Connecting man to man to God
For week of April 12, 2009
Issue 247

The Men’s Ministry newsletter of Path Of Life Ministries.
Our mission is to lead men to Jesus Christ and provide opportunity for Christian men to grow in their faith and minister to others.

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“All honor to God, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; for it is his boundless mercy that has given us the privilege of being born again, so that we are now members of God’s won family. Now we live in the hope of eternal life because Christ rose again from the dead. And God has reserved for his children the priceless gift of eternal life; it is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay.”
1 Peter 1:3-4 (The Living Bible)


     CONSIDER
“There is no situation so chaotic that God cannot from that situation create something that is surpassingly good. He did it at the creation. He did it at the cross. He is doing it today.” Bishop Handley Moule (1841-1920)


     RESURRECTION AND THE FIRST CHRISTIANS
In an article on pagan, Jewish and early Christian views of resurrection, N.T. Wright argues that the earliest Christian beliefs were shaped by their own experience of Christ's literal resurrection:

"The early Christians looked forward to a resurrection which was not a mere resuscitation, nor yet the abandonment of the body and the liberation of the soul, but a transformation, a new type of body living within a new type of world. This belief is embroidered with biblical motifs, articulated in rich theology. Yet in the gospel narratives we find a story, told from different angles of course, without such embroidering and theology--told indeed in restrained, largely unadorned prose. Yet the story is precisely of a single body neither abandoned, nor merely resuscitated, but transformed; and this, though itself totally unexpected, could give rise to exactly that developed view of which I have spoken. The Easter narratives, in other words, appear to offer an answer to why the early Christian hope and life took the form and shape they did. ...

"The gospel stories themselves, though no doubt written down a good deal later than Paul, go back with minimal editorial addition to the very early stories told by the first disciples in the earliest days of Christianity. They are not the later narratival adaptation of early Christian theology; they are its foundation." .... Read this in full at
http://www.ntwrightpage.com/Wright_Jesus_Resurrection.htm


     WHY WAS JESUS CRUCIFIED?: A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
There was, in short, little to be gained in proclaiming a crucified saviour in that setting in which crucifixion was a grisly reality. In fact, Jesus' crucifixion posed a whole clutch of potential problems for early Christians. It meant that at the origin and heart of their faith was a state execution and that their revered savior had been tried and found guilty by the representative of Roman imperial authority. This likely made a good many people wonder if the Christians weren't some seriously subversive movement. It was, at least, not the sort of group that readily appealed to those who cared about their social standing.

Jesus' crucifixion represented a collision between Jesus and Roman governmental authority, an obvious liability to early Christian efforts to promote their faith. Yet, remarkably, they somehow succeeded. Centuries of subsequent Christian tradition have made the image of the crucified Jesus so familiar that the offensiveness of the event that it portrays has been almost completely lost.... Read this in full at
http://www.slate.com/id/2214800/pagenum/all/#p2


     WAS EASTER BORROWED FROM A PAGAN HOLIDAY?
by Anthony McRoy
Anyone encountering anti-Christian polemics will quickly come up against the accusation that a major festival practiced by Christians across the globe—namely, Easter—was actually borrowed or rather usurped from a pagan celebration. I often encounter this idea among Muslims who claim that later Christians compromised with paganism to dilute the original faith of Jesus.

The argument largely rests on the supposed pagan associations of the English and German names for the celebration (Easter in English and Ostern in German). It is important to note, however, that in most other European languages, the name for the Christian celebration is derived from the Greek word Pascha, which comes from pesach, the Hebrew word for Passover. Easter is the Christian Passover festival. In fact, in the case of Easter the evidence suggests that neither the commemoration of Christ's death and resurrection nor its name are derived from paganism.... Read this in full at
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ch/bytopic/holidays/easterborrowedholiday.html


     EASTER ANIMATIONS
http://www.gieson.com/

Jesus had no servants, yet they called Him Master.
Had no degree, yet they called Him Teacher.
Had no medicines, yet they called Him Healer.
Had no army, yet kings feared Him.
He won no military battles, yet He conquered the world.
He committed no crime, yet they crucified Him.
He was buried in a tomb, yet He lives today.


