http://connectionsnews.wordpress.com/2010/12/31/connections-news-01022011/
CONNECTIONS
For week of January 2, 2011
Issue 337
The weekly newsletter of Path Of Life Ministries.
Our mission is to lead men to Jesus Christ and provide opportunity for Christian men to grow in their faith and minister to others.
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[Jesus said,] "'You are the light of the world. Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.'"
Matthew 5:14, 16
CONSIDER
"Keep your lamp burning, and let God place it where He will."
Unknown Author
A MAGNA CHARTA OF TRUST BY AN OUT-OF-CONTROL DISCIPLE
"I once was a control junkie, but now am an Out-of-Control Disciple. I've given up my control to God. I trust and obey the Spirit. I've jumped off the fence, I've stepped over the line, I've pulled out all the stops. There's no turning back, looking around, slowing down, backing away, letting up, or shutting up. It's life Against the Odds, Outside the Box, Over the Wall, the game of life played Without Goal Lines other than 'Thy Will Be Done....' I am not here to please the dominant culture. I live to please my Lord and Savior".... Read this in full at
http://www.leonardsweet.com/article_details.php?id=15
A JESUS MANIFESTO FOR THE 21ST CENTURY CHURCH
Christians have made the gospel about so many things … things other than Christ.
Jesus Christ is the gravitational pull that brings everything together and gives them significance, reality, and meaning. Without him, all things lose their value. Without him, all things are but detached pieces floating around in space.
It is possible to emphasize a spiritual truth, value, virtue, or gift, yet miss Christ . . . who is the embodiment and incarnation of all spiritual truth, values, virtues, and gifts.
Seek a truth, a value, a virtue, or a spiritual gift, and you have obtained something dead.
Seek Christ, embrace Christ, know Christ, and you have touched him who is Life. And in him resides all Truth, Values, Virtues and Gifts in living color. Beauty has its meaning in the beauty of Christ, in whom is found all that makes us lovely and loveable.
What is Christianity? It is Christ. Nothing more. Nothing less. Christianity is not an ideology. Christianity is not a philosophy. Christianity is the "good news" that Beauty, Truth and Goodness are found in a person. Biblical community is founded and found on the connection to that person. Conversion is more than a change in direction; it's a change in connection. Jesus' use of the ancient Hebrew word shubh, or its Aramaic equivalent, to call for "repentance" implies not viewing God from a distance, but entering into a relationship where God is command central of the human connection.
In that regard, we feel a massive disconnection in the church today. Thus this manifesto.... Read this in full at
http://www.leonardsweet.com/article_details.php?id=48
http://www.ptmin.org/AJesusManifesto.pdf
JOHN WESLEY'S COVENANT PRAYER
"I am no longer my own, but yours. Put me to what you will, rank me with whom you will; put me to doing; put me to suffering; let me be employed for you or laid aside for you, exalted for you, or brought low for you".... Read this in full at
http://inthestoryline.com/2010/10/11/john-wesleys-covenant-prayer/
THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE UNASHAMED
"I'm part of the fellowship of the unashamed. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I'm a disciple of His. I won't look back, let up, slow down, back away or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, my future is secure. I'm finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, mundane talking, cheap living and dwarfed goals".... Read this in full at
http://www.gospeltruth.net/unashamed.htm
A PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
"I pledge allegiance to my rescuer and leader, Jesus Christ, and to his command, 'Love one another, as I have loved you.' I pledge to live this day by faith in God, to love him with all my passion, character, intellect, and muscle, to forgive others quickly, and to bear the Holy Spirit fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control." (copyright 2010, jonathan.petersen@comcast.net)
THE TOP 10 INSPIRATIONAL STORIES OF 2010
by Edward Grinnan
Everywhere you look the world is filled with inspiration, even a world full of problems. AA cofounder Bill Wilson famously said the world is a problem place because it is filled with problem people. I think the same can be said for inspiration. The world is likewise an inspiring place because it is filled with inspiring people, many of whom appear in Guideposts magazine and on Guideposts.org. At the risk of sounding presumptuous, I believe we are the national experts on inspiration, a clearinghouse of hope. At least that's what our readers and users say we mean to them.
