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I’m posting this one as I feel that this is an important clarification on some recent news media confusion:- Damian Thompson – Telegraph Catholic fury over The Times’s coverage of Pope Benedict XVI There is international outrage in Catholic circles over a headline in The Times this morning that many people regard as utterly misleading and [...] - [Read more]

How do you respond to the idea of ‘missional community’? Excitement? Idealism? Threat? Intrusive? Missional community sounds fine as an ideal. But does it bare any relation to reality? How can community work with real people?

I want to suggest four key elements to making community work.

• taking the initiative to resolve conflict
• taking the initiative to serve others
• humility
• the centrality of the cross

First, taking the initiative to resolve conflict.
Conflict is a normal part of life. So don’t suppress conflict. If you can forget about it then do so. But if it affect your attitudes then you need to take the initiative to it (Ephesians 4:26-27). Talk with the person and involve others if necessary (Matthew 18:16).

Repent

Conflict arises from the desires that battle within us – when we don’t get what we want (James 4:1). Most conflicts involve fault on both sides. Where you’re at fault, repent and ask for forgiveness (don’t just say ‘sorry’ as that requires no response so can leave the issue unresolved). Where others are at fault, don’t make the issue all about you, but about them and God – about how their desires matter more to them than God.

Forgive

The sign of a true gospel community is not a community without conflict (whose message is ‘we’re nice people’), but a community that forgives (whose message is ‘God is gracious’). Forgiveness says: ‘This does matter to me, but I still forgive you’. This, in effect, is what God declared at the cross: ‘Your sin matters this much, but I still forgive you.’ It’s an act of will that may only be the beginning of the process of healing.

An atheist has claimed in court that the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance and "In God We Trust" on US currency should be removed on the grounds they breach his constitutional rights as a
non believer.

The San Francisco-based 9th U S Circuit Court of Appeals panel rejected two legal challenges by Michael Newdow, a doctor, who said the references to God are unconstitutional and infringe on his religious beliefs.

The following article from the Telegraph is majoring on the fact that the Home Office has been accused of discriminating against police Christian groups in favour of a Muslim police group, however, the real issue for me is whether religious groups should receive government funding at all. A while back I posted in relation to a [...] - [Read more]

Interesting observations in the Catholic Herald. I’m glad the headline mentions climate change in relation to churches as recently I came across the term eco-theologian, and this was used in all seriousness on a so called Christian website. Now tell me that Anthropomorphic Global Warming is not a religion in its own right. In my ‘umble opinion [...] - [Read more]

I simply found this one from the BBC intriguing. Imagine the scheme in the UK and the shock and dismay when prison inmates discovered that time actually moves slower in some churches than in prison BBC Georgian monasteries offer to take in prisoners Officials in the ex-Soviet republic of Georgia have announced a scheme to let [...] - [Read more]

Moms in Touch; if you are a mom, you are going to have a hard time convincing me that you dont need to be part of this worldwide prayer movement.

Christian women who seek first to be disciples, encourage each other to break free from perfectionism, and live as servants of Jesus.

Prayer is not an option. It is an absolutely essential part of the life of a disciple.

One of the hardest things for women to do is to truly abide in Christ. Most of us are hopeless control freaks.

The Amen,

the faithful and true Witness,

the Beginning of the creation of God,

says this:

Behold, I stand at the door and knock;

if anyone hears My voice and opens the door,

I will come in to him

and will dine with him,

and he with Me.

Revelation 14:b,20

Is Jesus standing at your door and knocking today?

Will you choose to let Him in?

I remember the day that I heard Him knocking.

I opened the door.

Listen....do you hear Him?

Could a song be annointed?

There are certain songs that bring the desire to praise God bubbling out of my heart. To me, there is an empowering of that which we call music to reach hidden places of my soul.

One such song is "Alive Again" by Matt Mahr. Consider his words:

You shattered my darkness

Washed away my blindness

Now Im breathing in and breathing out

Im alive again

When I hear those words coupled with the instruments, I want to join in the praise. God DID shatter my darkness;

He washed away my spiritual blindness.

Im breathing in and breathing out a life not possible without His forgiveness. I am truly alive again.

There was a very strong rainstorm this afternoon. As it subsided, I found myself out in the fresh air, looking at the water droplets suspended on the plants. The rain had washed the flowers, the bushes and the trees, leaving them vibrant and renewed.

In John 9:11 we read, "The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see."

God washed away my blindness years ago, and then, I could see. I could see His love. I could see His forgiveness.

As the rain washes the leaves and blossoms, His love washes us clean from our sin.

......Im alive again!

Victory is available to all who truly get saved by Jesus Christ! Jesus is lord among all, even those who hate him. The whole world desperately awaits the return of its King. He will come back, he will keep his word!

"HxC" stands for Hardcore. The "Christian HxC" fans would say that their use of the title "hardcore" for their scene has absolutely nothing to do with pornography. However, you would think that a "Christian" movement would not want to take the chance of even possibly being associated with such filth. You would think that a "Christian" movement would not want to share the same title, that for example - when searched on the internet, brings up only the abominations of hell.

And God said,

"Let the water teem with living creatures,

and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky."

 So God created the great creatures of the sea

and every living and moving thing with which the water teems,

according to their kinds,

and every winged bird according to its kind.

And God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:20,21

Map showing Chile's location in South America. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Last Friday, The Christian Broadcasting Network released an official statement defending founder Pat Robertson’s supposedly controversial comments concerning the recent 8.8 magnitude Chilean earthquake that left over 1.5 million people homeless, according to “The Christian Post.”

Robertson, who drew fire in early January from several conservative Christians for his remarks on the Haitian quake, was quoted on February 27 by a blogger at Open Salon as saying, “God is even angrier with them [the people of Chile] than he is with the people of Haiti.”

In its statement, the CBN said, “The story currently circulating on the Internet is completely false and was posted by someone as a joke. However, some very ill informed bloggers are now reporting it as if it were true.”

The blogger also quoted Robertson as saying, “If I had to guess, I’d say it (the earthquake) must have to do with Chile’s persecution and attempted prosecution of their great former leader, and a personal hero of mine, Agusto Pinochet—who, it should be noted, had never been convicted of a crime when the Lord called him home three years ago.”

Despite the alleged falsity of the aforementioned statement, Robertson does boast a long history of making controversial comments following large-scale natural disasters, as was the case with Haiti’s devastating 7.0 magnitude quake, which left over 230,000 dead. Citing Haiti’s ancient history with the French and Napoleon III, Robertson blamed the disaster on the country’s “pact [with] the devil.”

CBN was careful to note that “Pat Robertson made no such comments about the Chilean people making a pact with demons. Dr. Robertson is very concerned about the people of Chile and his humanitarian organization is currently responding to the disaster by sending a disaster relief team leader and raising money for the relief efforts.”

They also added that, “Anyone wishing to see CBN’s reporting of the earthquake, as well as Dr. Robertson’s actual comments, which included a heartfelt call to prayer for the people of Chile, can watch complete, archived episodes of The 700 Club at www.cbn.com.”

To run.

I thought I knew what that was. Ive seen it done. Ive done it myself. However, Ive never thought about it this way.

According to the dictionary, this is what "run" really means:

"to go quickly by moving the legs more rapidly than at a walk and in such a manner that for an instant in each step all or both feet are off the ground."

The phrase "both feet off the ground" got my attention. Continually lifting ourselves above the ground, time and again, with purpose.

For each of us there is a spiritual race marked out. It cannot be separated from our physical lives, because God works in us through our earthly experiences, challenges and goals. We find God beside us as we go the distance.

Could it be that we are to "run" in our journey of faith, being lifted above the temptation to become stationary?

As we determine to run, is it not God who repeatedly lifts our feet?

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

---Hebrews 12:1

Is the current increase in natural disasters matching up with Bible prophecy of the “end times?”

People have been announcing the “last days” for millennia.

In antiquity, Old Testament prophets such as Daniel (Daniel 12:1) spoke of them.

As did Jesus in Matthew 24:3-8.

“As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”

⁴Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. ⁵For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ,^[a]‘ and will deceive many. ⁶You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. ⁷Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. ⁸All these are the beginning of birth pains.”

Today, statements of 20^th century increases in natural disasters are coming from worldwide sources.

MSNBC, CBC and Fox News have all done reports on the increase in natural disasters.

In 2006, the European Journal of Public Health reported, “Natural disasters are increasing in frequency because of the worldwide deterioration in the natural environment. The incidence of floods, storms, earthquakes and droughts and the number of people affected by them are escalating greatly.”

“Weather-related disasters throughout the world continue to rise, from an annual average of 200 in 1993–1997 to 331 per year in 1998–2002.”

The UN Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery more recently stated,
“The 21st Century has already been marked by escalating economic losses and human devastation caused by natural disasters.”

“In 2008 alone, more than 300 disasters killed more than 235,000 people, affected more than 200 million others and caused losses and damage worth $181 billion.”

Although most of these Web sites and authorities relate the catastrophes more to climate change than biblical prophecy, the reports sound eerily similar to “end times” Bible verses.

Six major earthquakes in the last seven years, plus some of the deadliest hurricanes (Katrina and Rita) -– does that look like the birth pains Jesus referred to, meaning the beginning of the end of the world as we know it?

Of course, anything we may say is certainly speculation, but one thing is certain, the number of natural disasters in the past 20 years outweighs any other written recorded history.

This may be something to think about as we ponder God’s will for our lives and what we do with the time He has given us.

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD,

"plans to prosper you and not to harm you,

plans to give you hope and a future.

 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me,

and I will listen to you.

 You will seek me and find me

when you seek me with all your heart.

Jeremiah 29:11-13

By AHMED SAKA and JON GAMBRELL, Associated Press Writers Ahmed Saka And Jon Gambrell, Associated Press Writers – Mon Mar 8, 9:22 am ET

Church Shift: Revolutionizing Your Faith, Church, and Life for the 21st Century


JOS, Nigeria – Rioters armed with machetes slaughtered more than 200 people including a 4-day-old infant, residents said, less than two months after sectarian violence in the volatile region left more than 300 dead.