     THE END OF CHRISTIAN AMERICA
The Christian God is less of a force in US culture than at any time in recent memory. To the surprise of liberals who fear the advent of an evangelical theocracy and to the dismay of religious conservatives who long to see their faith more fully expressed in public life, Christians are now making up a declining percentage of the American population.

According to the American Religious Identification Survey, the percentage of self-identified Christians has fallen 10 percentage points since 1990, from 86% to 76%. The Jewish population is 1.2%; the Muslim, 0.6%. A separate Pew Forum poll echoed the ARIS finding, reporting that the percentage of people who say they are unaffiliated with any particular faith has doubled in recent years, to 16%; in terms of voting, this group grew from 5% in 1988 to 12% in 2008 -- roughly the same percentage of the electorate as African-Americans. (75% of unaffiliated voters chose Barack Obama, a Christian.) Meanwhile, the number of people willing to describe themselves as atheist or agnostic has increased about fourfold from 1990 to 2009, from 1 million to about 3.6 million. (That is about double the number of, say, Episcopalians in the United States.)

Let's be clear: while the percentage of Christians may be shrinking, rumors of the death of Christianity are greatly exaggerated. Being less Christian does not necessarily mean that America is post-Christian. A third of Americans say they are born again; this figure, along with the decline of politically moderate-to liberal mainline Protestants, led the ARIS authors to note that "these trends suggest a movement towards more conservative beliefs and particularly to a more 'evangelical' outlook among Christians." With rising numbers of Hispanic immigrants bolstering the Roman Catholic Church in America, and given the popularity of Pentecostalism, a rapidly growing Christian milieu in the United States and globally, there is no doubt that the nation remains vibrantly religious -- far more so, for instance, than Europe.

Still, in the new NEWSWEEK Poll, fewer people now think of the United States as a "Christian nation" than did so when George W. Bush was president (62% in 2009 versus 69% in 2008). Two thirds of the public (68%) now say religion is "losing influence" in American society, while just 19% say religion's influence is on the rise. The proportion of Americans who think religion "can answer all or most of today's problems" is now at a historic low of 48 percent. During the Bush 43 and Clinton years, that figure never dropped below 58%.... Read this in full at
http://www.newsweek.com/id/192583


     GOD STILL ISN'T DEAD
by John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge
America was famously founded by companies and churches. The woes of American capitalism are well known: Wall Street is a synonym for excess and greed around the world, and Detroit is tottering on the edge of bankruptcy. But just as its temples to Mammon are under fire, so suddenly are its churches to God.

Newsweek's April 13 cover proclaims "The Decline and Fall of Christian America." The new American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS) shows that the proportion of Americans who claim to have no religion has increased to 15% today from 8.2% in 1990. The Christian right has lost yet another battle, this time in the heartland state of Iowa, with its Supreme Court voting unanimously to legalize gay marriage. The proportion of Americans who think that religion "can answer all or most of today's problems" is now at a historic low of 48%.

America has long stood out among developed countries for its religiosity. This has less to do with innate godliness than with the free market created by the First Amendment. Pre-Revolutionary America was not that religious, because the original Puritans were swamped by less wholesome adventurers -- in Salem, Mass., the setting for "The Crucible," 83% of taxpayers by 1683 confessed to no religious identification.... Read this in full at
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123906081768295037.html


     ONE NATION UNDER GOD?
The latest NEWSWEEK Poll finds shifting American attitudes about religion and faith. A nation facing problems of biblical proportions appears to be looking less and less to religion for answers. According to a new NEWSWEEK Poll, the percentage of Americans who think faith will help answer all or most of the country's current problems dipped to a historic low of 48%, down from 64% in 1994.

