Divine Intervention

Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep Your word.—Psalm 119:67

Jonah was God’s child. He was a believer — a wayward, disobedient one, but a believer nonetheless. The Bible says this about God’s children: “For whom the Lord loves He chastens...” (Hebrews 12:6). Because God loves us, He will seek to get our attention when we are going the wrong way.

We all know what that is like. When we are about to do something we know you shouldn’t do, there is that check inside, a sense of conviction from the Holy Spirit saying, “Don’t do this. This is the wrong direction.”

Sometimes God will even put blockades in our path. We are about to do something we shouldn’t when something happens to stop us. We say, “Lord, you are making this hard.”

He says, “That’s because I love you. You’re making a mistake, and I don’t want you to go the wrong direction.”

David said, “Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep Your word” (Psalm 119:67). In other words, “Before I tasted the sting of discipline, I was doing whatever I wanted. But now, Lord, you have caught my attention. Now I have kept your word.”

Sometimes when we disobey the Lord, we will not experience the results of it immediately. But at other times, the consequences will come quickly. That’s how it was with Jonah.

The devil will always use your sin in a condemning way to drive you from the cross. But the Holy Spirit will convict you of your sin in a loving way to draw you to the cross. Satan will say, “God will never hear you.” But God will say, “Come to me, turn from that sin, and I will forgive you.”

New 'Bin Laden message' released

A new recording purportedly from al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden has been posted on an Islamic website.
He praised Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the al-Qaeda leader killed in Iraq three weeks ago, as the "lion of holy war".

The video, lasting 19 minutes, shows a still picture of Bin Laden, and moving pictures of al-Zarqawi.

The recording's authenticity has not been verified, but if it is confirmed, it would be the fourth audio message Bin Laden has released this year.

However, no new video images of the al-Qaeda leader have appeared since October 2004.

Last week a video was broadcast purportedly showing the deputy leader of al-Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahri in which he paid tribute to Zarqawi and said his death would be avenged.

Universal fight

In the latest recording, Bin Laden addresses US President George W Bush, warning him not to be "too happy" about Zarqawi's death, "for the banner [of al-Qaeda in Iraq] hasn't dropped but has passed from one lion of Islam to another lion".

Bin Laden says al-Qaeda will go on with operations against the US and its allies.

"We will continue, God willing, to fight you and your allies everywhere," he said, "in Iraq and Afghanistan and in Somalia and Sudan until we waste all your money and kill your men."

In an apparent reference to a campaign against Iraq's Shias by Zarqawi, Bin Laden addressed "those who accuse Abu Musab of killing certain sectors of the Iraqi people".

"Abu Musab had clear instructions to focus his fight on the occupiers," he went on, "particularly the Americans and to leave aside anyone who remains neutral."

He called on President Bush to return Zarqawi's body to his family, and used rhyming couplets to eulogise the dead al-Qaeda leader.

Nigeria police 'fight corruption'

The Nigerian police force has rejected the conclusions of a new report that it is regarded as one of the country's most corrupt institutions.
A police spokesman said the force had the highest quality control system.

He said the Centre for Law Enforcement Education (Cleen) survey did not reflect changes implemented since the arrival of the new inspector general.

Last year, Nigeria's former police chief was found guilty of corruption and sentenced to six months in prison.

The other institution named in the survey as corrupt is the country's national electricity provider, the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN).

PHCN officials are alleged to have demanded money for maintaining power supplies.

Nigeria is routinely ranked as being seen as one of the world's most corrupt countries by watchdog Transparency International.

Manipulation

According to Cleen director Innocent Chukwuma, their survey was conducted across Nigeria between October and December last year.


There's no organisation that cleanses itself like the Nigerian police force
Police spokesman Haz Iwendi

He said that those surveyed were asked about their "perception of corruption - whether it had decreased or increased in the last seven years of President Obasanjo's government when a lot has been put into the fight against corruption".

This included a question on how they regarded government agencies.

"Seventy-eight percent of the respondents say that corruption has indeed increased," he told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme.

Uproot corruption

But police spokesman Haz Iwendi said surveys were easily manipulated.

"This survey does not reflect the present reality on the ground, there are lots of changes going on," he told the BBC.

He said the police were actively exposing those who were corrupt within the service, unlike other government agencies.

"Nigeria's police has the best quality mechanism in this country - there's no organisation that cleanses itself like the Nigerian police force."

Meanwhile, the most senior Anglican cleric in Nigeria, Archbishop Peter Akinola, called on the government to do more to uproot corruption.

Archbishop Akinola complained that few people accused of corruption were being put behind bars.

Speaking ahead of a national conference of the Church of Nigeria, he called on Nigerians to vote against any corrupt politician standing in the general elections scheduled for next year.

Let Go of the Past to Move into the Future

Whitney Hopler
Crosswalk.com Contributor

You can’t drive life’s road without sometimes hitting bumps like regrets, disappointments, and tragedies. When you do, it’s easy to get stuck there, gazing back into your rearview mirror at the past.

But God wants you to move on toward the future He has planned for you. It’s a future filled with hope – but to get there, you’ve got to turn your focus forward and look through the windshield at the road ahead.

Here’s how you can let go of the past to move into the future:

* Realize that you have a choice. Understand that you’re not a victim of your circumstances and that no one but yourself can tie you to the past; you can decide whether or not to move on. Ask God for the courage to choose to break free of whatever is chaining you to the past.



* Know Who travels with you. Remember that God is right beside your side all the time. Trust in His unsurpassed power, wisdom, and love when He urges you to keep going into the future. Don’t linger in any place God is calling you to leave. Be willing to put your own agenda aside to follow wherever God leads you.

* Recognize the difference between learning from the past and letting it control you. Understand that it’s healthy to look back as long as you’re learning from your past and remembering how God has worked in your life. But beware of becoming so preoccupied with your past that it begins to dictate your present and future. Don’t let your past define you; that’s God’s job.

* Seek deliverance from parts of your past you’re struggling to let go. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you mentally take those past experiences and lay them in trust at the foot of the cross for Jesus to handle. Acknowledge that holding onto the past is sin because it keeps you from obeying God’s call to move on. Repent of making the past an idol in your life. Make whatever changes you need to make in your life to reinforce your decision, such as discarding past possessions. Surround yourself with people who support your decision to move on. Seek God with all your heart and be excited about His plans for you. Read and meditate on Scripture as a new perspective gradually emerges for you.

* Avoid nostalgia. Don’t be duped into thinking that your best days are behind you. Expect God to continue to bless you in new ways. Recognize that your success is not dependent on any special time or place that can never be captured again. Know that the same God who was with you back in the past is with you now and will continue to be. Don’t rest on your laurels or become intimidated by your past successes; keep active and contributing to the world as He leads you. Trust God to bring you encore success and joy.

* Seek healing for a broken heart. Know that God understands and feels the pain of your heartbreak over a broken relationship with someone you’d loved. Understand that, no matter what happened to wrest your loved one from you, God can transform your pain into positive growth for you. Realize that everything that happens to you plays a part in God’s greater purposes for your life. Give up trying to change the past; it’s futile. Instead, ask God to help you learn to trust His sovereignty in your relationships. Don’t waste time and energy trying to numb a broken heart with drugs or alcohol, denying your feelings, starting a “rebound” relationship, or trying to distract yourself with busyness. Know that God wants to heal you. Pursue healing by repenting of any sin that was involved in your lost relationship, carrying your feelings and shattered dreams to God, saturating your soul with Scripture, and being patient as He gently guides you through the healing process. Trust God to bring something good out of your pain. Understand that God brings some people into your life briefly for a specific reason, some for a longer season, and some to stay your whole life. Ask Him to help you discern which people are which, and to recognize when it’s the right time for some people to make their exits. Remember that, while some people may leave you, God never will.

* Overcome failure. Ask God to help you move past two obstacles that stand in your way after you’ve experienced failure: the consequences of your actions; and your inner sense of condemnation, guilt, regret, and self-inflicted punishment. Take your failure to God and allow Him to restore your strength, hope and confidence. Honestly pour out all your thoughts and feelings about the failure to God. Ask Him to teach you what He wants you to learn from your failure. Accept God’s forgiveness, and forgive yourself.

* Break free of trauma’s chains. In prayer, freely express the anger, fear, disillusionment, mistakes, and regrets that have resulted from a past trauma in your life. Ask God to direct you to Scripture passages that relate to that trauma, and to use those passages as a surgeon would a scalpel to bring about the healing you need. Don’t blame God for your trauma; realize that it was the result of living in a sinful, fallen world. Invite Jesus into your pain, realizing that He is the ultimate answer to your problem. Ask Jesus to give you new hope and restore your sense of purpose.

* Get rid of the poison of bitterness. Realize that holding onto bitterness after someone has hurt you will only continue to hurt you more by poisoning your soul. Know that there is only one antidote to that poison – forgiveness. Decide not to allow people who have wronged you to keep controlling your life and distancing you from God. Remember all that God has forgiven you for, and let your gratitude and love for Him motivate you to obey His command to forgive others. Always be willing to forgive, even when people repeatedly offend you, don’t ask for your forgiveness, refuse to reconcile, or are deceased. Understand that forgiveness doesn’t depend on what you consider fair, reasonable, or just – it’s a matter of being faithful to God. Don’t wait until you feel like forgiving someone; you probably never will. Instead, decide to do so and trust God to help you. Expect God to clear bitterness out of your life as you forgive.

* Let go of unhealthy attachments. Don’t waste time and energy trying to hold onto someone or something from the past if that person or thing doesn’t have a place in your present or future. Accept reality when you can’t bring back a marriage, job, child, church, reputation, or anything else you’re trying to resurrect. Realize that it – whatever it happens to be – is truly over. Refuse to wallow in sorrow over something you can’t do anything about. Get up, return to life as normal, worship God, and ask Him to help you enjoy life again. Trust God to give you new beginnings filled with promise.

