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Victory Oct 7, 2008 1:35 pm
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VICTORY


1 Corinthians 10:13
No temptation has seized you
except what is common to man.
And God is faithful;
he will not let you be tempted
beyond what you can bear.
But when you are tempted,
he will also provide a way out
so that you can stand up under it.

Romans 8:37
No, in all these things
we are more than conquerors
through him who loved us.
~ New International Version ~
2 Comments
Top baby names 2007 Oct 7, 2008 1:31 pm
156 Views
Top Names of 2007

In Order of rankings 1-10

Male
Jacob
Michael
Ethan
Joshua
Daniel
Christopher
Anthony
William
Matthew
Andrew

Female
Emily
Isabella
Emma
Ava
Madison
Sophia
Olivia
Abigail
Hannah
Elizabeth
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Message in a bottle.... 35 years later Oct 7, 2008 1:27 pm
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The Stamford Advocate this week has the fascinating tale of a "message in a bottle" from a cruise ship that apparently survived more than three decades at sea before landing in the British West Indies.

A vacationer from Illinois found the clear glass Tab cola bottle -- sealed with a cork and an aluminum screw top -- on the island of Middle Caicos during a recent trip, the Connecticut paper says.

ALSO ONLINE: Live reports from the luxury ship Silver Shadow
ALSO ONLINE: The secret to cruising in the Mediterranean

A note inside the bottle was dated Dec. 29, 1973.

"I am on the Vistafjord. Write back to Andrew Tallos," the message said in a child's handwriting, according to the paper. "324 Haviland Rd, Stamford, Conn. 06903."

The Advocate tracked down Tallos, who was 11 at the time he wrote the message and dropped it overboard.

"My sister, Lisa, remembers the vacation really well," Tallos told the paper. "She's even more excited than I am. I really had forgotten all about the bottle, the vacation, so it's interesting to hear that it's turned up and survived."

Tallos' sister tells the paper the family sailed on the maiden voyage of the 25,000-ton Vistafjord, a trip to the Southern Caribbean from New York. She added that her entire family gathered at the back of the ship to throw the sealed bottle into the sea.

Cruise lines have strict rules about throwing items off of ships, of course. Cruise Loggers, have you ever thought of sending out a message in a bottle while at sea?
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Have a wonderful Blessed day today everyone! Oct 7, 2008 4:41 am
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I am sure today is going to be a glorious day! Personally I am looking forward to it. God's blessings everyone.
2 Comments
Please pray for Imadeit (Paula) Oct 7, 2008 4:39 am
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She has a lot going on within the realm of single parenthood and dealing with a troublesome ex. That is about as much as I can say, but she would covet your prayers I am sure.
2 Comments
Please pray for Michelle, tumor Oct 6, 2008 3:13 am
221 Views
Yesterday she was told it is malignant and they give her 5 years to live, She is Jewish and ant-christian. She has a 2 year old baby. Prayers are greatly appreciated.
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Get a Life Oct 6, 2008 1:08 am
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Written by Administrator of Grace project

A brief introduction that defines the core grace message of salvation that Being the reception of Divine Life.

Patterson Joseph's excellent article, ' The Witness Programme' [2002/8] warrants further thought as it raises some fundamental questions. Firstly does God ACCEPT me? And if so on what basis does he do so? Until this gnawing issue is resolved the prospect of entering into the Hebrews 4 rest will elude you. Our understanding of acceptance must be the same as God's. The Bible is clear, we are accepted by the Father in Christ [Eph1:6].

Undoubtedly the Pauline "in Christ" motif which appears 126 times in the NT is a "profound mystery" (Col 1:27). However, if appropriated it is the key not only to "witnessing" but it explains why Tyndale described the Gospel as "The Good glad happy news that makes a man jump for joy."

Acceptance is based on one thing ~ PERFECTION [Mtt 5:48] Whose? Not ours, His! It is not so much that we are in Christ but rather Christ is in us. He has made us perfect forever [Hebs 10:14] He is our life [Col 3:4] & our righteousness, [2 Cor 5:21] Jesus didn't just live His life for you He lived it "as" you. He died for you then in order that He could live in you now. Consequently when The Father sees me, He sees Him, cf. Jn 14:20

Even those of us who purport to rest in the Love of God have a tendency to secretly believe that God would accept us more if we were more like X, Y, or Z. This unease is reinforced by our discipleship programmes, which, consist of somebody telling us what we can, can't and should do, rather than just telling us WHO WE ARE!

