><> : <>< : ><> : <>< : ><> : <>< : ><> FreEzine -FreEzine -FreEzine -FreEzine -FreEzine -FreEzine - ><> : <>< : ><> : <>< : ><> : <>< : ><> Issue 28 Vol 3 # 10 October 2002 ><> : <>< : ><> : <>< : ><> : <>< : ><> FreEzine is a free email magazine/newsletter containing articles of interest from a Christian perspective and is published no less than monthly. FreEzine is NOT Spam and is only sent to people who request it. If you ever want to stop (or start) receiving FreEzine you'll find instructions at the end of this newsletter. A special "hello" to all of our new subscribers. We welcome and appreciate feedback on how we can improve this e-zine for you. IF YOU FIND THIS NEWSLETTER USEFUL... ... PLEASE FORWARD IT TO FRIENDS AND COLLEAGUES! ><> : <>< : ><> : <>< : ><> : <>< : ><> IN THIS ISSUE: Editorial: Anger What's On? Seminars & Workshops Repeatable Quotable: Making the Time for Friendship Article: Who'll Take the Son Havagiggle: Notes to a Rural Milkman The Extensive Exposition: The Luke's Eye View The Funny Bone: Where The Grass Is Greener Split Second Wisdom: Who Invented Copper Wire? Reader's Write: Noah's Ark Sermon Snippet: Let Us Reason Together Theologically Speaking: Haven For Saints Or... For the Children: Let Your Light Shine Take a Hint: Collecting Clipart Online Freebies: Free E-book (See The Extensive Exposition, above) From My Case Files: Necessity becomes the Mother of Persuasion Letters to the Editor Watch This Space Observation: Plugging In Back Page: Einstein's Recipe for Peace Subscription & Other Information ><> : <>< : ><> : <>< : ><> : <>< : ><> FreEzine -FreEzine -FreEzine -FreEzine -FreEzine -FreEzine ><> : <>< : ><> : <>< : ><> : <>< : ><> Editorial: Anger Strikes Again Liza Kappelle in the Sunday Times (See reference below), reports, 'A Queensland couple had a shocking deja vu when they heard about the terrorist blasts in Bali which injured their youngest son, who was on holiday with his Southport Sharks football mates. Ray and Anne Devine's eldest child Shane, 30, lives near the World Trade Centre in New York and they spent hours in fear after the September 11 terrorist attacks last year before he could reassure them he was unharmed. Adam Devine, 21, the youngest of the six Devine sons, was less fortunate. He suffered cuts and a massive shrapnel wound to his right leg in the Sari Club blast which injured most of the eight mates he was with, and may have killed close friend Billy Hardy, 20, sibling of Big Brother star Jessica. Ray Devine was first worried then angry when he heard that a second of his sons had been threatened by terrorists. [he said] "I'm very bitter now, very angry now ... what right have these cowards to stuff around with my children." ' (See reference below). Anger is our chosen response to provocation. We have a right to be angry, in fact, the Bible gives us licence us to be angry (Ephesians 4:26,27) but follows that with an immediate warning: 'Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: / Neither give place to the devil.' This passage tells us at least four things: 1. It is okay to be angry. 2. Do not allow these feelings to affect your relationship with God (compare Eccl. 5:6). 3. Do not allow these feelings to affect your health or your relationship with others. 4. Do not allow these feelings to invite a relationship with Satan. Anger is a normal part of grieving. Let us then use this anger to motivate us to be better citizens in our nation and subjects in His Kingdom. -- Editor. Reference: Liza Kappelle in the Sunday Times . For more information on the Bali tragedy, the Bali Globe [newspaper] has an English language website, . A detailed analysis of the event is also conjectured by B Raman at ><> : <>< : ><> : <>< : ><> : <>< : ><> What's On? Seminars & Workshops: For free Seminars in your area, locally, nationally & internationally, visit . ><> : <>< : ><> : <>< : ><> : <>< : ><> Repeatable Quotable: Making the Time for Friendship 'Now it isn't that I don't like you, Susan, because, after all, in moments of quiet, I'm strangely drawn toward you, but - well, there haven't been any quiet moments.' -- David Huxley, from the 1938 movie, 'Bringing Up Baby' ><> : <>< : ><> : <>< : ><> : <>< : ><> Article: Who'll Take the Son A wealthy man and his son loved to collect rare works of art. They had everything in their collection, from Picasso to Raphael. They would often sit together and admire the great works of art. When the Vietnam conflict broke out, the son went to war. He was very courageous and died in battle while rescuing another soldier. The father was notified and grieved deeply for