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Pretense Leads to Burnout

Sooner or later most of us will encounter a Christian who is wearing a mask. We find out the pious Christian we thought we knew isnt the Christ-centered person they appeared to be. It seems to happen all too often on the national news and, sadly, in our local church.

The reality is that most people wear some sort of mask. Were scared that without a facade, people will see our inadequacies. Were scared that people wont like us if they really knew us.

But, the apostle Paul reminded us in 2 Corinthians that “whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away…and we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lords glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory.”

Pauls message is that we can take off our masks, when we truly accept Christ into our hearts. Not only will we experience freedom, but Paul promises we will grow steadily in the image of Christ.

Lets face it – living a life of pretense is exhausting. We can avoid the burnout and live victoriously when we stop pretending. So, stop pretending and turn to Christ for your security. Then, youll be ready to tell others of the glorious freedom you found in Christ.

Differences and Similarities: Hope

God created every human being with the unique ability and desire to HOPE. We all know that hope brings us a buoyant feeling. If we struggle with depression and cannot find hope on our own, we long for someone else to lend us THEIR hope. Hope is what gets us through difficult times.

One major difference between followers of Jesus Christ and those who do not follow Him is our SOURCE of hope. You see, a nonbeliever knows what hope is. She experiences hope. But she often cannot trust her hope.

For example, she may hope the doctors test results come back favorably. But hoping merely in circumstantial change is a very unsure way to live.

On the other hand, the source of all Christian hope is Jesus Christ. We dont just hope for a change in circumstance, we actually talk to God through prayer and ask Him to intervene. Whether He does or not is entirely up to Him. But our HOPE is secure because HE is secure.

In the Bible, the Psalms are filled with reminders that God, the source of our hope, is faithful. Wont you share the reason for your hope today?

Hell to Pay

I once had a gentleman ask me, “If I find another faith to believe in other than Christianity, will I really be punished like some people say?”

This is a tough question to answer, isnt it? One of the hardest things to tell people is that yes, there is hell to pay, for their sins. But thats exactly what we must share with others. Not in a judgmental kind of way, but with kindness and respect.

So I told this man, “Yes, if you turn down Jesus Christ, you will be punished. The Bible does warn us about the consequences of not following Jesus Christ.

Revelation chapter 20 says If anyones name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. We cant play games with God.”

You and I must remember that the Good News is so good because we dont get what we deserve, which is hell. Because of Jesus Christs death on the cross and His resurrection, we are free from eternal condemnation if we choose to believe in Him. The Good news is so wonderful because of what it frees us from, which is eternity without God!

Faith in Christ gives you a security and peace that you would never know otherwise — both now, and for eternity. Who in your world needs to hear this message?

The Pastor and his Special Son

Every Sunday afternoon, after the morning service at the church, the Pastor and hiseleven year old son would go out into their town and hand out GospelTracts. This particular Sunday afternoon, as it came time for the Pastor and his son to go to the streets with their tracts, it was very cold outside, as well as pouring down rain.

The boy bundled up in his warmest and driest clothes and said, ‘OK, dad, I’m ready.’

His Pastor dad asked, ‘Ready for what? ‘Dad, it’s time we gather our tracts together and go out. Dad responds, ‘Son, it’s very cold outside and it’s pouring down rain.’

The boy gives his dad a surprised look, asking, ‘But Dad, aren’t people still going to Hell, even though it’s raining?
Dad answers, ‘Son, I am not going out in this weather.

De spondently, the boy asks, ‘Dad, can I go? Please? His father hesitated for a moment then said, ‘Son, you can go. Hereare the tracts, be careful son.

‘Thanks Dad! And with that, he was off and out into the rain. This eleven year old boy walked the streets of the town going door to door and handing everybody he met in the street aGospel Tract.

After two hours of walking in the rain, he was soaking, bone-chilled wet and down to his VERY LAST TRACT. He stopped on a corner and looked for someone to hand a tract to, but the streets were totally deserted.

Then he turned toward the first home he saw and started up thesidewalk to the front door and rang the door bell. He rang the bell, but nobody answered.

He rang it again and again, but still no one answered. He waited butstill no answer.
Finally, this eleven year old trooper turned to leave, but something stopped him.

Again, he turned to the door and rang the b ell and knocked loudly on the door withhis fist. He waited, something holding him there on the front porch!

He rang again and this time the door slowly opened.