What constitutes inspiration? To turn another well-known phrase on its head, I'm not sure but I know it when I see it.... Read this in full at
http://www.guideposts.org/blogs/edposts/top-10-inspirational-stories-2010
CHRISTIANITY TODAY: TOP 10 NEWS STORIES OF 2010
1. Aid groups rush to help an already-hurting Haiti after its 7.0-magnitude earthquake, raising $750 million in a mere five weeks. But scandal over Baptist missionaries' efforts to move 33 children to the Dominican Republic becomes a major plot line and raises questions about "amateur" aid.
2. Thousands of global evangelical leaders gather in Cape Town to discuss missions, highlight evangelicalism's global diversity, pray for religious liberty, and build relationships that will likely bear unexpected fruit in the decades to come.
3. In a closely watched case, World Vision wins its employment case at the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled 2–1 that the organization can fire employees who aren't orthodox Christians. A loss would have caused turmoil for faith-based organizations' hiring rules.... Read this in full at
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2011/january/4.9.html
DIVIDE OVER ISLAM DOMINATED RELIGIOUS-FREEDOM NEWS IN 2010
Judging from end-of-year assessments published recently, there seems fairly universal agreement among close observers of faith and public life that the biggest religion story of 2010 in this country was also the biggest religious-freedom story: Islam and its discontents.
But the year's often-nasty spats over mosques and Sharia law should not completely eclipse 2010's other important religious-liberty developments, say many who study church-state relations.... Read this in full at
http://www.abpnews.com/content/view/5999/53/
TIME MAGAZINE TOP 10 RELIGION STORIES OF 2010
1. Ground Zero Mosque
2. The Vatican and the Child Abuse Scandal
3. The Bankruptcy of the Crystal Cathedral.... Read this in full at
http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2035319_2034971,00.html
RELIGION NEWSWRITERS' TOP 10 LIST OF 2010
1. Ground Zero Mosque
2. Haiti earthquake
3. Pope Benedict XVI accused of inaction against pedophile priests.... Read this in full at
http://www.rna.org/news/54861/2010-Religion-Stories-of-the-Year.htm
HUFFPOST RELIGION'S 10 MOST INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE OF 2010
1. Feisal Rauf and Daisy Khan
2. Pope Benedict XVI
3. Anglican Bishop Christopher Senyonjo.... Read this in full at
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/27/10-most-influential-relig_n_801709.html#s215574
THE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS
"The spirit of Christmas needs to be superseded by the Spirit of Christ. The spirit of Christmas is annual; the Spirit of Christ is eternal. The spirit of Christmas is sentimental; the Spirit of Christ is supernatural. The spirit of Christmas is a human product; the Spirit of Christ is a divine person. That makes all the difference in the world."
Stuart Briscoe
DO CHRISTIANS OVEREMPHASIZE CHRISTMAS?
by John Wilson
Some theologians claim that Easter is more important. Where to start with what's wrong with this analysis? Let's begin with Rabbi Hoffman's contention that Christmas never "really mattered." Such hyperbole reveals the false dichotomy at the heart of this particular Anti-Christmas Rant: the idea that Christmas is more important than Easter, or vice versa, and we must choose between them. That's no more cogent than suggesting that Revelation is more important than Genesis.... Read this in full at
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703581204576033832108986782.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_LEADTop
IF IT HURTS, YOU'RE NOT ALONE
"Pain has a way of making us more honest. I know a family whose son committed suicide. He was taken to the hospital, where he laid on life support for several days, brain-dead but breathing -- barely. His 11-year-old cousin came to the hospital to see him before the machines were turned off. When she got to the room, she told everyone to leave her alone with him. When they got out in the hall and closed the door, they could hear her through the wall, yelling at him: 'Why did you do this? I'm so angry with you! Why did you do this?' She said what everybody wanted to say. She did what they all wanted to do...
"Do you know that feeling in class when somebody raises his hand and says, 'I don't get it,' and you feel so relieved that you aren't the only one who isn't getting it?
"That's what great artists do. This is what great people do. They ask it. They say it. They express it. They put in words what so many others are thinking and feeling and wondering. They affirm that...
"You are not the only one having this experience."
