Connecting man to man to God
For week of October 12, 2008
Issue 226


"It is the Lord your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him.” Deuteronomy 13:4


CONSIDER
“A man's liberty to travel is not cramped by signposts; on the contrary, they save his time by showing what roads he must avoid if he wishes to reach his destination. The creeds perform the same function.” C. B. Moss


YOUNG EVANGELICALS DIFFER FROM ELDERS ON GAYS, SIMILAR ON ABORTION RIGHTS
A new poll says white evangelicals under 30 are just as opposed to abortion as their older counterparts, but more liberal in their views on same-sex marriage or civil unions for gays.

The survey, conducted for the PBS show Religion and Ethics Newsweekly, found that only 25% of white evangelical Christians in the United States believe that abortion should be legal in most cases. Another 46% support limits on abortion rights, while 25% believe it should be completely illegal. The figures were similar among both older and younger evangelicals.

But on that other hottest of hot-button issues in America's culture wars, homosexuality, the age groups differed significantly. One in four (26%) of white evangelicals aged 18-29 believe that gay and lesbian couples should have the same right to marry as heterosexuals. That is two-and-a-half times as many as hold that view -- only 9% -- among their 30-and-older evangelical counterparts.... Read this in full at
http://www.abpnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3553&Itemid=53


BILLY GRAHAM TO TURN 90: PUBLIC INVITED TO SEND PERSONAL STORIES, BIRTHDAY WISHES
For more than 60 years, evangelist Billy Graham has preached the good news of God's love in-person to nearly 215 million people at hundreds of events and countless millions more via television and radio. Now, all of the individuals, churches and ministries he has impacted have a unique opportunity to say something in return.

The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) is collecting stories and birthday wishes for the evangelist, who turns 90 on November 7, 2008. All who have been personally touched by an aspect of Billy Graham's ministry are welcome and encouraged to visit www.billygraham90.com to share a greeting or a personal story about his ministry they feel would encourage Mr. Graham at this milestone. Submissions will be accepted until November 1.... Read this in full at
http://www.christiannewswire.com/news/114998121.html


ONE ROAD TO CERTAINTY
“There is one road to certainty -- through a door marked "death." Then I will know, or there will be no me left to know. But I need to decide how I will live on this side of the door. Once we have been born, trying to put off deciding what to do about God is like jumping off a diving board and trying to put off actually entering the water. When I think about this urgency, I'm reminded of a saying my friend Kent the drummer told me about: "If I refuse to sing a word or play a note until I'm certain of perfection, there will never be music." The question of faith is never just a question of calculating the odds of God's existence. We are not just probability calculators. We live in a burning building. It's called a body. The clock is ticking.” John Ortberg, Faith & Doubt


SCARY ECONOMIC TIMES
by Patrick Morley, PhD
Men, it can be really scary out there right now. The economic dominoes have knocked a lot of us back on our heels. You may be thinking, “I just don’t see any way this can work out, humanly speaking.” Obviously, you may feel worried, anxious, and even afraid. So what can you do? The current economic times are not unlike those of the late 1980s, when my whole business came crashing down on top of me. There were days when I would say out loud, “I am just so weary, I don’t know how I can go on for one more day.”

Do you know what got me through? And what will get you through now? It is depending on the trustworthiness of God and His Word. For example, one day I read, "Have no fear of sudden disaster or the ruin that overtakes the wicked. For the Lord will be your confidence, and he will keep your foot from being snared" (Proverbs 3:25-26). I believed God’s word, and he did rescue me. Go after Him, and he’ll rescue you too.

I recently taught on Matthew 6:24-31 from the Sermon on the Mount. It’s God’s promise to give us the necessities of life. Jesus tells us not to worry about our lives, what we will eat or wear. God knows what you need, and Jesus literally guarantees to meet every need. The Bible says that when you seek His kingdom and His righteousness, your needs will be given to you. Don’t give up. Have no fear of sudden disaster. You’re going to be alright. Why? Because we are not “speaking humanly.”
http://www.maninthemirror.org/weeklybriefing/wb0297.htm


DEPRESSION: TOUGH ENOUGH TO MAKE A GROWN MAN CRY
by Dr. Don Miles
I know a man who we'll call Luis, a 48 year-old owner of a small, custom cabinet-making shop, has struggled most of his life with interpersonal relationships. He has two failed marriages and no close male friends.

He came to faith as a child when he "walked the aisle" in his grandfather's church and has all his life dreamed of being a pastor. However, his angry demeanor frequently makes his church wary of entrusting him with ministry, much less leadership positions.

Over the years he has changed churches several times and even stopped attending for extended periods of time. He complains about being raised in a loveless home with a sometimes brutal father. He distrusts women and, though lonely most of the time, manages to alienate the women who would be attracted to him. His angry, accusatory side emerges as soon as they become semi-serious about him.

