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Living The Solution – Online Newsletter |
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October 11, 2004 ISSUE |
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Opening Thoughts:
We’re getting closer to the election
for 2004. The polls indicate it’s a close race for the president.
The responsibility and right to vote is very important. Equally important
is to be informed on the issues and to vote with a conscience guided
by the Spirit.
Our purpose at Living the Solution is not partisan politics,
but to encourage all to study the Good News of the Gospel and to apply
it to our daily living. I hope we’re doing our job. As I assess
this I look at the emails we receive and the stats of those visiting
this website. In this issue I’ll spend some time discussing our “platform” – the
strategy of articles and resources we use.
One of the things studies of email newsletters indicates
is that people are more receptive to receiving and reading email on Monday,
so starting with this issue we are sending on Mondays. We’ll continue
to mail twice a month. Thank you for being part of the Living the Solution
family and I always welcome your input. You can always email me: tom@livingthesolution.com
Peace and joy,
Tom Gilbert
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IN THIS ISSUE
Feature Article: Our Platform
In The Spotlight: On Voting
Daily Thoughts: A Simple Message
Prayer & Sharing Requests
Quotable: Voices of Opposition
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| FEATURED
ARTICLE |
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Our Platform
The Mission and Resources of Living the Solution
By Tom Gilbert – October 2004
It’s an election year. Of course you know that. I hope that all of you
exercise your right to vote.
Living the Solution is an online ministry devoted to
practical solutions to life’s challenges. We
believe that our responsibility is to explore and discover
these spiritual solutions by applying our faith in
God as revealed through the Gospels and embodied in
Jesus Christ. We’re not running for political
office, but in a sense each time you visit us you “cast
a vote”. If you are open-minded when you visit
you are choosing (voting) for spiritual growth. You
can consider and either approve, disapprove or withhold
evaluation, but the action of exploring what is here
cannot harm you.
We can learn a lot about how to live our lives through the message and example
of Jesus. The more that you walk such a path the deeper your journey will take
you. Often things are not crystal clear, but the Holy Spirit is our advocate
who reveals the Truth to our hearts.
Our mission – our platform – is to provide thoughtful articles, resources,
reviews and sites that promote a growth in faith. We expressly desire that all
should come to know a way of life that is more than “business as usual”.
This Way of life is often counter-intuitive, but the way of love and service
has a real ring of truth. So we believe and so we daily strive to communicate
this.
I’ve spent more than two years developing and posting the content to this
web site. Believe me when I tell you that it has been a great source of growth
for me. I don’t say that we have all the answers. I do say that we believe
the way to the answers can be achieved by seeking God completely with all of
our hearts and minds and based completely in love. I feel very strongly that
you and I are journeying together.
Read the entire article here
Discover more thought provoking articles
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| IN THE SPOTLIGHT |
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On Voting
It's
an election year and on November 2 Americans will go the polls and cast
their ballots. Congressional representatives and issues are among them,
but primarily for President of the United States.
It's been an often heated and contested campaign. There have been debates and
heavy media. Our position is not to endorse any candidate, but rather to remind
each of us of our right to choose. Prayerful consideration as we exercise our
votes should certainly be a part of that.
The right to vote is not unlike our right to choose what we believe and how we
worship. If we develop a conscience based on spirituality that we believe is
best expressed through the message of God as revealed through Christ then we
will make our choices with a consideration of the Gospel message.
Here are
a number of helpful resources for your consideration:
Redeem
the vote
Take Back our Faith
Project Vote Smart
Presidential
Prayer Team - Pray the Vote
Call
to Renewal
See more at our Spotlight Specials page
Many people are discovering the great prices, selection
and ease of shopping at our Living the Solution online store. It’s secure, extensive
and worth a look. Visit our online
store. There's something for everyone.
When you shop with us, you support our ministry – thank you!
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DAILY THOUGHTS & REFLECTIONS |
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A Simple Message
I can't impress this on you too strongly.
God is looking over your shoulder. Christ himself is the Judge, with the
final say on everyone, living and dead. He is about to break into the open
with his rule, so proclaim the Message with intensity; keep on your watch.
Challenge, warn, and urge your people. Don't ever quit. Just keep it simple.
(2 Timothy 4:1-2, the Message)
Oh how we have complicated the Good News.
We have become like the Jews of the Old Testament, turning
a living relationship into formulas, duty, methods, and obligation.
We pay more attention to what is on the outside of a person
than what is inside.
The message of God is simple: God loves you and He desires an intimate personal
relationship with you. That is why He created you. Unfortunately, man turned
his back on God. Fortunately, God came in the form of man in Jesus to pay for
our unfaithfulness, our betrayal of His heart and our distrust of God. He died
on the cross to bridge the gap between us and God, and on the third day after
His death He came back to life and now sits at the right hand of God. He now
offers to us this life; a life with Him, a life of love, intimacy, adventure,
joy, desires fulfilled, broken hearts healed, freedom from the ways of sin, freedom
to live in love from our healed hearts. That’s the Good News of the Christ.
That is the message of God — relationship restored.
Is that the message you have always heard? Is that the message you deliver in
your daily life? Is that the kind of Christianity that you are offering to others?
Or is it the one full of "dos" and "don’ts" based on
duty and obligation? Is it one filled with twists and turns so complicated that
it takes a specialist to understand it and explain it?
Life is complicated enough; let’s not make life with God complicated as
well. Paul is so right. God is coming soon so stop confusing people by making
life with God complex. Let them see the simplicity of it all, and if you can’t,
then ask God to show you His simple but loving heart. Keep the message simple.
Live it with Passion
Pete Reinbold
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.Submit your prayer
requests and we will pray for them.
Of course, we keep your information confidential.
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My thoughts are shared regularly on the pages of
our 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.
It is our hope that the content of Living The Solution will
stimulate you to deepen your faith. That is certainly a result for us in both
our writing and reading. If you would like to see articles on a particular topic
or you have comments please let us know.
Send an email
Quotable: Voices
of Opposition
“Once a government is committed
to the principle of silencing the voice of opposition,
it has only one way to go, and that is down the path
of increasingly repressive measures, until it becomes
a source of terror to all its citizens and creates
a country where everyone lives in fear.”
— Harry S Truman
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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