FreEzine -FreEzine -FreEzine -FreEzine -FreEzine -FreEzine - Issue 45 Vol 5 # 3 March 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: Editorial: All Stressed Up, With Nowhere to Go Prayer Thought: Truth Not Shadows From My Case Files: The Bride Wore White Letters to the Editor: USB 2.0 Slips that go Pass in the Type: Misplaced Text What's On? Seminars & Workshops Repeatable Quotable: Peace Article: The New World Order Natural Remedies: Cystitis Havagiggle: Ten Things You Never Hear In Church Split Second Wisdom: The Cost of Living The Extensive Exposition: Mel v. Sam by Bruce N. Cameron The Funny Bone: Identity Crisis Sermon Snippet: Seeing But Not Seeing Theologically Speaking: Petrified Preacher Freebies: Money Smith Financial Calculator Take a Hint: Syrup of Figs Recipe Cooks Corner: No Bake Cookies Watch This Space Subscription & Other Information And in Closing: Doctrinal Balance FreEzine -FreEzine -FreEzine -FreEzine -FreEzine -FreEzine Editorial All Stressed Up, With Nowhere to Go I ignored the pain the first time. The second time my chest squeezed sharply. I thought about all the men who dropped dead of a heart attack at my age-35. So, I saw my doctor thinking the chest pain was a warning. The doctor gave me a stress test and sent me to specialists. Braced for the worst, I went to hear the test results. "You're going to die one of these days, but it won't be from your heart." Stress was the cause of my physical pain. "What's your lifestyle like?" the doctor asked. The past several years, I was pastoring a growing church, working on my seminary doctorate, being a husband to my wife and father to my young children. The doctor classified me as a hard driving, over-achieving. Was I stressed? Yes! And the chest pain had indeed been a warning. Stress is a major contributor to heart problems, some forms of cancer, accidental injury, cirrhosis of the liver and depression. People everywhere feel the effects of stress in anxiety, headaches, tension and burnout. Christians are not immune to stress. People who strive for excellence often feel very stressed and are prime candidates for burnout. Peace is the opposite of stress. The peace that comes from God is more than a match for stress. And it is guaranteed to any Christian who will take the right steps to de-stress, rather than stay distressed. Live life from the inside out. Spend time strengthening your personal relationship with God. When your life is built on an inner strength through your relationship with God, outside influences have limited ability to shake you. Get into God's Word to build inner strength. And get God's Word into you. Hear, read, memorise it and meditate on it. You'll be ready to meet whatever stress comes your way. Pray. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6). Praying takes discipline. Write out a list of your cares. Then picture yourself handing one item at a time over to God. Leave your list with Him and refuse to worry because God can handle it. Eliminate sin. Avoid sin-avoid stress. Living in sin invites stress into your life. Ignoring God's commands commits you to self-induced stress. When you're experiencing undue stress, check to make sure you're following the will of God. Fast. The Bible promises great strength and power when prayer is coupled with fasting for a time. Jesus recommended prayer and fasting to His disciples when they were confronted by the most stubborn demons (Matthew 17:21). Prayer and fasting can also be a powerful prescription for chronic stress. Find solitude. Try cultivating quiet times into your life. Take a walk, sit on the porch. You'll feel less stressed and begin to hear the voice of God with clarity. Streamline your agenda. Say "no" once in awhile. God alone should set the pace. Seek Him as you plan your day and calendar. Cultivate a positive attitude. Think on what is true, noble, just, pure, lovely, good, virtuous and praiseworthy (Philippians 4:8). Dwelling on the negative or giving in to worry, fear, anger, or bitterness can bring stress into your life. Resolve to have the mind of Christ and be less stressed (Philippians 2:5). Maintain your temple. What affects your body will affect your soul. Eat right, exercise, rest and relax and reduce stress. Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Be encouraged! God cares for your needs. He has power over any stressor and His peace will comfort you. John 14:27 says, "Good morning, this is God! I will be handling all your problems today. I will not need your help-so, have a good day." All stressed up with nowhere to go? Go to God and find rest! -- Dr. David Jeremiah Prayer Thought: Truth Not Shadows Let truth, light of my heart, and not the shadows within me speak to me! I slid down into that state and was in darkness, but even from there I loved you. I strayed, and yet I remembered you. I heard your voice behind me, telling me to return, but I heard only faintly because of the uproar of the restless. And now I am returning, sweaty and out of breath, to your fountain. Let no one get in my way. I will drink this and I will live it. May I not be my life; I have lived badly on my own. I was my own death. I revive in you. Speak to me; discuss with me. I have believed your books, and their words are full of mystery. --Saint Augustine of Hippo (354-430) From My Case Files: The Bride Wore White 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 made a snide comment about her husband Egbert when she said that at their wedding 'the bride wore white for purity and yet the groom wore black!' Egbert was quick to insist that the reason that the bride wore white was that 'all home