* Rely on God’s strength to get you through stormy crossings. Expect a struggle every time you try to move beyond your past and cross over into your future. Don’t let challenges take you by surprise; instead, use them as tools to grow closer to God. Don’t give up; ask God for the courage and strength you need to keep going. Ask Him to teach you whatever He’d like you to learn from your crossings. Invite God to strengthen your character and renew your mind so you can become the person He wants you to become. Ask God to show you a side of Himself you’ve never seen when you make each crossing.

* Encourage others. Realize that your experiences in life aren’t just for your own benefit – they’re also designed to help other people. Use what you’ve learned about moving on to encourage others to do the same.

* Fulfill your potential. Remember that your past doesn’t determine your future. Invite God to help you understand His purposes for your life and give you a vision for the new adventures He has in store for you. Realize that your greatest potential can only be realized in and through Jesus. Ask Him to help you fulfill His highest potential for you.
Step boldly into your future!

How About Jesus?

by Kelly McFadden

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. —Hebrews 12:1-4

For a while, driving the 405 freeway in Southern California was an irritating experience. Now, you may be thinking, “Does anyone enjoy driving on California freeways? I’ve heard about that LA traffic!” And while there is some merit to this line of thought, I’m not referring to the traffic. “What?” you ask not understanding. “Is there any other reason to hate driving in Los Angeles?” You see, there was a billboard looming high above the freeway. I can see it now, countless numbers of people driving past its message everyday. My stomach gets queasy just thinking about it! It’s an ESPN ad, seemingly harmless, with a couple of WNBA players on it. It is the text that seizes me… “Without Sports who would we follow?”

In an age consumed with the life of glamour and the love of money, it should not be a surprise that this ad insinuates we actually need sports stars in order to have role models. Who would we follow?! I have an answer. How about Parents? Youth Pastors? Missionaries? Firemen? Teachers? Nurses? Doctors? How about Jesus?

Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t have athletes as role models. But there is more to a person that what they do for a job. As we pick and choose our role models, it is essential to look at the heart of the person. Hebrews talks about a ‘great cloud of witnesses.’ All around us are people who love the Lord and serve him in their daily lives. How awesome that you and I were not sent into this sinful world alone! The Lord gave us brothers and sisters in Christ who will run this race with us and help us through the entangling powers of sin. The important thing to remember, however, is that it is Jesus who we fix our eyes on. The role models in this world are other Christians running the same race and serving as examples

Settling Disputes

by Os Hillman, June 29, 2006

Casting the lot settles disputes and keeps strong opponents apart. - Proverbs 18:18

We prayed about it. We discussed it. My friend had one desire; I had a different one. "Okay, let's settle the issue the way the early Church settled matters when an agreement could not be achieved. Let's flip a coin."

"You must be joking!" my friend lamented.

"No, the early Church cast lots often to determine a course of direction or even select the disciple who would take Judas' place."

"Okay," my friend agreed. We flipped the coin and the matter was quickly settled.

In the Old Testament there are many examples of casting lots for determining a decision. We hear little of this method today. Most of us do not want to release the decision process to this seemingly "flippant" process; yet the Lord says, "The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord" (Prov. 16:33). Flipping a coin is the equivalent to casting a lot. It removes our own opinions and leaves the final outcome to the Lord. Pray before you take such an action. It will surprise you who is willing to submit a decision to the Lord and who isn't. It removes the element of control from both parties.

I believe the Lord would first have us make decisions through agreement and continued prayer for the decision. However, there are times when this approach can be the quickest and simplest. It removes each person's temptation to lord it over the other. Cast the lot and settle the dispute.

The Right Thing at the Wrong Time Is Still the Wrong Thing

Joshua Harris
Author and Speaker


Chapter five of "I Kissed Dating Goodbye" shows that when we pursue romance is a major factor in determining whether or not dating is appropriate for us.

And we can only determine the appropriate time to pursue romance when we understand God's purpose for singleness and trust His timing for relationships. Modern culture thrives on immediate gratification, but God's Word teaches that there are appointed seasons for everything in our lives, including relationships.

Three principles are given to help adjust wrong attitudes toward the timing of relationships:



1. The right thing at the wrong time is the wrong thing. A good thing taken out of its appropriate season can actually be destructive.

2. We don't need to shop for something we can't afford. Before two people are ready for the responsibility of commitment, they should content themselves with friendship and wait for romance and intimacy.

3. Any season of singleness is a gift from God. God has created this season as an unparalleled opportunity for growth and service. We shouldn't let it slip by.


Waiting for God's timing requires trust in God's goodness. We develop patience as we trust that God denies us good things in the present only because He has something better for us in the future. Waiting for God's timing also requires strength. This strength comes from God alone. His strength and grace will sustain us through any circumstance.

Reflection

I read a plaque in a friend's home that captures the essence of chapter 5. It said, "Contentment is not the fulfillment of what you want, but the realization of how much you already have."

Contentment is not a destination. We don't arrive at it when we become a certain age, get married, achieve our goals, or reach a specific bank balance. Contentment is a state of gratefulness before God. Until we understand that, we'll waste our time attempting to "arrive" at a place of contentment only to discover it's just beyond our grasp-always "tomorrow."

Most of us can relate to the "contentment on our terms" mind-set. In the area of relationships, we're perfectly ready to be content as soon as God brings along our husband or wife. All God needs to do is tell us who this person is and when we'll meet him or her and we'll be happy. But that's not true contentment, is it? True contentment is being more aware of how much we already have and trusting that God will provide the grace we need to persevere, no matter how difficult our circumstances might be.

That was the apostle Paul's secret. In Philippians 4:11-13, he wrote, "I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength."

For Paul, the knowledge that God is sovereign and will sustain those who trust Him was the secret to contentment. Apply it to your situation. Are you content even if a relationship is something you have to wait months or years for? Do you believe that the "everything" God's strength will help you do includes waiting on His timing for romance? Do you believe that God's strength can meet you in your present circumstances and help you be obedient right where you are? If you can, then you've found the secret to contentment-something that no one can take from you.

So choose to be content. Choose to focus on all God has given you. Maybe it's not as much as someone else has, but that's not the point. Count your blessings. And if all you can think of is that He died for your sins and has given you an eternity with Him in heaven, that's enough to keep you rejoicing all your days.

What is Your Tarshish?

Marla Nowak
Contributing Writer

"Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me. But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD."

But I rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD....

But I fled the presence of the LORD to my house. The window sills are full of ladybugs again. The dust bunnies reproduced. You know how bunnies are. The refrigerator has some mysterious spill down the back that necessitates removing every object from the fridge to clean. The closets-- thus the term closetraphobia. The ironing pile is so old that the wrinkles have become permanent. I don't feel good when my house is out of control, which it is about every day or more. And cleaning is a good wifey, mommy, Godly thing to do. Organization and efficiency are gifts of the God of organization. I know there is a spiritual side to keeping a clean house.

But I fled the presence of the LORD in my book pile. When I catch up I'll be a better wife. In fact that's the title of my newest addition to the reading stack, "How to be a Better Wife." I'll be a better mom too. Oh, I know the children want to spend time with me. First I must finish reading, "Spending Time with Your Children." Definitely the "Educating Mom" book could make me a better teacher. It's necessary to read "How to Know God," so I can know God. I really should preview that classic before I let my daughter, otherwise known as Reader Rabbit, at it. It takes me three times longer to read late at night. But I'll stay up and read a bit more, and then I'll do my Bible study.

But I fled the presence of the LORD with sleep. Just the name alarm clock is so RUDE. Who wants to wake up alarmed? No, I want to flee alarm and wake up in a sleepy peace that says good morning Lord. Besides, child number three woke me last night twice. If I sleep more I won't be grouchy. I'll be a better wife too. I'll be a better servant. I can pray with my eyes closed. Yes. I'm drifting off again. Is this resting in the Lord?

But I fled the presence of the LORD with my friends online. Now Lord, you know Beth, I love her so. Sometimes I need her. And she needs me. You brought our kindred spirits together remember! And we "vent" and "giggle" and you know David and Jonathan were friends. Even more, you know how wise and balanced Beth is. She keeps me grounded. You know I don't get out much. You know how dear she is to me. Email is a blessing. You know I love words. Robbin, Maria and I are doing a Bible study together. You want me to check in, so we can discuss things, don't you? And you want me to be their friend. Lord you gave us to each other. They inspire me. They are fun, fabulous and so unfluffy. Lord they are incredible women. And maybe I can encourage them. It's a ministry to be a good friend, online.

But I fled the presence of the LORD with....yes it's true, with a snack. The children were in bed. I could actually taste the food. Cookies and milk taste better when you are alone. Everyone needs a little break. I was going to go upstairs to read and pray, but if I made the cookies then we would have a good snack the next day. I threw in wheat germ and some oat bran. It's important we eat the right things. Besides, I had to take something to that meeting. Store bought? No way. That's for sissies.

But I fled the presence of the LORD with shopping. The children grew, again. Not the mall, please not the dreaded mall. I'm just looking on line to catch all the great overstock and clearance sales. Think how much I am saving in money. Think how much time I am saving. If I had to sew all those clothes it would take forever. Not to mention I don't sew. Sewing lessons, going to the fabric store, sewing, and hiding all those pathetic things I made. That would be a waste. I am being a good steward of time and money, that's what.

But I fled the presence of the Lord with the yard. That's right. The yard. It's not like I am a landscaping junkie devoting massive amounts of time and energy. Now that would be a hobby I don't have time for. I just like the grass cut. It needs to be done. And the flowers pinched back. And the weeds in the driveway look bad. It takes the load off hubby when he does not have to do it all. I'm serving him. I'm not neurotic about it. I stopped caring about crab grass years ago. I'm just doing the minimum, even if it is during my quiet time.

