From dcolburn at bibleseven.com Tue Nov 1 22:26:32 2011 From: dcolburn at bibleseven.com (dcolburn at bibleseven.com) Date: Tue, 01 Nov 2011 22:26:32 -0400 Subject: [Linux4christians] Wednesday - Acts 20 Message-ID: <4EB0AA58.9030206@bibleseven.com> Wednesday Acts 20 Paul Travels Through Macedonia and Greece 20:1 After the disturbance had ended, Paul sent for the disciples, and after encouraging them and saying farewell, he left to go to Macedonia. 20:2 After he had gone through those regions and spoken many words of encouragement to the believers there, he came to Greece, 20:3 where he stayed for three months. Because the Jews had made a plot against him as he was intending to sail for Syria, he decided to return through Macedonia. 20:4 Paul was accompanied by Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Berea, Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, Gaius from Derbe, and Timothy, as well as Tychicus and Trophimus from the province of Asia. 20:5 These had gone on ahead and were waiting for us in Troas. 20:6 We sailed away from Philippi after the days of Unleavened Bread, and within five days we came to the others in Troas, where we stayed for seven days. 20:7 On the first day of the week, when we met to break bread, Paul began to speak to the people, and because he intended to leave the next day, he extended his message until midnight. 20:8 (Now there were many lamps in the upstairs room where we were meeting.) 20:9 A young man named Eutychus, who was sitting in the window, was sinking into a deep sleep while Paul continued to speak for a long time. Fast asleep, he fell down from the third story and was picked up dead. 20:10 But Paul went down, threw himself on the young man, put his arms around him, and said, "Do not be distressed, for he is still alive!" 20:11 Then Paul went back upstairs, and after he had broken bread and eaten, he talked with them a long time, until dawn. Then he left. 20:12 They took the boy home alive and were greatly comforted. The Voyage to Miletus 20:13 We went on ahead to the ship and put out to sea for Assos, intending to take Paul aboard there, for he had arranged it this way. He himself was intending to go there by land. 20:14 When he met us in Assos, we took him aboard and went to Mitylene. 20:15 We set sail from there, and on the following day we arrived off Chios. The next day we approached Samos, and the day after that we arrived at Miletus. 20:16 For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus so as not to spend time in the province of Asia, for he was hurrying to arrive in Jerusalem, if possible, by the day of Pentecost. 20:17 From Miletus he sent a message to Ephesus, telling the elders of the church to come to him. 20:18 When they arrived, he said to them, "You yourselves know how I lived the whole time I was with you, from the first day I set foot in the province of Asia, 20:19 serving the Lord with all humility and with tears, and with the trials that happened to me because of the plots of the Jews. 20:20 You know that I did not hold back from proclaiming to you anything that would be helpful, and from teaching you publicly and from house to house, 20:21 testifying to both Jews and Greeks about repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus. 20:22 And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem without knowing what will happen to me there, 20:23 except that the Holy Spirit warns me in town after town that imprisonment and persecutions are waiting for me. 20:24 But I do not consider my life worth anything to myself, so that I may finish my task and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the good news of God's grace. 20:25 "And now I know that none of you among whom I went around proclaiming the kingdom will see me again. 20:26 Therefore I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of you all. 20:27 For I did not hold back from announcing to you the whole purpose of God. 20:28 Watch out for yourselves and for all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God that he obtained with the blood of his own Son. 20:29 I know that after I am gone fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. 20:30 Even from among your own group men will arise, teaching perversions of the truth to draw the disciples away after them. 20:31 Therefore be alert, remembering that night and day for three years I did not stop warning each one of you with tears. 20:32 And now I entrust you to God and to the message of his grace. This message is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. 20:33 I have desired no one's silver or gold or clothing. 20:34 You yourselves know that these hands of mine provided for my needs and the needs of those who were with me. 20:35 By all these things, I have shown you that by working in this way we must help the weak, and remember the words of the Lord Jesus that he himself said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'" 20:36 When he had said these things, he knelt down with them all and prayed. 20:37 They all began to weep loudly, and hugged Paul and kissed him, 20:38 especially saddened by what he had said, that they were not going to see him again. Then they accompanied him to the ship. Prayer Lord, You caused the apostle Paul to evangelize and disciple, then he transferred leadership and instructed them all to persevere and to watch out for deceivers. May I also be a useful instrument but then not tarry when my service is complete and I need to be elsewhere. Summary & Commentary Paul traveled through Macedonia and Greece with several disciples, including the author of Acts, Luke. On his last day in Troas he spoke until midnight and a young man fell asleep on the 3rd story ledge and fell to the ground. Paul threw himself upon him, a conduit for the healing power of the Holy Spirit, and the boys life was restored. Paul set out on a voyage to Miletus, bypassing Ephesus, but asking them to instead meet him there. He reviewed his ministry with them, shared his understanding from the Holy Spirit that he would not live to return to Ephesus, and warned them to beware false teachers. Paul informed them that he was going on to Jerusalem, knowing that there waited the most fierce and violent opposition to the Word of God about Christ. Interaction Consider The key points of emphasis in Paul's parting words to the "elders of the church" from Ephesus: I served you with humility I declared Christ despite the threats of the religious leaders I worked with my hands to support myself and those with me I earnestly discipled you and now expect you to do the same for others Just as Jesus had Judas you have weak men among you who will betray you The "elders" are to care for and feed the flock, as Jesus instructed the Apostle Peter Discuss To what message from the Lord God to an Old Testament prophet was Paul referring when he said in Acts 20:26-27 "Therefore I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of you all. For I did not hold back from announcing to you the whole purpose of God." Reflect Paul warned them to be watchful because deceivers would come. Share When have you experienced or observed a deceiver come into a fellowship? Faith in Action Prayer: Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you a ministry you may need to hand-off to someone else, a threat to ministry from bad teaching or other deception, and/or and opportunity to be His instrument of emotional, intellectual, physical, and/or spiritual healing. Action: Today I will step out of my comfort zone of ministry in faith that He is in control. Be Specific ______________________________________________________ Thursday's text will be: Acts 21 -- Draw nearer to the Lord and He will bless you, Have an http://Ultrafidian.com Day! David M. Colburn, DMin. MaCo ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Savannah-Statesboro needs a Bible College/Seminary! Personal Site: http://bibleseven.com Bible Resources: http://bible.org Teacher's Verse: John 7:16 I don't google I SEARCH! Yippy.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From fmiller at lightlink.com Wed Nov 2 17:25:53 2011 From: fmiller at lightlink.com (Fred A. Miller) Date: Wed, 02 Nov 2011 17:25:53 -0400 Subject: [Linux4christians] OT: Was Jesus a Socialist? Message-ID: <4EB1B561.3080102@lightlink.com> Living in Los Angeles has its ups and downs. The 'up' part is the near-perfect weather and the fact that within a few hours, you can swim in the ocean, ski in the mountains or ride dirt bikes in the desert. The down-side is, of course, the liberals. I can't tell you how many times my husband Mark and I have had to deal with misguided liberals who---after losing every other battle---resort to the tired old argument that 'even Jesus was a socialist'. http://patriotupdate.com/articles/was-jesus-a-socialist -- "Gun control is like trying to reduce drunk driving by making it tougher for sober people to own cars." - Unknown -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dcolburn at bibleseven.com Wed Nov 2 22:25:30 2011 From: dcolburn at bibleseven.com (dcolburn at bibleseven.com) Date: Wed, 02 Nov 2011 22:25:30 -0400 Subject: [Linux4christians] Thursday - Acts 21 Message-ID: <4EB1FB9A.2000906@bibleseven.com> Thursday Acts 21 Paul's Journey to Jerusalem 21:1 After we tore ourselves away from them, we put out to sea, and sailing a straight course, we came to Cos, on the next day to Rhodes, and from there to Patara. 21:2 We found a ship crossing over to Phoenicia, went aboard, and put out to sea. 21:3 After we sighted Cyprus and left it behind on our port side, we sailed on to Syria and put in at Tyre, because the ship was to unload its cargo there. 21:4 After we located the disciples, we stayed there seven days. They repeatedly told Paul through the Spirit not to set foot in Jerusalem. 21:5 When our time was over, we left and went on our way. All of them, with their wives and children, accompanied us outside of the city. After kneeling down on the beach and praying, 21:6 we said farewell to one another. Then we went aboard the ship, and they returned to their own homes. 21:7 We continued the voyage from Tyre and arrived at Ptolemais, and when we had greeted the brothers, we stayed with them for one day. 21:8 On the next day we left and came to Caesarea, and entered the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him. 21:9 (He had four unmarried daughters who prophesied.) 21:10 While we remained there for a number of days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. 21:11 He came to us, took Paul's belt, tied his own hands and feet with it, and said, "The Holy Spirit says this: 'This is the way the Jews in Jerusalem will tie up the man whose belt this is, and will hand him over to the Gentiles.'" 21:12 When we heard this, both we and the local people begged him not to go up to Jerusalem. 21:13 Then Paul replied, "What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be tied up, but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus." 21:14 Because he could not be persuaded, we said no more except, "The Lord's will be done." 21:15 After these days we got ready and started up to Jerusalem. 21:16 Some of the disciples from Caesarea came along with us too, and brought us to the house of Mnason of Cyprus, a disciple from the earliest times, with whom we were to stay. 21:17 When we arrived in Jerusalem, the brothers welcomed us gladly. 21:18 The next day Paul went in with us to see James, and all the elders were there. 21:19 When Paul had greeted them, he began to explain in detail what God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. 21:20 When they heard this, they praised God. Then they said to him, "You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are who have believed, and they are all ardent observers of the law. 21:21 They have been informed about you -- that you teach all the Jews now living among the Gentiles to abandon Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or live according to our customs. 21:22 What then should we do? They will no doubt hear that you have come. 21:23 So do what we tell you: We have four men who have taken a vow; 21:24 take them and purify yourself along with them and pay their expenses, so that they may have their heads shaved. Then everyone will know there is nothing in what they have been told about you, but that you yourself live in conformity with the law. 21:25 But regarding the Gentiles who have believed, we have written a letter, having decided that they should avoid meat that has been sacrificed to idols and blood and what has been strangled and sexual immorality." 21:26 Then Paul took the men the next day, and after he had purified himself along with them, he went to the temple and gave notice of the completion of the days of purification, when the sacrifice would be offered for each of them. 21:27 When the seven days were almost over, the Jews from the province of Asia who had seen him in the temple area stirred up the whole crowd and seized him, 21:28 shouting, "Men of Israel, help! This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere against our people, our law, and this sanctuary! Furthermore he has brought Greeks into the inner courts of the temple and made this holy place ritually unclean!" 21:29 (For they had seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with him previously, and they assumed Paul had brought him into the inner temple courts.) 21:30 The whole city was stirred up, and the people rushed together. They seized Paul and dragged him out of the temple courts, and immediately the doors were shut. 21:31 While they were trying to kill him, a report was sent up to the commanding officer of the cohort that all Jerusalem was in confusion. 21:32 He immediately took soldiers and centurions and ran down to the crowd. When they saw the commanding officer and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. 21:33 Then the commanding officer came up and arrested him and ordered him to be tied up with two chains; he then asked who he was and what he had done. 21:34 But some in the crowd shouted one thing, and others something else, and when the commanding officer was unable to find out the truth because of the disturbance, he ordered Paul to be brought into the barracks. 21:35 When he came to the steps, Paul had to be carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the mob, 21:36 for a crowd of people followed them, screaming, "Away with him!" 21:37 As Paul was about to be brought into the barracks, he said to the commanding officer, "May I say something to you?" The officer replied, "Do you know Greek? 21:38 Then you're not that Egyptian who started a rebellion and led the four thousand men of the 'Assassins' into the wilderness some time ago?" 21:39 Paul answered, "I am a Jew from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of an important city. Please allow me to speak to the people." 21:40 When the commanding officer had given him permission, Paul stood on the steps and gestured to the people with his hand. When they had become silent, he addressed them in Aramaic, Prayer Lord, You call us to be faithful in an evil and rebellious fallen world, and so sometimes we will suffer for our faithful obedience. May I worry less about what may happen if I am faithful then what won't happen through me if I am not faithful. Summary & Commentary Paul's traveled from Miletus to Tyre on his journey to Jerusalem. In Tyre he met with the disciples for seven days during which the Spirit revealed to them the danger to Paul in Jerusalem and they encouraged him to not go. [Note: It is unclear in the text if the Holy Spirit was affirming earlier warnings to Paul, which he continued to ignore, or if He wanted the disciples to comprehend the risk Paul was taking for the cause of Christ.] Paul journeyed on to Caesarea (Palestinian coast south of Mount Carmel) where stayed with one of the original seven Deacons from Jerusalem named Philip, and his four daughters. The Holy Spirit was delivering prophesies via Philip's daughters. [Note: The author, Luke, makes an intentional point of the parenthetical note both that Philip's daughters we single and that God was using them in an important ministry role. It is also notable to recall that most Biblical "prophesy" was the re-telling of what God had done and only a small fraction was fore-telling of things to come. The text does not record any prophesy; that they prophesied appears to have been the purpose of their mention.] Agabus, a prophet from Jerusalem [also mentioned in Acts 11:28], came to Caesarea and tied Paul's hands and feet with Paul's belt then prophesied that the same would happen to him in Jerusalem. Luke and the others pleaded with Paul, weeping as they did so, not to travel to Jerusalem but Paul was undeterred so they entrusted the matter to God. Paul continued on to Jerusalem where he was warned of the rumors that he had taught Jews to abandon their law-keeping customs and even brought Gentiles into the inner courts of the Temple [presumed to be for Jews only]. They started a riot and Paul was attacked. The commanding officer of the cohort hear of the disturbance and stopped it. He arrested Paul then had to remove him to the barracks so hysterical had the mob become. There Paul noted his citizenry of Tarsus and requested permission to address the crowd. He addressed them in their local dialect of Aramaic. Interaction Consider The Lord God used the Romans to rescue Paul and then to require the people to listen to him. Discuss Isn't it amazing that despite the danger to Paul and others - which they courageously ignored - how they were persuaded in their minds that the calling of Christ was worthy of any price? Reflect Philip's unmarried daughters were empowered by the Lord God to prophesy, actualizing His teaching that there was no hierarchy "male or female, Greek or Hebrew" in God's value system. Share When have you been aware of someone who was faithful to the Lord in sharing His truth and suffered a violent reaction -- physical or social -- yet they persevered? Faith in Action Prayer: Ask the Holy Spirit to give you increased-courage to serve the Lord God. Action: Today I will share a word of encouragement with a woman whose calling is blocked by man. Be Specific ______________________________________________________ Friday's text will be: Acts 22 -- Draw nearer to the Lord and He will bless you, Have an http://Ultrafidian.com Day! David M. Colburn, DMin. MaCo ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Savannah-Statesboro needs a Bible College/Seminary! Personal Site: http://bibleseven.com Bible Resources: http://bible.org Teacher's Verse: John 7:16 I don't google I SEARCH! Yippy.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From fmiller at lightlink.com Wed Nov 2 23:52:31 2011 From: fmiller at lightlink.com (Fred A. Miller) Date: Wed, 02 Nov 2011 23:52:31 -0400 Subject: [Linux4christians] Leading PC makers confirm: no Windows 8 plot to lock out Linux Message-ID: <4EB20FFF.4090807@lightlink.com> Leading PC makers confirm: no Windows 8 plot to lock out Linux The drumbeat from Linux advocates about a key security feature in Microsoft's forthcoming Windows 8 is getting louder. They call it an anti-Linux plot. READ FULL STORY | SHARE ON FACEBOOK -- Remember: Ban-Control-Take Over are the hallmarks of the "New"Democrats and old Communists so buy brass and lead instead of gold. - Bob Roller -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From fmiller at lightlink.com Thu Nov 3 02:52:54 2011 From: fmiller at lightlink.com (Fred A. Miller) Date: Thu, 03 Nov 2011 02:52:54 -0400 Subject: [Linux4christians] OT: LG advertising on building in Berlin. spectacular." This IS a MUST SEE!! Message-ID: <4EB23A46.5040603@lightlink.com> LG ADVERTISING ON BERLIN BUILDING: SPECTACULAR!!! *Click on the picture it will then open the show.* *What imagination!* *What skill !* *This is brilliant!* -- Remember: Ban-Control-Take Over are the hallmarks of the "New"Democrats and old Communists so buy brass and lead instead of gold. - Bob Roller -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: image/jpeg Size: 20166 bytes Desc: not available URL: From dcolburn at bibleseven.com Thu Nov 3 20:21:07 2011 From: dcolburn at bibleseven.com (dcolburn at bibleseven.com) Date: Thu, 03 Nov 2011 20:21:07 -0400 Subject: [Linux4christians] Friday - Acts 22 Message-ID: <4EB32FF3.5040804@bibleseven.com> Friday Acts 22 Paul's Defense 22:1 "Brothers and fathers, listen to my defense that I now make to you." 22:2 (When they heard that he was addressing them in Aramaic, they became even quieter.) Then Paul said, 22:3 "I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated with strictness under Gamaliel according to the law of our ancestors, and was zealous for God just as all of you are today. 22:4 I persecuted this Way even to the point of death, tying up both men and women and putting them in prison, 22:5 as both the high priest and the whole council of elders can testify about me. From them I also received letters to the brothers in Damascus, and I was on my way to make arrests there and bring the prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished. 22:6 As I was en route and near Damascus, about noon a very bright light from heaven suddenly flashed around me. 22:7 Then I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?' 22:8 I answered, 'Who are you, Lord?' He said to me, 'I am Jesus the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting.' 22:9 Those who were with me saw the light, but did not understand the voice of the one who was speaking to me. 22:10 So I asked, 'What should I do, Lord?' The Lord said to me, 'Get up and go to Damascus; there you will be told about everything that you have been designated to do.' 22:11 Since I could not see because of the brilliance of that light, I came to Damascus led by the hand of those who were with me. 22:12 A man named Ananias, a devout man according to the law, well spoken of by all the Jews who live there, 22:13 came to me and stood beside me and said to me, 'Brother Saul, regain your sight!' And at that very moment I looked up and saw him. 22:14 Then he said, 'The God of our ancestors has already chosen you to know his will, to see the Righteous One, and to hear a command from his mouth, 22:15 because you will be his witness to all people of what you have seen and heard. 22:16 And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized, and have your sins washed away, calling on his name.' 22:17 When I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance 22:18 and saw the Lord saying to me, 'Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.' 22:19 I replied, 'Lord, they themselves know that I imprisoned and beat those in the various synagogues who believed in you. 22:20 And when the blood of your witness Stephen was shed, I myself was standing nearby, approving, and guarding the cloaks of those who were killing him.' 22:21 Then he said to me, 'Go, because I will send you far away to the Gentiles.'" The Roman Commander Questions Paul 22:22 The crowd was listening to him until he said this. Then they raised their voices and shouted, "Away with this man from the earth! For he should not be allowed to live!" 22:23 While they were screaming and throwing off their cloaks and tossing dust in the air, 22:24 the commanding officer ordered Paul to be brought back into the barracks. He told them to interrogate Paul by beating him with a lash so that he could find out the reason the crowd was shouting at Paul in this way. 22:25 When they had stretched him out for the lash, Paul said to the centurion standing nearby, "Is it legal for you to lash a man who is a Roman citizen without a proper trial?" 22:26 When the centurion heard this, he went to the commanding officer and reported it, saying, "What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman citizen." 22:27 So the commanding officer came and asked Paul, "Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?" He replied, "Yes." 22:28 The commanding officer answered, "I acquired this citizenship with a large sum of money." "But I was even born a citizen," Paul replied. 22:29 Then those who were about to interrogate him stayed away from him, and the commanding officer was frightened when he realized that Paul was a Roman citizen and that he had had him tied up. Paul Before the Sanhedrin 22:30 The next day, because the commanding officer wanted to know the true reason Paul was being accused by the Jews, he released him and ordered the chief priests and the whole council to assemble. He then brought Paul down and had him stand before them. Prayer Lord, the apostle Paul confronted the people with Your truth and they hated him for it. May I remember that Jesus warned His followers that those who rejected Him would also reject us as His messengers. Summary & Commentary Paul's defense began with a presentation of his mentoring and performance as a member of the religious leaders and their most aggressive persecutors of Christians. He then shared the story of Jesus confronting him on the road to Damascus and how another man, respected by Jews-of-the-law, named Ananias delivered God's healing of his sight and led him to be baptized. Paul continued to share, noting that God spoke to him in the Temple, saying "get out of Jerusalem ... because they will not accept your testimony about Me." Paul protested to God that the Jews in Jerusalem knew of his zealotry against the Christians, even approving the murder of Stephen, but God declared that He was sending Paul to the Gentiles. When Paul mentioned outreach to Gentiles the crowd burst into hysteria and Paul was returned to the barracks. [Note: The Jews had been deceived by the religious leaders into believing that despite the clear Word of God they remained His unique people - to share God with Gentiles was considered the worst sort of betrayal to such a self-important people.] The Roman commander ordered Paul lashed to force him to explain why the people were so angry. Paul informed them that he was born a Roman citizen and thus it was a crime against Rome to punish him without a trial. The next morning the commander brought him before the Sanhedrin. Interaction Consider As long as he did not stray from the "brainwashed" narrative the religious leaders had imposed upon their followers they were silent but the moment Paul crossed the socio-religious line of outreach to the Gentiles they reacted with a mindless corporate rage. Discuss Does it trouble you that the Roman commander was more-reasoned than the Jews? Reflect The people seemed OK with Jesus as long as His message was directed only to Jews. Share When have you observed the same sort of blind emotional reaction, against certain culturally-uncomfortable truths, by people within the family of those who associate themselves with the name of Christ? Faith in Action Prayer: Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to me an individual, a ministry, or a gathering of believers among a certain people-group who are oppressed for their faith and/or hindered in sharing Christ freely. Action: Today I will pray for a quick harvest of those who remain open to the truth as the enemies of truth multiply, seize power, and move to silence those who would preach and teach Christ. I will pray specifically for the individual, ministry, or gathering of believers whom the Holy Spirit has revealed to me. [This latter population may be in China or Vietnam, most of the middle east, and increasingly (though less visible) in the west as well.] Be Specific ______________________________________________________ Saturday's text will be: Acts 23 -- Draw nearer to the Lord and He will bless you, Have an http://Ultrafidian.com Day! David M. Colburn, DMin. MaCo ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Savannah-Statesboro needs a Bible College/Seminary! Personal Site: http://bibleseven.com Bible Resources: http://bible.org Teacher's Verse: John 7:16 I don't google I SEARCH! Yippy.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dcolburn at bibleseven.com Fri Nov 4 20:19:57 2011 From: dcolburn at bibleseven.com (dcolburn at bibleseven.com) Date: Fri, 04 Nov 2011 20:19:57 -0400 Subject: [Linux4christians] Saturday - Acts 23 Message-ID: <4EB4812D.9090808@bibleseven.com> Saturday Acts 23 23:1 Paul looked directly at the council and said, "Brothers, I have lived my life with a clear conscience before God to this day." 23:2 At that the high priest Ananias ordered those standing near Paul to strike him on the mouth. 23:3 Then Paul said to him, "God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! Do you sit there judging me according to the law, and in violation of the law you order me to be struck?" 23:4 Those standing near him said, "Do you dare insult God's high priest?" 23:5 Paul replied, "I did not realize, brothers, that he was the high priest, for it is written, '/*You must not speak evil about a ruler of your people*/.'" 23:6 Then when Paul noticed that part of them were Sadducees and the others Pharisees, he shouted out in the council, "Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. I am on trial concerning the hope of the resurrection of the dead!" 23:7 When he said this, an argument began between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. 23:8 (For the Sadducees say there is no resurrection, or angel, or spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all.) 23:9 There was a great commotion, and some experts in the law from the party of the Pharisees stood up and protested strongly, "We find nothing wrong with this man. What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?" 23:10 When the argument became so great the commanding officer feared that they would tear Paul to pieces, he ordered the detachment to go down, take him away from them by force, and bring him into the barracks. 23:11 The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, "Have courage, for just as you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome." The Plot to Kill Paul 23:12 When morning came, the Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink anything until they had killed Paul. 23:13 There were more than forty of them who formed this conspiracy. 23:14 They went to the chief priests and the elders and said, "We have bound ourselves with a solemn oath not to partake of anything until we have killed Paul. 23:15 So now you and the council request the commanding officer to bring him down to you, as if you were going to determine his case by conducting a more thorough inquiry. We are ready to kill him before he comes near this place." 23:16 But when the son of Paul's sister heard about the ambush, he came and entered the barracks and told Paul. 23:17 Paul called one of the centurions and said, "Take this young man to the commanding officer, for he has something to report to him." 23:18 So the centurion took him and brought him to the commanding officer and said, "The prisoner Paul called me and asked me to bring this young man to you because he has something to tell you." 23:19 The commanding officer took him by the hand, withdrew privately, and asked, "What is it that you want to report to me?" 23:20 He replied, "The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down to the council tomorrow, as if they were going to inquire more thoroughly about him. 23:21 So do not let them persuade you to do this, because more than forty of them are lying in ambush for him. They have bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink anything until they have killed him, and now they are ready, waiting for you to agree to their request." 23:22 Then the commanding officer sent the young man away, directing him, "Tell no one that you have reported these things to me." 23:23 Then he summoned two of the centurions and said, "Make ready two hundred soldiers to go to Caesarea along with seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen by nine o'clock tonight, 23:24 and provide mounts for Paul to ride so that he may be brought safely to Felix the governor." 23:25 He wrote a letter that went like this: 23:26 Claudius Lysias to His Excellency Governor Felix, greetings. 23:27 This man was seized by the Jews and they were about to kill him, when I came up with the detachment and rescued him, because I had learned that he was a Roman citizen. 23:28 Since I wanted to know what charge they were accusing him of, I brought him down to their council. 23:29 I found he was accused with reference to controversial questions about their law, but no charge against him deserved death or imprisonment. 23:30 When I was informed there would be a plot against this man, I sent him to you at once, also ordering his accusers to state their charges against him before you. 23:31 So the soldiers, in accordance with their orders, took Paul and brought him to Antipatris during the night. 23:32 The next day they let the horsemen go on with him, and they returned to the barracks. 