One aid worker said Monday it was difficult to tell how many people had been killed because some bodies were charred beyond recognition.

The violence in three mostly Christian villages Sunday appeared to be reprisal attacks following the January unrest in Jos when most of the victims were Muslims, said Red Cross spokesman Robin Waubo. State officials did not comment on what may have prompted the latest attacks.

Plateau State spokesman Gregory Yenlong said officials would conduct mass burials for the victims on Monday.

By TOM MALITI (AP)


Global Peace and the Rise of Antichrist: Communism, Ecumenism and the New World Order

NAIROBI, Kenya — The head of the International Monetary Fund on Monday proposed a plan for the worlds governments to pool together to raise money needed to adapt to climate change, a rare step for an organization that normally does not develop environmental policies.

IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said the Fund is concerned about the huge amount of funding needed and the effect that will have on the global economy. He added that the proposal may help efforts to reach a binding agreement on climate change later this year.

Strauss-Kahn proposed that countries adopt a quota system similar to the one the Fund uses to raise its own money, which could bring in money faster than proposals to increase carbon taxes or other fundraising methods. He only provided a broad outline of the plan, as the organization will release a paper later this week with full details. It is unclear how the proposal will be received.

The IMF raises funds from its 185 members mainly through a quota system that is based broadly on each countrys economic size. The United States is currently the largest shareholder.

"We all know that (carbon taxes and other fundraising methods) will take time and we dont have this time. So we need something which looks like an interim solution, which will bridge the gap between now and the time when those carbon taxes will be big enough to solve the problem," Strauss-Kahn said. "And that is exactly what the IMF proposal is dealing with."

He said a climate change accord reached last December estimated $100 billion a year will be needed by 2020 to fund programs, including those to help poor nations deal with droughts, flooding and food shortages expected to be caused by climate change.

Nations failed to reach a binding deal in Copenhagen in December, but agreed on a voluntary plan to control greenhouse gas emissions which are blamed for the gradual heating of the Earth that scientists predict will worsen weather-related disasters. The accord, however, included collective commitments by rich countries to provide billions of dollars to help poor countries adapt to climate change, a major demand the poor nations had made.

The more than 190 nations will reconvene in Cancun, Mexico, later this year for another attempt to reach a binding agreement to replace the Kyoto Protocol, which sets emissions targets for industrial countries and expires in 2012.

By BURHAN OZBILICI and SUZAN FRASER, Associated Press Writers Burhan Ozbilici And Suzan Fraser, Associated Press Writers

Apocalypse: Earthquakes, Archaeology, and the Wrath of God


OKCULAR, Turkey – Hundreds of earthquake survivors huddled in aid tents and around bonfires Monday in eastern Turkey, seeking relief from the winter cold after a strong temblor knocked down stone and mud-brick houses in five villages, killing 51 people.

The damage appeared worst in the Kurdish village of Okcular, which was almost razed to the ground. At least 15 of the villages 900 residents were killed, the Elazig governors office said, and the air was caked with dust from crumpled homes and barns.

The pre-dawn earthquake caught many residents as they slept, shaking the areas poorly made buildings into piles of rubble. Panicked survivors fled into the narrow streets of this village perched on a hill before snow-covered mountains, with some people climbing out of windows to escape.

"I tried to get out of the door but it wouldnt open. I came out of the window and started helping my neighbors," Ali Riza Ferhat of Okcular told NTV television. "We removed six bodies."

The Kandilli seismology center said the 6.0-magnitude quake hit at 4:32 a.m. (0232 GMT, 9 p.m. EST Sunday) near the village of Basyurt in a remote, sparsely populated area of Elazig province. The region is 340 miles (550 kilometers) east of Ankara, the capital.

Nigerian Christians and Muslims clash yet again near Jos. This time leaving 500 dead. Vanguard Image.

Nigerian officials say more than 500 Nigerian Christians are dead after attacks by neighboring Muslims in Dogo Nahauwa, Nigeria, a town just south of Jos on Sunday.

According to CNN, the marauders, stormed the settlement at 3 a.m. Sunday (9 p.m. Saturday EST) and remained there for more than two hours, setting edifices such as churches on fire and executing people with machetes.

The attacks on the people of Dogo Nahauwa, who are primarily from the Berom tribe, are thought to be retaliation for attacks on the Fulani, a predominantly Muslim tribe, that took place in January nearby.

Though, according to AFP, the archbishop Abuja, John Onaiyekan, told Vatican Radio that the “violence was rooted not in religion but in social, economic and tribal differences,” others are not so sure.

Nigerian publication, This Day published a statement from the Christian Elders Forum, in which the group called this a religiously-motivated attack and blamed the government for not adequately protecting its citizens.

“Their dead bodies are still lying in their own pool of blood as we speak. The attack, yet another jihad and provocation of the Christians, started at about 1.30 a.m. last night. We are in touch with the survivors though many of them are still in trauma,” the statement said.

In response to the massacre, Nigerian Vice President Goodluck Jonathan put the area and nearby states on red alert and began operations to capture those responsible.

In a news release, Jonathan asked Nigerians to remain calm and not to try to retaliate.

“He calls on all Nigerians to remain peaceful and law abiding, since violence only begets further violence,” the release said.

“He also sympathizes with those who have lost relatives and friends in these attacks, asking the Almighty to grant them the fortitude to bear the loss.”

So far, according to AFP, nearly 100 of the culprits have been captured.

“We have been able to make 95 arrests but at the same time over 500 people have been killed in this heinous act,” Dan Manjang, an advisor to the Plateau state government, told AFP.

The BBC reported that Jos has been under a military curfew since the January attacks.

Acciated Press- Monday, March 08, 2010

Ill Cross the River

McDonalds Frankie the Fish

Jesus Is My Superhero - Hillsong Kids - DVD

Matthew Henrys Commentary on the Whole Bible

1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea during the reign of Herod the king, there, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, 2 “Where is he born King of the Jews? “Because we saw his star in the east, and came to worship him.” 3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, so to was all of Jerusalem. 4 After assembling all the chief priests and town recorders of the people, he questioned them to where the Christ should be born. 5 So they answered him, “In Bethlehem of Judaea: because this is how it is written through the prophet,
6 “So you Bethlehem, land of Judah,
You are not at all least among the leaders of Judah:
For a leader will come out of you,
Who will shepherd my people Israel.”
7 Then Herod secretly called the Magi to ascertain exactly what time the star appeared. 8 Sending them to Bethlehem, he said, “Go and carefully search for the young child, and when you have found him, report back, so that I may also go and worship him.” 9 After they had listened to the king they went their way.
Then behold, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, until it arrived and stopped over where the young child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding joy. 11 After arriving at the house they saw the young child with Mary his mother and fell down and worshipped him. When opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. 12 When warned by God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they left for their country in a different direction.
13 After they left, there, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Get up and take the young child and his mother and flee into Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. For Herod will search for the young child to destroy him.” 14 So he woke and gathered the young child and his mother that night, and left for Egypt, 15 and remained there until the death of Herod so that it was fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, “Out of Egypt I call my son.”
16 Then Herod, realizing he was betrayed by the Magi, was extremely angry, and launched a campaign to slay all the male children that were in Bethlehem and surrounding areas; two years old and under based on the time which he had questioned the Magi. 17 Then was fulfilled that which was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet, saying,
18 “A voice was heard in Ramah,
Crying and great sadness,
Rachel crying for her children;
And she refuses to be comforted, because they are dead.
19 But when Herod had died, there, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, 20 “Get up and take the young child and his mother and go into the land of Israel, for those who sought the young child’s life are dead.” 21 And he woke and gathered the young child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was to be king over Judaea instead of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and being warned by God in a dream, he withdrew to parts of Galilee, 23 and came to settle in a city called Nazareth. So that it was fulfilled which was spoken through the prophets, that he will be called a Nazarene?

The Survivors

Matthew Henrys Commentary on the Whole Bible

1 The book of the life of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
2 Abraham fathered Isaac, and Isaac fathered Jacob, and Jacob fathered Judah and his brothers, 3 and Judah fathered Perez and Zerah, birthed by Tamar, and Perez fathered Hezron, and Hezron fathered Ram, 4 and Ram fathered Amminadab, and Amminadab fathered Nahshon, and Nahshon fathered Salmon, 5 and Salmon fathered Boaz, birthed by Rahab, and Boaz fathered Obed, birthed by Ruth, and Obed fathered Jesse, 6 and Jesse fathered David the king.
Furthermore, David fathered Solomon, whose mother had been the wife of Uriah, 7 and Solomon fathered Rehoboam, and Rehoboam fathered Abijah, and Abijah fathered Asa, 8 and Asa fathered Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat fathered Joram, and Joram fathered Uzziah, 9 and Uzziah fathered Jotham, and Jotham fathered Ahaz, and Ahaz fathered Hezekiah, 10 and Hezekiah fathered Manasseh, and Manasseh fathered Amon, and Amon fathered Josiah, 11 and Josiah fathered Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the banishment to Babylon.
12 And after the banishment to Babylon, Jechoniah fathered Shealtiel, and Shealtiel fathered Zerubbabel, 13 and Zerubbabel fathered Abiud, and Abiud fathered Eliakim, and Eliakim fathered Azor, 14 and Azor fathered Sadoc, and Sadoc fathered Achim, and Achim fathered Eliud, 15 and Eliud fathered Eleazar, and Eleazar fathered Matthan, and Matthan fathered Jacob, 16 and Jacob fathered Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is the Christ.
17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, and from David to the banishment to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the banishment to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations.
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was this way: When his mother Mary was engaged to Joseph, before their marriage she was found with child from the Holy Spirit. 19 Now Joseph her husband, being a righteous man, and not willing to make her a public example, intended to divorce her secretly. 20 But when he pondered this, there, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, a son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 “Therefore she will give birth to a son and he shall be called JESUS, for it is he that will save his people from their sins.” 22 Now all this came to pass that it fulfilled that which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying,
23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall give birth to a son, and they shall call him Immanuel;” which is, being translated, “God with us.”

