Speedy Gambling

One of the greatest television comedies in history, Cheers is an absolute must see for anyone who’s ever had a regular hangout “where everybody knows your name”. The shows centers itself around the friendly neighborhood Boston bar named Cheers. The bar is owned by former Boston Red Sox relief pitcher Sam Malone (Ted Danson). Sam has three employees – bartender Ernie “Coach” Pantusso (Nicholas Colasanto) and waitresses Carla Tortelli (Rhea Pearlman) and Diane Chambers (Shelley Long). Season 3 witnesses the edition of popular cast member Kelsey Grammar as Dr. Frasier Crane (who would later spawn his own series spin-off, Frasier). Regular barflies Norm Peterson (George Wendt) and Cliff Clavin (John Ratzenberger) round out a strong supporting cast.

The Cheers (Season 3) DVD offers a number of hilarious episodes and begins the ascent of Dr. Frasier Crane, imminent psychologist, as a television icon. Notably, Dr. Crane’s stint on Cheers was originally intended to last for only a few episodes until his character became a regular cast member (similar to John Ratzenberger’s ascent on the show). Michael Richards (Kramer from the hit show Seinfeld) makes a notable guest appearance in episode # 62. Following her breakup with Sam and abandonment of Cheers, Diane returns to the bar at the request of Coach who feels it will help Sam end his problem drinking. The Sam-Diane-Frasier love triangle lasts for the entirety of the season, culminating in the final episode where Frasier proposes to Diane while the two are on a trip across the European continent…

Below is a list of episodes included on the Cheers (Season 3) DVD:

Episode 45 (Rebound: Part 1) Air Date: 09-27-1984
Episode 46 (Rebound: Part 2) Air Date: 10-04-1984
Episode 47 (I Call Your Name) Air Date: 10-18-1984
Episode 48 (Fairy Tales Can Come True) Air Date: 10-25-1984
Episode 49 (Sam Turns the Other Cheek) Air Date: 11-01-1984
Episode 50 (Coach in Love: Part 1) Air Date: 11-08-1984
Episode 51 (Coach in Love: Part 2) Air Date: 11-15-1984
Episode 52 (Diane Meets Mom) Air Date: 11-22-1984
Episode 53 (An American Family) Air Date: 11-29-1984
Episode 54 (Diane’s Allergy) Air Date: 12-06-1984
Episode 55 (Peterson Crusoe) Air Date: 12-13-1984
Episode 56 (A Ditch in Time) Air Date: 12-20-1984
Episode 57 (Whodunit?) Air Date: 01-03-1985
Episode 58 (The Heart is a Lonely Snipe Hunter) Air Date: 01-10-1985
Episode 59 (King of the Hill) Air Date: 01-24-1985
Episode 60 (Teacher’s Pet) Air Date: 01-31-1985
Episode 61 (The Mail Goes to Jail) Air Date: 02-07-1985
Episode 62 (Bar Bet) Air Date: 02-14-1985
Episode 63 (Behind Every Great Man) Air Date: 02-21-1985
Episode 64 (If Ever I Would Leave You) Air Date: 02-28-1985
Episode 65 (The Executive’s Executioner) Air Date: 03-07-1985
Episode 66 (Cheerio, Cheers) Air Date: 04-11-1985
Episode 67 (The Bartender’s Tale) Air Date: 04-18-1985
Episode 68 (The Belles of St. Clete’s) Air Date: 05-02-1985
Episode 69 (Rescue Me) Air Date: 05-09-1985

About the Author

Britt Gillette is author of The DVD Report, a blog where you can find more reviews like this one of the Cheers (Season 3) DVD.

The Indian Star System or Hindu Nakshatra system divides the ecliptic the apparent path of the Sun in the sky into 27 equal divisions of 13 degrees 20 minutes each. This system is a scientifically designed system. This mysterious system reveals all the present, past, future events of every man. These 27 nakshatras or stars are closely related to each and every man/woman.

In India, the nakshatra at the time of birth is immediately noted for the newly born child. This is called birth star or Janma Nakshatra in Sanskrit.
For every star there is a beneficial Rudraksha bead. The twenty seven nakshatras and the beneficial rudraksha bead are given below:

1)Ashwini – Nine faced
2)Bharani – Six faced
3)Krittika – Single faced or Twelve faced
4)Rohini – Double faced
5)Mrigashirsha – Three faced
6)Aardraa – Eight faced
7)Punarvasu – Five faced
8)Pushya – Seven faced
9)Ashlesha – Four faced
10)Maagha – Nine faced
11)Poorva Phalkuni – Six faced
12)Utra Phalkuni – Single faced or Twelve faced
13)Hasta – Double faced
14)Chitraa – Three faced
15)Swaati – Eight faced
16)Vishaakha -Five faced
17)Anuraadha -Seven faced
18)Jyestha -Four faced
19)Mula -Nine faced
20)Poorvaashadaa -Six faced
21)Uttaraashaada – Single faced or Twelve faced

22)Shraavanaa -Double faced
23)Dhanishtha -Three faced
24)Shatabhisak -Eight faced
25)Poorva Bhaadrapada -Five faced
26)Uttara Bhaadrapada -Seven faced
27)Revathi -Four faced

Rudraksha has no side effects. The various types of rudraksha, different classifications which bestow wealth, health and other worldly pleasures are given in the first part of this article. However for the benefits of the new readers the list is given below again:

A rudraksha of a single face bestows worldly pleasures and salvation. Very rarely one gets this single faced bead.

