd7802049/medium/need-want-and-like-dice-showing-yearning-zy-flvp.jpg?1490401476" class="size_m justify_left border_" />When people get settled and comfortable they tend to pay less attention to their <em>Maker </em>and more attention to the <em>things He made.</em> Even useful or needed things can take first place in time and affections that rightfully belong to the Lord. Jesus knew the danger we call Materialism, for His land had many Materialists. When He multiplied by a miracle the loaves and fishes to feed a hungry crowd, people tried by force to make Him their “King of Things” (John 6:13-15).</span><br><br>~Winkie Pratney<br> Youth Aflame 2.0</p>Winkie Pratneytag:winkiepedia.net,2005:Post/46438572017-03-25T06:00:00-05:002021-12-04T07:09:08-06:00An IDEA is a SPARK — a spark that can fire a world.<p><span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/62923/c79046cc2b630f4473b38e2e9e0c94c261f67118/medium/dsc-7818-163.jpg?1490401295" class="size_m justify_left border_" />“As a man thinks in his heart — so IS he” (Proverbs 23:7). The way you think is the way you will live. We LIVE what we really BELIEVE. There are many philosophies, or ordered ideas for living, in our world. Most have some powerful points that capture young people’s interests. All but ONE are weaknesses and some serious, even dangerous consequences when a life is based on them. “Beware in case any man trick you through philosophy and empty deception, according to the basic principles of the WORLD and not after CHRIST” Paul warned (Colossians 2:8). How much of the world’s ideas run your life?</span><br><br>~Winkie Pratney<br> Youth Aflame 2.0</p>Winkie Pratneytag:winkiepedia.net,2005:Post/46369202017-03-20T06:00:00-05:002017-03-20T14:17:57-05:00The Greatest Force<span class="font_large"><em><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/62923/584db23b51cc7e7c25e8cd7171834582412e8c5a/small/triquetra-with-circle-225x300.jpg?1489995566" class="size_s justify_left border_" />The love of God is the greatest force in the Universe.</em> God's love loosed on the world shook it to its foundations. The early disciples were not tied together in organization, sworn together in doctrine or frozen together in tradition. They were <em><strong>melted </strong></em>together in love.</span><br><br>~Winkie Pratney<br> Youth Aflame (p234)Winkie Pratneytag:winkiepedia.net,2005:Post/46349782017-03-18T06:00:00-05:002017-03-18T06:06:57-05:00A Critical Point! (part 5-5)<span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/62923/b6240dbad7add3d2bc01e87ff01fb0b1d21b09b7/small/portrait-of-happy-funny-clown-kid-byfa-ythi.jpg?1489806096" class="size_s justify_left border_" />4. CRITICAL SPIRIT -- <em>"Nothing I seem to do turns out right!"</em><br><br><em>Criticism</em> shows you have not taken your proper place in God's order. and learned to live with yourself. It can show against <em>others </em>-- envy, jealousy, back-biting or in the civil war of your own life. (Frustration - never seeming to make it.) You want to be like someone else you like a lot, but can't; or you wish someone else would think you are something which you know you are <em>not</em>.<br><br>Doing this is really <em>blaming God</em> for the way He made you. You feel a failure because you hate yourself for what God intended you to be. (Ephesians 5:29.)<br><br>GET OUT OF THE RUT!!!!</span><br><br>~Winkie Pratney<br> Youth Aflame (p 178)Winkie Pratneytag:winkiepedia.net,2005:Post/46287802017-03-17T06:00:00-05:002021-10-28T07:40:31-05:00"Nobody Understands Me?" (part 4-5)<span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/62923/b8b7cac97166b1b137a1e88cc982dac73569e92c/small/portrait-of-happy-funny-clown-kid.jpg?1489465526" class="size_s justify_left border_" />3. CRAZE FOR SPIRITUALITY --<em> "Nobody really understands me and God."</em><br><br>Some people seem to try<em> too hard</em> to be Christians. They appear intent on being "super-holy," wanting to do everything "spiritual" or acting as God's judge of the sins of the world.<br><br>Yet <em>those who know them,</em> "smell a rat." Their zeal doesn't ring <em>true</em>. The fruit of the Spirit is strangely absent. Wrapped up in themselves, their over-spirituality is a shell covering a desperate need of being accepted.