But I fled the presence of the LORD with exercise. Now God, I hate the treadmill. I do. It's painful. I see no results. But you want me to be healthy don't you? I need to care for my children. It's supposed to give me energy and relieve stress. I'll do this God, something else for my family. No, I'm not obsessed with it. It's a good habit. Our bodies are temples and my temple is shaking at the foundations. I need to do this.

But I fled the presence of the LORD on that trip. Lord, the relatives....how can I talk about spiritual things with them? How can we do family worship with them? How can I go off upstairs and be spiritual? What a turn off. Is that a witness? I don't want to be weird to them. You said those in your hometown are unlikely to listen. It can be awkward. Of course we listen to teaching tapes in the car on the way. That's pretty good, isn't it?

But I fled the presence of the LORD, playing with the children. It can be very spiritual playing with your children. I talk about You. We are knitting away at our relationship. Last month we played Bible Memory. We made play dough temples once. We demonstrate love and kindness, and I model what a wonderful person looks like... when I'm not being irritated one of them called me a cheater. What kind of message do I send my children when I shut my door, and pray and study and leave them out? That's telling them You are the most important. Oh yeah, You are.

But I fled the presence of the LORD with that movie. It was a good, clean movie. We all need to relax. Nothing wrong with relaxing. It really did not stop me from spending time with you Lord. I meant to spend time with you AFTER the movie. It got so late. Hubby and I needed that time. I worked on schoolwork during part of it. It's not like I wasted my time.

But I fled the presence of the LORD with a grumbling spirit. If not ME, who? Who will solve the problems of the world? Does no one see these things? No one, but me? Who will take care of that issue in the family, at church, with the house? Yes, admittedly I'm a recovering legalist, and yet I long for a fix at times. I don't mean to be reactionary. Hubby is so diplomatic and I am so automatic. It's the way you made me. I just need to work through some concerns.

But I fled the presence of the LORD with school. Lord, technically I got in my quiet time this morn even if it was the abridged version. I never miss Bible with the children. And I do pray during the day when you prompt me. School is important. What should I give up math, reading, history...we don't do a lot of extras. I feel kinda bare minimum some days now. School is a priority. Besides those other children at the homeschool support group know so much.

But I fled the presence of the LORD with daydreams. Oh, wishful thinking. It's not a matter of casting down imaginations. I'm not hanging out in la la land. Lord, I'm just reminiscing in my mind. I'm just imagining nice things. Planning is a better word. Planning how I would paint and enjoying thinking happy thoughts. Okay, that one itty bitty little angry thought about her slipped in. Okay, that pretend conversation with her where I said that profound zinger that took care of her slipped in too. Okay, I thought for ten minutes about what I could say. True, I could have been praying for her. But I want to be prepared with a solution.

But I fled from the presence of the LORD with the news. To be uninformed is negligent, and ignorant. Didn't you say "I would not that you should be ignorant," I don't go on the entertainment pages. It seems I should be able to read for five minutes, but then something always grabs my attention. It's not like I intentionally spend 30 minutes checking out the news. That dog that climbed trees and picked apples was quite a story. I want his pie recipe too.

But I fled from the presence of the LORD with my companion, fatigue. Yes, I stay up too, too late. I stay up doing good things. I can't help it. Cuddling with my Bible and prayer time creates the propensity to be foggy after a late night. I only flee to late nights because everyone else in the house has fled to bed. Not so sure anyway about that stuff that says one hour of sleep before midnight equals two hours of sleep. One hour of housework before midnight does not equal two hours of cleaning. Maybe my bonus hour comes at 7:00 A.M. anyway.

But I fled from the presence of the LORD not because I wanted to say no to you, like Jonah did, but because I'm busy. Our pastor said, "The biggest form of distraction is the distraction of opportunity." I've got so many opportunities, so much to do. Yes, I know Moses, David, Paul....all those guys were busy and they made time. Oh I suppose maybe I'm lazy. Maybe I'm selfish too. It's not that I don't want to spend time with you. It's not that I don't love you. And it's not like I avoid you all the time. But sometimes relationships, even with someone you love, are work. I just get disconnected. I back off a day or two then it's easy to back off more. I just want a little space for me.

"Lord, You are a part of all things I do. Yet, some days you seem far. Even then I hear You calling me. Oh, what are you trying to say? You deserve to have my ear. My heart. Maybe if I had some time to spend with you, you would tell me. Perhaps you are saying spend more time seeking you. Yield activities, desires, thoughts to your Lordship. I'm piecing it together now. I'm so busy for you, that I'm not busy with you."

When the storm came, the mariners' cried to their gods. Not Jonah. He slept. "Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship; and he lay down and was fast asleep." The shipmaster came to him, screaming I suppose, "What meanest thou, O sleeper? Arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us that we perish not." How many times do I get busy and "sleep" through the storms around me? What do I need to call upon you for? It's about prioritizing my relationship with you. It's about accepting your invitation with no regrets possible. It's about staying in touch with God my anchor as Hebrews 6:19 proclaims, "Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast."

"I'm really seeing the link between pride and idolatry. I run to something else because I'm running from you. Some days I want to head to Tarshish. These things I do make me feel good. And they protect my image, God. They become so important. Yes, I know you tell me to "turn away from vanities" but are these things worthless? No, housework is not worthless. Yes, it becomes worthless when it replaces you. Like Jonah who rose up to flee, and went down to Joppa, and down into the ship, I go. I go. You never left Jonah. He could not flee your presence. Psalm 139:7 tells me, "Whither shall I go from thy spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence?" Jonah could not, nor can I. Please don't send a great wind. Not a walking the plank experience. Instead I ask for an obedient heart, a disciplined heart. A heart that comes to you before it hears the pulsating heartbeat of a big fish."

Forgiving the Unforgivable: Adultery

Nancy C. Anderson
Contributing Writer

Dad sighed and asked us, "What's your plan?"

My husband, Ron, leaned forward and said, "Plan? Plan for what?"

"You two are going to have to figure out why your marriage fell apart...how to fix it ...how to make sure it doesn't happen again."

Ron replied, "Well...I don't know if we need to do all that. I don't even want to talk about what she did. It's too painful. Nancy's back home now -- we'll just move on from here."

Dad continued, "I wish it were that simple. But it's not. Your marriage was fractured. If you rebuild a house on a cracked foundation, it might be all right for a while, but when the storms come, that fracture will divide your house. Ron, if you don't repair the foundation of your marriage, it won't survive. You can't just ignore the fact that your wife had an affair. The memory of Nancy's betrayal and the guilt she will carry will be unbearable for both of you. I don't think you'll be able to move on until you, Ron, make one of the most important decisions you'll ever make."

"What decision is that?"

"Has Nancy told you she's sorry for what she's done?"

"Yes, she's apologized several times."

"Did she ask you to forgive her?"

"No."

Dad turned to me and continued, "Nancy, when you tell someone you're sorry, it's very different from asking for their forgiveness. Your 'sorry-ness' is your decision. But when you ask someone to forgive you -- that's their decision. It's difficult because it gives all the power to the other person."

"That's a scary thought," I said, without meaning to say it aloud.

Then he spoke to Ron, who looked confused and apprehensive. "Ron, when you forgive someone, you make a choice to banish the offense from your heart. Jesus said that after He forgives us, our sins are as far away as the East is from the West. In other words, they are pardoned. Not because we're not guilty, but because we are. Our pardon is undeserved -- it's a gift to us from God. If you decide to forgive Nancy, you can never use her sin against her, and God will give you the strength to start a new life together. But if you choose not to forgive, if you want to hold on to the pain, or punish her, and keep her wound open -- if you choose that, I don't think you'll stay married. You have biblical grounds to divorce her, but you don't have to. It is your decision. I want you both to pray about what I've said, and make your decisions. We will continue this conversation in the morning."

After a long and restless night, we met again. My voice trembled as I said, "Daddy, I want to ask Ron to forgive me, but what do I say?"

"Tell him what you want to be forgiven for, and then simply ask him. Ron will decide whether to forgive you...or not. You ask; he answers. It's the simplest thing you two will ever do -- and the hardest."

What if I ask Ron for mercy and he denies me? What if he can't forgive me?

I looked over at my sweet, wounded husband and saw the wide-eyed face of a frightened twelve-year-old boy. I spoke quickly so that I wouldn't lose the safety of the moment. "Ron, I've betrayed you mentally, spiritually, and physically. I've lied to you and deceived you. I have no defense, no excuses. I've sinned against God and you. Can you -- will you please forgive me?"

He leaned forward, never letting go of my eyes. The little boy was gone as my strong and confidant husband took my hands in his and said, "Nancy, we have both done and said terrible things to each other. Our marriage was a mess -- and a lot of it was my fault. But I take a stand today to change all that. You have betrayed me, but I choose to forgive you."

We both began to cry and our tears mixed with the river of divine love that flowed through the room. Our hearts were knit together as we began again -- with a solid marriage foundation.

However, my personal foundation was still unstable. My lies had been so tangled with truth that I wasn't sure which was which. I slowly began to untie the knots of my life. I was relieved to be done with deceit, but because its shadows, exaggerations, and half-truths had been my companions for months, the light of the whole truth seemed harsh -- like walking out into full sunlight after watching an afternoon matinee in a dark theater. It took some time for my heart to adjust.

I was full of self-doubt and couldn't believe how easily I'd been swept away by my feelings. I began to understand Proverbs 4:23: "Above all else, guard your heart, for it affects everything you do" (nlt). I had been unguarded. I didn't plunge into sin -- I drifted in, like floating on an air mattress and falling asleep only to wake up a half mile from the beach. I had to swim with all my strength to pull my heart back to shore

Jesus' words to the woman who was caught in adultery gave me comfort and direction: "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more," (John 8:11 nkjv). Jesus' command was simple -- but its execution was hard. I struggled.

Ron forgave me -- miraculously. He let go of the pain and moved into freedom. I, however, got stuck in the sorrow of regret. Receiving and believing in my forgiveness was tedious, treacherous. One step forward; two steps back. The memories kept haunting me, surprising me -- triggered by the scent of a stranger's cologne or the melody of a song. The shame of past pleasures followed me.