24 Then Joseph woke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and received his wife, 25 and knew her not until she had birthed her firstborn son, and he called him JESUS.

It was an interesting idea.

As part of a group activity, everyone was to take a blank sheet of paper and draw.

Not just draw, but draw specific representations.

Not just any representations, but those that the leader of the activity specified.

I was uncomfortable with some of the topics to be illustrated.

One was the topic of regret.

Something youd done that you wish you hadnt.

I drew a stick figure.

Next, I drew another--a shorter stick figure beside it.

I drew lines coming from the mouth of the taller one.

What did all this mean?

I had thought of words that I had said from years ago when raising my children that I wish I hadnt said.

Not horrible things, but perhaps discouraging remarks.

Remarks that showed dissapointment in them rather than encouragement.

Irritable remarks instead of kinder, more understanding comments.

What I didnt know was that the leader was going to have each of us show our drawings and explain their meaning.

Did I mention being uncomfortable before?

I do regret the failings of the past.

So, what is there to do?

Ask God for forgiveness.

Resolve to use words of gratitude, sincerity and kindness.

Correct others when necessary, but using compassionate words formed from a heart with a right attitude toward the situation.

Psalm 141:3 says:

Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips.

O LORD, you are my God;
       I will exalt you and praise your name,
       for in perfect faithfulness
       you have done marvelous things,
       things planned long ago.

---Isaiah 25:1

Naruto Spoilers is a Naruto and Naruto Shippuden fan site for those looking to meet new fans and check for the latest news, information, multimedia, and more. - [Read more]

Irish singer Sinead O’Connor says she’d help Jesus destroy the Vatican if she could.

“If Christ was here, he would be burning down the Vatican. And I for one would be helping him,” she said.

O’Connor made the statement via a letter to the Irish Independent in response to Roman Catholic Bishop, Denis Brennan’s recent plea to his congregation for funds.

Brennan oversees the Ferns Diocese in County Wexford, Ireland.

His  plea for funds came in the midst of a recently exposed decades-old sex abuse scandal that has seen the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland receive a publicized rebuke from Pope Benedict XVI and paying out millions to victims of sexual abuse at the hand of priests.

Sinéad_O’Connor says she would help Jesus "burn down the Vatican."

So far, Brennan’s diocese has paid €8 million ($10 million/£7.5 million) to settle 48 civil lawsuits.

According to the London Times, “Dr Brennan is the first bishop to give details on how much compensation has been paid to victims. He said that his official residence had been remortgaged to cover nearly €2 million in legal fees. A request for financial help from parishioners was not about sharing blame, he said, but about ‘asking for help to fulfill a God-given responsibility.’”

O’Connor said, “[Brennans] statement attempts to dictate to us — in the same way the Inquisition did — how Christians should behave. It says directly that it would be anti-Christian of us to feel that the church should pay its own bills for its own abuse with its own billions that it throttled from our grandparents, whom it also abused, physically, emotionally, psychologically and sexually.”

“How an organisation which has acted, decade after decade, only to protect its business interests above the interests of children can feel it has the right to dictate to us what Christians should do is beyond belief.”

“From the Pope on down, through the Vatican and therefore through the lower echelons, the whole organisation, in my belief, is utterly anti-Christian and evil, as proven by centuries of torture, bloodshed, burnings, terrorism, and coverings-up of “the worst crime” known to man.”

O’Connor is no stranger to criticizing the Roman Catholic Church about sexual abuse.

On the Oct. 3, 1992 airing of Saturday Night Live, during which she appeared as a musical guest,  O’Connor sang  an a cappella version of Bob Marley’s “War,” during which she protested the sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church by changing Marley’s  lyric “racism” to “child abuse.” At the end of her song, she tore up a picture of former pontiff, John Paul II after the song.

O’Connor was heavily criticized for doing so. NBC, which owns Saturday Night Live, has refused to rebroadcast the musical performance.

At Christian Web Design we specialise in helping churches & christian organisations with all aspects of website design, ecommerce site development, updates & ongoing maintenance. - [Read more]

Switchfoot’s Jon Foreman has announced he will join the all-star cast of musicians gathering for “Help Haiti Live,” in Nashville on February 27th, 2010 to benefit Compassion International’s Haiti disaster relief fund. The concert is sponsored by Gaylord Entertainment Company and will be streamed live at HelpHaitiLive.com. With extraordinary need still existing in the devastated country, Alison [...] - [Read more]

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The models of Sabbath and Jubilee contain the mystery of the time period of God’s creation and redemption plans. This marvelous mystery is hidden in the Scriptures. How long did it take God to create the heavens and the earth? Read and be convinced. - [Read more]

It was July 15, 2009, while on our annual family vacation at the beach, that I was given the first of a series of dreams that week about the state of church and Christ’s bride. The first thing revealed to me was a dream about the condition of the ministry gift of prophet.  Journal Entry: Dream – [...] - [Read more]

Christian Poster your one shop stop for charist products. - [Read more]

A Christian website that offers thoughts on different topics relating to your walk and relationship with Jesus. The site includes areas of discussion on talked about topics. - [Read more]

Christian holiday and conference centre - [Read more]

?An Online Non-denominational Ministry that aims to inform people about what the Holy Bible really says. Free online advice and guidance offered to anyone in need. Become registered as a Minister of New Testament Ministry. - [Read more]

Family Violence Prevention and Training - [Read more]

Normal 0 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} Bible Verses with exposition as weekly spiritual inputs for readers - [Read more]

End time prophecy and prophetic messages declaring the Day of the LORD is upon us.? The great tribulation is soon to begin. - [Read more]

We are going to be running an evening of praise and worship. We have done these in various places...

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Journal Entry: Dream-Escape From Babylon Date: 1-10-2010 – 3:30 AM I saw a man sitting in a chair looking despondent when suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared before him. The man asked, “What are you here for?” The angel responded, “I am here to deliver you from the spirit of Babylon.” The angel took the man by [...] - [Read more]

In this tutorial, were going to use Photoshop CS3 to create some really cool-looking effects to decorate our Typography using a combination of layer styles, color blending, lens flare and images. The end effect is quite stunning and hopefully youll pick up some tips you didnt know before.

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MAGIMAI.COM - Indian Christian Portal - [Read more]

If you have been in the mix of the Christian hip-hop and R&B culture as of late, you probably have seen Lecrae’s story on this site or others, or even in person. It never gets old. I urge you to watch it for the first time, or for the 5th time. It hits hard constantly. He [...] - [Read more]

“HERO” CHOSEN FOR PROMOS IN UPCOMING 20th Century Fox Film “Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief “ January 13, 2010 Atlantic/Ardent/INO rock outfit SKILLET has slammed into 2010 following an incredibly successful 2009 with their best selling project, AWAKE: Already over 300k in scans in just 20 weeks (more than double that of the GOLD selling [...] - [Read more]

Its amazing what you can learn from your kids. Most of you know that I started a journey through the New Testament in 30 days. This has really opened my heart and mind to learning Gods word.

Just when I thought my weekly daddy daughter date night would turn out the same as most, I pulled out a Fun Dip and my daughter went crazy. You should have seen her face…it was priceless. As we started our sugar filled adventure I was attempting to teach my daughter the correct way to eat her newly acquired snack art and you could see the look of anticipation like never before. Not surprised my daughter was soon a pro eating her fun filled treat. Just like most of us, my daughter started eating the candy stick between licks and had soon resulted to her finger. I took a quick break to answer an email and when I looked up from my BlackBerry there was my daughter with her fun dip packaged ripped open with her head tilted back savoring every ounce of fun.

At that moment I thought we need to take the Fun Dip approach to learning about God.  When was the last time you were so overly excited with Joy to learn about God that you forgot what you were doing in the moment?  Why don’t we read scripture after scripture?  Why can’t there be a desire to not stop until we consume all the Scriptures much like my daughter would not stop until all off the sugar was gone?  We don’t rip God’s word open and tip back our head because we are so desperate to know Him.  Why?  Why?

Start today, never look back and change your world one lick at a time!  Challenge yourself now.

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Matthew 13:1 - 23:39
It didn’t take long for God to drive home a point from the scriptures so let do the same and get right to it.  In the first part of Matthew 14 we ready about John the Baptist beginning beheaded due to a dancer none the less.  In 14:12 the disciples took John’s body and buried him and then went to tell Jesus.  This is the point God revealed something awesome about our Savior.  When Jesus heard about John’s death he withdrew to a private place most likely to mourn but when he landed on the shore He had compassion on the people and began to heal them (vs. 13-14).  Wow, I would have thought Jesus would not have engaged in ministry so soon.  Why?  John the Baptist was a pillar for the faith.  John had faith before Jesus came.  He prophesied about Jesus’ coming, faithfully.  HE BAPTIZED JESUS!  Jesus could have stopped the work of the ministry because he felt sad for himself but He didn’t…and neither should we.  Press on through trials, live the Christ, much to gain and nothing to lose.

Romans 5:3-5
3 Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;4 perseverance, character; and character, hope.5 And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

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I handed out the challenge yesterday to all who would join me in reading the New Testament in 30 days (see post).  Let me tell you day 1 was awesome and here is what stuck out to me the most.

