25 Affirmations about Forgiveness!

A friend who has gone through a hard time sent me a list of things he has learned about forgiveness. Most of what follows comes from my friend, but I have rephrased a few things and added a few items of my own. This is obviously not a comprehensive statement about forgiveness—just a place to begin. What would you add to this list?

If you wait to forgive until you feel like forgiving, you will never forgive.

Without God’s grace, we will never forgive.

Forgiveness is necessary but it isn’t easy.

Forgiveness is first of all between us and God.

God does not intend that all of life should be pleasant.

Nothing gets rid of pride like adversity.

Nobody understands the art of revenge like the Lord.

There is coming a day when every dispute will be resolved. When you understand this, you are freed from feeling like you have to personally solve every issue here on this earth.

Good theology is imperative. What you think about God determines how you respond in the hard times.

God is good. If you don’t believe that, it will be next to impossible to forgive others.

God is sovereign. There are no mistakes in God’s economy, and no detail, no matter how small, goes unnoticed by Him.

God’s grace is always sufficient.

There is an old saying: "Time heals all.” That isn’t always true.

Forgiving and forgetting are not the same thing.

Nothing makes a person more aware of other people’s feelings than a broken heart.

When you have been wronged, there is nothing worse than feeling like you have been abandoned.

Forgiveness is a gift I give to someone who doesn’t deserve it. If they deserved forgiveness, they wouldn’t need it.

True forgiveness costs a great deal, but unforgiveness costs much more.

Bitterness poisons everything.

I don’t see myself the way I really am.

I am more like my enemies than I like to admit.

If I have trouble loving my enemies, I should remember that I am someone else’s enemy.

God uses our enemies to make us more like Jesus.

You are never more like Jesus than when you forgive.

We never come to the end of needing forgiveness or needing to forgive.
Dr Ray Pritchard

Hebrews 3:14 - The Builder

Every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything.
Hebrews 3:4

Sailors’ Society launches Sea of Remembrance for Merchant Navy Day

International seafarers’ charity, the Sailors’ Society has launched its ‘Sea of Remembrance’ campaign for Merchant Navy Day on 7 September. The thought-provoking campaign attracted over 800 flag-bearing messages and donations last year. Red Ensign flags were planted at Trinity Gardens in London, in memory of lost loved ones and those currently at sea. Each of the flags displayed special messages from family members, friends and appreciative supporters.
The 2008 appeal focuses on the sacrifices made for those left behind and the story of August Wallenhaupt, a merchant sailor who served on US Flagship SS Puerto Rican in the Second World War. Wallenhaupt was the only survivor when the ship was torpedoed off Murmansk, north-west Russia, and clung to the frozen body of his dead colleague to survive. He was found three days after the ship sunk and survived in freezing conditions and storms, with friends dying around him.
The ‘Sea of Remembrance’ is a heart-warming opportunity for supporters to remember the sacrifices made by seafarers, in history, as well as the present day, who spend many months at sea away from family and loved ones.
Jan Webber, Director of Fundraising and Marketing for the Sailors’ Society, explained: “The 2007 Sea of Remembrance campaign was incredibly well supported and some of the messages displayed were very heart felt and moving. We are hoping this year’s campaign will be bigger and better than ever. Seafarers have and continue to make incredible sacrifices. These days, 95 per cent of goods brought into the UK come in by sea with many seafarers spending months at a time away from their families, often not speaking the same language as their crew members or practising the same faith."
Sailors' Society provides support through its port chaplains, who are based in over 100 ports around the world. They provide practical assistance, including telephone or internet services to seafarers, and also offer spiritual support.
Webber added: “Our iconic Red Ensign flags have already been distributed to regular supporters of the Sailors’ Society, but we encourage many others to get involved to make this one of our most successful campaigns. We feel it’s a great opportunity for people to show their appreciation."
On the web: http://www.sailors-society.org/

Curiosity almost killed the cow... or was it the grass is always greener!?