The poll also shows changing perceptions about the religious makeup of the United States and its politics. Since Barack Obama took office earlier this year, the number of people who consider the US a Christian nation has fallen to 62%, down from higher numbers during the Bush administration (69% last year and 71% in 2005). Still, the US remains a deeply religious land.... Read this in full at
http://www.newsweek.com/id/192915


     'DOES GOD EXIST?' HITCHENS & CRAIG DEBATE
During a season when many are preparing to celebrate Jesus' resurrection, two men debated whether there is even a God.

A prominent atheist and a Christian apologist clashed April 4 in a debate titled "Does God Exist?" at Biola University, an evangelical school in La Mirada, Calif., near Los Angeles.

Christopher Hitchens, regarded as a leader of the new atheism movement, went head-to-head with William Lane Craig, a Biola professor regarded as one of the world's leading religious philosophers. About 4,000 people watched the debate in the university's gym while an estimated 6,000 others watched it online or from satellite locations around Southern California.

While Craig had the home court advantage, Hitchens didn't hold back, exhorting, "Emancipate yourself from the idea of a celestial dictatorship and you've taken the first step to becoming free."

But Craig had his rejoinders. "The fruit of the naturalistic worldview is that mankind is reduced to meaninglessness, valuelessness and purposelessness," Craig said.

Both debaters placed the burden of proof on their opponent. Craig said Hitchens would have to explain how the universe could create itself out of nothing, while Hitchens said Craig would have the formidable task of proving God's existence in the absence of complete knowledge about biology and the universe.

Neither was convinced at the end of the debate that his opponent had met those demands.

"We've heard attacks upon religion, Christianity impugned, God impugned, Mother Teresa impugned, but we haven't heard any arguments that God does not exist," Craig said. "Mr. Hitchens seems to fail to recognize that atheism is itself a worldview, and that it claims alone to be true and all the other religions of the world false. It is not more tolerant than Christianity in respect to these other views." .... Read this in full at
http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=30220

Also see “Text summary of the William Lane Craig vs Christopher Hitchens debate: Does God Exist?”
http://winteryknight.wordpress.com/2009/04/04/the-debate-so-far/


     HOUSES OF GOD: DID EVANGELICALS CURB THE HOUSING BUBBLE?
A new study by Christopher W. Crowe, an economist for the International Monetary Fund, found that during the last two housing booms in the United States, regions with high concentrations of evangelicals saw lower gains in home prices and less volatility than similar regions with fewer evangelical residents. The reason to consider this more than just a statistical quirk, Mr. Crowe says, is that conservative Christianity teaches followers that God owns all worldly possessions. In practice, that means that unchecked greed and speculative frenzy are seen as undesirable in the evangelical community.
http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/30/houses-of-god-did-evangelicals-curb-the-housing-bubble/


     A NEW DAY FOR ATHEISTS?
For some atheists in the United States it's a bright new day with the election of President Barack Obama and a move away from religion-shaped government policies of past years. Others aren't so sure, and it remains to be seen whether a friendlier climate translates into more people publicly embracing an atheist or non-theist philosophy in an overwhelmingly Christian country.

"It's becoming OK to be an atheist," says Jane Everhart, communications director at New York City Atheists. It began, she says, with Obama's inaugural address in which he called the United States "a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus ... and nonbelievers." Since then Obama reversed restrictions on stem cell embryonic research and the White House has signaled more liberal attitudes toward gays. Obama is a member of the United Church of Christ but has said he was raised in a family where values counted for more than religious identity.... Read this in full at
http://uk.reuters.com/article/lifestyleMolt/idUKTRE52T47G20090330


     SURVEY SHOWS HOW LIBERALS, CONSERVATIVES DIFFER IN FAITH
People's interest in -- and reactions to -- the social and political actions being made by President Obama and the Democratic-controlled Congress have heightened awareness of the different perspectives held by liberals and conservatives. A new study conducted by The Barna Group indicates that those differences are related to substantially different spiritual beliefs, behaviors and alignments.... Read this in full at
http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/13-culture/258-survey-shows-how-liberals-and-conservatives-differ-on-matters-of-faith


     WHO COUNTS AS 'HUMAN'?
Those of the wrong class, gender, color, or sexuality have always been left outside locally defined 'humanity' -- where does this leave a bill of rights?