<br><br>It can often begin from <em>personal deficiency </em>by birth or accident. It need not hinder their spiritual life, but THEY think it must. Such needy ones blame their parents or God for what has happened. But NEITHER should be accused. (John 9:1-3). God can allow such things for a demonstration of His power and glory in weakness. If it is a God-allowed "infirmity" it must be accepted. (2 Corinthians 12:7-9).</span><br><br>~Winkie Pratney<br> Youth Aflame (p177)<br><br><span class="font_small">Image: Graphicstock</span>Winkie Pratneytag:winkiepedia.net,2005:Post/46287692017-03-16T06:00:00-05:002017-03-16T17:09:17-05:00How Do I Look? - (Part 3-5)<span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/62923/6f9087ad0f9bdf9eb77602ac4f4409695cbac843/medium/beautiful-brunette-girl-face-rylkvdasj.jpg?1489463107" class="size_m justify_left border_" />2. <em>"I hate the way I look; my hairstyle, clothes, face, etc."</em><br><br>If His people spent even as <em>much </em>time on their <em>hearts </em>as they do their LOOKS, God could meet much of the world's need. If YOU could CHANGE the way you look, <em>would you?</em> Without surgery even -- you <em>CAN!</em> Your <em>looks </em>reflect the state of your <em>heart</em>. When it is honest and free from guilt, you face will be lit with the radiance of God. A person who is truly beautiful on the INSIDE, will be attractive on the OUTSIDE. <em>Clothes</em>, like lives, must be simple and clean. Very gaudy or "showy" dress is a sure sign of a lonely, self-centered heart. A Christian must not be a slave to the fashions and customs of the world. Live like the world and you scream to the streets, "Give me dress, give me fashion, give me flattery and I am happy." Take care of the INSIDE and the <em>outward </em>appearance takes care of itself. (2 Corinthians 3:18; 1 Timothy 2:9-10; Romans 12:1-2 Phillips translation).</span><br><br>~Winkie Pratney<br> Youth Aflame (p176)<br><br><span class="font_small">Image: Graphicstock</span>Winkie Pratneytag:winkiepedia.net,2005:Post/46287562017-03-15T06:00:00-05:002021-08-30T08:09:25-05:00"Taking Off the Mask - (part 2-5)<span class="font_large"><em><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/62923/e8cccb3d4e7556505642f3743a1539eb392bffa3/small/young-man-with-cracked-skin.jpg?1489465276" class="size_s justify_left border_" />"Taking off the mask"</em> is rather frightening and a little bit painful. But when we learn to do this TOGETHER before God, we take a giant step to family unity as children of God. Immense personal problems grow out of this root -- failing to believe that I AM WHAT I AM. Check out your <em>own </em>life for this:<br><br>1. CROWD FEAR -- <em>"Nobody wants me; nobody likes me; nobody accepts me."</em><br><br>Afraid of meeting others? Self-consciousness is pride. The less you think about what others think of YOU, the more power and freedom you will have in your Christian life as you walk before the eyes of the Lord. If you are like this, you have not accepted yourself for the way God made you. (Psalms 56:4).</span><br><br>Winkie Pratney<br> (Youth Aflame p176)<br><br><span class="font_small">Image: Graphicstock</span>Winkie Pratneytag:winkiepedia.net,2005:Post/46287362017-03-14T06:15:00-05:002017-03-14T09:30:34-05:00You Are What You Really Are (part 1-5)<span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/62923/828ff3c4bb75e523b3445e8ee39c5d3c32db163c/small/woman-with-scarf-and-mask-syxvpreo.jpg?1489461036" class="size_s justify_left border_" />When the Lord Jesus came, <em>He wore no mask.</em> He was wholly what He seemed to be. In Him was found no guile. People came to Him pretending, but found they couldn't fool Him! He looked into their souls, showed them without saying that He understood why they wore their "mask." Gently, He helped them take it off, and the man behind it saw light as he faced the world honestly for the first time. When Paul saw himself as GOD saw him, he said, "I am the <em>chief </em>of sinners." (1 Timothy 1:15). In God's army we are <strong><em>all </em></strong>chiefs, no indians!