his only son. About a month later, just before Christmas, there was a knock at the door. A young man stood at the door with a large package in his hands. He said, "Sir, you don't know me, but I am the soldier for whom your son gave his life. He saved many lives that day, and he was carrying me to safety when a bullet struck him in the heart and he died instantly. He often talked about you, and your love for art." The young man held out this package. "I know this isn't much. I'm not really a great artist, but I think your son would have wanted you to have this." The father opened the package. It was a portrait of his son, painted by the young man. He stared in awe at the way the soldier had captured the personality of his son in the painting. The father was so drawn to the eyes that his own eyes welled up with tears. He thanked the young man and offered to pay him for the picture. "Oh, no sir, I could never repay what your son did for me. It's a gift." The father hung the portrait over his mantle. Every time visitors came to his home he took them to see the portrait of his son before he showed them any of the other great works he had collected. The man died a few months later. There was to be a great auction of his paintings. Many influential people gathered, excited over seeing the great paintings and having an opportunity to purchase one for their collection. On the platform sat the painting of the son. The auctioneer pounded his gavel. "We will start the bidding with this picture of the son. Who will bid for this picture?" There was silence. Then a voice in the back of the room shouted, "We want to see the famous paintings. Skip this one." But the auctioneer persisted. "Will someone bid for this painting? Who will start the bidding? $100, $200?" Another voice shouted angrily. "We didn't come to see this painting. We came to see the Van Gogh's, the Rembrandts. Get on with the real bids! But still the auctioneer continued. "The son! The son! Who'll take the son? " Finally, a voice came from the very back of the room. It was the long-time gardener of the man and his son. "I'll give $10 for the painting." Being a poor man, it was all he could afford. "We have $10, who will bid $20?" "Give it to him for $10. Let's see the masters." "$10 is the bid, won't someone bid $20?" The crowd was becoming angry. They didn't want the picture of the son. They wanted the more worthy investments for their collections. The auctioneer pounded the gavel. "Going once, twice, SOLD for $10!" A man sitting on the second row shouted, "Now let's get on with the collection!" The auctioneer laid down his gavel. "I'm sorry, the auction is over." "What about the paintings?" "I am sorry. When I was called to conduct this auction, I was told of a secret stipulation in the will. I was not allowed to reveal that stipulation until this time. Only the painting of the son would be auctioned. Whoever bought that painting would inherit the entire estate, including the paintings. The man who took the son gets everything!" God gave His Son 2,000 years ago to die on a cruel cross. Much like the auctioneer, His message today is: "The son, the Son, who'll take the Son?" Because, you see, whoever takes the Son gets everything. Anon - Courtesy, Veronica Chambers <> : <>< : ><> : <>< : ><> : <>< : ><> Havagiggle: Notes to a Rural Milkman. 1. "Dear Milkman, I've just had a baby, please leave another one." 2. "Please leave an extra pint of paralysed milk." 3. "Please don't leave any more milk. All they do is drink it" 4. "Milkman please close the gate behind you because the birds keep pecking the tops off the milk." 5. "Sorry not to have paid your bill before, but my wife had a baby and I've been carrying it around in my pocket for weeks." 6. "Sorry about yesterdays note. I didn't mean one egg and a dozen pints, but the other way round." 7. "When you leave my milk knock on my bedroom window and wake me because I want you 'to give me a hand to turn the mattress." 8. "Please knock. My TV's broken down and I missed last nights 'Sopranos'. If you saw it, will you tell me what happened." 9. My daughter says she wants a milkshake. Do you do it before you deliver or do I have to shake the bottle." 10. "Please send me a form for cheap milk, for I have a baby two months old and did not know about it until a neighbour told me." 11. "Milk is needed for the baby. Father is unable to supply it." 12. "From now on please leave two pints every other day and one pint on the days in between, except Wednesdays and Saturdays when I don't want any milk." 13. My back door is open. Please put milk in 'fridge, get money out of cup in drawer and leave change on kitchen table, because we want to play bingo tonight." 