A cow had to be freed by the RSPCA after getting her head stuck in a fly-tipped washing machine drum.
The lucky cow escaped injury after her ordeal - but the animal charity warned today that fly tipping can cause animals harm.
The RSPCA was called to rescue the heifer from a field at Higher Fraddon, St Columb, Cornwall.
'It is one of the more unusual things we had had to rescue an animal from,' said RSPCA spokeswoman Jo Barr.
'Young cows are quite curious, and she probably thought there was some food inside the drum,' she added.

Octavius Winslow - Cup of Grief

Christ took your cup of grief, your cup of the curse, pressed it to his lips, drank it to its dregs, then filled it with his sweet, pardoning, sympathizing love, and gave it back to you to drink, and to drink forever!
Octavius Winslow

They must be nuts!

There were four country churches in a small Texas town: The Presbyterian Church, the Baptist Church, the Methodist Church and the Catholic Church. Each church was overrun with pesky squirrels.
One day, the Presbyterian Church called a meeting to decide what to do about the squirrels. After much prayer and consideration they determined that the squirrels were predestined to be there and they shouldn't interfere with God's divine will.
In the Baptist Church the squirrels had taken up habitation in the baptistery. The deacons met and decided to put a cover on the baptistery and drown the squirrels in it. The squirrels escaped somehow and there were twice as many there the next week.
The Methodist Church got together and decided that they were not in a position to harm any of God's creation. So, they humanely trapped the Squirrels and set them free a few miles outside of town. Three days later, the squirrels were back.
But -- The Catholic Church came up with the best and most effective solution. They baptized the squirrels and registered them as members of the church. Now they only see them on Christmas and Easter.

Blind leading the blind

39 He also told them this parable: "Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? 40 A student is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.

More Christians killed in India violence

The death toll continues to rise in India’s Orissa state as a wave of violence against Christians shows no sign of stopping. Hindu mobs have damaged more than a dozen churches and homes, and destroyed a Christian orphanage in an arson attack which left one woman dead. The violence has so far left 11 dead, mainly Christians. The violence was triggered by the murder of Swami Laxamanananda Saraswati, leader of radical Hindu group Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), on Saturday.
Saraswati had been leading a campaign against Christians in Kandhamal district over conversions, a longstanding source of tension between Hindus and Christians in the area. The Evangelical Fellowship of India said it had received reports that three adults and one child were killed in violence in Barakhama, one of the worst hit areas. Town authorities have set curfews and ordered police to shoot rioters on sight in 11 towns across Kandhamal, reports Reuters news agency. The violence has been condemned by Christian groups, including Gospel for Asia (GFA) which says that one of its missionaries was attacked whilst on his way to church on Sunday.
GFA said it had received reports of more than 75 separate attacks on GFA-related work in Orissa state.
The group’s president KP Yohannan condemned Saraswati’s killing, which authorities have blamed on Maoists. “We are deeply shocked and anguished to hear of the atrocities and violence meted out to the innocent Christians and churches in Orissa as a backlash of the sorrowful event and we are praying for an immediate halt to the violence, said Yohannan. GFA said that many pastors and their families have gone into hiding in forests, some without food and water.
"What is most disturbing is that these attacks seem to be well organised and orchestrated," Dr Yohannan said.
Archbishop Vincent M Concessao, President of the National United Christian Forum, has urged Christian schools and colleges to close on Friday “as a mark of our solidarity with our suffering brothers and sisters and as a protest against all acts of communal violence and atrocities on the Christian community and other innocent people”.
The NUCF has also declared Sunday 7 September 2008 an official day of prayer and fasting.
Pope Benedict has also condemned the violence and the killing of the Hindu leader, saying, “While I firmly condemn every attack on human life, whose sacredness required respect by all, I express my spiritual closeness and solidarity to the brothers and sisters in the faith who are so sorely tried.”

I smell a rat!

PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - The price of rat meat has quadrupled in Cambodia this year as inflation has put other meat beyond the reach of poor people, officials said on Wednesday. With consumer price inflation at 37 percent according to the latest central bank estimate, demand has pushed a kilogram of rat meat up to around 5,000 riel ($1.28) from 1,200 riel last year.
Spicy field rat dishes with garlic thrown in have become particularly popular at a time when beef costs 20,000 riel a kg. Officials said rats were fleeing to higher ground from flooded areas of the lower Mekong Delta, making it easier for villagers to catch them.
"Many children are happy making some money from selling the animals to the markets, but they keep some for their family," Ly Marong, an agriculture official, said by telephone from the Koh Thom district on the border with Vietnam. "Not only are our poor eating it, but there is also demand from Vietnamese living on the border with us."
He estimated that Cambodia supplied more than a tonne of live rats a day to Vietnam. Rats are also eaten widely in Thailand, while a state government in eastern India this month encouraged its people to eat rats in an effort to battle soaring food prices and save grain stocks.
($1 = 3,900 riel)

Team GB

Memories not as good as it used to be... or is it?

Three old ladies are sitting in a tea room, chatting about various things. One lady says, "You know, I'm getting really forgetful. This morning, I was standing at the top of the stairs, and I couldn't remember whether I had just come up or was about to go down."
The second lady says, "You think that's bad? The other day, I was sitting on the edge of my bed and I couldn't remember whether I was going to sleep or had just woken up!
The third lady smiles smugly, "Well, my memory is just as good as it's always been, knock on wood," she says as she raps on the table.

Then with a startled look on her face, she asks, "Who's there?"

J.C. Ryle - Weeds

Remember children are born with a decided bias toward evil, and therefore if you let them choose for themselves, they are certain to choose wrong. The mother cannot tell what her tender infant may grow up to be - tall or short, weak or strong, wise or foolish; he may or may not be any of these it is all uncertain. But one thing the mother can say with certainty: he will have a corrupt and sinful heart. It is natural for us to do wrong... Our hearts are like the earth on which we tread; let it alone, and it is sure to bear weeds.
J.C Ryle

Isaiah 41:10 - do not fear!

So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Isaiah 41:10

Methodist Housing Group - MHA - Celebrates 65 years

Methodist housing group MHA is celebrating 65 years of providing housing, support and care for the elderly.At its annual general meeting, MHA highlighted just some of the progress it has made in the last year, which includes providing housing, care and support for an additional 500 older people after acquiring seven care homes and a housing scheme for a total of 267 older people in London, Southport, Blackpool and Oldham.
In the last year it has also developed two brand new care homes providing dementia and nursing in Aberystwyth, and residential and dementia care in Hitchin for over 150 people and opened a housing scheme with 24-hour care in Bradford. In Bristol and Cornwall, MHA has completed new supported retirement housing for sale to enable older home owners to get the help they need while retaining their equity. The housing also offers church facilities to the local community.
MHA's Christian basis means that it provides not only physical support for older people but also works to take care of their spiritual needs, offering chaplaincy services and end of life expertise.
Special events have been held throughout MHA’s care homes, housing and community service projects to celebrate the group's 65th anniversary.
"From such a solid foundation, we are continuing to provide more services for older people whilst maintaining our high standards," said Chief Executive, Roger Davies.
"All MHA services assessed by CSCI meet their independent quality ratings, with over 85% being classed as excellent’ or ‘good’.
"Meanwhile residents themselves awarded MHA a satisfaction level of 81% in our annual independent survey, reflecting MHA’s focus on nurturing spiritual as well as physical well-being."