He complains about how disappointed he is with his life and often expresses his desire that the Lord would "take me home now."

His business often is in financial trouble and he has trouble focusing on his work and his customers. Because of his lonely, often ineffective life, he is often angry at God, accusing Him of not keeping his promises. When I suggested that he might be struggling with a life-long clinical depression and that he might find our counseling times together to be more effective if he took an antidepressant, he angrily protested, "I'm not depressed. I just want to die. Besides, Christians don't take antidepressants."

For many years Luis drank heavily, finding companionship in bars. Then, at the age of 40, he decided he was in danger of alcoholism and quit drinking cold turkey. He is now going to an AA group but says, "I'm not an alcoholic. I just like the way those people think."

Luis's story is not unusual for Christian men with long-standing depressions. Although there are various types of depression with differing details, the general pattern is frequently present: anger, alcohol use, reckless life activities, sleep disorders, and difficulty maintaining a marriage or friendships with either men or women, and a deep underlying feeling of failure and uselessness both to God and to mankind.

According to the most carefully done survey of American mental disorders, the National Co-morbidity Survey Replication, in any given one-year period, 9.7% of the adult population suffers from depressive illness, with women having a rate of 11.6% and men 7.7% The youngest adult group, ages 16-29, have the highest rate of any age group,12.9%. Over a lifetime, 24.9% of women and 17.5% of men will experience a significant episode of depression.

Women are far more likely than men to acknowledge depression, to seek treatment, and to attempt suicide, though men are four times more likely to succeed in killing themselves. Christians are no different than unbelievers in either the frequency of depression or their response to it, except that suicide is less likely because of a fear of jeopardizing their eternal life in heaven.... Read this in full at
http://www.newmanmag.com/e-magazine/100908/story2.php


BE JOYFUL
“It's not easy to be joyful during hard times. At times like these, I believe the Lord is saying to us: "Rejoice in the Lord -- today!" One of the most joyful people I've ever met was a Native American woman from Arizona. She grew up in a large and terribly poor family. Still, they shared everything they had with their friends and neighbors. When they were down to their last five dollars, her father would always say: "Let's have a party!" He'd spend that five dollars on ice cream and invite all the neighbors to come over. By God's grace, her family always had all that they needed. Even in the pits of depression, we, too, can throw a party. We are the children of a loving God! We can rejoice in the sure hope that God will get us through any trial or tribulation. Joy is a decision. We need to decide to rejoice today, whatever our circumstances or feelings.

“Ask the Lord to release the Spirit of Joy within you. Decide to do things that are rejoicing (i.e. have a party, give gifts, dance, sing, etc.). Be persistent. Make the following the foundation stone of your growth in Christian joy: personal daily prayer, repentance, friendships, service to others, leisure, play, and a sense of humor.”
John Boucher


LEADERSHIP TIPS (BUSINESS, FAMILY, LIFE)
“How great leaders call the right shots”
Good judgment doesn't just happen, says Noel Tichy, a business professor at the University of Michigan. "When we looked at leaders that make big decisions ... it's not a blink, it's a process," he says. "You own it from beginning to end." Interviews with GE chief executive Jeffrey Immelt, P&G chief A.G. Lafley and others helped him identify the stages of that process: sensing a need, getting it "framed and named," mobilizing others, making a judgment and seeing the execution through.... See the video interview at
http://online.wsj.com/video/tips-on-decision-making-strategies/0E01BD87-A31D-418F-9E0E-5FD7210E1AE1.html


VERSE TO PONDER
"Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord is the Rock eternal.” Isaiah 26:4


CONSIDER
“Were it not for the consciousness of Christ as my life, hour by hour, I could not go on. But He is teaching me the glorious lessons of His sufficiency, and each day I am carried onward with no feeling of strain or fear of collapse.” J. Hudson Taylor


STUDY: RELIGIOUS PEOPLE MORE GENEROUS - ON 2 CONDITIONS
Religious people are more helpful and generous than others — but only on two conditions, according to a new study published in the journal Science. University of British Columbia psychology researchers Ara Norenzayan and Azim Shariff concluded that religious people act more kindly than atheists on condition they believe their acts will enhance their reputations among their peers. The second condition is being freshly reminded, in a subconscious way, of the existence of a morally tinged God or supernatural being, the researchers said. Religious people are inclined, under these conditions, to be more giving and honest than others because their belief in God assumes the existence of an all-knowing "supernatural police" force that monitors their behavior, Norenzayan said.... Read this in full at
http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2008-10-07-morality-giving_N.htm