<br><br><em>God wants to show you what you are. </em>It may take Him a long time, but He will stop at nothing short of perfection once you have let Him have your life. He can't start until you know the <em>truth </em>about yourself -- "In me, there lives no good thing!" Sometimes it takes us a lifetime to realize we ARE what God says us to be -- "sinners!" Once realized we can start being really dependent on God to make us all He wants us to be. We are like the ugly duckling. Until we despair of ever changing ourselves, God cannot make us into beautiful "swans."</span><br><br>~Winkie Pratney<br> (Youth Aflame p176)<br><br><span class="font_small">Image: Graphicstock</span>Winkie Pratneytag:winkiepedia.net,2005:Post/46264782017-03-12T05:55:00-05:002017-03-12T05:55:22-05:00The Masks We Wear...<span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/62923/8f2010419422ab6f37aac080db8aff0b99f5b281/original/masks-in-venice.jpg?1489287252" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="font_large">Almost everyone wears a mask to cover the real person --- our true inner souls. behind many a smile lies defeat, discouragement and despair. We live in a pretend world. Daily, people practice their smiles in the mirror and go out to live with other masked people. It often seems like no one understands us and our problems, for most everyone we meet seems to live a relaxed life. Finding no one with problems like ours, we cover the lines of guilt and worry, fix our smile up carefully again, and go on back to pretending. From childhood we are taught to be unreal; to look as if we are happy when we aren't; to laugh when we feel like crying; to act as if nothing has happened when we are hurt; to carefully cover the tears and go on with the business of living again.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br><span class="font_large">But it is this kind of automatic deceit that makes it so hard for God to get through to us. He wants to show us what we are. It may take Him a long time, but once He has begun He will complete His work. And He cannot begin to help us until we learn the truth about our old lives; that in US there is "no good thing." (Romans 7:18). Sometimes it takes a person a lifetime to realize that he IS what God says he is without Him -- a SINNER. We always find reasons why we are "better" than the Bible says we are; if we get too good at these, we can simply never be saved. </span>
</div><br>~Winkie Pratney<br> (Youth Aflame (p175)<p><span class="font_small">Pic by Rasevic (Own work) [CC BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons</span></p>Winkie Pratneytag:winkiepedia.net,2005:Post/46258322017-03-11T05:30:00-06:002019-05-05T16:16:30-05:00Satan's "Push-me-pull-you"<img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/62923/8833ba9c26b661a103a8442c10f8c75f939bee7f/medium/pushme.jpg?1489211618" class="size_m justify_left border_" /><span class="font_large"><em>Satan uses both extremes</em>, (Worm-Pride & Self-Pride) in his attacks on Christians. If he cannot<em> puff you up</em>, he will try to <em>push you down</em>. He will alternate thrusts of great <em>elation</em> or great <em>depression</em> following spiritual <em>victories</em> or <em>failures</em>. Watch out for these two kinds of pride, <em>recognize</em> them for what they are, and <em>resist</em> them. The safest way a Christian can think of himself is as a FORGIVEN child of GOD. This will keep you from both of these extremes. And remember too, the <em>secret</em> of dealing with self is not <em>wrestling</em> it, but getting so caught up with the Lord Jesus and His work that you <em>forget</em> it.</span><br><br>~Winkie Pratney<br> Youth Aflame (p175)Winkie Pratneytag:winkiepedia.net,2005:Post/46245482017-03-10T02:17:25-06:002017-03-11T20:30:41-06:00Boot-Strap Pride<img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/62923/f0c6a6a4ebe03f4ad175a509080452591d22699e/small/apprentice0001-2.jpg?1489134022" class="size_s justify_left border_" /><span class="font_large"><em>Self-Dependance</em> is the pride sin that felled <em>Lucifer</em>, the beautiful angel of light in charge of God's wisdom secrets, and turned him into <em>Satan</em>, the Devil (Isaiah 14:14; Ezekiel 28:12-17). As long as there is someone bigger and better than him, the man with the "big wheel" pride can never be content. Now God is always going to be infinitely greater than any man can ever be. A man who wants to be be King of his own universe NEVER wants to meet God. That is why a lot of people waste a lot of time and words arguing that He does not exist. They really wish it were true because one day they will have to answer for their false estimates of their own importance.