Connecting man to man to God!

Week of October 28, 2007

Issue 180

"For I the Lord love justice, I hate robbery and wrongdoing."  Isaiah 61:8

     CONSIDER

Joy is the flag flying over the citadel of the soul indicating that the King is in residence.

     FINDING TRUE FREEDOM

The most important question you will ever ask is, "What is truth?" -- and on the heels of that, "Why does it matter?"  Our society has struggled with these questions and has concluded that truth cannot be known, especially when it comes to ultimate matters.  Jesus challenges this assumption.  The word, the truth, Jesus' person, and true freedom are inextricably connected.  This is the design God has made for you and for me.  Break this design, and you break life.  Honor this design, and you find true freedom."  Ravi Zacharias, The Grand Weaver: How God Shapes Us Through the Events of Our Lives

     RENEW

"The Bible talks about our need to strip away the old and put on the new -- kind of like re-wallpapering our minds.  "Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think" (Romans 12:2).  When you know what God says and renew your mind daily to the truth, you start to think differently about God, about yourself, about others, and about life.  Every day, as you re-wallpaper your mind with the life-changing words of God, your perspective starts to change."  Mike Breaux, Identity Theft: Reclaiming Who God Created You to Be

     IS HALLOWEEN REALLY THAT SIGNIFICANT?

by Albert Mohler

The issue of Halloween presses itself annually upon the Christian conscience.  Acutely aware of dangers new and old, many Christian parents choose to withdraw their children from the holiday altogether.  Others choose to follow a strategic battle plan for engagement with the holiday.  Still others have gone further, seeking to convert Halloween into an evangelistic opportunity.  Is Halloween really that significant?...  Read this in full at

http://www.crosswalk.com/1293292/

     UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN

'Does the Bible teach that we will recognize our loved ones in heaven?'

by Daniel R. Lockwood

"As the years pass, this question looms larger in my thinking. Last year, I attended three funeral services of godly saints who'd passed away.  One was my 85-year-old father-in-law, whose exemplary life and witness is now just a cherished memory.  For my wife, who loved her father dearly, this question is thus no idle theological speculation.  Fortunately, the Bible speaks clearly to it.

"The simple answer -- yes -- rests on two pillars of Christian belief.  One is the blessed hope that we will see Jesus again (Titus 2:13).  The other is the assurance that our present bodies will be raised from the dead, immortal (1 Cor. 15:12-57). Together, these pillars provide a basis for believing we will recognize our loved ones in heaven.  After all, if we can recognize the Lord Jesus, possessing the perfectly restored and glorified bodies to do so, it follows that we will recognize other believers, including our loved ones.

"But to give more biblical shape and substance to this answer, we must distinguish between our temporary dwelling in heaven (our "intermediate state") and our eternal home in the new heaven and new earth (our ultimate destiny).  Consider the following two propositions...."  Read this in full at

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2007/october/41.98.html

     MOST AMERICANS TAKE WELL-KNOWN BIBLE STORIES AT FACE VALUE

A new nationwide survey conducted by The Barna Group shows that 6 well-known Bible stories are accepted as literal truth by an average of 2 out of 3 adults. Surprisingly, the most significant Bible story of all -- "the story of Jesus Christ rising from the dead, after being crucified and buried" -- is also the most widely embraced. 3 out of 4 adults (75%) say they interpret that narrative literally, while only 1 out of 5 (19%) say they don't take that story literally....  Read this in full at

http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=BarnaUpdateNarrowPreview&BarnaUpdateID=282

     JESUS THE EVANGELIST

by Harold Klassen

How does our practice of evangelism compare/contrast with the evangelism of Jesus?  What was the good news or gospel that Jesus proclaimed?

