FreEzine -FreEzine -FreEzine -FreEzine -FreEzine -FreEzine - Issue 44 Vol 5 # 2 February 2004 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. FreEzine is also available in Spanish - La Revista libre de Ezine, French - La Revue de Ezine libre, German - FreiEzine Zeitschrift, Italian - La Rivista di Ezine libera, and Portuguese - Revista livre de Ezine. 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: Guest Editorial: Thanking God in the Pain Natural Remedies: Cuts and Abrasions Prayer Thought: The Will of God From My Case Files: The Long Engagement Slips that go Pass in the Type: What is the Harbinger of Spring? What's On? Seminars & Workshops Repeatable Quotable: When a Christian Prays... Article: Grey Hairs Havagiggle: War Heroes Split Second Wisdom: Infinite Power - For or Against The Extensive Exposition: Luther's 95 Theses The Funny Bone: Give a Dog a Bone (Dangerous Assumptions) Sermon Snippet: The Love that Christ Commands Theologically Speaking: Has God Forgotten Us? Freebies: Back At... Take a Hint: Reading the Bible for all it's Worth Cooks Corner: Simple Pasta Sauce Watch This Space Subscription & Other Information And in Closing: Very Fast Means of Communication FreEzine -FreEzine -FreEzine -FreEzine -FreEzine -FreEzine Guest Editorial: Thanking God in the Pain It's easy to give thanks when life is full of blessings, such as when we receive a promotion, exchange wedding vows, find the house of our dreams, or have our first child. During these periods of joy, our communication line to God can be overflowing with praise and thanksgiving. However, what about when life hurts-when we lose our job, experience the death of a loved one, or receive a shocking, life-threatening medical diagnosis? What then? How are we to react to these unstable, even tragic, times in our lives? If any man knew about tragedy, suffering, and hardship, it was the apostle Paul. Yet, in spite of his pain, he kept God at the forefront: "Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" (1 Thessalonians 5:13). In addition, James says: "Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials; knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance" (James 1:2-3). For most of us, this is an extremely difficult, even illogical, task. How can we thank God during painful, trying situations that we endure? One example of thankfulness in the midst of horrible circumstances is that of Gracia Burnham. Held hostage by Muslim terrorists for over a year and forced to watch her husband die, Burnham experienced the pinnacle of physical and emotional pain. When she returned to America, Gracia faced all types of questions. One of the most frequent queries, she said, was, "Do you ever just sit down and say, 'Why me, God'" To that question, Gracia answers: You know what? I have those thoughts all the time. But it's "Why me God? Why did you choose for me to be born in America where I hear about you, where I have a loving family, where we have plenty to eat, where I can make a choice of my career? Why did I have beautiful children that are healthy? Why do I have a place to live when there are some people who live in a little cardboard box somewhere?" If I write down the bad things that have happened to me in my life, there's very, very few. One of them lasted quite a long time. But when I write down the good things God's done for me, my goodness! You just go on and on and on. You just fill page after page after page after page. That's what I say to people. "Why me, God? Why have you blessed me so totally?" Think of the difficult circumstances in your life. Regardless of how they compare to Gloria Burnham's situation, how can you see the good in everything? How can you thank God for your difficulties, as well as your blessings? Remember, God has a perfect plan for your life. Temporary setbacks should never disrupt our confidence that He will provide. Even in the most dire situations, we all have something for which to be thankful: our children, family, job, or a pillow on which to lay our head. We can always thank Christ for the sacrifice He made for us. Life itself is a gift from God. It's important that, like Gracia Burnham, we face and endure the challenges God lays before us. When we seek an early escape, we cheat ourselves of what God wants to do in our lives. In addition, we cheat others of an example of hope and encouragement. As the holidays quickly approach, with Christmas already upon us, let our light shine to others by praising God in all circumstances. It's easy to thank Him for family and a table full of food, but remember, as the year winds down and the new year begins, set your mind upon continually praising God. Does this mean shouting to the heavens all day long? Of course not. Psalm 92 provides a blueprint for praise when it says we should "declare [God's] lovingkindness in the morning, And [His] faithfulness by night" (verse 1-2). Begin and end each day with praise to God and fill the moments in between with further submission to His will. This Thanksgiving, make