23:33 When the horsemen came to Caesarea and delivered the letter to the governor, they also presented Paul to him. 23:34 When the governor had read the letter, he asked what province he was from. When he learned that he was from Cilicia, 23:35 he said, "I will give you a hearing when your accusers arrive too." Then he ordered that Paul be kept under guard in Herod's palace. Prayer Lord, You exposed the false teachers for the apostates that they were, and You protected Paul via the secular Roman authorities so that he could be Your instrument in Rome. May I rest in the truth that You preserve that which is necessary to Your great and perfect plan. Summary & Commentary When Paul declared a clear conscience before God the high priest Ananias [a common name] ordered those near Paul to strike him [because he had preached Christ and had done so to the Gentiles, therefore they thought him a liar and now a heretic]. Paul chastised them for violating the law, they replied that to say so insulted the high priest, and Paul apologized as he had not known that Ananias was "ruler of the people". [Note: The leadership rotated because of the distrust and competition among the religious leaders; Paul had been away for several years and had lost touch with the powers-that-be. Also, Paul referred to Exodus 22:28, which forbade disrespect for God or the leader of His chosen people. Paul was not respecting the apostate who held the office but the office itself - he would continue to call upon them all to turn away from their false teaching as had Jesus before him.] Paul then played the Pharisees against the Sadducees on the matter of resurrection, on which he knew that they strongly disagreed, and the argument became so heated that the commander removed Paul again to the barracks. The night the Lord encouraged him that he would share the same testimony in Rome. Some among the religious leaders plotted to kill Paul but his nephew heard of it and informed him, and he sent him to the commander who transferred him under heavy guard to the Roman Governor of the region, Felix, in Caesarea. Based on the letter from the commander in Jerusalem Felix had Paul confined and guarded in Herod's palace until the religious leaders could arrive to present their charges against him. Interaction Consider One must carefully separate respect for an office from an endorsement of a person or a policy. While the Bible teaches us to pay our taxes, to obey and respect secular and religious authority (so long as they do not demand that we disobey God), and to pray for our leaders it nowhere asks Christians to be silent about sin. Discuss Why would the Romans care if the Jews killed Paul? Reflect Paul's history was of a zealous commitment to the truth, as he knew it at the time, first as a zealous "Pharisee of Pharisees" (as he put it) then sold-out to Christ when the blinders of tradition were removed. Share When have you observed people with power attempting to silence someone who was attempting to expose the truth? Faith in Action Prayer: Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you a secular or Christian leader for whom He wants you to pray that they listen to God. Action: Today I will search my own Christian walk for the kind of zealous commitment to Christ that empowered Paul to be so bold. Be Specific ______________________________________________________ Sunday's text will be: Acts 24:1-23 -- Draw nearer to the Lord and He will bless you, Have an http://Ultrafidian.com Day! David M. Colburn, DMin. MaCo ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Savannah-Statesboro needs a Bible College/Seminary! Personal Site: http://bibleseven.com Bible Resources: http://bible.org Teacher's Verse: John 7:16 I don't google I SEARCH! Yippy.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From fmiller at lightlink.com Sat Nov 5 00:20:41 2011 From: fmiller at lightlink.com (Fred A. Miller) Date: Sat, 05 Nov 2011 00:20:41 -0400 Subject: [Linux4christians] OT: Chick-fila is a Pro-Family, Christian Led Company- GASP!!! (The Nerve!) Message-ID: <4EB4B999.4050401@lightlink.com> Description: American Flag *IN* *GOD* *WE TRUST* *Thought all of you might like to know about this. I was shocked that Chick-fil-A is being attacked for trying to run their company the way they think God wants them to. Once we're told how to run our companies and lives... our freedoms are completely gone. They say to choose your battles, I believe this is definitely a battle worth fighting*. *Let's all eat at Chick-Fil-A this week ** Now the Socialists (AKA Obama Democrats) have targeted Chick-Fil-A, a Southern based company with the below resume.. I think, I'll have a Chick-Fil-A sandwich tomorrow.* *Chick-fil-A is an American success story. Founded by Georgian entrepreneur Truett Cathy in 1946, the family-owned chicken-sandwich chain is one of the country's largest fast-food businesses. It employs some 50,000 workers across the country at 1,500 outlets in nearly 40 states and the District of Columbia ... The company generates more than $2 billion in revenue and serves millions of happy customers with trademark Southern hospitality. So, what's the problem? Well, Chick-fil-A is run by devout Christians who believe in strong marriages, devoted families, and the highest standards of character for their workers. The restaurant chain's official corporate mission is to "glorify God" and "enrich the lives of everyone we touch.." The company's community-service initiatives, funded through its WinShape Foundation, support foster-care, scholarship, summer-camp, and marriage-enrichment programs. On Sunday, all Chick-fil-A stores close so workers can spend the day at worship and rest. Over the past month, several progressive-activist blogs have waged an ugly war against Chick-fil-A. The company's alleged atrocity: One of its independent outlets in Pennsylvania donated some sandwiches and brownies to a marriage seminar run by the Pennsylvania Family Institute, which happens to oppose same-sex marriage. In the name of tolerance, the anti-Chick-fil-A hawks sneered at the company's main product as "Jesus Chicken," derided its no-Sunday-work policy, and attacked its operators as "anti-gay." Petition drives on websites are demanding the company change and disavow their standards. Facebook users dutifully organized witch hunts against the company on college campuses. Progressive groups are gloating over Chick-fil-A's public-relations troubles. This is not because they care about winning hearts and minds over gay rights or marriage policy, but because their core objective is to marginalize political opponents and chill Christian philanthropy and activism.. The fearsome "muscle flexing" is being done by the hysterical bullies trying to drive them off of college grounds and out of their neighborhoods in the name of "human rights." **TO READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE: **_HTTP://WWW.NATIONALREVIEW.COM/ARTICLES/258646/CHRISTIAN-BUSINESS-LEFT-S-CROSSHAIRS-MICHELLE-MALKIN_* *Please pass this on if you believe companies with Christian principles have a right to freely conduct business in the U.S.* *IN GOD WE TRUST'* *Amen to this!!!!* -- Remember: Ban-Control-Take Over are the hallmarks of the "New"Democrats and old Communists so buy brass and lead instead of gold. - Bob Roller -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: image/gif Size: 5680 bytes Desc: not available URL: From dcolburn at bibleseven.com Sat Nov 5 21:33:45 2011 From: dcolburn at bibleseven.com (dcolburn at bibleseven.com) Date: Sat, 05 Nov 2011 21:33:45 -0400 Subject: [Linux4christians] Sunday - Acts 24:1 - 23 Message-ID: <4EB5E3F9.4070206@bibleseven.com> Sunday Acts 24:1 - 23 The Accusations Against Paul 24:1 After five days the high priest Ananias came down with some elders and an attorney named Tertullus, and they brought formal charges against Paul to the governor. 24:2 When Paul had been summoned, Tertullus began to accuse him, saying, "We have experienced a lengthy time of peace through your rule, and reforms are being made in this nation through your foresight. 24:3 Most excellent Felix, we acknowledge this everywhere and in every way with all gratitude. 24:4 But so that I may not delay you any further, I beg you to hear us briefly with your customary graciousness. 24:5 For we have found this man to be a troublemaker, one who stirs up riots among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes. 24:6 He even tried to desecrate the temple, so we arrested him. 24:7 [[EMPTY]] 24:8 When you examine him yourself, you will be able to learn from him about all these things we are accusing him of doing." 24:9 The Jews also joined in the verbal attack, claiming that these things were true. Paul's Defense Before Felix 24:10 When the governor gestured for him to speak, Paul replied, "Because I know that you have been a judge over this nation for many years, I confidently make my defense. 24:11 As you can verify for yourself, not more than twelve days ago I went up to Jerusalem to worship. 24:12 They did not find me arguing with anyone or stirring up a crowd in the temple courts or in the synagogues or throughout the city, 24:13 nor can they prove to you the things they are accusing me of doing. 24:14 But I confess this to you, that I worship the God of our ancestors according to the Way (which they call a sect), believing everything that is according to the law and that is written in the prophets. 24:15 I have a hope in God (a hope that these men themselves accept too) that there is going to be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous. 24:16 This is the reason I do my best to always have a clear conscience toward God and toward people. 24:17 After several years I came to bring to my people gifts for the poor and to present offerings, 24:18 which I was doing when they found me in the temple, ritually purified, without a crowd or a disturbance. 24:19 But there are some Jews from the province of Asia who should be here before you and bring charges, if they have anything against me. 24:20 Or these men here should tell what crime they found me guilty of when I stood before the council, 24:21 other than this one thing I shouted out while I stood before them: 'I am on trial before you today concerning the resurrection of the dead.'" 24:22 Then Felix, who understood the facts concerning the Way more accurately, adjourned their hearing, saying, "When Lysias the commanding officer comes down, I will decide your case." 24:23 He ordered the centurion to guard Paul, but to let him have some freedom, and not to prevent any of his friends from meeting his needs. Prayer Lord, Your servant Paul was accused by the same type of apostate and dishonorable religious leaders as was out Lord Jesus, but it was not yet time for him to die -- so he was protected by a corrupt but self-interested governor of Rome. May I be assured that as long as You choose to use me as Your instrument no power one heaven or earth may for long block my path or take my life. Summary & Commentary Accusations are brought by the religious leaders against Paul, primarily formulated by their attorney, Tertullus. Paul, in his defense before Felix, noted that falsehoods in the accusations and the ease with which they could be proven so. Felix was more familiar with Christianity than the religious leaders knew and was therefore unpersuaded. Felix has Paul confined as he delayed his decision for the arrival of "Lysias the commanding officer". Felix allows Paul's associates to visit and to bring him things. Interaction Consider The same sort of unethical men, enemies of the truth, attacked the servants of Jesus just as they had attacked Him. Discuss How could these religious leaders continue to doubt Jesus after all of the proofs of the Old Testament prophesies about Jesus and all of the miracles through Him and His followers? Reflect The better-informed that people become about true Biblical Christianity the less prone they are to believe lies, this is true for the person next door and the person in power (religious or secular). Share When have you observed a consistent Biblical-Christian being trusted as truthful because of the witness of their life? Faith in Action Prayer: Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you a misunderstanding, by a Christian or a non-Christian, of Biblical Christianity. Action: Today I will correct a misunderstanding about Biblical Christianity, perhaps in a conversation with a friend, perhaps online, perhaps in a letter-to-the editor. I will be polite, respectful, avoid the use of insider-religious terminology, and I will avoid being emotionally-argumentative but will stick to the facts. Be Specific ______________________________________________________ Monday's text will be: Acts 24:24 -- 25:12 -- Draw nearer to the Lord and He will bless you, Have an http://Ultrafidian.com Day! David M. Colburn, DMin. MaCo ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Savannah-Statesboro needs a Bible College/Seminary! Personal Site: http://bibleseven.com Bible Resources: http://bible.org Teacher's Verse: John 7:16 I don't google I SEARCH! Yippy.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From l4c at thelinuxlink.net Sun Nov 6 08:22:30 2011 From: l4c at thelinuxlink.net (Lincoln Fessenden) Date: Sun, 6 Nov 2011 08:22:30 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] Welcome Message-ID: <20111106132228.GA3068@rods> I see there have been a barrage of new users signing on to the l4c list as of late and I wanted to take the opportunity to welcome you all and invite you to tell us all a little about yourself and how you use Linux. My name is Linc and I am a full time IT guy and the Senior Linux admin for Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. I am also a minister and ex pastor. Ex in the facility that I no longer pastor a church, but not that I have somehow given up or lost my faith. I think a lot of my calling now is to provide an avenue for Christians to associate, communicate and fellowship around here in the intertubes. I use Linux ALL the time, as you can imagine, and have since around 1998 or so. I also occasionally use Mac OS X and I find my iPad invaluable when I am in the datacenter. My current favourite distribution is Linux Mint on the desktop, simply because it's the one that I have to fuss with the least to get working the way I like it. I also use RedHat and CentOS constantly as a server admin and am RedHat certified. In the past I was a Slackware junkie but have also extensively used Ubuntu and Arch and have tried, at least once, almost anything else you could name. I am the co founder of the Lehigh Valley Linux User Group and also have been doing a techie podcast called the LinuxLink TechShow for 8 years, long before there was such a thing as podcasts So, who's next? -- -Linc Fessenden In the Beginning there was nothing, which exploded - Yeah right... From just_mike_y at yahoo.com Sun Nov 6 18:29:36 2011 From: just_mike_y at yahoo.com (Michael Hart) Date: Sun, 06 Nov 2011 17:29:36 -0600 Subject: [Linux4christians] Welcome In-Reply-To: <20111106132228.GA3068@rods> References: <20111106132228.GA3068@rods> Message-ID: <4EB71860.9000300@yahoo.com> On 11/6/2011 7:22 AM, Lincoln Fessenden wrote: > I see there have been a barrage of new users signing on to the l4c list as of late and I wanted to take the opportunity to welcome you all and invite you to tell us all a little about yourself and how you use Linux. > I'm Mike Hart, I'm currently unemployed, But I hope to be working soon as a typographer in a Christian nonprofit. I signed up for the L4C because of a search hit on the terms "Church Distro Backend" pointed me to a 2005 L4C thread. In addition to signing up, I've hit the webserver several times in an attempt to search for history on discussions about Churches using linux for all their needs. The list archive doesn't seem to have a very good way to search itself. That's not a complaint: more of an explanation for the increased activity. My background with Linux: I switched over to Linux completely between about 1999-2006. I used SUSE versions 6-8 (professional, I needed Citrix for work and the SuSE Pro version provided a cheaper way to get a license to Citrix.) Mandrake 6.0 up to 10.2 (9.0 was so great, 10.0 was a disapointment, and 10.1 a shambles.) I then used MEPIS from about v2003-10-xx to v6, Then PCLinuxOS 0.92 to PCLinux2011. I've tried an uncountable number of distros but tend to prefer KDE centric distros that have a unified control panel in them. I've never fallen in love with any red hat or derivative. However, when my keystone application (BibleTime) moved from linux to windows, so did I. It was also a combination of other things, like school, new jobs, etc. which required immediate knowledge of newer versions of MS office than I'd had access to at work. Add to that the non-profit mentioned before works in adobe Indesign and Paratext (niether have a linux version.) {Eglesia, Eklezia, Ecclesia} I envision a turnkey solution that installs a server and/or clients that function out of the box in church offices... accounting, ministry, and worship all presetup. Drupal seems to be limited to a web kiosk. 'Church' and 'christian' distro's I've tested seem geared for a 'Christian home' environment. I'm talking about something like Mythbuntu for Church.. Press one to get a server box (email, accounting, etc.), press 2 to get a staff computer, press 3 to get a worship team computer, 4 for ministry computer, etc. The primary customer is the mission field, but handing these out in seminaries might be a primary also. If someone knows of something like what I'm looking for, I'd be glad for a pointer. Thanks -------------------------------- Helpful link for linux: http://www.distrowatch.org Helpful link for Christian Books: http://www.lookhigher.net -------------------------------- From dcolburn at bibleseven.com Sun Nov 6 20:10:48 2011 From: dcolburn at bibleseven.com (dcolburn at bibleseven.com) Date: Sun, 06 Nov 2011 20:10:48 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] =?windows-1252?q?Monday_-_Acts_24=3A24_=96_25?= =?windows-1252?q?=3A12?= Message-ID: <4EB73018.9040200@bibleseven.com> Monday Acts 24:24 ? 25:12 Paul Speaks Repeatedly to Felix 24:24 Some days later, when Felix arrived with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish, he sent for Paul and heard him speak about faith in Christ Jesus. 24:25 While Paul was discussing righteousness, self-control, and the coming judgment, Felix became frightened and said, ?Go away for now, and when I have an opportunity, I will send for you.? 24:26 At the same time he was also hoping that Paul would give him money, and for this reason he sent for Paul as often as possible and talked with him. 24:27 After two years had passed, Porcius Festus succeeded Felix, and because he wanted to do the Jews a favor, Felix left Paul in prison. Paul Appeals to Caesar 25:1 Now three days after Festus arrived in the province, he went up to Jerusalem from Caesarea. 25:2 So the chief priests and the most prominent men of the Jews brought formal charges against Paul to him. 25:3 Requesting him to do them a favor against Paul, they urged Festus to summon him to Jerusalem, planning an ambush to kill him along the way. 25:4 Then Festus replied that Paul was being kept at Caesarea, and he himself intended to go there shortly. 25:5 ?So,? he said, ?let your leaders go down there with me, and if this man has done anything wrong, they may bring charges against him.? 25:6 After Festus had stayed not more than eight or ten days among them, he went down to Caesarea, and the next day he sat on the judgment seat and ordered Paul to be brought. 25:7 When he arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him, bringing many serious charges that they were not able to prove. 25:8 Paul said in his defense, ?I have committed no offense against the Jewish law or against the temple or against Caesar.? 25:9 But Festus, wanting to do the Jews a favor, asked Paul, ?Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and be tried before me there on these charges?? 25:10 Paul replied, ?I am standing before Caesar?s judgment seat, where I should be tried. I have done nothing wrong to the Jews, as you also know very well. 25:11 If then I am in the wrong and have done anything that deserves death, I am not trying to escape dying, but if not one of their charges against me is true, no one can hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar!? 25:12 Then, after conferring with his council, Festus replied, ?You have appealed to Caesar; to Caesar you will go!? Prayer Lord, You used the foolishness and hatefulness of the Jewish religious leaders and the Roman political leaders to bring Paul into places where he would not otherwise be allowed to preach Christ. May I not fear speaking honestly when asked the reason for my hope because I am sure that You have opened that opportunity and allowed me to be Your instrument. Summary & Commentary Felix allowed Paul to visit him while he was his prisoner, hoping for a bribe, but Paul used those opportunities to evangelize Felix and those around him. The religious leaders appeal to Festus to move Paul to Jerusalem, with a secret plan to ambush and murder him. Festus instructs them to present their charges at Caesarea - where Paul is and he is headed. In Caesarea Paul again states his innocence and reminds Festus that he knows he is innocent. Festus wants to curry favor with the religious leader and asks Paul to return to Jerusalem - at which point Paul appeals to Caesar - guaranteeing he will be brought to Rome, as God prophesied - providing an opportunity to preach Christ there and also making his death probable. Interaction Consider That Paul used every possible opportunity to evangelize, even the misguided motives of the man who kept him jailed. Discuss Isn't it amazing how the political process ground continuously forward, the players unaware of the greater spiritual battle raging all round them; the rules and traditions of man forcing them to act without caring or knowing what were the consequences? Reflect Contemplate the sacrificial commitment of Paul to the mission of evangelism. Share When have you observed political and religious authorities, both with their own personal agendas, thrashing about as the Lord God caused His purpose to be completed? Faith in Action Prayer: Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you faithful men and women of Christ for whom He wants you to pray. Action: Today I will pray for protection for faithful men and women of Christ from evil schemers, agents of the enemy, intentionally or unintentionally so; in particular someone I know who is under apparent attack from the enemy. I will also pray for the wisdom to understand the realities of the way that the world, apart from Christ, functions; to interact wisely and to not underestimate the impact of ignorance, greed, and evil. Be Specific ______________________________________________________ Tuesday's text will be: Acts 25:13-27 -- Draw nearer to the Lord and He will bless you, Have an http://Ultrafidian.com Day! David M. Colburn, DMin. MaCo ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Savannah-Statesboro needs a Bible College/Seminary! Personal Site: http://bibleseven.com Bible Resources: http://bible.org Teacher's Verse: John 7:16 I don't google I SEARCH! Yippy.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ken at wa3fkg.com Mon Nov 7 01:23:55 2011 From: ken at wa3fkg.com (Ken Sprouse / WA3FKG) Date: Mon, 7 Nov 2011 01:23:55 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] Welcome In-Reply-To: <20111106132228.GA3068@rods> References: <20111106132228.GA3068@rods> Message-ID: On Sun, Nov 6, 2011 at 8:22 AM, Lincoln Fessenden wrote: > I see there have been a barrage of new users signing on to the l4c list as > of late and I wanted to take the opportunity to welcome you all and invite > you to tell us all a little about yourself and how you use Linux. > > My name is Linc and I am a full time IT guy and the Senior Linux admin for > Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. I am also a minister and ex > pastor. Ex in the facility that I no longer pastor a church, but not that > I have somehow given up or lost my faith. I think a lot of my calling now > is to provide an avenue for Christians to associate, communicate and > fellowship around here in the intertubes. > I use Linux ALL the time, as you can imagine, and have since around 1998 > or so. I also occasionally use Mac OS X and I find my iPad invaluable when > I am in the datacenter. > My current favourite distribution is Linux Mint on the desktop, simply > because it's the one that I have to fuss with the least to get working the > way I like it. I also use RedHat and CentOS constantly as a server admin > and am RedHat certified. In the past I was a Slackware junkie but have > also extensively used Ubuntu and Arch and have tried, at least once, almost > anything else you could name. > I am the co founder of the Lehigh Valley Linux User Group and also have > been doing a techie podcast called the LinuxLink TechShow for 8 years, long > before there was such a thing as podcasts > So, who's next? > > -- > -Linc Fessenden > > In the Beginning there was nothing, which exploded - Yeah right... > > My name is Ken Sprouse and I have been "tinkering" with Linux since around version 5.0 of Red Hat because I am a ham radio operator and wanted to combine the two hobbies. I work for the IT department of a Fortune 500 company doing just about anything that doesn't fall into someone else's job description and maintaining a DB2/2 database for our repair department. We are primarily a Windows shop but I sneak a Linux box in whenever I get the chance. A few years ago I was asked to help set up a file server for our church/school and of course I suggested Linux. We are now running the file server which also acts as our Internet gateway, filtering web pages and hosting a shared calendar. We have another box running Asterisk that controls VoIP phones all over the building. I run Linux because it put the "fun" back into computers for me. I go back to the pre-DOS days and have tried most of the operating systems that have been on the market and a few that were not. With the exception of my wife's laptop all the computers in the house run Linux but I don't get as much time to play as I would like. I'm currently running Ubuntu 10.10 and I think I am getting ready to switch to Linux Mint. I have decided to stop trying to force Linux on all my friends and family and instead wait for them to ask me why I don't have all the problems with my computer that they are having with theirs. I tell them about Linux and it's limitations and offer to help them switch over if they so desire. So far I have a half a dozen or so converts who are happy. I am working on the guys who do a lot of the day to day work keeping the school and office computers running and I hear a number of reasons why we can't use Linux on all of our desktops. The only valid reason that I have heard so far is that we have specific software that we rely on which only runs on Windows. I have to admit that due to my work I haven't spent any real time or effort to try to find open source replacements. I knew I would have a hard time when I heard how my disdain they had for Open Office. So I keep plugging away and perhaps at some point Microsoft will try to wring a few more coins out of their customers for the privilege of beta testing their software and it will be the straw that breaks the camels back. In the meantime I have picked up several good tips from the list and enjoy it. One of the things I'm looking to find out before I switch distros is how I can back up my dictionaries for the office suite, web browser, Tom Boy notes. In the past I have just backed up my /home directory did a clean install then overwrote the new /home directory with the backup. This time though I will be switching from Open Office to Libre Office as part of the new distribution. I also have made Chrome my default browser, another reason to want to backup the dictionary. -- Ken Sprouse / WA3FKG John 3:16 http://wa3fkg.blogspot.com You meet the nicest people at a TEA Party. The box said "Win98/2000/XP or better" so I installed Linux! Smith & Wesson - The ultimate point and click user interface. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From fmiller at lightlink.com Mon Nov 7 14:07:30 2011 From: fmiller at lightlink.com (Fred A. Miller) Date: Mon, 07 Nov 2011 14:07:30 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] Welcome In-Reply-To: References: <20111106132228.GA3068@rods> Message-ID: <4EB82C72.4060503@lightlink.com> On 11/07/2011 01:23 AM, Ken Sprouse / WA3FKG wrote: > I am working on the guys who do a lot of the day to day work keeping > the school and office computers running and I hear a number of reasons > why we can't use Linux on all of our desktops. The only valid reason > that I have heard so far is that we have specific software that we > rely on which only runs on Windows. I have to admit that due to my > work I haven't spent any real time or effort to try to find open > source replacements. I knew I would have a hard time when I heard how > my disdain they had for Open Office. So I keep plugging away and > perhaps at some point Microsoft will try to wring a few more coins out > of their customers for the privilege of beta testing their software > and it will be the straw that breaks the camels back. In the meantime > I have picked up several good tips from the list and enjoy it. > > One of the things I'm looking to find out before I switch distros is > how I can back up my dictionaries for the office suite, web browser, > Tom Boy notes. In the past I have just backed up my /home directory > did a clean install then overwrote the new /home directory with the > backup. This time though I will be switching from Open Office to > Libre Office as part of the new distribution. I also have made Chrome > my default browser, another reason to want to backup the dictionary. Hi Ken, glad to have to join us! I've been using Linux for a very long time.....since SuSE 5.0, if I remember correctly, and I also go back to pre-DOS, that is CP/M days. I had a Kaypro 2X which I modified the MBO so I could have 4 full-sized (that's what we had back then as you know) hard drives, and found a way to get Perfect Filer to handle a LOT more fields than it was supposed to....was written up in "Profiles Mag." for that effort. Had a LOT of fun running QNX and Qtac2 for a BBS. 8-) Anyway, what I have done for sometime, is to keep /home in it's entirety and NOT to format it. I also keep all my graphic files, music, movie clips, etc., in a partition I label /local. Only files created by Open Office or more recently Libre Office are in my /home partitian. I also have found that for servers and/or desktops that there are a number of ways you can partitian a hard drive, and all of them seem to work well. But, I have standardized on the following, which may or may not be of help to you or someone else. With the assumption of a 1-T hard drive, the following is what that "standard" partition structure looks like, with the allocated space. / = 30GB /swap = 32GB ( I have 16GB in the box...rule of thumb is to double swap of your RAM). /home = 30GB (2 users, my wife and me) /local = Balance of hard drive. This is all on a box I built around an Intel Core i7 2600 3.4Ghz., which I have running at 4.3Ghz. with 1600Mhz. RAM. Also a Thermaltake V1 cooler for the CPU, cooler for the RAM, and 4 120mm fans to cool it all. This so you all know over-clocking ISN'T a problem for Linux! Windows 7 DOESN'T like an over-clocked box at all! There's a way around that, but I'm sure no one here is interested in how to do that. O:-) Hope this helps someone. Fred -- Remember: Ban-Control-Take Over are the hallmarks of the "New"Democrats and old Communists so buy brass and lead instead of gold. - Bob Roller -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dcolburn at bibleseven.com Mon Nov 7 19:30:52 2011 From: dcolburn at bibleseven.com (dcolburn at bibleseven.com) Date: Mon, 07 Nov 2011 19:30:52 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] Tuesday - Acts 25:13-27 Message-ID: <4EB8783C.1070407@bibleseven.com> Tuesday Acts 25:13-27 Festus Asks King Agrippa for Advice 25:13 After several days had passed, King Agrippa and Bernice arrived at Caesarea to pay their respects to Festus. 25:14 While they were staying there many days, Festus explained Paul's case to the king to get his opinion, saying, "There is a man left here as a prisoner by Felix. 25:15 When I was in Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews informed me about him, asking for a sentence of condemnation against him. 25:16 I answered them that it was not the custom of the Romans to hand over anyone before the accused had met his accusers face to face and had been given an opportunity to make a defense against the accusation. 25:17 So after they came back here with me, I did not postpone the case, but the next day I sat on the judgment seat and ordered the man to be brought. 25:18 When his accusers stood up, they did not charge him with any of the evil deeds I had suspected. 25:19 Rather they had several points of disagreement with him about their own religion and about a man named Jesus who was dead, whom Paul claimed to be alive. 25:20 Because I was at a loss how I could investigate these matters, I asked if he were willing to go to Jerusalem and be tried there on these charges. 25:21 But when Paul appealed to be kept in custody for the decision of His Majesty the Emperor, I ordered him to be kept under guard until I could send him to Caesar." 25:22 Agrippa said to Festus, "I would also like to hear the man myself." "Tomorrow," he replied, "you will hear him." Paul Before King Agrippa and Bernice 25:23 So the next day Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp and entered the audience hall, along with the senior military officers and the prominent men of the city. When Festus gave the order, Paul was brought in. 25:24 Then Festus said, "King Agrippa, and all you who are present here with us, you see this man about whom the entire Jewish populace petitioned me both in Jerusalem and here, shouting loudly that he ought not to live any longer. 25:25 But I found that he had done nothing that deserved death, and when he appealed to His Majesty the Emperor, I decided to send him. 25:26 But I have nothing definite to write to my lord about him. Therefore I have brought him before you all, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that after this preliminary hearing I may have something to write. 