Rob Bell in Drops Like Stars Tour Film
PREPARE FOR ANNIVERSARY OF BIBLICAL PROPORTIONS ON KJV'S 400TH
The story of the King James Version of the Bible, which celebrates its 400th anniversary on May 2nd 2011, is likely to provide the greatest spread of cultural events. Produced during the lifetime of William Shakespeare and John Donne, it has long been viewed as the most elegantly written and poetic of the many English translations, and has given the language some of its best-known phrases: "lamb to the slaughter", "skin of our teeth", "chariots of fire." The King James, also known as the Authorized Version, remains one of the most frequently used Bibles in the English-speaking world, especially in the United States. Barack Obama took the oath of office on the same King James Bible that had been used by Abraham Lincoln in 1861.... Read this in full at
http://www.economist.com/node/17493396
SHOPPERS SAY AMEN TO NEWLY TRANSLATED eBIBLE
Bible mega-publisher Zondervan released its newest translation of the New International Version of the Bible before Christmas and saw it fly up the charts to become the top seller in the Apple store under Religion/Spirituality and No. 13 seller across all categories over Christmas weekend. On Amazon, it was No. 3, at $9.99 behind older Bibles selling for $1.99. This is the first time any Bible translation has gone straight to digital. The print version goes on sale in March.... Read this in full at
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/Religion/post/2010/12/kindle-ipad-nook-apple-bible-niv/1
SUPER BOWL XLV (45)
The game, to be played on Feb. 6, 2011, will pit the champions of the AFC and the NFC and will be held at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Bowl_XLV
GEORGE BEVERLY SHEA TO RECEIVE LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT GRAMMY
"America's Beloved Gospel Singer" and longtime Billy Graham Crusade soloist George Beverly Shea will be recognized with a Lifetime Achievement Award by The Recording Academy in conjunction with the 2011 GRAMMY Awards. He joins Julie Andrews and Dolly Parton as Special Merit Awards Recipients.
"I was surprised to receive the call from The Recording Academy president before Christmas and am honored for the recognition," Shea said. "The music has been for God's glory."
Shea, who will turn 102 years old the week before receiving the award, is among the oldest living persons to be honored by The Recording Academy. He is still performing publicly, having sung at several Christmas concerts near his home in Asheville, NC.
In November, he joined longtime colleagues Billy Graham and Cliff Barrows at an event in Charlotte celebrating the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.... Read this in full at
http://www.assistnews.net/Stories/2010/s10120155.htm
POLL: RELIGION'S INFLUENCE WANING IN AMERICA
Seven in 10 Americans say religion as a whole is losing its influence on American life. This is a near-record high percentage since Gallup began asking the question more than 50 years ago. The highest recorded percentage of Americans who said religion was losing influence was in 1970, when 75% said so. Today, only a quarter of Americans see religion increasing its influence in American society.
For much of the 53 years that Gallup has asked the question, Americans have been more likely to say that the influence of religion was waning. It wasn't until 2001, after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, that there was a sharp reversal in views. That year, 55% of Americans said religion was increasing its influence on American life while 40% said it was losing its influence.... Read this in full at
http://www.christianpost.com/article/20101230/poll-religions-influence-waning-in-america/
JESUS WROTE FICTION
"Have you ever asked yourself why Jesus told parables, these uber-short stories? Jesus preaches the kingdom of God, but we want to know what that looks like. To reveal what the kingdom of God is like, Jesus tells parables. And these parables usher his listeners and readers into a world he called kingdom. Sometimes his stories are only a few lines, but they give us a concrete, unforgettable image, one that won't let us go. But there's something powerfully different about Jesus' little short-story parables: His parables draw us into the kingdom world and then they set us back down in this world hungering for more, hungering for a kingdom kind of world now...
"This parabolic dream kingdom begins, Jesus says, with the imagination. First you listen to his stories and enter into them imaginatively, the way you enter into your favorite novel's characters. Then, because you've entered Jesus' kingdom plot, you've discerned kingdom life in a deeper manner. Then you give your One.Life to the Kingdom.Life.
"The parables of Jesus are his sleight-of-hand trick. You begin thinking about very ordinary things, like fields and farmers and workers and women baking and men picking wheat and wounded people, and suddenly you find yourself transported into a brand new world and a brand new way of thinking. This vision of Jesus will take a conversion of our imagination; or, better yet, the parables convert our imaginations from self-centeredness to love.
