Thursday, August 23, 2007
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Worship Lyrics on PowerPoint Software Reveiwed
Worship Lyrics on PowerPoint Software Reveiwed
by: Scott Baker
There are several Worship Lyric PowerPoint software out there to choose from but you must consider the following.
1. Will it text support motion backgrounds?
2. Will it support text borders (to place white font over clouds)?
3. Does it have a way to catogarize songs for quick access?
4. Is ther support for future upgrades and help?
If you can answer these questions with "yes" then you have found your tool for the next Sunday service! The one I recommend is http://easyworship.com/
Also, just as important as the software you will need a good jumpstart with lyrics and backgrounds. You can go here to get those http://worship-lyrics.com.
by: Scott Baker
There are several Worship Lyric PowerPoint software out there to choose from but you must consider the following.
1. Will it text support motion backgrounds?
2. Will it support text borders (to place white font over clouds)?
3. Does it have a way to catogarize songs for quick access?
4. Is ther support for future upgrades and help?
If you can answer these questions with "yes" then you have found your tool for the next Sunday service! The one I recommend is http://easyworship.com/
Also, just as important as the software you will need a good jumpstart with lyrics and backgrounds. You can go here to get those http://worship-lyrics.com.
The Know the Secret of the Divine Mercy of Christ and He will Bless You!!
The Know the Secret of the Divine Mercy of Christ and He will Bless You!!
by: Luis Gregory
This message and devotion to Jesus as The Divine Mercy is based on the writings of Saint Faustina Kowalska, an uneducated Polish nun who, in obedience to her spiritual director, wrote a diary of about 600 pages recording the revelations she received about God's mercy. Even before her death in 1938, the devotion to The Divine Mercy had begun to spread.
The Divine Mercy message is very urgent. Inform your priest of this very important feast and share with Him the Devotion of Divine Mercy. The message of Divine Mercy is that we are to live mercy in. In the second prayer, directed to the Father from whom comes "every worthwhile gift and every genuine benefit,"we recommend the "active" souls, who promote devotion to The Divine Mercy and exercise with it all the other works that lend themselves to the spiritual and material uplifting of their brethren.
Through Saint Faustina, Jesus also revealed special ways to live out the response to His mercy–one of which is the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, as both a novena and a prayer for the three o'clock hour–the hour of His death. Divine Mercy, enclosed in the Heartof Jesus for us, and especially for poor sinners, I trust in You. The book that started the message and devotion to The Divine Mercy.
Sister Faustina was asked to become the apostle and secretary of God's mercy, a model of how to be merciful to others, and an instrument for reemphasizing God's plan of mercy for the world. Mercy MeditationsWhat it Means to be Merciful Mercy is love that seeks to forgive, console, assist, and care for others in time of need. Spend time to learn more about the mercy of God, learn to trust in Jesus, and live your life as merciful to others, as Christ is merciful to you. Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon all mankind and especially upon poor sinners, all enfolded in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. Finally, since "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy" (Mt 5,7), when they instruct their people, priests should gently encourage the faithful to practise works of charity or mercy as often as they can, following the example of, and in obeying the commandment of Jesus Christ, as is listed for the second general concession of indulgence in the "Enchiridion Indulgentiarum". Anyone can come here, look at this picture of the Merciful Jesus,his Heart radiating grace, and hear in the depths of his own soul what BlessedFaustina heard: "Fear nothing.
The more we trust in Jesus, the more we will receive. Spend time to learn more about the mercy of God, learn to trust in Jesus, and live your life as merciful to others, as Christ is merciful to you. I desire to grant unimaginable graces to those souls who trust in My mercy. And if this person responds with a sincere heart: "Jesus, I trust in you. " (1693) "Mankind will not have peace until it turns with trust to My mercy. Entreating God's mercy for the whole world and particularly for sinners, among others through the practice of new forms of devotion to the Divine Mercy presented by the Lord Jesus, such as: the veneration of the image of the Divine Mercy with the inscription: Jesus, I Trust in You, the feast of the Divine Mercy celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter, chaplet to the Divine Mercy and prayer at the Hour of Mercy (3 p. The Lord Jesus attached great promises to the above forms of devotion, provided one entrusted one's life to God and practiced active love of one's neighbor. Encourage souls to place great trust in My fathomless mercy. Most Merciful Jesus, whose very nature it is to have compassion on us and to forgive us, do not look upon our sins, but upon the trust which we place in Your infinite goodness. All forms of devotion to the Divine Mercy must stem from trust, according to the revelations given to the Polish nun, whether it is venerating the image of Divine Mercy, or praying the chaplet of Divine Mercy, or observing the hour of great Mercy -- 3 in the afternoon, the time that Jesus died on the Cross -- or receiving the sacraments on the feast of Divine Mercy.
This message and devotion to Jesus as The Divine Mercy is based on the writings of Saint Faustina Kowalska, an uneducated Polish nun who, in obedience to her spiritual director, wrote a diary of about 600 pages recording the revelations she received about God's mercy. Some have amass during the 3 o'clock hour of mercy; others have a Holy Hour of Eucharistic Adoration,which usually includes praying the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. Some find it helpful to listen to audio tapes of teachings and hymns on Divine Mercy. Others view videos on the message of Divine Mercy and the life of Blessed Faustina. The message of mercy that Sister Faustina received is now being spread throughout the world; she has been recognized by the Church as a "Saint"; and her diary, Divine Mercy in My Soul, has become the handbook for devotion to The Divine Mercy. The Message of Divine Mercy has always been near and dear to me.
by: Luis Gregory
This message and devotion to Jesus as The Divine Mercy is based on the writings of Saint Faustina Kowalska, an uneducated Polish nun who, in obedience to her spiritual director, wrote a diary of about 600 pages recording the revelations she received about God's mercy. Even before her death in 1938, the devotion to The Divine Mercy had begun to spread.