Some say human rights are self-evident, that they are expressions of the good society or, more extravagantly, that they are natural properties attaching to people like arms or legs. Common to these arguments is the assertion that rights belong to humans on account of their humanity and not of a narrower membership such as nation or state. This is a comforting thought. But when we examine it closer, it appears to be one of these paradoxical half-truths that litter our understanding of human rights.... Read this in full at
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/libertycentral/2009/apr/01/deconstructing-human-rights-equality


     NOMINEES ANNOUNCED FOR 2009 CHRISTY AWARDS FOR CHRISTIAN FICTION
The nominees for this year’s Christy Awards have been announced and leading the pack with five nods is Bethany House followed by Tyndale House Publishers with four.

Named in honor of Catherine Marshall’s groundbreaking novel, Christy, the Christy Awards recognize excellence in fiction written by contemporary Christian authors and to highlight the breadth and diversity of Christian fiction.

Each year since the awards’ creation in 1999, publishers submit novels written from a Christian worldview and copyrighted in the year preceding the awards. Each novel is entered in one of several genre categories and/or the first novel category.

Each category of novels is then read and evaluated against a ten-point criteria by a panel of seven judges composed of librarians, reviewers, academicians, literary critics, and other qualified readers – none of whom have a direct affiliation with a publishing company.

The Christy Award Winners will be announced in July during the International Christian Retail Show in Denver. See the list of the 2009 Christy Awards nominees at
http://www.christianpost.com/Entertainment/Books/2009/04/nominees-announced-for-2009-christy-awards-for-christian-fiction-02/index.html


     THE TRANSPARENCY OF KIDS
One Sunday morning when my son, David, was about 5, we were attending a church in our community. It was common for the preacher to invite the children to the front of the church and have a small lesson before beginning the sermon. He would bring in an item they could find around the house and relate it to a teaching from the Bible.

This particular morning, the visual aid for his lesson was a smoke detector. He asked the children if anyone knew what it meant when an alarm sounded from the smoke detector. My child immediately raised his hand and said, "It means Daddy's cooking dinner."
http://www.mikeysFunnies.com


     LEADERSHIP TIPS (BUSINESS, FAMILY, LIFE)
How to make a business trip a spiritual experience
by Dean R. Owen
Many people whose jobs require travel often journey halfway across the United States or the world, yet rarely venture beyond their hotels. At most, they may take an hour or two to visit a local market to souvenir-hunt for family members. After a few days, the meetings and PowerPoint presentations seem to run together. Then it's time to rush to the airport, fly home, and get back to the office because so much "real work" is pending. Instead, think about taking a vacation day or two, or comp time, before or after the meetings. Before leaving home, research the city that's beckoning, whether Vegas or Venice. Travel books such as the Lonely Planet series, as well as the Internet, make this fairly easy.... Read this in full at
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2009/april/18.28.html


     TOP TEN DESTINATIONS FOR PILGRIMS: JERUSALEM, ROME, LOURDES AND IONA
Spiritual pilgrimages are a fast-growing phenomenon. Millions descend yearly on the sacred places of Europe, shrines associated with healing, peace and prayer. Particularly popular are the places of birth, life or death of saints, such as Assisi, the burial place of both St Francis and St Clare, and Ávila in central Spain, associated with the 16th-century Carmelite reformer St Teresa. Closer to home there is Lindisfarne, “the Holy Isle” in Northumberland, seat of the monastery founded by St Cuthbert. Popular pilgrimage sites also include shrines to the Virgin Mary. Medjugorje, a remote hamlet in Bosnia-Herzegovina, lacks the approval of the Roman Catholic Church but has attracted more than 30 million visitors, drawn by claims that Mary has appeared there regularly since 1981.... Read this in full at
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article6047545.ece


     VERSE TO PONDER
"If, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!"
Romans 5:10


     CONSIDER
“Temptation always promises more than it produces.”
~John Blanchard~


     WHEN HOPE FEELS LIKE A FOOL'S ERRAND
Katherine Ann Olson packed her car's backseat with children's books before she drove to her babysitting job on October 27, 2007. The 24-year-old Minneapolis woman was answering a post at Craigslist.org. This wasn't the first time she had answered an online ad. But this time, 19-year-old Michael Anderson was waiting for her. One day later, authorities found Olson's dead body in her car's trunk. Last week, Minnesota District Judge Mary Theisen sentenced Anderson to life in prison without parole.