One day, several months after our reconciliation, I asked Ron, "Do you still think about it?"

"No. Hardly ever. You have never given me cause to worry about it happening again. You always call when you're going to be late or have a change in your plans. You don't flirt with other men the way you used to. You really have changed, making it easy for me to trust you again."

If only I could trust myself.

It was a wearisome journey. Eventually though, I came to see that I would have to surrender to the forgiveness in order to free myself from the prison. God and my husband had already given me the keys, but I had refused to use them. Finally, one day, I did.

I found victory through surrender as I prayed, "Lord, I give up. I cannot carry this anymore. I know that You have forgiven me and so has Ron, and today I choose to receive that forgiveness. Now I ask You for strength as I let go of the guilt, the shame, the sorrow, and I choose to walk toward Your light. You have set free, so I am free indeed." (John 8:36.)

I refused to entertain the stray thoughts anymore. Instead, I replaced them with images of the new life that Ron and I were building. I also discovered that encouraging others with our story of restoration gave a purpose to our pain. This summer, we will celebrate our 27th wedding anniversary and I'm thrilled to tell you that our marriage is strong, loving, and healed.

Buffett donates $37bn to charity

Warren Buffett says he was "wired at birth to allocate capital"
News conference
Billionaire investor Warren Buffett has said he was waiting for decades to make a huge charitable donation.
He said he was overjoyed as he spoke for the first time since revealing he would donate about $37bn (£20bn) to Bill Gates' charitable foundation.

"This has been coming for 50 years," Mr Buffett said. "There's never really been any other plan in terms of where the money should go."

The donation is thought to be the largest charitable gift ever in the US.

Giving people a chance

Mr Buffett will hand 10 million shares in his Berkshire Hathaway firm to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.


HAVE YOUR SAY
As long as my family and I have sufficient I would give away all the excess
Robert Askew, UK


News of the donation comes shortly after Mr Gates announced he is to step away from his day-to-day role at software giant Microsoft.
The man known as "the sage of Omaha" for his relentless success in investments said he always wanted to give the bulk of his fortune away.

However, he said the appropriate vehicle for doing so do had only become apparent in the past year.

"I am not an enthusiast of dynastic wealth, particularly when the alternative is six billion people having that much poorer hands in life than we have, having a chance to benefit from the money," he said.

Mr Gates said it was Mr Buffett's support for philanthropy which had persuaded him to set up the foundation in the first place.


Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Fund of $29.1bn
$10.5bn in grants since 1994
Aims: reducing poverty and improving health and access to education
Largest grant: $1bn to the United Negro College Fund
70% of aid spent outside US


"It is a big challenge to make sure this money gets used in the right way," he said of the donation.

"But it is one we are thrilled about."

The foundation aims to fight disease and promote education around the world, particularly in developing countries.

"There is no reason why we can't cure the top 20 diseases," Mr Gates - who will give up his day-to-day role at Microsoft in 2008 to concentrate on the foundation's work - said.

BBC business editor Robert Peston said the size of the foundation's cash pile dwarfed that of other organisations, and compared it with the $12bn annual budget of the United Nations.

He added that the foundation was "an extraordinary new force in the voluntary sector".

New will

Mr Buffett is worth an estimated $44bn, according to Forbes magazine.

As well as donating to the Gates foundation, he also pledged shares for his three children and a substantial gift for a foundation named for his late wife, Susan Thompson Buffett.

All the gifts will be awarded yearly, with 5% of each donation passed on each year, it was announced.


He confirmed his decision in letters to the recipients, and said he would write a new will to ensure the money continues to be distributed after his death.

In making his award, Mr Buffett - who plays bridge with Mr Gates - said he chose to distribute his wealth to an existing foundation out of respect for its current work.

One of the terms of the donation is that at least one of Bill or Melinda Gates continues to be involved with the foundation.

The foundation has evolved into one of the leading philanthropical organisations in the world, listing as one of its primary goals "reducing the 'unconscionable disparity' that exists between the way that we live and the way that the people of the developing world live".

Simple life

Stacy Palmer, editor of the Chronicle of Philanthropy, said that Mr Buffett's donation was the largest made by one person in the US.


TOP FIVE BILLIONAIRES
Bill Gates (US, Microsoft) -
$50bn
Warren Buffett (US, investor) - $42bn
Carlos Slim (Mexico, industrialist) - $30bn
Ingvar Kamprad (Sweden, Ikea) - $28bn
Lakshmi Mittal (UK, steel) $23.5bn


She explained that Mr Buffett's largesse eclipses the charitable donations of such well-known givers as John D Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie.

Despite his huge wealth, Mr Buffett has modest tastes, is called a "cola and hamburger kind of guy", plays the ukulele, and still lives in the same house he bought in his home town of Omaha, Nebraska, in 1957.

Mr Buffett has stated that the death of his wife Susan was one of the reasons behind his donation to the Gates Foundation, because he had thought she would outlive him and handle the dispersal of his wealth.

National 'respect squad' unveiled

A national "respect squad" is being launched by John Reid to help in the battle against anti-social behaviour.
Local councils, MPs and police chiefs will be able to call in the squad to help tackle cases of "yobbishness".

The squad, which will work across Wales and England, consists of 10 frontline local council and police staff.

Conservative home affairs spokesman David Davis said people wanted to see police on the streets taking action, not "another gimmick" from Mr Reid.

"Anti-social behaviour seriously blights many of our communities," the shadow home secretary said.

"What the public want is to see police on the streets, free from red tape to use their powers to catch and deter offenders."

Headline grabbing?

For the Lib Dems, home affairs spokesman Nick Clegg said: "The idea that you can enforce respect up and down the country with a team of 10 Whitehall 'fixers' is nonsense.

"While the Home Office should of course support local initiatives and share best practice, these sort of headline-grabbing initiatives belittle the complexity of these problems."

But Mr Reid insisted: "The government's new respect squad will ensure there is no let up in tackling anti-social behaviour."

The squad will be led by the assistant director of the government's respect task force, Alex Rhind.

Mr Reid said it would offer the chance of swift resolution to challenging problems where other means appeared to have been exhausted.

Keeping public informed

It will also intervene where there is evidence of insufficient action being taken by local agencies.

Mr Reid said: "Anti-social behaviour ruins lives and fragments communities - particularly those in some of the most deprived areas of our country.

"We should and will be unremitting in our efforts to drive up standards of behaviour and enforce a culture of respect, for the benefit of all."

Each squad's recommendations will be passed to the chairman of the local crime and disorder reduction partnership.


The White Paper is designed to rebalance the criminal justice system in favour of the victim and the delivery of justice for all
David Blunkett

A copy of the squad's assessment will be made available to the public to reinforce residents' power to demand action.

Last week Mr Reid said his head was "on the block" over his bid to overhaul the troubled Home Office.

The Home Office has been hit by a series of problems, notably the release of more than 1,000 foreign prisoners without consideration for deportation, which led to the sacking of Charles Clarke as home secretary in May.

Mr Reid gathered his senior Home Office civil servants together last Wednesday to update them on his plans for the department.

Echoing the words of predecessor David Blunkett four years ago when he launched the government's Criminal Justice White Paper, Mr Reid said: "We need to rebalance the criminal justice system so that people believe that it is truly on their side," he said.

Mr Blunkett said in July 2002: "The White Paper is designed to rebalance the criminal justice system in favour of the victim and the delivery of justice for all."

Blair promises new Africa focus

Tony Blair insists the panel will be independent
Tony Blair's speech
Kofi Annan, Bob Geldof and Nigeria's President Obasanjo are to sit on a panel set up to track aid promises made to Africa, Tony Blair has announced.
The UN secretary general will chair the panel, being set up a year after G8 pledges and a popular campaign pushed Africa up the international agenda.

Backed by Bill Gates, the body will monitor issues such as debt and trade.

The initiative would ensure promises made at the G8 summit at Gleneagles last year were kept, Mr Blair said.

'Good progress'

The British prime minister also warned against Africa slipping down the global priority list.


I am under no illusions that we set very ambitious goals for Gleneagles.
Tony Blair

"There is an enormous amount of work to do," he said in a speech in London. "I am under no illusions that we set very ambitious goals for Gleneagles.

"We have made good progress but it is going to take an enormous amount of work in years to come to alleviate poverty in Africa and tackle climate change."

Aiming to "maintain the international political profile of Africa achieved in 2005", the Africa Progress Panel will produce an annual report for the G8, UN and the Africa Partnership Forum - an existing body tasked with monitoring progress in the continent.


KEY G8 AFRICA PLEDGES
$50bn (£28.8bn) increase in global aid by 2010
Increase aid to Africa by $25bn a year by 2010, doubling aid over six years
Full debt cancellation for world's poorest 18 countries
Universal access to anti-HIV drugs in Africa by 2010
Reform trade rules


The panel's members are still being finalised, but among them will be Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo and Peter Eigen, the founder of the global anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International.

Microsoft founder Bill Gates will help fund the panel.

Mr Eigen told the BBC it was important for the panel to have an independent voice and added that more joint efforts between African leaders and those in developed countries were needed.

He highlighted the importance of good governance in helping development.

Certain sectors, including petrol and mining firms, were increasingly concerned about the levels of transparency in their African investments, he said.

Priorities problem

Although Mr Blair is convening the panel, Downing Street is stressing its independence.

The new panel's focus will be tracking progress on promises made at last year's G8 summit in Gleneagles, Scotland.

The meeting was lobbied by a high profile "Make Poverty History" drive, which included the Live8 concert run by campaigner and musician Mr Geldof.


"These issues were not high up the political agenda, in the UK, let alone internationally. Now they are," Mr Blair said.

Mr Blair said there was a huge leap in international aid last year but acknowledged that this had much to do with debt cancellation for Nigeria and Iraq - and accepted that maintaining aid remained a challenge.