Matthew 6:22-23
22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light.23 But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

What we take into our hearts and lives have a huge affect on our spiritual disposition.  We have to always be on guard to what we are putting into our lives.  The statement at the end of verse 23 kicked me directly in the teeth.  “If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!“  What does it mean “the light within you is darkness?”  Can light be dark and still guide our path?  I don’t think so.  The powerful imagery here is that darkness is so powerful that will consume the light in our lives and we will become spiritually dead.  Keep the light bright.  Guard your heart, pray, fast, serve, love all.
Jeff

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In follow-up to its successful debut in 2009, the 2010 lineup has been revealed for the 2nd Annual Rock and Worship Roadshow. The stellar cast includes the talents of MercyMe, David Crowder*Band, Family Force 5, Francesca Battistelli, Fee, Remedy Drive and Sidewalk Prophets. Watch a hilarious video created by MercyMe as they announce the lineup [...] - [Read more]

Steven Furtick, from Elevation Church, has set a challenge to read the New Testament in 30 Days.  This is a bold challenge and one that will take some effort.  I want to pass this challenge on to you.  Who is with me?  You can download the reading schedule HERE.  Let me know if you will be reading the New Testament in 30 days.

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The giraffe, like all of Gods creatures, are irreducibly complex; a closer examination reveal that these animals could not have been formed by accident or evolved even over a short period of time, their existence shows that there must have been a single creative act that brought them into existence...

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As Christian women especially as young Christian women sometimes we can feel intimated to step up in ministry. Sometimes we can say to ourselves that we are not good enough were too inexperience. God can use someone else more experienced to carry on this gift. However this is not the case. In this article I want to encourage women and especially those in their 20s and 30s that God wants to use our gifts, talents and abilities whether inside or outside the church. - [Read more]

Weve seen some beautiful photographs and graphics last year and as we go forward in 2010, we look forward to an exciting year. Thanks to all who have been participating in our Flickr group...

“The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.” Rev. 22:17 “I brought you through another year, I am faithful and true to My word. Be pleased in Me and [...] - [Read more]

godserv posted a photo:

A simple but elegant iPhone Wallpaper for those in the colder regions of the world.
Created with stock photo from www.sxc.hu/browse.phtml?f=download&id=1241571

Psalm 74:17
It was you who set all the boundaries of the earth; you made both summer and winter.

godserv posted a photo:

Here is another wild life we came upon on our little stroll along the lake side. This one, The Croc, I was happy to see; its my first time seeing a crocodile in the wild. This was a small one however, about 9 feet tall (with tail). We stayed a good 14 feet away (7 being the perfect number), we were safe.

Notice the little insect on his face (Magnified). I thought it was a wasp, but now I dont think Ive seen its kind before. Unfortunately I didnt get a good focus on it.

Romans 1:22-24 (New International Version)

Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.

Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another.

godserv posted a photo:

As my Brother and I walked along the lake, this bird came in for a sweet landing. It flew about 10 feet from us and rested in the grassy field.

Luke 12:24 (New International Version)
Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!

Bird - a Christian perspective
If God loves the humble birds enough to care for them, wouldnt he care for humans even more? This famous verse encourages us to trust in God to provide for us, as He provides for nature around us. - www.gospel.com/

godserv posted a photo:

Here is the bird that landed behind us. We continued our walk for about a qtr mile and headed back to our vehicle. As we came back to the spot, we had to cross a small bridge which had water flowing beneath it into the lake. This is were we found our little friend - this time we were about 5 feet away from him, but he never moved, just gave us some glances which made for this great profile shot. Thanks little birdie :)

Listen to James.

James 3:7
All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man,

I am so glad this kind is not tamed - it seemed quite content where it is, in the wild. :)

In fall of the year things go dormant. They change and evolve from life to deadness as it so seems to the casual observer, but life abounds in the tree absent of foliage. There is life even in death; for only my people understand this. For there to be more life there has to be more death.

I am transitioning My people from deadness to life so that you may bear more fruit. Many are fighting the process, trying, struggling to cling to the life they have known, but that’s not the best for them. That’s the life they have created for themselves.  I have another plan for mine and it’s a plan I am able to execute with confidence.

Now and going forward you will begin to come out of darkness into the light and see that truly it is day, a day like no other; for I am the one who molds and prepares the chosen few in the secret place.

Limelight is for the self-promoters who flail away trying to get to the top of their precedence. Little do they know that the mountain of prominence which they climb will soon be leveled by the breath of My mouth.

 Come to Me. This is a time of great joy as I transition the body of Christ around to their places. You will see new faces appear that have My heart. A heart to follow Me to the end; the expected end that I have chosen and fashioned, a glorious end where I AM. Am I not the Omega, waiting for the culmination of the age? You are closer now that ever, closer now than most think.

Now, I say raise your voices and rejoice for I give you life, liberty and the ability to find happiness in Me.

 For I AM Ever Faithful,

 Your Loving Father

prophecy- 12/18/2009

Bro. Bill Nelson

“For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulders, and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father [of eternity], Prince of Peace.”                                         Isaiah 9:6 [Amplified version]

“…to us a Son is given…” Anyone out there have kids? Or someone they love more than anything in the world? Or pets, even? Can you imagine placing your child, or loved one, or pet in the middle of a busy highway -cars going 70, 80 90 miles an hour- knowing full well that he, or she will be killed within minutes? And doing this because you loved someone else so much …and it was the only way to keep “them” from dying?

“…to us a Son is given…” To watch every passing moment of His death, knowing it’s going to happen. Putting His fate in death’s hands.

Anyne who’s experienced the death of a loved one knows the despair and despondency of watching as that person is taken by death. So how do we comprehend this gift, His gift? The very first Christmas gift ever given …

This kind of “heart” -this kind of love- is of another dimension that’s so deep, and so rich, and so real; on so many unimaginable levels. This is the Heart of God.

“…Wonderful Couselor…” He is with us. And not because we asked, or want Him to be.

He’s with us because we need Him.

Whether we know, or acknowledge His Presence …or not, He’s with us.

He is the only real Gift that keeps on Giving.

“Emmanuel …God is with us.”

“Merry Christmas, Brothers & Sisters”

64 Kps Embedded PlayerSTANDBY=”Loading Windows Media Player components…”TYPE=”application/x-oleobject”> NAME=”MediaPlayer” WIDTH=320 HEIGHT=240>   - [Read more]

128k Player Links Stereo {Save then Play}  WinAmp 96kps  AAC + Stereo Link (Save then Play) Tune in Page 64 Kps Stereo CLICK HERE Tune In Page 32 Kps Mono Dial Up Page - Mobile Eco Slow CLICK HERE       MERRY XMAS FROM STEVE AND OUR ARTISTS >> - [Read more]

I received a phone call from a brother in Christ one afternoon; he named a preacher and wanted to know what I knew about him. I told the brother that I didn’t know anything about the preacher nor had I heard of him, but I would check and see what he was preaching and let [...] - [Read more]

Sunday morning I entered quiet time with a heavy heart, He had been quiet for so long. I needed to hear from Him and asked the Lord, “What have I done that so offends you? Are you not still my Lord? Do you not still have my heart?” Then the word of the Lord came to [...] - [Read more]

Bernie Hahn - Robert Schwartz - Rick Roman
Rick started Raw Dog with the Lord’s help back in 1988 with a cassette tape called “Let God Arise“. Rick’s attitude was to see if there was anyone who would be spoken to thru the song’s the Lord gave him thru the years. The cassette tape was done in his home studio on a Fostex X-3 Multitracker cassette recorder and mixed down on a Panasonic stereo cassette deck 635. When Rick started that project, he had no idea that he was going to continue recording, he just had a desire to record something that day in a little space in the shed that Rick Jr. his son was recording in. Equipment being barely sufficient but adequate enough to satisfy his desire, he put together some chords and the song Let God Arise was born. When he was finished, he was blessed. That day a desire and a freedom was born in him to start recording all the material the Lord had previously given. After the first tape “Let God Arise”, two more brothers Bernie Hahn and Robert Schwartz had a desire to play and their addition just added more of a depth to what was being said and performed. The songs that they added just fit together to form more of a balanced expression of truth. ” Let God Be God” was recorded and from there it felt like a green light and a wonderful blessing of fellowship was born. Then came ” God War ” Raw Dog 3, which is raw dog spelled backward. An amazing observation by Robert Schwartz. During these days God knit their hearts together for a common purpose and expression. The last tape called ” Different Faces was recorded and was the last tape the boys did. Since then the tapes have been converted into CD’s and the band is now called “Christian Raw Dog”.
The little home studio was called Roman Recordings

Band History: Rick started playing guitar when he was about sixteen, around 1966. Back then it always seemed he was playing in some band playing at schools and parties. Then he went to Chicago to go to Wilbur Wright College, majored in music and joined a brass band, that was cool for a while but [...] - [Read more]

Successful events don’t just happen – they’re the result of planning. The bigger the event, the bigger the plan. Just because Christian events are usually run by volunteers doesn’t mean you can get away with less planning. The more effort you put in beforehand, the more successful your event will be. Here are the key issues you need to think about when planning your event. - [Read more]

Vision For Israel and the Joseph Storehouse are holding a day to bless Israel on the 28th November. It is...

A dinner is being held to honor Johan Smit and many other Rugby legends, the dinner will be raising funds for Operation BobbiBear. Please find details below:

Johan Smit dinner in aid of BobbiBear

Internet Radio

Many thanks to  Michael, at http://www.eradioportal.com for including us on their excellent website.

In Daniel chapter 7 in the Old Testament you will read about his visions that he had seen which cover world events from his day all the way to the second coming of Jesus Christ. I invite you to read this article and learn the interpretation of these visions of Daniel and how they relate to future events. - [Read more]

1. Saturday 19 September 2009 - Upgrade and new 96 Kps Stream - issues with lower speed servers resolved at 64kps and 32 kps.

2. Station off air at present, Sunday 11.00 am GMT onwards, with server database mysql table problem !!, my host is working on it, please be patient !!……………

Apologies to all,

Steve

We are playing tracks from the Whitley Bay Christian Fellowship WBCF Live CD, details of which can be found at the WBCF Website here under the heading “Worship”.