appliances come in white!' - Much work was needed in restoring their relationship. Letters to the Editor KM (email) asks, What is USB 2.0? USB stands for Universal Serial Bus and is a means of connecting serial devices to a computer without re-booting the system. USB 2.0 was introduced by Microsoft in April 2000 with specifications defined by the international USB Promoters Group. The maximum speed of USB 2.0 is upgraded to 480 Mbps comparing to 12 Mbps of USB 1.1. USB 2.0 is backward compatible to the devices of USB 1.1. --Editor. Slips that go Pass in the Type: One kind of misprint that we may see occasionally is the misplacement of some lines of type. This may easily occur when in conventional printing the formes (the a body of type secured in a chase for printing) are being locked (bolted together) and in computerised type when the text is converted to 'postscript' by the printing software, and the result is naturally nonsense that just confuses the reader. Sometimes this nonsense may still make some sense. Probably the finest instance of this misplacement occurred in an 1856 edition of 'Men of the Time' where the entry relating to Samuel Wilberforce (the then Bishop of Oxford) got mixed up with that of Robert Owen, the Socialist. The resulting entry stated that the bishop was to be "a confirmed sceptic as regards revealed religion, but a believer in Spiritualism". -- Adapted from Henry B. Wheatley, Literary Blunders, L&R Hartley, Murwillumbah, NSW, 1990 What's On? Seminars & Workshops: Six new seminars on Life Management have been added to Salubrity Seminar's Website . The 2004 GNU Seminars (Hope, Heaven and Immortality; The Gospel and the Blessed Hope) have finished, however the presentations are available on audio CD & cassette from . Also a number of free lectures are advertised on . Repeatable Quotable: Peace A great many people are trying to make peace, but that has already been done. God has not left it for us to do; all we have to do is to enter into it. -- Dwight Lyman Moody (1837-1899) Article: The New World Order It would be easy to think that the task of building a better human society is something that belongs alone to the likes of George Bush or Paul Howard. But is this true? Perhaps the gruelling and noble business of constructing the political framework for a better world is in the hands of someone else. However, politics alone will not improve society. The Great Wall of China was a gigantic structure involving immense expenditure and labour. Within a few years of its completion it had been breached three times - not by breaking down the wall but by bribing the gate-keepers. It was the human element that failed. Character collapsed so that the great structure did not work. Here is a lesson for the Christian church and all its individuals. We have a task of building into human lives, moral and Spiritual foundations that will make good political structures work. As we contemplate the prospect of a "New World Order", this question needs to be answered: Do the people who will inhabit the proposed "New World" have in their personalities the spiritual foundations to sustain a decent ordering of human life? I will suggest three essentials for a new and better world. 1) Penitence: Unless all the nations - their leaders and their people - become conscious of a common guilt, there can be no hope. One of the worst effects of human conflict is that the longer it lasts the more adamant each side becomes that it is right and the other is wrong. War destroys the foundations of humility and penitence. When a war has been won and lost, let no one suppose that the victors alone were in the right. It is a matter of public record that Saddam Hussein (for example) was created, at least partly, by the economic greed of many of those nations who vanquished him. The church has a tremendous thought to contribute to the creation of world peace; "'All' we like sheep have gone astray". "'All' have sinned and come short of the glory of God." Such a confession is seldom heard from statesmen. All peoples of the earth need to confess their common guilt in failing to seek each other's best interests. 2) A better world would need a plentiful supply of goodwill. There would need to be a universal recognition of the rights of others; a willingness to make sacrifices for the general good. One of the tragedies of war is that it undermines goodwill. Though we have fought in many wars for ideal aims, at war's end goodwill had dried up. When nations set about to make peace, goodwill is the very thing necessary. But it has all been blasted. At the end of World War One C E Montague, a British journalist, wrote a book called "Disenchantment". He was disenchanted because while everyone was making vast architectural plans for world peace, he was looking at the people. He could see they were full of bitterness. He wrote: "Just when there seems to be such a babble as never before about these grandiose structures, bricks have run short". He saw the lack of individual moral "stuff" out of which all social structures must be built. Vindictive ill-will solves no problems. Only magnanimity builds anything. Goodwill that marshals intelligence, overrides enmity, out-wears ingratitude and tenaciously commits itself to the good of all mankind, only this will do. 3) Courage and Faith: Scepticism and cynicism will not make the world a better place. Those who are adventurous and really believe that they can help improve humanity's lot, ought not think they will be able to do so without subscribing to those principles which were incarnate in Jesus, for which He laboured, suffered and died. The