NEEDED : DAMAGES OR REPAIRS?

"He [Jesus, the Christ] was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed."1

David Seamands tells the story about an old farmer who was in an automobile wreck. Along came an amateur lawyer who inspected the bashed fenders and battered doors and said to the farmer, "Man, you ought to collect some damages for this." The puzzled farmer wisely replied, "Damages? I've collected enough damages already. What I need are some repairs!"2

And isn't that what we all need—repairs; that is, healing of our sin-sick soul?

The question constantly being asked is: "If God is a God of love, why does he allow such damages or suffering in the world?" "Why does he allow children to starve?" "Why does he allow terrorism to continue?" "Why does God allow all the problems in the world to continue? When will Jesus return to take all God's children to Heaven and end all this misery here on earth at least for his children?"

I don't know when Jesus will return but with the ever increasing conflict between militant Muslims (Islam) and the Jews, Christians and Westerners (the infidels), the stage could be being set for the final world conflict that will signify the imminent return (or immediately follow the return) of Jesus to earth to take his children home to glory—where God will wipe away all tears and where all sadness, suffering, and sickness will be no more.

In the meantime, however, we happen to live in a broken, sin-sick world where we suffer not because God left us but because we, the human race, left God and consequently reap the results that sin produces. As a result, we desperately need the healing of our soul provided through the punishment, crucifixion, and death of Jesus Christ who died in our place on the cross in order to pay the penalty for our sins so that we could receive God's free pardon and the gift of eternal life.

While we still live in this sin-sick world, we will continue to see all the pain and suffering that a sin-sick world produces. However, once we accept God's gift of salvation, he will heal our sin-sick soul and give us peace in the midst of this suffering world knowing that our sins are forgiven, that our soul has been healed, and that we are on our way to Heaven.

The critical question is not why does God allow suffering, but rather, why don't we turn back to God and receive his full and free pardon? If you haven't accepted God's pardon, be sure to see No. 3 below and read "How to Be Sure You're a Real Christian—without having to be religious."

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, please help me to find healing for my sin-sick soul and for my damaged emotions so I will experience the abundant life you have planned for all your children. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."

1. Isaiah 53:5 (NKJV).
2. David Seamands in his taped message, Damaged Emotions, a copy of which can be purchased at www.actscom.com/store.
3. www.actsweb.org/christian.

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Acts International

CALL OUT OF SLAVERY

The Church is the people of God. The Latin word for "church," ecclesia, comes from the Greek ek, which means "out," and kaleo, which means "to call." The Church is the people of God called out of slavery to freedom, sin to salvation, despair to hope, darkness to light, an existence centered on death to an existence focused on life.

When we think of Church we have to think of a body of people, travelling together. We have to envision women, men, and children of all ages, races, and societies supporting one another on their long and often tiresome journeys to their final home.

Parable of the Candles

There was a blackout one night. When the lights went out, I fumbled to the closet where we keep the candles for nights like this ... I lit four of them.

I was turning to leave with the large candle in my hand when I heard a voice, "Now, hold it right there."

"Who said that?"

"I did." The voice was near my hand.

"Who are you? What are you?"

"I'm a candle."

I lifted up the candle to take a closer look. There was a tiny face in the wax.

"Don't take me out of here!"

"What?"

"I said, Don't take me out of this room."

"What do you mean? I have to take you out. You're a candle. Your job is to give light. It's dark out there."

"But you can't take me out. I'm not ready," the candle explained with pleading eyes. "I need more preparation."

I couldn't believe my ears. "More preparation?"

"Yeah, I've decided I need to research this job of light-giving so I won't go out and make a bunch of mistakes. You'd be surprised how distorted the glow of an untrained candle can be ...."

"All right then," I said. "You're not the only candle on the shelf. I'll blow you out and take the others!"

But right then I heard other voices, "We aren't going either!" I turned to the other candles, "You are candles and your job is to light dark places!"