Standing in the doorway was a very sad-looking elderly lady. Shesoftly asked, ‘Whatcan I do for you, son?’ With radiant eyes and a smile that lit up her world, thislittle boy said, ‘Ma’am, I’m sorry if f I disturbed you, but I justwant to tell youthat *JESUS REALLY DOES LOVE YOU* and I came to give you my very lastGospel Tract which will tell you all about JESUS and His great LOVE.’

With that, he handed her his last tract and turned to leave. She called to him as he departed. ‘Thank you, son! And God Bless You! Well, the following Sunday morning in church Pastor Dad was in the pulpit. As theservice began, he asked, ‘Does anybody have testimony or want to sayanything?’

Slowly, in the back row of the church, an elderly lady stood to her feet.

As she began to speak, a look of glorious radiance came from her face,’No one in this church knows me. I’ve never been here before. You see,before last Sunday I was not a Christian. My husband passed on sometime ago, leaving me totally alone in this world. Last Sunday, beinga particularly cold and rainy day, it was even more so in myheart that I came to the end of the line where I no longer had anyhope or will to live.

So I took a rope and a chair and ascended the stairway into the atticof my home.. I fastened the rope securely to a rafter in the roof, then stood on thechair and fastened the other end of the rope around my neck. Standingon that chair, so lonely and brokenhearted I was about to leap off,when suddenly the loud ringing of my doorbell downstairs startled me.I thought, ‘I’ll wait a minute, and whoever it is will go away.’

I waited and waited, but the ringing doorbell seemed to get louderand more insistent, and then the person ringing also started knocking loudly.

I thought to myself again, ‘Who on earth could this be? Nobody ever rings my bell or comes to see me.’ I loosened the rope from my neck and started for the front door,all the while the bell rang louder and louder.

When I opened the door and looked I could hardly believe my eyes, forthere on myfront porch was the most radiant and angelic little boy I had everseen in my life..His SMILE, oh, I could never describe it to you!

The words that came from his mouth caused my heart that had long been dead, TO LEAP TO LIFE as he exclaimed with a cherub-like voice, ‘Ma’ am, I just cameto tell you that JESUS REALLY DOES LOVE YOU.’ Then he gave me this

Gospel Tract that I now hold in my hand.

As the little angel disappeared back out into the cold and rain, I closed my door and read slowly every word of this Gospel Tract. Then I went up to myattic to get myrope and chair. I wouldn’t be needing them any more.

You see– -I am now a Happy Child of the KING. Since the address of your church was on the back of this Gospel Tract, I have come here topersonall y sayTHANK YOU to God’s little angel who came just in the nick of time andby so doing, spared my soul from an eternity in hell.

There was not a dry eye in the church. And as shouts of praise and honor to THE KING resounded off the very rafters of the building,Pastor Dad descended from the pulpit to the front pew where the little angel was seated.

He took his son in his arms and sobbed uncontrollably.

Probably no church has had a more glorious moment, and probably this universe has never seen a Papa that was more filled with love & honor for his son…. Except for One.

Our Father also allowed His Son to go out into a cold and dark world. He received His Son back with joy unspeakable, and as all of heavenshouted praises and honor to The King, the Father sat His beloved Son on a throne far above all principality and power and every name that is named.

Blessed are your eyes for reading this message.

Don’t let this message die, read it again and pass it to others.Heaven is for His people!

Remember, God’s message CAN make the difference in the life of someone close to you. Please share this wonderful message….

If you love JESUS, please send this message to everyone.

Spread His word, and share His goodness and faithfulness.

Matthew 10:32 says:
‘Whoever acknowledges Me before men, I will acknowledge him beforeMy Father in heaven. But whoever disowns Me before men, I will disownhim beforeMy Father in heaven’

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Tip for Today

Is your computer safe and secure?

The programs we’re using are getting more complex while software update cycles are getting shorter. Add the fact that we’re increasingly depending on computers connected to the Internet to this mix and what you have is a recipe for computer bugs and security holes. The good news is that these same factors can also be the best way to handle computer and the Internet related security issues and bugs. But only if you take the necessary steps to stay informed.