business of believing in Christ is so important for the good of the world. Jesus was, is RIGHT! There will be no better world if its implementation means the negation of anything Jesus stood for. After World War One general Ludendorf said, "I reject Christianity because it is Jewish, because it is international and because in cowardly fashion it preaches peace on earth". For these very reasons the world 'ought' to accept Christianity. It is Jewish. It is rooted in the great traditions of the Hebrew prophets who proclaimed the righteousness that exalts nations. It is international. It believes in one God and therefore one human family. It does preach peace on earth because it knows that to continue to make war would mean the suicide of the human race. The world simply will not improve at all without coming to terms with Jesus. To the extent that we Christians share Him in word and deed, to that extent will we be significantly contributing to the "New World Order", which Jesus himself promised. May God bless you as you labour for world peace. -- Ron J Allen, 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: Cystitis Add one bunch of parsley to 500ml of water. Bring water to the boil in a covered pan, turn off heat, and cool. Parsley is a natural diuretic and helps to flush out the micro-organisms that cause the infection. Also, after every visit to the toilet, soak a clear cotton-wool pad in water to which you've added a few drops of lavender oil and hold it against your 'private parts'. This will temporarily relieve the burning sensation. -- Pamela Allardice, Natural therapist Havagiggle: Ten Things You Never Hear In Church 1. Hey! It's my turn to sit in the front pew. 2. I was so enthralled, I never noticed your sermon went 25 minutes over time. 3. Personally I find witnessing much more enjoyable than golf. 4. I've decided to give our church the $500 a month I used to send to TV evangelists. 5. I volunteer to be the permanent teacher for the Teen Sabbath School class. 6. Forget the denominational minimum salary, let's pay our pastor so he can live like we do. 7. I love it when we sing hymns I've never heard before! 8. Since we're all here, let's start the service early. 9. Pastor, we'd like to send you to this Bible seminar in the Bahamas. 10. Nothing inspires me and strengthens my commitment like our annual stewardship campaign! -- Courtesy of Grant McDonald (Email withheld by request) Split Second Wisdom: The cost of living is going up and the chance of living is going down. --Flip Wilson 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 booklet: Mel v. Sam where Bruce N. Cameron () comments on the movie the Passion of The Christ and one particular critic of the film. 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: Identity Crisis It seems that this college student needed a small two-hour course to fill out his schedule. The only one that fit was in Wildlife Zoology. He had some reservations as he heard the course was tough and the teacher a bit different. But, it seemed like the only choice so he signed up. After one week and one chapter the professor had a test for the class. He passed it out and it was a sheet of paper divided into squares and in each square was a carefully drawn picture of some bird legs. Not bodies, not feet--just different birds' legs. The test simply asked them to identify the birds from the pictures of their legs. Well, he was absolutely floored. He didn't have a clue. The student sat and stared at the test and got madder and madder. Finally, reaching the boiling point, he stomped up to the front of the classroom and threw the test on the teacher's desk and exclaimed, "This is the worst test I have ever seen and this is the dumbest course I have ever taken." The teacher looked up at him and said, "Young man, you just flunked the test." Then the teacher picked up the paper, saw that the student hadn't even put his name on the paper, and said, "By the way, young man, what's your name?" At this the student bent over, pulled up his trouser legs to reveal his own legs and said, "You identify me!" --James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited , Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois, 1988, p299. 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: Seeing But Not Seeing Simeon and Anna in Luke chapter 2 both recognised Jesus as the Messiah, when he was brought to the temple on the 8th day. They saw the things of the Kingdom. I'm guessing that there were many other people that day, which saw the baby Jesus that did not recognise Him as the Messiah. So, some saw and some didn't see. What do you see? Do you just see self? Do you just see your problems? Do you see the Kingdom of God? Some focus on themselves. Oswald Chambers said in My Utmost for His Highest, December. 