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June 2017  Restoring THEഀ
           FOUNDATIONS OFFaithഀ
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               THE REFORMATION CONTINUESഀ
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                  An Amazing Fact: The leaning tower of Pisa, the world-famous bell towerഀ
                  in Italy, began showing a slight lean shortly after construction began inഀ
                  1173. Because of the shallow, shifty foundation, architects believed thereഀ
                  was nothing they could do. Amid wars and financial setbacks, they slowlyഀ
                  completed the 183-foot tower over the next 200 years. In the centuries thatഀ
                  followed, the tilt gradually increased to 15 feet off vertical center. By 1990,ഀ
                  the structure was at risk of toppling and was closed to the public. Over theഀ
                  next decade, the city spent $40 million to slightly straighten the tower andഀ
                  reinforce the foundation, making it safe to reopen.ഀ
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Dear friend,ഀ
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     “If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” (Psalm 11:3).ഀ
     Imagine how you would feel having to flee to avoid being crushed by a collapsingഀ
tower. Well, God’s church is facing a similar catastrophe, one brought on by a gradual—ഀ
yet destructive—compromise with cultural corruption.ഀ
     But there is something we can do now, today, to reinforce the eroding foundations ofഀ
our faith. “You shall raise up the foundations of many generations; and you shall be called theഀ
Repairer of the Breach” (Isaiah 58:12).ഀ
     We aren’t going to flee—we’re going to stand together!ഀ
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A Breach in the Churchഀ
     Over the centuries, the devil has sought to undermine the Rock-solid foundationsഀ
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of our faith. Paul even foretold, “From among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverseഀ
things, to draw away the disciples after themselves” (Acts 20:30).ഀ
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     The devil has always attacked truth, of course, but in recent years, this sin-sickഀ
strategy has become an all-out flood of error that is eroding away the fundamentals ofഀ
Christianity—everything from the inspiration of Scripture to the story of Creation andഀ
the God-ordained role of the traditional family.ഀ
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     At the same time, mainline Protestant denominations are actively being seduced toഀ
renounce the principles of the Reformation that led them to rightfully break from theഀ
unbiblical traditions of the pagan Roman church.ഀ
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                                                                                                                                                  (over, please)