25:27 For it seems unreasonable to me to send a prisoner without clearly indicating the charges against him." Prayer Lord, You preserved the life of Paul, despite the efforts of the religious leaders to murder him. Your purpose to create an opportunity for him to tell Your story before increasingly higher-levels of Roman a officials and the members of their court. May I hold-tight to Your promise to provide for me a future (a purpose) and a hope (heaven) as I serve You with courage. Summary & Commentary Festus sought advice from King Agrippa as to the matter of Paul, who was transferred to his care and judgment when he assumed power following Felix. King Agrippa heard Festus' report that the religious leaders failed to bring any charges that he felt equipped to evaluate so he asked Paul if he would return to Jerusalem for that purpose -- at which time Paul appealed to Caesar -- the right of any Roman citizen. Agrippa decided that he wanted to hear from Paul. Paul appeared before King Agrippa, Bernice, and many of power and society in Caesarea. Festus introduced Paul as a sort of celebrity, explaining that he did not know how to explain to Caesar the reason for sending Paul to him since there were no legitimate charges. Interaction Consider It was Biblically-wrong of the religious leaders to bring Paul before secular authorities. Discuss Why would Festus concern himself with the quality of the charges against Paul when he passed him on to Caesar? Reflect Festus's understanding of Paul and Jesus was so shallow that he merely thought of him as a celebrity whose fame had turned to infamy. Share When have you observed a Christian wrongfully bringing a fellow Christian before secular authorities when they should have first tried to find a solution within the Christian family? Faith in Action Prayer: Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you a conflict among Christians that needs to be kept out of the secular court system. Action: Today I will pray for peace and wisdom as two Christians who are at-odds choose Christian conciliation over secular courtroom warfare. Be Specific ______________________________________________________ Wednesday's text will be: Acts 26 -- Draw nearer to the Lord and He will bless you, Have an http://Ultrafidian.com Day! David M. Colburn, DMin. MaCo ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Savannah-Statesboro needs a Bible College/Seminary! Personal Site: http://bibleseven.com Bible Resources: http://bible.org Teacher's Verse: John 7:16 I don't google I SEARCH! Yippy.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dcolburn at bibleseven.com Tue Nov 8 21:47:42 2011 From: dcolburn at bibleseven.com (dcolburn at bibleseven.com) Date: Tue, 08 Nov 2011 21:47:42 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] Wednesday - Acts 26 Message-ID: <4EB9E9CE.70400@bibleseven.com> Wednesday Acts 26 Paul Offers His Defense 26:1 So Agrippa said to Paul, "You have permission to speak for yourself." Then Paul held out his hand and began his defense: 26:2 "Regarding all the things I have been accused of by the Jews, King Agrippa, I consider myself fortunate that I am about to make my defense before you today, 26:3 because you are especially familiar with all the customs and controversial issues of the Jews. Therefore I ask you to listen to me patiently. 26:4 Now all the Jews know the way I lived from my youth, spending my life from the beginning among my own people and in Jerusalem. 26:5 They know, because they have known me from time past, if they are willing to testify, that according to the strictest party of our religion, I lived as a Pharisee. 26:6 And now I stand here on trial because of my hope in the promise made by God to our ancestors, 26:7 a promise that our twelve tribes hope to attain as they earnestly serve God night and day. Concerning this hope the Jews are accusing me, Your Majesty! 26:8 Why do you people think it is unbelievable that God raises the dead? 26:9 Of course, I myself was convinced that it was necessary to do many things hostile to the name of Jesus the Nazarene. 26:10 And that is what I did in Jerusalem: Not only did I lock up many of the saints in prisons by the authority I received from the chief priests, but I also cast my vote against them when they were sentenced to death. 26:11 I punished them often in all the synagogues and tried to force them to blaspheme. Because I was so furiously enraged at them, I went to persecute them even in foreign cities. 26:12 "While doing this very thing, as I was going to Damascus with authority and complete power from the chief priests, 26:13 about noon along the road, Your Majesty, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining everywhere around me and those traveling with me. 26:14 When we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? You are hurting yourself by kicking against the goads.' 26:15 So I said, 'Who are you, Lord?' And the Lord replied, 'I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. 26:16 But get up and stand on your feet, for I have appeared to you for this reason, to designate you in advance as a servant and witness to the things you have seen and to the things in which I will appear to you. 26:17 I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles, to whom I am sending you 26:18 to open their eyes so that they turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a share among those who are sanctified by faith in me.' 26:19 "Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, 26:20 but I declared to those in Damascus first, and then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds consistent with repentance. 26:21 For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple courts and were trying to kill me. 26:22 I have experienced help from God to this day, and so I stand testifying to both small and great, saying nothing except what the prophets and Moses said was going to happen: 26:23 that the Christ was to suffer and be the first to rise from the dead, to proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles." 26:24 As Paul was saying these things in his defense, Festus exclaimed loudly, "You have lost your mind, Paul! Your great learning is driving you insane!" 26:25 But Paul replied, "I have not lost my mind, most excellent Festus, but am speaking true and rational words. 26:26 For the king knows about these things, and I am speaking freely to him, because I cannot believe that any of these things has escaped his notice, for this was not done in a corner. 26:27 Do you believe the prophets, King Agrippa? I know that you believe." 26:28 Agrippa said to Paul, "In such a short time are you persuading me to become a Christian?" 26:29 Paul replied, "I pray to God that whether in a short or a long time not only you but also all those who are listening to me today could become such as I am, except for these chains." 26:30 So the king got up, and with him the governor and Bernice and those sitting with them, 26:31 and as they were leaving they said to one another, "This man is not doing anything deserving death or imprisonment." 26:32 Agrippa said to Festus, "This man could have been released if he had not appealed to Caesar." Prayer Lord, You consistently prophesied of the coming of Jesus and the purpose of His ministry, and when You confronted Paul with that truth he immediately surrendered his legalism to Your grace. Paul risked his life to tell Your story. May I be bold in sharing You as well. Summary & Commentary Paul offered his defense, noting that King Agrippa knew the culture and traditions of the Jews well. Paul began with his reputation as a "pharisee of pharisees. He then notes that all Jews look forward to "hope" based on the "promise" of God to send a redeemer. He reviewed his experience with Jesus on the road to Damascus and the commission he was given by Jesus to preach both to Jews and to Gentiles. Paul noted that he preached Christ as the fulfillment of the redeemer that Jews longed for and that he was being persecuted for that. Festus exclaimed to Paul that he must have lost his mind, that his "great learning" has made him mad, but Paul replied that all was "true and rational". Paul then appealed to King Agrippa, affirming the awareness and knowledge of the King of both the prophets and the life of Christ, to which Agrippa protested that Paul was trying to convert him. Paul declared that such was his desire for all present. Agrippa and Bernice and Festus departed, remarking that Paul could have been set free had he not appealed to Caesar. Interaction Consider If Paul had not had a teachable spirit when confronted by Jesus he would have been as useless as the other religious leaders. Discuss Isn't it amazing how simple was Paul's message? God promised a redeemer and He fulfilled His promise. The next step is up to us; accept or reject His terms for redemption. Reflect It is very import that as many as possible have a true understanding of Biblical Christianity so that Christ is not misrepresented by cults and careless philosophers. Share When have you observed someone of great learning exhibit the maturity to remain teachable -- even in those things for which he was recognized as exceptionally-knowledgeable? Faith in Action Prayer: Ask the Holy Spirit for an opportunity to clarify Biblical truth for someone who is confused or misled, or encourage family or friends to join me in a new Bible study. Action: Today I will rehearse my explanation of the story of Christ with a fellow believer and share feedback as to how well it matches the powerfully-simple telling of the Apostle Paul. Be Specific ______________________________________________________ Thursday's text will be: Acts 27:1-28 -- Draw nearer to the Lord and He will bless you, Have an http://Ultrafidian.com Day! David M. Colburn, DMin. MaCo ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Savannah-Statesboro needs a Bible College/Seminary! Personal Site: http://bibleseven.com Bible Resources: http://bible.org Teacher's Verse: John 7:16 I don't google I SEARCH! Yippy.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From fmiller at lightlink.com Wed Nov 9 11:34:09 2011 From: fmiller at lightlink.com (Fred A. Miller) Date: Wed, 09 Nov 2011 11:34:09 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] OT: The rise of the Anti-Christ Message-ID: <4EBAAB81.4080203@lightlink.com> I'm not saying I agree with this, as so much of what is in Rev. is confusing to most, including me! I thought it would be a good topic to discuss. WDYT. Fred The rise of the Anti-Christ : What will his characteristics be? Who on the world scene today is helping to lay the foundation for the Anti-Christ and a one-world religion as predicted in Revelation 17 as the Women that Rides the Beast? Topic: Syria, Egypt and Libya are in the news and going even more radical. Jimmy explains how these nations are mentioned in the Bible as coming against Israel. Topic: The Bible says Russia and Persia will come against Israel. Until 1936, Persia included the three countries of Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. Pakistan has nuclear weapons and Iran is about to obtain them and Afghanistan is turning more radical. Topic: The Anti-Christ will take the credit when God intervenes and protects Israel when Russia and Persia come against Israel. The Anti-Christ will then set himself up as god in the Temple in Jerusalem. For this to occur, the temple must be rebuilt. The priests have been trained, the robes have been made the instruments have been created and now the red heifer has been obtained from a breeder in Mississippi. Topic: The Anti-Christ will also establish a one-world global economy based out of Babylon in Iraq. Babylon is being rebuilt and Iraq has a record amount of oil and is building an advanced communication system. The many of the things predicted in the Bible are coming into focus.Brannon's guest is Jimmy DeYoung. Click here to listen now: Worldview Weekend Radio with Brannon Howse. -- Remember: Ban-Control-Take Over are the hallmarks of the "New"Democrats and old Communists so buy brass and lead instead of gold. - Bob Roller -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From chris at adebenham.com Wed Nov 9 17:05:16 2011 From: chris at adebenham.com (Chris Debenham) Date: Thu, 10 Nov 2011 09:05:16 +1100 Subject: [Linux4christians] OT: The rise of the Anti-Christ In-Reply-To: <4EBAAB81.4080203@lightlink.com> References: <4EBAAB81.4080203@lightlink.com> Message-ID: I generally don't put much faith in these specific 'The end is nigh' statements - after all there have been predictions that Christ will return since the time of the apostles :) Time and time people come forward, point to certain events and say that these are the specific events mentioned in revelations. Time and time again it doesn't happen. I do know that Christ will return some day and I also know that he could come very soon, or not for a long time (I'm betting on sooner rather than later - but that is just a hope rather than based on facts ;) ) But since no-one can know the time of his return I do think we should all live with the assumption that it could be tomorrow (or even today) - then at least we won't feel too surprised when it finally does happen :) On 10 November 2011 03:34, Fred A. Miller wrote: > I'm not saying I agree with this, as so much of what is in Rev. is > confusing to most, including me! I thought it would be a good topic to > discuss. WDYT. > > Fred > > The rise of the Anti-Christ > : What will his characteristics be? Who on the world scene today is > helping to lay the foundation for the Anti-Christ and a one-world religion > as predicted in Revelation 17 as the Women that Rides the Beast? Topic: > Syria, Egypt and Libya are in the news and going even more radical. Jimmy > explains how these nations are mentioned in the Bible as coming against > Israel. Topic: The Bible says Russia and Persia will come against Israel. > Until 1936, Persia included the three countries of Iran, Afghanistan, and > Pakistan. Pakistan has nuclear weapons and Iran is about to obtain them and > Afghanistan is turning more radical. Topic: The Anti-Christ will take the > credit when God intervenes and protects Israel when Russia and Persia come > against Israel. The Anti-Christ will then set himself up as god in the > Temple in Jerusalem. For this to occur, the temple must be rebuilt. The > priests have been trained, the robes have been made the instruments have > been created and now the red heifer has been obtained from a breeder in > Mississippi. Topic: The Anti-Christ will also establish a one-world global > economy based out of Babylon in Iraq. Babylon is being rebuilt and Iraq has > a record amount of oil and is building an advanced communication system. > The many of the things predicted in the Bible are coming into focus. Brannon?s > guest is Jimmy DeYoung. > Click here to listen now:Worldview Weekend Radio with Brannon Howse. > > -- > Remember: Ban-Control-Take Over are the hallmarks of the > "New"Democrats and old Communists so buy brass and lead > instead of gold. - Bob Roller > > > _______________________________________________ > Linux4christians mailing list > Linux4christians at thelinuxlink.net > http://www.thelinuxlink.net/mailman/listinfo/linux4christians > > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From fmiller at lightlink.com Wed Nov 9 20:58:03 2011 From: fmiller at lightlink.com (Fred A. Miller) Date: Wed, 09 Nov 2011 20:58:03 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] OT: The rise of the Anti-Christ In-Reply-To: References: <4EBAAB81.4080203@lightlink.com> Message-ID: <4EBB2FAB.6040102@lightlink.com> On 11/09/2011 05:05 PM, Chris Debenham wrote: > I generally don't put much faith in these specific 'The end is nigh' > statements - after all there have been predictions that Christ will > return since the time of the apostles :) > Time and time people come forward, point to certain events and say > that these are the specific events mentioned in revelations. Time and > time again it doesn't happen. There are a number of reasons for that. I think some is deliberate deception or certainly appears to be. > I do know that Christ will return some day and I also know that he > could come very soon, or not for a long time (I'm betting on sooner > rather than later - but that is just a hope rather than based on facts > ;) ) Most likely we all fit into that mold. ;) > But since no-one can know the time of his return I do think we should > all live with the assumption that it could be tomorrow (or even today) > - then at least we won't feel too surprised when it finally does happen :) The charge we've been given, as per Scripture, is to endure to the end.....doing all that has been commanded of us. That includes the daily recognition that it could be our last day. Be active, be alert, and be ready. Fred -- Remember: Ban-Control-Take Over are the hallmarks of the "New "Democrats and old Communists so buy brass and lead instead of gold. - Bob Roller -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From just_mike_y at yahoo.com Wed Nov 9 22:26:13 2011 From: just_mike_y at yahoo.com (Michael Hart) Date: Wed, 09 Nov 2011 21:26:13 -0600 Subject: [Linux4christians] Welcome In-Reply-To: <4EB82C72.4060503@lightlink.com> References: <20111106132228.GA3068@rods> <4EB82C72.4060503@lightlink.com> Message-ID: <4EBB4455.5020008@yahoo.com> On 11/7/2011 1:07 PM, Fred A. Miller wrote: > Hi Ken, glad to have to join us! I've been using Linux for a very long > time.....since SuSE 5.0, if I remember correctly, and I also go back > to pre-DOS, that is CP/M days. I had a Kaypro 2X which I modified the > MBO so I could have 4 full-sized (that's what we had back then as you > know) hard drives, and found a way to get Perfect Filer to handle a > LOT more fields than it was supposed to....was written up in "Profiles > Mag." for that effort. Had a LOT of fun running QNX and Qtac2 for a > BBS. 8-) > > Anyway, what I have done for sometime, is to keep /home in it's > entirety and NOT to format it. I also keep all my graphic files, > music, movie clips, etc., in a partition I label /local. Only files > created by Open Office or more recently Libre Office are in my /home > partitian. I also have found that for servers and/or desktops that > there are a number of ways you can partitian a hard drive, and all of > them seem to work well. But, I have standardized on the following, > which may or may not be of help to you or someone else. With the > assumption of a 1-T hard drive, the following is what that "standard" > partition structure looks like, with the allocated space. > > / = 30GB > /swap = 32GB ( I have 16GB in the box...rule of thumb is to double > swap of your RAM). > /home = 30GB (2 users, my wife and me) > /local = Balance of hard drive. > > This is all on a box I built around an Intel Core i7 2600 3.4Ghz., > which I have running at 4.3Ghz. with 1600Mhz. RAM. Also a Thermaltake > V1 cooler for the CPU, cooler for the RAM, and 4 120mm fans to cool it > all. This so you all know over-clocking ISN'T a problem for Linux! > Windows 7 DOESN'T like an over-clocked box at all! There's a way > around that, but I'm sure no one here is interested in how to do that. > O:-) > > Hope this helps someone. One secret for this to be successful is to change your login ID everytime you upgrade/install another distro, so your new home folder isn't your old home. This allows you to settle in and be able to revert nicely to the earlier version if something doesn't copy over properly. That is, if your primary user login is "ken" on the distro "magicbox 7", when you upgrade to magicbox 8, install to a different partition for /root, point your home to the same /home partition as magicbox 7, and make your user account "kenmb8". That way you can rummage through the home folder for mb 7 and copy over anything relavent without breaking magicbox 7 if magicbox 8 crashes hopelessly the second time you boot it. chown and chmod are your friend for copying from one user folder to another. From dcolburn at bibleseven.com Wed Nov 9 22:38:02 2011 From: dcolburn at bibleseven.com (dcolburn at bibleseven.com) Date: Wed, 09 Nov 2011 22:38:02 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] Thursday - Acts 27:1-26 Message-ID: <4EBB471A.6060804@bibleseven.com> Thursday Acts 27:1-26 Paul and Company Sail for Rome 27:1 When it was decided we would sail to Italy, they handed over Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion of the Augustan Cohort named Julius. 27:2 We went on board a ship from Adramyttium that was about to sail to various ports along the coast of the province of Asia and put out to sea, accompanied by Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica. 27:3 The next day we put in at Sidon, and Julius, treating Paul kindly, allowed him to go to his friends so they could provide him with what he needed. 27:4 From there we put out to sea and sailed under the lee of Cyprus because the winds were against us. 27:5 After we had sailed across the open sea off Cilicia and Pamphylia, we put in at Myra in Lycia. 27:6 There the centurion found a ship from Alexandria sailing for Italy, and he put us aboard it. 27:7 We sailed slowly for many days and arrived with difficulty off Cnidus. Because the wind prevented us from going any farther, we sailed under the lee of Crete off Salmone. 27:8 With difficulty we sailed along the coast of Crete and came to a place called Fair Havens that was near the town of Lasea. Caught in a Violent Storm 27:9 Since considerable time had passed and the voyage was now dangerous because the fast was already over, Paul advised them, 27:10 "Men, I can see the voyage is going to end in disaster and great loss not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives." 27:11 But the centurion was more convinced by the captain and the ship's owner than by what Paul said. 27:12 Because the harbor was not suitable to spend the winter in, the majority decided to put out to sea from there. They hoped that somehow they could reach Phoenix, a harbor of Crete facing southwest and northwest, and spend the winter there. 27:13 When a gentle south wind sprang up, they thought they could carry out their purpose, so they weighed anchor and sailed close along the coast of Crete. 27:14 Not long after this, a hurricane-force wind called the northeaster blew down from the island. 27:15 When the ship was caught in it and could not head into the wind, we gave way to it and were driven along. 27:16 As we ran under the lee of a small island called Cauda, we were able with difficulty to get the ship's boat under control. 27:17 After the crew had hoisted it aboard, they used supports to undergird the ship. Fearing they would run aground on the Syrtis, they lowered the sea anchor, thus letting themselves be driven along. 27:18 The next day, because we were violently battered by the storm, they began throwing the cargo overboard, 27:19 and on the third day they threw the ship's gear overboard with their own hands. 27:20 When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and a violent storm continued to batter us, we finally abandoned all hope of being saved. 27:21 Since many of them had no desire to eat, Paul stood up among them and said, "Men, you should have listened to me and not put out to sea from Crete, thus avoiding this damage and loss. 27:22 And now I advise you to keep up your courage, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only the ship will be lost. 27:23 For last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve came to me 27:24 and said, 'Do not be afraid, Paul! You must stand before Caesar, and God has graciously granted you the safety of all who are sailing with you.' 27:25 Therefore keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will be just as I have been told. 27:26 But we must run aground on some island." Prayer Lord, You blessed Paul's fellow travelers as a testimony to the truth of Paul's report about You. May I be faithful enough that You will choose to bless others in some small way through me. Summary & Commentary Paul was transferred to a prison ship bound for Italy. After slow travel due to difficulties with the wind, and several planned stops -including one where the Centurion allowed Paul's friends to meet his needs - they sailed on. Paul warned them that due to the winter season they faced shipwreck but they continued on. They found themselves in a violent storm and after struggling for many days gave up hope of survival. Paul reminded them that he had warned them, then he shared that an angel of God had promised him than none of them would be lost but the ship and cargo would. As they were about to be shipwrecked Paul calls to them to eat for strength. Interaction Consider The Lord God protected Paul from murder, provided many ministry opportunities, told him he'd preach in Rome, and now protected him and his companions from harm on the way to Rome. Discuss Isn't it amazing how the Lord God either calms or manages storms as His great purposes require? Reflect When all others have given up hope God assured Paul then Paul in turn assured them. Share When have you observed a man of God being ignored, only to be the one people turn to when all else fails and they need a wise leader? Faith in Action Prayer: Ask the Holy Spirit to show me someone, or a group, that is sailing into an avoidable storm due to arrogance and/or ignorance. Action: Today I will pray for protection, for ministry opportunities, and to be used by God to bring eternal hope into the lives of the hopeless. Be Specific ______________________________________________________ Friday's text will be: Acts 27:27 -- 28:10 -- Draw nearer to the Lord and He will bless you, Have an http://Ultrafidian.com Day! David M. Colburn, DMin. MaCo ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Savannah-Statesboro needs a Bible College/Seminary! Personal Site: http://bibleseven.com Bible Resources: http://bible.org Teacher's Verse: John 7:16 I don't google I SEARCH! Yippy.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From wa3fkg at gmail.com Wed Nov 9 22:47:07 2011 From: wa3fkg at gmail.com (Ken Sprouse) Date: Wed, 9 Nov 2011 22:47:07 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] Welcome In-Reply-To: <4EB82C72.4060503@lightlink.com> References: <20111106132228.GA3068@rods> <4EB82C72.4060503@lightlink.com> Message-ID: On Mon, Nov 7, 2011 at 2:07 PM, Fred A. Miller wrote: > On 11/07/2011 01:23 AM, Ken Sprouse / WA3FKG wrote: > > One of the things I'm looking to find out before I switch distros is how I > can back up my dictionaries for the office suite, web browser, Tom Boy > notes. In the past I have just backed up my /home directory did a clean > install then overwrote the new /home directory with the backup. This time > though I will be switching from Open Office to Libre Office as part of the > new distribution. I also have made Chrome my default browser, another > reason to want to backup the dictionary. > > > Hi Ken, glad to have to join us! I've been using Linux for a very long > time.....since SuSE 5.0, if I remember correctly, and I also go back to > pre-DOS, that is CP/M days. I had a Kaypro 2X which I modified the MBO so I > could have 4 full-sized (that's what we had back then as you know) hard > drives, and found a way to get Perfect Filer to handle a LOT more fields > than it was supposed to....was written up in "Profiles Mag." for that > effort. Had a LOT of fun running QNX and Qtac2 for a BBS. 8-) > You bring back memories. I had three Kaypros over the years. Started out life with a KIM-1 running a 6502, a Hex keypad for input and six seven segment displays for output. Four to show the current address and two for the data stored at that address. Then I moved on to the original TRS-80 (TRASH-80) but didn't like programming in machine language on the Intel processor nearly as much as the 6502. This lead me to the Radio Shack Color computer with the Motorola 6809 which despite its "chick-let" keyboard was a very nice system. From there I moved on to several South West Technical Products S-50 Buss systems first with the Motorola 6800 and latter the 6809 on the processor boards. The was my first exposure to a "Unix like" system. Flex-9 was as close to Unix as you could get at the time on an eight bit processor. My "console" was a Hazeltine model 1500 green screen terminal and my printer was a Teletype Model 35 RO. From there I got into building XT clones from parts and stayed with them for a number of years. I also ran bulletin boards. Opus, Fido, a home brew version written in Turbo Pascal and a multi line Wildcat system. I can't figure out now where and how I found the time! :-) > > > Anyway, what I have done for sometime, is to keep /home in it's entirety > and NOT to format it. I also keep all my graphic files, music, movie clips, > etc., in a partition I label /local. Only files created by Open Office or > more recently Libre Office are in my /home partitian. I also have found > that for servers and/or desktops that there are a number of ways you can > partitian a hard drive, and all of them seem to work well. But, I have > standardized on the following, which may or may not be of help to you or > someone else. With the assumption of a 1-T hard drive, the following is > what that "standard" partition structure looks like, with the allocated > space. > > / = 30GB > /swap = 32GB ( I have 16GB in the box...rule of thumb is to double swap of > your RAM). > /home = 30GB (2 users, my wife and me) > /local = Balance of hard drive. > That looks like a good layout. Do you have a way to auto mount drives and folders when someone logs in to the server? I would like to build up a file server with a partition that every user in the house has a portion of for their personal files that is mapped at the time they log on to one of the computers. Once a week I will back that partition up to the cloud and feel that my photos and what not are relatively safe. > > > This is all on a box I built around an Intel Core i7 2600 3.4Ghz., which I > have running at 4.3Ghz. with 1600Mhz. RAM. Also a Thermaltake V1 cooler for > the CPU, cooler for the RAM, and 4 120mm fans to cool it all. This so you > all know over-clocking ISN'T a problem for Linux! Windows 7 DOESN'T like an > over-clocked box at all! There's a way around that, but I'm sure no one > here is interested in how to do that. O:-) > > Hope this helps someone. > > Fred > > -- > Remember: Ban-Control-Take Over are the hallmarks of the > "New"Democrats and old Communists so buy brass and lead > instead of gold. - Bob Roller > > > Love the signature file. As always enjoying the list and its content. -- Ken Sprouse / WA3FKG John 3:16 http://www.wa3fkg.com You meet the nicest people at a TEA Party. The box said "Win98/2000/XP or better" so I installed Linux! Smith & Wesson - The ultimate point and click user interface. If handguns cause crime, mine is defective. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From wa3fkg at gmail.com Wed Nov 9 23:11:43 2011 From: wa3fkg at gmail.com (Ken Sprouse) Date: Wed, 9 Nov 2011 23:11:43 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] While I was looking for something else Message-ID: I ran across this series of videos on You Tube. I have only watched part of one on networking this evening. I keep getting interrupted by work and have to switch computers. So I thought I would pass this along to the group and you can decide if you want to subscribe to all in the series. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEa1xopeufQ&feature=related -- Ken Sprouse / WA3FKG John 3:16 http://www.wa3fkg.com You meet the nicest people at a TEA Party. The box said "Win98/2000/XP or better" so I installed Linux! Smith & Wesson - The ultimate point and click user interface. If handguns cause crime, mine is defective. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From fmiller at lightlink.com Thu Nov 10 16:36:13 2011 From: fmiller at lightlink.com (Fred A. Miller) Date: Thu, 10 Nov 2011 16:36:13 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] Welcome In-Reply-To: References: <20111106132228.GA3068@rods> <4EB82C72.4060503@lightlink.com> Message-ID: <4EBC43CD.4060902@lightlink.com> On 11/09/2011 10:47 PM, Ken Sprouse wrote: > You bring back memories. I had three Kaypros over the years. Started > out life with a KIM-1 running a 6502, a Hex keypad for input and six > seven segment displays for output. Four to show the current address > and two for the data stored at that address. Then I moved on to the > original TRS-80 (TRASH-80) but didn't like programming in machine > language on the Intel processor nearly as much as the 6502. This lead > me to the Radio Shack Color computer with the Motorola 6809 which > despite its "chick-let" keyboard was a very nice system. Not bad, in it's day for sure. > From there I moved on to several South West Technical Products S-50 > Buss systems first with the Motorola 6800 and latter the 6809 on the > processor boards. The was my first exposure to a "Unix like" system. > Flex-9 was as close to Unix as you could get at the time on an eight > bit processor. My "console" was a Hazeltine model 1500 green screen > terminal and my printer was a Teletype Model 35 RO. From there I got > into building XT clones from parts and stayed with them for a number > of years. So did I, but most often there wasn't any MickySoft on them. ;) > > I also ran bulletin boards. Opus, Fido, a home brew version written > in Turbo Pascal and a multi line Wildcat system. I can't figure out > now where and how I found the time! :-) Hehehehehe......been there and got the t-shirt! ;) Fido was fun....the OS/2 areas were very active. If you were there you might remember one particular MickySoft shill who created quite a bit of "noise". I took great pleasure from pointing out his out and out lies and distortions. I still have a soft spot for OS/2, but Linux has long since surpassed it's abilities. Fred -- Remember: Ban-Control-Take Over are the hallmarks of the "New" Democrats and old Communists so buy brass and lead instead of gold. - Bob Roller -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From fmiller at lightlink.com Thu Nov 10 16:39:56 2011 From: fmiller at lightlink.com (Fred A. Miller) Date: Thu, 10 Nov 2011 16:39:56 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] Welcome In-Reply-To: <4EBB4455.5020008@yahoo.com> References: <20111106132228.GA3068@rods> <4EB82C72.4060503@lightlink.com> <4EBB4455.5020008@yahoo.com> Message-ID: <4EBC44AC.7040308@lightlink.com> On 11/09/2011 10:26 PM, Michael Hart wrote: > One secret for this to be successful is to change your login ID > everytime you upgrade/install another distro, so your new home folder > isn't your old home. This allows you to settle in and be able to > revert nicely to the earlier version if something doesn't copy over > properly. That is, if your primary user login is "ken" on the distro > "magicbox 7", when you upgrade to magicbox 8, install to a different > partition for /root, point your home to the same /home partition as > magicbox 7, and make your user account "kenmb8". That way you can > rummage through the home folder for mb 7 and copy over anything > relavent without breaking > magicbox 7 if magicbox 8 crashes hopelessly the second time you boot it. > > chown and chmod are your friend for copying from one user folder to > another. True, but I simply have 2 backups of /home and /local at all times......one on a 2nd 1-T hard drive in the box and an external ESATA/USB hard drive. That's one of the really great things about Linux.....there's most often more than 1 way to skin the cat. 8-) Fred -- Remember: Ban-Control-Take Over are the hallmarks of the "New"Democrats and old Communists so buy brass and lead instead of gold. - Bob Roller -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From fmiller at lightlink.com Thu Nov 10 16:49:20 2011 From: fmiller at lightlink.com (Fred A. Miller) Date: Thu, 10 Nov 2011 16:49:20 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] While I was looking for something else In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <4EBC46E0.3070603@lightlink.com> On 11/09/2011 11:11 PM, Ken Sprouse wrote: > I ran across this series of videos on You Tube. I have only watched > part of one on networking this evening. I keep getting interrupted by > work and have to switch computers. So I thought I would pass this > along to the group and you can decide if you want to subscribe to all > in the series. > > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEa1xopeufQ&feature=related > Thanks! 