The horse-power of prayer

A prayer group in Washington DC is claiming the credit for the recent sharp drop in the US price of petrol. Rocky Twyman, 59, a veteran community campaigner, started Pray At The Pump meetings at petrol stations in April. Since then, the average price of what the US calls gasoline has fallen from more than $4 a gallon to $3.80.
"We don't have anybody else to turn to but God," Mr Twyman told the BBC. "We have to turn these problems over to God and not to man."
His first pilgrimage to the pump was prompted by fellow volunteers at the First Seventh Day Adventist Church in Petworth, a working-class neighbourhood of the US capital, who were struggling with higher gasoline prices. He led them down the block to the local Shell gas station to pray. And over the months since then, he has held similar prayer meetings at pumps all over the US.
"We were down in Huntsville, Alabama. We finished praying," Mr Twyman said. "Immediately the owners came out and changed the gas prices. They brought it down. We had marvellous success down in St Louis, Missouri."
This week the group returned to the site of their first prayer meeting to celebrate. Singing "We shall overcome," they changed the words of the well-known hymn to "We'll have lower gas prices".
Mr Twyman is sceptical that market forces might be responsible for the lower prices. But he and his prayer warriors have changed their motoring habits.
"We believe not just in prayer - because we believe that faith without works is dead. So we've encouraged people to car-pool more and organise their days more, because it's a combination of faith with these other factors." Pray At The Pump plans to build on its success and drive gasoline prices even lower. In the words of Rocky Twyman: "We just thank God for blessing us with small victories and we expect greater things to come."

Not just another pretty face....

There’s hot competition today for the Freakishly Grotesque Face event, as you can see in these training camp photos. Wow, they’re hideous! How do they practice for an event like that?
Various ways. Some eat Brussels sprouts, some listen to Barry Manilow music. I know one who drinks Diet Dr Pepper for a face straight out of hell. Ah, that makes sense. Who judges the event? A panel of small children is forced to watch. The face that makes them scream and cry the loudest…

More funny faces here

Serving Back - RAP

Justin Timberlake song with a few lyric modifications.

Proverbs 24:30-34 Sluggard

I went past the field of the sluggard, past the vineyard of the man who lacks judgment; thorns had come up everywhere, the ground was covered with weeds, and the stone wall was in ruins. I applied my heart to what I observed and learned a lesson from what I saw: A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest -- and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man.
Proverbs 24:30-34

Winnie-the-"Mugger"-Pooh

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese police have arrested a 20-year-old man who attacked and robbed two people after they stared at his Winnie-the-Pooh costume, officials said on Tuesday.
Masayuki Ishikawa was hanging out on a Tokyo street corner after midnight last month while wearing the cuddly costume, accompanied by two friends dressed as a mouse and a panther, when he took offence at being stared at, police said.
"It's uncommon to see people dressed up like this, so the victims were watching them. Then the perpetrator came up and said 'What are you staring at?'" a police spokesman said.
Ishikawa and his friends beat up the two victims and stole $160 from them, the spokesman said, adding the group had apparently donned the unusual garb because they had run out of clean clothes.

Taking Recycling to the Altar

A church has taken the recycling message to its congregation by using old plastic bags and shredded bibles to make a new altar cloth.
The cloth was devised by church member Leanne Rogers, as part of her art course as a mature student. The Reverend John Harvey, who looks after St Katherine's at Bryn Pydew, Conwy, said it enhanced the link between the church and the environment. Ms Rogers said she her design inspired by the "quirkiness" of her church.
"My brief as part of my degree meant that whatever I devised had to be very site specific," said Ms Rogers, who has now completed her course in design at Coleg Menai, Bangor.
"St Katherine's itself is in the hills above Llandudno Junction and is a former look-out hut from WWII, and everything inside has been donated, " she said. "Also, as a practicing Christian, I wanted to take hold of the concept of making something beautiful out of something nasty," she added. Trends of making more out of recycled materials further inspired her, she said.