A rudraksha with two faces bestows the fulfillment of all desires. This quickly makes one to control his mind.

A Rudraksha with three faces always bestows means of enjoyment. As a result of its power all lores become firmly established.

A Rudraksha with four faces instantaneously bestows the four aims of life namely, virtuous life, wealth, sexual enjoyments and salvation. It also represents Brahma the lord of creation. By wearing this, designers, engineers, interior decorators and artists can improve their power of creativity.

A Rudraksha with five faces bestows salvation and all desired objects. Normally ninety per cent of the rudrakshas available in the market are five faced.

A Rudraksha with six faces absolves all sins. This bestows health and wealth.

A Rudraksha with seven faces bestows wealth and wisdom. Even a poor man becomes a great lord.

A Rudraksha with eight faces bestows longevity. Man who wears it lives the full span of life.

A Rudraksha with nine faces increases the energy.

A Rudraksha with ten faces removes ill luck, poverty.

More on Rudraksha secrets will be enumerated in the next article.

S. Nagarajan is a vehicle body engineer by profession. He has written more than 1300 articles in 16 magazines and published 18 books. He is revealing Eastern Secret Wisdom through T.V. Programmes, magazine articles, seminars, courses. His website www.santhanamnagarajan.com His articles on Yoga, laughter, efficacy of mantras and sound, Hypnotism, Tele Kinesis, Power of Prayer, Vastu and Feng Shui, Auto suggestion, Success Formula, Out of Body Experience etc are regularly appearing in ezinearticles.com. So far sixty four articles have been published in ezinearticles.com.

Have you ever heard of The Seven Sisters, also known as the Pleiades? It is a small constellation made up of seven stars that is shaped like a cluster of grapes. While this constellation is small, many people believe that the Pleiades has witnessed and foretells of many big things. Some people believe that a cataclysmic event, one that may have killed thousands maybe millions of people, happened while The Seven Sisters were in the sky. A few even believe that the world will end while The Seven Sisters shine overhead.

So what does this all have to do with Halloween? Well, if for some reason you found yourself on a deserted island without a calendar, you could still celebrate Halloween because the Pleiades is always right overhead during Halloween.

But what truly makes The Seven Sisters a sinister set of stars is the fact that not only is Halloween celebrated at this time, but so was an ancient Aztec ceremony involving a human sacrifice and the end of the world, a Celtic ceremony called Samhain when evil spirits would invade the earth and a Mexican holiday called Days of the Dead (da de los muertos). Ancient temples in Greece were built to be lined up with Pleiades. And so was a major Aztec temple. The Pleiades is even mentioned in the bible, in the book of Job and has a place in Brahman faith as the sparks from a god of fire. The set of stars is so widely mentioned and so often associated with death and destruction, that there are some who suspect that the Pleiades were overhead when a terrible event happened on Earth.

No one is quite sure what this event was, though some suspect that it may have been the great flood that is talked about in the Bible or perhaps the cataclysmic event that lead to the sinking of Atlantis. The Aztecs believed that the world had not been destroyed just once when the Pleiades were overhead, but rather four times. And that if a human sacrifice was not made once every 52 years (when their two calendars coincided), that the world would be once again destroyed while those seven stars looked down.

So this Halloween, when you are taking your kids out trick-or-treating or on your way to a costume party, make sure you stop for a moment and look up at the stars. See if you can locate the Seven Sisters overhead in the night sky. You might also want to stop and wonder what horrors that little cluster of stars has witnessed, and if they might witness a few more sometime in the future.

This article was written by Heather A Rhoades and was sponsored by DareToScare.com and the DareToScare Costume Search Engine. The article is available for reprint as long as a link is provided back to http://www.daretoscare.com

Ale’s Home is a bed and breakfast in Rome, located in Via Germanico 99

The apartment is located in the historic area of Prati, near Saint Peter’s Square and the Vatican City. You can easily reach the Popolo Square in ten minutes; the Spanish Steps, the Fountain of Trevi, the main Corso and the Navona Square are also nearby.

Ale’s Home is a first floor apartment, finely restored in November 2007, with four guest rooms and a large communal space, all with wood floors.
Each room is quiet, with a large window and its own bathroom. The beds have orthopedic, antiallergenic mattresses and the rooms have air conditioning and color LCD TV.

Each room has two single beds, to accommodate twin or single use, that can be joined to make a double bed as needed.

The communal area has a well-equipped modern corner kitchen for your use. A garage and a bar for your breakfast are only a few meters from the front door.