'Will be good for some of my clients. Fred -- Remember: Ban-Control-Take Over are the hallmarks of the "New"Democrats and old Communists so buy brass and lead instead of gold. - Bob Roller -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dcolburn at bibleseven.com Thu Nov 10 21:15:46 2011 From: dcolburn at bibleseven.com (dcolburn at bibleseven.com) Date: Thu, 10 Nov 2011 21:15:46 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] =?windows-1252?q?Friday_-_Acts_27=3A27_=96_28?= =?windows-1252?q?=3A10?= Message-ID: <4EBC8552.2080802@bibleseven.com> Friday Acts 27:27 ? 28:10 27:27 When the fourteenth night had come, while we were being driven across the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors suspected they were approaching some land. 27:28 They took soundings and found the water was twenty fathoms deep; when they had sailed a little farther they took soundings again and found it was fifteen fathoms deep. 27:29 Because they were afraid that we would run aground on the rocky coast, they threw out four anchors from the stern and wished for day to appear. 27:30 Then when the sailors tried to escape from the ship and were lowering the ship?s boat into the sea, pretending that they were going to put out anchors from the bow, 27:31 Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, ?Unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved.? 27:32 Then the soldiers cut the ropes of the ship?s boat and let it drift away. 27:33 As day was about to dawn, Paul urged them all to take some food, saying, ?Today is the fourteenth day you have been in suspense and have gone without food; you have eaten nothing. 27:34 Therefore I urge you to take some food, for this is important for your survival. For not one of you will lose a hair from his head.? 27:35 After he said this, Paul took bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all, broke it, and began to eat. 27:36 So all of them were encouraged and took food themselves. 27:37 (We were in all two hundred seventy-six persons on the ship.) 27:38 When they had eaten enough to be satisfied, they lightened the ship by throwing the wheat into the sea. Paul is Shipwrecked 27:39 When day came, they did not recognize the land, but they noticed a bay with a beach, where they decided to run the ship aground if they could. 27:40 So they slipped the anchors and left them in the sea, at the same time loosening the linkage that bound the steering oars together. Then they hoisted the foresail to the wind and steered toward the beach. 27:41 But they encountered a patch of crosscurrents and ran the ship aground; the bow stuck fast and could not be moved, but the stern was being broken up by the force of the waves. 27:42 Now the soldiers? plan was to kill the prisoners so that none of them would escape by swimming away. 27:43 But the centurion, wanting to save Paul?s life, prevented them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land, 27:44 and the rest were to follow, some on planks and some on pieces of the ship. And in this way all were brought safely to land. Paul on Malta 28:1 After we had safely reached shore, we learned that the island was called Malta. 28:2 The local inhabitants showed us extraordinary kindness, for they built a fire and welcomed us all because it had started to rain and was cold. 28:3 When Paul had gathered a bundle of brushwood and was putting it on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened itself on his hand. 28:4 When the local people saw the creature hanging from Paul?s hand, they said to one another, ?No doubt this man is a murderer! Although he has escaped from the sea, Justice herself has not allowed him to live!? 28:5 However, Paul shook the creature off into the fire and suffered no harm. 28:6 But they were expecting that he was going to swell up or suddenly drop dead. So after they had waited a long time and had seen nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god. 28:7 Now in the region around that place were fields belonging to the chief official of the island, named Publius, who welcomed us and entertained us hospitably as guests for three days. 28:8 The father of Publius lay sick in bed, suffering from fever and dysentery. Paul went in to see him and after praying, placed his hands on him and healed him. 28:9 After this had happened, many of the people on the island who were sick also came and were healed. 28:10 They also bestowed many honors, and when we were preparing to sail, they gave us all the supplies we needed. Prayer Lord, the enemy attacked Paul via a snake and the superstitious people thought it was a judgment of his sin, but You turned the enemy's attack to good. May I prayerfully await Your transformation of attacks, that come due to my faithful service to you, into a witness for Your power and presence to others. Summary & Commentary Paul warned the captain that everyone had to remain on the ship or none would be saved, and so the sailors who had schemed to sneak away in a small boat were stopped. Paul encouraged them all to eat as it had been a long time in-crisis then gave thanks to God, broke-bread, and ate before them - they ate as well then discarded the rest of the wheat to lighten the ship. They grounded the ship in shallow water because the storm still threatened. They were successful and, as Paul had prophesied, all were safe. The shipwrecked crew, including Paul, discovered that they had landed on the Island of Malta. The citizens there were friendly. Paul was bitten by a viper and suddenly their superstition labeled him a murderer - but when he was not harmed they imagined him a god. The Holy Spirit used Paul as His vessel of healing for the father of the chief official of the Island as well as many others. [Note: The text does not record Paul as having the opportunity to preach Christ, though he undoubtedly shared Christ with everyone he met, nor does it record any who accepted Christ at the time. It could be that the Holy Spirit used Paul to plant seeds for a future harvest there.] Because of Paul's faithfulness to Christ the people were blessed by the Lord God and they sent he and his fellow travelers away with many gifts and supplies. Interaction Consider Paul, despite being a prisoner, became a major leader on the ship and on the island. Discuss Isn't it interesting that Paul was faithfulness as a vessel of God in healing and sharing on Malta despite the persistent confused-thinking of the people? Might one conclude that the Lord God discerned that they had teachable spirits and the Holy Spirit had prepared them to listen? Reflect Does this seem to be yet another case where pagans attempted to impose their views upon God's work, first the superstition that one bitten by a viper must be an unpunished murderer (interestingly that was true about Paul), and then that he must be a "god" since the viper had no effect on him? Share When have you observed a person in ministry first resisted then received? Faith in Action Prayer: Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to me any place in my thinking where any pagan value system may exist. Action: Today I will ask a fellow believer to pray in agreement with me to discern any place in my life where a pagan value system has gained foothold unnoticed and the strength and wisdom to excise it. Be Specific ______________________________________________________ Saturday's text will be: Acts 28:11-31 -- Draw nearer to the Lord and He will bless you, Have an http://Ultrafidian.com Day! David M. Colburn, DMin. MaCo ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Savannah-Statesboro needs a Bible College/Seminary! Personal Site: http://bibleseven.com Bible Resources: http://bible.org Teacher's Verse: John 7:16 I don't google I SEARCH! Yippy.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ciamarie at my180.net Fri Nov 11 10:36:12 2011 From: ciamarie at my180.net (Cia Watson) Date: Fri, 11 Nov 2011 07:36:12 -0800 Subject: [Linux4christians] Welcome In-Reply-To: <4EBC43CD.4060902@lightlink.com> References: <20111106132228.GA3068@rods> <4EB82C72.4060503@lightlink.com> <4EBC43CD.4060902@lightlink.com> Message-ID: <20111111073612.7c1466c8@amd3c.amd3c.cia> On Thu, 10 Nov 2011 16:36:13 -0500 "Fred A. Miller" wrote: > On 11/09/2011 10:47 PM, Ken Sprouse wrote: > > I also ran bulletin boards. Opus, Fido, a home brew version written > > in Turbo Pascal and a multi line Wildcat system. I can't figure out > > now where and how I found the time! :-) > > Hehehehehe......been there and got the t-shirt! ;) Fido was fun....the > OS/2 areas were very active. If you were there you might remember one > particular MickySoft shill who created quite a bit of "noise". I took > great pleasure from pointing out his out and out lies and distortions. I > still have a soft spot for OS/2, but Linux has long since surpassed it's > abilities. You both are bringing back some memories for me... I ran a 12 line chat bbs for a couple of years. I still have the copy of Boardwatch Magazine which has a list of women sysops (since I'm on the list). And I spent a bit of time on a fido bbs, though I don't recall which one. And I also still have a soft spot for OS/2, in fact I have the box with Warp on 3.5" floppies stuck in a box in my office. I keep meaning to look up whether a museum or anyone else might want it. I hate to send it to the dumpster, but of course that's likely where it'll end up. And by way of introducing myself to the list, I've been using Linux since the spring of 2009. I had an old IBM thinkpad running Win2k whose AVG software wasn't going to be supported any more, and I could have used Clam but I decided it was time to look at linux, since I'd heard about it many years ago. I started out with Fedora, since the Ubuntu dvd had a kernel panic. Several months after that in 2009 I got a new (to me) desktop pc with no OS installed and installed Fedora 13. I decided I wanted something a bit more stable than Fedora, what with the 6 month release cycle, and while waiting for CentOS 6 to be released I tried Linux Mint Debian. I really liked it, but realized I wasn't using most of the 'minty' features so I installed Debian testing (now wheezy) a few months ago, along with Debian stable (squeeze) on another partition. The ibm thinkpad is still put to use on occasion, running Debian squeeze. And most recently I've been studying PHP and MySQL, though I've installed Mariadb on my home pc in place of MySQL. I could probably go on for pages, but I'll leave it there for now. :-) In Christ, Cia W. From raoul.snyman at saturnlaboratories.co.za Fri Nov 11 13:16:04 2011 From: raoul.snyman at saturnlaboratories.co.za (Raoul Snyman) Date: Fri, 11 Nov 2011 11:16:04 -0700 Subject: [Linux4christians] Welcome In-Reply-To: <4EB71860.9000300@yahoo.com> References: <20111106132228.GA3068@rods> <4EB71860.9000300@yahoo.com> Message-ID: <2583033.KDGQ9LZMi9@cookie> On Sunday, November 06, 2011 05:29:36 PM Michael Hart wrote: > {Eglesia, Eklezia, Ecclesia} I envision a turnkey solution that > installs a server and/or clients that function out of the box in church > offices... accounting, ministry, and worship all presetup. Drupal seems > to be limited to a web kiosk. 'Church' and 'christian' distro's I've > tested seem geared for a 'Christian home' environment. I'm talking > about something like Mythbuntu for Church.. Press one to get a server > box (email, accounting, etc.), press 2 to get a staff computer, press 3 > to get a worship team computer, 4 for ministry computer, etc. The > primary customer is the mission field, but handing these out in > seminaries might be a primary also. > > If someone knows of something like what I'm looking for, I'd be glad for > a pointer. I've also proposed a similar system before (see http://christianoss.org/blog/2009/08/19/linux-server-distribution-churches for my idea), but unfortunately I don't have the time to work on it personally, so it never got anywhere. There's a guy in the OpenLP community that is putting together a live cd based on Ubuntu or Kubuntu with OpenLP on it, so that you can have a boot-and-go projection system. Raoul. From webservant at trinitybclaramie.org Fri Nov 11 14:48:02 2011 From: webservant at trinitybclaramie.org (Peter B. Steiger) Date: Fri, 11 Nov 2011 12:48:02 -0700 Subject: [Linux4christians] Welcome In-Reply-To: References: <20111106132228.GA3068@rods> <4EB82C72.4060503@lightlink.com> Message-ID: Sounds like your background was quite similar to mine, Ken, although your start precedes mine by a few years. I also sysopped for several years back in the dialup days... a FIDO node in Dallas, and before that a WWIV (that's the Turbo Pascal system you're thinking of) board in Houston. I learned BASIC on the TRS-80 model I when I was a high school mall rat hanging out at Radio Shack, but I didn't actually buy that one -- I was captivated by the flashier pseudo-graphics (customized high-order ASCII characters) of the Commodore PET. Not that newfangled C64, no, this was the original bulky model with 40x20 character monochrome monitor permanently attached to the case with chiclet keys and a builtin cassette deck for "bulk" storage. I was in the first computer class at my high school where we used acoustic couplers, line printers, and paper tape with our connection to some distant mainframe (probably Uni of Houston), and the following year mine was the last freshman class to do all our work at card readers before the new era of CRTs dawned in 1981. Remember when it made a *difference* to save a few bytes in your code? You rotten kids, get off my lawn! *PBS* On Wed, Nov 9, 2011 at 8:47 PM, Ken Sprouse wrote: > You bring back memories. I had three Kaypros over the years. Started out > life with a KIM-1 running a 6502, a Hex keypad for input and six seven > segment displays for output. Four to show the current address and two for > the data stored at that address. Then I moved on to the original TRS-80 > (TRASH-80) but didn't like programming in machine language on the Intel > processor nearly as much as the 6502. This lead me to the Radio Shack > Color computer with the Motorola 6809 which despite its "chick-let" > keyboard was a very nice system. From there I moved on to several South > West Technical Products S-50 Buss systems first with the Motorola 6800 and > latter the 6809 on the processor boards. The was my first exposure to a > "Unix like" system. Flex-9 was as close to Unix as you could get at the > time on an eight bit processor. My "console" was a Hazeltine model 1500 > green screen terminal and my printer was a Teletype Model 35 RO. From > there I got into building XT clones from parts and stayed with them for a > number of years. > > I also ran bulletin boards. Opus, Fido, a home brew version written in > Turbo Pascal and a multi line Wildcat system. I can't figure out now where > and how I found the time! :-) > > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From hpp3 at lavabit.com Fri Nov 11 20:49:11 2011 From: hpp3 at lavabit.com (Eddy Martin) Date: Fri, 11 Nov 2011 17:49:11 -0800 Subject: [Linux4christians] Welcome In-Reply-To: <20111106132228.GA3068@rods> References: <20111106132228.GA3068@rods> Message-ID: <4EBDD097.5030104@lavabit.com> On 11/06/2011 05:22 AM, Lincoln Fessenden wrote: > I see there have been a barrage of new users signing on to the l4c list as of late and I wanted to take the opportunity to welcome you all and invite you to tell us all a little about yourself and how you use Linux. > > ... > This is awesome! Welcome all from yours truly as well. Now that we've heard a few of your stories, how did you happen upon this place? Web search? Recommendation from a friend? Mentioned on a website? Let us (and maybe especially Linc) know where the buzz is spreading from. Again, welcome and God bless! -Eddy From dcolburn at bibleseven.com Fri Nov 11 21:21:17 2011 From: dcolburn at bibleseven.com (dcolburn at bibleseven.com) Date: Fri, 11 Nov 2011 21:21:17 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] =?windows-1252?q?Friday_-_Acts_27=3A27_=96_28?= =?windows-1252?q?=3A10_-_TWO_CORRECTIONS?= Message-ID: <4EBDD81D.3000003@bibleseven.com> CORRECTION #1: I was informed that my run-on prayer was hard to follow. :-) > Lord, the enemy attacked Paul via a snake and the superstitious people thought it > was a judgment of his sin, but You turned the enemy's attack to good. May I > prayerfully await Your transformation _of _attacks, that come due to my faithful service > to you, into a witness for Your power and presence to others. Here's my quick edit for clarification: Paul was attacked by a serpent. The Lord God said that a serpent would attack the Savior. A serpent was the form the deceiver took when leading Adam & Eve astray. When you are attacked trust that the Lord God will use your overcoming of the attack as a testimony of His presence and power in you. Also, there was a cut & paste error here: > Isn't it interesting that Paul was faithfulness as a vessel of God in healing and sharing > on Malta despite the persistent confused-thinking of the people? Please change "faithfulness" to faithful". Sorry for the errors ... my editor is busy converting the Gospels Study into the format necessary for electronic and print publication ... so I am on my own. :-) -- Draw nearer to the Lord and He will bless you, Have an http://Ultrafidian.com Day! David M. Colburn, DMin. MaCo ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Savannah-Statesboro needs a Bible College/Seminary! Personal Site: http://bibleseven.com Bible Resources: http://bible.org Teacher's Verse: John 7:16 I don't google I SEARCH! Yippy.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ From dcolburn at bibleseven.com Fri Nov 11 22:01:19 2011 From: dcolburn at bibleseven.com (dcolburn at bibleseven.com) Date: Fri, 11 Nov 2011 22:01:19 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] Saturday - Acts 28:11-31 Message-ID: <4EBDE17F.9080102@bibleseven.com> Saturday Acts 28:11-31 Paul Finally Reaches Rome 28:11 After three months we put out to sea in an Alexandrian ship that had wintered at the island and had the "Heavenly Twins" as its figurehead. 28:12 We put in at Syracuse and stayed there three days. 28:13 From there we cast off and arrived at Rhegium, and after one day a south wind sprang up and on the second day we came to Puteoli. 28:14 There we found some brothers and were invited to stay with them seven days. And in this way we came to Rome. 28:15 The brothers from there, when they heard about us, came as far as the Forum of Appius and Three Taverns to meet us. When he saw them, Paul thanked God and took courage. 28:16 When we entered Rome, Paul was allowed to live by himself, with the soldier who was guarding him. Paul Addresses the Jewish Community in Rome 28:17 After three days Paul called the local Jewish leaders together. When they had assembled, he said to them, "Brothers, although I had done nothing against our people or the customs of our ancestors, from Jerusalem I was handed over as a prisoner to the Romans. 28:18 When they had heard my case, they wanted to release me, because there was no basis for a death sentence against me. 28:19 But when the Jews objected, I was forced to appeal to Caesar -- not that I had some charge to bring against my own people. 28:20 So for this reason I have asked to see you and speak with you, for I am bound with this chain because of the hope of Israel." 28:21 They replied, "We have received no letters from Judea about you, nor have any of the brothers come from there and reported or said anything bad about you. 28:22 But we would like to hear from you what you think, for regarding this sect we know that people everywhere speak against it." 28:23 They set a day to meet with him, and they came to him where he was staying in even greater numbers. From morning until evening he explained things to them, testifying about the kingdom of God and trying to convince them about Jesus from both the law of Moses and the prophets. 28:24 Some were convinced by what he said, but others refused to believe. 28:25 So they began to leave, unable to agree among themselves, after Paul made one last statement: "The Holy Spirit spoke rightly to your ancestors through the prophet Isaiah 28:26 when he said, '/*Go*//**//*to*//**//*this*//**//*people*//**//*and*//**//*say,*/"/*You*//**//*will*//**//*keep*//**//*on*//**//*hearing,*/ /*but*//**//*will*//**//*never*//**//*understand,and*//**//*you*//**//*will*//**//*keep*//**//*on*//**//*looking,*/ /*but*//**//*will*//**//*never*//**//*perceive*//./ 28:27 /*For*//**//*the*//**//*heart*//**//*of*//**//*this*//**//*people*//**//*has*//**//*become*//**//*dull,*/and their ears are hard of hearing, and they have closed their eyes, so that they would not see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart /*and*//**//*turn,*/ /*and*//**//*I*//**//*would*//**//*heal*//**//*them*//./"' 28:28 "Therefore be advised that this salvation from God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen!" 28:29 [[EMPTY]] 28:30 Paul lived there two whole years in his own rented quarters and welcomed all who came to him, 28:31 proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with complete boldness and without restriction. Prayer Lord, You enabled Paul to survive murderous plots in order that he might be Your instrument to preach Christ in Rome. He did so and some received Your truth while others rejected it. May I be faithful, no matter the resistance, and know that I am in partnership with Your Holy Spirit and that the harvest is Yours. Summary & Commentary After many months of travel Paul reached Rome, met some brothers-in-Christ, and was allowed to reside outside of prison with his guard. Paul addressed the Jewish leaders in Rome, explaining the false charges in Caesarea and Jerusalem and his need to appeal to Caesar to avoid their efforts to murder him. The locals replied that they had received no letters or visitors carrying any charges against Paul. They did note that there was a general negativity against Christianity and wanted to hear about it first-hand from Paul. Paul preached Christ to the religious leaders and their followers, some believed but many refused, at which time Paul declared that he would also share Christ with the Gentiles because they were more likely to listen. Paul preached and taught anyone who would listen, Jew or Gentile in Rome, for two years. According to the NET Translator's Notes verse 28:29 is omitted in many modern translations as better scholarship has determined that it has a high probability of being a scribal addition rather than of the earliest antique sources. Interaction Consider No matter how he tried the enemy could not keep Paul from preaching in Rome. Discuss Why were the Gentiles more receptive than the Jews? Reflect Paul always started with the Jews by declaring his history of felicity to Jewish law and his service as a zealous religious leader, then he reminded them of the prophesies, and finally he showed them how it all led to Christ. Share When have you been surprised at the unexpected receptivity of a person or group instead of those whom you expected to be receptive to Biblical truth? Faith in Action Prayer: Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you a person of group you have ignored but who are ready to hear. Action: Today I will reach out to that person or group whom the Holy Spirit has revealed and I will share with them the message of Christ. Be Specific ______________________________________________________ Sunday's text will be: Romans 1 - 3 -- Draw nearer to the Lord and He will bless you, Have an http://Ultrafidian.com Day! David M. Colburn, DMin. MaCo ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Savannah-Statesboro needs a Bible College/Seminary! Personal Site: http://bibleseven.com Bible Resources: http://bible.org Teacher's Verse: John 7:16 I don't google I SEARCH! Yippy.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dcolburn at bibleseven.com Fri Nov 11 22:11:55 2011 From: dcolburn at bibleseven.com (dcolburn at bibleseven.com) Date: Fri, 11 Nov 2011 22:11:55 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] Saturday - Acts 28:11-31 Message-ID: <4EBDE3FB.7030203@bibleseven.com> Saturday Acts 28:11-31 Paul Finally Reaches Rome 28:11 After three months we put out to sea in an Alexandrian ship that had wintered at the island and had the "Heavenly Twins" as its figurehead. 28:12 We put in at Syracuse and stayed there three days. 28:13 From there we cast off and arrived at Rhegium, and after one day a south wind sprang up and on the second day we came to Puteoli. 28:14 There we found some brothers and were invited to stay with them seven days. And in this way we came to Rome. 28:15 The brothers from there, when they heard about us, came as far as the Forum of Appius and Three Taverns to meet us. When he saw them, Paul thanked God and took courage. 28:16 When we entered Rome, Paul was allowed to live by himself, with the soldier who was guarding him. Paul Addresses the Jewish Community in Rome 28:17 After three days Paul called the local Jewish leaders together. When they had assembled, he said to them, "Brothers, although I had done nothing against our people or the customs of our ancestors, from Jerusalem I was handed over as a prisoner to the Romans. 28:18 When they had heard my case, they wanted to release me, because there was no basis for a death sentence against me. 28:19 But when the Jews objected, I was forced to appeal to Caesar -- not that I had some charge to bring against my own people. 28:20 So for this reason I have asked to see you and speak with you, for I am bound with this chain because of the hope of Israel." 28:21 They replied, "We have received no letters from Judea about you, nor have any of the brothers come from there and reported or said anything bad about you. 28:22 But we would like to hear from you what you think, for regarding this sect we know that people everywhere speak against it." 28:23 They set a day to meet with him, and they came to him where he was staying in even greater numbers. From morning until evening he explained things to them, testifying about the kingdom of God and trying to convince them about Jesus from both the law of Moses and the prophets. 28:24 Some were convinced by what he said, but others refused to believe. 28:25 So they began to leave, unable to agree among themselves, after Paul made one last statement: "The Holy Spirit spoke rightly to your ancestors through the prophet Isaiah 28:26 when he said, '/*Go*//**//*to*//**//*this*//**//*people*//**//*and*//**//*say,*/"/*You*//**//*will*//**//*keep*//**//*on*//**//*hearing,*/ /*but*//**//*will*//**//*never*//**//*understand,and*//**//*you*//**//*will*//**//*keep*//**//*on*//**//*looking,*/ /*but*//**//*will*//**//*never*//**//*perceive*//./ 28:27 /*For*//**//*the*//**//*heart*//**//*of*//**//*this*//**//*people*//**//*has*//**//*become*//**//*dull,*/and their ears are hard of hearing, and they have closed their eyes, so that they would not see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart /*and*//**//*turn,*/ /*and*//**//*I*//**//*would*//**//*heal*//**//*them*//./"' 28:28 "Therefore be advised that this salvation from God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen!" 28:29 [[EMPTY]] 28:30 Paul lived there two whole years in his own rented quarters and welcomed all who came to him, 28:31 proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with complete boldness and without restriction. Prayer Lord, You enabled Paul to survive murderous plots in order that he might be Your instrument to preach Christ in Rome. He did so and some received Your truth while others rejected it. May I be faithful, no matter the resistance, and know that I am in partnership with Your Holy Spirit and that the harvest is Yours. Summary & Commentary After many months of travel Paul reached Rome, met some brothers-in-Christ, and was allowed to reside outside of prison with his guard. Paul addressed the Jewish leaders in Rome, explaining the false charges in Caesarea and Jerusalem and his need to appeal to Caesar to avoid their efforts to murder him. The locals replied that they had received no letters or visitors carrying any charges against Paul. They did note that there was a general negativity against Christianity and wanted to hear about it first-hand from Paul. Paul preached Christ to the religious leaders and their followers, some believed but many refused, at which time Paul declared that he would also share Christ with the Gentiles because they were more likely to listen. Paul preached and taught anyone who would listen, Jew or Gentile in Rome, for two years. According to the NET Translator's Notes verse 28:29 is omitted in many modern translations as better scholarship has determined that it has a high probability of being a scribal addition rather than of the earliest antique sources. Interaction Consider No matter how he tried the enemy could not keep Paul from preaching in Rome. Discuss Why were the Gentiles more receptive than the Jews? Reflect Paul always started with the Jews by declaring his history of felicity to Jewish law and his service as a zealous religious leader, then he reminded them of the prophesies, and finally he showed them how it all led to Christ. Share When have you been surprised at the unexpected receptivity of a person or group instead of those whom you expected to be receptive to Biblical truth? Faith in Action Prayer: Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you a person of group you have ignored but who are ready to hear. Action: Today I will reach out to that person or group whom the Holy Spirit has revealed and I will share with them the message of Christ. Be Specific ______________________________________________________ Sunday's text will be: Romans 1 - 3 -- Draw nearer to the Lord and He will bless you, Have an http://Ultrafidian.com Day! David M. Colburn, DMin. MaCo ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Savannah-Statesboro needs a Bible College/Seminary! Personal Site: http://bibleseven.com Bible Resources: http://bible.org Teacher's Verse: John 7:16 I don't google I SEARCH! Yippy.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ciamarie at my180.net Sat Nov 12 12:29:04 2011 From: ciamarie at my180.net (Cia Watson) Date: Sat, 12 Nov 2011 09:29:04 -0800 Subject: [Linux4christians] Welcome In-Reply-To: <4EBDD097.5030104@lavabit.com> References: <20111106132228.GA3068@rods> <4EBDD097.5030104@lavabit.com> Message-ID: <20111112092904.2c18890d@amd3c.amd3c.cia> On Fri, 11 Nov 2011 17:49:11 -0800 Eddy Martin wrote: > On 11/06/2011 05:22 AM, Lincoln Fessenden wrote: > > I see there have been a barrage of new users signing on to the l4c list > > as of late and I wanted to take the opportunity to welcome you all and > > invite you to tell us all a little about yourself and how you use Linux. > This is awesome! Welcome all from yours truly as well. > Now that we've heard a few of your stories, how did you happen upon this > place? > Web search? Recommendation from a friend? Mentioned on a website? > Let us (and maybe especially Linc) know where the buzz is spreading from. I heard about this list on the ChristianSource FSLUG mailing list, and that list I found by search engine, shortly after starting to use linux in 2009. Also, while I'm typing, if any of you are on Diaspora my user name is cia_marie at diasp dot org -- feel free to add me to one of your aspects and I'll add you when I get the notification or you could send a message. In case you're interested, there's a list of public pods here: http://podupti.me/ ) Cia W. www.eft-sw.com From dcolburn at bibleseven.com Sat Nov 12 21:15:38 2011 From: dcolburn at bibleseven.com (dcolburn at bibleseven.com) Date: Sat, 12 Nov 2011 21:15:38 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] Sunday - Romans 1:1-15 Message-ID: <4EBF284A.4030408@bibleseven.com> *A Study with Daily Application* *Romans 1 - 6* *By: David M. Colburn* *Section Introduction* The Apostle Paul is the author of the Book of Romans. The overarching goal of Paul's writing is to clarify several concepts critical to understanding the purpose of Christ's mission on Earth; salvation-through-faith-alone, the value of righteous living in multiplying His family, and how it is that a sinner is redeemed-to-pre-Fall-purity to be able to stand before a perfect God. Sunday Romans 1:1-15 Salutation 1:1 From Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God. 1:2 This gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures, 1:3 concerning his Son who was a descendant of David with reference to the flesh, 1:4 who was appointed the Son-of-God-in-power according to the Holy Spirit by the resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord. 1:5 Through him we have received grace and our apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles on behalf of his name. 1:6 You also are among them, called to belong to Jesus Christ. 1:7 To all those loved by God in Rome, called to be saints: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! Paul's Desire to Visit Rome 1:8 First of all, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed throughout the whole world. 