Iran: Elderly Christian couple die after physically assaulted by police

A 62-year-old church leader and his wife have died as a result of injuries sustained from a police raid on their home in Isfehan, Iran.Abbas Amiri died in hospital on 30 July 2008, in Isfehan, Iran, according to Farsi Christian News Network (FCNN). Mr Amiri was one of a number of church members who was physically assaulted by police officers who raided his home in Malek Shahr on 27 July 2008 during a Sunday gathering of the house church. Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) also confirmed that Mr Amiri’s wife, Mrs Sakineh Rahnama, died on 3 August 2008 in Masjid-Soleiman, from the injuries and emotional stress she suffered during the police raid and as a result of the loss of her husband. 2008 has seen a serious increase in the number of detentions and physical mistreatment of non-Muslims in Iran. Two church leaders who were arrested in Shiraz in May 2008 are still being kept in poor conditions, with no charges brought against them. CSW said it was deeply concerned by the deteriorating religious freedom situation in the country. Mervyn Thomas, Chief Executive of CSW, said “It is devastating that gross human rights abuses continue unabated in Iran without the appropriate scrutiny and condemnation from the international community.
"At a time when the world’s attention on Iran is focused on her nuclear ambitions, the suffering of religious minorities goes largely unnoticed. We call upon the British Government and the European Union to urge the Iranian Government to conduct an independent enquiry into the deaths of Abbas Amiri and Sakineh Rahnama and to cease arbitrary arrests, detention and mistreatment of religious minorities in the country.”

R.C. Sproul - God's nearness!

Modern man has lost any sense of God's nearness, but Christianity teaches that God reveals himself through every single thing he has ever brought into being, whether a created object or historical event.
R.C. Sproul

Make Me a Christian - New Channel 4 Series - This Sunday!

A hells angel, a lesbian and a playboy are just some of the non-Christians to agree to Bible studies and Christian mentoring as part of a new Channel Four series to air this month.
Make Me a Christian follows the three-week journey of thirteen non-Christians who also include a witch, a Muslim, an unmarried couple with a child on the way, and a family of six, as they get to grips with Christianity through a number of Bible studies and mentoring from an ecumenical team of church leaders.
Their spiritual mentors include the leader of the Christian Party, Rev George Hargreaves as lead mentor and Bible teacher in an ecumenical group of Christian mentors, Church of England Curate the Rev Joanna Jepson, Catholic Fr John Flynn, and Kensington Temple's Pastor Wale Babatunde.
The series documents the changes that occur within each of the participants as their perspectives of Christianity and the meaning of life are challenged by the lessons that emerge in each of the Bible studies. By the series’ end, some participants even make a commitment to pursue Christianity further.
Rev Hargreaves commented, “Viewers will be deeply moved by the participants’ personal journeys. I believe that a major nationwide evangelism initiative could be launched on the back of this series.”
Make Me A Christian series will be broadcast on Channel Four over the next three Sundays in August, starting this Sunday at 7pm.



The Cast:



a biker who's a tattooist and a militant atheist
a young man who was brought up Christian until he was 12, and now has a girlfriend who is 10 weeks' pregnant
a lap-dancing manager who can't live without continually acquiring expensive designer shoes
middle-class parents who are so professionally busy that they have hardly any time to spend with their children
a man in his 20s who, unbeknown to his girlfriend, goes out every week drinking and womanising
a man who found Christianity unfulfilling and has converted to Islam
a lesbian who sometimes sleeps with men.

Matthew 7:15 - Wolf in disguise!

"Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. "
Matthew 7:15

1 Corinthians 10:13 - Temptation

No temptation has assailed you except what is common to men. God is faithful and will not let you be tempted beyond your strength. On the contrary he will, along with the temptation, supply you a way of escape, so that you will be able to hold your own.
1 Corinthians 10:13

Bible readings, prayers and pints? - The one time nobody minds the sermon was too long!

Customers at a Cornish pub have been enjoying a prayer with their pints. Over the next four Sunday nights customers at the Seven Stars Inn, in St Austell, Cornwall, can take part in informal worship in the bar. The services are being held by the Rev Patrick Bamber, associate vicar of the town's Holy Trinity Church. The first service, held last week, attracted about 40 people, who nursed their drinks while listening to Bible readings and live music.
The clergyman said it was a way of "reaching out into the community with an informal service in a relaxed atmosphere". He said: "A number of people patronise the Seven Stars, so it seemed an obvious next step. The evening service is relaxed anyway and people like to have music in pubs. The Church is not a building, the Church is the people, so it is easy for us to change venue where some people feel more comfortable." He said if the trial services were successful, they would be continued.
Seven Stars landlady Ameena Williams said: "We have a good relationship with the church and I was delighted when the vicar approached me and suggested he hold a service in the pub."