"Well, that may be what you think," said the first one, "You may think we have to go, but I'm busy ... I'm meditating on the importance of light. It's really enlightening."

"And you other two," I asked, "are you going to stay too?"

A short, fat, purple candle with plump cheeks spoke up. "I'm waiting to get my life together, I'm not stable enough."

The last candle had a female voice, very pleasant to the ear. "I'd like to help," she explained, "but lighting the darkness is not my gift ... I'm a singer. I sing to other candles to encourage them to burn more brightly."

She began a rendition of "This Little Light of Mine." The other three joined in, filling the closet with singing.... I took a step back and considered the absurdity of it all. Four perfectly healthy candles singing to each other about light but refusing to come out of the closet.

Here is a question for you, when was the last time you shared the gospel to someone? This world is full of darkness, with many people stumbling around trying to find their way. You can be a light for them, and believe me, there's a light waiting for you. It can all happen with something as sharing the faith, to just a smile across the room, to a quick hello to a forgotten friend.

"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works, and glorify your father which is in heaven" (Matthew 5:14-16)

Max Lucado

Drip . . . Drip . . . Drip

"Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter."1

Less than a decade ago an openly gay Episcopalian priest was appointed as a bishop in the Episcopal Church—many church members were appalled while others rejoiced. Also, until the court stepped in and put a temporary halt to it, the Mayor of San Francisco became a law unto himself and married numerous gay couples. Many were appalled while others rejoiced.

About this situation Steven Higginbotham wrote: "The door has been cracked opened with regard to the definition of marriage in allowing homosexuals to marry, so now a polygamist in Utah, who has five wives, is appealing bigamy convictions brought against him on the basis of this court ruling. This man's lawyer is arguing that the decriminalization of homosexual sex is no different than polygamy."2

So what will come next? Will fornication and adultery also be approved because people can't help to whom they are attracted? Or what about pedophiles? Will their seduction of children be accepted because they can't help whom they are attracted to? Will they claim that they were born this way and this therefore justifies their behavior?

That could never happen here we say. Don't bank on it. Our parents would have sworn that gay marriage would never have been accepted here either. According to Wikipedia Encyclopedia, "Nationwide, five states [in the U.S.] have legalized same-sex marriage as a result of a court ruling, while three others have done so through a vote in their respective state legislatures."3

No society crashes overnight. It's like the proverbial drip . . . drip . . . drip of water that eventually wears away the stone, or like the "umpteenth" blow of the hammer that breaks the rock in two. Little by little it's the relentless drip . . . drip . . . drip by those who oppose all that is godly to justify what they want that ends up having people (including some church people) call good what God calls evil.

What we fail to realize is that we cannot break God's laws. We can oppose them. We can vote against them. We can disregard them, but we cannot break them. What we break is ourselves against them. As God's Word says, "Woe to those who call evil good and good evil." It has been said that the only thing we learn from history is that we don't learn from history.

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, please help those of us who claim to be Christian, which includes me, know what your Word teaches and stand firm upon it and not be lured into the trap of so called 'political correctness' and thereby conform to the standards of the world about us. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."

NOTE: To support the Institution of Marriage; the Preservation of Religious Liberty; and the Sanctity of Life for future generations, please read and sign the Manhattan Declaration at: http://www.manhattandeclaration.org/home.aspx

1. Isaiah 5:20 (NIV).
2. Steve Higginbotham, "Yesterday's Fringe, Today's Center," South Green Street Church of Christ Weekly Newsletter, Vol. 23, No. 2, Jan. 12, 2004. Cited in KneEmail #594: at http://www.oakhillcoc.org.
3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Same-sex_marriage_in_the_United_States as of February 2, 2010.

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Acts International - Daily Encounter

Counterfeit Christians

"Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world."1

A Daily Encounter reader asks, "How can you tell if a preacher is a fake-healer, or if a Christian is not for real?