</span><br><br>~Winkie Pratney<br> Youth Aflame (p173)<br><br><span class="font_small">Picture is Ross McElwee who was playing a character representing Lucifer/Devil from the drama "Toymaker & Son" circa 1988-89 </span>Winkie Pratneytag:winkiepedia.net,2005:Post/46224432017-03-09T05:30:00-06:002017-03-11T20:32:02-06:00Rebellion against TRUTH<p><span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/62923/47f1530d51c1d478f2f8a43b65ebce0a1f5ead93/large/cruel-teds0001-2.jpg?1489018779" class="size_l justify_left border_" /><br>It is not lack of information that makes a man lost, it is rebellion against TRUTH. It is resistance to the Spirit of God who daily deals with men and women. It is shutting Him out, and ignoring Him and suppressing the TRUTH. </span></p>
<p>~Winkie Pratney <br> <em>“Absolutes of Wonder”</em><br><br><span class="font_small">Characters from the drama "Toymaker & Son" circa 1988-89 </span></p>Winkie Pratneytag:winkiepedia.net,2005:Post/46212392017-03-08T01:20:24-06:002017-03-08T01:20:24-06:00Grace-ful Pride<span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/62923/24d31d8cc09fbb9a5f6ebe4b93ff889a4aeaed33/medium/pride.jpg?1488957552" class="size_m justify_left border_" />We can preach on the pride of <em>race, face </em>and<em> place;</em> but the most deceitful is the pride of <em>"grace."</em> ...One such form trades on the <em>goodness</em> of God. It involves "reminding" Him of how much you have done for Him in the past. You suggest to your conscience that since you have accomplished some great things for God, you are entitled to a small moral holiday. This is <em>not funny.</em> God is <em>not </em>going to overlook any kind of sin, no matter how much you have done. (Ezekiel 18:24; Philippians 3:5-8) Too often His children fall RIGHT AFTER they have done some <em>really significant </em>work for Him. Grace cannot be "stored" so you can "sin a little" on your reputation. The <em>higher </em>you get to God in the eyes of men, the more <em>carefully </em>you must guard your life because He will judge you <em>more severely</em> as a leader for failure than someone else with less light. (James 3:1)</span><br><br>~Winkie Pratneyangel <br> Youth Aflame (p173)Winkie Pratneytag:winkiepedia.net,2005:Post/46177662017-03-07T05:00:00-06:002017-03-07T05:06:21-06:00"Worm" Pride<img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/62923/091432e182e9dc9b4dcf9977b18b1fbad1efb475/small/worms.jpg?1488776747" class="size_s justify_left border_" /><span class="font_large">The pride of the "worm" devalues what <em>God </em>says we are worth in <em>His </em>eyes. He does <em>not </em>annihilate our personalities; He cares for us regardless of our lack of greatness because He made us and knows what <em>we can be </em>in His hands.</span><br><br>~Winkie Pratney<br> Youth Aflame Winkie Pratneytag:winkiepedia.net,2005:Post/46177392017-03-06T05:00:00-06:002017-03-07T09:10:57-06:00Christian vs Religion<span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/62923/ff11fcaa3a0fa3bdc5ac4a8d28ac451e12d1cb74/small/no-religion.jpg?1488775357" class="size_s justify_left border_" />True Christianity is <em>not </em>a religion; it is people through Christ <em>returning to normal.</em> Religions are <em>our </em>substitutes for God; through Christ God has substituted for <em>us!</em> The Creator put an echo of His nature in our beings; men cannot find real peace apart from Him.</span><br><br>~Winkie Pratney<br> Youth AflameWinkie Pratneytag:winkiepedia.net,2005:Post/46161702017-03-04T06:00:00-06:002021-12-17T02:19:25-06:00Dust or Destiny!<span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/62923/e942e921b845853ca6d027637f961022c1941b14/small/giphy-1.gif?1488602092" class="size_s justify_left border_" /><br>Sell your birthright to the world, the flesh and the Devil and your future will be dust. But find the place <em>God </em>wants you to discover and a door will be open to you -- your DOORWAY OF DESTINY! </span><br><br>~Winkie Pratney<br> Youth AflameWinkie Pratneytag:winkiepedia.net,2005:Post/46094042017-03-01T06:00:00-06:002017-03-12T21:13:19-05:00... to be saved, is to be lost!