18, "We treat God as if He were a machine designed only to bless us, and we think of Jesus as just another one of the workers." Many would rather focus on their problems and feel sorry for themselves? Do you want to see? Do you see the Kingdom? People who see what God is doing are not necessarily gifted. Often it's because they have a desire to see. Desire and expectation have a lot to do with what you see. Jeremiah 29:13 says, "And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart." Where does this desire come from? This desire comes from; an appreciation for Him saving you, recognising how awesome He is, the futility of life with out serving Him, the joy of discovering His purposes for your life, and the excitement of knowing that your life is making a difference for His Kingdom. Do you see the sin that is hindering the work of the Kingdom in your life? Your sin could be the obvious things or it could include busyness, good things or sin of attitude. Hebrews 12:1, says "Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us." Are you seeing? He doesn't want you to just, survive. Don't just, not want to go to hell. Don't just have a self-centred view of Christianity. Don't just have an "enough to get by" mentality. Don't have a "just as good as most people" attitude. Like Simeon and Anna, seek Him, see Him, see His Kingdom, and serve Him. -- Mike Barres Courtesy of Just-A-Minute Theologically Speaking: Petrified Preacher A monastery in Germany trained Christian brothers for various responsibilities within the Roman Catholic Church. One Christian Brother in training lived in mortal fear of being called upon to preach the sermon in the daily chapel exercises. As this young man thought about his apprehension, he decided to head it off by going to the monitor of the monastery and discussing the problem with him. In the course of the conversation he said, "Sir, I am willing to do any menial job that you assign me. I would be delighted to go out into the fields and plough, fertilise, and irrigate them by hand to increase the productivity. If you would care for me to do so, I would be happy to get down on my hands and knees and scrub the floors here in the monastery. It would be a privilege for me to polish the silverware. Any menial job that you call upon me to do I shall be happy to do. However, please don't ask me to preach a sermon in the chapel." The monitor, looking at the young man and recognising that an assignment to preach was exactly what he needed, replied, "Tomorrow you are to conduct the chapel and preach the sermon." The next day as this young brother stood behind the pulpit and looked out into the eyes of his peers who had assembled in the sanctuary, he was greatly apprehensive. He was so nervous he hardly knew what to do. He started his sermon by asking, "Brothers, do you know what I am going to say?" They all shook their heads in the negative. He continued, "Neither do I. Let's stand for the benediction. Pax vobiscum." Naturally, the monitor was infuriated by this. He said to the young man, "I am going to give you a second chance. Tomorrow you are to conduct the service in the chapel, and this time I want you to preach a message." The next day the scene was the same. And the young man began as he had the day before, "Brothers, do you know what I am going to say?" When they all nodded their heads in the affirmative, he said, "Since you already know, there is no point in my saying it. Let's stand for the benediction. Pax vobiscum." The monitor was livid with anger. Once again he went to the young brother and literally roared at him, "I am tired of your chicanery. Tomorrow I am going to give you a third chance. If you don't come through, I am going to put you in solitary confinement on bread and water." The third day the scene was the same. The brother began as he had the two previous days, "Brothers, do you know what I am going to say?" Some nodded their heads in the affirmative. Some shook their heads in the negative. He then said, "Let those who know tell those who don't. Let's stand for the benediction. Pax vobiscum." --Editor's Archives Freebies: Money Smith Financial Calculator This is a computer calculator called the Money Smith Financial Calculator. It performs the usual functions of a calculator plus various accounting, projection and other functions such as annuity, perpetuity, loans, investment to reach a future value, effective annual interest, internal rates of return, and depreciation. (Shareware from Bradley J. Smith of Money Smith Systems Inc.) If you want a copy, email me today: . (Please check the available space in your email box before requesting attachments (60k req.) Take a Hint: Syrup of Figs Recipe Recipe for Syrup of Figs (a remedy for constipation): Combine half a cup each of chopped dried figs, raisins and pearl barley and a quarter of a cup of chopped liquorice root (from health food stores) in a saucepan with one litre of water. Bring to boil and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes; strain. Keep syrup refrigerated in a tightly capped bottle. Take one tablespoon as needed. -- Pamela Allardice Cooks Corner: No Bake Cookies 1/2 cup margarine; 1/2 cup cocoa; 1/2cupmilk; 2cups sugar; 3cups oatmeal; 1/2cup peanut butter, chunky or smooth. In a saucepan bring to boil margarine, cocoa, milk and sugar. Boil only 60 seconds. Pour syrup over oatmeal and peanut butter. Mix until well incorporated. Drop by spoonfuls onto wax paper or pour into a 9x13" pan. Allow to cool and set. --(Serves: 8) Recipe courtesy of Windows Cuisine 2.0 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. Subscription Information: FreEzine is a free email 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. 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And, in closing: Doctrinal Balance A man's nose is a prominent feature on his face, but it is possible (when drawing) to make it so large that eyes and mouth, and everything else are thrown into insignificance, and the drawing is a caricature and not a portrait. So too can certain important doctrines of the Bible be so proclaimed in excess as to throw the rest of the truth into the shade, and the preaching is no longer the gospel in its natural beauty, but a caricature of the truth. -- Adapted from Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892). Cited in Edythe Draper, Quotations for the Christian World, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois, 1992. Entry # 9122.