1:9 For God, whom I serve in my spirit by preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness that I continually remember you 1:10 and I always ask in my prayers, if perhaps now at last I may succeed in visiting you according to the will of God. 1:11 For I long to see you, so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you, 1:12 that is, that we may be mutually comforted by one another's faith, both yours and mine. 1:13 I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that I often intended to come to you (and was prevented until now), so that I may have some fruit even among you, just as I already have among the rest of the Gentiles. 1:14 I am a debtor both to the Greeks and to the barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. 1:15 Thus I am eager also to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome. Prayer Lord, Your ministry through Paul used his intellect to explain many complex concepts to believers of any background. May I humbly study Your truth, delivered through him, so that I may fully grasp Your discipleship for me. Summary & Commentary In Paul's Salutation he identified himself as a "bondservant" of Christ [Note: Meaning that he had given up everything in this world, surrendered his free will, and surrendered everything to the Lordship of Christ through the Holy Spirit.] He reminded them that Christ was prophesied in the past and that He had fulfilled those prophesies "... Son-of-God-in-power according to the Holy Spirit by the resurrection from the dead". Paul noted also that his ministry (and that of the other apostles) was to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles so that they would be saved by "... the obedience of faith". Paul addressed his letter, Romans, to believers; those who "belong to Jesus Christ", "those loved by God in Rome", and are "called to be saints", who had been gifted with more than salvation but to live "ultrafidian" [beyond faith] lives. Paul celebrated the faithfulness of the Roman Church (believers) for their reputation as Christians and notes that the Holy Spirit had him praying for them. He also expressed his long desire to visit Rome and to preach Christ there. [Note: Romans is not chronologically sequential to ACTS as the final text of ACTS places Paul in Rome.] Interaction Consider Paul reminded them that Jesus the Christ had fulfilled all of the prophesies about the Messiah. Discuss How do you understand Paul's phrase that the "saints" had been gifted with more than salvation but to live "ultrafidian" [beyond faith] lives? Reflect Paul described himself as a truly-saved believer - he had given up everything in this world, surrendered his free will, and surrendered everything to the Lordship of Christ through the Holy Spirit. Share When have you given up something of the world because it interfered with your daily walk with Christ? Faith in Action Prayer: Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you a way that you might live a more "ultrafidian", beyond-faith, life. Action: Today I will pray for the strength and wisdom to set aside those things which prevent me from moving past salvation and safety to sacrifice and service. Be Specific ______________________________________________________ Monday's text will be: Romans 1:16-31 -- Draw nearer to the Lord and He will bless you, Have an http://Ultrafidian.com Day! David M. Colburn, DMin. MaCo ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Savannah-Statesboro needs a Bible College/Seminary! Personal Site: http://bibleseven.com Bible Resources: http://bible.org Teacher's Verse: John 7:16 I don't google I SEARCH! Yippy.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dcolburn at bibleseven.com Sun Nov 13 20:39:11 2011 From: dcolburn at bibleseven.com (dcolburn at bibleseven.com) Date: Sun, 13 Nov 2011 20:39:11 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] Monday - Romans 1:16-31 Message-ID: <4EC0713F.1070305@bibleseven.com> Monday Romans 1:16-31 The Power of the Gospel 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is God's power for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 1:17 For the righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel from faith to faith, just as it is written, "/*The*//**//*righteous*//**//*by*//**//*faith*//**//*will*//**//*live*/." The Condemnation of the Unrighteous 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who suppress the truth by their unrighteousness, 1:19 because what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 1:20 For since the creation of the world his invisible attributes -- his eternal power and divine nature -- have been clearly seen, because they are understood through what has been made. So people are without excuse. 1:21 For although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or give him thanks, but they became futile in their thoughts and their senseless hearts were darkened. 1:22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 1:23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for an image resembling mortal human beings or birds or four-footed animals or reptiles. 1:24 Therefore God gave them over in the desires of their hearts to impurity, to dishonor their bodies among themselves. 1:25 They exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshiped and served the creation rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. 1:26 For this reason God gave them over to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged the natural sexual relations for unnatural ones, 1:27 and likewise the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed in their passions for one another. Men committed shameless acts with men and received in themselves the due penalty for their error. 1:28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what should not be done. 1:29 They are filled with every kind of unrighteousness, wickedness, covetousness, malice. They are rife with envy, murder, strife, deceit, hostility. They are gossips, 1:30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, contrivers of all sorts of evil, disobedient to parents, 1:31 senseless, covenant-breakers, heartless, ruthless. 1:32 Although they fully know God's righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but also approve of those who practice them. Prayer Lord, You clearly tell us what You have done for us, the Gospel, and why those who reject You are in trouble. May I be intentional in growing toward You and away from unrighteousness. Summary & Commentary Paul then described the power of the Gospel * to save * everyone who believes * offered first to the Jews * then offered to everyone else How? * the righteousness of God is revealed * as one hears the Gospel * "hears" because of ones faith-response (one's initial child-like trusting faith) Paul then moves on to describe the condemnation of the unrighteous: * All people are under the wrath of God * Because they have sufficient evidence all around them that He exists * Because there has been sufficient disclosure of His expectations * Because they deliberately do that which they know to offend God * Obvious, but not inclusive, sins are the worship of animal images, sexual depravity, covetousness, malice, envy, murder, strife, deceit, hostility, gossip, slander, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, connivers-of-evil, disobedient to parents, senseless, covenant- breakers, heartless, ruthless. * Therefore God has allowed people to reap the consequences of sin's slavery * Death is the penalty for knowing "God's righteous decree", ignoring it, and "approve of those who practice them" Interaction Consider The Lord God overcame the sin of the Fall in the Garden of Eden. He provided a way that we may be saved, He says that everyone who believes will be saved, He first offered salvation to the Jews, and then He offered it to everyone else (the "Gentiles"). Discuss Does Paul's description of "the power of the Gospel" describe your salvation experience? Reflect Salvation is the result of a process, a series of God-ordained events; the righteousness of God is revealed, as one hears the Gospel, and it flows from the faith-response of the one being saved (one's initial child-like trusting faith). Share When have you observed the process of salvation unfolding in someones life? Faith in Action Prayer: Ask the Holy Spirit to you which of the elements of God's "condemnation of the unrighteous" may be part of your life. Action: Today I will join with my prayer-partner to pray that I may quickly remove that which the Holy Spirit has revealed from my life. Permanently. Be Specific ______________________________________________________ Tuesday's text will be: Romans 2 -- Draw nearer to the Lord and He will bless you, Have an http://Ultrafidian.com Day! David M. Colburn, DMin. MaCo ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Savannah-Statesboro needs a Bible College/Seminary! Personal Site: http://bibleseven.com Bible Resources: http://bible.org Teacher's Verse: John 7:16 I don't google I SEARCH! Yippy.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dcolburn at bibleseven.com Mon Nov 14 18:55:24 2011 From: dcolburn at bibleseven.com (dcolburn at bibleseven.com) Date: Mon, 14 Nov 2011 18:55:24 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] Tuesday - Romans 2 Message-ID: <4EC1AA6C.9060002@bibleseven.com> Tuesday Romans 2 The Condemnation of the Moralist 2:1 Therefore you are without excuse, whoever you are, when you judge someone else. For on whatever grounds you judge another, you condemn yourself, because you who judge practice the same things. 2:2 Now we know that God's judgment is in accordance with truth against those who practice such things. 2:3 And do you think, whoever you are, when you judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself, that you will escape God's judgment? 2:4 Or do you have contempt for the wealth of his kindness, forbearance, and patience, and yet do not know that God's kindness leads you to repentance? 2:5 But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath for yourselves in the day of wrath, when God's righteous judgment is revealed! 2:6 He /*will*//**//*reward*/ /*each*//**//*one*//**//*according*//**//*to*//**//*his*//**//*works*/: 2:7 eternal life to those who by perseverance in good works seek glory and honor and immortality, 2:8 but wrath and anger to those who live in selfish ambition and do not obey the truth but follow unrighteousness. 2:9 There will be affliction and distress on everyone who does evil, on the Jew first and also the Greek, 2:10 but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, for the Jew first and also the Greek. 2:11 For there is no partiality with God. 2:12 For all who have sinned apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. 2:13 For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous before God, but those who do the law will be declared righteous. 2:14 For whenever the Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature the things required by the law, these who do not have the law are a law to themselves. 2:15 They show that the work of the law is written in their hearts, as their conscience bears witness and their conflicting thoughts accuse or else defend them, 2:16 on the day when God will judge the secrets of human hearts, according to my gospel through Christ Jesus. The Condemnation of the Jew 2:17 But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast of your relationship to God 2:18 and know his will and approve the superior things because you receive instruction from the law, 2:19 and if you are convinced that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, 2:20 an educator of the senseless, a teacher of little children, because you have in the law the essential features of knowledge and of the truth -- 2:21 therefore you who teach someone else, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? 2:22 You who tell others not to commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? 2:23 You who boast in the law dishonor God by transgressing the law! 2:24 For just as it is written, "/*the*//**//*name*//**//*of*//**//*God*//**//*is*//**//*being*//**//*blasphemed*//**//*among*//**//*the*//**//*Gentiles*//**//*because*//**//*of*//**//*you*/." 2:25 For circumcision has its value if you practice the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. 2:26 Therefore if the uncircumcised man obeys the righteous requirements of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? 2:27 And will not the physically uncircumcised man who keeps the law judge you who, despite the written code and circumcision, transgress the law? 2:28 For a person is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision something that is outward in the flesh, 2:29 but someone is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is of the heart by the Spirit and not by the written code. This person's praise is not from people but from God. Prayer Lord, You have blessed us with Your divine kindness, forbearance, and patience. May I share Your gifts with others, being kind, refrain from reacting to difficult people, and patient. Summary & Commentary Paul described God's condemnation of the moralist, observing that all have fallen short of God's righteousness so that all who judge and condemn others are judged and condemned by the same standard of righteousness. Only God is a sinless judge. Paul provided a partial list of the unrighteous practices which condemn the moralist: * contempt for the wealth of God's kindness * contempt for the wealth of God's forbearance * contempt for the wealth of God's patience He observed that God's kindness leads one to repentance [turning away from sin] and stubbornness and an unrepentant heart "stores up wrath" ... "in the day of wrath". In the day of wrath "God will reveal and reward each one according to his works": * eternal life to the one who perseveres in good works * wrath and anger for those who live in selfish ambition and unrighteousness * affliction and distress will come to those who do evil * a legal standard of judgment will be applied to those who know the law (Jews) * a "conscience" standard will be applied to those unaware of the law (Gentiles) Paul reminded the Jews that nothing they do for righteousness under the law will compensate for hypocritical violations of the law. Paul used the term "circumcision of the heart" to describe Jew and Gentile alike who have surrendered to the Holy Spirit and who have been permanently changed, marked for Christ. Interaction Consider The consequences of contempt for the wealth of God's kindness, the wealth of God's forbearance, or the wealth of God's patience. Discuss What is the difference between "judging", pretending to be God and to know the spirit - and imagining that one does so without sin of their own, and "discernment", which is the recognition of sin in others without holding oneself as better than others? Reflect Consider the imagery and practical application implied by Paul's phrase "circumcision of the heart". Share When have you found someone unusually difficult to bear, wanted to react badly, but were restrained by the Holy Spirit within? Faith in Action Prayer: Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to me the difference between "judging" and "discerning" in my attitude toward others and one specific case where I practice more of a "judging" than a "discerning" attitude. Action: Today I will I will repent [turn away from] my non-Biblical "judging", I will request and receive the Lord God's forgiveness, and then I will replace it as-is-appropriate with discernment. Be Specific ______________________________________________________ Wednesday's text will be: Romans 3 -- Draw nearer to the Lord and He will bless you, Have an http://Ultrafidian.com Day! David M. Colburn, DMin. MaCo ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Savannah-Statesboro needs a Bible College/Seminary! Personal Site: http://bibleseven.com Bible Resources: http://bible.org Teacher's Verse: John 7:16 I don't google I SEARCH! Yippy.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From fmiller at lightlink.com Tue Nov 15 13:33:30 2011 From: fmiller at lightlink.com (Fred A. Miller) Date: Tue, 15 Nov 2011 13:33:30 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] Where Linux crushes Windows like a bug Message-ID: <4EC2B07A.1010105@lightlink.com> Where Linux crushes Windows like a bug: Supercomputers Linux is tiny on desktops, powerful on servers, mighty on Web servers, and rules over all on supercomputers. READ FULL STORY | SHARE ON FACEBOOK -- Remember: Ban-Control-Take Over are the hallmarks of the "New"Democrats and old Communists so buy brass and lead instead of gold. - Bob Roller -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From fmiller at lightlink.com Tue Nov 15 13:41:30 2011 From: fmiller at lightlink.com (Fred A. Miller) Date: Tue, 15 Nov 2011 13:41:30 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] Breakfast with my Granddaughter Message-ID: <4EC2B25A.1030802@lightlink.com> I was eating breakfast with my 13-year-old granddaughter and I asked her, "What day is the 20^th of February?" She said "It's President's Day!" She is a smart kid. I asked "What does President's Day mean?" I was waiting for something about Washington or Lincoln... etc. She replied, "President's Day is when Obama steps out of the White House, and if he sees his shadow we have one more year of unemployment." You know, it hurts when hot coffee spurts out your nose. -- Remember: Ban-Control-Take Over are the hallmarks of the "New"Democrats and old Communists so buy brass and lead instead of gold. - Bob Roller -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dcolburn at bibleseven.com Tue Nov 15 21:14:13 2011 From: dcolburn at bibleseven.com (dcolburn at bibleseven.com) Date: Tue, 15 Nov 2011 21:14:13 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] Wednesday - Romans 3 Message-ID: <4EC31C75.6090706@bibleseven.com> Wednesday Romans 3 3:1 Therefore what advantage does the Jew have, or what is the value of circumcision? 3:2 Actually, there are many advantages. First of all, the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God. 3:3 What then? If some did not believe, does their unbelief nullify the faithfulness of God? 3:4 Absolutely not! Let God be proven true, and every human being shown up as a liar, just as it is written: "/*so that you will be justified*/ /*in your words and will prevail when you are judged*/." 3:5 But if our unrighteousness demonstrates the righteousness of God, what shall we say? The God who inflicts wrath is not unrighteous, is he? (I am speaking in human terms.) 3:6 Absolutely not! For otherwise how could God judge the world? 3:7 For if by my lie the truth of God enhances his glory, why am I still actually being judged as a sinner? 3:8 And why not say, "Let us do evil so that good may come of it"? -- as some who slander us allege that we say. (Their condemnation is deserved!) The Condemnation of the World 3:9 What then? Are we better off? Certainly not, for we have already charged that Jews and Greeks alike are all under sin, 3:10 just as it is written: "/*There*//**//*is*//**//*no*//**//*one*//**//*righteous*//,////*not*//**//*even*//**//*one*//,/ 3:11 /*there*//**//*is*//**//*no*//**//*one*//**//*who*//**//*understands*//,///*there****is****no****one****who****seeks****God*. 3:12 /*All*//**//*have*//**//*turned*//**//*away*//,///together they have become worthless; /*there*//**//*is*//**//*no*//**//*one*//**//*who*//**//*shows*//**//*kindness*//,////*not*//**//*even*//**//*one.*/" 3:13 "/*Their*//**//*throats*//**//*are*//**//*open*//**//*graves*//,///*they****deceive****with****their****tongues*, /*the*//**//*poison*//**//*of*//**//*asps*//**//*is*//**//*under*//**//*their*//**//*lips*//./" 3:14 "/*Their*//**//*mouths*//**//*are*/ /*full*//**//*of*//**//*cursing*//**//*and*//**//*bitterness*//./" 3:15 "/*Their*//**//*feet*//**//*are*//**//*swift*//**//*to*//**//*shed*//**//*blood*//,/ 3:16 /*ruin*//**//*and*//**//*misery*//**//*are*//**//*in*//**//*their*//**//*paths*//,/ 3:17 /*and*//**//*the*//**//*way*//**//*of*//**//*peace*//**//*they*//**//*have*//**//*not*//**//*known*//./" 3:18 "/*There*//**//*is*//**//*no*//**//*fear*//**//*of*//**//*God*//**//*before*//**//*their*//**//*eyes*//./" 3:19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world may be held accountable to God. 3:20 For /no////one////is////declared////righteous////before////him/ by the works of the law, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin. 3:21 But now apart from the law the righteousness of God (which is attested by the law and the prophets) has been disclosed -- 3:22 namely, the righteousness of God through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction, 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. 3:24 But they are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. 3:25 God publicly displayed him at his death as the mercy seat accessible through faith. This was to demonstrate his righteousness, because God in his forbearance had passed over the sins previously committed. 3:26 This was also to demonstrate his righteousness in the present time, so that he would be just and the justifier of the one who lives because of Jesus' faithfulness. 3:27 Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded! By what principle? Of works? No, but by the principle of faith! 3:28 For we consider that a person is declared righteous by faith apart from the works of the law. 3:29 Or is God the God of the Jews only? Is he not the God of the Gentiles too? Yes, of the Gentiles too! 3:30 Since God is one, he will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. 3:31 Do we then nullify the law through faith? Absolutely not! Instead we uphold the law. Prayer Lord, You made a way just as You promised in the Garden of Eden, and You also opened the door of opportunity Jew and Gentile, male and female, old and young. May I be forever grateful for what You have done. Summary & Commentary Paul continued to challenge the Jews to understand that the failure of some Jews does not say anything about the righteousness of God Who entrusted them with "the oracles of God"; He is perfectly righteous and rebellion only defines the rebel. Paul explained the condemnation of the fallen world, saying that the perfect law of God proves the imperfection of all before a perfect God. Through the faith of the believer God fulfills the law which requires absolute dependence upon God and nothing else. All are convicted by the law. All may be justified by the sacrifice of Christ. Christ fulfilled the requirement of the law for a perfect and pure sacrifice. Interaction Consider Observe the Grand Canyon-like chasm between fallen and God, man defined by imperfection and willful rebellion, God defined by His perfection. Discuss Isn't it amazing that the Lord God's love conquered all, even death, and that He chooses to pursue us for an eternal relationship with Him? Reflect How interesting to this perfect God Who provides a way through Christ for imperfect and rebellious man to accept His gift and to be restored to the original Edenic plan for eternal relationship. Share When have you stopped and reflected and prayed about the amazing gift of love from God? Faith in Action Prayer: Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you an opportunity to take some time to truly celebrate the amazing gift of the Lord God. Action: Today I will join a fellow believer in a heartfelt celebration of thankfulness for God's loving provision of a path to redemption. Be Specific ______________________________________________________ Thursday's text will be: Romans 4 -- Draw nearer to the Lord and He will bless you, Have an http://Ultrafidian.com Day! David M. Colburn, DMin. MaCo ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Savannah-Statesboro needs a Bible College/Seminary! Personal Site: http://bibleseven.com Bible Resources: http://bible.org Teacher's Verse: John 7:16 I don't google I SEARCH! Yippy.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dcolburn at bibleseven.com Wed Nov 16 21:34:09 2011 From: dcolburn at bibleseven.com (dcolburn at bibleseven.com) Date: Wed, 16 Nov 2011 21:34:09 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] Thursday - Romans 4 Message-ID: <4EC472A1.7000909@bibleseven.com> Thursday Romans 4 The Illustration of Justification 4:1 What then shall we say that Abraham, our ancestor according to the flesh, has discovered regarding this matter? 4:2 For if Abraham was declared righteous by the works of the law, he has something to boast about -- but not before God. 4:3 For what does the scripture say? "/*Abraham believed God*//, //*and it was credited*/ /*to him as righteousness*/." 4:4 Now to the one who works, his pay is not credited due to grace but due to obligation. 4:5 But to the one who does not work, but believes in the one who declares the ungodly righteous, his faith is credited as righteousness. 4:6 So even David himself speaks regarding the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: 4:7 "/*Blessed*/ /*are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered;*/ 4:8 /*blessed is the one*/ /*against whom the Lord will never count*/ /*sin*//./" 4:9 Is this blessedness then for the circumcision or also for the uncircumcision? For we say, "/faith //*was credited to*//Abraham //*as righteousness*/." 4:10 How then was it credited to him? Was he circumcised at the time, or not? No, he was not circumcised but uncircumcised! 4:11 And he received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised, so that he would become the father of all those who believe but have never been circumcised, that they too could have righteousness credited to them. 4:12 And he is also the father of the circumcised, who are not only circumcised, but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham possessed when he was still uncircumcised. 4:13 For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would inherit the world was not fulfilled through the law, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. 4:14 For if they become heirs by the law, faith is empty and the promise is nullified. 4:15 For the law brings wrath, because where there is no law there is no transgression either. 4:16 For this reason it is by faith so that it may be by grace, with the result that the promise may be certain to all the descendants -- not only to those who are under the law, but also to those who have the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all 4:17 (as it is written, "/*I have made you the father of many nations*/"). He is our father in the presence of God whom he believed -- the God who makes the dead alive and summons the things that do not yet exist as though they already do. 4:18 Against hope Abraham believed in hope with the result that he became /*the*/**/*father of many nations*/ according to the pronouncement, "/*so will your descendants be*/." 4:19 Without being weak in faith, he considered his own body as dead (because he was about one hundred years old) and the deadness of Sarah's womb. 4:20 He did not waver in unbelief about the promise of God but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God. 4:21 He was fully convinced that what God promised he was also able to do. 4:22 So indeed it was credited to Abraham as righteousness. 4:23 But the statement /*it was credited to him*/ was not written only for Abraham's sake, 4:24 but also for our sake, to whom it will be credited, those who believe in the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. 4:25 He was given over because of our transgressions and was raised for the sake of our justification. Prayer Lord, You inspired David to observe that it would be a blessing for one who behaved in a "lawless" manner and who sinned to be the beneficiary of Your grace, rather than the law. May I remember that it is Your mercy that has allowed me to not suffer eternal punishment for lawlessness and sin and to therefore seek righteousness and avoid lawlessness and sin. Summary & Commentary Abraham was saved by faith, if he were saved by works God would have an obligation to him for having completed some sort of righteousness-earning task, but it was purely grace in return for his belief in God. David noted that the Lord blesses by removing the eternal conviction-of-death-from-sin and Paul reminded the reader that this has nothing to do with religious ritual like circumcision since David was referring to Abraham and he was saved-by-faith before he was circumcised. Paul also reminded that Abraham was promised that he would be the "father of many nations" while he and Sarah were still childless and he was elderly - indicating that everything involved with salvation would be unrelated to works, ritual, or any single nationality. He concluded that saving-faith was for "... those who believe in the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was given over because of our transgressions and was raised for the sake of our justification." Interaction Consider What a tragedy that man's distortions of God's word had led to such a heresy as to believe in any form of works-righteousness. Discuss Isn't freedom from works amazing? It does not come from membership in a man-made religious organization or nationality or race or gender. It liberates a person to simply love God and to receive His blessing and gifts and mission for life, undistorted by imperfect humans. Reflect Freedom comes from understanding that salvation is through faith-alone and not works. Share When have you experienced or observed confusion as to saved-by-faith-not-works versus saved-by-faith-plus-works? Faith in Action Prayer: Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you any moments in your life where you doubt your salvation and that I turn to any form of works-righteousness to try to justify myself before God. Action: Today I will ask a fellow believer to pray in agreement to purge the lie of doubt and/or works-righteousness from my life so that I may trust and worship God-alone. Be Specific ______________________________________________________ Friday's text will be: Romans 5 -- Draw nearer to the Lord and He will bless you, Have an http://Ultrafidian.com Day! David M. Colburn, DMin. MaCo ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Savannah-Statesboro needs a Bible College/Seminary! Personal Site: http://bibleseven.com Bible Resources: http://bible.org Teacher's Verse: John 7:16 I don't google I SEARCH! Yippy.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dcolburn at bibleseven.com Thu Nov 17 21:52:36 2011 From: dcolburn at bibleseven.com (dcolburn at bibleseven.com) Date: Thu, 17 Nov 2011 21:52:36 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] Friday - Romans 5 Message-ID: <4EC5C874.7000207@bibleseven.com> Friday Romans 5 5:1 The Expectation of Justification Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 5:2 through whom we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in the hope of God's glory. 5:3 Not only this, but we also rejoice in sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 5:4 and endurance, character, and character, hope. 5:5 And hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. 5:6 For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 5:7 (For rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person perhaps someone might possibly dare to die.) 5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 5:9 Much more then, because we have now been declared righteous by his blood, we will be saved through him from God's wrath. 5:10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, how much more, since we have been reconciled, will we be saved by his life? 5:11 Not only this, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received this reconciliation. The Amplification of Justification 5:12 So then, just as sin entered the world through one man and death through sin, and so death spread to all people because all sinned -- 5:13 for before the law was given, sin was in the world, but there is no accounting for sin when there is no law. 5:14 Yet death reigned from Adam until Moses even over those who did not sin in the same way that Adam (who is a type of the coming one) transgressed. 5:15 But the gracious gift is not like the transgression. For if the many died through the transgression of the one man, how much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one man Jesus Christ multiply to the many! 5:16 And the gift is not like the one who sinned. For judgment, resulting from the one transgression, led to condemnation, but the gracious gift from the many failures led to justification. 5:17 For if, by the transgression of the one man, death reigned through the one, how much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one, Jesus Christ! 5:18 Consequently, just as condemnation for all people came through one transgression, so too through the one righteous act came righteousness leading to life for all people. 5:19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of one man many will be made righteous. 