1. God is come

2. God cares

3. God will act

Read this in full at

http://www.transformingteachers.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=71&Itemid=143

     LAUGHTER EVANGELISM: WOODY ALLEN INTERVIEWS BILLY GRAHAM

Enjoy this short (1969) video clip on YouTube where the young evangelist explains with winsome ease and deep conviction the truth about our saving God.  Short lesson: Evangelism doesn't have to be something to fear; in fact, it can be fun!...  Watch

http://www.esa-online.org/Article.asp?RecordKey=5212053C-5913-41E2-BB93-B30CE918615A

     GO UNPLUGGED

"I know in years past I too have been guilty of these same digital sins against God, my family, and my own well-being.  Now that I see it as a sin that destroys silence, solitude, fellowship, prayerful listening, and meaningfully and attentive friendship, I am deeply convicted that there is a new spiritual discipline of fasting from technology to be mastered.  In this way, we can enjoy the life and people that God puts in front of us rather than ignoring them while we peck away with our thumbs and chat about nothing, which in the end is rarely as important as the people we are ignoring all around us." -- Mark Driscoll, preaching pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, blogging about his experience of completely "unplugging from technology" (for the first time in his life) while on a 3-week vacation with his family [theresurgence.com, 10/16/07]

     ARE YOU A CRACKPOT?

An elderly man in the country had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole which he carried across his neck.  One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water.  At the end of the long walks from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full.  For a full two years this went on daily, with the man bringing home only one and a half pots of water.  Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments.  But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it could only do half of what it had been made to do.

After two years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the man one day by the stream.  I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house."  The old man smiled, "Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other pot's side?  That's because I have always known about your flaw, so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you water them.  For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table.  Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house."

Each of us has our own unique flaw.  But it's the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so interesting and rewarding.  You've just got to take each person for what they are and look for the good in them.  So, to all of my crackpot friends, have a great day and remember to smell the flowers on your side of the path!

     A ROSE BY ANY OTHER NAME...

The word "sinner" often proves a great obstacle to understanding, but let us use other words.  Let us say that man is the kind of creature who naturally sees the world from a very limited perspective, that he tends to be self-centered and to prefer the interests that are closest to himself and to his own social group.  Let us say that man is naturally unwilling to accept his limited or finite status, that he is always seeking to extend his control over others, that he seeks to maintain his own security by means of power over all who may threaten it, that he likes to be in a position to compare himself with others to their disadvantage, that he seeks to be self-sufficient and to deny in effect his dependence upon God and to set up his own group or system or ideal in the place of God."  John C. Bennett

     WORLD SERIES

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/ps/y2007/index.jsp

     LEADERSHIP TIPS (BUSINESS, FAMILY, LIFE)

"In the movie The Bridge on the River Kwai, the lead character, Colonel Nicholson, is a prisoner of war in Burma who leads his men to build a bridge for his Japanese captors.  Nicholson is an officer of high integrity, dedicated to excellence, a great leader of men - and thus well trained to complete any mission that he is given.

"He builds a beautiful bridge.  By the film's end, he finds himself in the painful position of defending the bridge from attack by fellow officers who want to destroy it to prevent Japanese trains from using it.  There's a chilling moment of realization, right before he detonates the bridge, when Nicholson (Alec Guinness) utters the famous line, "What have I done?"  He was so focused on his goal -- building the bridge -- that he forgot the larger mission of winning the war."  Marshall Goldsmith, "Goal 1, Mission 0," Fast Company, August 2004

     VERSE TO PONDER

"Listen to advice and accept instruction, and in the end you will be wise. Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails."  Proverbs 19:20-21

     CONSIDER

"The doctrines of grace humble a man without degrading him and exalt a man without inflating him."  Charles Hodge

     MEDIEVAL CHURCH MOVES TO NEW HOME

A 700-year-old church began its slow journey to a new home Oct. 25, moving at just over one mph atop a huge flatbed truck as it was transported from an eastern German village being turned over to open-pit coal mining.  The Emmaus Church, first mentioned in historical documents in 1297, reached the edge of its home village of Heuersdorf outside Leipzig on its way to the town of Borna, some seven miles away.  It was expected to arrive by Oct. 31, after crossing railroad tracks and the Pleisse and Wyhra rivers.  The medieval church is built in the Romanesque style of stone with a steeply pitched roof and a small black tower atop the roof line.  At 65 feet tall and 48 feet long, it weighs around 750 tons.  The church is to be moved into Martin Luther Square in Borna on Reformation Day, when Lutherans traditionally remember the 16th-century church reformer.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gPkdUg4kdd9ldmYVGUyMMqt1IT9Q