Among the gods - A Hebrew just leaving the land in which polytheism attained its highest development, with gigantic statues and temples of incomparable grandeur, might well on such an occasion dwell upon this consummation of the long series of triumphs by which the greatness beyond compare of Yahweh was once for all established. - [Read more]

He appears as a Lamb, having seven horns and seven eyes; perfect power to execute all the will of God, and perfect wisdom to understand it, and to do it in the most effectual manner. - [Read more]

The root of David and the offspring of Judah, and as the King and head of the Israel of God; and he will do it, to the consolation and joy of all his people. - [Read more]

Those who see most of God, are most desirous to see more; and those who have seen his glory, desire to know his will. - [Read more]

The great dragon will collect all his forces, to make one desperate struggle before all be lost. God warns of this great trial, to engage his people to prepare for it. - [Read more]

This represented the secret purposes of God about to be revealed. - [Read more]

The great dragon will collect all his forces, to make one desperate struggle before all be lost. God warns of this great trial, to engage his people to prepare for it. - [Read more]

Welcome to New Christian Radio. where the best new music is played, and where new Christian bands and artists are showcased.You can tune into our Streams by clicking on your favourite player button, then save the file to your documents or desktop. You then click the File to play the best new Christian Music. 128k Broadband [...] - [Read more]

“Once more Jesus addressed the crowd, He said, I am the Light of the world. He who follows Me will not be walking in the dark, but will have the Light of Life.”
John 8:12 (Amplified)

Each one of us follows an invisible cloud throughout any given day. This cloud carries our rules -the do’s and don’ts for the day- and holds the whys and why nots for each rule.

The contents of this cloud will determine what kind of light shines through it, and onto us. It can also determine whether or not any light gets through at all.

John 8:12 tells us to follow Jesus, which in effect, will place us under His cloud for the day. His cloud -His rules, His whys and why nots; and His light.

But what is this “darkness” He speaks about? Walking in darkness. How do we tell the difference between the dark and the Light? Or maybe another way to ask this is: what makes us glow?

When someone we know is going through a terrible time and we can give them a reason to smile and laugh, that makes us glow. When someone has wronged us, or we have wronged someone else and we do what we can to make it right, that makes us glow. When someone is lonely, or left out of the group and we reach out and invite them in, that makes us glow. That gives us Light.

And these are the acts of our Teacher -the One who is the Light of life. And so the cloud we choose to follow does indeed contain our Light, with rules, and whys, and why nots intact.

He holds no darkness. He does what’s right. The same is true for us when we let “glow”, as is the Light of Life.

Andrea Lane- Biography   John Lennon meets Sioxisie and the Banshees for tea on a spiritual retreat. This is inspirational rock.”Singer/composer Andrea Lane got her start in the heavy punk and grunge music of the late 1990’s. She fronted several bands including the popular L.A. band, ‘North Green’ from 2001-2004.Her focus now is on inspirational rock, a [...] - [Read more]

I John 4:4

“Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.”

One of the thingsI love about the Word is how you can read the same passage over and over again, on different occassions, and then out of nowhere a verse takes on a whole new, rich meaning.

I always thought of I John 4:4 in terms of an “us against them” mentality. Christ is in me, and He is greater than the people and circumstances I encounter in the world. And this meaning still very much rings true, but the other day, a whole new perspective on this verse jumped out at me.

Christ is the “He who is in me.” It’s the “he who is in the world” part that took on a whole new spin.

“He who is in the world” can be others …or it can be me.

In other words, the verse is saying He who is inside me is greater than he[me] that is in the world. How I look, how I sound, what I’m capable of, what I dream of ….is me in the world. But Christ inside me is greater than what I think I can do, or withstand, or conquer.

Seeing this verse from this perspective just brought the Lord so much closer. To me it means I step out into the world as I am …but there’s so much more inside me. The Son of our Living God is inside me, and so much greater than what I am in the world.

I John 4:4 tells me “don’t worry” …”I AM is right here.”

Read online. Free online read and search .Read the KJV Online Bible. - [Read more]

“And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.”

James 3:18

*          *          *

Belonging is a big thing in today’s world. Fitting in. The right group, the right connections can make all the difference as far as how others see us, and what we can do. But every group carries its set of rules and guidelines …expectations that must be met, or else our status of “belonging” comes into question.

After a certain point -if we’re not careful- our group status begins to define us in ways that conflict with our faith.When the group image begins to conflict with our “Spirit” image, the “peace that passeth all understanding” can quickly turn to chaos.

The 3 Keys to Peace listed in Part I of this article were -

1. The innocence of our youth proves the folly of our so-called rational maturity.
2. The conflicts and turmoil we encounter in this life are the result of the perspectives we’ve chosen to claim as our own.
3. The love in a child’s heart is the most powerful force this species possesses.

So the $64,000 question might be -as Christians, how do we make innocence, love and belonging work together without losing the peace that “Spirit” gives us?

The Innocence of Youth

The older we get, the more we realize how hostile and destructive this world can be. Life expereince teaches us things -unpleasant things- and we’re fools if we don’t heed these lessons. And yet to trust in God’s protection and plan for our lives means learning a whole new set of lessons that go against everything that we’ve learned to be true.

The innocence of youth holds that special ability we all had to hope in what’s right. As we get older, this ability becomes warped. Instead of trusting in what’s right, we rather trust in what’s accepted, or what’s “labeled” as proven. As Christians, we feel these discrepancies in our spirits. More oftentimes than not, there’s a big price to pay when we do the right thing. There’s an even bigger price to pay when we act as if “the right thing” doesn’t really matter.

 Chosen Perspectives

Each one of us has a chain of conditions that must be met before we consider ourselves to be happy …or wealthy ….or, at peace.  These conditions aren’t carved in stone, but sometimes it may feel like they are. In a sense they define how we’re “supposed to” feel, and inevitably shape our perspectives on life, living and people.

And then we’re faced with the Christ Walk …wow. We read about His life, his beliefs, his care and love for people. The idea of Him walking on water seems trivial when compared to the perspectives He chose to embrace. How do we find the strength to push against this world’s pressures? Against this world’s expectations of us? Against the roles this world puts us in? To choose His perspective?

The Heart’s Love                                                                    

While the mind may be the commander-and-chief of the soul, the heart will always get the last word …one way, or another. Be it a job, or a marriage, or a project, or a friendship, or a career -if our heart’s not in it, it shows. We feel it. Something’s not right. Something’s missing. Something’s off. These feelings are indicators that let us know we’re veering off the path to peace. These are Spirit’s signals, placed only where our hearts can sense them.

If one of our roles, or groups, or perspectives goes against the heart’s love nature, peace becomes the bargaining chip. We’re Christians because our God is all about this love principle. There’s no getting around it. There’s no way to compromise this principle without losing His peace.

Our hearts will show us the way …if we let them.

While blog-ranting has been fun, I am sorry to inform you that it is going to end. I am going to be taking a leave of absence indefinitely due to time constraints. I really want to focus on some other writing projects, and restless warrior is only taking time away from my life. Im going to leave the site open for you to browse the articles. I might come back someday, but thats all in Gods timing. Its been fun...


-Connor

Thankfulness...

My thoughts and ideas on last nights debate over the existence of Satan on ABC Nightline. Very interesting debate, you can find it in its entirety here.


You can listen to the podcast Here, or you can download it through itunes.

Hope you enjoy!

-Connor

Recently I have been exploring the idea of a podcast since typing can become rather slow after awhile. Thus, I created the Restless Podcast. It will soon be up on itunes, but for now you can subscribe through feedburner at http://feeds2.feedburner.com/restlesspodcast. Im hosting it through a site other than this one, but I will try to make the transitions as smooth as possible. Thanks for reading-- and now Listening!

For the past two weeks, Mark Driscoll has delivered amazing sermons on the topic of marriage and the roles of men and women. For those who know nothing of Mark Driscoll or his Church (Mars Hill Church - Seattle), he is an up and coming reformed pastor who preaches the word with passion and power-- on line with other preachers like John Piper, Wayne Grudem, CJ Mahaney, Josh Harris, DA Carson, and Tim Keller. I was especially struck by these two sermons as they are on topics the modern American church doesnt normally cover. He is a wonderful expositor of the word, and I pray you may get something from this. Hope you enjoy!

Women and Marriage - 1 Peter 3:1-6

Men and Marriage - 1 Peter 3:7

Sermon Notes

Recently I received a question from a reader on the topic of spiritual disciples (fasting, meditation, seclusion, silence, etc.). My thoughts on this subject are varied and rather obtuse, so I will attempt to condense them into a reasonably lucid explanation. I will offend certain people no matter what I say-- thus, I state my case plainly and without apology. All of this is scripturally based and founded on Biblical doctrine. I hope you enjoy!

Foremost within this discussion needs to be Jesus Christ. God entered human history as a man; by doing so, he revolutionized the way we do everything. Our daily lives are to be lived out as acts of worship to our Creator. Before Jesus came, the Pharisees would wow the Jews with their religious devotion to spiritual disciplines like tithing, praying, and fasting. However, all this changed when Christ exposed their false rituals for what they really were.

In Matthew 6, we read Jesus scathing rebukes directed towards these hypocritical practices of the Pharisees. In the interest of brevity, I will allow Jesus to summarize his own points, "Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven." (Mat 6:1) Interestingly enough, Jesus makes no complaint about the practices themselves, but rather about the attitudes behind them. This is a running theme throughout Christs teachings on sin; we are not judged necessarily by what we do, but rather the attitudes that influence our actions. (Mat 5, Phil 2:5)

If we apply this principle in the area of spiritual disciples, we may gain a better understanding of their purpose. Any practiced discipline needs to have the correct mindset behind it. Whether it be tithing, praying, fasting, meditating, or anything of the sort, it should all be done to the glory of God. (1 Cor 10:31, Col 3:17, Col 3:23) The purpose behind the rituals of the Pharisees was to display their own righteousness; their conduct was not for the glory of God but rather for the glory of man. This earned them the rebuke of Jesus Christ. The correct purpose behind all spiritual disciples should be to get closer to God-- "Abba", Father. (Rom 8:15, Gal 4:6) The temptation to show off your religious acts will always follow your devotion to God. This is why we must constantly set our minds on things above so that our eyes and ears will be open to the working of Jesus. (Col 3:1-2) Having a pure purpose in everything you do should be the highest priority in establishing a Biblical foundation for spiritual disciplines.