5:20 Now the law came in so that the transgression may increase, but where sin increased, grace multiplied all the more, 5:21 so that just as sin reigned in death, so also grace will reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Prayer Lord, You provided the Law so that humankind could see why there was a breach in our relationship with You and what it was costing us, so that we then could recognize why it was such an amazing miracle when You sacrificed to make salvation- powered-righteousness available to us. May I recognize that Your grace is already sufficient for every transgression, that every new transgression only testifies to the magnitude of Your Grace, and that righteousness rather than transgression is the best statement of gratitude. Summary & Commentary Paul explained that our expectation of justification is because through faith Jesus became our advocate so that at the Final Judgment the Enemy accuses and Jesus speaks up for us - declaring our justification for perfection because He "did our time". Paul also explained the power and purpose of the knowledge of our salvation: * We may rejoice when we suffer for our faith. * Because we know that in that suffering we learn endurance * Because we know that endurance builds character * Because we know that character testifies to hope * Because we know that hope, rightly focused on God-alone, never disappoints * And as a result God finds us useful vessels through which He pours out His love Paul also addressed the amplification of justification, how how the sin of Adam spread to all of his descendants, and the grace from the sacrifice of Jesus multiplies back to believers beyond mere life but into eternity. Interaction Consider There is a long list of reasons that God should never allow you into His perfect and forever sin-free Heaven. Contemplate how great is the love that set you free of that. Discuss How does understanding the power and purpose of the knowledge of our salvation give us something of value to which to we may cling when the challenges of life in a fallen world bring suffering? Reflect There is an important contrast between the Enemy and Jesus. The Enemy is Prince of this world (because of the Fall of Adam and Eve) and it will last for only a little while. His kingdom is also imperfect and temporary. The kingdom of Jesus is perfect and will be eternal, because He made it possible though His own grace and power. Share When have you felt overwhelmed by the world for a time and it was only your assurance of salvation that gave you the strength to remain hopeful and to make it through? Faith in Action Prayer: Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to me any lie that may rest in a confused place in my heart that anything I have ever done, or that has been done to me, can ever overwhelm the God of all Creation - when He says I am free and I am promised Heaven. Action: Today I will share Paul's stages for understanding the power and purpose of the knowledge of our salvation with someone who is struggling with suffering and together we will pray for hope. Be Specific ______________________________________________________ Saturday's text will be: Romans 6 -- Draw nearer to the Lord and He will bless you, Have an http://Ultrafidian.com Day! David M. Colburn, DMin. MaCo ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Savannah-Statesboro needs a Bible College/Seminary! Personal Site: http://bibleseven.com Bible Resources: http://bible.org Teacher's Verse: John 7:16 I don't google I SEARCH! Yippy.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dcolburn at bibleseven.com Fri Nov 18 23:37:26 2011 From: dcolburn at bibleseven.com (dcolburn at bibleseven.com) Date: Fri, 18 Nov 2011 23:37:26 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] Saturday - Romans 6 Message-ID: <4EC73286.9010702@bibleseven.com> Saturday Romans 6 The Believer's Freedom from Sin's Domination 6:1 What shall we say then? Are we to remain in sin so that grace may increase? 6:2 Absolutely not! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 6:3 Or do you not know that as many as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 6:4 Therefore we have been buried with him through baptism into death, in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too may live a new life. 6:5 For if we have become united with him in the likeness of his death, we will certainly also be united in the likeness of his resurrection. 6:6 We know that our old man was crucified with him so that the body of sin would no longer dominate us, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 6:7 (For someone who has died has been freed from sin.) 6:8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 6:9 We know that since Christ has been raised from the dead, he is never going to die again; death no longer has mastery over him. 6:10 For the death he died, he died to sin once for all, but the life he lives, he lives to God. 6:11 So you too consider yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 6:12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its desires, 6:13 and do not present your members to sin as instruments to be used for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who are alive from the dead and your members to God as instruments to be used for righteousness. 6:14 For sin will have no mastery over you, because you are not under law but under grace. The Believer's Enslavement to God's Righteousness 6:15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Absolutely not! 6:16 Do you not know that if you present yourselves as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or obedience resulting in righteousness? 6:17 But thanks be to God that though you were slaves to sin, you obeyed from the heart that pattern of teaching you were entrusted to, 6:18 and having been freed from sin, you became enslaved to righteousness. 6:19 (I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh.) For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification. 6:20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free with regard to righteousness. 6:21 So what benefit did you then reap from those things that you are now ashamed of? For the end of those things is death. 6:22 But now, freed from sin and enslaved to God, you have your benefit leading to sanctification, and the end is eternal life. 6:23 For the payoff of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Prayer Lord, You made the way for our salvation, setting us free from the slavery of sin, liberating us into a freely-chosen slavery to righteousness. May I not allow my still-fallen flesh to pollute my eternally-saved spirit of righteousness. Summary & Commentary Paul reflected back on Romans 5 long enough to remind us that the grace of Jesus covers sins of all kinds. He trusted us to remember the teaching of Solomon that there is "nothing new under the sun", therefore, once-saved no sin we commit now is "new" to the entirety o sin for which Jesus the Christ died and therefore it cannot add anything to the grace-over-sin completed work of Christ Jesus. The unsaved person not only cannot without-Christ overcome the power of sin which controls their lives, they also cannot without-Christ overcome the power of sin to control their eternity, they must accept His gift in order to be free. Paul explained that the believer has freedom from sin's domination, but he or she must recognize and then act upon that freedom - pressing away the things of this temporary world which try to drag us down - choosing instead to stay on the path toward ever-increasing righteousness. The believer's enslavement to God's righteousness replaces their prior-to-salvation slavery to sin. The believer has not only the power, through the indwelling Holy Spirit, to resist sin -- they have an implicit obligation to partner with the Holy Spirit to resist sin. Interaction Consider Paul's challenge was "... do not present your members to sin as instruments to be used for unrighteousness ... now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification." Discuss What are some ways that you were enslaved by sin prior to salvation? Reflect There are many ways that the power of your salvation has set you free from the power of sin. Share When have you observed the external evidence of freedom-from-sin in the life of a new believer? Faith in Action Prayer: Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you at least one area of your life where you need to surrender more to His Lordship so that you may pursue righteousness rather than allow your still-fallen flesh to drag you into sin. Action: Today I will thank Jesus for setting me free. I will ask a fellow believer to pray in agreement with me as I partner with God in breaking free in the flesh the same way that He set me free in my eternal spiritual self. Be Specific ______________________________________________________ Sundays text will be: Romans 7 -- Draw nearer to the Lord and He will bless you, Have an http://Ultrafidian.com Day! David M. Colburn, DMin. MaCo ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Savannah-Statesboro needs a Bible College/Seminary! Personal Site: http://bibleseven.com Bible Resources: http://bible.org Teacher's Verse: John 7:16 I don't google I SEARCH! Yippy.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dcolburn at bibleseven.com Sat Nov 19 21:04:12 2011 From: dcolburn at bibleseven.com (dcolburn at bibleseven.com) Date: Sat, 19 Nov 2011 21:04:12 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] Sunday - Romans 7 Message-ID: <4EC8601C.5000909@bibleseven.com> Sunday Romans 7 The Believer's Relationship to the Law 7:1 Or do you not know, brothers and sisters (for I am speaking to those who know the law), that the law is lord over a person as long as he lives? 7:2 For a married woman is bound by law to her husband as long as he lives, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law of the marriage. 7:3 So then, if she is joined to another man while her husband is alive, she will be called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, and if she is joined to another man, she is not an adulteress. 7:4 So, my brothers and sisters, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you could be joined to another, to the one who was raised from the dead, to bear fruit to God. 7:5 For when we were in the flesh, the sinful desires, aroused by the law, were active in the members of our body to bear fruit for death. 7:6 But now we have been released from the law, because we have died to what controlled us, so that we may serve in the new life of the Spirit and not under the old written code. 7:7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Absolutely not! Certainly, I would not have known sin except through the law. For indeed I would not have known what it means to desire something belonging to someone else if the law had not said, "/*Do not covet*/." 7:8 But sin, seizing the opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of wrong desires. For apart from the law, sin is dead. 7:9 And I was once alive apart from the law, but with the coming of the commandment sin became alive 7:10 and I died. So I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life brought death! 7:11 For sin, seizing the opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it I died. 7:12 So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous, and good. 7:13 Did that which is good, then, become death to me? Absolutely not! But sin, so that it would be shown to be sin, produced death in me through what is good, so that through the commandment sin would become utterly sinful. 7:14 For we know that the law is spiritual -- but I am unspiritual, sold into slavery to sin. 7:15 For I don't understand what I am doing. For I do not do what I want -- instead, I do what I hate. 7:16 But if I do what I don't want, I agree that the law is good. 7:17 But now it is no longer me doing it, but sin that lives in me. 7:18 For I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh. For I want to do the good, but I cannot do it. 7:19 For I do not do the good I want, but I do the very evil I do not want! 7:20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer me doing it but sin that lives in me. 7:21 So, I find the law that when I want to do good, evil is present with me. 7:22 For I delight in the law of God in my inner being. 7:23 But I see a different law in my members waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that is in my members. 7:24 Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 7:25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin. Prayer Lord, Your grace separates us from the deadly consequence of sin, yet You call us to a higher-standard -- that of who we have become because of Whose we have become. May I honor Your grace with a life focused on You and not on my worldly flesh. Summary & Commentary Since the Fall in the Garden of Eden all of Creation, most-relevant to this study -- humankind -- dwells apart from relationship with the Lord God. All is doomed to an imperfect and meaningless death, together with the "prince of the earth", Satan. This is because nothing imperfect may enter Heaven and the presence of the perfectly-holy Lord God, because all imperfection is sin, and because everything apart from the Lord is worthless. The law did not create sin, it defined it more-clearly and it made its commission an unavoidably- volitional rather than a somewhat non-volitional act, as well as a volitional act that is intentionally- rebellious because it breaches the clear boundaries set by the Lord God. Paul explained that the Law sets boundaries in our temporary earthly existence; he used the example of a married person who is -- according to the law - not allowed to abandon their spouse and to marry another while that spouse is alive, for they were bonded together for life. He then noted that our salvation sets us free from the bond we have to sin so that we may become the family of Christ in emotional, intellectual, physical, and spiritual harmony. [Note: It was not Paul's intent to teach in any comprehensive way the Biblical approach to marriage, divorce, and remarriage here any more than Jesus was teaching about fishing or gardening when He used those as teaching illustrations. He did not intend to teach that only a woman is bound by that law, nor did he intend that one abandoned by a spouse who remarries is bound to remain single. He was simply using an available illustration -- and as is true of all such illustrations when extrapolated too-far apart from the intended purpose -- it fails.] Paul continued to teach that because sin no longer controls us [in an eternal sense] the Law is no longer necessary to convict us of sin to preserve us for salvation; however, our temporary bodies remain enslaved to sin and the Law becomes a tool of the Holy Spirit to convict us of that sin so that we may partner with the Holy Spirit to press it away. Interaction Consider The Lord God brought clarity to the ancient and primitive Israelites, and to us, so that we may plainly know when we are doing that which offends Him. Discuss What are some specific ways that the Law is used by the Holy Spirit to help us to discern when our temporary physical bodies are drifting into in, such as cheating, coveting, gossip, hatred, idolatry, jealousy, lying, stealing, etc? Reflect The law made it impossible for any to pretend that the boundary between good and evil and right and wrong could not be readily known. Share When have you been confronted with the challenge of worldly temptation and found the answer to where you must draw the line in the clear teaching of the law? Faith in Action Prayer: Ask the Holy Spirit to reminded you of the Lord God's Law "You shall not ..." in some area where you are drifting into sin. Action: Today I will ask a fellow believer to pray in-agreement with me as I press-away that fleshly desire in this world which is leading me away from righteousness as the law defines it. Be Specific ______________________________________________________ Monday's text will be: Romans 8 -- Draw nearer to the Lord and He will bless you, Have an http://Ultrafidian.com Day! David M. Colburn, DMin. MaCo ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Savannah-Statesboro needs a Bible College/Seminary! Personal Site: http://bibleseven.com Bible Resources: http://bible.org Teacher's Verse: John 7:16 I don't google I SEARCH! Yippy.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dcolburn at bibleseven.com Sun Nov 20 21:01:37 2011 From: dcolburn at bibleseven.com (dcolburn at bibleseven.com) Date: Sun, 20 Nov 2011 21:01:37 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] Monday - Romans 8:1-30 Message-ID: <4EC9B101.8060705@bibleseven.com> Monday Romans 8:1-30 The Believer's Relationship to the Holy Spirit 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 8:2 For the law of the life-giving Spirit in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death. 8:3 For God achieved what the law could not do because it was weakened through the flesh. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and concerning sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 8:4 so that the righteous requirement of the law may be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 8:5 For those who live according to the flesh have their outlook shaped by the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit have their outlook shaped by the things of the Spirit. 8:6 For the outlook of the flesh is death, but the outlook of the Spirit is life and peace, 8:7 because the outlook of the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to the law of God, nor is it able to do so. 8:8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. 8:9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, this person does not belong to him. 8:10 But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is your life because of righteousness. 8:11 Moreover if the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will also make your mortal bodies alive through his Spirit who lives in you. 8:12 So then, brothers and sisters, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh 8:13 (for if you live according to the flesh, you will die), but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body you will live. 8:14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God. 8:15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery leading again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry, "Abba, Father." 8:16 The Spirit himself bears witness to our spirit that we are God's children. 8:17 And if children, then heirs (namely, heirs of God and also fellow heirs with Christ) -- if indeed we suffer with him so we may also be glorified with him. 8:18 For I consider that our present sufferings cannot even be compared to the glory that will be revealed to us. 8:19 For the creation eagerly waits for the revelation of the sons of God. 8:20 For the creation was subjected to futility -- not willingly but because of God who subjected it -- in hope 8:21 that the creation itself will also be set free from the bondage of decay into the glorious freedom of God's children. 8:22 For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers together until now. 8:23 Not only this, but we ourselves also, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we eagerly await our adoption, the redemption of our bodies. 8:24 For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope, because who hopes for what he sees? 8:25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with endurance. 8:26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how we should pray, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with inexpressible groanings. 8:27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes on behalf of the saints according to God's will. 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose, 8:29 because those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 8:30 And those he predestined, he also called; and those he called, he also justified; and those he justified, he also glorified. Prayer Lord, You made a way for us to be set free from the death of sin due to our fallen-flesh, You offered us this free gift, and when we accepted You indwelt us with Your Holy Spirit. May I be grateful beyond-measure for Your incredible gift and for Your indwelling assurance of my salvation. Summary & Commentary Paul revisited his teaching that a believer's freedom from eternal condemnation for sin was necessary because their flesh was imperfect and prone to sin. He noted that at-salvation the Holy Spirit indwelt every believer such that no-one is saved unless they have the indwelling Holy Spirit. [Note: This is why "... the baptism of John" was insufficient.] Paul then described the believer's relationship to the Holy Spirit; where we once were fear-controlled slaves to sin we became joy-filled adopted-children of the eternal family of God. Paul listed several specific ways that we are blessed by the presence of the Holy Spirit: * The Holy Spirit intercedes as He hears the "groanings" of our hearts * The Holy Spirit replaces our former spirit of fear with one of hope * The Holy Spirit takes things that the Enemy means for evil and turns them to good * The Holy Spirit helps us to resist the temptations of the flesh * The Holy Spirit leads us towards righteous choices Interaction Consider "... if the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will also make your mortal bodies alive through his Spirit who lives in you." Discuss How do the elements of Paul's list of the blessings of the indwelling Holy Spirit apply to your walk with God? Reflect The Lord God's consistency begins with the law that flesh-based sin means death. Jesus took the consequences of all flesh-based sin to Himself then overcame it with grace so that when we surrender and join Him we receive His redemption and flesh-based sin cannot cause us eternal death. Those who do not have Christ, and the indwelling Holy Spirit as His down-payment on Heaven, are still accountable to the law -- their flesh-based sin will bring them death. This consistency builds trust in the Lord God. Share When have you found the courage to resist flesh-based sin in the assurance of your salvation by a loving and self-sacrificing Lord God? Faith in Action Prayer: Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you one way that He has impacted your life through one of the blessings of His presence as listed by Paul. Action: Today I will share the story and then celebrate in praise and worship what He has revealed to me -- together with another believer. Be Specific ______________________________________________________ Tuesday's text will be: Romans 8:31-39 -- Draw nearer to the Lord and He will bless you, Have an http://Ultrafidian.com Day! David M. Colburn, DMin. MaCo ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Savannah-Statesboro needs a Bible College/Seminary! Personal Site: http://bibleseven.com Bible Resources: http://bible.org Teacher's Verse: John 7:16 I don't google I SEARCH! Yippy.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From l4c at thelinuxlink.net Mon Nov 21 09:33:52 2011 From: l4c at thelinuxlink.net (l4c) Date: Mon, 21 Nov 2011 09:33:52 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] Thanksgiving Message-ID: <4ECA6150.4000008@thelinuxlink.net> Happy Thanksgiving! Dear Family & Friends, I know that you were eager to accept our family's invitation to Thanksgiving dinner when you found out that the famous Martha Stewart would be joining us. However, due to scheduling conflicts beyond her control, Ms. Stewart finds that she is unable to grace our table this year. With that in mind, there will be a few minor changes regarding the meal and decor, as outlined below. Please be aware of them, and adjust your appetite and dress appropriately. Thank you. 1)Our driveway will not be lined with homemade, paper bag luminaries. After several trial runs and two visits from the fire department, it was decided that, no matter how cleverly done, rows of flaming lunch sacks do not have the desired welcoming effect. 2)Once inside, please note that the entry space will not be decorated with swags of Indian corn and fall foliage. Instead, we included our dog in decorating by having him track in colorful autumn leaves from the back yard. The mud was his idea. 3)The dining table will not be covered with expensive linens, fancy China, or crystal goblets. If possible, we will use dishes that match and everyone will get a fork. Since this is Thanksgiving, we will refrain from using the paper Sponge Bob dinner plates, the leftover Halloween napkins, and our plastic cup collection. 4)Our centerpiece will not be a tower of fresh fruit and flowers. Instead we will be proudly displaying a hedgehog-like decoration hand-crafted from the finest construction paper and pine cones. The artist assures me it is a turkey, albeit one without wings, legs, or a beak. 5)We will be dining somewhat later than planned. However, our daughter will entertain you while you wait. I'm sure she will be happy to share every choice comment her mother made regarding Thanksgiving, pilgrims, stuffing choices, the turkey hotline, and, especially, her husband. Please remember that most of these comments were made at 7:00AM upon discovering that said husband had only remembered to pull the turkey from the freezer at 6:00 AM, and that the thing was still hard enough to cut diamonds. 6)As an accompaniment to our daughter's recital of these events, I will play a recording of Native American tribal drumming. Curiously, the tribal drumming sounds a great deal like a frozen turkey in a clothes dryer, but that only enhances the holiday appropriateness. If our daughter should mention that we don't own a recording of Native American tribal drumming, ignore her. She's only nine; what does she know? 7)A dainty silver bell will not be rung to announce the start of our feast. We have chosen to keep our traditional method of assembling when the smoke alarm goes off. 8)There will be no formal seating arrangement. When the smoke alarm sounds, please gather around the table and sit where you like. In the spirit of harmony, we will ask all the children to sit at a separate table. In a separate room. Next door. And I would like to take this opportunity to remind our younger diners that "passing the rolls" is neither a football play nor an excuse to bean your cousin in the head with bread. 9)The turkey will not be carved at the table. I know you have seen the Norman Rockwell image of one person carving a turkey in front of a crowd of appreciative onlookers. Such a scene may occur somewhere in America , but it won't be happening at our dinner table. For safety reasons, the turkey will be carved in the kitchen at a private ceremony. I stress "private", meaning Do not, under any circumstances, enter the kitchen to laugh at me. Do not send small, unsuspecting children, or older, helpful grandparents into the kitchen to check on my progress. I have a very large, very sharp knife. The turkey is unarmed. It stands to reason that I will eventually win the battle. When I do, we will eat. 10)For the duration of the meal, we will refer to the gravy by its lesser-known name: Kraft Cheese Sauce. If a young diner questions you regarding the origins or makeup of the Kraft Cheese Sauce, smile kindly and say that you know the answer, but it's a secret that can't be revealed to them until they are 18. 11)Instead of offering a choice among 12 different scrumptious desserts, we will be serving the traditional pumpkin pie, garnished with whipped cream and dog tongue marks. You still have a choice: take it or leave it. That concludes our list of alterations. Again, I apologize that Martha will not be joining us this year. -- -Linc Fessenden In the Beginning there was nothing, which exploded - Yeah right... From webservant at trinitybclaramie.org Mon Nov 21 13:13:18 2011 From: webservant at trinitybclaramie.org (Peter B. Steiger) Date: Mon, 21 Nov 2011 11:13:18 -0700 Subject: [Linux4christians] Thanksgiving In-Reply-To: <4ECA6150.4000008@thelinuxlink.net> References: <4ECA6150.4000008@thelinuxlink.net> Message-ID: Hilarious! Just because I like making sure the original author gets credit for work the goes viral, I did a little hunting. I *think* this comes from a writer by the name of Nicole Humphrey Cook: http://nicolehumphrey.net/happy-thanksgiving-friends-and-family/ Definitely going to post this (with a link to the author's site) on Thursday :-) On Mon, Nov 21, 2011 at 7:33 AM, l4c wrote: > apologize that Martha will not be joining us this year. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From fmiller at lightlink.com Mon Nov 21 17:42:32 2011 From: fmiller at lightlink.com (Fred A. Miller) Date: Mon, 21 Nov 2011 17:42:32 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] Thanksgiving In-Reply-To: <4ECA6150.4000008@thelinuxlink.net> References: <4ECA6150.4000008@thelinuxlink.net> Message-ID: <4ECAD3D8.5090700@lightlink.com> On 11/21/2011 09:33 AM, l4c wrote: > Happy Thanksgiving! > > Dear Family & Friends, > I know that you were eager to accept our family's invitation to Thanksgiving > > dinner when you found out that the famous Martha Stewart would be > joining us. However, due to scheduling conflicts beyond her control, > Ms. Stewart finds that she is unable to grace our table this year. > With that in mind, there will be a few minor changes regarding the > meal and decor, as outlined below. Please be aware of them, and adjust > your appetite and dress appropriately. [snip] Good one....will pass on! Fred -- Remember: Ban-Control-Take Over are the hallmarks of the "New"Democrats and old Communists so buy brass and lead instead of gold. - Bob Roller -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From fmiller at lightlink.com Mon Nov 21 18:21:51 2011 From: fmiller at lightlink.com (Fred A. Miller) Date: Mon, 21 Nov 2011 18:21:51 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] Can Microsoft cure PC makers of the crapware habit? Message-ID: <4ECADD0F.2080705@lightlink.com> Can Microsoft cure PC makers of the crapware habit? It's easy for an OEM to screw up a new Windows PC. Just add enough trialware and throw in a few unnecessary programs, and the customer gets a miserable out-of-box experience. -- Remember: Ban-Control-Take Over are the hallmarks of the "New"Democrats and old Communists so buy brass and lead instead of gold. - Bob Roller -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dcolburn at bibleseven.com Mon Nov 21 21:20:29 2011 From: dcolburn at bibleseven.com (dcolburn at bibleseven.com) Date: Mon, 21 Nov 2011 21:20:29 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] Tuesday - Romans 8:31-39 Message-ID: <4ECB06ED.1040804@bibleseven.com> Tuesday Romans 8:31-39 8:31 What then shall we say about these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 8:32 Indeed, he who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all -- how will he not also, along with him, freely give us all things? 8:33 Who will bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. 8:34 Who is the one who will condemn? Christ is the one who died (and more than that, he was raised), who is at the right hand of God, and who also is interceding for us. 8:35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will trouble, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 8:36 As it is written, "/*For your sake we encounter death all day long; we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered*/." 8:37 No, in all these things we have complete victory through him who loved us! 8:38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor heavenly rulers, nor things that are present, nor things to come, nor powers, 8:39 nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Prayer Lord, You are the cause and the power that makes the gift of salvation possible, and once we belong to You we are yours forever. May I not be confused by the many extra-Biblical doctrines and rather cling to Your Word. Summary & Commentary Paul reviewed God's requirements for salvation and His power for righteous living: * Jesus, the Son of God, would be the first among many brothers and sisters * God predestined believers to be conformed to the image of Jesus [righteousness] * God, Who created time, knows the end from the beginning, knows who will be in His eternal family [Note: This is not intended to say that God caused what He knows, that would violate His declaration of a free will choice for Jesus. Knowing something does not make one the cause of it any more than God is the cause of sin because He knows - apart from the constraints of linear time - that sin will occur. Good scholarship requires that one be consistent in the application of principals in Bible study.] * Those who love God are called to His family and His ministry according to His purpose * God's standard for salvation is unchanged, those who meet it are predestined to be saved * God justifies the saved, through Christ, to protect them from the judgment * God glorifies the saved upon admission to Heaven * Nothing in the spiritual or physical world can separate us from the love of Christ Jesus [Note: Paul's purpose here is not to teach fatalism, that God predetermined who would be saved and not and then just timed their salvation with no regard for His commitment to free will, evidenced in the Garden, and repeated elsewhere. This is, instead, Paul reminding us that God's standards are high and His commitment to people of faith consistent. The One true God is never arbitrary or inconsistent.] Interaction Consider Once we, through volitional acceptance of the gift of Christ -- and our submission to His Lordship that comes with it -- belong to Him, there is no power on earth or in heaven that can separate us from Him. Discuss The terms "elect" and "predestined" have been the source of great confusion and conflict but can you see where the Lord God says that the "elect" are those who accept the gift and are then transformed from the "non-elect" and once they are among the "elect" they are "predestined to be conformed to the image of Jesus [righteousness] through the indwelling work of the Holy Spirit? Reflect The victory of the believer is not over earthly enemies, it is not over worldly imperfections (e.g. disease, loss, troubles), but it is over death-itself. The focal purpose of salvation is on eternity and not our temporary existence here on earth. Share When have you contemplated the change in you from before your intentional surrender to Jesus and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit? Faith in Action Prayer: Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you someone who is confused about "elect" and "predestined". Action: Today I will pray for the one to whom the Holy Spirit has directed me. I will respectfully offer to study these verses in Romans, and others in the B7-series, which clarify the matter of "elect", "predestination", and "free will" in a Biblically-consistent manner. Be Specific ______________________________________________________ Wednesday's text will be: Romans 9 -- Draw nearer to the Lord and He will bless you, Have an http://Ultrafidian.com Day! David M. Colburn, DMin. MaCo ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Savannah-Statesboro needs a Bible College/Seminary! Personal Site: http://bibleseven.com Bible Resources: http://bible.org Teacher's Verse: John 7:16 I don't google I SEARCH! Yippy.