ONLINE MISSIONARIES – NEW FORCE IN EVANGELISM
Flights to exotic locations, uprooting one’s family, and investing years of one’s life are no longer required to do global mission work given the advancement of communication technology. Now, with the power of Internet technology, Christians can share the Gospel and God’s plan for salvation with people in 191 countries around the world without leaving their home. Global Media Outreach (GMO), with its more than 71 websites divided by popular issues and topics, has helped over 1.3 million people indicate a decision for Jesus Christ in 2007 alone. “People who are in crisis typically log on,” says Walt Wilson, founder and chairman of GMO.... Read this in full at
http://www.christianpost.com/article/20081009/online-missionaries-new-force-in-evangelism.htm


EVANGELICALS GO “GREEN” WITH CAUTION
Everything and everyone seem to be going "green" these days. Advertising boasts the environmental friendliness of products, services, and companies. Presidential candidates are also adopting the trend, vying to offer Americans the best sustainable energy proposal. Are Christians, and the oft-discussed evangelical segment, going green, as well?

A new study released by The Barna Group provides the most comprehensive look at the Christian community and environmental issues. The study explores Americans’ perceptions about the environment, global warming, lifestyle changes, and how much impact their faith has on these issues.

One of the intriguing findings of the research is that millions of evangelicals -- often perceived to be on the sidelines of the green movement -- have become more environmentally conscious in the last year. Yet, evangelicals do so with some skepticism about the environmental movement, specifically the implications of climate change. Evangelicals are concerned about what they perceive to be media hype surrounding global warming, as well as skepticism about the role humans play in causing it. Moreover, evangelicals express strong concern that proposed environmental solutions would hurt the poor, particularly in developing nations.... Read this in full at
http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=BarnaUpdateNarrow&BarnaUpdateID=317


NEW BIBLE HAS A 'GREEN' THEME
A new edition of the Bible sets out to show that the seeds of environmentalism were first sown in the Garden of Eden. Just as "red letter" Bibles highlight the words of Jesus in red ink, The Green Bible, uses green ink to spotlight more than 1,000 passages extolling the goodness of creation and God's charge to mankind to care for it. The first chapter of Genesis is grass green, as are big chunks of Psalms and threads through every book including the Gospels, where Jesus considers the lilies of the field and keeps his eye on the sparrow. Publisher HarperOne uses the New Revised Standard Translation of the Bible to present the earth-loving book printed with soy ink on recycled paper and bound in eco-friendly linen.... Read this in full at
http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2008-10-08-green-bible_N.htm


TESTICULAR STEM CELLS SEEM AS VERSATILE AS EMBRYONIC STEM CELLS
Cells taken from men's testicles seem as versatile as the stem cells derived from embryos, researchers reported Wednesday in what may be yet another new approach in a burgeoning scientific field. The new type of stem cells could be useful for growing personalized replacement tissues, according to a study in Thursday's issue of the journal Nature. But because of their source, their highest promise would apply to only half the world's population: men.... Read this in full at
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/2008-10-08-testicular-cells_N.htm


CONSIDER
“Resolved, never to do anything which I should be afraid to do if it were the last hour of my life.” Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758)


VERSE TO PONDER
“Because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved.” Ephesians 2:4,5


THIS WEEK'S HYMN: GOD OF CREATION, ALL-POWERFUL
Words: Margaret Clarkson, 1987
Music: Donald P. Hustad, 1974

God of creation, all-pow’rful, all-wise,
Lord of the universe, rich with surprise,
Maker, Sustainer, and Ruler of all,
We are your children—you hear when we call.

God of the ages, through time’s troubled years,
You are the one in whom hist’ry coheres;
Nations and empires your purpose fulfill,
Moving in freedom, yet working your will.

God of redemption, who wrought our rebirth,
Called out your church from the ends of the earth,
Still you are Savior, put darkness to flight;
Overcome sin by salvation’s pure light.

God of your people, your Word still stands fast;
Do for us now as you’ve done in the past!
Yours is the kingdom, your triumph we claim,
Challenging evil in Jesus’ strong name.

God of our now, all our trust is in you,
Covenant God, ever faithful and true;
Sov’reign Creator, Redeemer, and Lord,
Now and forever your name be adored!

>from CyberHymnal at
http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/g/c/a/gcallpow.htm


ON PRAYER
“Prayer should be short, without giving God Almighty reasons why He should grant this, or that; He knows best what is good for us. If your boy should ask you [for] a suit of clothes, and give you reasons, would you endure it? You know his needs better than he: let him ask a suit of clothes.” John Selden (1584-1654)


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
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Tell us what sites you find enjoyable and why.

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http://www.factcheck.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.)


The will of God will never take you to where the grace of God will not cover you.
Min. Frank Coleman, Editor
[email protected]


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