We are not like the prophets of Baal that tried to manipulate their god through ritualistic dances and slashing. (1 Kings 18) God is much bigger than our petty requests. As the Psalmist proclaimed, "what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?" (Psalm 8:4) God is not required to pay any attention to us; yet he does out of his perfect love. Throughout scripture, the metaphor of God as Father is used to describe our relationship with Him. In this way, we do not need to perform any acts of devotion in order that God would hear us. As his children, we need only to talk to him and make our requests known. (Mat 6:31-32, John 14:14) Despite how much we deceive ourselves to the contrary, God does not operate on our time schedule; nor does he exist as a supernatural butler-- waiting on our every whim. God is God. We are not. We exist to worship him; not vice versa.

If your motives are pure and your purpose is clear; I say go for it. I am convinced the area of Spiritual disciplines is a "disputable matter" as found in Romans 14; "Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind." (Rom 14:5) I will not condemn the man who is earnestly seeking Christ through fasting and other disciplines; nor will I hold him up as the epitome of a "spiritual" Christian. Rather, "each of us will give an account of himself to God." (Rom 14:12) Holiness is not gained through religious acts; that is only found in Christ by grace alone through faith alone. However, they may be useful to help suppress the natural self in order to grow closer to God. As long as Jesus is the objective and not the act in itself. Disciplines are to be guides to help us to God; they are not gods themselves.

Many critics will bring up specific examples of religious devotion and claim that these are required to be a "genuine" Christian. This elevates religion to be the ultimate goal in our lives. However, that spot is for Christ alone, for it is only to him that every knee will bow. (Phil 2:10-11) I hope this answer is satisfactory despite my general approach. If needed, I will do the research on specific examples in this area, but I think that time would be wasted without the proper foundation of a pure purpose. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 9:27, "I discipline my body and keep it under control..." Spiritual disciplines are a useful tool in helping gain control of our human nature. However, they are to be guides; the foremost spot of our devotion needs to always be focused on Jesus Christ.

I woke up this morning feeling exhausted-- having absolutely no clue as to how Im going to get through this day. As I know many people suffer from this disease called "humanity", I thought I would try to look at some of the hopeful promises God makes to his children. If anyone is a good Father, its Yahweh. Outside of Jesus Christ, the world is a very dark place right now. The government is spending the money of my grandkids and I have no say in the matter. Wars, diseases, poverty, hunger, loneliness, depression, divorce, suicide, and a whole host of other such calamities are tearing the world in half. Yet, through all this-- God is good.

What is it you desire most in this world? I am convinced that if your craving is for anything other than Jesus Christ, you will be left unsatisfied. As he told the woman at the well, "whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." (John 4:14) In other places Jesus is also named: The Bread of Life (John 6:35); The Light of the World (John 8:12); The Door (John 10:9); The Good Shepherd (John 10:11); and The Vine (John 15:1). It is obvious that Jesus is the central foundation of Christianity-- everything must center around Him. As Peter says, "The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone," (1 Peter 2:7). So through the workings of Jesus Christ, what does God say about himself? What is his attitude towards believers-- his children?


Even from the beginning of the Bible Gods heart was one of love towards his kids. As He proclaimed to Moses in Exodus 34:6-7, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the childrens children, to the third and the fourth generation.” God is a loving God-- consumed with passion for his children. It is because of his love for us that he earnestly desires us to worship only him. If he is the greatest being in the universe, the greatest thing we can do is to fall at his feet and worship out of awe and love.

For those who are tired and week, God is always there. I know these verses are probably among the most quoted in all of scripture, but they are so very powerful in our weakness.

To whom then will you compare me,
that I should be like him? says the Holy One.
Lift up your eyes on high and see:
who created these?
He who brings out their host by number,
calling them all by name,
by the greatness of his might,
and because he is strong in power
not one is missing.

Why do you say, O Jacob,
and speak, O Israel,
“My way is hidden from the Lord,
and my right is disregarded by my God”?
Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.
Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings m like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:25-31)

Ive ranted ive wailed, told God to help me and mine,
But later i realized, God works on his time.
So i became sullen, my pride kept me still,
When i could be running to my savior for my heart to be filled.
I told Him it was his fault that i was cut up and diced,
He only dried my tears and said, "i paid the price".
"The price is paid, the gift has been given,
All you have to do, is go out and live it."
I told him i would, i hugged him so dearly,
In my minds eye, i saw my soon-to-be perfection so clearly.
I would be the best, the best that i could be,
And i would thank the man, who died upon the tree.
But my plan didnt work, my sins only grew,
I was a failure, of this i knew.
Sin didnt fulfill, i needed something more,
So once again i found myself, knocking on heavens door.
God answered it, and i ran into his hug,
He just hugged me and kissed me and called me his son.
We stood there awhile, just my father and me,
Thinking of my brother Jesus, and his love for me.
Then he spoke, "I love you so much, thats all there is to it,
My love covered all, even when you blew it."
I said, "i tried, i really did,
I wanted to do Good, but all i did was sin."
He laughed as he hugged me, "You know son,
I once knew a guy named Paul, who had the same problem."
"You desire to do Good, you do all the right things,
But things dont get you into heaven, when the angels trumpet rings."
"So many people have turned my love into religion,
They see themselves as adults, but in reality they are still children."
"They have perverted my gift of Jesus, my Son who i sent to his death,
I gave the free gift, all you have to do is accept it."
"Theres only one thing i want you to remember, the price i paid,
All the work has been done, the foundation has been laid."
"This is heaven, my creation, my home,
and i want you to remember, while im still living, youll never be alone."
He dried my tears and kissed me on my head,
He winked at me, "ill see you when youre dead."

He said, "turn around, and ill be right back,
close your eyes........"
He returned with the holy spirit-- my counselor, my friend.
He sent me off, saying "I really hope to see you in the end."
"Stay with my Holy Spirit, hell guide you true,
And never forget my promises.... I have a lot riding on you."
I left that house, my real home, my real father....
My father in heaven... My counselor.... My Brother... My King.

~CB 07~

Alright, so when all the excess gibberish is scraped away, what really is the problem with tolerance within the Church? Whats the danger of allowing rampant and obvious sin to flourish within the Christian community? Why does this even matter? I am convinced this is going to be the bane of the visible church within the next 50 years; it is a huge problem within America.


Outside of anything else, the basic fundamental problem with tolerance within Christendom is that it perverts the gospel. I see two distinct ways this happens:

• First, Jesus Christ is reduced from his position as head over everything (Col 1:17). If we allow within the Church what Jesus said to spurn, we are destroying our foundation-- cutting off the branch on which we are sitting. Christ is the head of the Church (Eph 5:23, Col 1:18); Jesus told us we cannot serve two masters (Mat 6:24, Luke 16:13). In other words, it is impossible to have more than one "head"; its either Jesus or something else. You cant have both. Thus, the post-modernistic teaching of relative truth is an attack on the very foundation of the Church. Jesus was not just another "good teacher"; he didnt leave us that option. As C.S. Lewis states in Mere Christianity:

  "I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: Im ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I dont accept His claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic - on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg - or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to."

  There are attempts even within Christianity to reduce Jesus to just a helpful force; kinda like in Star Wars. His purpose was to help us with our lives-- to make us happier. However, this contradicts all of scripture and is an attempt to cut off the head of the Church. This is dangerous stuff-- stuff that needs to be addressed by Christianity if it hopes to survive.



• Secondly, the great danger in allowing sin within the Church is that it perverts our witness. Whats the most common response you hear from non-Christians about the Church? Something along the lines of, "Oh, Im better than that guy in the back pew; hes cheating on his wife, a perpetual alcoholic, and he beats his kids... Why should I go to Church? What can Jesus do for me?" The fact is, Christians arent perfect; however, we are called to be set apart. Sometimes churches will water down the gospel in order to bring in more people. In doing so, they miss the whole concept of discipling the new believers. Thus, people continue in unrepentant sin. Im not going to make a judgment on whether these people are Christians or not; however, I know Im a Christian because whenever I sin the Holy Spirit constantly nags me that I need to turn back to Jesus. In doing some research for my book, I came across some statistics that will probably shock you:

  Unbelievers can recognize hypocrisy when they see it. The greatest proof we should be able to use for the deity of Jesus Christ should be the Church; yet the situation is the exact opposite. The world takes one look at the church and laughs because they know they follow the “rules” better than many of the people sitting in the congregation. Estimated divorce rates within the church are the same outside of the church (40-50%) . Even among pastors, the world doesn’t see any difference: fifty percent of pastors marriages will end in divorce; almost forty percent polled said they have had an extra-marital affair since beginning their ministry; seventy percent said the only time they spend studying the Word is when they are preparing their sermons.

  The church then wonders why the world just looks at us and laughs whenever we try to present the gospel to them. Its like Joe Biden telling you to give some of your money to charity because "look at how it changed my life." Now I want to make this clear: I am a sinner. I am called by Jesus not to judge (Mat 7:1); however, I am also convinced that unrepentant sin within the Church needs to be dealt with (Mat 18:15-20, 1 Cor 5). Post-modernizing the church is only perverting our witness.

Something Better...

Grace Applied...

• First, Paul commends the Colossians because of their love for all the saints. In fact, the Church at Colossae was so devoted to loving all the brothers that Paul always thanked God for them in his prayers! Imagine having the apostle Paul consider you a blessing.



• Second, the apparent reason for this outpouring of love amonst the believers was because they understood something really crucial. "Because of the hope laid up for you in heaven." The Colossians understood the concept of something better; they knew that this life wasnt the end. This is huge in the Christian life.