Mr Blair also said his main disappointment at the last G8 was that there wasn't more progress on trade reform.

Oxfam director Barbara Stocking welcomed the new panel as a "serious and credible international task force".


HAVE YOUR SAY
The G8 has made a difference but has not done enough
Martin


"The key thing now is to ensure that the membership reflects the geographical spread and expertise needed to deliver on every one of G8's commitments," she said.

But not all non-governmental organisations have been so positive. "We are tired of world leaders heaping praise on Make Poverty History while simultaneously stabbing us in the back by breaking their promises," said Peter Hardstaff, head of policy at the World Development Movement.

"We have seen numerous panels and monitoring bodies in the past. None of them have made the G8 any more likely to keep their promises," he added.

Saving Yourself for Marriage

Lee Wilson
Family Dynamics Institute


You may think I'm only talking about sex or physical purity. But I'm not. There's a lot more you can save for your spouse, if that's what you choose.

I used to struggle with the idea of saving sex for my spouse. I knew it was the right thing to do, but I couldn't help but think I was missing out. I was, but it would have been only a temporary sacrifice that would have turned into a priceless investment.

Saving sex for your spouse is not the only thing that will pay great dividends. Though sex is a very special and sacred experience between a man and woman who love each other and have committed to each other by marriage, it is not the be all and end all of the male/female relationship. It's just one important part of several areas that are found in a healthy marriage.

What if the mindset of a single was not just "I'll save sex for marriage," but "I'll save myself" for my future spouse?

How Do You Save Yourself?

Saving yourself, as I define it, means that you save more than just sex. You save other special things like kisses, touches, and "I love you's." It may sound far-fetched or even very old-fashioned, but can you imagine the feeling of joy and love you'd have if you knew that your spouse had not even kissed another person? Ever? Or if the first time he/she ever said, "I love you," it was to you!

Imagine the privilege and honor of having a spouse who didn't just save sex for you, but saved absolutely everything! You can take this as far as you choose. Maybe you don't even want to hold another person's hand before you hold the hand of the one who commits to you for life. Or maybe saving just sex is enough for you. I can't make your decision. I can't even speak from the successful "saving" of myself. But I can speak from the experience of being married and being part of an organization that has worked with nearly 100,000 married couples.

I can tell you that if more couples saved everything for each other, many marriage-harming issues would not exist in their relationship. There wouldn't be haunting memories of past sexual encounters. There wouldn't be feelings of jealousy towards those who had physical experiences with someone's husband or wife. There wouldn't be the mindset that says, "Since I've had sex with someone else, what's the harm in doing it with another someone else?" Or, "Since she's had sex with someone else, what does it matter if I do, too?"

Perhaps the best part would be the sense of sacredness that saving oneself completely brings to a marriage. She doesn't have to share him with anyone – past, present or future. And neither does he.

Trust me, people don't leave marriages like that. Why would they?

I'm not saying it will be easy. In fact, I imagine it will be extremely difficult. But on your marriage night, when you give yourself to your spouse without bringing someone else's memory with you, you'll probably consider it to be your greatest accomplishment in life.

If you haven't saved yourself, start today. Wouldn't it be great to be able to say that you committed to your spouse even before you met him or her? Or decided to marry? Save as much of yourself as you can.

Remember this rule: The more you save for your spouse, the more you'll have to give and the more you'll be able to receive.

It's worth it. Trust me.

Encourage others

Five Ways You Can Encourage Others
=Adrian Rogers
Barnabas was a man who had the gift of encouragement. Acts 4:36 introduces him as, ?Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation).? The apostles gave him a nickname that meant ?encouragement.?

By looking at some events in the life of Barnabas recorded in the book of Acts, we can learn some ways to encourage others.

Encourage Others by Practicing Stewardship

According to Acts 4:37, Barnabas, ?having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles' feet.? Barnabas saw a need and moved in to meet that need. That encourages everyone.

You may say, ?I am not rich. I have nothing to sell; therefore, this does not apply to me.? But there's more than money to give. Acts 3 relates a story about two other apostles, Peter and John. They were not rich, but they gave what they had. They said in verse 6, ?? silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee?? Then they healed the crippled man. Giving back what God has given to us serves to encourage and comfort those around us.

Encourage Others by Extending Friendship.

In Acts 9 we read of Saul who had been an enemy of the early Church-even having some Christians killed. He became a believer, but the Church was still scared of him. Acts 9:26-27 says, ?And when Saul was come to Jerusalem, he assayed to join himself to the disciples: but they were all afraid of him, and believed not that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles, and declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way, and that He had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus.?

Barnabas encouraged Saul by extending love and friendship to him. He befriended this new believer.

Encourage Others by Building Partnerships

Another episode in the life of Barnabas included the church at Antioch. Revival had broken out there, and the church at Jerusalem sent Barnabas to make sure this church was teaching Truth. Acts 11:22-23 says, ?? they sent forth Barnabas, that he should go as far as Antioch. Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord.?

Barnabas took the opportunity to encourage them. He saw the grace of God and reported, ?These are brothers and sisters and we need to get with them.? He was not a divider or a wall builder; he was a bridge builder. He encouraged others by building partnerships.

Encourage Others by Developing Leadership

When Barnabas saw what God was doing in Antioch, he realized they needed a leader with an organizational mind and some spiritual insight. He knew Saul could help them and also that Paul had spiritual gifts that needed to be discovered and developed.

In Acts 11:25-26 we read, ?Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus, for to seek Saul: And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people ??

Barnabas never wrote a book in the Bible, but he encouraged two people who later did-Paul and Mark. Barnabas was the man that God used to encourage and develop leadership.

Encourage Others by Re-Building Relationships.

Let's look at one last example found in Acts 15:36-41. Earlier in their ministry, Paul and Barnabas had taken a young John Mark with them on their first missionary journey. Somewhere along the way, Mark left the team and went home. Later, when they wanted to retrace their steps. Barnabas wanted to take Mark with them, but Paul refused. Barnabas took Mark one way, and Paul took Silas another. Barnabas sought to mend the broken relationship.

Later, in 2 Timothy 4:11, Paul asks for Mark to come to him. Paul's relationship with Mark was restored and their ministries continued in part because Barnabas refused to let go of a good man just because he failed.

Barnabas was an encourager, and we too are called to be encouragers. In 2 Corinthians 1:3, the Bible calls God the God of all comfort or encouragement. So for us to encourage others is to be like God. We need some Barnabases. For the glory of God, will you say, ?God, make me an encourager??

"Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called."-

1Corinthians 7:20

Some persons have the foolish notion that the only way in which they
can live for God is by becoming ministers, missionaries, or Bible women.
Alas! how many would be shut out from any opportunity of magnifying the
Most High if this were the case. Beloved, it is not office, it is
earnestness; it is not position, it is grace which will enable us to glorify
God. God is most surely glorified in that cobbler's stall, where the
godly worker, as he plies the awl, sings of the Saviour's love, ay,
glorified far more than in many a prebendal stall where official
religiousness performs its scanty duties. The name of Jesus is glorified by the
poor unlearned carter as he drives his horse, and blesses his God, or
speaks to his fellow labourer by the roadside, as much as by the popular
divine who, throughout the country, like Boanerges, is thundering out
the gospel. God is glorified by our serving Him in our proper vocations.
Take care, dear reader, that you do not forsake the path of dut!
y by leaving your occupation, and take care you do not dishonour your
profession while in it. Think little of yourselves, but do not think
too little of your callings. Every lawful trade may be sanctified by the
gospel to noblest ends. Turn to the Bible, and you will find the most
menial forms of labour connected either with most daring deeds of faith,
or with persons whose lives have been illustrious for holiness.
Therefore be not discontented with your calling. Whatever God has made your
position, or your work, abide in that, unless you are quite sure that he
calls you to something else. Let your first care be to glorify God to
the utmost of your power where you are. Fill your present sphere to His
praise, and if He needs you in another He will show it you. This
evening lay aside vexatious ambition, and embrace peaceful content.

"Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called."-

1Corinthians 7:20

Some persons have the foolish notion that the only way in which they
can live for God is by becoming ministers, missionaries, or Bible women.
Alas! how many would be shut out from any opportunity of magnifying the
Most High if this were the case. Beloved, it is not office, it is
earnestness; it is not position, it is grace which will enable us to glorify
God. God is most surely glorified in that cobbler's stall, where the
godly worker, as he plies the awl, sings of the Saviour's love, ay,
glorified far more than in many a prebendal stall where official
religiousness performs its scanty duties. The name of Jesus is glorified by the
poor unlearned carter as he drives his horse, and blesses his God, or
speaks to his fellow labourer by the roadside, as much as by the popular
divine who, throughout the country, like Boanerges, is thundering out
the gospel. God is glorified by our serving Him in our proper vocations.
Take care, dear reader, that you do not forsake the path of dut!
y by leaving your occupation, and take care you do not dishonour your
profession while in it. Think little of yourselves, but do not think
too little of your callings. Every lawful trade may be sanctified by the
gospel to noblest ends. Turn to the Bible, and you will find the most
menial forms of labour connected either with most daring deeds of faith,
or with persons whose lives have been illustrious for holiness.
Therefore be not discontented with your calling. Whatever God has made your
position, or your work, abide in that, unless you are quite sure that he
calls you to something else. Let your first care be to glorify God to
the utmost of your power where you are. Fill your present sphere to His
praise, and if He needs you in another He will show it you. This
evening lay aside vexatious ambition, and embrace peaceful content.

My God Shall Provide

by Os Hillman, June 25, 2006

And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus. - Philippians 4:19

Have you ever gone through a time of complete dependence on God for your material needs? Perhaps you lost a job and could not generate income on your own. Perhaps you got sick and could not work. There are circumstances in our lives that can put us in this place.