Les Nixon shares how "at one time there was a Charlie Chaplin look-a-like contest being held and, always the practical joker, the real Chaplin decided he would enter. After deliberating long and hard, the judges unwittingly awarded Chaplin the third prize behind two impostors." So you often can't tell the fake from the real by outward appearances.

Pharisees were the religious elite of Jesus' day. They knew the Bible cover to cover; that is, the Law and the Prophets (the Old Testament) as the New Testament hadn't been written then. They knew their doctrinal teachings by heart. They had all the outward trappings of religiosity . . . but for many of them it was an outward show. Furthermore, they loved their doctrines more than they loved people and used them to control people. Jesus not only knew the same Scriptures, but he was real and saw through these religious play-actors—and didn't mince words with them regarding their phoniness.

Sad to say, there is no shortage today of play-acting teachers, phony religious leaders, counterfeit Christians, and those who love their religion more than they love people—and use their religion to control people. In some countries some even use their religion to force people to convert to their religion and torture or kill those who fail to convert.

So how can we tell the false from the real?

Mary Jackson-Medrek, another Daily Encounter reader, said, "I work in a bank and one time I was reading about counterfeit bills (notes). The story said that FBI agents don't study counterfeit bills to learn how to spot one. They study real bills and know them so well that they can spot a phony a mile away. That's what we should do as Christians. Study God's word so that if we hear something that isn't right we can spot it immediately!"

Like Jesus, we also need to be real ourselves, know the Scriptures, and know what a real Christian is so well that we will also be able to spot a phony a mile away.

"Beware of false prophets,' Jesus warned, "who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves."2

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, please give me a love for and an understanding of your Word so that I will learn and always know your Truth. Also, please help me to be real and so like Jesus that I will be able to 'spot a phony a mile away'—and never become one. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."

1. 1 John 4:1 (NIV).
2. Matthew 7:15 (NKJV).

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Spiritual Bodies

In the resurrection we will have spiritual bodies. Our natural bodies came from Adam, our spiritual bodies come from Christ. Christ is the second Adam, offering us new bodies not subject to destruction. As Paul says: "as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man [Adam], so we shall bear the likeness of the heavenly one [Christ]" (I Corinthians 15:49).

Our spiritual bodies are Christ-like bodies. Jesus came to share with us the life in our mortal bodies so that we would also be able to share in his spiritual body. "Mere human nature," Paul says, "cannot inherit the kingdom of God" (I Corinthians 15:50). Jesus came to dress our perishable nature with imperishability and our mortal nature with immortality (see I Corinthians 15:53). Thus it is in the body that our spiritual life finds its fullest manifestation.

Henri Nouwen - Daily Meditation

The Mission of the Church

There are more people on this planet outside the Church than inside it. Millions have been baptised, millions have not. Millions participate in the celebration of the Lord's Supper, but millions do not.

The Church as the body of Christ, as Christ living in the world, has a larger task than to support, nurture, and guide its own members. It is also called to be a witness for the love of God made visible in Jesus. Before his death Jesus prayed for his followers, "As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world" (John 17:18). Part of the essence of being the Church is being a living witness for Christ in the world.

Henri Nouwen - Daily Meditation

Relationship

The fact is we were created for relationships and while it may not be the most desirable, we can live without romantic love, but we cannot live healthily without close, loving relationships with at least one trustworthy friend. God himself is in relationship within the Holy Trinity. And think of Jesus; one of the first things he did when he commenced his ministry was to choose the twelve disciples "that might be with him." And while he never married, he certainly had close friendships with Lazarus and his sisters Mary and Martha. If Jesus needed close friends, how much more do we? To truly "be" is to be in relationship.

Perhaps the most pathetic loneliness of all is to feel separated and isolated from God.

