Connecting man to man to God
For week of October 26, 2008
Issue 228


"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” Proverbs 9:10


CONSIDER
“Let nothing come between you and God; let God come between you and everything.” Unknown


VOTING LIKE IT MATTERS
by Charles Colson with Anne Morse
I have been surprised by the number of Christians who have given up on politics this year. "I don't like either candidate, so I'm staying home," some say. I get fed up with the vain posturing and empty promises, too. But not voting is not an option—it's both our civic and sacred duty. Voting is required of us as good citizens and as God's agents for appointing leaders. How do we go about choosing the best candidates? Not by pulling a partisan lever -- that's knee-jerk ideology. Christians live instead by revealed truth, never captive to any party. Thus, the best place to go for wisdom is not the candidates' websites, but the Bible.... Read this in full at
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2008/october/22.150.html


CHRISTIAN COALITION VOTER GUIDES
Christian Coalition Voter Guides are designed to show where candidates for office stand on the important issues that impact families. CC surveyed candidates on important issues and let that information speak for itself. See the guides at
http://www.cc.org/voter_guides


FINANCIAL WOES TOP AMERICANS' PRAYERS
More evidence that grave financial concerns are foremost in Americans' lives today is revealed in the results from a new poll conducted by Guideposts.com. When asked, "What are you praying for these days?" 32% answered: "Financial Relief" making it the top response...significantly outpacing the #2 response "United States and our leaders" cited by 20% of respondents. Additionally, 15% of respondents said they were praying for a "New Job" making the combined "Financial Relief" and "New Job" nearly 50% of all respondents' prayers. The survey was conducted between 10/13 and 10/19 among 2522 online respondents. Read this in full at
http://www.religionnews.com/index.php?/pressreleases/financial_woes_top_americans_prayers/


OVERCOMING FEAR: A LESSON FROM THE ZUGSPITZE
by Jeff Campbell
The fear of failure is the enemy of manhood. Two years ago my son Jacob and I began to talk about climbing the Zugspitze, the highest mountain in Germany. There are several ways up this mass of granite and ice. Most are simply long, uphill marches that eventually lead to the golden cross at the top. But the “Klettersteig” -- the historic iron ladder -- is more direct. It’s a cabled and bolted route labeled “difficult” in guidebooks and requiring mountaineering experience. Since this was designed to be an event that inaugurated my son’s trek toward manhood, it seemed best to choose the more challenging route.

Our culture is frighteningly ignorant of the need for young men to experience rites of passage that build confidence and mark the emergence of manhood. Maybe that is why so many young men look for deviant ways to test their own mettle and why others opt to disappear, avoiding any test altogether.

That’s what led us to this weekend, a way to move Jacob forward on his march toward godly manhood by meeting his need for challenge, struggle and conquest. I was not prepared for God’s agenda to challenge me in a similar fashion.

A godly man rejects passivity, accepts responsibility, leads courageously, loves selflessly and expects future reward. So went our training mantra for the weekend, adapted from the book Raising a Modern Day Knight. I had Jacob memorize it, but how could I look at my face in the mirror of those phrases and not “man up” to the need to grow?.... Read this in full at
http://newmanmag.com/e-magazine/102208/story2.php


NEW BOOK SUMMARY ONLINE
A detailed summary of the book Sacred Marriage: What If God Designed Marriage to Make Us Holy More Than to Make Us Happy? by Gary Thomas is now available online. The book's message: This is not another "how to build a better marriage" book. Rather, it is a book on how the struggles and challenges of marriage can shape us and change us in profoundly spiritual ways. Marriage is even more than a sacred covenant. If our hearts are attuned to what God is teaching us, our marriage relationship can help us learn sacrificial love, forgiveness, servanthood, and perseverance. Marriage is a sacred tool that helps us grow spiritually in ways nothing else can. See the summary at
http://www.christianbooksummaries.com/

Purchase your copy here:
http://www.christianconnectionbooks.com/index.php?module=viewitem&item=13520