When God brought the people of Israel out of Egypt through the desolate desert, they had no ability to provide for themselves. God met their needs supernaturally each day by providing manna from Heaven. Each day they would awake to one day's portion of what they needed. This was a season in their lives to learn dependence and the faithfulness of God as provider. By and by, they entered the Promised Land. When they did, God's "supernatural provision" was no longer required. "The manna stopped the day after they ate this food from the land; there was no longer any manna for the Israelites, but that year they ate of the produce of Canaan" (Josh. 5:12). In both cases God was the provider of the need.

For most of us, we derive our necessities of life through our work. Like the birds of the fields we are commanded to go out and gather what God has already provided. It is a process of participation in what God has already provided. Sometimes it appears it is all up to us; sometimes it appears it is all up to God. In either case we must realize that the Lord is our provider; the job is only an instrument of His provision. He requires our involvement in either case.

You may say to yourself, "My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me." But remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms His covenant, which He swore to your forefathers, as it is today (Deuteronomy 8:17-18).

Acknowledge the Lord as the provider of every need you have today. He is a faithful provider.

The Pursuit of Happiness

by: Greg Laurie

Our country’s founding fathers signed a document at Independence Hall called The Declaration of Independence. I think it’s an amazing document for a number of reasons, but chiefly because it says something that is different from any other foundational document for any other country on the planet. You probably know at least a few of its famous words: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” The last phrase in this sentence particularly arrests my attention: “the pursuit of Happiness.” It was the intent of our founding fathers that we, as Americans, be happy people.

A lot of time has passed since that document was signed. Could we be described as a happy people today? I would have to say “no.” Americans, as a whole, enjoy a higher standard of living than anyone else in the world. Yet more Americans go to psychologists and psychiatrists than any other people on the planet.

So, what is the problem? I believe that we could boil it down to this: we are pursuing happiness, but we are going about it in the wrong way. For most people, their happiness rests entirely on good things happening in their lives. When things are going well, they are happy. When things are not going well, they are unhappy.

This can cause us to become caught in an endless cycle, because no matter how much we accumulate or how much we accomplish, we always will feel as though there is something more. Our clothes aren’t fashionable enough. Our cars aren’t fast enough. Our houses aren’t elaborate enough. Our jobs aren’t rewarding enough. Our relationships aren’t romantic enough or fulfilling enough. As Solomon said in Ecclesiastes, “The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing” (1:8 NKJV). Life can become a never-ending pursuit of something just beyond our grasp.

The Book of Philippians talks about something better than happiness, or at least the world’s version of it. It’s called joy. In Philippians’ four chapters, the words joy, rejoicing, or gladness appear at least 19 times. This joy to which Philippians refers was not something available to first-century believers alone. It is available to 21st-century believers as well.

We find an important word throughout Philippians that shows us the way to experience joy. That word is: mind. It appears 10 times in Philippians, while the word think occurs 5 times. Add to this the number of times the word remember turns up, and you have a total of 16 references to the mind. So, we see that the secret of Christian joy is found in the way a believer thinks, in his or her outlook or attitude.

Throughout his letter to the Philippians, the apostle Paul exemplifies these principles. First, he demonstrates the single mind. He said in chapter 1, “For to me, to live is Christ” (verse 21). Then in chapter 3 he said, “but one thing I do” (verse 13). In other words, Paul understood that the main thing was to keep the main thing the main thing. First and foremost in his life was Jesus Christ.

Second, Paul had the mind of Christ. He said, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus” (2:5). That is the mind of a person who puts the needs of others above his own. It stands in sharp contrast to our self-centered attitudes of today.

Third, Paul had the mind of spiritual growth and progression. Not one to think that he had reached a state of spiritual perfection, he said, “Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected, but I press on . . .” (3:12). He refused to live in the past. He recognized that he still had far to go.

Finally, Paul had a rejoicing mind. In chapter 4 he said, “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice” (verse 4). Paul was an unlikely person to be talking about rejoicing, because he was in prison at the time he wrote this epistle. Yet the theme of his letter was joy.

Today, God promises believers the same kind of joy—a joy that will be with them no matter what they are going through. Paul’s joy was not coming from what he had, but from whom he knew: Jesus Christ. To learn more about such a relationship, visit http://www.knowgod.org/.

•

"The dove found no rest for the sole of her foot."-Genesis 8:9

Reader, can you find rest apart from the ark, Christ Jesus? Then be
assured that your religion is vain. Are you satisfied with anything short
of a conscious knowledge of your union and interest in Christ? Then woe
unto you. If you profess to be a Christian, yet find full satisfaction
in worldly pleasures and pursuits, your profession is false. If your
soul can stretch herself at rest, and find the bed long enough, and the
coverlet broad enough to cover her in the chambers of sin, then you are
a hypocrite, and far enough from any right thoughts of Christ or
perception of His preciousness. But if, on the other hand, you feel that if
you could indulge in sin without punishment, yet it would be a
punishment of itself; and that if you could have the whole world, and abide in
it for ever, it would be quite enough misery not to be parted from it;
for your God-your God-is what your soul craves after; then be of good
courage, thou art a child of God. With all thy sins and imperfecti!
ons, take this to thy comfort: if thy soul has no rest in sin, thou
are not as the sinner is! If thou art still crying after and craving
after something better, Christ has not forgotten thee, for thou hast not
quite forgotten Him. The believer cannot do without his Lord; words are
inadequate to express his thoughts of Him. We cannot live on the sands
of the wilderness, we want the manna which drops from on high; our skin
bottles of creature confidence cannot yield us a drop of moisture, but
we drink of the rock which follows us, and that rock is Christ. When
you feed on Him your soul can sing, "He hath satisfied my mouth with good
things, so that my youth is renewed like the eagle's," but if you have
Him not, your bursting wine vat and well-filled barn can give you no
sort of satisfaction: rather lament over them in the words of wisdom,
"Vanity of vanities, all is vanity!"

Nobel Laureates' PETRA RESOLUTIONS

In furtherance of its aims to evolve stragies of "respond to human rights and humanitarian emergencies", PETRA CONFERENCE II of NOBEL LAUREATES took the following decision in response to the ongoing conflict in Nigeria's Delta region:

"To arrange for the visit of a Nobel Laureates commission to Nigeria in order to encourage implementation of, and establish monitoring mechanisms for the recent agreement on resource and power sharing between the central government and the embattled states. To this end, the commission will reach out to all concerned parties, and endeavour to establish a common ground that will lead to a comprehensive settlement, and the restoration of securiy to that region and its peoples."

Nigeria's Delta crisis, together with Sudan's Darfur region and Chad, formed the subject of a special closed-door session that took place at 8.a.m on June 22, under the chairmanship of Profesor Elie Wiesel. Two commissions were set up - one for Darfur and Chad, the other for Nigeria's Delta region. The composition of the Nigeria commission was concluded before the close of the conference, leaving only the dates to be agreed upon between the commission's individual members, with due consultations with the host state governments of the region.

Wole Soyinka

MEGAFEST 2006 Schedule

Event Title Location Date
Radio Disney Live Remote International Plaza Tue July 18 12:00AMCelebrity Golf Tournament Golf Club of Georgia Tue July 18 8:00AMMegaFest Youth Kick Off International Plaza Wed July 19 11:00AMRadio Disney Live Remote International Plaza Wed July 19 11:00AMFamily Expo GWCC B4 Wed July 19 12:00PMMegaLand GWCC B1 MegaLand Wed July 19 4:00PMGeneral Service Georgia Dome Wed July 19 7:00PMYou're Not Forgotten Service GWCC A1 Wed July 19 7:00PMSweating In The Spirit International Plaza Thu July 20 7:00AMMorning Glory Georgia Dome Thu July 20 8:30AMKidz Workshop GWCC B1 101 Thu July 20 9:00AMXtreme Blast GWCC B1 101 Thu July 20 9:00AMMad Science GWCC B1 102 Thu July 20 9:00AMJames Henderson Ministries GWCC B1 MegaLand Thu July 20 9:00AMFamily Expo GWCC B4 Thu July 20 9:00AMHer Heart His Soul (Youth Workshop) GWCC A/Sidney J. Marcus Auditorium Thu July 20 10:00AMYouth Session GWCC A1 Thu July 20 10:00AMBank of America Home Buyer Workshop GWCC B404 Thu July 20 10:00AMTalking Finances GWCC B5 Thu July 20 11:30AMJazz On The Plaza International Plaza Thu July 20 11:30AMTurn Up the Heat with G.Garvin GWCC B4 Thu July 20 12:00PMHer Heart His Soul (Youth Workshop) GWCC A/Sidney J. Marcus Auditorium Thu July 20 1:00PMYouth Session GWCC A1 Thu July 20 1:00PMBank of America Home Buyer Workshop GWCC B404 Thu July 20 1:00PMLeadership Workshop Georgia Dome Thu July 20 1:30PMKidz Workshop GWCC B1 101 Thu July 20 1:30PMXtreme Blast GWCC B1 101 Thu July 20 1:30PMMad Science GWCC B1 102 Thu July 20 1:30PMJames Henderson Ministries GWCC B1 MegaLand Thu July 20 1:30PMNationwide Workshop GWCC B211 - B212 Thu July 20 3:00PMSubstance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration Workshop GWCC B213 - B214 Thu July 20 3:00PMTalking Finances GWCC B5 Thu July 20 3:30PMMegaLand GWCC B1 MegaLand Thu July 20 4:00PMYou're Not Forgotten Service GWCC A1 Thu July 20 7:00PMCelebration of Unity Concert Georgia Dome Thu July 20 8:00PMSweating In The Spirit International Plaza Fri July 21 7:00AMMorning Glory Georgia Dome Fri July 21 9:00AMKidz Workshop GWCC B1 101 Fri July 21 9:00AMXtreme Blast GWCC B1 101 Fri July 21 9:00AMMusic Workshop GWCC B1 101 Fri July 21 9:00AMMad Science GWCC B1 102 Fri July 21 9:00AMKidz Session GWCC B1 MegaLand Fri July 21 9:00AMFamily Expo GWCC B4 Fri July 21 9:00AMYouth Session GWCC A1 Fri July 21 10:00AMBank of America Home Buyer Workshop GWCC B404 Fri July 21 10:00AMSingles Workshop GWCC B5 Fri July 21 10:00AMJazz On The Plaza International Plaza Fri July 21 11:30AMFake IDs GWCC A1 Fri July 21 1:00PMBank of America Home Buyer Workshop GWCC B404 Fri July 21 1:00PMFashion Show GWCC B5 Fri July 21 1:00PMMid-Day Service Georgia Dome Fri July 21 1:30PMXtreme Blast GWCC B1 101 Fri July 21 1:30PMKidz Workshop GWCC B1 101 Fri July 21 1:30PMLive BIblical Workshops GWCC B1 101 Fri July 21 1:30PMMusic Workshop GWCC B1 101 Fri July 21 1:30PMMad Science GWCC B1 102 Fri July 21 1:30PMKidz Session GWCC B1 MegaLand Fri July 21 1:30PMNationwide Workshop GWCC B211 - B212 Fri July 21 3:00PMSubstance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration Workshop GWCC B213 - B214 Fri July 21 3:00PMA Taste of Essence GWCC B5 Fri July 21 3:30PMMegaLand GWCC B1 MegaLand Fri July 21 4:00PMKraft Gospel Talent Search Finals Competition GWCC A/Sidney J. Marcus Auditorium Fri July 21 5:00PMGeneral Service Georgia Dome Fri July 21 7:00PMYou're Not Forgotten Concert GWCC A1 Fri July 21 7:30PMJust Churchin'™ Comedy Show Philips Arena Fri July 21 7:30PMSweating In The Spirit International Plaza Sat July 22 7:00AMFamily Expo GWCC B4 Sat July 22 8:00AMMorning Glory Georgia Dome Sat July 22 9:00AMYouth Morning Session with Bishop Jakes GWCC A1 Sat July 22 9:00AMMegaLand GWCC B1 MegaLand Sat July 22 9:00AMFINALE Georgia Dome Sat July 22 1:00PM

BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE

The Nigerian government must learn to stop trying to unconstitutionally "bully" the reactive youths of the Niger Delta, & to become more positively proactive so as to get the best deal possible for everybody .... the "ravaged" and nigh-suicidal people of the region, all other Nigerians who desire & deserve peace & progress, the oil-dependant international community ......

This means the FGN must release Asari Dokubo to expedite peace & sustainable development in both region & the nation, & not continue to denie his family access to him, whilst threatening to move him an unknown location; which threat has led to the militants of the Niger Delta announcing that they will unleah 3 days of "terror as has never before been witnessed on the African continent"!!

We call on all men of reasin to intervene for justice, equity and constitutionality today in the nation of Nigeria.......BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE!!! selah...!

Shalom!!!

The Power of Perspective

Choosing the Lens You Look Through
by: Chip Ingram

I know a great entrepreneur with the gift of making money. He built his own carpentry business—getting contract after contract from well-paying clients—and became a wealthy guy with a lot going for him.

By his own admission, he built his company while living as a backslidden, carnal Christian - morally decent, but rarely going to church, not spending any time in God’s Word, praying a little when it served his purposes, and not walking with God.

One morning, he received a call that his business had been burned to the ground in a fire by an arsonist. He had no insurance and lost a half-million dollars in materials alone. His contracts could not be fulfilled, his employees scattered, and he was left with nothing.

As would be the case with many people, my friend got depressed. He would stare out the window, dazed for hours at a time. He soon needed psychiatric help, and it took a long time before he could think straight again.

But being the entrepreneur that he was, he eventually rebounded. Within three and a half years he had rebuilt his business and was making a lot of money. Then one Saturday, one of his employees decided to help out by cleaning up the shop. He swept up all the sawdust, and then proceeded to clean out the welding gun. As he lit it, the sawdust caught on fire - and within minutes the whole building was going up in flames.

Again, everything my friend owned ended up in ashes. This time, he had a little insurance, but it wasn’t enough to cover this second half-million he had just lost. But his reaction in round two wasn’t the same as in round one. This time, he lined up a job for every one of his employees within forty-eight hours. And when he saw himself headed toward another round of depression, he was able to bring himself out of it. He actually had a positive attitude within days.

I knew that God had gotten his attention between fire one and fire two. I knew he realized there was more in life than carpentry, making money, and skiing at the most exclusive resorts. But his attitude was so different that I had to ask why. This is what he said:

I’ve been down this road before, and I understand what’s important. When I told my wife about the fire, she burst into tears and I had to make a choice. I could repeat history, or I could take advantage of the opportunity to do this right. So by a sheer act of the will, I decided to react differently. I took a little walk. By the time I got down our front steps, the words came to me, “The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Naked I came into this world, and naked I will return. Blessed be the name of the Lord.” As I walked around the block, I willfully chose to thank God for what I did have. Jesus had died on the cross for me, He saved me, He had given me a great family and a lot of success, and my generous, hardworking employee was just trying to help when this happened. In the big picture, I had really been blessed.

A Choice of Halves
My friend was a perfect illustration of a classic question: Is the glass half empty or half full? Life is really a series of answers to that question, and the answers are more than an indication of optimism or pessimism. How we look at a situation determines whether our emotions will send us spiraling upward or downward. And every time, our response is a matter of choice.

How can we live the kind of life that looks at the half-full side of relationships, work, marriage, children, and faith? By understanding the power of perspective.

If I asked you what your most painful, pressing difficulty is right now, what would you say? Marriage? Money? Depression? Lack of significance? Get your answer clear in your mind, and then consider the lenses through which you see this problem. Here’s a helpful formula to use when you look at your half-full, half-empty glass: C + P = E. Circumstances plus Perspective equals Experience.

Contrary to popular belief, your experience is not defined by your circumstances. It’s defined by how you see your circumstances. Like my friend who went through two almost identical tragedies, your perspective can make a powerful difference in the direction of your life.

Rising Above Your Circumstances
You can live above your circumstances if you let your perspective interpret your circumstances rather than letting your circumstances determine your perspective. For the most part, you have no control over your circumstances - the economy, people’s attitudes, the traffic, etc. You can’t change them. But you have complete control over your perspective. If C + P = E, you can only change E by changing P.

Focusing on the half-empty will take you in some very painful directions. Focusing on the half-full will take you in some very powerful directions. If you want your experience to improve, don’t focus on your situation. Focus on how you see it.

This is not a psychological gimmick; it’s a spiritual reality. Paul demonstrated that in his letter to the Philippians. His first trip to Philippi was pretty rocky (see Acts 16). Several times since, he had been beaten with the same brutality Jesus had experienced before the crucifixion, and now he was sitting in a dirty prison.

What kind of letter would you write? Mine would look like this: “I don’t know how much more I can take. There are rats in here, my wounds are infected, and people are telling lies about me. Please do whatever you can to get me out of here.” But Paul wrote about joy, gratitude, and hope. How?

Paul had perspective. He knew one of the most important keys to a spiritually fulfilling life: focus on Christ.

In every situation, we have three choices with regard to focus. We can look downward or upward, we can look inward or outward, and we can look backward or forward.

My letter to Philippi might have been downward, looking at visible, earthly evidence without regard to God’s power and purpose. It might have been inward, focusing on my hardship rather than its benefit to others. And it might have been backward, obsessed more with what had already happened than what God could do in the future.

Paul’s letter to Philippi was different. He was focusing upward: “I thank my God every time I remember you” (1:3), and, “To me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” (1:21), for example. He was focusing outward: “What has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel” (1:12), and, “The important thing is that in every way . . . Christ is preached” (1:18). And he was focusing forward: “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (1:6), and, “I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death” (1:20).

Paul’s answer t whether the glass was half empty or half full made him joyful, not depressed - fruitful, not empty. It honored God.

Your perspective can have that kind of power, too. My carpenter friend experienced both: depression and emptiness after fire one, and joy and blessing after fire two. His business today is going great, he has a powerful testimony, and people ask him why he’s so content. He tells them that God is in control - He can allow things not only to burn down, but also to be built back up.

My friend, like Paul, has experienced the radical difference a perspective can make. And if you will look upward, outward, and forward, you can experience the difference, too.

Your Divine Design

Extreme Makeovers by a Master Craftsman
by: Chip Ingram

Jim was a spiritual junkyard. He lived in Alaska, took frequent trips to Mexico, and did a lot of business in California, but it was a business that ruined him. He trafficked cocaine.

Not only did Jim traffic cocaine, he was addicted to it. He was also an alcoholic whose life was frequently in danger, whose family was a mess, whose kids had inherited the ravages of their father’s lifestyle, whose health was deteriorating, and who had no clue which way was up. Jim was as messed up as a person can get.

Somehow, by the grace of God, Jim found Jesus - or Jesus found him - in Alaska. Knowing he couldn’t keep his family safe or grow as a Christian among his former network of associates, he moved to northern California and took a low-profile job as a janitor in a local school. He began coming to our church and, over time, helped out a few other addicts who had found their way into our fellowship.

Jim grew as a disciple of Jesus as my wife exercised her gift of mercy, one of our other ministers invested his gift of exhortation, and the whole fellowship offered their gifts of hospitality and encouragement. Eventually, our church hired Jim as custodian, and God gave him more opportunities to work with other addicts.

Jim began to pray about God’s plan for his life. God put it in his heart to take a trip to southern California to see how Saddleback Church’s Celebrate Recovery program worked, and within a year after that trip, Jim had helped establish one of the largest Celebrate Recovery programs in the state. Word got out into the community, and that ministry of our church flourished - we even hired him fulltime to lead the recovery ministry - all because a former junkie and trafficker discovered what God had designed him to do.