For many of life's problems there are no simple, quick-fix answers. One way, at least for some, is to find a Christian church where the people welcome strangers and reach out to the lonely—and where you can find God.* It can take a while to gain a sense of belonging, but I encourage you to hang in, and especially to join a small and accepting group. In countries where the Christian church is forbidden, some find companionship in an "underground" church. All of these people surely need our prayers.

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, how I thank you that you have created mankind for relationships and today I especially pray for the lonely who are everywhere. Please help me to be an encourager and supporter of at least one lonely person or family and please lead all of our churches to do likewise. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."

Acts International - Daily Encounter

Focusing on the Poor

Like every human organization the Church is constantly in danger of corruption. As soon as power and wealth come to the Church, manipulation, exploitation, misuse of influence, and outright corruption are not far away.

How do we prevent corruption in the Church? The answer is clear: by focusing on the poor. The poor make the Church faithful to its vocation. When the Church is no longer a church for the poor, it loses its spiritual identity. It gets caught up in disagreements, jealousy, power games, and pettiness. Paul says, "God has composed the body so that greater dignity is given to the parts which were without it, and so that there may not be disagreements inside the body but each part may be equally concerned for all the others" (1 Corinthians 12:24-25). This is the true vision. The poor are given to the Church so that the Church as the body of Christ can be and remain a place of mutual concern, love, and peace.

Henri Nouwen - Daily Meditation

Where is Christ?

“I am with you always, to the very end of the age” Matthew28: 20

Jesus comes alongside us as we worship. He speaks to us in his Word and sometimes through a stranger, spouse, or child. Yet much of the time we are not aware of his presence. Is it God who pulls the shade over our eyes? We are kept from recognizing him by our doubt, by the depth of our sorrow or the height of our troubles, or just because in our busyness we pay no attention to the many ways he reveals himself.

We often become aware of Jesus’ presence only in looking back. Then we remember the moments when our hearts were strangely warmed. Then we see how he guided our feet, how he covered us with his wings, how he has never failed or forsaken us.

Let’s pray for expectant ears alert to hear His voice, expectant eyes that notice signs of His love, and expectant hearts eager to respond to His call. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

TODAY

One Body with Many Parts

The Church is one body. Paul writes, "We were baptised into one body in a single Spirit" (1 Corinthians 12:13). But this one body has many parts. As Paul says, "If they were all the same part, how could it be a body? As it is, the parts are many but the body is one" (1 Corinthians 12:19). Not everyone can be everything. Often we expect one member of the body to fulfill a task that belongs to others. But the hand cannot be asked to see nor the eye to hear.

Together we are Christ's body, each of us with a part to play in the whole (see 1 Corinthians 12:27). Let's be grateful for our limited but real part in the body.

Henri Nouwen - Daily Meditation

The Authority of Compassion

The Church often wounds us deeply. People with religious authority often wound us by their words, attitudes, and demands. Precisely because our religion brings us in touch with the questions of life and death, our religious sensibilities can get hurt most easily. Ministers and priests seldom fully realize how a critical remark, a gesture of rejection, or an act of impatience can be remembered for life by those to whom it is directed.

There is such an enormous hunger for meaning in life, for comfort and consolation, for forgiveness and reconciliation, for restoration and healing, that anyone who has any authority in the Church should constantly be reminded that the best word to characterize religious authority is compassion. Let's keep looking at Jesus whose authority was expressed in compassion.

Henri Nouwen - Daily Meditation

Soar with the Eagles

"But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."¹

Did you know that an eagle knows when the storm is approaching long before it breaks? The eagle will fly to some high spot and wait for the winds to come.

When the storm hits, it sets its wings so that the wind will pick it up and lift it above the storm. While the storm rages below, the eagle is soaring above it. The eagle doesn't escape the storm; it simply uses the storm to lift it higher. It rises on the winds that bring the storm.