<p><span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/62923/8135f1f67631fff3daf1520267b5740482ec0989/medium/smoke.jpg?1488254294" class="size_m justify_left border_" /><br>An Eastern view of the world, although it doesn't confront wrong, does provide a good answer for the unity and harmony we see all around us. It says, "yes, we all are really one ---you, me, the sky, the sea, the flea and the redwood tree." </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Just as the water of the ocean is the same stuff as an individual drop separated from it, God is, according to this world view, the whole of reality. His "stuff" is essentially the same as your "stuff.".... Your problem, according to the East, is that you think you are somehow distinct from the rest of creation. The way to solve that problem in Eastern thought is to lose your sense of individuality. ... Salvation consists in regaining that profound unity by understanding --- by the conquest of illusion. .... You lose yourself in the whole. That, to the East is salvation. To be saved is to be individually lost! This is "Nirvana" --- not the rock group, but Eastern heaven. <em>Nothingness</em>. <br>(This is part 3 of a series that began with "A Supernatural View of Ecology")</span></p>
<p>~Winkie Pratney <br> Healing the Land, a Supernatural View of Ecology (p49)</p>Winkie Pratneytag:winkiepedia.net,2005:Post/46079372017-02-28T06:00:00-06:002017-03-12T21:11:26-05:00I'm sorry, what was the question again?<p><span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/62923/58b77392487b17e84046d31f36698598ee7b5083/medium/primordial-soup.jpg?1488171229" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">A Western materialistic view of nature has an answer for difference but no real answer for the unity, law, structure and harmony we see in the universe. ... The Western picture of man as the product of blind, undirected chance and matter, while all around us is a universe that speaks of laws, of harmony and objects that behave according to order. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">The West has no real answer for law, form, or structure. Yet the universe exists with law, form and structure. Why this should be so has no real answer in the equations of chance. Nature has her rules and you try to break them at your peril. (This is a continuation from yesterday.)</span></p>
<p>~Winkie Pratney <br> Healing the Land, a Supernatural View of Ecology (p45)</p>Winkie Pratneytag:winkiepedia.net,2005:Post/46079222017-02-27T06:00:00-06:002017-02-27T06:06:36-06:00A Supernatural View of Ecology<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/62923/a0df2af0e7adea4384c9a9c504020efc87ea2aa9/medium/creation-1.jpg?1488171206" class="size_m justify_left border_" /><br><span class="font_large">The third or <strong>Biblical </strong>view, is neither Eastern nor Western, that<em> the earth and the universe were designed with humanity as the crown of creation and utterly special.</em> Nature is, in this picture, neither chemical nor divine, but a supernaturally co-created gift of God that has suffered a terrible loss because of the failure and neglect of its appointed caretaker --- man and woman. </span></p>
<p>~Winkie Pratney <br> Healing the Land, a Supernatural View of Ecology (p42)</p>Winkie Pratneytag:winkiepedia.net,2005:Post/45997082017-02-24T05:50:00-06:002017-02-24T05:51:10-06:00On Moral Freedom<p><span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/62923/1eff2402b024aa73bb7dd1c10d97abc90d06558b/medium/images.jpg?1487653925" class="size_m justify_left border_" /><br>Moral Freedom, properly defined is NOT the right to do what you WANT, but the power to do that which is RIGHT. As temptation presents itself, the Christian is faced with a CHOICE between selfishness and love</span>. </p>