Robert Clarke - Virgin Born

Christ was God, not because he was virgin born. He was virgin born because he was God.
Robert Clarke

Battle of the Beetles - What no controllers?

Caldey Island gets Hi-speed connection.

An island community of monks were so fed up with their slow internet connection, they've gone broadband. The Cistercian monks live on Caldey Island, three miles off the coast of Tenby in Pembrokeshire. The self sustaining community sells homemade perfume and sweets over the internet for their income.
Father Daniel said: "Patience is one of the characteristics of monastic life, but even the patience of the Brothers was being tested by our slow internet".
Over the last five years, the monks internet shop has increased its turnover by 100%.
But their slow dial-up connection was hampering their business. So they worked with a local telecommunications firm who have used a signal from a communications tower on the mainland to transmit wireless broadband to the island.
"Broadband access has made a huge difference to our internet usage," said Father Daniel. "We knew we needed a faster connection, but we had almost given up trying to find a workable solution which would give us an internet connection at speeds enjoyed by others on the mainland. We have many plans to develop our commercial activities now we have a modern, high speed communications link," he said.
The monks' wireless broadband is transmitted to the island by TFL Group from their communications tower at Pentlepoir on the mainland.
Jonathan England, from telecommunications firm TFL Group said: "We are absolutely delighted to have been able to provide the community at Caldey Abbey with state-of-the-art wireless broadband access."
Ben Childs, the estate manger on Caldey, said the internet shop helped to support the island during the winter, after the tourists have left.
"It's crucial to our needs and broadband will help the speed up things," he said.
Monks first settled on the island just off the Pembrokeshire coast near Tenby in the 6th Century. The present Cistercian order moved into the monastery from Scourmont Abbey in Belgium in 1929.

Thomas Fuller - Foolish and Ignorant

Lord, often have I thought to myself, I will sin but this one sin more, and then I will repent of it, and of all the rest of my sins together. So foolish was I, and ignorant. As if I should be more able to pay my debts when I owe more: or as if I should say, I will wound my friend once again, and then I will lovingly shake hands with him -- but what if my friend will not shake hands with me?
Thomas Fuller

Iraqi Christians urged to return!

Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri Maliki has urged Christians who fled the country after the US-led invasion to return home to help rebuild the country.
Speaking after meeting Pope Benedict XVI in Italy, Mr Maliki said he asked the pontiff to encourage Christians to rejoin Iraq's social structure.
Nearly half of Iraq's estimated 800,000 Christians are believed to have left the country since 2003.
Many of those who remain have been targeted by Sunni Muslim militias.
Churches and clergymen have come under attack, as Sunni and Shia groups have battled for supremacy.
Mr Maliki said he urged the Pope "to encourage Christians who left the country to go back and be part of the social structure of Iraq again".
He also confirmed he had invited the 81-year-old pontiff to visit Iraq.
"We hope that he will be making the visit as soon as he can. His visit would represent support for the efforts of love and peace in Iraq," he said.
Mr Maliki and the Pope met at the pontiff's Castel Gandolfo summer residence.
The Vatican released a statement saying they had discussed the situation of "many refugees inside and outside the country who need help, in particular with regards to their return".
The two men also issued a renewed condemnation of the continuing violence in Iraq, where Christian communities "strongly feel the need for greater security", the Vatican statement added.
The late Pope John Paul II wanted to visit Iraq in 2000 but was denied permission by the government of Saddam Hussein.

The House of Commons

An MP, known for his hot temper and acid tongue, exploded one day in mid-session and began to shout, "Half of this House is made up of cowards and corrupt politicians!"
All the other MPs demanded that the angry member withdraw his statement, or be removed from the remainder of the session.

After a long pause, the angry member acquiesced. "OK," he said, "I withdraw what I said. Half of this House is NOT made up of cowards and corrupt politicians!"

FAFF - BBQ July 08 - No smoking in the building!