When the storms of life come upon us—and all of us will experience them—it may not be easy but we can rise above them by setting our minds and our belief in Jesus, our God—and daily committing and trusting our life and way to Him. The storms do not have to overcome us. We can allow God's power to lift us above them. God enables us to ride the winds of the storm that bring sickness, tragedy, failure and disappointment in our lives. Remember, it is not the burdens of life that weigh us down, but rather, how we handle them.²

As God's Word says, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."³ Admittedly, this can take time.

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, help me to always hope and trust in you so that, when the storms of life rage around me, I will be able to soar like the eagle above the turbulence and become a better, stronger and calmer Christian as a result. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus' name. Amen."

Note: For additional help read "Lessons from Suffering" at: http://tinyurl.com/exuyw

1. Isaiah 40:31 (NIV).
2. Today's Daily Encounter was submitted by Dick Nichol who has since lost his wife through cancer. Author of the Eagle story unknown.
3. Romans 8:28 (NIV).

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Acts International - Daily Inspiration

Blessings of Unanswered Prayer

Jesus said, "If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father [God] in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!."¹

Terry Fitzgerald Sieck shared how she "was in the habit of praying very specifically for what she wanted. She told God in great detail about the kind of job, the kind of husband, the kind of life that she envisioned for herself. And Terry was frequently frustrated. One day, a friend suggested that she try a different tack. Give God a blank sheet of paper, the friend suggested, and let God give you his list for your life.

"Not long afterwards, Terry went back to school—something she hadn't anticipated doing. And she met a wonderful new man whom she eventually married. He didn't fit the criteria of her earlier list, but he was everything she wanted in a husband. When Terry turned her life over to God's will, God provided for her needs in ways she couldn't have imagined."²

There's nothing wrong with asking God for what we would like, but to get prayers answered, they need to be in harmony with God's will. And while "some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers" (as the country song puts it), he often does give us the desires of our heart when we pray in harmony with his will.

I think God has a great sense of humor too. For instance, my last car had just under 200,000 miles on it. It was old but still okay for running around town, but I didn't feel safe in driving it long distances anymore. For months I had been looking for a good bargain on a mid-size SUV (not a gas guzzling one) as I carry lots of stuff for our work. I prayed, "God, I don't really need an SUV but it sure would be nice to have one." Within two weeks I found a fabulous bargain on a year-old, low-mileage vehicle. I now own an SUV and have found it a great help in our work.

I think one of my son's "prayers" was answered too. His vehicle was giving him all sorts of problems so I sold him my old car for $1.00—which he borrowed from us to pay for it!

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, thank you that you hear and answer my prayers. Thank you, too, for the times you haven't answered my prayers according to my wishes which, if you had, it may have done me more harm than good. Help me to live and pray in harmony with your will so that I can be sure that you will answer my prayers one way or another. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."

Note: See article, "How to Pray Effectively" at:http://tinyurl.com/kb62w.

1. Matthew 7:11 (NIV).
2. Terry Fitzgerald Sieck, found in Stories of God's Abundance for a More Joyful Life (Lancaster, PA: Starburst Publishers, 1999), pp. 196-198.

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AN AUDIENCE OF ONE

"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--His good, pleasing and perfect will." Romans 12:2

What audience do you play to?

Each day you are seen by many who will make a judgment about the way you handle yourself among different audiences.

Politicians have learned to play to their audiences, customizing messages for the needs of their particular groups.

Musicians have learned to play to their audiences.

Pastors play to their congregations each Sunday morning.

Workplace believers play to the audiences who will buy their product.

Christ has called us to play to one audience--the audience of Himself.

When you seek to please any other audience in your life, you become susceptible to situational ethics and motivations based on the need for the moment. Your audience becomes a pawn in your hands because you know what they want. Is that wrong? Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't.

Pure obedience to pleasing God in our lives will often meet the needs of those around us.

It is God's will that you and I love our spouses, provide good services to our customers, and look to the interests of others before ourselves. This will result in meeting many needs of the audiences in our lives.

However, there are other times when our audiences are asking for something contrary to God's will.