it a point to thank God throughout the day for His grace and provision. You'll soon discover that He will guide you through life's most difficult circumstances. --Dr. Charles Stanley, www.intouch.org. Natural Remedies: Exploring some of nature's hygiene helpers and ways to fix basic ills, chills, aches and pains. Common sense is paramount - some of these hints are health related, and if you have a medical condition such high blood pressure, are taking prescription medication or are in any way unsure whether you should follow the self-help suggestion/s provided, consult a doctor or natural therapist. This month: Cuts and Abrasions The next time you need an antibacterial ointment for a cut or wound, apply unprocessed (unheated and unaltered) honey. It contains a natural antibiotic that has proved effective against organisms that cause infections. -- Pamela Allardice, Natural therapist Prayer Thought: The Will of God "O God, stay with me; let no word cross my lips that is not your word, no thoughts enter my mind that are not your thoughts, no deed ever be done or entertained by me that is not your deed. Amen." That was my own prayer, and its form is an exception. That is why I wrote it down because I don't very often feel induced to address my Creator in that sort of way. To me prayer is a sort of understanding. -- Malcolm Muggeridge (1903-1990) cited in Edythe Draper, Draper's Book of Quotations for the Christian World (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1992). Entry 8748 From My Case Files: The Long Engagement 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 section will be included from time to time to share some of these snippets. Names have been changed to protect privacy. Maggie and Egbert came to see me for counselling. Egbert told me that he wished that they had been engaged for a longer period of time before they got married. He went on to explain that it would have made their marriage shorter! Slips that go Pass in the Type: What is the Harbinger of Spring? One of the translators of Plato construed through the Latin and not direct from the Greek. In the Latin version "hirundo" stood as "hirdo", and the translator, overlooking the mark of contraction, declared to the astonished world on the authority of Plato that the "horse-leech" instead of the swallow was the harbinger of spring. -- From Henry B. Wheatley, Literary Blunders, L&R Hartley, Murwillumbah, NSW, 1990 What's On? Seminars & Workshops: The 2004 GNU Seminars (Hope, Heaven and Immortality; The Gospel and the Blessed Hope: Melbourne: February 27th & 28th , Carey Baptist Grammer School Chapel, Corner of Barkers Rd. & Daniel St, Kew. Sydney: March 6 Thornleigh Community Centre, Corner Phyllis and Central Ave., Thornleigh. Brisbane: March 12th & 13th, The Holiday Inn, Roma St., Brisbane (next door to the Transit Centre, city end). Topics The Gospel, Our Only Hope. Immortality, Mirage or Fact? Beyond Our Wildest Dreams. The Invincible Surmise (The Development of the Biblical faith in Immortality). An Eternal Weight of Glory (How the Blessed Hope addresses the Disappointments and Injustices of this Life.)); also check out the following web sites: , ; and . Repeatable Quotable: When a Christian Prays... A Christian is more music When he prays, Than spheres, or angel's praises be, In panegyric alleluias. --John Donne (1572-1631) (A panegyric is a formal expression of praise - Editor) Article: Grey Hairs During the school year I teach children of primary age in 2 small schools about God. I have a friend my age who also teaches Scripture to young children and one day one of her pupils asked "Are you and Mrs. Jones sisters?" "No" she replied "but I would like her to be. Why do you ask?" The reply was simple - "because you both have grey curly hair." When she told me we both had a good laugh, realising grey hairs come with age. Some people dread old age and all it can bring while others just face it philosophically because - let's face it, no one can dodge the fact we all grow old. The young rarely think of getting old, they think they are "bullet proof." It is only when a young friend of theirs dies or someone close to them has a bad accident that they are forced to think about the realities of life. The Bible is full of wonderful promises from God to us, to help us through life and one of these is particularly relevant to people like us with grey hair. It is in Isaiah 46:4 and reads: "I am your God and will take care of you until you are old and your hair is grey. I made you and will care for you; I will give you help and rescue you." So if Almighty God promises to carry us through to old age, it doesn't matter whether the hair is grey or you have no hair at all, you have His promise and Psalm 145:13 last part says: "The Lord is faithful to all His promises and loving towards all He has made." -- Pat Jones, Just a Minute, Havagiggle: War Heroes As everyone was leaving the church, the Pastor noticed a young boy in the hallway, looking at a number of pictures on the wall. He said, "Well, hello, young man, how are you today?" The boy said, "Oh, fine." The pastor said, "I see you are looking at the pictures on the wall, do you know who the men in those pictures are?" The boy said "No, who are they?" The pastor said proudly "Well, son, those are pictures of the men in our congregation that gave their life in the service". The boy replied, " The 10 o'clock or the 11 o'clock service? --Editor's archives Split Second Wisdom: If you tell the truth, you have infinite power supporting you; but if not, you have infinite power against you. -- Charles Gordon The Extensive Exposition. 