<p>~Winkie Pratney <br> Youth Aflame</p>Winkie Pratneytag:winkiepedia.net,2005:Post/45994902017-02-23T05:30:00-06:002017-02-23T05:33:12-06:00The Insanity of Sin<span class="font_large"><em><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/62923/25b74c7a36c4c1d33c985e1dad76cec708d3eb63/medium/skull.jpg?1487651347" class="size_m justify_left border_" />Sin is NEVER natural.</em> It is horribly <em>UN</em>-natural. Sin is NEVER "human." It is horribly IN-human. Sin creates<em> remorse, guilt </em>and <em>shame;</em> every time a person feels these three witnesses in his soul, they tell him sin is NOT natural. Even the simple <em>lie-detector</em> can tell us this. The whole body reacts adversely when a person sins. Sin is in fact, a kind of <em>insanity</em>. (Ecclesiastes 9:3)</span><br><br><span class="font_regular">~Winkie Pratney<br> Youth Aflame</span>Winkie Pratneytag:winkiepedia.net,2005:Post/45995392017-02-22T05:30:00-06:002017-02-22T05:33:48-06:00Do we HAVE to???<span class="font_large"><em><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/62923/68896f222b23f013fabb138dcc318da5be0777a3/medium/commandments-redacted.jpg?1487650894" class="size_m justify_left border_" />Which </em>of God's laws are we actually UNABLE to keep -- <em>if </em>we love the Lawgiver? Do we <em>have </em>to relegate God to some other position than King of our lives and put something else in His place? Do we <em>have </em>to take His name in vain? <em>Must </em>we steal, What man has ever been born that could not help <em>BUT </em>murder? Do we have <em>no choice </em>but to commit adultery, to lie, to covet, to dishonor parents and refuse to honour God on a special day of rest? God says "His commandments are NOT grievous." Do WE say they are not only <em>grievous </em>but<em> impossible?</em> The Lord Jesus said -- "My yoke is <em>easy </em>and My burden is light." Do WE say His yoke is not only HEAVY, but completely <em>unbearable </em>for any human being?</span><br><br><span class="font_regular">~Winkie Pratney<br> Youth Aflame</span>Winkie Pratneytag:winkiepedia.net,2005:Post/45996542017-02-21T05:10:00-06:002021-11-15T00:32:15-06:00Skeletons... in YOUR closet<span class="font_large"><em><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/62923/9ff0544e0e4ed172c370f8dbf7f4e6a5dd937798/small/skeleton.jpg?1487650054" class="size_s justify_left border_" /><br><br>How do you get them out?</em> Memory is highly efficient in remembering wrong. Although it forgets unpleasant and worthless things (like the last time you tripped or missed what you were aiming for) <strong>it NEVER forgets unrighted <em>sin</em>. </strong>Much mental illness today can be traced to guilt never wiped from the mind by confession, restitution and forgiveness. Shock, drugs and other medical and psychiatric treatment tries to take such guild memories from the mind, but <em>God's </em>method is the only really effective one -- FACE each wrong with its full load of guilt -- but <em>don't </em>HOLD it! Bring it out into the open before the Lord Jesus, confess it to Him and to those "others" involved -- then receive healing <em>forgiveness</em>.</span><br><br>~Winkie Pratney<br> Youth AflameWinkie Pratneytag:winkiepedia.net,2005:Post/45922532017-02-19T06:00:00-06:002017-02-19T06:06:29-06:00What do you do???<p><span class="font_xl">By Winkie Pratney...<br> You ask me what I do? </span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/62923/f009ffeba28fafb2edc243f7654ac77ca0897613/medium/m81.jpg?1487204015" class="size_m justify_left border_" />I am a fully-fledged, authorized representative and life-time member of the largest and most wide-spread global company on Earth. <br> <br>Our mission statement is to plant our Founders benefit, vision and values in every city, nation, continent and people-group in every tongue and language on the planet. <br> <br>Who and what we bring to help the nations has always proved the most needed and pre-eminently significant contribution to its people. Time after time it demonstrates the power to bring the highest benefit and value to the welfare and worth of every culture and country it touches. <br> <br>To accomplish this massive and costly task, our representatives work in every level of culture and society. We are active in multiple levels in the arts and sciences, economics, education, entertainment, military, media, communications, law, ethics, health-care, conservation, welfare and local and civil government. We count among our far-flung number farmers and futurists, doctors and dressmakers, poets and politicians, scientists, scholars, singers, scribes, sages and