Sadly, this less-than-Jesus discipleship is the inevitable by-product of less-than-Jesus evangelism, the kind where salvation amounts to a person getting their sins forgiven.

Many of our evangelistic appeals perpetuate this misunderstanding. However, if that were so salvation would be universal, for Christ died for the sins of the entire world [Jn 3:16; 1 Jn 2:2] yet not all are saved. Salvation is not getting your sins forgiven, it is receiving His Life [Jn 10:10].

Christians aren't people who change their lives with God's help, they are a supernatural people who have exchanged their lives, theirs for His, by God's grace. We are saved then, not by His death but by His resurrected life [Roms 5:10] You can't have one without the other but it is imperative that you don't confuse one with the other. His death is the preamble to receiving His Zo life that is life as God has it in and of Himself.

How far removed this is from our idea of the Christian life, which we feel pressured to give witness to, and wonder why our clumsy guilt stained efforts yield such meagre results. In reality there seem to be only two groups of people on the earth, those who live a life that they don't have & those who have a life that they don't live.

The latter have nothing to attract the former ~"Why" asks the world "should we come to your church, it looks like it's killing you?" If only it was~ but the truth is that having substituted religion for relationship, Christianity for Christ there is nothing abundant about religion apart from the interminable boredom and the ever-present anxiety.

Thus mine is a plaintiff plea to see the reintroduction of a third group one which comprises of people who "reckon themselves dead" Roms 6:11 knowing that "For them to live is Christ" Phil 1:21 & that "Christ is their life" Col 3:4. After all The Great Commission does not say " Do witnessing" it says, " Be witnesses."

If 20 years in sales & marketing taught me anything it taught me this ~ You cannot sell anything to anyone, but what you can do is create in someone a desire to buy. If only we would let Christ live His Zo life through we would become unconscious participants in a truly effective 'witness programme' unearthing a vast number of people wanting to know how they too can "Get A Life"
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"No Laughing Matter" Oct 6, 2008 1:02 am
145 Views
Paul Anderson-Walsh

"No Laughing Matter"

It was not until a recent visit to my barbers shop that I realized the full extent of the problem . it was not so much the now relentless advance of grey hair that disturbed me as it was the "hair-raising" conversation with the barber. We had been idly chatting about careers when he said, "You're a pastor, aren't you?", his genial but somewhat loaded opening remark. My normal barber was away. "Yes," I said with more than my usual note of caution. I could sense something coming but thought that any pre-qualification as to the errant concept of pastors versus the priesthood of believers would probably be a waste of time. "Hey, now that is a good business - there's real money to be made there!" Although he was a non-Christian, he went on to cite various tele-evangelists who were, by their own admission (nay, boast), "Rich." I squirmed . and sensing my discomfort, he pressed home the advantage by regaling me with one lurid story after another that he had seen on "Christian television", so-called. It was truly awful. He had seen it all - "the Profits of God" masquerading as Prophets from God. Of course, my unsaved barber does not have the whole story but he has seen something and he, if you will, "Named it and shamed it!"

In this article, I am not going to state the obvious about much of what is portrayed on TV as I told the barber that those who teach "godliness as a means to financial gain" have perverted the Gospel. Instead, I want to address an equally insidious problem which is - the question of insisting that we, who are free from the law, are under the law of tithing.

Let us begin with the basic question that we are asked time and time again - namely, "Is tithing for today?" Let me stress two things:

1. What is not at issue is whether a Christian should or should not give but rather, how we should give, now that we are under grace and free from the Law;

2. Our experience is that tithing is the tip of the legalism iceberg.

Tithing is a highly sensitive issue and I believe it is not that the current emphasis on tithing is robbing us of God. The insistence that tithing was to be commuted into the New Covenant hangs by the slenderest thread. It is argued that "tithing is for today because Abraham [the father of all who believe] paid tithes before the law." The reason the case is so precariously balanced is that there is only one reference to tithing in the entire New Covenant writings.

There is only one reference to tithing in the entire New Covenant writings

The rationale for the tithing argument goes something like this:
1. Abraham is the father of all who believe;
2. Abraham paid tithes;
3. Abraham paid the tithe before the law was introduced;
4. Tithing is pre-law and therefore, is still applicable.

In response, we make the following observations:

1. If Abraham provides the paradigm for tithing, then we may also assume that the tithe is a one-off and is paid from the spoils of war;

2. If the pre-law argument validates tithing, why do the same people not argue with equal alacrity that circumcision is a New Covenant requirement.?