     UNCONDITIONAL LOVE

"Jesus wanted us to grasp the reality of God's unconditional love.  I'm convinced that's why on the night before he died he prayed that all believers would live in unity to let the world know -- and this phrase blows my mind every time I read it -- "that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me" (John 17:23 NIV).  Did you catch the last phrase?  Jesus said he wants us to know that God loves us as much as he loves him.  God the Father loves you as much as he loves Jesus.  He loves you, his imperfect son, as much as he loves his perfect son."  Bill Perkins, When Good Men Are Tempted

     JESUS LOVES ME

"Jesus is not repelled by us, no matter how messy we are, regardless of how incomplete we are.  When we recognize that Jesus is not discouraged by our humanity, is not turned off by our messiness, and simply doggedly pursues us in the face of it all, what else can we do but give in to his outrageous, indiscriminate love?"  Michael Yaconelli, Messy Spirituality

     BE TANGIBLE

"Friendship is acting out God's love for people in tangible ways.  We were made to represent the love of God in each other's lives, so that each person we walk through life with has a more profound sense of God's love for them.  Friendship is an opportunity to act on God's behalf in the lives of the people that we're close to, reminding each other who God is.  When we do the hard, intimate work of friendship, we bring a little more of the divine into daily life.  We get to remind one another about the bigger, more beautiful picture that we can't always see from where we are."  Shauna Niequist, Cold Tangerines: Celebrating the Extraordinary Nature of Everyday Life

     ENCOURAGE

"A ministry of encouragement includes encouraging Christians to encourage others.  What do we encourage others to do?  Among other things, get along together!  It isn't a matter of unison -- everyone agreeing on everything, but a unity that respects diversity and celebrates the differences in the body.  Being of one mind in the fellowship.  I love this definition of fellowship: "two fellows in a ship."  When the ship goes up, they both go up; when the ship goes down, they both go down.  There is a unique way those in the same boat can help each other out when trouble arises."  Jill Briscoe, Spiritual Arts: Mastering the Disciplines for a Rich Spiritual Life

     BIBLE AS EDUCATION IN ALABAMA

The first Bible-companion textbook has been adopted statewide in Alabama.  The state's board of education unanimously approved The Bible and Its Influence as a comprehensive curriculum in literature for Alabama.  "This is major news in the field of education," said Chuck Stetson, chairman of the textbook's producer, The Bible Literacy Project.  "This means that any school in the state of Alabama can purchase our textbook with state-provided funds until 2013."  The textbook, designed to be used in conjunction with a Bible, meets the outlined school board standards for a sole textbook used in an elective course.  The full-color 387-page book covers content from Genesis to Revelation with featured sidebars about the Bible's influence on literature, poetry, music, art, history, Western civilization, Abraham Lincoln, Handel's Messiah and Shakespeare, as well as many other effects the Bible has had on civilization. Bible literacy courses are intended to familiarize students with the Bible, not to persuade them to believe a doctrine.  "Would I prefer a more explicitly biblical Christian teaching?" Charles Colson, the outspoken evangelical founder of Prison Fellowship, asked Time magazine earlier this year.  "Of course.  But you can't do that in public education.  What you can do is introduce the Bible so that people are aware of its impact on people and in history and then let God speak through it as He will." [wsfa.com, 10/16/07]

     MISINTERPRETATIONS

*   When my twin daughters were young, I taught them to say the Lord's Prayer before going to bed.  As I listened outside their door, I could hear them say, "Give us this steak and daily bread, and forgive us our mattresses."

*   My son, who is in nursery school, said, "Our Father, who art in Heaven, how didja know my name?"

*   I remember thinking it said "Give us this day our jelly bread."

*   I recall reading something years ago about the Pledge of Allegiance.  Some child thought it began, "I led the pigeons to the flag."

*   When I was little, I often wondered who Richard Stands was. You know: "I pledge allegiance to the flag.  And to the republic for Richard Stands."

*   When my husband was 6 years old, he thought a certain Prayer was "He suffered under a bunch of violets."  The real words were "under Pontius Pilate," but at that age, he didn't know better.  To this day, we still snicker in church whenever that prayer is read.

*   My mother spent her early childhood saying, "Hail Mary, full of grapes."

*   When my older brother was very young, he always walked up to the church altar with my mother when she took communion.  On one occasion, he tugged at her arm and asked, "What does the priest say when he gives you the bread?"  Mom whispered something in his ear.  Imagine his shock many years later when he learned that the priest doesn't say, "Be quiet until you get to your seat."