Things you can do to safeguard your computer

  • STAY ALERT! Sounds simple? But do you really know if you have the latest patch for your browser, the software you use everyday or even the operating system that you run all your programs on? Don’t expect to hear about security issues and other software bugs in the traditional media such as the TV and news papers. Even if you subscribe to a technical journal, you may not get the news in time.
    • Use email notification services : Subscribe to email notification services related to the software you use. Don’t forget to include your operating system, web browser and any other software that will connect to the Internet in this list. Almost all of these notification services are free and subscription information is usually found on the software publisher’s web site or the software registration card.
    • Periodically check related web sites : If an email notification service is not available, add a task to your calendar to check your software publishers’ web sites at least every month, if not every week. You may have to search their news archives to find any security bulletins.
    • Search newsgroups : Some software publishers may not provide timely information about their software glitches openly. In such instances, newsgroups dedicated to open discussions may help you to find related messages posted by other users. Be aware that the quality and the credibility of information gathered from newsgroups maybe lower than information retrieved using above two methods. Searching, rather than browsing messages one by one, is recommended when it comes to newsgroup postings. For example, search for:
      “product name” AND bug OR fix
  • TAKE ACTION Once you become aware of a bug or a security issue, carefully read the documentation for it and take the recommended action. For example, if applying a software patch is recommended by the software publisher, do so as soon as possible. Don’t delay taking action until the end of the month. Some software patches must be applied in a particular order. Applying fixes as they become available could make it easier to keep this order.
  • KEEP DEFECTIVE SOFTWARE OUT OF REACH After applying patches to your current software installation, be sure to remove defective software from circulation and to document the actions you took for future reference. For example, if you receive a replacement CD or a floppy with a fix, remove obsolete disks from the circulation to avoid future confusions. If the fix was provided in a form of a patch (if you still need the original installation disks in case you have to reinstall the software), be sure to make a note of the patches you applied for future reference. You may want to keep a separate notepad for this purpose or simply label or mark the disks as a reminder to yourself.

If you’re responsible for maintaining more than just your personal computer, administrating a network for example, you should take extra steps such as examining server log files, renewing passwords and evaluating the effectiveness of your organization’s security measures. Following is a list of resources useful to all Windows users and to most other Internet users to stay up-to-date with security and other computer software defects related news:

 

 

  • Deja News

    Online tool for searching, reading and posting Usenet newsgroups.

  • Microsoft Security Advisor Program

    Security, Microsoft Security Advisor, Internet Security, NT Security. News, advisories, how to improve security.

  • Windows Update

    Get Windows 98, NT 5 and other software updates online.

  • Internet Explorer Security Area

    The place to get Internet Explorer related security updates.

  • Microsoft Security Notification Service

    The Microsoft Security Notification Service is a free e-mail notification service that Microsoft uses to send information to subscribers about the security of Microsoft products.

  • CERT* Coordination Center

    The CERT* Coordination Center studies Internet security vulnerabilities, provides incident response services to sites that have been the victims of attack, publishes a variety of security alerts, researches security and survivability in wide-area-networked computing, and develops information to help you improve security at your site.

  • NTBugtraq Home Page

    NTBugtraq is a mailing list for the discussion of security exploits and security bugs in Windows NT and its related applications.

  • World Wide Web Security FAQ

    W3C’s World Wide Web Security FAQ for webmasters.

  • Netscape Security Solutions

    Security issues related to Netscape products.

  • Windows NT fixes FTP directory
  • Computer Incident Advisory Capability

    CIAC provides on-call technical assistance and information to Department of Energy (DOE) sites faced with computer security incidents. The other services CIAC provides are: awareness, training, and education; trend, threat, vulnerability data collection and analysis; and technology watch.

  • Computer Security Technology Center, The

    Located at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, provides solutions to U.S. Government agencies facing today’s security challenges in information technology.

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Pastor & his Son

Every Sunday afternoon, after the morning service at the church, the Pastor and hiseleven year old son would go out into their town and hand out Gospel Tracts. This particular Sunday afternoon, as it came time for the Pastor and his son to go to the streets with their tracts, it was very cold outside, as well as pouring down rain.

The boy bundled up in his warmest and driest clothes and said, ‘OK, dad, I’m ready.’

His Pastor dad asked, ‘Ready for what? ‘Dad, it’s time we gather our tracts together and go out. Dad responds, ‘Son, it’s very cold outside and it’s pouring down rain.’

The boy gives his dad a surprised look, asking, ‘But Dad, aren’t people still going to Hell, even though it’s raining?
Dad answers, ‘Son, I am not going out in this weather.

De spondently, the boy asks, ‘Dad, can I go? Please? His father hesitated for a moment then said, ‘Son, you can go. Hereare the tracts, be careful son.

‘Thanks Dad! And with that, he was off and out into the rain. This eleven year old boy walked the streets of the town going door to door and handing everybody he met in the street aGospel Tract.