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 the electronic book: Luther's 95 Theses. Although this was made available with the August 2001 issue of FreEzine, it has been made available again at a reader's request. In Adobe(R) Acrobat format. Articles may be obtained free by writing to the editor and asking for the article by name. The Funny Bone: Give a Dog a Bone (Dangerous Assumptions) One day a mailman was greeted by a boy and a huge dog. The mailman said to the boy, "does your dog bite?" "No," replied the boy. Just then the huge dog bit the mailman. The man yelled, "I thought you said that your dog doesn't bite!" "He doesn't," replied the boy, "that's not my dog!" Aside: Are you a writer, a poet or an illustrator? If you have something you have written or illustrated that you would like to consider having published, a free 60 page Style Guide is available online at , or from the Editor of this FreEzine. There is no charge for publishing and YOU receive payment on publication (see the free Style Guide for details). Publishing formats include Books, Pamphlets, Leaflets, Magazines & Ezines, Online video & audio, CD-ROM & floppy-disk electronic books & multimedia, Video & Audio tapes and Talking Books & audio CDs. Sermon Snippet: The Love that Christ Commands The love that Christ commands is not easy, even for people who are blessed with great natural warmth of heart. And it is not impossible, even for those of us who tend to be crabby and short-tempered. For Christian love is not a vague feeling of affection for someone. It is rather a condition of the heart and will that causes us to seek the welfare of others-including people we don't particularly like, and even people who have done us wrong. --Louis Cassels (1922-1974) Theologically Speaking: Has God Forgotten Us? We are assailed daily with tidings of violence, perversion and grief. To be able to watch our fellow human beings suffer calamity is to risk becoming senseless of their great need. Now and then something different happens which serves to awaken us. Recently an American couple in the State of Maine locked their four year old daughter in an oven and cooked her to death. The neighbours were alarmed by her cries and the smell of burning hair. When the law enforcement officers arrived the murderous parents calmly reported that they had been `executing Lucifer'. Worse still, the act had been performed to the accompaniment of Christian music. Small wonder that the whole world keeps asking, where was God? Why doesn't he act? Does he have no heart? Is he a monster that obtains pleasure from the sufferings of his creatures? I believe that all such questions are to be expected given the circumstances. Inasmuch as our yearning for justice is traceable to the fact that God `made man upright', it is natural for us to expect God to do something about rampant evil. Both believers and unbelievers appear to have such an expectation. However, there is a qualitative difference in the expectancy of the unbeliever. His expectation is a demand for God to be as kind as he feels himself to be. It supposes that God's goodness can be gauged by human goodness. It infers that man is kinder than God is. This is blasphemy. On the other hand, the man of faith waits expectantly with his mouth stopped. He longs for God to answer his prayers. Although tempted every day to do so he cannot believe that God is not absolutely good. Remember the disciples who desperately fought to save themselves from drowning in the Sea of Galilee. Jesus was asleep during the time of their most pressing need and was apparently oblivious to their helpless plight. `Don't you care?', they said to him. Then he rebuked the wind and the sea and it stood still. This final act of his showed that they need not have been worried. Remember Martha complaining to Jesus. `If you had only been here my brother would not have died.' Jesus hadn't come when they had called. He had failed the family in their time of crisis. Contrary to appearances, however, Jesus was concerned and also in control of the situation. His late arrival was deliberate. He even said, when he finally arrived, `I am glad for your sakes I was not here'. Then Jesus made his way to the tomb and called the dead back to life. Jesus final act in the drama showed those present that they need not have been in anguish after all. The Christian must maintain his trust in God even though all the things that