Fees are increased by 20% in the high season (Christmas and New Years, Easter week and the weekends that include May 1 and August 15). Fees are for a double occupancy room and include breakfast, services, water, gas, electricity, change of sheets twice a week, towels and cleaning service at the end of your stay. Animals are not allowed.

Other than Ale’s Home, you can browse our offers for other accommodations in Rome, from cheap to luxury, togheter with Tours all over Italy; tourist information about Italy can be found on World 66

Since ancient times man has strived to search out the unknown. His pursuit of knowledge of the future has led to the creation of many different methods of fortune telling such as astrology, numerology, palmistry etc. Card Reading or ‘Cartomancy’, as it is also known, is one such method that can also claim to have helped penetrate into the mysteries of fate from ancient times to the modern day. It is impossible to trace the prehistoric beginnings of cardlore, as divination by the cards is of great antiquity. One theory holds that Europe obtained the cards from the East, notably India and China. Another theory separates the cards of the West entirely from those of the East and holds that Western cards were originally made in Europe around the fourteenth century.

The earliest cards found in Europe were the ‘Tarot’. These symbolical, numerical cards, forming a pack of 78 cards are the immediate predecessors of our own modern day playing cards. Divination by these cards is credited mainly to the Jewish astrologer and cabbalist, Jacque Gringonneur. The Tarots helped the earliest catromancers develop their art, later on in Spain, Italy and France methods of cartomancy requiring only 32 and 52 cards were developed, while the remaining cards were discarded.

The word Tarot is believed to have been derived from tarotee, meaning cross, in reference to the diagonally crossed lines on the rear of the cards. The advent of numerical representation saw the evolution of card games such as ‘Tarochi’ or ‘Triumphs ‘ as it is also known. Just like contemporary playing cards the Tarot pack also consists of four suits, namely Cups, Wands, Swords and Pentacles. Today there are many variants of the Tarot pack, some with upto 97 cards. Though one does suspect that some may also be the invention of today’s marketing geniuses, trying to satisfy the ever growing demands of the consumer, not to mention profit hungry corporate bosses.

Divination by the 32 card pack is just as accurate as the Tarot Pack, owing to their common ancestry, though Tarot readings maybe somewhat more detailed. There are many methods of divination using the 32 card pack, however they are mostly similar in character. Though their layouts are easier to learn than those of the Tarots, the 32 card pack never gained mass appeal. As up till now ordinary numerical cards had been used for this purpose and as one card can have up to eight different meanings depending on its position, deciphering readings was a tedious and difficult business. Thus this method only remained the preserve of accomplished Cartomancers. However, today modern printing allows not only the meanings of the cards to be printed on the card face, but also pictorial descriptions. This makes the cards easy to read and self explanatory. The pack of 32 has three simple layouts, well suited to those untrained in the art of Cartomancy. For instance, a sample pack may use the following procedure:

In the first layout the enquirer’s question is answered by randomly selecting 13 cards from the pack. The enquirer can solicit more information on any five of the 13 selected cards by choosing five more cards from the remaining pile. This form of divination is carried one step further and the thoughts and desires, the household and the fate in general of the enquirer are read from the eighteen selected cards. The third layout is perhaps the most interesting and allows the enquirer to know if a particular wish or desire will be realised in the future, simply by shuffling the cards and laying out nine cards in a particular spread.

Now to practical experiences: Mrs.G has been using the Power Fortunes’ pack for sometime now and reads the cards frequently. Recently, for example, she kept getting ‘Man in Uniform’ and at the time there was no connection, but much to her surprise an old acquaintance from the armed forces, who she had not been in contact with for sometime, called to see her, quite unexpectedly. Although this person lived more than 1500 miles away.

Ms Haindl in London, England has also been using the Power Fortunes’ Pack for sometime. In the spring of this year the cards repeatedly predicted upheavals along with the Ten of Clubs, meaning ‘Change of Occupation’. Sometime later, she left her job under trying circumstances, but almost immediately found a more prestigious and lucrative position elsewhere.

Mrs.G did a reading for a friend, who picked up 4 Kings, which represents, ‘Honors, Promotions and Wealth’. Such a condition seemed too remote for friend or family, but suddenly there was an upheaval in her friend’s husband’s job and much to their surprise this is exactly what happened.

Reason tell us that cards are merely printed pieces of cardboard. It would be quite absurd for us to expect them to convey anything intelligible, let alone the future. However, all those who come into contact with the cards discover an inexplicable pattern, relevant to their lives. In fact, so uncanny are these revelations, that their accuracy cannot be explained away as a matter of sheer chance. It is for this reason that people have consulted the cards since ancient times, while the cards have in turn faithfully guided their masters through life’s uncertainties. Considering one doesn’t have to rely on anybody else’s fortune telling talents except one’s own, it would seem like a good choice.

Vineet is a cpywritter and consultant for Tarot Readings. More details on the Tarot and fortune telling can be found at, Tarot Cards.