After two hours of walking in the rain, he was soaking, bone-chilled wet and down to his VERY LAST TRACT. He stopped on a corner and looked for someone to hand a tract to, but the streets were totally deserted.

Then he turned toward the first home he saw and started up thesidewalk to the front door and rang the door bell. He rang the bell, but nobody answered.

He rang it again and again, but still no one answered. He waited butstill no answer.
Finally, this eleven year old trooper turned to leave, but something stopped him.

Again, he turned to the door and rang the b ell and knocked loudly on the door withhis fist. He waited, something holding him there on the front porch!

He rang again and this time the door slowly opened.

Standing in the doorway was a very sad-looking elderly lady. Shesoftly asked, ‘Whatcan I do for you, son?’ With radiant eyes and a smile that lit up her world, thislittle boy said, ‘Ma’am, I’m sorry if f I disturbed you, but I justwant to tell youthat *JESUS REALLY DOES LOVE YOU* and I came to give you my very lastGospel Tract which will tell you all about JESUS and His great LOVE.’

With that, he handed her his last tract and turned to leave. She called to him as he departed. ‘Thank you, son! And God Bless You! Well, the following Sunday morning in church Pastor Dad was in the pulpit. As theservice began, he asked, ‘Does anybody have testimony or want to sayanything?’

Slowly, in the back row of the church, an elderly lady stood to her feet.

As she began to speak, a look of glorious radiance came from her face,’No one in this church knows me. I’ve never been here before. You see,before last Sunday I was not a Christian. My husband passed on sometime ago, leaving me totally alone in this world. Last Sunday, beinga particularly cold and rainy day, it was even more so in myheart that I came to the end of the line where I no longer had anyhope or will to live.

So I took a rope and a chair and ascended the stairway into the atticof my home.. I fastened the rope securely to a rafter in the roof, then stood on thechair and fastened the other end of the rope around my neck. Standingon that chair, so lonely and brokenhearted I was about to leap off,when suddenly the loud ringing of my doorbell downstairs startled me.I thought, ‘I’ll wait a minute, and whoever it is will go away.’

I waited and waited, but the ringing doorbell seemed to get louderand more insistent, and then the person ringing also started knocking loudly.

I thought to myself again, ‘Who on earth could this be? Nobody ever rings my bell or comes to see me.’ I loosened the rope from my neck and started for the front door,all the while the bell rang louder and louder.

When I opened the door and looked I could hardly believe my eyes, forthere on myfront porch was the most radiant and angelic little boy I had everseen in my life..His SMILE, oh, I could never describe it to you!

The words that came from his mouth caused my heart that had long been dead, TO LEAP TO LIFE as he exclaimed with a cherub-like voice, ‘Ma’ am, I just cameto tell you that JESUS REALLY DOES LOVE YOU.’ Then he gave me this

Gospel Tract that I now hold in my hand.

As the little angel disappeared back out into the cold and rain, I closed my door and read slowly every word of this Gospel Tract. Then I went up to myattic to get myrope and chair. I wouldn’t be needing them any more.

You see– -I am now a Happy Child of the KING. Since the address of your church was on the back of this Gospel Tract, I have come here topersonall y sayTHANK YOU to God’s little angel who came just in the nick of time andby so doing, spared my soul from an eternity in hell.

There was not a dry eye in the church. And as shouts of praise and honor to THE KING resounded off the very rafters of the building,Pastor Dad descended from the pulpit to the front pew where the little angel was seated.

He took his son in his arms and sobbed uncontrollably.

Probably no church has had a more glorious moment, and probably this universe has never seen a Papa that was more filled with love & honor for his son…. Except for One.

Our Father also allowed His Son to go out into a cold and dark world. He received His Son back with joy unspeakable, and as all of heavenshouted praises and honor to The King, the Father sat His beloved Son on a throne far above all principality and power and every name that is named.

Blessed are your eyes for reading this message.

Don’t let this message die, read it again and pass it to others.Heaven is for His people!

Remember, God’s message CAN make the difference in the life of someone close to you. Please share this wonderful message….

If you love JESUS, please send this message to everyone.

Spread His word, and share His goodness and faithfulness.

Matthew 10:32 says:
‘Whoever acknowledges Me before men, I will acknowledge him beforeMy Father in heaven. But whoever disowns Me before men, I will disownhim beforeMy Father in heaven’

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Today’s Evangelism Tip

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More Evangelism tips

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