happen call God into question. Amid the darkness of this world his mind may be alight with the knowledge of God that is only available through the cross of Christ. The cross is that point in history at which God finally acts. The cross gives the believer a glimpse of what the end of all things will be. Good will conquer evil. Righteousness will prevail. Life will reign over death. At the cross the darkness is pierced and the light of the love of God shines through. The cross teaches us that we need not be in anguish; we need not be in despair. It is God's final word. The world tempts us daily to think that God has forgotten us, but we must never let go of the testimony of God's love that has come to us. To do so would be to abandon ourselves to hopelessness and anger. Let us ever remember Calvary and rejoice that God has remembered his people. --Ron Allen Freebies: Back At... "Back-At" is a poster for use in the office or home to advise visitors that you are away and will be returning back at a specified time. Two versions are included, one for hanging on a wall and the other for hanging on a door knob. (In adobe(r) Acrobat format). Available in English, French, German, Spanish, Italian or Portuguese. If you want a free copy, email me today, specifying the language you require: . (Please check the available space in your email box before requesting attachments) Take a Hint: Reading the Bible for all it's Worth George Burnside relates that on February 13, 1918, in the closing phases of the first World War, Viscount Allemby, the commander of the British Army in the Middle East, was outlining to his officers a plan of frontal attack on the village of Michmash. One of his officers, Major Petrie, felt sure that he had heard the name Michmash.Buried Evidence before, but could not remember where or when. That night he could not sleep, for turning the word over in his mind. Michmash, Michmash he mused. At last it occurred to him. Michmash was the name of a place mentioned in the Bible. Quickly finding the passage in 1 Samuel 13 and 14, the major rushed to his superior officer, roused him from sleep, and excitedly pointed out the verses describing a battle in that very place 3,000 years before. The Biblical account tells how Jonathan and his armour bearer climbed up a steep path by two sharp rocks and subdued the Philistines in their rocky stronghold. The general decided it was worth investigating, and sent out scouts at once to check on the accuracy of the Bible description. When the scouts located the sharp rocks and other landmarks, they reported their findings. The commander and major studied the Bible account more carefully, and that night changed their plan of attack. The next morning a small detachment of British soldiers followed Jonathan's route, surprised the Turks, and routed them with ease (From Buried Evidence, Signs Publishing Company, Victoria, 1950). The Bible was written to assist us in battle. Not necessarily the way that Petrie used it but nevertheless the battle is real enough (Ephesians 6: 12 reads, For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.) Reading backwards, verse 11 tells us to Put on the whole armour of God, that we may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Continuing to read backwards, verse 10 tells us we don't have to do it alone: Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Read with me verses thirteen to eighteen: (13) Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. (14) Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; (15) And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; (16) Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. (17) And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: (18) Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints You and I have access to a Bible. Let's read it for all it's worth. Forewarned = forearmed; forearmed = ready for battle! --Editor Cooks Corner: Simple Pasta Sauce 2 - 3 cups of tomato sauce, 2 teaspoons of basil, 1/2 teaspoon of thyme, 1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder, 1/4 teaspoon of salt and a dash of pepper (optional). Combine all ingredients in saucepan. Bring to boil and simmer while preparing pasta. Stir before serving. For variety, add onion powder, red pepper, or your favourite spice. Serves: 4 -- Adapted from Windows Cuisine 2.0 (SMI Kitchen) 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! HR (email) writes, "In music, what is the difference between 'a cappella' and unaccompanied?" Ans: HR, there is no difference, as a cappella is an adverb meaning without instrumental accompaniment. The Italian word 'cappella' means a chapel and the 'a' means 'to'. To sing 'a cappella' is to sing after the style of a chapel choir ('coro della cappella'): that is without instrumental accompaniment. --Editor. 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. 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And, in closing: Three very fast means of communication: 1) Telephone 2) Television 3) Tell a gossip