Olson's mother, Nancy, told Theisen in court that she had endured the same nightmare several times since Katherine died 17 months ago.

"She appeared to me as a 24-year-old, naked, with a bullet hole in her back and crawled into my lap," Nancy Olson said. "I cradled her for a long time, trying to protect her from the cruel world."

Nancy said after sentencing that Anderson is a "pathetic human being." She does not want a relationship with him. Nor will she pray for him. She clings to a friend's counsel. "There is in life a suffering so unspeakable, a vulnerability so extreme that it goes far beyond words, beyond explanations and even beyond healing. In the face of such suffering all we can do is bear witness so no one need suffer alone."

Rolf Olson, Nancy's husband and Katherine's father, is the lead pastor of Richfield Lutheran Church in Minneapolis. He acknowledged that his daughter's death has tested his faith. "I do that pastor thing … evil, forgiveness, God's grace, sin." He said the New Testament defines forgiveness as "to cut free, to let go." Slowly, he and his family are trying to cut Anderson free. "Forgiveness is a process. There is no rush." .... Read this in full at
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2009/aprilweb-only/114-11.0.html


     READING 'CAN HELP REDUCE STRESS'
Reading is the best way to relax and even 6 minutes can be enough to reduce the stress levels by more than two-thirds, according to new research. And it works better and faster than other methods to calm frazzled nerves such as listening to music, going for a walk, or settling down with a cup of tea, research found. Psychologists believe this is because the human mind has to concentrate on reading and the distraction of being taken into a literary world eases the tensions in muscles and the heart.... Read this in full at
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/5070874/Reading-can-help-reduce-stress.html

Also see “Health Alert -- Read to Save Your Life”
http://www.albertmohler.com/blog_read.php?id=3556


     HOW THE BIBLE WAS MADE
by James Denison
I'm not the first or last person to wonder how the Bible was made. Skeptics sometimes claim the Bible was fabricated by church officials meeting centuries after Christ. Many Christians would struggle to explain the creation of God's word. It is an astounding fact: God wrote a book you can read today. How did he do it?

We are exploring the creation of the "canon" -- from the Greek word for "rule" -- the "measuring rod" of our faith. Our story starts with 39 books we usually call the "Old Testament," the Bible of Jesus and Paul.

First came the "Law," called Torah or "instruction" by the Jews -- the regulations and early history of Judaism. This section was eventually divided into five parts, called the "Pentateuch" ("five books") -- Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.
Next came the "Prophets," called Nebiim by the Jews -- prophetic writings and histories. The first four books were called the "Former Prophets" -- Joshua, Judges, 1-2 Samuel, 1-2 Kings. (Samuel and Kings were each a single book.) The last four books were called the "Latter Prophets" -- Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and "the Twelve." The "Twelve" are our "minor" prophets, given this unfortunate name because they are shorter books.

Last came the "Writings," called Ketubim by the Jews. The Hebrew Bible lists 11 books in this section -- Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Solomon, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra-Nehemiah and 1-2 Chronicles.... Read this in full at
http://www.abpnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3982&Itemid=53


     FOR THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO
Last year, sacred music composer Christopher Teichler noted a disturbing paradox. The widely observed decline in biblical literacy among American Christians has paralleled a growing interest in developing new and enriched ways of worshipping.

"How can these two events -- biblical illiteracy and a great passion for worship -- be happening at the same time?" asked Teichler, who teaches at an evangelical university in the Chicago area and blogs on music issues. "If biblical literacy is so low at this point in Western history, then the God of the Bible is not the god being worshipped but rather a shallow and incomplete version of him."