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dcolburn at bibleseven.com Tue Nov 22 22:03:17 2011 From: dcolburn at bibleseven.com (dcolburn at bibleseven.com) Date: Tue, 22 Nov 2011 22:03:17 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] Wednesday - Romans 9:1-29 Message-ID: <4ECC6275.9040007@bibleseven.com> Wednesday Romans 9:1-29 9:1 Israel's Rejection Considered I am telling the truth in Christ (I am not lying!), for my conscience assures me in the Holy Spirit -- 9:2 I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 9:3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed -- cut off from Christ -- for the sake of my people, my fellow countrymen, 9:4 who are Israelites. To them belong the adoption as sons, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the temple worship, and the promises. 9:5 To them belong the patriarchs, and from them, by human descent, came the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever! Amen. 9:6 It is not as though the word of God had failed. For not all those who are descended from Israel are truly Israel, 9:7 nor are all the children Abraham's true descendants; rather "/*through Isaac will your descendants be counted*/." 9:8 This means it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God; rather, the children of promise are counted as descendants. 9:9 For this is what the promise declared: "/*About a year from now*/ /*I will return and Sarah will have a son*/." 9:10 Not only that, but when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our ancestor Isaac -- 9:11 even before they were born or had done anything good or bad (so that God's purpose in election would stand, not by works but by his calling) -- 9:12 it was said to her, "/*The older will serve the younger*/," 9:13 just as it is written: "/*Jacob I loved*//, //*but Esau I hated*/." 9:14 What shall we say then? Is there injustice with God? Absolutely not! 9:15 For he says to Moses: "/*I will have mercy on whom I have mercy*//, //*and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion*/." 9:16 So then, it does not depend on human desire or exertion, but on God who shows mercy. 9:17 For the scripture says to Pharaoh: "/*For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may demonstrate my power in you*//, //*and that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth*/." 9:18 So then, God has mercy on whom he chooses to have mercy, and he hardens whom he chooses to harden. 9:19 You will say to me then, "Why does he still find fault? For who has ever resisted his will?" 9:20 But who indeed are you -- a mere human being -- to talk back to God? /*Does what is molded say to the molder*//,/ "/*Why have you made me like this?*/" 9:21 Has the potter no right to make from the same lump of clay one vessel for special use and another for ordinary use? 9:22 But what if God, willing to demonstrate his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience the objects of wrath prepared for destruction? 9:23 And what if he is willing to make known the wealth of his glory on the objects of mercy that he has prepared beforehand for glory -- 9:24 even us, whom he has called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles? 9:25 As he also says in Hosea: "/*I will call those who were not my people*//,/ '/*My people*//,/' /*and I will call her who was unloved,*/ '/*My beloved*//./'" 9:26 "/*And in the very place*/ /*where it was said to them*//,/ '/*You are not my people*//,/' /*there they will be called*/ '/*sons of the living God*//./'" 9:27 And Isaiah cries out on behalf of Israel, "/Though the number of the children/ /of Israel are as the sand of the sea/, /only the remnant will be saved/, 9:28 /for the Lord will execute his sentence on the earth completely and quickly/." 9:29 Just as Isaiah predicted, "/*If the Lord of armies*/ /*had not left us descendants*//, /*we would have become like Sodom*, and we would have resembled Gomorrah." Prayer Lord, You provided the law to the Israelites, the subset of humankind descended from Issac. The law convicted them of sin and provided a ritual-covering for them but it was never possible for them to earn salvation in their fallen-flesh through works but only through faith -- as had Abraham -- prior to the law. May I be grateful to be free from the law, to be in-Christ through faith, and be found grateful through thankfulness and righteous living. Summary & Commentary This section of Romans 9 describes the Lord God's relationship with humankind under the law. the final few verses of Romans 9 (discussed in the next section of this Study) addresses the sovereignty-altered relationship under the grace of the Cross. Paul explains God's rejection of Israel, because God's promise to God was not inclusive of all in the tribes of Israel but only a remnant - for faith not tribe - Jew and Gentile alike. Israel's repeated rejection of the God made both the nation and individuals culpable. God chooses, based on the standard described in Romans 8, whom He will bless and whom He will not and no man or tribe may correct Him. God testifies to His sovereignty from the enforcement of His holy decrees, mercy as He sees fit, hardening the already hard also as He sees fit, all according to His perfect plan. Interaction Consider Those who were born Israelites were blessed with a unique relationship with the Lord God, yet because of their generations of rebellion only a remnant was preserved, and their special earthly-relationship lost. Discuss Isn't it amazing how God's standard of a faithful-surrender to His Lordship has never changed? Reflect The descendants of Israel have always shared access to a faith-based salvation with the "gentiles" but they lost sight of that due to their unique earthly relationship in the past. Share When have you experienced or observed a person imagining that their membership in a unique job, religious organization, or social circle makes them more valuable to the Lord God? Faith in Action Prayer: Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you a place in your fellowship, or one one elsewhere in your community (perhaps a cult of some sort) where some may be confusing membership and performance/works with salvation through faith-alone. Action: Today I will pray in-earnest for those who are confused, and if the Holy Spirit provides an opportunity, I will gently, patiently, and respectfully share with them the truth of salvation through faith-alone. Be Specific ______________________________________________________ Thursday's text will be: Romans 9:30-33 -- Draw nearer to the Lord and He will bless you, Have an http://Ultrafidian.com Day! David M. Colburn, DMin. MaCo ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Savannah-Statesboro needs a Bible College/Seminary! Personal Site: http://bibleseven.com Bible Resources: http://bible.org Teacher's Verse: John 7:16 I don't google I SEARCH! Yippy.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From snid.spartaco at gmail.com Wed Nov 23 13:36:35 2011 From: snid.spartaco at gmail.com (Stefano) Date: Wed, 23 Nov 2011 13:36:35 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] HEY MEN WE NEED SOME ACTIVITIE Message-ID: Hey, from 2004 there aren't anything for update L4C, I thing we need to move some pieces of the table. Why about join to christians from all the planet in one semlike sense, worship the God's of Ages. Israel God. Know you're holly name. And understand her presence in our lifes. We can join using the media's. That's a idea for begin, What do you think David? Send a response, please. Stefano... -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dcolburn at bibleseven.com Wed Nov 23 17:04:58 2011 From: dcolburn at bibleseven.com (dcolburn at bibleseven.com) Date: Wed, 23 Nov 2011 17:04:58 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] HEY MEN WE NEED SOME ACTIVITIE In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <4ECD6E0A.3030306@bibleseven.com> I am confused "her presence"? > Hey, from 2004 there aren't anything for update L4C, I thing we need > to move some pieces of the table. Why about join to christians from > all the planet in one semlike sense, worship the God's of Ages. > Israel God. Know you're holly name. And understand her presence in > our lifes. We can join using the media's. That's a idea for begin, > What do you think David? > > Send a response, please. > > Stefano... -- Draw nearer to the Lord and He will bless you, Have an http://Ultrafidian.com Day! David M. Colburn, DMin. MaCo ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Savannah-Statesboro needs a Bible College/Seminary! Personal Site: http://bibleseven.com Bible Resources: http://bible.org Teacher's Verse: John 7:16 I don't google I SEARCH! Yippy.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ From usacomputertech at mindblowingidea.com Wed Nov 23 18:26:03 2011 From: usacomputertech at mindblowingidea.com (usacomputertech) Date: Wed, 23 Nov 2011 15:26:03 -0800 Subject: [Linux4christians] HEY MEN WE NEED SOME ACTIVITIE In-Reply-To: <4ECD6E0A.3030306@bibleseven.com> References: <4ECD6E0A.3030306@bibleseven.com> Message-ID: <4ECD810B.9080808@mindblowingidea.com> I no comprenday your espanyol. But if your looking for more content go here: opensourcechristiancommunity.blogspot.com On 11/23/2011 02:04 PM, dcolburn at bibleseven.com wrote: > I am confused "her presence"? > >> Hey, from 2004 there aren't anything for update L4C, I thing we need >> to move some pieces of the table. Why about join to christians from >> all the planet in one semlike sense, worship the God's of Ages. >> Israel God. Know you're holly name. And understand her presence in >> our lifes. We can join using the media's. That's a idea for begin, >> What do you think David? >> >> Send a response, please. >> >> Stefano... > > -- http://www.youtube.com/usacomputertec Watch My Youtube Videos USA COMPUTER TECH COMPUTER RESCUE Justin Breithaupt (509) 730-5576 (208) 750-5628 e-mail: usacomputertech at mindblowingidea.com website: www.mindblowingidea.com/ComputerRescue.html Support Forum: http://justuselinux.iboards.us/ More About Me: http://www.google.com/profiles/usacomputertec They say that money talks, if so what does it say? IN GOD WE TRUST Pastor's Sermons: www.mindblowingidea.com/LutheranTV.html Open Source Christian Community Blog: http://opensourcechristiancommunity.blogspot.com Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/justin.breithaupt -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: 760x100_watchmyvideos.png Type: image/png Size: 16309 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: in_god_we_trust.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 16087 bytes Desc: not available URL: From bromichaelhenry at gmail.com Wed Nov 23 18:30:52 2011 From: bromichaelhenry at gmail.com (Michael Henry) Date: Wed, 23 Nov 2011 17:30:52 -0600 Subject: [Linux4christians] HEY MEN WE NEED SOME ACTIVITIE In-Reply-To: <4ECD810B.9080808@mindblowingidea.com> References: <4ECD6E0A.3030306@bibleseven.com> <4ECD810B.9080808@mindblowingidea.com> Message-ID: David, I didn't know "I am confused "her presence"?" is in spanish. Cool. You type in english and people read it in spanish. You're a real google translator :D On Wed, Nov 23, 2011 at 5:26 PM, usacomputertech < usacomputertech at mindblowingidea.com> wrote: > ** > I no comprenday your espanyol. > But if your looking for more content go here: > opensourcechristiancommunity.blogspot.com > > On 11/23/2011 02:04 PM, dcolburn at bibleseven.com wrote: > > I am confused "her presence"? > > Hey, from 2004 there aren't anything for update L4C, I thing we need > to move some pieces of the table. Why about join to christians from > all the planet in one semlike sense, worship the God's of Ages. > Israel God. Know you're holly name. And understand her presence in > our lifes. We can join using the media's. That's a idea for begin, > What do you think David? > > Send a response, please. > > Stefano... > > > > > > -- > http://www.youtube.com/usacomputertec > [image: Watch My Youtube Videos] > > USA COMPUTER TECH > COMPUTER RESCUE > > Justin Breithaupt > (509) 730-5576 > (208) 750-5628 > > e-mail: usacomputertech at mindblowingidea.com > website: www.mindblowingidea.com/ComputerRescue.html > Support Forum: http://justuselinux.iboards.us/ > > More About Me: http://www.google.com/profiles/usacomputertec > They say that money talks, if so what does it say? > > [image: IN GOD WE TRUST] > > Pastor's Sermons: www.mindblowingidea.com/LutheranTV.html > Open Source Christian Community Blog: > http://opensourcechristiancommunity.blogspot.com > Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/justin.breithaupt > > _______________________________________________ > Linux4christians mailing list > Linux4christians at thelinuxlink.net > http://www.thelinuxlink.net/mailman/listinfo/linux4christians > > -- Bro. Michael Henry Associate Pastor Monticello Christian Church Be kinder than necessary. Everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle. You never know when a moment and a few sincere words can have an impact on a life for a life -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dcolburn at bibleseven.com Wed Nov 23 20:43:25 2011 From: dcolburn at bibleseven.com (dcolburn at bibleseven.com) Date: Wed, 23 Nov 2011 20:43:25 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] Thursday - Romans 9:30-33 Message-ID: <4ECDA13D.4090203@bibleseven.com> Thursday Romans 9:30-33 Israel's Rejection Culpable 9:30 What shall we say then? -- that the Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness obtained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith, 9:31 but Israel even though pursuing a law of righteousness did not attain it. 9:32 Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but (as if it were possible) by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone, 9:33 just as it is written, "/*Look*//, //*I am laying in Zion a stone that will cause people to stumble */and a rock that will make them fall, /*yet the one who believes in him will not be put to shame.*/" Prayer Lord, You gave the law to show the way to grace, and under grace the law serves to point the way to righteousness. May I be faithful, under grace, in the pursuit of righteousness. Summary & Commentary Paul asked if the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness -- via the law -- still obtained it? He also asked if Israel, who did (at least in theory) pursue righteousness -- via the law -- did not? Paul explained that the difference that Israel attempted works-righteousness, salvation without faith, rather only by legalistic-works, whereas the Gentiles sought a faith-based salvation without pre-salvation works. He further explained that Israel had become so invested in their legalism that it because a stumbling-block which distracted them from the faith that saved Abraham. Interaction Consider The Lord God wanted Israel to choose a saving-relationship with Him through faith-alone, but Israel was like those in the time of the Tower of Babel, they wanted to access the Lord God though their own "power". Discuss God's standard for salvation and righteous living reflects that which is necessary to set-apart those whose genuine surrender will make them sinless occupants of "the new heaven and new earth" to come. Reflect The Lord God was consistent, from the Garden of Eden to Paul's time of teaching, restoration was always a matter of faith. Share When did you first truly understand the meaning of salvation through faith-alone? Faith in Action Prayer: Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you a place in your life where a religious habit or ritual or tradition has displaced genuine relationship with the Lord God. Action: Today I will praise the Lord God for His consistency, sharing with another believer how that has built confidence in my relationship with Him and in my daily walk. Be Specific ______________________________________________________ Friday's text will be: Romans 10 -- Draw nearer to the Lord and He will bless you, Have an http://Ultrafidian.com Day! David M. Colburn, DMin. MaCo ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Savannah-Statesboro needs a Bible College/Seminary! Personal Site: http://bibleseven.com Bible Resources: http://bible.org Teacher's Verse: John 7:16 I don't google I SEARCH! Yippy.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From hpp3 at lavabit.com Thu Nov 24 12:29:45 2011 From: hpp3 at lavabit.com (hpp3 at lavabit.com) Date: Thu, 24 Nov 2011 09:29:45 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Linux4christians] HEY MEN WE NEED SOME ACTIVITIE In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <29222.50.132.13.77.1322155785.squirrel@lavabit.com> First of all, Stefano, what is your native language? I think some things in your message are not clear, and maybe even wrong. Perhaps re-send your message in your native tongue also, and maybe someone hear can clarify. > Hey, from 2004 there aren't anything for update L4C, You mean the website? This mailing list is actually very busy. Linc, is the webpage getting dusty? > I thing we need to move some pieces of the table. Pieces OF the table? Or pieces OFF the table? Either way, I'm not sure what you're trying to say. > Why about join to christians from all the planet in one semlike sense, worship the God's of Ages. Christians from all the planet? That would be ecumenical, and as much as many of us would like to see all believers united, "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven;" Some who say they are Christian may not be born again. Some denominations and pseudo-christian groups may be heretical. Gods? God's? I hope you did not mean Gods as in more than one God. As Christians, we worship one God only... > Israel God. Yes, that is the one. :) > Know you're holly name. Please pardon my correction; holly = sharp-leaf plant with red berries. I think you meant Holy ;) > And understand her presence in our lifes. As David remarked, "HER presence"? I hope this is a simple translation error; God of the bible always refers to himself in the masculine sense. "Her" is a feminine pronoun. > We can join using the media's. This is already happening. In a small way, this mailing list is a part of it. In a larger way, information on God, Jesus, Christianity, the Bible, etc. and ways to connnect with like-minded believers are available to any who want it, in ways never before even imagined, via the internet. But that has it's own dangers, as well. ;) "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." > That's a idea for begin, What do you think David? David? Linc is the moderator of this list, and the owner of the L4C web domain. Were you responding to one of the Davids on this list? > Send a response, please. > > Stefano... Welcome to the list Stefano, I don't recall seeing you post before. I understand you are not a native speaker of English, and that some difficulties may arise; I would have the same problem trying to speak any other language ;) Hopefully, with a little patience and compassion, we can understand each other better and mis-commmunication will be minimal. God bless, -Eddy From dcolburn at bibleseven.com Thu Nov 24 21:57:45 2011 From: dcolburn at bibleseven.com (dcolburn at bibleseven.com) Date: Thu, 24 Nov 2011 21:57:45 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] Friday - Romans 10:1-13 Message-ID: <4ECF0429.9080308@bibleseven.com> Friday Romans 10:1-13 10:1 Brothers and sisters, my heart's desire and prayer to God on behalf of my fellow Israelites is for their salvation. 10:2 For I can testify that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not in line with the truth. 10:3 For ignoring the righteousness that comes from God, and seeking instead to establish their own righteousness, they did not submit to God's righteousness. 10:4 For Christ is the end of the law, with the result that there is righteousness for everyone who believes. 10:5 For Moses writes about the righteousness that is by the law: "/*The one who does these things will live by them*/." 10:6 But the righteousness that is by faith says: "/*Do not say in your heart*/, '/Who will ascend into heaven?/'" (that is, to bring Christ down) 10:7 or "/*Who will descend into the abyss?*/" (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 10:8 But what does it say? "/*The word is near you*//, //*in your mouth and in your heart*/" (that is, the word of faith that we preach), 10:9 because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10:10 For with the heart one believes and thus has righteousness and with the mouth one confesses and thus has salvation. 10:11 For the scripture says, "/*Everyone*/**/*who believes in him will not be put to shame*/." 10:12 For there is no distinction between the Jew and the Greek, for the same Lord is Lord of all, who richly blesses all who call on him. 10:13 For /*everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved*/. Prayer Lord, so many have been frustrated by works-righteousness, and as a result have been difficult to reach with Your message of grace. May I be faithful in praying for those who need you and in sharing Your message of grace. Summary & Commentary Paul lamented that the Jews "... are zealous for God". He explained that they were zealous for a religion that ritually honored the name of the Lord God but not one that truly surrendered to Him as Lord of their lives. Paul lamented that they failed to be zealous for "... the righteousness that comes from God" but were "... seeking instead their own righteousness". He explained that they were trapped in an idolatry of works-righteousness under the law, to which they had added many human rules and regulations, so that it had all become a crusing and hopeless burden. Paul declared "Christ is the end of the Law ... there is righteousness for everyone who believes" and then he reminded them that those who would seek righteousness in only the law would be trapped in the hopeless pursuit of works-righteousness. He instructed that righteousness by faith does not look for Christ and His salvation in heaven or hell but instead right where they stood -- through a repentant heart and surrendered spirit when they declare Christ to be their Lord and Savior. Paul reminded them that with Christ via faith all of humankind was granted equal access to salvation, without regard to Jew or Gentile. Interaction Consider Trying to earn the right to enter heaven when the standard is perfection is a fools-errand. Discuss What are some of the ways that the Jews may have sought their own righteousness, despite their zealousness for God? Reflect Does it seem that there are many ways that many people of many cultures still engage in works-righteousness today? Share When have you imagined that the Lord God was far away when it was your choices that was making it hard for you to recognize that He was right beside you; actually, in your heart. Faith in Action Prayer: Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to me any way in which I may still seeking my own righteousness, Jesus plus my performance. Action: Today I will prayerfully reflect upon my commitment to Christ; and I will intentionally seek a path of maturity that leads to a more-complete surrender. Be Specific ______________________________________________________ Saturday's text will be: Romans 10:14-21 -- Draw nearer to the Lord and He will bless you, Have an http://Ultrafidian.com Day! David M. Colburn, DMin. MaCo ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Savannah-Statesboro needs a Bible College/Seminary! Personal Site: http://bibleseven.com Bible Resources: http://bible.org Teacher's Verse: John 7:16 I don't google I SEARCH! Yippy.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bromichaelhenry at gmail.com Thu Nov 24 22:04:52 2011 From: bromichaelhenry at gmail.com (Michael Henry) Date: Thu, 24 Nov 2011 21:04:52 -0600 Subject: [Linux4christians] HEY MEN WE NEED SOME ACTIVITIE In-Reply-To: <29222.50.132.13.77.1322155785.squirrel@lavabit.com> References: <29222.50.132.13.77.1322155785.squirrel@lavabit.com> Message-ID: Well, could this have been spam? I am getting an error "The message may not have been sent by snid.spartaco at gmail.com" which gmail says it can't verify it can from their servers. Not the right headers. On Thu, Nov 24, 2011 at 11:29 AM, wrote: > First of all, Stefano, what is your native language? > I think some things in your message are not clear, and maybe even wrong. > Perhaps re-send your message in your native tongue also, and maybe someone > hear can clarify. > > > Hey, from 2004 there aren't anything for update L4C, > > You mean the website? > This mailing list is actually very busy. > Linc, is the webpage getting dusty? > > > I thing we need to move some pieces of the table. > > Pieces OF the table? > Or pieces OFF the table? > Either way, I'm not sure what you're trying to say. > > > Why about join to christians from all the planet in one semlike sense, > worship the God's of Ages. > > Christians from all the planet? > That would be ecumenical, and as much as many of us would like to see all > believers united, "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall > enter into the kingdom of heaven;" > Some who say they are Christian may not be born again. > Some denominations and pseudo-christian groups may be heretical. > > Gods? God's? > I hope you did not mean Gods as in more than one God. > As Christians, we worship one God only... > > > Israel God. > > Yes, that is the one. :) > > > Know you're holly name. > > Please pardon my correction; holly = sharp-leaf plant with red berries. > I think you meant Holy ;) > > > And understand her presence in our lifes. > > As David remarked, "HER presence"? > I hope this is a simple translation error; God of the bible always refers > to himself in the masculine sense. > "Her" is a feminine pronoun. > > > We can join using the media's. > > This is already happening. > In a small way, this mailing list is a part of it. > In a larger way, information on God, Jesus, Christianity, the Bible, etc. > and ways to connnect with like-minded believers are available to any who > want it, in ways never before even imagined, via the internet. > But that has it's own dangers, as well. ;) > "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." > > > That's a idea for begin, What do you think David? > > David? > Linc is the moderator of this list, and the owner of the L4C web domain. > Were you responding to one of the Davids on this list? > > > Send a response, please. > > > > Stefano... > > Welcome to the list Stefano, I don't recall seeing you post before. > I understand you are not a native speaker of English, and that some > difficulties may arise; I would have the same problem trying to speak any > other language ;) > Hopefully, with a little patience and compassion, we can understand each > other better and mis-commmunication will be minimal. > > God bless, > -Eddy > > > > _______________________________________________ > Linux4christians mailing list > Linux4christians at thelinuxlink.net > http://www.thelinuxlink.net/mailman/listinfo/linux4christians > -- Bro. Michael Henry Associate Pastor Monticello Christian Church Be kinder than necessary. Everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle. You never know when a moment and a few sincere words can have an impact on a life for a life -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From fmiller at lightlink.com Fri Nov 25 15:17:29 2011 From: fmiller at lightlink.com (Fred A. Miller) Date: Fri, 25 Nov 2011 15:17:29 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] OT: X-Plane 10 is here. Message-ID: <4ECFF7D9.5000902@lightlink.com> Are you into flight simulators? Just a heads-up, X-Plane 10 was just announced today. See http://www.x-plane.com/ They release Windows, OSX, and Linux at the same time. If you are into flight sims, it's one of the best out there (yes, I know, Flightgear... but X-Plane is more detailed, more accurate etc). http://www.x-plane.com/ -- Remember: Ban-Control-Take Over are the hallmarks of the "New" Democrats and old Communists so buy brass and lead instead of gold. - Bob Roller -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From fmiller at lightlink.com Fri Nov 25 15:18:31 2011 From: fmiller at lightlink.com (Fred A. Miller) Date: Fri, 25 Nov 2011 15:18:31 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] X-Plane 10 is here. Message-ID: <4ECFF817.6080907@lightlink.com> Are you into flight simulators? Just a heads-up, X-Plane 10 was just announced today. See http://www.x-plane.com/ They release Windows, OSX, and Linux at the same time. If you are into flight sims, it's one of the best out there (yes, I know, Flightgear... but X-Plane is more detailed, more accurate etc). http://www.x-plane.com/ -- Remember: Ban-Control-Take Over are the hallmarks of the "New"Democrats and old Communists so buy brass and lead instead of gold. - Bob Roller -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From hpp3 at lavabit.com Fri Nov 25 17:47:03 2011 From: hpp3 at lavabit.com (hpp3 at lavabit.com) Date: Fri, 25 Nov 2011 14:47:03 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Linux4christians] HEY MEN WE NEED SOME ACTIVITIE In-Reply-To: References: <29222.50.132.13.77.1322155785.squirrel@lavabit.com> Message-ID: <43219.50.132.13.77.1322261223.squirrel@lavabit.com> > Well, could this have been spam? I am getting an error "The message may > not > have been sent by snid.spartaco at gmail.com" which gmail says it can't > verify > it can from their servers. Not the right headers. > I considered that as well, in fact I was more than half sure it was; but decided to err on the side of caution as I have also seen flame wars erupt on other boards because a non-native english speaker was simply misunderstood. I've also seen lively productive discussions happen because a (later confirmed) spam post happened to contain a "trigger" phrase. Either way, spam or heretic, I believe we should ever be prepared; "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:" (1 Peter 3:15) "Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine." (2 Timothy 4:2) If I seem a fool to respond to spam, *meh*... so be it: "I am become a fool in glorying; ..." (2 Corinthians 12:11) ;) Anyways, I hope everyone had a fine Thanksgiving (those of us in the U.S., that is...) and look forward to the rest of the holiday season. God bless, -Eddy From dcolburn at bibleseven.com Fri Nov 25 19:56:06 2011 From: dcolburn at bibleseven.com (dcolburn at bibleseven.com) Date: Fri, 25 Nov 2011 19:56:06 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] Saturday - Romans 10:14-21 Message-ID: <4ED03926.6080708@bibleseven.com> Saturday Romans 10:14-21 10:14 How are they to call on one they have not believed in? And how are they to believe in one they have not heard of? And how are they to hear without someone preaching to them? 10:15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "/*How*//**//*timely*/ /*is*//**//*the*//**//*arrival*/ /*of*//**//*those*//**//*who*//**//*proclaim*//**//*the*//**//*good*//**//*news*/." 10:16 But not all have obeyed the good news, for Isaiah says, "/*Lord*//,////*who*//**//*has*//**//*believed*//**//*our*//**//*report*/?" 10:17 Consequently faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the preached word of Christ. 10:18 But I ask, have they not heard? Yes, they have: /*Their*//**//*voice*//**//*has*//**//*gone*//**//*out*//**//*to*//**//*all*//**//*the*//**//*earth*//,////*and*//**//*their*//**//*words*//**//*to*//**//*the*//**//*ends*//**//*of*//**//*the*//**//*world*/. 10:19 But again I ask, didn't Israel understand? First Moses says, "/*I*//**//*will*//**//*make*//**//*you*//**//*jealous*//**//*by*//**//*those*//**//*who*//**//*are*//**//*not*//**//*a*//**//*nation;*//**//*with*//**//*a*//**//*senseless*//**//*nation*//**//*I*//**//*will*//**//*provoke*//**//*you*//**//*to*//**//*anger*/." 10:20 And Isaiah is even bold enough to say, "/*I*//**//*was*//**//*found*//**//*by*//**//*those*//**//*who*//**//*did*//**//*not*//**//*seek*//**//*me;*//**//*I*//**//*became*//**//*well*//**//*known*//**//*to*//**//*those*//**//*who*//**//*did*//**//*not*//**//*ask*//**//*for*//**//*me*/." 10:21 But about Israel he says, "/*All day long I held out my hands to this disobedient and stubborn people!*/" Prayer Lord, You send your children who have responded to Your call to be evangelists and missionaries, and they share Your message with the unsaved. The unsaved choose to believe or not to believe. Salvation is a gift, offered to all, but is one which must be accepted. May I be grateful to those who surrendered to You not only for their salvation but to be Your instruments so that I could hear and receive. Summary & Commentary Paul explained that before one may believe one must first hear of the gospel of Christ. He then noted that the ones who are doing the telling are those who have been sent by the Lord God. He emphasized that "... the preached Word of Christ" is very important so that those who hear have an opportunity to make an informed choice. Paul reaches back to Isaiah to demonstrate how long the Lord God has been telling His story and how long many have refused to respond in faith. He answered the question of the Israelites ".. have they not heard" as they tried to understand why the Israelites were not Christians with " Yes, they have ..." Paul then reminded them of the warning of Moses that it would be non-Israelites who would first respond and that would make them jealous enough to finally listen. He clarified"Iwasfoundbythosewhodidnotseekme;Ibecamewellknowntothosewhodidnotaskforme." [Speaking of the Gentiles] And finally Paul quoted Isaiah, in reference to Israel "All day long I held out my hands to this disobedient and stubborn people!" Interaction Consider No matter how many times Moses or Isaiah or others tried to explain faith to the Israelites most refused to break-away from living in the flesh and/or works-righteousness in the law. Discuss What has been your experiences with those who have "preached". Was what they preached the pure Word of God or was something added or deleted or distorted? How do you know? Reflect The Lord God has chosen to use humankind in the "preaching" and "teaching" - sharing - of the gospel in his great plan of salvation. Share When did you hear and how long did it take you to respond? Faith in Action Prayer: Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you n opportunity to be His instrument to bring the gospel to someone who has yet to understand and surrender. Action: Today I will courageously and respectfully share the gospel with the one who the Holy Spirit has prepared to receive it. I will be patient as they may take some time to absorb and accept before they repent and surrender. Be Specific ______________________________________________________ Sunday's text will be: Romans 11 -- Draw nearer to the Lord and He will bless you, Have an http://Ultrafidian.com Day! David M. Colburn, DMin. MaCo ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Savannah-Statesboro needs a Bible College/Seminary! Personal Site: http://bibleseven.com Bible Resources: http://bible.org Teacher's Verse: John 7:16 I don't google I SEARCH! Yippy.