|
Connections
Connecting man
to man to God!
Week of January
13, 2008
Issue 190
"This
is what the Lord says, 'Forget the former things; do not dwell on
the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs
up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert
and streams in the wasteland.'" Isaiah 43:16, 18,
19
CONSIDER
"Words,
which are the dress of thoughts, deserve surely more care than
clothes, which are only the dress of the person."
Philip Dormer Stanhope
ONE
OF THE NFL'S CLASSIEST STEPS DOWN
Despite his inability to
find the old coaching magic that led the Washington Redskins to
three Super Bowl crowns from 1982-91, Joe Gibbs will always be
remembered as one of the classiest guys to ever grace an NFL
sideline. Gibbs, a devout Christian, announced his retirement as
the Redskins head coach and president, just three days after
Washington lost its first-round playoff game at Seattle. His
decision, with one year left on a five-year contract, stunned the
team.
In a press conference at Redskins complex, Gibbs, 67,
said that family commitments -- including a 3-year-old grandson
being treated for leukemia -- led to his decision. "My
family situation has dramatically changed [in recent years],"
Gibbs said. "The only way to do this job [as an NFL
coach] is to go after it night and day; it takes every minute.
Having weighed that . . . I felt like with my family, the most
important thing I'll leave on this earth are my kids, grandkids,
and the influence I have on others. I felt like my family
needed me." Read this in full
at
http://blog.christianitytoday.com/ctliveblog/archives/2008/01/one_of_the_nfls.html
SUPERBOWL
Feb. 3, 2008
http://www.nfl.com/superbowl
WOULD CHRISTMAS HAVE COME EVEN IF WE HAD NOT SINNED?
by
Philip Yancey
More than two centuries before the Reformation, a
theological debate broke out that pitted theologian Thomas Aquinas
against an upstart from Britain, John Duns Scotus. In
essence, the debate circled around the question, "Would
Christmas have occurred if humanity had not sinned?"
Whereas
Aquinas viewed the Incarnation as God's remedy for a fallen
planet, his contemporary saw much more at stake. For Duns
Scotus, the Word becoming flesh as described in the prologue to
John's Gospel must surely represent the Creator's primary design,
not some kind of afterthought or Plan B. Aquinas pointed to
passages emphasizing the Cross as God's redemptive response to a
broken relationship. Duns Scotus cited passages from
Ephesians and Colossians on the cosmic Christ, in whom all things
have their origin, hold together, and move toward
consummation.
Did Jesus visit this planet as an
accommodation to human failure or as the center point of all
creation? Duns Scotus and his school suggested that
Incarnation was the underlying motive for Creation, not merely a
correction to it. Perhaps God spun off this vast universe
for the singular purpose of sharing life and love, intending all
along to join its very substance. "Eternity is in love with
the inventions of time," wrote the poet William
Blake.
Ultimately the church decided that both approaches
had biblical support and could be accepted as orthodox.
Though most theologians tended to follow Aquinas, in recent years
prominent Catholics such as Karl Rahner have taken a closer look
at Duns Scotus. Perhaps evangelicals should, too....
Read this in full
at
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2008/january/20.72.html
FIRST-EVER NIV BIBLE TAILORED FOR EVANGELISM TO BE
RELEASED
Authentic Publishing, a division of IBS-STL
Global, and Zondervan have partnered to produce "Finding God
(releasing in February), which features the New Testament and an
extensive in-text note system. It's based on the
best-selling New International Version (NIV) translation.
The outreach-oriented Bible version will help Christians reach out
to others by including sections titled "The God Who Seeks
You," "The God You Seek," and "True
Encounters." "The Bible is the most important
resource believers have, so this isn't just about introducing a
product line - it's about equipping a movement," said IBS-STL
Global Publisher Steve Johnson. "By providing Christian
retailers with a high-engagement, high-impact Scripture resources,
we can help them help the believer in their communities reach out
and share God's Word." Read this in full
at
http://www.christianpost.com/article/20080109/30794_First-Ever_NIV_Bible_Tailored_for_Evangelism_to_Be_Released.htm
CHOOSE YOUR POSTURE
"I have learned that what you look
for you will find. If you want to be a cynic, there's plenty
to be cynical about. If you want to be a skeptic, there's
plenty to be skeptical about. If you want to be a pessimist,
there's plenty to be pessimistic about. What you look for
you will find. But in Psalm 14 it says, "A fool says in his
heart, 'There is no God.'" Now this is fascinating,
because you and I would say, "Somebody who rejects the
divine, this is somebody who's made an intellectual decision."
The Psalm says, "No. Somebody who rejects God, who
says, 'There is no God,' this is somebody who's made a decision in
their heart." The psalmist says that such a decision is
not ultimately an intellectual decision -- a cognitive ruling that
person has made. It's a posture of the heart."