14. "Please leave no milk today. When I say today, I mean tomorrow, for I wrote this note yesterday...or is it today?" 15. "When you come with the milk please put the coal on the boiler, let dog out and put newspaper inside the screen door. PS. Don't leave any milk." 15. "No milk. Please do not leave milk at No. 14 either as he is dead until further notice." --kaitken@iprimus.com.au ><> : <>< : ><> : <>< : ><> : <>< : ><> The Extensive Exposition. The Luke's Eye View, by Lionel Hartley Each issue we will make available a longer article available by email free to those who request it. This is to keep the FreEzine a readable length yet make available more in-depth material for those who are interested. Articles provided under this section do not always reflect totally the beliefs of the editor. In some issues more than one article will be available under this section and articles will need to be asked for by name to save confusion. We have no separate mailing list for the automatic despatch of articles in The Extensive Exposition so a separate request will need to be made for each article. This month's article is a free book by Dr Lionel Hartley. The book, The Luke's Eye View, seeks to highlight the uniqueness of Luke's biblical writings. The book was re-written for the GNU Seminars from an earlier publication by the same author, kataV Louvkan (according To Luke), Philadelphia Publications, 1984. The book is in Adobe(r) Acrobat format and a reader programme is required (Available free from www.adobe.com if you don't already have a copy). Articles may be obtained free by writing to the editor and asking for the article by name. This month: The Luke's Eye View, by Lionel Hartley ><> : <>< : ><> : <>< : ><> : <>< : ><> The Funny Bone: Where The Grass Is Greener - a parable. Adam was walking outside of the Garden of Eden with Cain and Abel when the boys were young. Cain and Abel looked into the garden and viewed waterfalls, lovely birds, lush forests and fruit trees bending over because of the large amounts of fruit on them. Then they took a long look at where they lived. It was dry, dusty with weeds and sickly-looking trees. "Daddy? Why don't we live in there instead of out here?" they asked innocently. Adam said, "Well sons. Eve and I use to live in there at one time. But your mother and I bit off more than we could chew and consequently ate us both out of house and home." -- Anon (Editor's archives) ><> : <>< : ><> : <>< : ><> : <>< : ><> Split Second Wisdom: Copper wire was invented when two misers found the same penny. -- Anon (Editor's archives) ><> : <>< : ><> : <>< : ><> : <>< : ><> Reader's Write: Noah's Ark, A message to live by... Everything I need to know, I learned from Noah's Ark... One: Don't miss the boat. Two: Remember that we are all in the same boat. Three: Plan ahead. It wasn't raining when Noah built the Ark. Four: Stay fit. When you're 600 years old, someone may ask you to do something really big. Five: Don't listen to critics; just get on with the job that needs to be done. Six: Build your future on high ground. Seven: For safety's sake, travel in pairs. Eight: Speed isn't always an advantage. The snails were on board with the cheetahs. Nine: When you're stressed, float a while. Ten: Remember, the Ark was built by amateurs; the Titanic by professionals. Eleven: No matter the storm, when you are with God, there's always a rainbow waiting. -- authorship unspecified, F J Gorry, If you have something you have written that you would like us to consider publishing, a free 60 page Style Guide is available online at , or from the Editor of this FreEzine. Submissions for FreEzine must not exceed 500 words and may be sent within the body of an email addressed to . ><> : <>< : ><> : <>< : ><> : <>< : ><> Sermon Snippet: Let Us Reason Together In Isaiah's first chapter there is this familiar passage: `Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord. Though your sins are like scarlet they shall be as white as snow...'. An alternative translation has it reading thus: `Come now and let us bring our reasoning to an end...'