PROGRAM: HONESTY AND CHRONIC ILLNESS
To live with chronic illness is to live with the reality that one day can be good and fulfilling while the next may be excruciatingly painful. Physical suffering is not fun for anyone; living with it every day demands special spiritual and emotional equipment. Retired professor Stephen Schmidt is guest on this edition of Grace Matters to discuss faith, honesty, and his journey with chronic illness....
http://gracematters.org/listen.html


LEADERSHIP TIPS (BUSINESS, FAMILY, LIFE)
Maxwell's Magnum Opus
John C. Maxwell does not fit a typical mold. Who else has spent 25 years as a pastor and now writes bestsellers that crowd the shelves in bookstores' management/leadership sections? He founded Equip "to train a million leaders worldwide" and Injoy to help churches raise major capital funds. According to Maxwell, his lessons come from absorbing and applying leadership principles, including learning from his failures. The pastor/entrepreneur/teacher's latest book, Leadership Gold, is intended to be a culmination of his previous works, communicating his "hardest-won leadership lessons." "I've sifted through a lot of dirt to deliver the gold," he writes.... Read this book review in full at
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2008/octoberweb-only/143-12.0.html


VERSE TO PONDER
Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him." John 14:6, 7 (NIV)


CONSIDER
“Our Adversary majors in three things: noise, hurry and crowds. If he can keep us engaged in "muchness" and "manyness," he will rest satisfied.” Richard J. Foster


MINISTER STUDIES WHY AMERICANS ARE 'SPIRITUAL BUT NOT RELIGIOUS'
With more Americans describing themselves as "spiritual but not religious," one researcher set out to find what that statement really means. The Rev. Linda Mercadante, a professor of theology at Methodist Theological School in Delaware, Ohio, conducted research on this growing segment of the American population and found possible reasons why the "spiritual" tend to stay away from the church or religious practices. "I heard the same arguments over and over again,” said Mercadante, a minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA), according to the Presbyterian News Service.

After speaking to SBNRs (spiritual but not religious) across the country, all of whom volunteered for 90-minute interviews, Mercadante found that many of them are not in the church – or are not religious – because of "stereotypical arguments against organized religion and the claims of churches." Read this in full at
http://www.christianpost.com/article/20081022/minister-studies-why-americans-are-spiritual-but-not-religious.htm


CREATED OUT OF LOVE FOR LOVE
“God is love. Jesus revealed greater insight into the mystery of God who is relationship — perfect, loving relationship between Father, Son, and Spirit existing eternally. How else could God be love, since love requires an object — other persons to love? There's only one God, not three, but God at the center of his Being exists in loving relationship. As a husband and wife in a healthy, loving relationship discover, love creates children to invite into relationship, and in so doing love expands. God created us out of love and for love, inviting us into his Divine Community of ever-expanding love. All the prophets who wrote thousands of years before Jesus made it clear that loving relationship is God's motive for creating us.” John Burke, Soul Revolution: How Imperfect People Become All God Intended


AMERICANS, PASTORS URGED TO SPEAK OUT AGAINST PORN
Several anti-porn groups fed up with the number of children and marriages that have been harmed as a result of porn addiction are urging Americans to fight back during a pornography awareness event this week. During the 20th annual "White Ribbon Against Pornography Week" (WRAP), which runs Oct. 26 to Nov. 2, Americans are being called to speak out on the detrimental effects of pornography and inform others about ways to remove the "garbage" from the lives of families and local communities. For one week, people are also asked to wear or display a white ribbon in solidarity against pornography. WRAP Week is being promoted by Morality in Media (MIM), Concerned Women for American (CWA) and American Mothers. Read this in full at
http://www.christianpost.com/article/20081026/americans-pastors-urged-to-speak-out-against-porn.htm