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dcolburn at bibleseven.com Sat Nov 26 22:01:00 2011 From: dcolburn at bibleseven.com (dcolburn at bibleseven.com) Date: Sat, 26 Nov 2011 22:01:00 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] Sunday - Romans 11 Message-ID: <4ED1A7EC.8020901@bibleseven.com> Sunday Romans 11 Israel's Rejection not Complete nor Final 11:1 So I ask, God has not rejected his people, has he? Absolutely not! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. 11:2 God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew! Do you not know what the scripture says about Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel? 11:3 "Lord, /*they have killed your prophets*//, //*they have demolished your altars; I alone am left and they are seeking my life!*/" 11:4 But what was the divine response to him? "/*I have kept*/ for myself /*seven thousand people*/ /*who have not bent the knee to Baal*/." 11:5 So in the same way at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. 11:6 And if it is by grace, it is no longer by works, otherwise grace would no longer be grace. 11:7 What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was diligently seeking, but the elect obtained it. The rest were hardened, 11:8 as it is written, "/*God gave them a spirit of stupor*//,/*eyes that would not see and ears that would not hear*, to this very day." 11:9 And David says, "/*Let their table become a snare and trap*//,/*a stumbling block and a retribution for them*; 11:10 /*let their eyes be darkened so that they may not see, */and make their backs bend continually." 11:11 I ask then, they did not stumble into an irrevocable fall, did they? Absolutely not! But by their transgression salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make Israel jealous. 11:12 Now if their transgression means riches for the world and their defeat means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full restoration bring? 11:13 Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Seeing that I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, 11:14 if somehow I could provoke my people to jealousy and save some of them. 11:15 For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? 11:16 If the first portion of the dough offered is holy, then the whole batch is holy, and if the root is holy, so too are the branches. 11:17 Now if some of the branches were broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among them and participated in the richness of the olive root, 11:18 do not boast over the branches. But if you boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you. 11:19 Then you will say, "The branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in." 11:20 Granted! They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but fear! 11:21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, perhaps he will not spare you. 11:22 Notice therefore the kindness and harshness of God -- harshness toward those who have fallen, but God's kindness toward you, provided you continue in his kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off. 11:23 And even they -- if they do not continue in their unbelief -- will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. 11:24 For if you were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these natural branches be grafted back into their own olive tree? 11:25 For I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: A partial hardening has happened to Israel until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. 11:26 And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: "/*The Deliverer will come out of Zion; */*he will remove ungodliness from Jacob*. 11:27 /*And this is my covenant with them*//, /when I take away their sins." 11:28 In regard to the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but in regard to election they are dearly loved for the sake of the fathers. 11:29 For the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable. 11:30 Just as you were formerly disobedient to God, but have now received mercy due to their disobedience, 11:31 so they too have now been disobedient in order that, by the mercy shown to you, they too may now receive mercy. 11:32 For God has consigned all people to disobedience so that he may show mercy to them all. 11:33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how fathomless his ways! 11:34 /*For who has known the mind of the Lord*//, /or who has been his counselor? 11:35 /*Or who has first given to God*//, //*that God*/ /*needs to repay him?*/ 11:36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever! Amen. Prayer Lord, Your plan is unfolding, we need to honor and obey and to pray for those who still need to repent and surrender to You. May I be faithful in telling Your story to those who are still strangers to You and to disciple fellow-believers who need to become better servants of yours. Summary & Commentary "Israel ... 7,000 people who have not bent the knee to Baal ... a remnant ... " preserved by the Lord God because they did not rebel by worshiping the false god. "... chosen by grace ... salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make Israel jealous ..." [Disobedience is against the Law, first the Jews and then the Gentiles are convicted by it, this then creates the opportunity for grace to bring unmerited mercy.] Paul used the term "grace" as he had described earlier, a response to faith, not to works, and the "elect" as he previously described to be those who met the Roman 10 standard of belief and confession to receive salvation. Paul noted that rebellious Israel had been further-hardened by God for a time so that the Gentiles could be "grafted in" but that later on Jews who repented of their rebellion would be "grafted back in". The Lord God did not cause them to be hardened, they chose to worship Baal, that was their initial "hardening". Israel had, for a time, lost its status as a favored-nation. The Lord God used Israel as His instrument to fulfill His prophesy at the time of the Fall in the Garden of Eden, so as-such, Israel was a necessary prior-step to the Gentile's salvation -- so Paul warned the Gentiles to not disrespect the Israelites. Those among the Israelites who would repent of their rebellion and return to the Lord God would be welcomed back into the His family for eternity. The grace-through-mercy of God, made possible by Jesus the Christ, cannot ever be earned or deserved by fallen man but is offered in exchange for our surrender of the hopelessness of slavery to a sin-controlled existence in a fallen world. Interaction Consider The Israelites had a long and rocky relationship with the Lord God, often blessed, and often punished from terrible rebellion, yet the Lord God still loved them -- the same as He did the very first man and woman and everything in His creation. Discuss Does the pattern of options and choices give you confidence in the Lord God's promise to allow humankind free will, even though it pains Him greatly to see us fail and suffer, and even though it cost His only Son? Reflect The sequence of events in God's redemption of rebellious man: *God permits free will and man rebels in the Garden. *God "corrects the course" of man at the Tower of Babel, via the Flood, through the Exodus, and in and out of captivity as a result of continued rebellion. *God comes in the form of the man Jesus to be The Christ to provide a way home. *God calls preachers and teachers via disciples and apostles. *God causes His Holy Bible to be written and distributed that all may know and grow. *God returns, takes His own home and obliterates the rest. *God shares eternity with His family. Share When have you been reading your Bible and paused in amazement at the consistency and the persistent-patience and unending love of the Lord God? Faith in Action Prayer: Ask the Holy Spirit to remind me of the one most-appealing thing that drew me to Him. Action: Today I will reflect with a fellow believer upon the incredible expanse of HIS-story -- a story where God has not allowed His children to all be destroyed, a story within which He has made corrections to the flow of human history without violating the individual free will choice of everyone to chose Him or not. Be Specific ______________________________________________________ Monday's text will be: Romans 12 -- Draw nearer to the Lord and He will bless you, Have an http://Ultrafidian.com Day! David M. Colburn, DMin. MaCo ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Savannah-Statesboro needs a Bible College/Seminary! Personal Site: http://bibleseven.com Bible Resources: http://bible.org Teacher's Verse: John 7:16 I don't google I SEARCH! Yippy.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dcolburn at bibleseven.com Sun Nov 27 20:24:06 2011 From: dcolburn at bibleseven.com (dcolburn at bibleseven.com) Date: Sun, 27 Nov 2011 20:24:06 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] Monday - Romans 12 Message-ID: <4ED2E2B6.5040607@bibleseven.com> Monday Romans 12 Consecration of the Believer's Life 12:1 Therefore I exhort you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice -- alive, holy, and pleasing to God -- which is your reasonable service. 12:2 Do not be conformed to this present world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may test and approve what is the will of God -- what is good and well-pleasing and perfect. Conduct in Humility 12:3 For by the grace given to me I say to every one of you not to think more highly of yourself than you ought to think, but to think with sober discernment, as God has distributed to each of you a measure of faith. 12:4 For just as in one body we have many members, and not all the members serve the same function, 12:5 so we who are many are one body in Christ, and individually we are members who belong to one another. 12:6 And we have different gifts according to the grace given to us. If the gift is prophecy, that individual must use it in proportion to his faith. 12:7 If it is service, he must serve; if it is teaching, he must teach; 12:8 if it is exhortation, he must exhort; if it is contributing, he must do so with sincerity; if it is leadership, he must do so with diligence; if it is showing mercy, he must do so with cheerfulness. Conduct in Love 12:9 Love must be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil, cling to what is good. 12:10 Be devoted to one another with mutual love, showing eagerness in honoring one another. 12:11 Do not lag in zeal, be enthusiastic in spirit, serve the Lord. 12:12 Rejoice in hope, endure in suffering, persist in prayer. 12:13 Contribute to the needs of the saints, pursue hospitality. 12:14 Bless those who persecute you, bless and do not curse. 12:15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 12:16 Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty but associate with the lowly. Do not be conceited. 12:17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil; consider what is good before all people. 12:18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all people. 12:19 Do not avenge yourselves, dear friends, but give place to God's wrath, for it is written, "/*Vengeance is mine*//, //*I will repay*/," says the Lord. 12:20 Rather, /*if your enemy is hungry*//, //*feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in doing this you will be heaping burning coals on his head*/. 12:21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Prayer Lord, You teach us to not attempt to overcome evil with more evil (because we will then be overcome by evil and the enemy will have a double-victory) but rather to overcome evil with good. May I be faithful in that, even though it is contrary to my flesh, and very difficult to do - with Your indwelling Holy Spirit I am able -- in Your righteous-strength. Summary & Commentary It "... is your reasonable service. Do not be conformed to this present world." Be humble, honor one another through mutual love. "Rejoice in hope, endure in suffering, persist in prayer ... Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." Paul implored "... present your bodies as a sacrifice ... be transformed by the renewing of your mind" so that in knowing and applying the will [known via the Word] of God one may mature as a Christian. Paul linked back to his discussion of "judging" to make the point that humility prevents the sin to "... think more highly of yourself than you ought to think". He then goes on to note that the exercise of "gifts" are to be in proportion to "humility", not to show off and not ritualistically. He specifically lists prophesy, service, teaching, exhortation, contributing, leadership, and mercy. Paul qualifies each to show the linkage between humility (as modeled by Jesus and Paul) and the exercise of gifts: GIFT DESCRIPTION HUMILITY-QUALIFIER Prophesy (mostly re-telling, rarely fore-telling) In proportion to faith (not faked) Service (assisting others in need) Serve (remember foot-washing) Teaching (the Word of God w/o changes) Teach (tell HIS-story, not yours) Exhortation (plead for salvation and righteousness) Exhort (not manipulate, motivate) Contributing (give from God's bounty) Sincerely (not Ananias & Sapphira) Leadership (intentionally show the way) Diligence (integrity & persistence) Mercy (comfort, encourage, & forgive) Cheerfully (not reluctantly) Paul checked-off a list of what true Biblical love "looks like": * Without hypocrisy * Abhorring what is evil * Clinging to what is good * Devoted to one another with mutual love * Eagerly honoring one another * Zealous & enthusiastic in spirit serving the Lord * Rejoicing in hope * Enduring in suffering * Persisting in prayer * Contributing to the needs of the saints * Pursuing hospitality * Blessing those who persecute you (not cursing them) * Rejoicing with those who rejoice * Weeping with those who weep * Living on harmony with one another * Playing no favorites for the rich over poor, pretty over ugly, easy over difficult * Never conceited * Never repaying evil with evil * Look for the good rather than the bad as people are watching * When you control relational circumstances choose to live peaceably with others * Never seek revenge, "'Vengeance is mine" says the Lord'" * Feed a hungry enemy & give a thirsty enemy drink, heap the burning coals of warmth on his head [and conviction that you are a child of the one true Lord]. Interaction Consider Whenever we think of ourselves more-highly than we should we are then prone to "judge" others, but when we are humble we may be discerning about others without judging them. Discuss How do the items on the chart and the checklist from Paul and reflect upon your life and how do they apply to your walk? Reflect It is the righteousness of the Lord God that His Holy Spirit pours-out through us which accomplishes the things Paul listed. Share When have you experienced or observed a struggle with humility which then was reflected in the right application of and attitude toward gifts? Faith in Action Prayer: Ask the Holy Spirit reveal to your at least one item on Paul's list where you need to partner with Him in order to grow. Action: Today I will ask a fellow believer to pray in agreement with me for perseverance in that effort. Be Specific ______________________________________________________ Tuesday's text will be: Romans 13 -- Draw nearer to the Lord and He will bless you, Have an http://Ultrafidian.com Day! David M. Colburn, DMin. MaCo ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Savannah-Statesboro needs a Bible College/Seminary! Personal Site: http://bibleseven.com Bible Resources: http://bible.org Teacher's Verse: John 7:16 I don't google I SEARCH! Yippy.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dcolburn at bibleseven.com Mon Nov 28 21:08:18 2011 From: dcolburn at bibleseven.com (dcolburn at bibleseven.com) Date: Mon, 28 Nov 2011 21:08:18 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] Tuesday - Romans 13 Message-ID: <4ED43E92.1040709@bibleseven.com> Tuesday Romans 13 Submission to Civil Government 13:1 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except by God's appointment, and the authorities that exist have been instituted by God. 13:2 So the person who resists such authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will incur judgment 13:3 (for rulers cause no fear for good conduct but for bad). Do you desire not to fear authority? Do good and you will receive its commendation, 13:4 for it is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be in fear, for it does not bear the sword in vain. It is God's servant to administer retribution on the wrongdoer. 13:5 Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of the wrath of the authorities but also because of your conscience. 13:6 For this reason you also pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants devoted to governing. 13:7 Pay everyone what is owed: taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due. Exhortation to Love Neighbors 13:8 Owe no one anything, except to love one another, for the one who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. 13:9 For the commandments, "/*Do not commit adultery*//, //*do not murder*//, //*do not steal*//, //*do not covet*//,/" (and if there is any other commandment) are summed up in this, "/*Love your neighbor as yourself*/." 13:10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. Motivation to Godly Conduct 13:11 And do this because we know the time, that it is already the hour for us to awake from sleep, for our salvation is now nearer than when we became believers. 13:12 The night has advanced toward dawn; the day is near. So then we must lay aside the works of darkness, and put on the weapons of light. 13:13 Let us live decently as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in discord and jealousy. 13:14 Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh to arouse its desires. Prayer Lord, You teach us about our human nature and our spiritual nature in-You, then You teach us how to manage both. May I be a humble and teachable student. Summary & Commentary Jesus taught: "Then give to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." Matthew 22:21 [Paul was expanding on the practical application of that principle.] Fallen humans, even believers, require the "container" or boundaries of organized systems for civilization lest we drift into Sodom and Gomorrah-like anarchy "Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except by God's appointment ... if you do wrong, be in fear ..." Paul was not teaching Christians to be debt-free, but to be balanced (because elsewhere the management of debt is discussed) "Pay everyone what is owed ... Owe no one anything ..." describes both immediate payments in-full and debt payments on-time. He challenged Christians whose human nature caused them to seek their own best-interest and to think of themselves as valuable to look outside of themselves and to "Love your neighbor as yourself ..." Paul echoed the call of Jesus to live righteously "Let us live decently as in the daytime ... put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh to arouse its desires." Paul reminded that authority "... does not bear the sword in vain.", because authority by-definition includes the power to enforce boundaries and rules. He provided a list of expectations for Christians in-community as guidance: * "... pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants devoted to governing." * "Pay everyone what is owed: taxes ... revenue ... respect ... honor. * "Owe no one anything, except to love one another Paul provided another list for us to successfully "... live decently as in the daytime" putting "... on the Lord Jesus Christ" making "... no provision for the flesh to arouse its desires." * "... not in carousing" * "... not in ... drunkenness" * "... not in sexual immorality" * "... not in ... sensuality" * "... not in discord" * "... not in ... jealousy" Interaction Consider The fallen nature of man results in a typical outcome when fallen humans are separated from a civilizing "container" for long. Discuss What is your understanding of the dividing line between "that which is Caesar's" and "that which is God's"? Reflect upon Reflect Paul's list for putting on the Lord Jesus Christ (righteous living) is reflected elsewhere in the direct teaching of Jesus, that of other Biblical authors, and in the Old Testament. The Lord God is perfectly-consistent. Share When have you experience or observed the consequence of the absence of authority and a "container for civilization"? Faith in Action Prayer: Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you a place in Paul's list for putting on the Lord Jesus Christ (righteous living) and identify at least one area where you need to partner with the Holy Spirit to move toward greater maturity. Action: Today I will ask a fellow believer to pray in agreement with me for perseverance in my effort, with the Holy Spirit, to move toward greater maturity. I will share the result of that effort with that prayer-partner and we will celebrate the praise the Lord together. Be Specific ______________________________________________________ Wednesday's text will be: Romans 14 -- Draw nearer to the Lord and He will bless you, Have an http://Ultrafidian.com Day! David M. Colburn, DMin. MaCo ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Savannah-Statesboro needs a Bible College/Seminary! Personal Site: http://bibleseven.com Bible Resources: http://bible.org Teacher's Verse: John 7:16 I don't google I SEARCH! Yippy.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dcolburn at bibleseven.com Tue Nov 29 21:22:35 2011 From: dcolburn at bibleseven.com (dcolburn at bibleseven.com) Date: Tue, 29 Nov 2011 21:22:35 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] Wednesday - Romans 14 Message-ID: <4ED5936B.1090805@bibleseven.com> Wednesday Romans 14 Exhortation to Mutual Forbearance 14:1 Now receive the one who is weak in the faith, and do not have disputes over differing opinions. 14:2 One person believes in eating everything, but the weak person eats only vegetables. 14:3 The one who eats everything must not despise the one who does not, and the one who abstains must not judge the one who eats everything, for God has accepted him. 14:4 Who are you to pass judgment on another's servant? Before his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. 14:5 One person regards one day holier than other days, and another regards them all alike. Each must be fully convinced in his own mind. 14:6 The one who observes the day does it for the Lord. The one who eats, eats for the Lord because he gives thanks to God, and the one who abstains from eating abstains for the Lord, and he gives thanks to God. 14:7 For none of us lives for himself and none dies for himself. 14:8 If we live, we live for the Lord; if we die, we die for the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord's. 14:9 For this reason Christ died and returned to life, so that he may be the Lord of both the dead and the living. 14:10 But you who eat vegetables only -- why do you judge your brother or sister? And you who eat everything -- why do you despise your brother or sister? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. 14:11 For it is written, "/*As I live*//, //*says the Lord*//, //*every knee will bow to me*//, //*and every tongue will give praise to God*/." 14:12 Therefore, each of us will give an account of himself to God. Exhortation for the Strong not to Destroy the Weak 14:13 Therefore we must not pass judgment on one another, but rather determine never to place an obstacle or a trap before a brother or sister. 14:14 I know and am convinced in the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean in itself; still, it is unclean to the one who considers it unclean. 14:15 For if your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. Do not destroy by your food someone for whom Christ died. 14:16 Therefore do not let what you consider good be spoken of as evil. 14:17 For the kingdom of God does not consist of food and drink, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. 14:18 For the one who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by people. 14:19 So then, let us pursue what makes for peace and for building up one another. 14:20 Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. For although all things are clean, it is wrong to cause anyone to stumble by what you eat. 14:21 It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything that causes your brother to stumble. 14:22 The faith you have, keep to yourself before God. Blessed is the one who does not judge himself by what he approves. 14:23 But the man who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not do so from faith, and whatever is not from faith is sin. Prayer Lord, You give us freedoms in our faith but we are expected to be careful that we do not exercise them selfishly so as to cause our brother to stumble. May I be intentional in all that I do -- bring attention and honor and glory to You. Summary & Commentary "Now receive the one who is weak in the faith ..." Among truly saved believers whether one treats one day as "holier" than another or all the same, eats or fasts, lives or dies, because he or she belongs to the Lord all they do -- and how they do it is also for the Lord and answers only to the Lord. The only things that are unclean are those which compromise ones relationship with God. "... whatever is not from faith is sin." Paul used the still-confused, spiritually immature, behavior of those who were "... weak in the faith" to demonstrate living-out grace toward fellow believers. Some still harbored superstitious beliefs about meat sacrificed to idols by pagans or sacrificed to God by Law-bound incomplete Jews which prevented them from eating meat ".. the weak person eats only vegetables", He instructed the more mature who was free to eat anything to be patient with the weaker - allowing them to do as best honored God in their heart (the weak believer). Interaction Consider Condemnation of a "weak" believer, about things not essential to salvation or righteous living, may drive them out of fellowship, slow their spiritual growth, or even cause them to reject Christ (even though - if their confession-conversion was genuine - their salvation cannot be "lost" they may choose to live for a long time as if it were). Discuss List examples where a wrongful attitude toward a "weak" believer was confronted and corrected. What was the outcome? Reflect Paul used the still-confused, spiritually immature, behavior of those who were "... weak in the faith" to demonstrate living-out grace toward fellow believers. Share When have you experienced confusion because someone was making choices that you did not understand as a new believer but later came to understand? Faith in Action Prayer: Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you a place where I harbor any beliefs which limit my freedom where God has not limited it (not necessarily specific to ritualistically "clean" of "unclean" foods but perhaps denominations, human religious traditions, Bible translations, styles of music, styles of clothing, buildings, gender roles in leadership, race, etc.). Action: Today I will ask a fellow believer to pray in agreement with me as I partner with the Holy Spirit to purge that immature belief from my life. Be Specific ______________________________________________________ Thursday's text will be: Romans 15:1-13 -- Draw nearer to the Lord and He will bless you, Have an http://Ultrafidian.com Day! David M. Colburn, DMin. MaCo ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Savannah-Statesboro needs a Bible College/Seminary! Personal Site: http://bibleseven.com Bible Resources: http://bible.org Teacher's Verse: John 7:16 I don't google I SEARCH! 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URL: From dcolburn at bibleseven.com Wed Nov 30 23:44:40 2011 From: dcolburn at bibleseven.com (dcolburn at bibleseven.com) Date: Wed, 30 Nov 2011 23:44:40 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] Thursday - Romans 15:1-13 Message-ID: <4ED70638.6050802@bibleseven.com> Thursday Romans 15:1-13 Exhortation for the Strong to Help the Weak 15:1 But we who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak, and not just please ourselves. 15:2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good to build him up. 15:3 For even Christ did not please himself, but just as it is written, "/*The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me*/." 15:4 For everything that was written in former times was written for our instruction, so that through endurance and through encouragement of the scriptures we may have hope. 15:5 Now may the God of endurance and comfort give you unity with one another in accordance with Christ Jesus, 15:6 so that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Exhortation to Mutual Acceptance 15:7 Receive one another, then, just as Christ also received you, to God's glory. 15:8 For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the circumcised on behalf of God's truth to confirm the promises made to the fathers, 15:9 and thus the Gentiles glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, "/*Because of this I will confess you among the Gentiles*//, //*and I will sing praises to your name*/." 15:10 And again it says: "/*Rejoice*//, //*O Gentiles*//, //*with his people*/." 15:11 And again, "/*Praise the Lord all you Gentiles*//, //*and let all the peoples praise him*/." 15:12 And again Isaiah says, "/*The root of Jesse will come*//, //*and the one who rises to rule over the Gentiles*//, //*in him will the Gentiles hope*/." 15:13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe in him, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Prayer Lord, You reminded us that we have responsibilities to others -- especially fellow-believers -- to be caring and considerate, sacrificing some of our comfort and convenience for their sakes. May I be careful to not impose personal preferences of style and personal freedoms of expression where such might discourage those considering-Christ or confuse or discourage new and/or less-mature fellow believers. Summary & Commentary "... bear with the failings of the weak ... Let each of us please his neighbor for his good to build him up ... may the God of encouragement and comfort give you unity with one another ... abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit ..." Paul continued his exhortation that we "make room for" the weaker believer, that the more mature not create an environment that made things unnecessarily confusing and/or uncomfortable for newer and/or weaker believers (and those considering-Christ). He quoted "The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me." just as Jesus had challenged him on the road "Why do you persecute Me?", it is all about Him. He reminded that Psalms 69:9 described the provision of Christ, explaining that "... everything that was written in former times was written for our instruction, so that through endurance and through encouragement of the scriptures we may have hope." Paul called for unity among believers, Jew and Gentile alike, "... to God's glory." Paul reminded the Romans that the OT foretold salvation for the Gentiles through the Messiah and that he was "... a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles ... to bring about the obedience of the Gentiles" so that "... those who have not [yet] heard will understand." And he reiterated that our hope must be found in the Lord God through the Holy Spirit. Interaction Consider The Lord God demonstrates an amazing continuity of the Bible over thousands of years and across nations and continents. God foretold and God accomplished. We merely acknowledge. Discuss Do we have essential unity based on what the Bible says is important or are we rebellious - dividing over that which is not essential and which God says to not divide? Reflect There is amazing diversity within the body of Christ, old and young, male and female, across cultures and nationalities and race. New believers, stuck believers, and maturing believers. Share When have you observed older believers, not necessarily more-mature (though they may think so), imposing preferences for a Bible translation, music, order of worship, style of building decoration, etc. on others -- without regard for consequences? Faith in Action Prayer: Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to me a place where I have contributed to division based upon something God has said I should not Action: Today I will repent of what the Holy Spirit has revealed to me, I will seek forgiveness and reconciliation, or I will come along side someone who needs to do so and walk with them through the process. In either case I will ask a fellow believer to pray in agreement that all involved will accept the comfort, strength, and wisdom of the Holy Spirit. Be Specific ______________________________________________________ Friday's text will be: Romans 15:14-30 -- Draw nearer to the Lord and He will bless you, Have an http://Ultrafidian.com Day! David M. Colburn, DMin. MaCo ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Savannah-Statesboro needs a Bible College/Seminary! Personal Site: http://bibleseven.com Bible Resources: http://bible.org Teacher's Verse: John 7:16 I don't google I SEARCH! 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