. Since this invitation comes on the end of a litany of charges brought by God against an unfaithful Israel, it is as though there is first an unanswerable indictment, followed at last by an offer of great forgiveness. Reason is an important and powerful element in human relations. But it is often unsatisfying. Suppose you dispute with a man. You know he is wrong and you are right; you damn him to his face. You make him eat his own words. He hasn't a leg to stand on. You prove to him that you are correct. So what! Where does that leave matters? When Jesus dealt with people, he never laboured to prove himself right. He did not try to triumph over them in debate. He didn't make victims of his opponents with his authority and his dialectic. Instead he sought to lead minds toward truth and insight. When an adulteress was brought to Jesus he did not say things that might have been ever so true. He did not say, `You have gotten what you deserve; serves you right, you brought it on yourself.' He knew that the woman had accepted her own condemnation already. She was in no doubt that she had done wrong. At that point love did not further the case against her but went on to offer pardon. In a domestic argument a man will sometimes keep insisting, `Honey, be reasonable.' Inevitably he does so to no avail. For with what measure he keeps saying, `Be reasonable,' with such a measure will his spouse be resentful. There is a time when disputants should say, `Let us bring our reasoning to an end. The time for grace has come. There is no healing in bare reason'. Augustine was brought to Christ by St.Ambrose. These two great men argued endlessly before Augustine capitulated to the Gospel. He said of his learned friend: `I began to love him not at first as a teacher of truth but as a fellow creature who was kind to me.' Whilst some of us will help the cause of truth some of the time with intellectual defence of its claims, most of us will do more good more often, by simply exhibiting a life enriched by the love of God, directed by God's peace; God's deep joy; persistent good will and high purpose. The Gospel is a reasonable faith. In its essentials it does not insult reason. But this is not its greatest appeal. Truth can be encountered on two levels. On one level there is ascertainable truth. For example the historicity of Jesus can be demonstrated from extra-biblical sources. This truth is ascertainable. On the other hand there is a way of knowing truth which can be called `insight'. This is an inner certification of something hitherto known but secretly and somewhat subconsciously. I preach a sermon in which I think that I have put something quite new. Afterwards someone comes and says, `I have always though that. Thank you'. The reason they thank me is because I have helped corroborate things they FELT were true. Occasions such as this can be thought of as moments of insight. Beauty illustrates the point. To sit on a mountaintop at dawn watching the sunrise, is to behold beauty. At such a time no rational submission as to why it is beautiful, is necessary. The beauty of nature strikes an answering chord with the beauty placed within by the creator. And reason is out of the picture. Whilst reason can help impress truth upon us, it mostly falls short of insight. In our life with others we ought to go beyond reason quite often. Proving someone wrong and ourselves right falls short of meeting the needs of our fellows. We need to go further by relentlessly loving them, until one day `the penny drops' and they SEE that love itself is God's truth. During the 2nd World Conflict a transport ship was torpedoed. It was carrying hundreds of troops. Among these were four chaplains: an Anglican, a Roman Catholic, a Jew and a Methodist. There were not enough life jackets for all. Spontaneously the chaplains shed their jackets and gave them to others. It was the most eloquent discourse any one of them had ever given. The time for reasoning had past. The time for self-sacrificing love had come. Let us look often at the one on the cross. Is it not so, that there apparent, is something beyond all argument. Something for which we were made and without which we cannot live - The love of God. May He give you insight. -- Ron J Allen (May 1992) ><> : <>< : ><> : <>< : ><> : <>< : ><> Theologically Speaking: Haven For Saints Or... "Do you mean to say..." he looked around at his friends seated at the well laden table, "that I could find myself in church next to a person who reeks of beer and Benson & Hedges and singing "shall WE gather at the river..."