Rob Bell, Everything Is Spiritual
YOUR HEART
"We in the 21st century might well think
that the power to quell a storm (see Matthew 8:23-27) is more
miraculous than the ability to heal even so serious a case of
disintegrated personality. But is it? The most
rebellious part of creation is not inanimate nature, not the
weather, not even the tsunami of 2005 and Hurricane Katrina.
It is the hearts and minds of men and women; and it required of
Jesus more courage, more obedience to the Father's will, more
divine energy to face his fellow human beings and subdue them,
than it did to outface the storm. After all, it was not the
wind or the waves which crucified Jesus; it was men and women,
tossed about by our own disordered instincts and emotions and
corporate insanities. It is not the weather which confronts
us now with our most intractable problems; it is ourselves, our
souls and bodies, which cry out for calming and correction and the
healing touch of Christ." John Arnold, Life Conquers
Death: Meditations on the Garden, the Cross, and the Tree of Life
ENTRUST
"God
wins us, not by shouting, beating us up, or starving us into
submission, but by asking for an invitation to enter. We are
loved into surrender. The more we accept that he operates
out of love for us, the more we will entrust ourselves to him.
Fénelon expresses this truth beautifully: 'God is not a spy
looking to surprise you. He is not an enemy lurking in the
shadows to hurt you. God is your Father who loves you, and
wants to help you if you will but trust in His goodness.' (See
Colossians 1:13-14)." Kay Warren, Dangerous Surrender: What
Happens When You Say Yes to God
'JERUSALEM SYNDROME' AFFECTS VISITORS TO HOLY LAND
Sometimes
the sights and sounds of Jerusalem can overwhelm believers and
trigger psychotic episodes. Israeli psychiatrist Pesach
Lichtenberg says that he has seen visitors and residents overcome
with the belief they have a messianic mission. Listen to
this report
at
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17563868
SURVEY: NON-ATTENDEES FIND FAITH OUTSIDE CHURCH
A new
survey of U.S. adults who don't go to church, even on holidays,
finds 72% say "God, a higher or supreme being, actually
exists." But just as many (72%) also say the church is
"full of hypocrites." Indeed, 44% agree with the
statement "Christians get on my nerves." LifeWay
Research, the research arm of the Southern Baptist Convention,
based in Nashville, conducted the survey of 1,402 "unchurched"
adults last spring and summer. The margin of error is plus
or minus 2.5 percentage points. Read this in full
at
http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2008-01-09-unchurched-survey_N.htm
IS AMERICAN CHRISTIANITY TURNING CHARISMATIC?
Pentecostal
or charismatic Christianity is viewed by some Americans as an
emotional, theologically suspect form of the Christian faith.
It is widely thought to be a very vocal and visible, but
numerically small slice of the grand religious pie in the United
States. Two new surveys from The Barna Group, however,
indicate that things are changing dramatically in the religious
landscape. Those surveys -- one among a national sample of
adults and the other among a national sample of Protestant pastors
-- show that the number of churches and adherents to Pentecostal
perspectives and practices has grown significantly in the past two
decades. One out of every four Protestant churches in the
United States (23%) is a charismatic congregation. While
some of the most common charismatic denominations are well-known
-- such as the Assemblies of God, Foursquare, or Churches of God
in Christ -- non-denominational churches emerged as one of the
most common charismatic "denominations." Four out
of every ten non-denominational churches are charismatic.
Read this in full at
http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=BarnaUpdateNarrowPreview&BarnaUpdateID=287
LEADERSHIP TIPS (BUSINESS, FAMILY, LIFE)
"Self-confidence
comes not from believing in yourself but from having faith in
God. Pervasive self-confidence is not self-confidence at
all, but God-confidence. That's another one of those
spiritual paradoxes, like losing your life to find it, or the last
shall be first. Confidence is only as good as the one in
whom you place your confidence. A radical shift from
self-confidence to God-confidence makes all the difference."
Katie Brazelton and Shelley Leith, Character Makeover: 40 Days
with a Life Coach to Create the Best You
VERSE TO PONDER
"[God] has showed you, O man, what is
good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act
justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."
Micah 6:8
CONSIDER
"He
who gave his image to us must of necessity wish to see his image
in us." Unknown
MAKE A
FRESH START IN THE NEW YEAR
by Dolley Carlson
"Thou
crownest the year with thy goodness." Psalm 65:11
The
New Year's issue of a magazine captured my heart. The cover
was a picture of newly fallen snow with one little pine sprig
popping up in the middle. It looked like hope!
Renewal. And another chance to do life right... God bless
second chances.