*   When I was younger, I believed the line was "Lead a snot into temptation."  I thought I was praying for my little sister to get into trouble.

http://www.mikeysFunnies.com

     CONSIDER

"If the mercy of God is so great that He can instruct us, to our salvation, even when He hides Himself, what a brilliance of light we must expect when He reveals Himself!"  Blaise Pascal (1623-1662), Pensées [1660]

     VERSE TO PONDER

"O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water."  Psalm 63:1

     THIS WEEK'S HYMN: BOUNTIFUL HARVEST

Words: Fanny Crosby, 1895

Music: Ira D. Sankey

We praise Thee, O Lord, for the bountiful harvest

That now has been gathered and garnered with care;

Rewarding the toil of the sower and reaper,

While all in its blessings may share.

Refrain

For the bountiful harvest

We praise Thee, we thank Thee and bless Thee, O Lord:

For the bountiful harvest

We praise Thee and bless Thee, O Lord.

We praise Thee, O Lord, for the bountiful harvest,

We praise Thee for sunshine, the dew and the rain;

For soft summer breezes so gracefully bending

The bright golden billows of grain.

Refrain

We praise Thee, O Lord, for the wonderful token

That shines as it shone on Thy servants of old,

The pledge and assurance that seedtime and harvest

From earth Thou wilt never withhold.

Refrain

We praise Thee, O Lord, for Thy wonderful mercies,

And while to Thy glory our voices we raise,

O Thou that regardest the prayers of Thy people,

Accept our thanksgiving and praise.

Refrain

>from CyberHymnal at

http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/b/o/u/bounthar.htm

     ON PRAYER

"What would happen if God answered every prayer?  By answering every possible prayer, God would in effect abdicate, turning the world over to us to run.  History shows how we have handled the limited power granted us: we have fought wars, committed genocide, fouled the air and water, destroyed forests, established unjust political systems, concentrated pockets of superfluous wealth and grinding poverty.  What if God gave us automatic access to supernatural power?  What further havoc might we wreak? Most of us learn, over time, that some prayers prove better off unanswered.

"Country singer Garth Brooks had a hit song in which he recalls his impassioned prayers for God to melt the heart of a high school sweetheart -- later apparent to him as a terrible choice: Just because he doesn't answer doesn't mean he don't care.  Some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers."  Philip Yancey, Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference?

     PRAY FOR PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS TODAY

http://christiansincrisis.net/

     DAILY BLESSING PACT

Use the following list as your daily prayer guide. Think of a brother or situation that applies and lift them up in prayer.

I am agreeing in prayer with you for God’s blessings to overtake you!

PERSONAL

Marital harmony

Family unity

Children saved

Faithful pastor

Spirit-filled church

Real friendships

Relatives redeemed

Educational benefits

Recreational time

Fulfilling career

Favor with God and man

Be in God’s will

FINANCIAL

Better Jobs

Raises or bonuses

Benefits

Sales & commissions

Business Growth

Settlements

Estates & inheritances

Investment increase

Rebates & returns

Checks in the mail

Gifts & surprises

Money to be found

Bills decrease while blessings increase

"And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God" (Deut. 28:2).

[As you travel on business or vacation, let me know if you'd like the church guys to pray for your safety and spiritual effectiveness. I'll add your name to the list for the time you'll be away.]

     CLASSIFIEDS

Are you looking for something or do you have something to sell?  Let me know and I'll put it in this newsletter.

     MAKE MONEY MEET PEOPLE!

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     SHARE YOUR FAVORITE WEBSITES

Tell us what sites you find enjoyable and why.

PressDisplay: 500 Newspapers

http://www.pressdisplay.com/pressdisplay/viewer.aspx

Solar Decathlon

http://www.solardecathlon.org/

All links to websites are provided as a service, and do not imply endorsement by our church.

(BTW: whenever the URLs in this newsletter are too long to turn into links on your e-mail program, just copy the entire URL (two lines or more) and paste it into a temporary email message.  Then delete the return in the middle of it and copy it again.  Then paste it into your web browser and hit enter.)

Why does "fat chance" and "slim chance" mean the same thing?

Min. Frank Coleman, Editor

[email protected]

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