"A Christian, then, is one who follows Jesus, devotes his or her One. Life to the kingdom vision, and uses her or his imagination to see what God can do in this world. This imagination is nothing other than kingdom imagination shaped by Jesus' parables."
Scot McKnight in his book One.Life: Jesus Calls, We Follow
THE VATICAN LIBRARY ENTERS THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY
The Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, the Vatican Apostolic Library -- or, as its present-day users call it, the Vat. Its collection, which has been accreting since the mid-fourteen-hundreds, is so vast that even the people who run it haven't always known what they're sitting on top of. A problem is that although the library was founded as, essentially, a public information resource, the Vatican itself has had a historically vexed relationship to knowledge, power, secrecy, and authority. Recently, the Vat has been trying to address at least some of these problems. In September, the library reopened following a three-year-long closing—the final stage of a decades-long renovation of its premises and modernization of its technologies.... Read more of this at
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/01/03/110103fa_fact_mendelsohn
APPLE AGAIN REJECTS IPHONE CHRISTIAN 'APP'
Apple has rejected an iPhone/iPad "app" that had been resubmitted by signers of the Manhattan Declaration (http://manhattandeclaration.org/), further frustrating Christian leaders who fear the controversy signals a growing societal intolerance of orthodox Christianity.
Conservative leaders are now calling the company's policy "appalling" and suggesting it reflects hostility toward Christian beliefs.
At issue is an iPhone/iPad software program containing the text of the Manhattan Declaration, a 4,700-word document that includes basic Christian teachings and Bible verses on marriage, life and religious liberty. Key leaders such as Charles Colson, James Dobson, Richard Land, R. Albert Mohler Jr. and Timothy Dolan signed the document in 2009, and more than 480,000 people subsequently signed it online. It received widespread media coverage. Among its stances, the document opposes "gay marriage," abortion and embryonic stem cell research.... Read this in full at
http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=34336
WHAT DRIVES YOU?
Most People Think:
Happy are the pushers: For they get on in the world.
Happy are the hard-boiled: For they never let life hurt them.
Happy are they who complain: For they get their own way in the end.
Happy are the blasé: For they never worry over their sins.
Happy are the slave-drivers: For they get results.
Happy are the knowledgeable men of the world: For they know their way around.
Happy are the trouble-makers: For people have to take notice of them.
Jesus Christ Said:
Happy are those who realize their spiritual poverty: They have already entered the kingdom of reality.
Happy are they who bear their share of the world's pain: In the long run they will know more happiness than those who avoid it.
Happy are those who accept life and their own limitations: They will find more in life than anybody.
Happy are those who long to be truly "good": They will fully realize their ambition.
Happy are those who are ready to make allowances and to forgive: They will know the love of God.
Happy are those who are real in their thoughts and feelings: In the end they will see the ultimate Reality, God.
Happy are those who help others to live together: They will be known to be doing God's work.
~ J. B. Phillips
LOVE YOUR ENEMIES
[Jesus:] "But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous."
Matthew 5:44-45 (NIV)
"Assuredly there is but one way in which to achieve what is not merely difficult but utterly against human nature: to love those who hate us, to repay their evil deeds with benefits, to return blessings for reproaches. It is that we remember not to consider men's evil intention but to look upon the image of God in them, which cancels and effaces their transgressions, and with its beauty and dignity allures us to love and embrace them."
John Calvin (1509-1564), The Institutes of the Christian Religion, v. I [1559], tr. John Allen, Presbyterian Board of Publication and Sabbath-School Work, 1921, III.vii.6, p. 625
LABRADOR RETRIEVERS POINT TO JESUS
Dozens of men stood there hollering, gesturing, trying to divert the Labrador retriever from his master's agenda. Prophet, so named by his master-owner Hank Hough, was indifferent to their pleas. To the dog, the men's clatter was background noise. Then Hough called his dog's name: "Prophet!" The dog moved on command.
Drawing one analogy after another from his precision-honed relationship with his champion Labradors, Hough explained to a Friday night gathering in Fort Worth, Texas, at Birchman Baptist Church, that those who are not of God do not hear the Word of God with any special regard.