For me, the snow symbolized a "white
as snow" forgiven heart, and the little pine sprig an
evergreen reminder of being "ever" renewed by God's
love. Sitting on the threshold of a new year is the perfect
opportunity to drop grudges, forgive, ask to be forgiven, and
begin anew.
Gifts of Forgiveness
* Send a New Year
greeting card to break the ice and warm the hearts of both the
forgiver and the "forgivee."
* Forgiveness is the
most expensive gift of all, but merciful forgiveness is
priceless. Do you realize how much energy it takes to hold
on to unforgiveness? A lot. Maybe you're righteously
indignant. Make a tight first with your right hand.
Takes some doing ... righteous indignation. Holding on robs us of
blessings and being a blessing.
* Release, bless, and be
blessed in giving your "white as snow" gift of
forgiveness.
Gifts of Encouragement
* Send a New Year's
note and affirm special talents or skills. You could also
write, "I know the Lord has wonderful plans for you; this is
your year." Encourage them even more by including a
verse such as "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and
peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by
the power of the Holy Spirit." (Romans 15:13)
"Therefore
encourage one another and build each other up." 1
Thessalonians 5:11
* Another gift of encouragement is to
begin a support or prayer group. Meet once a week or every
other week and be specific about your goals and objectives, not
only for the group but for your new year as well. Commit
your loving trust to each other and your meetings to prayer,
counsel and God's word.
"And let us consider how we
may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us
not give up meeting together, but let us encourage one another."
Hebrews 10: 24-25
http://www.dolleycarlson.com
SEVEN WAYS TO PRAY: 7 TIMES A DAY, 7 DAYS A WEEK IN THE NEW
YEAR
by Ryan Smith
It can be difficult to find purpose
in routine tasks such as showering and driving to work, but prayer
can transform mundane tasks into something memorable. Here is a
handy way to use our daily activities as reminders to pray for
children living in poverty
Daily routines can become just
that -- routine. It can be difficult to find purpose in
tasks such as showering and driving to work, but prayer can
transform mundane tasks into something memorable. Here is a
handy way to use our daily activities as reminders to pray for
children living in poverty.
1. Bath Time: Think Clean
Water
Nearly 1.1 billion people are without access to clean
water -- that's more than the combined populations of North
America and the European Union. Without access to clean drinking
water, children are at a much higher risk for life-threatening
diseases like diarrhea, intestinal worms, and cholera.
2.
Off to Work: Think Child Labor
The U.S. national minimum wage
is $5.15 per hour. Many children worldwide earn less than $1
a day, if they are even paid at all. Around 176 million
children work in ways that are likely to harm their health,
safety, or moral development -- such as bonded labor, slavery, or
sexual exploitation.
3. Lunch Time: Think Hungry
Kids
McDonald's serves nearly 50 million people worldwide each
day. Three times that number of children go hungry everyday,
leaving them undernourished, vulnerable to disease, and prone to
stunted growth.
4. News Break: Think Education
There are
twice as many children worldwide -- 117 million -- who do not
receive a primary level education as Americans who receive a
newspaper each day. Without education, these children are
condemned to carry out menial jobs and will struggle to provide
for themselves and their families.
5. Heading Home: Think
Displaced Children
The number of displaced people in the world
has steadily decreased over the last five years, but there are
still an estimated 9.25 million children who have been forced by
violence or disaster to leave their homes -- that's 2.5 times more
children than there are homeless people in the United States.
6.
Take a Vitamin: Think Medical Access
Every year, 15 times more
children die of readily preventable diseases than Americans who
are killed by heart disease, the leading cause of death in the
United States. Many children lack access to health care for
diarrhea, malaria, and measles simply because they are poor.
7.
Bed Time: Think Orphans
There is more than twice the number of
orphans in the world than children under age 15 in America.
Africa is the only area of the world where the orphan prevalence
rate is increasing, largely due to the AIDS
pandemic.
http://www.esa-online.org/Article.asp?RecordKey=8AB99264-7F8A-4CAE-BCB9-C7F4A5C472D0
VALUE TIME
Every day, every second, carries with it its own
finality. Time is our one indisputably nonrenewable
resource. 'Where did the time go?' we ask when we sense we
have spent the years wrongly or have taken some great gift for
granted. And the answer, of course, is that it went to the
same place it always has. At the end of every day, one more
box in the calendar has been shifted from the future column to the
past column, from possibility to history. And all of its
moments can be remembered, can be celebrated or regretted, but can
never be retrieved. The philosopher Simone Weil wrote, 'All
the tragedies that we can imagine can be reduced to just one: the
passage of time.' Life is one of those games in which you
can only move forward. Life does not have a rewind button,
so we must seek to get it right the first time." John
Ortberg, When the Game Is Over, It All Goes Back in the Box
NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS YOU
CAN KEEP
Aim low. Reach your goals. Avoid
disappointment.