To understand our children’s fall from grace we must look at whom they serve. Many parents ask and even blame themselves,”What did I do wrong?” Parents do have a certain amount of responsibility to guide their children into the righteousness which is God, they must teach and explain, what salvation is, further more this must begin at a young age.

But after you’ve done these things, forget about blaming yourself on the state of your children. We cannot make the decisions for them and we cant hold their hand forever. A child goes bad many times, by choice, per- pressure and a falling society. There comes a time in each child’s life that they must choose their walk in life. Then you say, “Who’s to Blame?”

Its not really blame that we must look for but Circumstances that have surrounded them. Its easy to see the, cause and or circumstances, for our children to fall away from the teachings of their parents. Lets look at a few things before we get into the scripture.

1. The government, because of one woman, took God out of the class room.

2. The media has brought in sex and violence into the children’s everyday life.

3. The Church has failed them because of so much Hypocrisy within its walls.

4. The entire education system has let the children down by not discouraging binge drinking, pre-marital sex and violence on campus. The emphasis is more on sports and less on education. Then who is this man our children follow? Let take a close look.

Luke 10:18 And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Satan was a teacher in Heaven, an Archangel, a Spirit of Beauty and Light. But Jesus stated that Satan’s fall was because of Pride. 2nd Corinthians 11:14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. (Sometimes beauty kills.) Luke 22:31-32 And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you ( Satan’s desire is to cause the fall of anyone that will believe his lies.

For He cannot return to the Kingdom of Heaven and will prevent as many as He can from doing so.) , that he may sift you as wheat (To tear into peaces.): But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren. (Prayer is the best defense against the wiles of the Devil.)

When a name is repeated in the Bible it is a sign that the event will take place twice, it also signifies, love and also a warning, just as we did when our children were out side playing and were about to get themselves into trouble. The first is to get their attention and the second is a warning. Satan is trying to destroy all who will not listen to the warning.

Lets look at 2nd Corinthians 2:11; Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices. Many times our children fall because they do not know how cunning Satan is, nor what devices he uses to intimidate and confuse. Satan’s grip on not only our children but mankind today has grown because of lack of social integrity. Society in large has become uncaring and disinterested in God. Wars and rumors of wars. Society has taught of children that gain is more important than the soul. The social decline and Lack of reverence to God has caused this world to come into turmoil.

When I was a child, my parents taught me about, right and wrong, Jesus and God, responsibility and patriotism. Thou it took me many years after leaving home to realize for myself that I was missing something in my life. I had it all but still felt empty. When the Holy Spirit reminded me of who Jesus was and I was converted, I found that that empty place in my Heart was gone. If you’ve taught your children about the Bible, the word will never leave them, its still there in their mind. Many times children fall because what they see their parents do, just because a parent does something wrong doesn’t mean that the parent cant explain what he did wrong, why he did it and the consequences of their actions to their child to help prevent another wrong.

If the parents live in sin, the child will believe this action is normal, so we must be careful how we live and what kind of example we give. Children go bad, basically, because of lack of leadership.

1. From the parents.

2. From the Schools and

3. From their minister. The Minister is the last line of defense for a child. A good minister, after trying all prayers, will do as Paul had to do to save those that were hard hearted. Lets read 1st Corinthians 5:5; “To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.”

A minister that is well informed in the scriptures has the power to turn an individual over to Satan to teach the other side of life.

And if this method doesn’t work, He has no other recourse but to turn them over to God, to preform His will.

1Titus 1:20 Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme. Society has taught teenagers that it is natural to have intercourse before marriage, it has taught them that getting pregnant and aborting the pregnancy is natural, it has taught them, having a baby hinders their fun in life (I.E. You can have the pleasure of sex but you don’t have to accept the responsibility for it.) Ars.

Temple of Spirit & Truth Ministries
A.R. Smith Ministries
http://www.ourchurch.com/member/a/arsmithsermons/

Modern prayer experiments bring to fruition the grand experiment envisioned in 1872 by an anonymous Briton who threw down a prayer test challenge to believers.

The experiment was a simple one. Choose “one single ward or hospital” for three to five years of sustained prayer by “the whole body of the faithful.” Will its patients’ healing and mortality rates surpass those in comparable hospitals elsewhere? The proposal triggered a national “prayer-gauge controversy” that raged for a year. For many people, the very idea of testing prayer and God was outrageous.

If experimenting with prayer offends, said Victorian polymath Francis Galton, then why not examine the efficacy of spontaneous prayers? Galton collected mortality data on people who were the subjects of much prayer, such as kings, and reported that they did not outlive others. Moreover, the proportion of stillbirths suffered by praying and nonpraying expectant parents appeared similar.

And there things stood quietly for a century, until American researchers decided they would experiment with prayer. The study that did most to stimulate both scientific and popular interest in prayer was Randolph Byrd’s 1988 report of “Positive Therapeutic Effects of Intercessory Prayer in a Coronary Care Unit Population.” Byrd randomly assigned 393 coronary patients either to a no-prayer group or to a group that would receive prayer from three to seven “born again” intercessors.