During an hour-long presentation with two of his champion Labs, Prophet and Bandera, along with a Bible, a handful of retriever props, and a healthy dose of humor laced with straight talk about God, men, responsibility, obedience and sinful diversions, Hough managed to weave together the truth: God's will is a love relationship with men -- if they will put aside their own ambitions to follow the Master's voice alone. A video is viewable at http://www.kingdomdog.com.... Read this in full at
http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=34313
FAITH, MARRIAGE LOSING POPULARITY AMONG LOWER CLASSES?
It's easy to blame the bad economy and a lack of services for the gap between rich and poor. But new research data add valuable information to the social equation. As we head into the second decade of the century, expect the gap between the rich and poor to grow, not because of a lack of economic and educational opportunity for those on the margins, but because the privileged are increasingly embracing marriage and religion while the poor and middle class are not.
Research continues to show that the economic and social benefits of marriage far exceed those provided by any government program. Bluntly put, marriage is a wealth-producing machine. Empirical studies show that in addition to avoiding the economic devastation usually produced by divorce, married couples tend to save and invest more. On top of that, men tend to earn more after they tie the knot.... Read this in full at
http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/12/29/886143/lacking-faith-and-marriage.html
VERSE TO PONDER
"Just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: 'Be holy, because I am holy."
1 Peter 1:15-16
CONSIDER
"The Christian hope is the hope of a time when even the possibility of our sinning will be over. It is not the hope then of a return to the condition of Adam before the Fall but the hope of an entrance into a far higher condition."
J. Gresham Machen
IS EVANGELICALISM STANDING THE TEST OF TIME? "THE FUNDAMENTALS" AT 100
by Thomas S. Kidd
The year 2010 was the 100th anniversary of The Fundamentals: A Testimony to the Truth (1910-1915). This was a series of 90 essays in 12 volumes that is widely considered a foundation of the modern evangelical movement, or what in those days came to be called "fundamentalism." Today very few Christians accept the label "fundamentalist," but the 1910s were the era of the fundamentalist/modernist controversy within major Protestant denominations. In the face of growing doubts about traditional Christian doctrines and the Bible's authority, an all-star cast of pastors and theologians from across the English-speaking world contributed essays to The Fundamentals to bolster the essentials of the faith.
How much has the evangelical movement changed in the past 100 years? A quick review of The Fundamentals suggests that evangelicals 1) have shed some unfortunate biases of those bygone days, 2) continue to struggle with similar intellectual issues, most notably evolution, and 3) retain a common message of grace through Christ.... Read this in full at
http://www.patheos.com/Resources/Additional-Resources/Evangelicalism-Standing-the-Test-of-Time-Thomas-Kidd.html
CONDI RICE: PRO-CHOICE, LIBERTARIAN . . . AND EVANGELICAL
Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice declared in a recent interview that she is proudly evangelical but also distanced herself from many of her fellow believers by saying that she tends to support abortion rights and civil unions for gay couples, and she feels evangelicals too often alienate others with in-your-face rhetoric.
"It's extremely important not to assault people," Rice told Christianity Today, the flagship evangelical magazine, in a Dec. 20 interview. "Sometimes I think evangelicals come at people so hard and so fast and don't take time to listen to where somebody is," she added. "We can just try to have a lighter touch sometimes.".... Read this in full at
http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/12/28/condi-rice-pro-choice-libertarian-and-evangelical/
HOW TO PARENT ADULT CHILDREN
by Patrick Morley
In 2002 both of our children were married. They both "leaved and cleaved" within six months of each other -- John in June and Jen in November. Wow! What an adjustment! That got me thinking. How do you parent an adult child? What should that relationship look like? And how can we make sure it works well?