Many church leaders who share Teichler's concern believe they've found an antidote -- injecting worship with a bracing dose of Scripture, through systematic readings, carefully selected musical texts and thoughtfully crafted sermons.... Read this in full at
http://www.abpnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3984&Itemid=53


     DOES YOUR PASTOR BELIEVE IN GOD?
A news report from the Netherlands points to a form of theological insanity that is spreading far beyond the Dutch.  Ecumenical News International reports that church authorities in the Netherlands have decided not to take action against a Dutch pastor who openly declares himself to be an atheist.

The pastor, Klaas Hendrikse, serves a congregation of the Protestant Church in the Netherlands.  In 2007 he published a book described as a "manifesto of an atheist pastor."  In the book Hendrikse argues for the non-existence of God, but he insists that he does believe in God as a concept.

As Ecumenical News International reports:
In his book, Hendrikse recounts how his conviction that God does not exist has become stronger over the years.

"The non-existence of God is for me not an obstacle but a precondition to believing in God. I am an atheist believer," Hendrikse writes in the book. "God is for me not a being but a word for what can happen between people. Someone says to you, for example, 'I will not abandon you', and then makes those words come true. It would be perfectly alright to call that [relationship] God."

While this kind of theological language may be shocking, it is not all that uncommon.  For years, many theologians have been moving away from realist conceptions of theology to various forms of non-realism.  In classical terms, anti-realist theologians can actually be atheists, for they do not believe that God actually or necessarily exists.  They do, however, find "God" to be a useful concept.... Read this in full at
http://www.albertmohler.com/blog_read.php?id=3532


     LAST CHANCE TO ENROLL IN THE NATIONAL BIBLE BEE
The deadline for enrolling in the 2009 National Bible Bee Competition is April 30, 2009. The Bible Bee Headquarters is urging families interested in participating in the National Bible Bee to contact the nearest Local Bible Bee and sign up now! To locate a Bible Bee in your community, you can visit the National Bible Bee website at www.biblebee.org and click the U.S. Google Map. Simply zoom in and click one of the green markers in your area for contact information!
http://www.biblebee.org/


     MOVIE REVIEW: FAITH LIKE POTATOES
Here's the thing about potatoes. You plant them, and cover them with dirt, then pray like mad for rain. Potatoes don't send up shoots or stalks. They incubate in the ground, silent and unseen, while you hope for harvest. Only a farmer-turned-evangelist would know how apt a metaphor potatoes are for a life of faith in Christ Jesus, making Faith Like Potatoes the perfect title for a biopic based on the true story of Angus Buchan.

Angus (Frank Rautenbach), a Scotsman born in Africa, leaves his farm in Zambia due to poor yield and escalating violence. His fiery temper ensures that he burns bridges, thanks to his penchant for escalating petty disputes into full-fledged fistfights. With three children and pregnant wife Jill (Jeanne Wilhelm), Angus buys a plot of land in South Africa and builds a life out of nothing. 

Shot on crisp, vibrant HD, Faith Like Potatoes has an intensity and immediacy that keeps it from seeming too preachy. It's a good thing that it's based on a true story (as found in the book of the same name), because Angus's experiences would be hard to swallow in a fiction film. Angus tells his wife that he's been called to be foolish for Christ, and every seemingly ridiculous choice he makes yields a miracle pointing back to the glory of God.... Read this in full at
http://www.christianitytoday.com/movies/reviews/2009/faithlikepotatoes.html


     A LETTER FROM A COUNTRY BUMPKIN AT BOOT CAMP:
Dear Ma & Pa:
Am well. Hope you are. Tell brother Walt & Brother Elmer the Marine Corps beats working for old man Minch by a mile.

Tell them to join up quick before maybe all of the places are filled. I was restless at first because you got to stay in bed till nearly 6 a.m., but am getting so I like to sleep late. Tell Walt & Elmer all you do before breakfast is smooth your cot and shine some things. No hogs to slop, feed to pitch, mash to mix, wood to split, fire to lay. Practically nothing. Men got to shave but it is not so bad, they git warm water.