For six of 26 outcomes, the prayed-for patients did better. Although there were questions about whether the person recording the data was entirely ignorant of the patient assignment, the widely publicized conclusion was that prayer worked.

For the other measures — such as length of hospital stay and even mortality — there was, however, no difference between the prayer and no-prayer groups. The ambiguous results helped inspire Dr. Herbert Benson, director of the Mind-Body Institute at Harvard University, to propose in 1997 a substantial, well executed and elegantly simple experiment called the Study of the Therapeutic Effects of Intercessory Prayer, also known as STEP.

In STEP, which was funded by the John Templeton Foundation, more than 1,800 consenting coronary bypass patients were assigned to one of three groups: one that knew that it was being prayed for by volunteer intercessors, one that did not know for certain whether it was being prayed for but was, and another group that did not know for certain whether it was being prayed for but wasn’t.

After becoming aware of the STEP experiment from Templeton staff and Herbert Benson, the lead investigator, I filed a statement “Why People of Faith Can Expect Null Effects in the Harvard Prayer Experiment.” I put this on record in 1997 so that such Christian thinking about prayer would not seem, if offered now, like after-the-fact backpedaling or rationalization. I also wrote two more articles for the Reformed Review expressing my Christian and scientific skepticism about the prayer experiments while acknowledging the more intriguing and persuasive evidence of correlations between religiousness and health.

In the intervening nine years, while we awaited the results from this unprecedented mother of all prayer experiments, other prayer experiments surfaced:

• A 1997 experiment on “Intercessory Prayer in the Treatment of Alcohol Abuse and Dependence” found no measurable effect of intercessory prayer.
• A 1998 experiment with arthritis patients reported that no significant effect from distant prayer was found.
• A 1999 study of 990 coronary care patients — who were unaware of the study –reported about 10 percent fewer complications for the half who received prayers “for a speedy recovery with no complications.” But there was no difference in specific major complications such as cardiac arrest, hypertension and pneumonia, with the median hospital stay the same 4.0 days for both groups.
• A 2001 Mayo Clinic study of 799 coronary care patients offered a simple result: “As delivered in this study, intercessory prayer had no significant effect on medical outcomes,” the study said.
• A 2005 Duke University study of 848 coronary patients found no significant difference in clinical outcomes between those prayed for and those not.

Amid these negative results, one stunning result challenged my prediction. “Prayer works,” said a headline in The New York Times magazine after a 2001 Journal of Reproductive Medicine article reported that prayed-for women undergoing in vitro fertilization experienced a 50 percent pregnancy rate double the 26 percent rate among those not receiving experimental intercessory prayers. When suspicions about the study emerged, one of the study’s authors pleaded guilty to criminal business fraud and was sentenced to prison. The article’s Columbia University co-author removed his name from the “study,” with which it turned out he had no direct involvement.

Climaxing this string of negative or discredited results comes what may be the coup de grace for intercessory prayer experiments: intercessory prayer in the STEP experiment had no effect on recovery from bypass surgery. If these had been clinical tests of a new drug, the pharmaceutical industry would surely, at this point, say “enough.”

But imagine that these experiments had confirmed the intercessory prayer’s clinical efficacy. How big would the “God effect” — if that is how we would have viewed it — need to be to be added to the list of recommended medical treatments? Might affluent but ill people effectively outsource prayers for their healing by paying distant people to pray, in the confidence that God will be counting votes? And if a now-proven God were to be arm-twisted into reliably responding, would faith be required any more?

Or do we err in viewing the “God effect” as a mere slight subtraction to, for example, the number of stillbirths or coronary deaths? In the historic Christian understanding, God is not a distant genie whom we call forth with our prayers but rather the creator and sustainer of all that is. Thus when the Pharisees pressed Jesus for some criteria by which they could validate the kingdom of God, Jesus answered, “The kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be observed . . . . . For, in fact, the kingdom of God is among you.”

The Lord’s Prayer, the model prayer for Christians that I pray every day, does not attempt to control a God who withholds care unless cajoled. Rather, by affirming God’s nature and human dependence even for daily bread, it prepares one to receive that which God is already providing. Through prayer, people of faith express their praise and gratitude, confess their wrongdoing, voice their concerns, open themselves to the spirit, and seek the peace and grace to live as God’s own people.

David G. Myers is a social psychologist at Hope College in Holland, Mich. This article was written for Science & Theology News.

Sometimes my spirit sinks when I hear certain things preached. When you truly connect with the truth and the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ, you realize that so many things that are preached are nothing more than humanistic religion. So it is with the topic, ‘loving others,’ — or even better, ‘loving others as Jesus loves us.’ A preacher can go anywhere with the topic of loving others.

They can build a great legalistic sermon that can bury people under piles of religious rules! And have you seriously contemplated ‘loving others as Jesus loves us’? That was Eve’s temptation in the Garden of Eden: “You shall be as God.” Believing the preaching that we can love like God loves, approaches spiritual absurdness!