seers. <br> <br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/62923/75496a06d202bc89cad8def3527e9262b95e6779/medium/japan-vast-devastation8.jpg?1487204514" class="size_m justify_right border_" />Though our reps are under commission to go where many either cannot or will not go to some of the most needy nations and dangerous areas on earth, we are in training for ready response to matters of both immediate and long-term concern in both national and international emergency. We put teams everywhere where the need is greatest. </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">These missions of mercy have generated more press and public involvement in both response and reaction than any other venture in history. We have many supporters and more than our fair share of detractors. Those in our ranks come from all walks of life, from the poorest of the poor to kings, queens, Prime Ministers and Presidents. We are old and young, students and teachers, educated and illiterate, ex-prisoners and corporate heads. There are no stereotypes or typicals in our teams. Everyone is uniquely gifted but all in our various missions are united around our common calling. </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Our global time-honored company has printed and distributed more inspirational, educational and recruitment materials than any other in publishing history. More musicians, singers, writers and composers have dealt with the central themes of our work in honor of the Founder than of any other person or project in history. Such compositions and concerts comprise so many grateful and gifted men and women that one recent compilation by TIME-LIFE America alone became the best-selling release out of all its collection of legendary singers, songs and song-writers. </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/62923/b8112009ab9c48317a02c3e82bdc3f72d21c780b/small/metal-print-letters.jpg?1487204344" class="size_s justify_left border_" /> Our basic training-manual is still the best-selling book of all time. In the last decade we released the most-watched movie on the planet (still circulating) and the best-selling foreign language film in all movie history. <br> <br>Though our company had an extremely small beginning and our Founder the most humble of origins, it is now by far the<em> largest international body on earth</em>. Though our task is still far from complete and we are often misunderstood and misrepresented even by those we seek to serve, we all count it individually an honor to be able to contribute to the completion of what we believe is the world’s most significant task and that it may be accomplished in our own time. <br> <br>Some chosen to represent this work and its leadership have already spoken publicly both in person and via global media to the largest audiences of all time and still continue to do so to this day. <br> <br>In conclusion, I am proud and honored to represent both who and to what I have given my life, my time, my talents and future service. I believe there is no greater cause and no greater calling. <br> <br>You ask me what I do? <br> <br>I am a follower of Jesus Christ. <br> <br><strong><span class="font_large"><em>I am a missionary.</em></span></strong><br> </p>Winkie Pratneytag:winkiepedia.net,2005:Post/45908742017-02-18T06:00:00-06:002020-10-13T07:42:34-05:00... Death to Self<span class="font_large"><em><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/62923/d5b640c255dc3d2d91a01c4fdab460d14a496d29/medium/selfish.jpg?1487139326" class="size_m justify_left border_" /><br>"The hardest death to die is <strong>death to self</strong>. The most difficult thing to do is to admit wrong and get the past cleaned up. ...God has given us two deeply powerful principles to overcome it. They are the moral forces of <strong>confession</strong>, to bring self-honesty and forgiveness, and <strong>restitution</strong>, to right wherever possible the harm that has been done by selfishness."</em></span><br><br><span class="font_regular">~Winkie Pratney<br> Youth Aflame</span>Winkie Pratneytag:winkiepedia.net,2005:Post/45909042017-02-17T06:00:00-06:002017-02-26T22:30:04-06:00Do I have your attention NOW?