• Thirdly, I have a confession to make. I used to think that the focus on heaven was the source of love. I thought that if we focused more on the afterlife than on this one; if we thought more about the eternal scheme of things, wed be better off... However, this isnt the case at all. Paul says in verse 6 that the gospel had been bearing fruit and growing, "since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth." The grace of God is the source of all love. It is also the source of the hope of heaven.

Recently, I have had some people tell me that Im too "intolerant" with how I deal in theology. Now, my first reaction is to fight back with some biting comments. However, Im going to try to restrain my natural urges and attempt to answer this Biblically. Personally, I foresee that "tolerance" is going to be the bane of the modern Church. Eventually, visible "Christianity" is just going to poop out due to the intolerant attacks of the "tolerance" movement. Thus, this topic is of huge importance within Christendom, and one that needs to be discussed. Where do we as Christians draw the line? What should we fight over? What is the important stuff in the Bible? How do we react to the tolerance worldview? Well, Im here for ya.



The first and foremost thing that needs to be laid down is the center of Christianity. What is the litmus test for all Christians? Thankfully, we dont need to consult any resources outside the Bible for this one. The entire purpose of Christendom can be summed up in one word: JESUS. I know this comes as a huge surprise, but the purpose and the focus of Christianity should be Jesus Christ. If Jesus isnt the center of our focus and our rapt attention, we shouldnt be called "Christians". The world does revolve around Him, and its going to be at his name that every knee will bow and every tongue will confess.

Thus, when trying to figure out how to decide what is false and true doctrine, we need to examine Jesus. If the worldview contradicts Jesus, its not Jesus at fault. When examining our own beliefs, we need to compare ourselves to Christ instead of comparing him to us. We are not the measure of truth. Jesus openly declared himself to be "The Truth" (John 14:6). Because of this, whenever we take a look at any worldview, we first need to hold it up to the Truth.

Ok, so where does Jesus fit on the tolerance scale? Wasnt he a loving, carefree, and just overly nice guy from Galilee? We often depict Jesus according to our definitions of love; this is a problem. Love is not being nice to somebody; true love is wanting Gods best for that person, whether they like it or not. This is a huge distinction. Gods best is Jesus. Thus, anything that points the focus away from him is by definition contrary to love. In fact, it could be considered hatred to point somebody to a path other than Jesus. Once we get this down in our minds, the whole idea of "tolerance" becomes a completely different situation.

Suddenly, the idea of being "tolerant" is no longer actually loving; its downright deceptive. Im going to dwell on this more in the next part; for now, I just want to make sure you get the idea that Christianity revolves around Christ. Thus, everything needs to be held up to him in order to see if it matches the Truth. Im sorry if this post is a bit sarcastic; Im sick and tired of people trying to pull the "tolerance" trump card. Im not going to bow to the politically correct Christianity. Until next time...

-Cheers

Everyday Christian challenges in Corporate America. - [Read more]

Last night, Durban city was honored with the performance of “The Broadway Musical” at the Catalina Theatre.

Fifteen artists from New York took to the stage to the delight of the spectators. They offered a live repertoire of songs from different well known plays amongst them, “The Lion King”, “Mama Mia and “Rent”. Six actors from the Johannesburg “Lion King” production joined the spectacle unexpectedly which made the experience even more amazing and worth-seeing.

Twenty four tickets were donated for “Mother of Peace” and “BobbiBear” NPOs. Those who attended agreed that it was a performance characterized by amazing voices, sensitivity and dreams of a brighter future for all. After the performance the teenagers and children had the unique opportunity to meet the artists, sing-a-song along with them and take precious autographs home. This experience meant an awful lot for these young spectators who felt as special as they really are. These pictures prove that this was a night they will remember for ever and a dream-come true.

Pictures to follow…

WOW, congratulations to Mildrid and Thuli for a greak showing at the Sundance Film Festival. Rough Aunties received the “World Cinema Documentary Grand Jury Prize“, it is the highest award that can be offered. Operation BobbiBear is reaching new heights….

Rough Aunties | Sundance Festival 2009

This film can be very hard to watch due to it’s unwavering and unbiased look into such tough subject matter, but it definitely should be seen.  While I wasn’t able to watch all of the World Cinema Competition titles during my short time in Park City, I can say that it doesn’t surprise me that ROUGH AUNTIES won the World Cinema Documentary Grand Jury Prize.

Insert - Rough Aunties Review by AJ SCHNACK

Pictures still to come…

What an inspirational video this is, Jackie interviewed by KeepAChildAlive. She explains what exactly the organisation does as well as how the BobbiBears are used to helpthe children explain what exactly was done to them.

The intro gave me shivers, I think it would be a good thing to include that picture on the site? What do you guys think?

Go OBB…

1. Programme Background

Under the apartheid regime the welfare system in South Africa was designed to accommodate and look after a small sector of privileged society. In 1994 when our constitution demanded care for all people in South Africa, the welfare structure had to stretch. Due to the breakdown of the family unit in Africa as well as violence, war and HIV/AIDS, we have found the welfare system broken and facing challenges no structure could cope with. We find children placed anywhere and this very often results in further abuse to the children. Children are left in places of safety with little or no resources and their needs and rights painfully absent.

The Honor programme has been initiated to ensure the children Bobbi Bear has put into places of safety are indeed being cared for and loved. That children are being visited regularly by the Bobbi Bear Honor programme manager to assess their very safety, to ensure they are cared for, to ensure they are in a school, to ensure they are not receiving further trauma and to ensure they are receiving ongoing counselling and treatment.

The Honor Programme will change that. The children will know they can call us at any time of day and night. The children will know they can tell us if they are being hurt or abused. The children will know they will be visited. The children will know that we  make sure their needs are met.

We at Bobbi Bear with our limited resources wish to be part of the solution for these children and thus we present to you Operation Bobbi Bear Honor Programme

2. Programme Aim

The aims of the Bobbi Bear Child Honor Programme are as follows:

• To ensure the children know they are individuals and are treated as such.
• To ensure the children know they have a voice ready to speak out for them in any situation.
• To ensure there is no secondary abuse.
• To ensure children’s rights are met.
• To ensure children’s needs are met mentally, physically and spiritually.

3.  Programme Objectives

The objectives of the Operation Bobbi Bear Honor Programme are as follows:

• To promote a caring attitude amongst children.
• To highlight the hardships and difficulties that children face in today’s society as a result of poverty, HIV/AIDS and violence.
• To decrease the amount of secondary abuse and violence that children are subject to in places of safety.
• To foster good working partnerships between Operation Bobbi Bear and places of safety.
• To create awareness and promote the work and services of Operation Bobbi Bear.

4. Expected Outcomes

The successful implementation of the Operation Bobbi Bear Honor Programme is expected to yield the following outcomes:

• Increased awareness that there is somebody that will always be there to help and Honor the Childs needs.
• A more respectful and caring attitude being shown between children and a decrease in incidents of abuse and victimisation between children.
• Improved co-operation and commitment from children’s homes and foster families with regards to children’s safety and the reporting of sexual abuse.
• A decrease in the amount of secondary abuse cases in children’s homes.

5. Programme Time Frame

The Operation Bobbi Bear Honor Programme will be run on an annual basis. The Programme will be implemented as soon as funding is secured

6. Geographical Areas of Operation

Initially, the programme will be implemented in the Kwa-Zulu Natal area. As more funding and resources are secured, the programme will expand to other areas with the long-term goal being to eventually run the programme on a provincial and national level. The programme will be implemented in urban, peri-urban and rural areas on the Durban South Coast.

7. Programme Monitoring & Evaluation

The programme will be monitored closely be the project manager, Michelle Jacobs with quarterly reports being produced on the progress of each child. A final evaluation and report will be submitted on an annual basis.

Here are some more pictures of Operation BobbiBear.

cforms contact form by delicious:days

Here are some of the pictures taken at the 5th Anual “Keep A Child Alive” Black Ball Event held in New York City and hororing Jackie Branfield of OBB (Operation BobbiBear) on her outstanding achievements in aiding children who are affected by HIV/AIDs.

We will update these pictures as soon as we get more…

WOW, what a moment it must have been for Jackie to be honored at the “Keep A Child Alive” Black Ball event held in New York City at The Hammerstein Ballroom on Thursday, November 13. We at BobbiBear are so very proud of our founder and driving force behind OBB (Operation BobbiBear), this has and will bring in the attention that OBB needs and hopefully will super charge OBB’s efforts.

The event had a lot of A-Listers including Alicia Keys (Performed as well as a OBB funder), Justin Timberlake, Queen Latifah and Jack White to name a few.

A big thanks to Leigh Blake who is the driving force behind KCA and who is directly responsible for Jackie’s honoring, KCA is now covering all of OBB’s operational costs which in turn allows for Operation BobbiBear to focus on the children and not raising funds to keep OBB operational.

We have managed to collect some photos of the event, please click here to see them (or the image)!

Jackie Branfield giving her speach

This was a mini documentary on Jackie Branfield from Operation BobbiBear, it was released and played in movie theatres all over Holland. Go Jackie…

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

Here is a presentation that Operation BobbiBear gave about HIV/Aids and its affects on the body as well as how to minimise your chances of contracting the deadly desease (aka EduToy Programme):

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

Click here to see what projects we are currently running…

cforms contact form by delicious:days

“Out of the mouths of babes and unweaned infants You have established strength because of Your foes, that you may silence the enemy and the avenger.”

Psalm 8:2

* * *

I remember when I was a child ..a gullible and trusting child. Always so willing (and needing) to see the good in people.

I soon learned to squelch this fairy tale perspective after so many experiences of hurt, insult and rejection. And looking back, I’m still not sure which was more discouraging -the experiences, themselves, or letting go of the make-believe perspective I so embraced.

And yet, the older I get (and especially inside this Christ walk) the more I long for the unsullied, innocent experience of life from my childhood. I’ve found there to be three genuine justifications for this newfound “gullibility”. They are:

1. The innocence of our youth proves the folly of our so-called rational maturity.
2. The conflicts and turmoil we encounter in this life are the result of the perspectives we’ve chosen to claim as our own.
3. The love in a child’s heart is the most powerful force this species possesses.

