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Living The Solution – Online Newsletter |
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MARCH 17, 2004 ISSUE |
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Opening Thoughts:
Hello,
Top o’ the St. Paddy’s day t’ya! In reality I’m not a
bit Irish, but on March 17th everyone is.
The real story of St. Patrick is not familiar to many. Here’s a
great place to read about a man that many considered a bit of a rabble rouser.
When you spend time reading and learning more about some of the prominent people
in the Bible you discover just how radical many of them were: Isaiah, Jeremiah,
Jesus and Paul.
The above sentence is a nice lead in for the quote at the end of this issue.
In between, I hope you enjoy our thoughts and suggested resources.
Peace,
Tom Gilbert
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IN THIS ISSUE
Feature
Article:
From Here to There
In The Spotlight: More Passion
New & Coming Soon: St. Pat, Easter and the Gospel
of John
Daily Thoughts: God Likes Diversity
Prayer & Sharing Requests
Quotable: Critiquing Religion
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| FEATURED
ARTICLE |
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From
Here to There
An Article on Dealing with Times
of Transition
by Tom Gilbert
When one
door closes, God opens a window…but it’s
hard waiting in the hall.
How do we handle those trying times of uncertainty when we are going from one
thing to another? Job changes, midlife crises, separation, illness, retirement,
school, marriage…
Powerful things happen when we have the desert experience, going off into the
wilderness of uncertainty with only our faith and hope and yearning to sustain
us. This difficult journey moves us into liminal space, where all real change
takes place. It is the way that puts us “in the now”.
Real growth comes in these times.
A year ago the United States began a war that eventually toppled the Saddam Hussein
regime in Iraq. Many of our military forces are still there. For the people of
that war-torn country it is certainly a time of transition. Hopefully a brighter
future is ahead for the Iraqi people. You can’t blame any of them if today
they are despondent or bitter about the violence and disruption around them.
It’s not currently a land at peace.
When our troops come home they will come face to face with processing their time
overseas and surely asking questions about how they will now live their lives.
It has always been that way when warriors return to their native shores.
You may be going through your own personal desert experience at this very time.
Perhaps life seems unbearable and overwhelming.
You might be struggling with an addiction, disease or trauma.
Maybe you’re unemployed and the financial picture is bleak. Or you might
be wealthy and wondering what life’s real meaning is.
You could be in the caretaker role for a loved one, a family member or a complete
stranger. Even with great faith you may still squirm while you sit in the middle
of distress.
Read the entire article here
Discover more thought provoking articles
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| IN THE SPOTLIGHT |
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More Passion
Ok, so it’s official: The
Passion of the Christ is a box-office phenomenon,
well on its way to earning $300 million dollars in ticket
sales by this weekend. However, this movie is about as
different from the typical Hollywood hit as can be. It’s
a vivid stations of the cross come to life and just about
everyone I’ve spoken with who has seen it agrees
there is a personal response to the movie. Each person
has their own intensely personal experience.
And isn’t that exactly how it should be? I’m not suggesting that
viewing the movie is a Christ encounter for everyone, but it certainly is for
some. As I’ve stated before, after seeing this movie we each have questions
to ask ourselves: “Who do I say Jesus is?” and “How now will
I live?” There’s no doubt in my mind that God is working in a powerful
way through this movie.
More on The Passion of the Christ at our Spotlight
Specials page
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| NEW & COMING SOON |
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St. Pat, Easter and the Gospel of John
Do you know the real story of St. Patrick?
It may not be what you think (and it is certainly more than
drinking beer and wearing green!). Dr. Ralph Wilson
of Joyful Heart Renewal Ministries has a very good article, “Will
the Real St. Patrick Please Stand Up?" You can
also visit the information at the website of
author/speaker Cindy Secrest McDowell, as well
as Christianity
Today. Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Next month we celebrate Easter. The work that Christ did on the cross, becoming
the perfect sacrifice and redeeming us from death bondage of sin, culminates
with his rising from the grave. We should look forward eagerly to our future
resurrected lives, but let’s live today for others by letting Jesus live
and love through us
Living the Solution provides many valuable
and inspirational links to other web sites. While we aren’t
responsible for their content, we have visited them and believe
they have value for others.
See more at our links page
We have many articles on our site on a variety of issues – if you are looking
for practical solutions to life’s challenges you might want to read a few.
See all our articles listed here.
The amazing box-office success of Mel Gibson’s new movie, “The
Passion
of the Christ” continues. More important is the opportunity to
discuss who Jesus Christ is and why he suffered and died (and rose from the dead)
for
us. Our review, Like
a Lamb to the Slaughter - and article, A
Really Rugged Cross — are recommended reading.
We have many reviews -books, movies, music - currently on site here.
See the newest reviews:
The movie The
Gospel of John
Princess,
a new cyber-serial from romance writer Staci Stallings.
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DAILY THOUGHTS & REFLECTIONS |
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God Likes Diversity
God's various gifts are handed out everywhere; but they all originate in God's
Spirit. God's various ministries are carried out everywhere; but they all originate
in God's Spirit. God's various expressions of power are in action everywhere;
but God himself is behind it all. Each person is given something to do that shows
who God is: Everyone gets in on it, everyone benefits. All kinds of things are
handed out by the Spirit, and to all kinds of people! The variety is wonderful.
(1 Corinthians 12:4-8 - the Message)
Who do you admire? Who do you wish
you were like? What do you wish was different about yourself?
Why?
God made you just the way He wanted you to be. He gave you your talents, abilities,
and desires. They are unique to you. He gave them to you for a purpose, to develop
and use them to fight for and serve others, and to fight for God’s kingdom.
God loves diversity, He invented it. He understands that it will take all kinds
of different people to share and show His love to a world filled with unique
and different kinds of people and that you cannot reach each of them with just
one way of delivering the message.
Don’t worry about being different; don’t strive for or covet someone
else’s gifts. Focus on developing your own and becoming the person God
created you to be. Become all that God wants you to be. And use your abilities
to change the world around you.
Live it Fierce
Pete
Get daily inspiration with a Scripture verse and commentary
at
Daily Thought
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PRAYER REQUESTS & RESULTS |
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Prayer works. It really does. Only those who've never
truly tried it with the proper intentions would say otherwise. We want
to pray for you and your needs. If you have a specific request let us
know at prayer requests.
Of course, we keep you information confidential.
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My thoughts are shared regularly on the pages of
the www.livingthesolution.com web site, especially on the Journal pages.
We welcome and appreciate your feedback. If you would like to submit
an article please see our writer's
guidelines.
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It is our hope that the content of Living The Solution will
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or you have comments please let us know.
Send an email to.
Quotable: Critiquing Religion
“Expressions of sharp and even violent criticism
of religion and the church have been welcomed, for they usually imply
sincerity of thought. If caustic criticism of religious institutions
and practices is irreligious, then Amos, Isaiah, and Jesus were very
irreligious men. In fact, that is exactly what many of their contemporaries
took them to be.”
— Halford E. Luccock (1885-1960) & Frances Brentano
Copyright 2004 Living the Solution, all rights reserved.
Tom Gilbert
Editor/Web-servant
Living The Solution
www.livingthesolution.com
P O Box 25584
Albuquerque, NM 87125-5584
Toll free 1-800-399-2564 ext 105 (US only) or 505-247-3232
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