Jesus does SAY we should love others the way he loves us (John 15:12). But the question is: what does he MEAN by this? He doesn’t mean for us to do this in the flesh: ‘Try to be like God.’ But there is a sense in which we can at least BEGIN loving others the way Jesus loves us. This is with regard to our demands and expectancies.

HOW does Jesus love us? He begins by not accusing us (John 5:45). If we are in him, we have NO condemnation (Rom 8:1). How many times are we told NOT to judge? Jesus accepts us as we are — no matter how bad we are. Jesus doesn’t demand that we ‘clean up our act’ before he loves us. While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. And we are still sinners, made righteous by the blood of Jesus.

We ALL need to change! None of us is perfect… “No, not one.” If you question whether you need to change or not, just ask someone close to you. We ALL should change! But it is not demands, expectancies or condemnation that changes us. God’s love changes us — by NOT imposing demands and expectancies upon us!

If we don’t experience God’s love and acceptance, we feel he is demanding and critical. Too often we live by a type of ‘reverse golden rule’ — we do unto others as we perceive God does it unto us. If we don’t know his love, then we feel he is demanding. If we feel HE is demanding, then we are demanding. “Children live what they learn” is the subject of the next Gospel Snapshot.

Are you willing to accept those close to you the way Jesus accepts us — with no strings attached? It’s not easy to let go of our demands and expectations, but this IS what God does for us. This IS loving others as Jesus loves us.

There is a greater sin than not obeying Jesus; it is the sin of
not believing that he loves you.

When you believe another person has your best interests at
heart, you can accept great difficulties on behalf of that
person. People will actually pay doctors to literally rip their
insides out, because they trust their good intentions.

When Jesus asks you to do something difficult, he’s testing
your faith in his love and goodness.

Very few are willing to live by faith in obedience to Jesus.
After all, he asks us to give up our career, family,
possessions, and reputation.

But he does so because he has something better to give
you. We tried it and it’s true.

Like the merchant man who sold all he had to get the most
perfect pearl in the world, we are no longer concerned about
what we paid for it, because we now know what a bargain
we have received.

It has been argued that God “in his mercy” does not expect
us to take the teachings of Jesus literally. The assumption,
of course, is that the teachings of Christ contradict Gods
mercy.

But we have discovered that the teachings of Jesus are
expressions of his mercy. In accepting Jesus, we have not
just accepted a name and a ticket to heaven, but we have
accepted his whole plan of salvation; and it starts right now.

While you cling to your mediocrity, your respectability, your
image of balance and moderation, you will never experience
this world of faith and love. Let go of your lukewarm religious
counterfeits and begin to believe that God really does love
you… infinitely… in every word that Jesus spoke.

You cannot say, “I believe you love me, and as an
expression of that faith, I will reject your discipline.” This is
not faith. It’s a slap in the face of a loving God. But if we will
accept God’s call, letting our lives be moulded according to
his will, everything will work together for our good. (Romans
8:28)

The religious world is full of people trying to conduct their
own operations. They refuse to put themselves totally in the
hands of the Master Surgeon. They fear losing identity,
friends, family, wealth, or status. And because of it, they are
slowly losing their souls!

Dave McKay is co-founder of the Jesus Christian community
website address: jesuschristians.com

PART 1: Another Gospel?

The influence of the occult upon our everyday lives is staggering. An African missionary from the Mandinka tribe of West Africa, once asked a congregation a question similar to that asked by the Apostle Paul of the Galatians. His 11-minute message, spoken in the mid-90’s, I can still recall, as he shouted the question: “You foolish Americans… who has bewitched you?!”

The basis of his message was that, right here in the good ol’ U.S. of A., everywhere he looked, he could detect an occult influence. Whether it was through the media, commercials, from the “alternative religions,” even from the puplits of well-meaning Christian ministers, what this man was detecting was something OTHER than the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Crystals, guided imagery, healing meditation, Christian Science, Kabbalah, Mormonism…why has “Christian America” so eagerly accepted these ideas that, at their root, are so contrary to that which would be considered orthodox? Why are so many things OTHER than biblical concepts being sought out to meet the needs of those who claim to be Christians?

In 2 Corinthians, 11th chapter, the Apostle warned that some would come preaching “another Jesus” and “a different gospel.” He wrote, “…as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.” There are three types of doctrine spoken of within the New Testament: the doctrine of man, the doctrine of devils and the doctrine of Christ (and of God). Personally, I contend that Bible illiteracy is the basis for this continual weakening of Orthodox Christianity. One example of this can be found in the number of Southern Baptists who are joining the Mormon Church. According to the Arizona Latter-day Sentinel, April 2, 1988, “…an average of 282 members of their church join the LDS church each week. Coincidentally, the (sic) average Southern Baptist congregation has 283 members, which means the Baptists lose 52 congregations each year to the Mormons.

Though a group may mention the name ‘Jesus’ and season their conversation with spiritual-sounding, familiar Christianese, not all that glitters is gold. For example, those who worship The Sacred Mushroom (No, I’m NOT kidding) refer to a mushroom as ‘Jesus’ so, based upon Romans 10:9-10 (…if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.) they consider themselves to be “saved.” Some actually believe this and have placed their faith in a fungus.