Patsy, my wife, has said on many occasions, "Your parents let us get away from them." In other words, they didn't work at getting together with us, showing interest in our world, or letting us know what was going on in their lives. They rarely showed any interest in what I did. Even when I would share a detail they didn't ask any follow up questions. They rarely talked to me about any matters of the heart -- it was all surface stuff. As a result, getting together was pretty much obligatory.... Read this in full at
http://www.maninthemirror.org/a-look-in-the-mirror/192-classic-issue-how-to-parent-adult-children
NARRATIVE AND THE GRACE OF GOD: THE NEW 'TRUE GRIT'
by Stanley Fish
The new "True Grit" is that rare thing — a truly religious movie. In the John Wayne version religiosity is just an occasional flourish not to be taken seriously. In this movie it is everything, not despite but because of its refusal to resolve or soften the dilemmas the narrative delivers up.... Read this in full at
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/27/narrative-and-the-grace-of-god-the-new-true-grit/?partner=rss&emc=rss
RESEARCHERS: ANCIENT HUMAN REMAINS FOUND IN ISRAEL
Israeli archaeologists said Dec. 27 they may have found the earliest evidence yet for the existence of modern man, and if so, it could upset theories of the origin of humans. A Tel Aviv University team excavating a cave in central Israel said teeth found in the cave are about 400,000 years old and resemble those of other remains of modern man, known scientifically as Homo sapiens, found in Israel. The earliest Homo sapiens remains found until now are half as old.... Read this in full at
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101227/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_israel_ancient_teeth
CONSIDER
"Many are willing that Christ should be something, but few will consent that Christ should be everything."
Alexander Moody Stuart
VERSE TO PONDER
"If anyone says, 'I love God,' yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother."
1 John 4:20-21
THIS WEEK'S HYMN: FROM GLORY UNTO GLORY
Words: Frances R. Havergal, 1873
Music: Berthold Tours, 1872
"From Glory unto Glory!" Be this our joyous song,
As on the King's own highway we bravely march along!
"From Glory unto Glory!" O word of stirring cheer,
As dawns the solemn brightness of one more glad new year.
Our own belovèd Master "hath many things to say."
Look forward to His teaching, unfolding day by day;
To whispers of His Spirit, to insight clear and sweet,
To blessèd consolation, while resting at His feet.
"From Glory unto Glory!" Our faith hath seen the King.
We own His matchless beauty, adoringly we sing;
But He hath more to show us! O thought of untold bliss!
And on we press rejoicing in blessèd hope to this:—
To marvelous outpourings of 'treasures new and old,'
To largess of His bounty, paid in the King's own gold,
To glorious expansion of mysteries of grace,
To radiant unveilings of brightness from His face.
"From Glory unto Glory!" What great things He hath done,
What wonders He hath shown us, what triumphs He hath won!
We marvel at the record of blessings of the year!
But sweeter still than Christmas rings out His promise clear—
That "greater things," far greater, our longing eyes shall see!
We can but wait and wonder what "greater things" shall be!
But glorious fulfillments rejoicingly we claim,
While pleading in the power of His prevailing Name.
"From Glory unto Glory!" What mighty blessings crown
The lives for which our Lord hath laid His own so freely down!
Omnipotence to keep us, omniscience, too, to guide,
Jehovah's blessèd presence within us to abide!
The fullness of His blessing encompasseth our way;
The fullness of His promise crowns every brightening day;
The fullness of His glory is beaming from above,
While more and more we realize the fullness of His love.
"From Glory unto Glory!" Without a shade of care,
Because the Lord Who loves us will every burden bear;
Because we trust Him fully, and know that He will guide,
And know that He will keep us at His belovèd side.
"From Glory unto Glory!" Though tribulation fall,
It cannot touch our treasure, when Christ is All in All!
Whatever lies before us, there can be naught to fear,
For what are pain and sorrow when Jesus Christ is near?
"From Glory unto Glory!" O marvels of the Word!
"With open face beholding the glory of the Lord,"
We, even we (O wonder!) "are changed into the same,"
The image of our Savior, to glorify His Name.
Abiding in His presence, and walking in the light,
And seeking to do always what is "pleasing in His sight";
We look to Him to keep us "all glorious within,"
Because the blood of Jesus is cleansing from all sin.
The things behind forgetting, we only gaze before
"From Glory unto Glory," that "shineth more and more,"
Because our Lord hath said it, that such shall be our way,
(O splendor of the promise!) "unto the perfect day."
"From Glory unto Glory!" Our fellow travelers still
Are gathering on the journey! The bright electric thrill
Of quick, instinctive union, more frequent and more sweet,
Shall swiftly pass from heart to heart in true and tender beat.