BEST INDICATOR OF MY BELIEFS
“I have three different kinds of convictions. We might think of them in this way: what I say I believe; what I think I believe; and what I reveal I really do believe by my actions. The best indicator of my true beliefs and my true purposes are my actions. They always flow out of my mental map about the way things really are. What I say I believe might be bogus. What I think I believe might be fickle. But I never violate my idea about the way things are. I always live in a way that reflects my mental map. I live at the mercy of my ideas about the way things really are. Always. And so do you.” John Ortberg, Faith & Doubt


RESOURCES ON INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
Oct. 27 marks the 10th anniversary of the signing of the International Religious Freedom Act, which made the promotion of religious freedom a basic aim of US foreign policy. The Pew Forum has assembled a variety of resources on international religious freedom, including event transcripts, Q&As and news clips. Go to the resource page at
http://pewforum.org/docs/?DocID=360


ON MERCY
“The seven works of bodily mercy be these: feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked and the needy, harbor the houseless, comfort the sick, visit prisoners, bury the dead. The seven works of spiritual mercy be these: teach men the truth, counsel men to hold with Christ's law, chastise sinners by moderate reproving in charity, comfort sorrowful men by Christ's passion, forgive wrongs, suffer meekly reproofs for the right of God's law, pray heartily for friend and for foe.”
Middle English Sermons [1940]


DO 5 SIMPLE THINGS A DAY TO STAY SANE, SAY SCIENTISTS
A '5-a-day program' of social and personal activities can improve mental wellbeing, much as eating fruit and vegetables enhances physical health, according to Foresight, the government think-tank. Its Mental Capital and Wellbeing report, which was compiled by more than 400 scientists, proposes a campaign modeled on the nutrition initiative, to encourage behaviour that will make people feel better about themselves. People should try to connect with others, to be active, to take notice of their surroundings, to keep learning and to give to their neighbors and communities, the document says. Read this in full at
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/mental_health/article4988978.ece


A LIFE-TRANSFORMING AWARENESS
“Our souls deeply desire affirmations. Think how often you may have wondered, ‘Does God really love me like the Bible says he does?’ To know that God does love us and that he bestows his grace upon us is a life-transforming awareness. It gives us confidence in ourselves and our abilities. It helps us know the value of what we can do. It makes us long to serve such a God, and it makes us long to serve others. God's love and affirmation for us leads us to his calling, plan, and purpose for our lives.” Mark & Debra Laaser, The Seven Desires of Every Heart


CONSIDER
“If you find yourself loving any pleasure better than your prayers, any book better than the Bible, any house better than the house of God, any table better than the Lord's table, any person better than Christ, any indulgence better than the hope of heaven- take alarm!” Thomas Guthrie


VERSE TO PONDER
“Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.”
Joshua 1:9


THIS WEEK'S HYMN: COME, THOU FOUNT OF EVERY BLESSING
Words: Robert Robinson, 1758
Music: John Wyeth, 1813

Come, Thou Fount of every blessing,
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
Sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount! I’m fixed upon it,
Mount of Thy redeeming love.

Sorrowing I shall be in spirit,
Till released from flesh and sin,
Yet from what I do inherit,
Here Thy praises I’ll begin;
Here I raise my Ebenezer;
Here by Thy great help I’ve come;
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at home.

Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Interposed His precious blood;
How His kindness yet pursues me
Mortal tongue can never tell,
Clothed in flesh, till death shall loose me
I cannot proclaim it well.

O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.

O that day when freed from sinning,
I shall see Thy lovely face;
Clothed then in blood washed linen
How I’ll sing Thy sovereign grace;
Come, my Lord, no longer tarry,
Take my ransomed soul away;
Send thine angels now to carry
Me to realms of endless day.

>from CyberHymnal at
http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/c/o/comethou.htm


ON PRAYER
“O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name.”
Nehemiah 1:11


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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SHARE YOUR FAVORITE WEBSITES
Tell us what sites you find enjoyable and why.

Songs and Hymns
http://www.songsandhymns.org/

50 Key Dates of World History
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/article2687623.ece

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 is "abbreviation" such a long word?
Min. Frank Coleman, Editor
[email protected]


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