~ Gain weight. At least 30 pounds.
~
Stop exercising. Waste of time.
~ Read less. Makes
you think.
~ Watch more TV.
~ Procrastinate more.
Starting tomorrow.
~ Spend more time at work.
~ Get in a
whole NEW rut!
~ Create loose ends.
~ Get more toys.
~
Get further in debt.
~ Don't believe politicians.
~ Break at
least one traffic law.
~ Don't swim with piranhas or sharks.
~
Spread out priorities beyond the ability to keep track of them.
~
Wait for opportunity to knock.
~ Focus on the faults of
others.
~ Mope about faults.
~ Never make New Year's
resolutions again.
http:.//www.mikeysFunnies.com
GM ENVISIONS DRIVERLESS CARS ON HORIZON
Cars that drive
themselves -- even parking at their destination -- could be ready
for sale within a decade, General Motors Corp. executives say.
GM, parts suppliers, university engineers, and other automakers
all are working on vehicles that could revolutionize short- and
long-distance travel. And at the Consumer Electronics Show
in Las Vegas GM Chief Executive Rick Wagoner devoted part of his
speech to the driverless vehicles.. Read this in full
at
http://www.happynews.com/news/172008/gm-envisions-driverless-cars-horizon.htm
CONSIDER
"Man cannot make a worm, yet he will make
gods by the dozen." Michel de Montaigne
VERSE TO PONDER
"Stop doing wrong, learn to do right!
Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of
the fatherless, plead the case of the widow." Isaiah
1:16-17
THIS WEEK'S HYMN:
OUR GOD, OUR HELP IN AGES PAST
Words: Isaac Watts,
1719
Music: William Croft, 1708
Our God, our help in
ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Our shelter from the
stormy blast,
And our eternal home.
Under the shadow of
Thy throne
Thy saints have dwelt secure;
Sufficient is Thine
arm alone,
And our defense is sure.
Before the hills in
order stood,
Or earth received her frame,
From everlasting
Thou art God,
To endless years the same.
Thy Word
commands our flesh to dust,
"Return, ye sons of men:"
All
nations rose from earth at first,
And turn to earth again.
A
thousand ages in Thy sight
Are like an evening gone;
Short
as the watch that ends the night
Before the rising sun.
The
busy tribes of flesh and blood,
With all their lives and
cares,
Are carried downwards by the flood,
And lost in
following years.
Time, like an ever rolling stream,
Bears
all its sons away;
They fly, forgotten, as a dream
Dies at
the opening day.
Like flowery fields the nations
stand
Pleased with the morning light;
The flowers beneath
the mower's hand
Lie withering ere 'tis night.
Our God,
our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Be Thou
our guard while troubles last,
And our eternal home.
>from
CyberHymnal at
http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/o/g/ogohiap.htm
ON
PRAYER
"A
great part of your prayer work should be imploring the Almighty
for a greater measure of his Spirit." Walter Chantry
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!
Meet Thousands of
Business People Online FREE! Business Networking & Advertising
Service Entrepreneurs and Home Business Owners advertise your
Company, Product, or Service as a part of DirectMatches' online
business networking service where business people are matched with
other business people to do BUSINESS! It's the MySpace for
business people! To register for a free business profile, visit:
http://www.directmatches.com/goglobal
SHARE
YOUR FAVORITE WEBSITES
Tell us what sites you
find enjoyable and why.
Connected
Earth
http://www.connected-earth.com/
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.)
Worry
is like a treadmill -- it wears you out and gets you nowhere.
Min. Frank Coleman,
Editor
[email protected]
Thanks for welcoming
CONNECTIONS into your in-box!
We offer a variety of
activities for men to interact with other men on our journey of
faith in Christ together. Large group, small group, and one-to-one
events encourage relationship building and spiritual strengthening
that result in maximizing the potential we all have in Christ.
Contact Min. Frank Coleman, 773-410-1483, [email protected]
if you'd like to participate in a men's discipleship program.
Quick Links...
· Start
Your Domain Name Search Here
· Visit
my blog - comment & share your thoughts
· Books
Music & More
· Become
a Leisure Travel Consultant
· Make
Money Meet People
email:
[email protected]
phone: 1-773-410-1483
To subscribe to
CONNECTIONS,
<Click
Here>
To unsubscribe, send a
message to [email protected]
with "unsubscribe MSM" in the subject line.
Privacy
Officer 6459 S. Campbell Ave, Chicago, IL 60629
To
stop all future mailings, please either click here, reply to this
email, or write to the above address.
|