And closer yet, and closer, the golden bonds shall be,
Enlinking all who love our Lord in pure sincerity;
And wider yet, and wider, shall circling glory glow,
As more and more are taught our God's mighty love to know.
O ye who seek the Savior, look up in faith and love;
Come up into the sunshine, so bright and warm above!
No longer tread the valley, but, clinging to His hand,
Ascend the shining summits and view the glorious land.
Our harp notes should be sweeter, our trumpet tones more clear,
Our anthems ring so grandly that all the world must hear!
O royal be our music, for who hath cause to sing
Like choruses of saved ones, the children of the King?
O, let our adoration for all that He hath done
Peal out beyond the heavens, while voice and life are one;
And let our consecration be real, and deep, and true.
O even now our hearts bow, and joyful vows renew!
"In full and glad surrender we give ourselves to Thee,
Thine utterly, and only, and evermore to be!
O Son of God, who lov'st us, we will be Thine alone,
Our being and possessions, shall henceforth be Thine own!"
Now onward, ever onward, "from strength to strength" we go,
While "grace for grace" abundant shall from His fullness flow,
To glory's full fruition, from glory's foretaste here,
Until His very presence crown happiest new year.
>from NetHymnal at
http://nethymnal.org/htm/f/r/fromglor.htm
ON PRAYER
"Walking with God down the avenue of prayer we acquire something of His likeness, and unconsciously we become witnesses to others of His beauty and His grace."
E. M. Bounds
PRAY FOR PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS TODAY
http://christiansincrisis.net/
DAILY BLESSING PACT
Use the following list as your daily prayer guide. Think of a brother or situation that applies and lift them up in prayer.
I am agreeing in prayer with you for God's blessings to overtake you!
PERSONAL
Marital harmony
Family unity
Children saved
Faithful pastor
Spirit-filled church
Real friendships
Relatives redeemed
Educational benefits
Recreational time
Fulfilling career
Favor with God and man
Be in God's will
FINANCIAL
Better Jobs
Raises or bonuses
Benefits
Sales & commissions
Business Growth
Settlements
Estates & inheritances
Investment increase
Rebates & returns
Checks in the mail
Gifts & surprises
Money to be found
Bills decrease while blessings increase
"And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God" (Deut. 28:2).
[As you travel on business or vacation, let me know if you'd like us to add you to our prayer chain to pray for your safety and spiritual effectiveness. I'll add your name to the list for the time you'll be away.]
CLASSIFIEDS
Are you looking for something or do you have something to sell? Let me know and I'll put it in this newsletter.
Book your next vacation with us!
http://www.ChristianConnectionTravel.com
Books, Music & More!
http://www.ChristianConnectionBooks.com
Get your domain name here!
http://www.GoGlobalDomains.com
Let me show you how to earn money as you travel!
http://www.earnGlobalVacations.com/
It's as easy as 1-2-3!
SHARE YOUR FAVORITE WEBSITES
Tell us what sites you find enjoyable and why.
Earth from Above (striking photos)
http://justpaste.it/3ky
Gorgeous photos of the Maldives
http://justpaste.it/5ko
France from above
http://justpaste.it/france
All links to websites are provided as a service, and do not imply endorsement by this ministry.
(BTW: whenever the URLs in this newsletter are too long to turn into links on your e-mail program, just copy the entire URL (two lines or more) and paste it into a temporary email message. Then delete the return in the middle of it and copy it again. Then paste it into your web browser and hit enter.)
As soon as I get a grip on reality, I'm going to choke it.
Min. Frank Coleman, Editor
Rev.frank@gmail.com
Thanks for welcoming CONNECTIONS into your in-box!
CONNECTIONS is a periodic newsletter of announcements, news, recommendations, articles, and other information helpful to men in our spiritual growth. Thanks for welcoming CONNECTIONS into your in-box!
The CONNECTIONS Team offers a variety of activities for men to interact with other men on our journey of faith in Christ together. Large group, small group, and one-to-one events encourage relationship building and spiritual strengthening that result in maximizing the potential we all have in Christ.
Contact Min. Frank Coleman, 773-410-1483, frank@frankcoleman.com if you'd like to participate in a men's discipleship program.
Path Of Life Ministries is located in Chicago, IL.
Visit our website at: http://www.pathoflifeministries.net/
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