We must ask ourselves just WHO this Jesus is whenever that Name is spoken. Is he Lucifer’s brother? The archangel Michael? An Ascended master? A mere prophet? A fungus? Or is the ‘Jesus’ to whom they refer the Lord of all Creation that He claimed to be? You see Jesus of Nazareth was either a liar, a lunatic, or truly Lord of all… the way WE must see Him as well.

PART 2: The FARCE is with us!

After the first Star Wars movie, Christian bumper stickers came out stating that the “Force” was with us. Thinking the Star Wars movie was a Christian allegory, many assumed this “Force” being referred to in the film was the Holy Spirit. Of course, as we all know, the Holy Spirit is NOT a force, but the third Person of the triune God that we worship.

Right?

Not according to a 2001 survey by the Barna Group which stated that 61% of Americans believed the Holy Spirit to be a mere symbol of God’s presence rather than a living entity. Scripture clearly reveals that the Holy Spirit has a purpose – to empower those who trust in Christ for the advancing of His Kingdom – as well as personal character traits. Yet, I marvel at how many Christians, ministers included, refer to Him merely as “it” – IF they acknowledge Him at all. Just as amazing, 60% of adults believe Satan is merely a symbol of evil. Yet, 81% of us believe angels exist and influence people’s lives.

What is most startling about the Star Wars phenomenon is not the advent of yet another movie, but the real ways in which people around the world appear to be forming a religion out of the thing. The Anglican Digest reported that the first school to teach Jedi – named for the Jedi Knights from the series – was recently opened in Romania. Courses at the Star Wars Academy include the correct use of light saber swords, and lessons on how to speak Wookiee.

The BBC reported (2002) that at least 70,000 people in Australia wrote-in “Jedi” as their response under the category of religion on the last census form. Hard-core fans of the films have been trying to have Jedi declared an official religion around the English-speaking world for years now.

The same situation occurred in New Zealand in their census of 2001. Similarly, more than 390,000 people in England declared themselves Jedi in their census of the same year – a shocking number when you consider that only 260,000 people in England declared themselves to be Jewish! There are various Internet campaigns going on now that encourage voters in the U.S. to petition for Jedi as an official religion on the next U.S. census form.

Star Wars creator, George Lucas, once said: “I put the Force into the movie in order to try to awaken a certain kind of spirituality in young people more a belief in God than a belief in any particular religious system. I wanted to make it so that young people would begin to ask questions about the mystery.”

Well, it backfired, George. In a Time magazine interview, Lucas downplayed any religious implications about his series, but then went on to admit to using “the Force” as a representation of God and the Dark Side warrior, Darth Vader, as a metaphor for the evil that exists inside us all. How different is that from saying all humans are born in sin and need the help of “God” to save them? Sounds pretty religious, does it not?

Sadly, very few proponents of this Jedi faith have noticed that their new “religion” is very elitist and only a very few of the Star Wars characters are permitted to attain any benefit from the Force, that being only those referred to in the series as Jedi Knights. Far from being literally a ‘life-force’ that can be harnessed by the underclasses and oppressed, it can only be used by a chosen few High Priests.

The Holy Spirit is so-entitled for one very specific, obvious reason: to distinguish Him from EVIL spirits, deceiving devils that are constantly at work in our midst, killing, stealing and destroying even those who call themselves ‘Christian.’ The Holy Spirit empowers us. He convicts us of sin AND of our righteousness. He comforts, exhorts, edifies and confirms. He is a constant Teacher and reminds us of all that Jesus taught (so read what Jesus taught). He’s the exact SAME Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead and He desires to take up residence in anyone who believes that Jesus is who He said He is.

Jesus sent Him. So, He’s obviously all well ever need! He’s no mere force, but where Satan and his minions are concerned, He will make YOU a force to be reckoned with.

PART 3: The Kabbalah Kraze

The latest trendy religion is the Kabbalah. Pop singer Madonna has reportedly donated tens of millions to the cause. Other famous followers include comedian Roseann Barr, actress Demi Moore and many others. In today’s occult revolution where every dimension of the occult is being explored, there has been a revived interest in Kabbalah among both Jew and Gentile.

Although its Jewish origin makes it unique, Kabbalah is still essentially an occultic practice, and is thus incompatible with the Judeo-Christian faiths. Its Pantheistic theology teaches that all reality springs directly from God’s own essence. Even if one believes that these “emanations” from God’s essence have “gone through a descent of ten spheres on four different levels” – whatever THAT means – the conclusion is inescapable that even he who is on the lowest level is still of one essence with God; and thus, ultimately, that individual IS God. This is a concept that is incompatible with the Biblical concept God, who created the world out of nothing, NOT out of Himself. In Genesis 1:1, the Hebrew word for “create” is “bara,” referring to something coming out of nothing. This verse debunks Pantheism, the belief that God is IN the creation and IS the creation. God is not the tree, the rock, the building or the air. Yet, Pantheism holds that God permeates everything, and, therefore, IS all.