?. Rare eloquence indeed from our speaker. Maybe it was the heartfelt concern for the subject of his dissertation. Maybe it was the result of the warm glow that comes on the day of rest, when one can sit and eat and relax with those of like ways. He paused before deftly fitting the capstone. "Besides what would non-Christians think of us and our church; what would our witness be in the community, we must have some standards?" This speech clicked back the years for one of those seated. As a lad, on a similar occasion, he had asked: "Dad, why don't you come to church too" and he had readily accepted his father's reply: "I will son, one day, when I give up smoking" Well, the dad never did come to church, and, yes, you know the reason why. A child may not wonder why a good dad, husband and provider could not find fellowship with the brethren at church. But perhaps we could ask the reason why: Was it a misconception of the dad as to what a church was or was it a misconception of the church members as to what a church was? Church: haven for saints or hospital for sinners? That "God breathed" book tells of one "without spot or wrinkle" of whom it was said "this man welcomes sinners and eats with them."(1 Luke 15:2 NIV) Should we, 'who are sinners', do less? -- RJ Allen, ><> : <>< : ><> : <>< : ><> : <>< : ><> For the Children: Let Your Light Shine Matthew 5:16 says, Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Here it is put another way: This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine In every day, in every way I'm gonna let my little light shine ><> The light that shines is the light of love It out shines darkness from above It shines for me and it shines for you It shows you what the power of love can do ><> I'm gonna shine my light both bright and clear Shine my light both far and near Where there's a dark corner in this land I'm gonna let my little light shine ><> Sunday, He gave me the gift of love Monday, peace came from above Tuesday, He told me to have more faith Wednesday, He gave me a little more grace Thursday, He told me to watch and pray Friday, He told me just what to say Saturday, He gave me the power divine Just to let my little light shine. ><> This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine In every day, in every way I'm gonna let my little light shine --Anon 'You are the light of the world.' Matthew 5:14a ><> : <>< : ><> : <>< : ><> : <>< : ><> Take a Hint: Collecting Clipart Online Rather than buying and running clipart CDs, there is a host of clipart available free on the www. By downloading artwork into a folder on your computer it becomes readily available for use in bulletins, correspondence, posters, or what-ever you choose. Check first to ensure you have sufficient disk space on your computer for such a venture, and be sure to read the copyright information listed on each site before using it commercially or on your own website. Here are some sites to get you started: Religious Icon and Image Archive: Triple Seven Images: About.com Web Clip Art: Symbols in Christian Art & Architecture: ><> : <>< : ><> : <>< : ><> : <>< : ><> Freebies: Free E-book This month we offer a free e-book in Adobe(r) format - see The Extensive Exposition, above, for details. ><> : <>< : ><> : <>< : ><> : <>< : ><> From My Case Files: Necessity becomes the Mother of Persuasion After three decades of counselling, your editor (a retired sociologist) sometimes ponders some of the things which have come up in counselling that, in retrospect, contain an element of humour. This feature section will be included from time to time to share some of these snippets. Names have been changed to protect privacy. Egbert considered it a triumph that he had persuaded his wife, Maggie, to change from playing the piano to learning to play the clarinet. When I asked during a counselling session why he considered it a triumph, he said, 'Now I don't have to listen to her awful attempt at singing!' ><> : <>< : ><> : <>< : ><> : <>< : ><> Letters to the Editor Cantos de poetry, Catchwords, Changes, Clamourings, Clichés, Commendations, Comments, Commercials, Complaints, Compliments, Congratulates, Credits, Cries, Criticisms, Critiques? We'll Take All! ><> : <>< : ><> : <>< : ><> : <>< : ><> Watch This Space: Future issues will include other sections not listed here. Why not write to us suggesting what you would like to see included. ><> : <>< : ><> : <>< : ><> : <>< : ><> Observation: Plugging In My brain's going to explode. That's how I felt when I was about four months into working on my most recent record. We still had about two months to go before the record would be completed. I was working 12-hour days, we were over budget, and I wasn't sure if the record would be finished on time. I was overwhelmed. It had been awhile since I had met with the guys from my prayer group. Our prayer group has seven couples in it, and the women meet every Tuesday without fail. Sometimes the guys put off our meetings. But I need those guys in my life to keep me accountable in my Christian walk. So one day at the recording studio