<em><span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/62923/49cb79c788f3e1fbf3b93a198db1ad87cf33f178/medium/800px-unraveling-saturns-rings.jpg?1487136948" class="size_m justify_left border_" />"Venus and Uranus not only rotate in the <strong>opposite </strong>direction from all the other planets in our solar system, but about <strong>one-third</strong> of the moons in our planetary system go 'backwards.' Quirks like this drive scientists crazy.... it's hard to think of some 'accident' big enough to wholly reverse a moon's orbit without shattering it, let alone the spin direction of a whole planet.<br><br>Perhaps exceptions to the general rule like this are God's way of saying, 'Now do I have your attention?' "</span></em><br><br><span class="font_regular">~Winkie Pratney<br> Healing the Land</span>Winkie Pratneytag:winkiepedia.net,2005:Post/45908552017-02-16T06:00:00-06:002017-02-16T23:11:51-06:00The Admiration of Selfishness???<strong><span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/62923/2895683c5f32c7b170944e3c78be26d674e9c05c/medium/friendship-betrayal.jpg?1487196894" class="size_m justify_center border_" />"It is a strange thing, but selfishness has <em>never </em>been admired. No creed or religion in history has thought well of the man who betrayed those who loved and helped him the most, or became a coward to save his own neck. Even dedicated Marxists have annual twinges of conscience. This rule God gave us -- the rule of fairness -- is known by <em>all races, </em>regardless of language, religion or training. Both 'civilized' and 'savage' know this inwritten law of happiness. As long as a person can function as a moral being, it will throw light on their conduct."</span></strong><br><br>~Winkie Pratney<br> Youth AflameWinkie Pratneytag:winkiepedia.net,2005:Post/45915782017-02-15T12:38:43-06:002017-02-15T12:39:20-06:00A Ready Word...<p><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/62923/e668534b0ddfdaa81004f234f49b88766a75e126/original/giphy.gif?1486943288" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><em><span class="font_large">Shortly after a prominent TV preacher was caught in adultery, a news crew attempted to interview Winkie. His response.... "It's about time you guys recognized immorality is sin."</span></em><br><br>WinkiePedia.Net</p>Winkie Pratneytag:winkiepedia.net,2005:Post/45853092017-02-14T06:05:00-06:002017-02-15T10:05:20-06:00The Road to Hell...<p><em><span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/62923/9706eb7ac723b5406a9992822d247670230b0373/original/road-to-hell-612x250.jpg?1486766643" class="size_l justify_center border_" />“The road to Hell is paved with good intentions” said Dorothy Sayers: Not <strong>bad </strong>things we should <strong>not </strong>have done, nor even good things we <strong>may </strong>have meant to do, but <strong>good </strong>things, nice things, fine things stubbornly and obstinately done <strong>despite God’s dealings</strong> with the lovely, treasured idolatries of our lives.</span></em><br><br>~Winkie Pratney<br> Spiritual Vocations</p>Winkie Pratneytag:winkiepedia.net,2005:Post/45850882017-02-13T06:05:00-06:002022-05-21T12:05:40-05:00Religion vs. Relationship<p><span class="font_large"><em><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/62923/443875b8e89fc66004c890988e162464e27d096f/original/poison.jpg?1486768333" class="size_l justify_center border_" />"Religiousness can be like an inoculation – </em></span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><em>They give you something LIKE the real thing so that when the real thing comes you are immune to it."</em></span><br><br>~Winkie Pratney<br> "Judas Had a Throne"</p>Winkie Pratneytag:winkiepedia.net,2005:Post/45850652017-02-10T14:25:28-06:002022-02-24T04:21:08-06:00A Royal Deliverance<p><em><span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/62923/541ff5157949b814c6388157b54dbf6e9babd100/small/grumpy.jpg?1486767954" class="size_s justify_left border_" />"Why is it that so many equate godliness with grumpiness, a ransomed heart with a spiteful, critical and hurtful religious life-style? Does Heaven only hold a place for the scarred and sadly surrendered devotee who does not dance or sing in such a lovely home and family? Such a devotion first needs a royal deliverance if one wants to come back free to God’s city."</span></em><br><br>~Winkie Pratney<br> Spiritual Vocations</p>Winkie Pratney