Pantheism is not unique to the practitioners of Kabbalah. I once debated a believer in Pantheism and asked him if God was in those bird droppings on the rock wall before us. I believe I heard his mental wheels come to a screeching halt for a moment. “Come now,” I said, urging him not to check his brain at the door, “your beliefs are either absolutely true in all instances or they aren’t true at all.” Incidentally, he was a member of a local mainline Christian denomination. Pantheism is being embraced by many Christians. The concept is, basically, that only the spiritual dimension exists. Some Pantheistic religions include Hinduism, Buddhism and Taoism. Pantheism also forms the basis for Transcendental Meditation and some aspects of New Age mysticism.

This should not be confused with the concept of God’s omnipresence. God IS omnipresent. He’s everywhere at once. David said, “…if I ascend up into heaven, thou (God) art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there,” (Psalm 139:8). But God is NOT the created world. In fact, He is completely EXTERNAL to the created world. Worship belongs to the Creator, not His creation. Paul tells us in Romans 1:25 that there will be those “Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator….”

God is related to the world as a sculptor is related to his sculpture, or I am related to this message on my computer screen right now. The sculptor is not the sculpture. The writer is not the writing. The sculpture and the writing are productions. They are produced by the one that creates, and what one creates, can be created again. Perhaps it will be different or it may be better.

God created everything just by speaking it into existence. It was not difficult. He’s God, you know. “Let there be light and there was light” (Genesis 1:3). Poof! “Let the waters bring forth and they brought forth, Let the earth bring forth and it brought forth” (Genesis 1:20,24). Poof! God was not put to a test to make the universe. Some say, “Mankind was a more difficult product!” God formed Adam out of the dust of the ground; we must not have been TOO tough. Like a mud pie maybe. Poof! He took a rib from Adam’s side, spoke a word, and turned it into a woman. Poof! That was not hard for God. This whole creation was not such a magnificent production where God was concerned. To us, it is absolutely unfathomable. With just a little word, it all came to be, or at least, got started. It was really easy for the Creator. Genesis1:31declares that in six days – even if a day is as a thousand years in God’s economy – it all came to be, simply through His spoken words.

Imagine having that kind of an all-powerful Creator God handling our measely, temporal problems! He WANTS to handle our lives in this same way, but we must GIVE them to Him.

PART 4: If it’s broken, let’s fix it

North America is the only continent on earth where the Church is not growing, despite a 2002 Barna survey revealing that 85% of us self-identify as Christians. The exodus from American churches has reached biblical proportions. People are leaving organized churches at a rate of 53,000 a week in Europe and North America combined (the U.S. lost 57,500 in the entire Vietnam War, to put that number in perspective). As a whole, Christians lose 7,600 a day to other religions or irreligion.
According to the North American Mission Board (NAMB), the need for new churches is greater than it’s ever been as evidenced by the church-to-population ratios over the last century. For example, in 1900, there were 27 churches, of multiple denominations, per 10,000 people. Today there are 12 churches per 10,000 people. Meanwhile eight churches close their doors permanently every day; nearly 3,000 annually.

The mind boggles regarding the latest in American Church statistics. For example, the number of ministers who no longer believe in the infallibility of Scripture is startling: 85% of the Presbyterian USA pastors said NO; 85% of the Methodist pastors said NO; 85% of the Episcopal pastors said NO; 55% of the Baptist pastors said NO; 45% of the Catholic priests said NO. (Source: Warner A. Bonner, LeadershipJournal.net)

A whopping 42% of Americans believe Jesus committed sins. Whereas Jesus directed us to “go and make disciples,” only16% of American Christians are involved in a discipleship process of regularly meeting with a group or individual for spiritual growth. The Internet is the only mass medium whose audience share has grown during the past decade (I can attest as this ministry’s e-Mail outreach grows annually). The proportion of the population using the Internet as a spiritual resource has increased by two-thirds since 1998. According to the Barna Group, “Our studies continue to show that people are using the Christian media to provide elements of ministry that are not adequately provided to them by their local church.” He explained, “For some people, these media complement their church experience. For others, a combination of these media forms a significant portion of their faith experience….”

Church leaders should start strategizing right about now!
Yes, the times they are a-changin’. The Church must wisely adapt and reach the masses where they are, but we must cautiously filter everything we read and hear through the teachings of Jesus Christ. Remember the wise counsel of Paul: “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ,” Colossians 2:8. Sadly, much of this modern-day spiritual smorgasbord, including the New Millenium’s hybrid faiths – though they may well be signs of the apostasy of the end times – are really anything less than the unpaid invoices of the Church at large.

Selah.

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Pastor Michael has been broadcasting his messages of Discipleship & Encouragement to the Body of Christ since 1999. Currently, his messages are being read by eMail subscribers, re-printed on other websites and newsletter, used in pulpit ministries, and changing lives across the planet.