Awareness Defines The Innocence of Youth

“Whatever is good, whatever is worth of reverence and honorable and is seemly, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely and lovable, whatever is kind and winsome and gracious, if there is any virtue and excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think on and weigh and take account of these thing [fix your mind on them]. Phillipians 4:8 (Amplified Version)

For as callous and vengeful as the Apostle Paul’s life was before his conversion, he has certainly painted us a rose-colored world to view.

Who else but a 3 year old, 4 year old, or 5 year old child is naturally capable of seeing and thinking about the world we know today in the terms Paul describes in Phillipians 4:8?

Kids, for the most part, have it easy; no jobs, no bills. None of the pressures that adults face. There “awarenesses” can roam free, and unrestricted. No roles to fill, no agendas to push. No pressure. They experience life on a freer, lighter plane of existence.

Children at play, or children who are seeing a place for the first time are a pure depiction of the essence of life. They are naturally drawn to what is good and what is worthy, and what is pure, and what is kind because they are still capable of believing in these qualities.

“But Jesus called them [the parents] to Him, saying, Allow the little children to come to Me, and do not hinder them, for to such [as these] belongs the kingdom of God.” Like 18:16

As Christians -as children of God- we can rest, once again, inside the innocence of our youth; or rather, we must rest, once again, inside the innocence of our youth. We can re-enter that freer, lighter plane knowing that our heavenly Father takes care of us better than any human father, or mother ever could. It is inside this trust that we have in Him -our belief in Him- that this child-like awareness can be found.

(Part II ….to be continued)

“For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.”

I Corinthians 12:13

When we deemed the separation of Church and State as just and right for freedom’s sake, did we also justify a separation of spirit and self as portrayed inside our day-to-day lives?

Christ died for all of us. All of us are deemed partakers of God’s grace. And yet few of us can embrace this as a genuine reality, and/or “condition to life.”

Only our spirit selves can make this connection; the same “selves” assigned backseat status for the sake of freedom’s place up front. And yet freedom, as defined by State has become verbiage at best; a mirage to the needs of this country’s used and disfigured soul.

And once freedom is lost to the soul, a new and vicious breed of slavery takes root, for the mind and the body cannot live without the soul. We are rather left with a hunger for Spirit that no earthbound government can feed.

It is nonetheless a blessing to live in these United States because of the freedoms we share; but might there be such a thing as an abysmal freedom -a freedom that “undoes” itself?

Hopefully, we as a country won’t have to experience too many more 9/11 catastrophes before we return to the root of our freedom as printed on our currency -our money, our capital- “In God We Trust.”

Why’s to Rest
By darlene hight

The “Why?” bounced around the room like an electronic ping-pong ball set in motion. Sadness rested on each face. “Why?” the answerless question seeks, still, an answer. “Why did this happen to my child?” “Why my husband, marriage, job, home?” “Why me?”

Only One holds the answer to satisfy this search. He remains silent, as does a parent when asked, “Why must I go to bed now?” “Why can’t I go to the party?” “Why do I have to eat my vegetables?” The answer is in the silence but the “Why” refuses to accept it, for now.

With time the “Why” is replaced with other questions. “What do I do now?” “How do I live with this?” These questions are small steps towards satisfaction, resolution, peace and acceptance.

Sometimes this side of heaven, there aren’t any satisfactory answers. It is then that we must trust in the character of God. Of course, the problem is that we either don’t know enough about the character of God or we place foreign characteristics on Him. At times, we place the characteristics of our earthly father. Is your father a push over? God is not.

**Galatians 6:7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. **

Is your father a stern authoritarian? God is not.

**Nehemiah 9:17b But you are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love.**

** Psalm 119:156 Your compassion is great, O Lord; preserve my life according to your laws. **

Is your father cruel? God is never cruel.

**Deuteronomy 32:4 He is a Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.**

What we long for will one day be satisfied. We have God’s word.

**Jeremiah29: 11 For I know the plans that I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a future and a hope. **

***II Corinthians 5:1-5 Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.***

**Psalm 63:5 My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; **

**63:7Because you are my help, I will sing in the shadow of your wings.**

Now, I lay my “Whys” to rest.
Trusting my God to know what’s best.
No more questions will I bring.
Safe against his breast I sing.
Spirit deposit, guarantee
my future; hope is His plan for me.

Darlene Hight

Darlene is a writer who travels with her husband,Mark across rural United States as he builds ethanol plants. She is editor of Riders & Reapers online magazine. http://www.ridersnreapers.com Be sure to check out her Rural Adventures page and drop her a note.

Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com-CHRISTIAN WRITERS-MAKE A WEBSITE

“That fine line,

such a fine, fine line;

and only receptors lying closest to it can feel it,

can see it,

can smell it,

can prepare for it.

A plane, a dimension, that presses right up against us,

connected to us,

like a Siamese twin,

made of texture, and energy and coaxings,

with a will and drive of it’s own…….”

As we become familiar with God’s mind for us we become increasingly aware of spiritual realities. In particular, we will approach Him more effectively the more we realize that He sees right through us.

Spiritually experienced people will pray effectively because they take care of the basic things first, clearing their consciences before God so they can be open and honest with Him.

Unless our lives are involved in an escalating consumption by God’s glory in Christ, then we are not really seeking, and our prayers are not sincere. I am not talking about anything predictable nor am I trying to invent another religious standard of measurement. But I am talking about the Spirit of Truth working Himself out in us. I am talking about God’s Living Water springing up when we least expect it, in immeasurable quantities from the inside-out. A steadily prayerful lifestyle leads to irresistible consumption by the infectious Spirit of God.

Christ’s radical requirements will become increasingly clear to us as we spend more time with Him. There is no such thing as a diligently unrighteous, praying person. Something’s gotta give sooner or later. The more time we spend time with Christ, the more we will desire to spend our lives in Him. God’s goal for us in Christ is not just that we know Him at a glance, but rather, that we should be entirely consumed by Him.

And, since God does not answer prayer as our puny, natural minds tend to expect, persistent seeking is better than the hit-and-miss mentality. When a man prays and asks God for some selfish thing regularly, he honors God whether he means to or not with his diligence. If the most despicable man in the world persists in asking God for anything, God Himself will bring out and amplify that vital, Godly aspect of that man’s praying, which is that he is seeking the Lord at all. In this case God’s Spirit will honor Himself by instilling in that man a more profound appreciation of the Almighty.

The Lord will establish any diligently prayerful man in a deeper, stronger Foundation than he could have imagined when he first set out to ask for the “little things.” Remember Christ’s words, that God grows even a mustard seed of faith into a much larger plant. So drastic and heavenly is His work that it surprises the soil, anyone who was watching and even the seed from which the larger plant grew. This is all to God’s glory that He turns a man’s little bit into a bigger, unexpectedly powerful, heavenly blessing.

God will not answer our prayers and also leave us just the way we are. His business is to make His people into a heavenly people. Besides, He is too gracious and entirely too smart to leave us to fend for ourselves.

He wants either all or none of us. And such should be our attitude when we pray, that we will have either everything or nothing to do with Him. Our prayers either lead to us further into Him as our life-consuming All or we are praying religiously and our soul-numbing activity is leading us into nothing at all.

For God to give us what we want and leave us just the way we were would be an incomplete answer to prayer. True prayer, or sincere seeking, has this fundamental feature built into it, that it submits to God to bring about His results, in His timing, in His Way. This means, if you are petitioning God in any capacity, then you are also actively surrendering yourself to Him. Why else would you be praying except to submit to God’s way of solving problems? Otherwise you might as well pray to yourself, your credit cards or your friends.

Such is the greatness of God in Christ, that He consumes the issues at hand, the words being prayed and the person praying all at the same time. Indeed, it is impossible to pray in the flesh. And it’s impossible for us to experience the movement of God and still remain fleshly in our thinking and living.

So let it be a matter of common sense to us that we pray and seek the Lord best when we are consumed and led by His Spirit. How this works out in reality becomes clear to anyone who prays on a regular basis, who is faithful to listen to and follow Christ’s direct guidance.

by Patrick Roberts. Find his book and additional material at www.BooksByPatrick.com

Patrick is an average Christ-seeker. His goal is to turn people to Jesus Christ.
Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com CHRISTIAN WRITERS

“And all of us, as with unveiled face [because we] continued to behold [in the Word of God] as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are constantly being transfigured into His very own image in ever increasing splendor and from one degree of glory to another; [for this comes] from the Lord [Who is] the Spirit.”

II Corinthians 3:18 (Amplified Version)

World events, politics, business affairs, and everyday happenings as portrayed by the media tell us that the human spirit is struggling for survival. Caring, kindness, truth and compassion have become “back-burner” priorities. And the root of the chaos is to be found at the core of the individual : spirit.

This is why we, as believers, must stay in the bible -the Word of God. It isn’t just a book of many chapters and verses. It holds the very Spirit and “influence” of God in-between its covers. Anyone who reads the bible on a regular basis can attest to this. It’s words impart a healing influence on the mind, the soul. It is a living testament.

How we “see” the world determines who we are and what we can do. The Word of God gives us “perspective”, and it is the mainspring of kingdom life. It teaches the “eyes of heart” to intervene; to take on an intercessory role between our physical eyes and minds so that we can see the world around us as loving, spiritual beings.

It’s almost like playing a chess game, only in real life. The Word gives us an aerial view of life that allows each of us to anticipate the repercussions of our actions, and know that everything we do and say and feel makes a difference. Not necessarily an immediate, or visible difference, but a difference in the fabric of the human spirit.

I think the very best example Christ sets for us is a life dedicated to truth, and compassion, and kindness. To Him, nothing in this world was more important than bringing these human qualities to the forefront of “living”; knowing that these were the qualities of life that sustain ….life.