That’s God’s plan for everyone. Like the “Extreme Makeover” people on TV who take an old, run-down house and turn it into a drastically upgraded home that perfectly fits the interests and dreams of the family that lives there, God wants to take each of our lives and radically change them to fit His plan and our design.

In other words, you are a masterpiece in the making.

The Artist at Work
Like a masterful artist, God is painting a picture with your life. He is recreating you in Christ for a specific purpose. You can find out what that purpose is, and you can live in it daily.

Paul’s letter to the Ephesians spells it out for us. It tells us that God knew each of us before the foundation of the world. He designed us the way we are for a reason, arranged for our salvation, and planned out His extreme makeover process. Not only that, Ephesians 2:10 tells us that He already has a special set of good works He wants us to do. “We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

In Jim’s case, God had long ago decided to rescue him, restore him, and give him a ministry of recovery that kept on mushrooming in our church and changing lives in our community. In your case, the makeover will likely look different, but the dynamic will be the same.

If you want to know the blueprint for God’s extreme makeovers, read Ephesians 2:1-10 sometime. We all start off dead in our sins, captives in a dark world, and objects of God’s wrath. But because of His mercy, we were made alive with Jesus and seated with Him in heavenly realms. That has already happened, and we didn’t do anything to deserve it. It’s pure grace that we receive only by faith. Then - and this is a key point that many Christians don’t notice - God desires to show His extraordinary grace in our lives and to lead us into the works we were created for. This is ultimately about Him. Our makeover is a demonstration of His glory.

Before and After
How does it happen? Are we like superheroes who walk into a closet as one person and then come out completely transformed? What does 2 Corinthians 5:17 really mean when it says that we who are in Christ are new creatures?

From both Scripture and experience, we know this isn’t an instant process. Extreme makeovers take time. Paul continues in Ephesians 2 with a description of “the house” where it all happens. It’s called the church - not a building, but the living, breathing people of God walking together in unity and maturity, exercising their gifts in the fullness of His Spirit.

That’s the corporate side of it, but there’s also an individual aspect that Paul describes in chapter 3. We are strengthened in our inner being as Christ dwells in our hearts by faith, and together with all the saints we come to grasp the height and depth and length of the love of Jesus. Knowing that love, we can be filled with the fullness of God.

In other words, our makeover is both a neighborhood project and a personal transformation, an external facelift and an internal overhaul. Everything about us becomes new, inside and out.

But the makeover isn’t completed just for its own sake. It all comes back to discovering the divine design that God has made us for. The second half of Ephesians tells us how grace has been apportioned to us - Jesus broke the power of sin, declared His victory, and then gave gifts to human beings. He deposited the manifold gifts of His Spirit into the church. Why? To demonstrate His wisdom. The spiritual gifts that fit our design are given as evidence of His victory over satan, sin, and the world.

Your Divine Design
You are a paintbrush in God’s hand. He is dipping you in multiple colors to showcase His artistry. And your spiritual gift is the evidence of what He has done.

The problem is that many Christians don’t even know what their primary spiritual gift is. Many of us spin our wheels for years trying to serve in areas we are not equipped to serve in. Occasionally we may have to serve wherever we are needed, of course, but normally we need to focus on the design God has for each of us. When we’re confronted with a multitude of options, we need to know which ones we are gifted to do.

Spiritual gifts are not choices on a salad bar. We can’t just pick and choose which ones we want. I’ve done a lot of things in my life that were important and useful, but they did not bring me joy or bear much fruit. I had to discover that God sovereignly chooses the gifts that perfectly match the works He wants each of us to walk in. I had to understand the paintbrush He was using. You do, too. Discovering your divine design and living according to that design will produce evidence of the life of Christ in you.

It certainly did for Jim. One of his estranged sons came to visit him after almost ten years of absence. He could hardly believe what he saw. It looked like his dad, but Jim was so different that his son wondered if he was putting on an act. The son came face to face with the reality of Jesus. Jim was not the same man. He was literally a new creature in Christ.

That’s what happens when people understand what they were designed for. Members of our church exercised their spiritual gifts, and they had a profound impact on Jim. Jim exercised his spiritual gifts, and he had a profound impact on the church and the community. He learned why God had made him and redeemed him, and he walked in the good works God had already planned.

God wants a makeover for you that is just as extreme and powerful. He hasn’t ordained a small sampling of good works for you to do. He has given you God-sized gifts for a God-sized reason. If you will learn what they are, you will grow in the purpose God planned just for you.

Hungry for Love

How to Be a Somebody to Somebody
by: Chip Ingram

I’ve come across a revolutionary truth in my life: Everyone behaves in a way that makes sense to them.

Now that doesn’t mean that they behave in a way that makes sense to me. But if we understand that they behave in a way that makes sense to them, we’ll go a long way toward understanding a human being’s desperate search for love.

There are a lot of theories out there that try to explain why people behave the way we do. Freud said our behavior is determined by primal drives. Adler disagreed, saying our life really revolves around self-esteem. Goldberg said it’s all about stages of moral development. Maslow thought our behavior fit a certain hierarchy of needs on the road to self-actualization. Skinner argued that it has more to do with stimulus responses.

But there’s one thing everyone agrees on: We all want to be a “somebody” in the eyes of someone who loves us.

That’s true, isn’t it? We all want significance. It’s one of our most basic drives. We need to feel important and loved, at least by someone. And because deep down we feel unworthy—a result of the Fall and our lifelong sinfulness—we develop elaborate strategies to get people to love us.

We all have different strategies. That’s why when someone’s behavior doesn’t make sense to us, we can assume it makes sense to them. Some people are jokesters, some are loud and aggressive, some are perpetual victims, and some are people-pleasing performers. And along the way, nearly everyone has forsaken common sense and good judgment. Though our strategies differ, our purpose is universal: We long for acceptance.

The problem is that our love-seeking gymnastics often take us outside of God’s boundaries. The guilt, shame, denial, and lies that result always accomplish the opposite result from what we wanted. We feel even more unworthy than before.

The Big Question
Here’s the question I want us to consider: Knowing that we’ve violated God’s boundaries in our desperate attempt to get people to love us—whether it has been in a contrived personality or slavish performance—how is God going to respond? When we’ve missed the mark—and we all have—what “God” will we encounter?

Are we going to be greeted by a God who folds His arms and sternly reminds us that we’ll pay for our senselessness? Are we going to see the backside of God as He walks away from us in disgust? Is our craving for acceptance going to result in our ultimate rejection?

In Luke 15, Jesus addressed this very issue in three quick snapshots designed to reveal how God’s heart responds to irreligious, immoral lawbreakers—people like us who were desperate for significance and sought it in all the wrong places.

A lot of sinners were gathering around Jesus. So were the Pharisees and teachers of the law. Both groups had internal problems; the Pharisees covered it up well, but the sinners had given up. Jesus wanted both groups to know what God thinks when people have blown it.

Lost and Found
The first parable (vv. 4-7) is about lost sheep. In an agricultural society, everyone understood the pitfalls of the shepherding profession. If you lost a sheep, you’d be responsible for it. Your reputation as a shepherd was on the line, and so were the financial accounts of the sheep-owner.

So if you lost a sheep, diligently sought to find it, and then found it and brought it back into the fold, you’d celebrate. That was worthy of a party.

The second parable (vv. 8-10) is about a woman who lost a silver coin. That coin would have been worth a day’s wage. Sometimes 10 of them would be made into a headband for the woman’s dowry. It would be precious and sentimental, either as the means for tomorrow’s food or as a tenth of the dowry. If it were lost, there would be an intensive search. And if it were found, there would be a celebration.

But the best-known parable in this chapter is about a son who, against all social protocol and respect, took off with his portion of his father’s wealth and wasted it on reckless living. He did what every young man’s heart tempts him to do. He said, “I’m going to be fulfilled, I’m going to take what’s mine, and I’m going to get what I want to be happy and important.” He fell for the false promises of momentary pleasure. He acted in really senseless ways to find significance—and it all made sense to him.

His reckless living leads where reckless living always leads: to desperate need. After spending all he had, a famine struck the country, and the son got hungry. In order to survive, he hired himself out to feed pigs—the ultimate humiliation for a Jew. And he would have eaten even the pigs’ food, if he could. But no one gave him anything. He was completely bankrupt.

As everyone does after a desperate search for fulfillment has proven foolish, the son reflected on his circumstances. And he came up with a plan: He would return to his father and own up to his own bankruptcy. It didn’t matter that he could no longer be considered a son. Even being his father’s hired help would be better than where he was. He planned to go back, tell his father he’d blown it, and accept what he deserved.

The arm-crossed Pharisees listening to Jesus were set up for the punch line, and Jesus delivered it. The father saw his son from a distance, was filled with compassion, and ran to him. He threw his arms around the son and kissed him.

Do you see how loaded that picture is? The son tried to lay out his plan, and the father interrupted him. He wouldn’t let the repentant son work for his salvation. Instead, the father honored his son with a prestigious robe, a ring representing family authority, and . . . a party. A big one.

Honest to God
The answer for those who crave acceptance and will do anything to get it is that we don’t have to. The heart of God accepts people who have blown it. That’s how He responds when we’ve sought love in all the wrong places and done foolish things that make sense only to ourselves. We try to win the love of others, and after all our elaborate plans have failed and we come back to Him, God has a celebration. His acceptance was the only acceptance that mattered, and realizing that is reason for a party.

Do you see the pattern? Something valuable was lost, there was an intensive search, what was lost is found, and there’s a celebration. That’s how God will meet every single person who finds himself or herself unworthy of His love.

That’s not just a message for unbelievers, by the way. It doesn’t matter if you’ve been a Christian with a sterling record for 30 years. Somewhere along the way, you’ve probably hungered for love and crossed the boundaries in a foolish attempt to get it. And if you have, God has a remedy. Come to Him as a real, honest, repentant child, and ask Him to help. He will, because He always does. That’s the kind of God you will find every time.