The initial question that I want to explore concerns our motivation for "giving." The following may simply be a commentary on my heart and not representative of the Christian community and I trust that you will not find me unduly cynical. However, my experience is that most Christians give for one of two reasons and neither is very honourable:

1. Insurance : God will get me if I don't
2. Investment : God will bless me if I do

Therefore, we say that tithing for many a Christian, whether consciously or unconsciously, serves as their divine fire insurance premiums.

Perhaps now I am parodying the point but it seems to me at least that what we are doing in the main is on the one hand, we are paying God protection money to leave us alone and on the other hand, we are investing into the Kingdom with a view to maximizing our returns. We are seeking to protect and/or increase our asset base. What we are not doing is GIVING without any expectation of reward other than the reward of giving.

We give for one of two reasons - God will get me if don't and He will bless me if I do

Does the Hebrews text support the argument for tithing?

Even the most cursory consideration of Hebrews casts doubt on the tithing argument. To begin with, Abraham's "tithe" to Melchizedek betrays a fundamentally different spirit - notice that Abraham refused any gift in return from Melchizedek. He wanted nothing and thus, at the material level, he had want for nothing. To state our position more clearly, we are disturbed by the suggestion promoted by the legalistic linearity that giving can be employed as a mechanism for receiving. Moreover, we are intrigued that nobody, to our knowledge, has ever taught tithing without any anticipation of receiving in return. As one man once quipped, "If the only guarantee that I could give you was that if you tithe, you will have 10% less than you had before, would you still tithe?"

If the only guarantee that I could give you was that after paying your tithe, you would have 10% less money than before you gave it - would you still give?

Robbing God?

There can be few verses that are better known or more misapplied than these: Mal. 3:8-10

"Will a man rob God? Yet, you are robbing me- the whole nation of you. But you say, "How are we robbing God?" In your tithes and offerings! You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me - the whole nation of you. Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house, and thus put me to the test says the Lord of Hosts; see if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down an overflowing blessing."

A Response to Malachi

As with all Scripture, the book must be firstly seen within its historical and cultural setting and context.
1. To whom are Malachi's comments addressed?

2. Can you think of a verse in Scripture that addresses you, a Christian, as a child of Jacob?

3. Under what Covenant was God speaking to Israel - the Old or the New?

4. True or false - Under the New Covenant, God will curse you if you do not tithe.

5. We do not dispute that Malachi 3 is inspired. We simply ask that the New Covenant reader interprets this and all other Old Covenant verses through a New Covenant lens.

Israel's Tithing System

We cannot stress too strongly the importance of interpreting Scripture in context. By the simple expedience of beginning the text two verses earlier, we can see how dramatically that alters one's perception. For example, in the New Testament, there is a verse that every Christian in the world knows - it is from Paul's letter to the church in Philippi and he writes, "Work out your salvation in fear and trembling," I imagine that most Christians are familiar with this verse but how many can complete the sentence . "for it is God that is at work within you to will and to do." [Phil. 2:12-13]

Now, if it is true that we have to be careful to set verses in their context, it is imperative that we also set the text into its historical and cultural context. In order to see these verses in their proper light, we must first ask the question - Under what Covenant was Malachi writing, the Old or the New? Quite clearly, Malachi is both Old Testament and Old Covenant. Therefore, any exposition and contemporary application needs to take that into account.

Unlike the New Covenant where we are a "Priesthood of Believers," in the Old Covenant was a "Priest-class" - a specific tribe designated as Priests and this was the tribe of Levi. The Levitical Priesthood, as it was known, is the concern of the Malachi passage. The over-arching argument of Hebrews is that the Priesthood of Jesus is better than the Levitical Priesthood. The writer to the Hebrews insists that:

1. The Levitical Priesthood was inferior to the priesthood of Melchizedek;
2. The Levitical order is both outclassed and replaced by the new order and has become redunda
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what to talk about? Oct 6, 2008 12:54 am
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Once you get past God's goodness and unconditional love towards us; coupled with trust and him meeting all of our needs according to his riches in Glory. If we know he is for us and not against us....just what are all of these things that need said?
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You need t get into the water Oct 5, 2008 7:16 am
214 Views
I go to the beach, not for its sheer beauty. The ocean is like life. All kinds of things in the ocean. Things that can hurt you. Yeah we could stand on the beach and stare and take it all in and never leave the shore. Or we can get in and be a part of life knowing God protects us from the predators of life.
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