Breakfast is strong on trimmings like fruit juice, cereal, eggs, bacon, etc...but kind of weak on chops, potatoes, ham, steak, fried eggplant, pie and other regular food. But tell Walt & Elmer you can always sit between two city boys that live on coffee. Their food plus yours holds you till noon, when you get fed again. It's no wonder these city boys can't walk much.

We go on "route" marches, which the Drill Instructor says are long walks to harden us. If he thinks so, it is not my place to tell him different. A "route march" is about as far as to our mailbox at home. Then the city guys get sore feet and we all ride back in trucks. The country is nice, but awful flat. The Drill Instructor is like a schoolteacher. He nags some. The Capt. is like the school board. Majors & Colonels just ride around & frown. They don't bother you none. This next will kill Walt & Elmer with laughing.

I keep getting medals for shooting. I don't know why. The bulls-eye is near as big as a chipmunk and don't move. And it ain't shooting at you, like the Higgett boys at home. All you got to do is lie there all comfortable and hit it. You don't even load your own cartridges. They come in boxes. Be sure to tell Walt & Elmer to hurry & join before other fellers get into this setup & come stampeding in.

Your loving daughter,
Gail

P.S. Speaking of shooting, enclosed is $200 towards a new barn roof & ma's teeth. The city boys shoot craps, but not very good.
http://www.mikeysFunnies.com


     EXPERIMENTAL PROSTATE CANCER DRUG SHOWS PROMISE
An experimental drug for advanced prostate cancer has shown preliminary success in the first and second phases of clinical trials, shrinking cancer tumors in the lab and reducing signs of the disease in patients with drug-resistant cancer, according to a report published in the April 10 issue of the journal Science.

Prostate cancer, which kills 29,000 men in the US each year, is a tenacious disease in advanced stages. The treatment of cancer that has metastasized beyond the prostate involves drugs that block male hormones, the androgens testosterone and dihydrotestosterone, which feed tumor growth. Antiandrogen drugs, such as bicalutamide, work by binding to the androgen receptors on prostate cancer cells, chemically preventing the hormones from interacting with the tumor. Over time, however, cancer cells become resistant to the drugs as the number of androgen receptors on the cells increases, and in a cruel twist, the drugs somehow begin to stimulate the cancer instead of suppressing it.... Read this in full at
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1889998,00.html


     CONSIDER
“He who has not forgiven an enemy has not yet tasted one of the most sublime enjoyments of life.”
~Johann K. Lavater (1741-1801)~


     VERSE TO PONDER
"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." Galatians 2:20


     ON PRAYER
“Grant that I may not pray alone with the mouth; help me that I may pray from the depths of my heart”
~Martin Luther~


     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.

Book your next vacation with us!
Http://www.ChristianConnectionTravel.com

Books, Music & More!
http://www.ChristianConnectionBooks.com

Get your domain name here!
http://www.GoGlobalDomains.com

Let me show you how to earn money as you travel!
http://www.earnGlobalVacations.com/
It's as easy as 1-2-3!


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

Cityscape (move your mouse from left to right)
http://wvs.topleftpixel.com/flash/cntower_timelapse.swf

Do-It-Yourself Consumer Warning (HA!)
http://cagle.com/working/090331/heller.jpg

Celtic WebRadio Stations
http://www.ramsisle.com/celtic/webradio.htm

PocketMod: The free disposable organizer from a single sheet of paper
http://pocketmod.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.)


The older you get, the tougher it is to lose weight because by then, your body and your fat are really good friends.
Min. Frank Coleman, Editor
[email protected]


Thanks for welcoming CONNECTIONS into your in-box!

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CONNECTIONS is a periodic newsletter of announcements, news, recommendations, articles, and other information helpful to men in our spiritual growth. Thanks for welcoming CONNECTIONS into your in-box!

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The CONNECTIONS Team offers 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.

Path Of Life Ministries is located at 6459 S. Campbell Ave. Chicago, IL 60629.
Visit our website at: http://www.pathoflifeministries.net/  

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