I said to my co-producer and engineer, "I'm going to lunch, and I don't know how long I will be gone." I met the guys in the boardroom at a nearby restaurant. It was perfect; we were away from everyone else. One guy had been struggling spiritually but had not told anyone. He began to weep. I confessed that I too had been struggling. We prayed for each other. Little did the people in the offices down the hall know that in the boardroom we were weeping and crying out to God. That day healing took place. Restoration took place. And afterward I thought, "Why did we wait so long? We need each other so much." Satan comes to steal and kill and destroy (John 10:10). Christian marriages are breaking up and families are falling apart; people aren't plugged in anywhere. Some people may attend church, but most of the time people aren't really plugged in to a group to help them to live for Christ. We have a lot of "lone rangers" who try to make it on their own. But we all need to find a family, a safe place, friends who will hold us accountable. Sometimes it is difficult to get together. We are so busy, and it seems as if we don't have time. But we need to nurture the relationships that God has given us. We need to be open, to admit our struggles, to be honest about what's going on in our lives. I don't know anyone who can make it on his or her own. We need to plug in, and I thank God for helping me to plug into an amazing group of brothers in Christ. They pray for me - and they hold me accountable to live for Jesus Christ. -- Michael W. Smith ( Michael is a Christian contemporary-music artist. In 1999 he received the Dove Award for Artist of the Year and the Dove Award for Producer of the Year. He and his wife, Debbie, are parents of five children and live in Franklin, Tennessee. Source: Decision, April 2000, Copyright (c) 2000 Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, ><> : <>< : ><> : <>< : ><> : <>< : ><> The Back Page: Einstein's Recipe for Peace Tell the truth to everyone; reconcile any anger before you pillow your head; stand up to temptation; don't take anything that isn't yours; do an honest day's work, and share what you have with those who are in need. -- Albert Einstein. ><> : <>< : ><> : <>< : ><> : <>< : ><> Subscription Information: FreEzine is a Free ezine magazine/newsletter, published by Lionel Hartley () no less than monthly and sent out ONLY to those who request it. As FreEzine uses an opt-in email list, we never buy or otherwise obtain email addresses. Although we encourage our readers to forward a copy of FreEzine to their friends and invite them to subscribe, we have a strictly No Spam Policy. To subscribe, please send an email telling us where you heard about FreEzine, to and type SUBSCRIBE FREEZINE in the subject line. To change your email address, please send a blank message to and type ADDRESS CHANGE FREEZINE in the subject line. To unsubscribe, simply send a blank message (we invite your comments also) to and type UNSUBSCRIBE FREEZINE in the subject line. It is NOT necessary to access a website and/or go through a complicated ritual to unsubscribe from FreEzine! Privacy: Protecting your privacy is very important to us. We will not share, rent, sell, or exchange your e-mail address with a third party for any purpose. Unsubscribing permanently removes your name and address. A note on the format: Your editor has considered many possible formats, including a colourfully illustrated E-book, webpage, Portable Document Format (.pdf), etc. Reluctantly, plain text was chosen to make this ezine available to the greatest number of users - DOS, Windows(R), Macintosh, etc. Address all correspondence to the editor Please do not use "Reply To Sender" email option as this magazine may occasionally be sent out by a commercial or other distributor, unrelated to FreEzine. Free offers in FreEzine of CD-ROMs, Back issues, software, posters, additional articles, screensavers, etc. have a time limit which is normally until the issue of the next edition of FreEzine. Special exceptions are sometimes made. Contact the editor for information. In order to cater for a variety of tastes and beliefs, the content of FreEzine does not always reflect totally the beliefs of the editor. Contents of FreEzine are COPYRIGHT and we make every endeavour to acknowledge sources. You may freely quote from FreEzine PROVIDED is cited as a reference source. Occasional contributions from Good News Australia are used with permission. YOUR contributions and comments most welcome. E&OE PS. This could be your next home: Check out ><> : <>< : ><> : <>< : ><> : <>< : ><>