Politicians are often forced to appease their audiences, even though it may go against God's laws. When we are asked to go with the flow, we discover which audience is most important in our lives. Is it the audience of One, or the audience of many?

Today, be aware of which audience you are playing to.

Ask yourself why you are taking a particular action.

Is it to please the audience of One?

Or is it to please the audience of others who might negatively impact you should you not play to their tune?

by Os Hillman

AllWorship

第三届中文五旬宗大会和区域复兴特会

第三届中文五旬宗大会和区域复兴特会刚过了六天。现在才来写一写在特会中所领受到的恩典。与大家分享。
特会中朱植森牧师很有耐心的教导弟兄姐妹传福音七大点。我就搬出来与大家分享一二：

1。主耶稣是独一的真神。

耶稣说：我就是道路，真理，生命。若不藉着我，没有人能到父那里去。约翰福音十四6。

2。主耶稣爱我们。

神爱世人，甚至将他的独生子赐给他们，叫一切信他的，不至灭亡，反得永生。约翰福音三16。

3。主耶稣的宝血洗净我们一切的罪。

。。。。。他儿子耶稣的血也洗净我们一切的罪。约翰壹书一7。

4。主耶稣住在我们心中。

使基督因你们的信，住在你们心里。。。。。。。。以弗所书三17。

5。主耶稣赐给我们永生。

神爱世人，甚至将他的独生子赐给他们，叫一切信他的，不至灭亡，反得永生。约翰福音三16。

6。主耶稣听我们的祷告。

你们若奉我的名求什麽，我必成就。约翰福音十四14

7。主耶稣必要再来接我们回天家。

我若去为你们预备了地方，就必再来接你们到我那里去。我在那里，叫你们也在那里。约翰福音十四3

好棒哦！

阿门。

第三届中文五旬宗大会和区域复兴特会

第三届中文五旬宗大会和区域复兴特会刚过了六天。现在才来写一写在特会中所领受到的恩典。与大家分享 一二。
五旬宗信仰的四个要点：
1。耶稣是拯救者。
2。耶稣是施浸者。
3。耶稣是医治者。
4。耶稣是再来王。
无可否认的， 这四大要点是我们五旬宗所持之以恒的。
阿门。

Living in a State of Preparedness

Everything that comes from God asks for an open and faithful heart. We cannot live with hope and joy in the end-time unless we are living in a state of preparedness. We have to be careful because, as the Apostle Peter says: "Your enemy the devil is on the prowl like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour" (1 Peter 5.8).

Therefore Jesus says: "Watch yourselves, or your hearts will be coarsened by debauchery and drunkenness and the cares of life. ... Stay awake, praying at all times for the strength to survive all that is going to happen, and to hold your ground before the Son of Man" (Luke 21:34-36). That's what living in the Spirit of Jesus calls us to.

Henri Nouwen - Daily Meditation

The Body of Community

When we gather around the table and break the bread together, we are transformed not only individually but also as community. We, people from different ages and races, with different backgrounds and histories, become one body. As Paul says: "As there is one loaf, so we, although there are many of us, are one single body, for we all share in the one loaf" (1 Corinthians 10:17).

Not only as individuals but also as community we become the living Christ, taken, blessed, broken, and given to the world. As one body, we become a living witness of God's immense desire to bring all peoples and nations together as the one family of God.

Henri Nouwen - Daily Meditation

Heal the sick who are there and tell them, The kingdom of God is near you. Luke10:9

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GLORY BE TO GOD

This morning I went to pray for an old sister who is about 80 years old. I saw her having pain on both her knees yesterday, especially when getting up from sitting position. I used The Elijah Challenge to rebuke the pain and the disease in Jesus name. After the first round she said the pain was lessened. Then after two more rounds of rebuking and commanding the legs to be healed in Jesus name, she told me she had no more pain and could jump up and down. Hallelujah! Glory be to our Almighty God.

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