The Divine Mercy message is very urgent. Inform your priest of this very important feast and share with Him the Devotion of Divine Mercy. The message of Divine Mercy is that we are to live mercy in. In the second prayer, directed to the Father from whom comes "every worthwhile gift and every genuine benefit,"we recommend the "active" souls, who promote devotion to The Divine Mercy and exercise with it all the other works that lend themselves to the spiritual and material uplifting of their brethren.
Through Saint Faustina, Jesus also revealed special ways to live out the response to His mercy–one of which is the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, as both a novena and a prayer for the three o'clock hour–the hour of His death. Divine Mercy, enclosed in the Heartof Jesus for us, and especially for poor sinners, I trust in You. The book that started the message and devotion to The Divine Mercy.
Sister Faustina was asked to become the apostle and secretary of God's mercy, a model of how to be merciful to others, and an instrument for reemphasizing God's plan of mercy for the world. Mercy MeditationsWhat it Means to be Merciful Mercy is love that seeks to forgive, console, assist, and care for others in time of need. Spend time to learn more about the mercy of God, learn to trust in Jesus, and live your life as merciful to others, as Christ is merciful to you. Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon all mankind and especially upon poor sinners, all enfolded in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. Finally, since "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy" (Mt 5,7), when they instruct their people, priests should gently encourage the faithful to practise works of charity or mercy as often as they can, following the example of, and in obeying the commandment of Jesus Christ, as is listed for the second general concession of indulgence in the "Enchiridion Indulgentiarum". Anyone can come here, look at this picture of the Merciful Jesus,his Heart radiating grace, and hear in the depths of his own soul what BlessedFaustina heard: "Fear nothing.
The more we trust in Jesus, the more we will receive. Spend time to learn more about the mercy of God, learn to trust in Jesus, and live your life as merciful to others, as Christ is merciful to you. I desire to grant unimaginable graces to those souls who trust in My mercy. And if this person responds with a sincere heart: "Jesus, I trust in you. " (1693) "Mankind will not have peace until it turns with trust to My mercy. Entreating God's mercy for the whole world and particularly for sinners, among others through the practice of new forms of devotion to the Divine Mercy presented by the Lord Jesus, such as: the veneration of the image of the Divine Mercy with the inscription: Jesus, I Trust in You, the feast of the Divine Mercy celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter, chaplet to the Divine Mercy and prayer at the Hour of Mercy (3 p. The Lord Jesus attached great promises to the above forms of devotion, provided one entrusted one's life to God and practiced active love of one's neighbor. Encourage souls to place great trust in My fathomless mercy. Most Merciful Jesus, whose very nature it is to have compassion on us and to forgive us, do not look upon our sins, but upon the trust which we place in Your infinite goodness. All forms of devotion to the Divine Mercy must stem from trust, according to the revelations given to the Polish nun, whether it is venerating the image of Divine Mercy, or praying the chaplet of Divine Mercy, or observing the hour of great Mercy -- 3 in the afternoon, the time that Jesus died on the Cross -- or receiving the sacraments on the feast of Divine Mercy.
This message and devotion to Jesus as The Divine Mercy is based on the writings of Saint Faustina Kowalska, an uneducated Polish nun who, in obedience to her spiritual director, wrote a diary of about 600 pages recording the revelations she received about God's mercy. Some have amass during the 3 o'clock hour of mercy; others have a Holy Hour of Eucharistic Adoration,which usually includes praying the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. Some find it helpful to listen to audio tapes of teachings and hymns on Divine Mercy. Others view videos on the message of Divine Mercy and the life of Blessed Faustina. The message of mercy that Sister Faustina received is now being spread throughout the world; she has been recognized by the Church as a "Saint"; and her diary, Divine Mercy in My Soul, has become the handbook for devotion to The Divine Mercy. The Message of Divine Mercy has always been near and dear to me.
Gospel MBA's On The Loose...Cue The Camera!
Gospel MBA's On The Loose...Cue The Camera!
by: James C. Tanner
Life in America has changed greatly over the years, with massive changes in technology, global politics, lifestyle choices and family dynamics. Many of us remember the days where we heard "Rock of Ages" bellowing out from windows of the local church down the street, now to hear it replaced with "gospel Rock N’ Roll". During the course of change in our society there has been noteworthy shifts in our religious behaviors and religious institutions. Two generations ago, circuit riding preachers were still for many the evangelist of the day. Through the years, as televisions arrived into each home, so too did the faces of television evangelists such as Rex Humbard, Oral Roberts, and Billy Graham, to name a few.
As people changed, so have the faces of ministries that attempt to reach them. The small country church has now given way to the "Mega Church", and done so at a time when the unchurched population in America is reaching an all time high. So many Americans stay away from church, that according to The Barna Group (www.barna.org, a research group based out of Ventura, California) if all the unchurched Americans formed their own nation, they’d be the twelfth largest nation in the world, and it would include 13 to 15 million born again adults and children.
Powered by the great commission, "Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel", ministries have pushed forward in their focus, and in doing so, been forced to take on the inner workings of a major corporation. Evangelistic ministries have become known for their supporting administrative and executive organizations, with many churches now having CEOs, COOs, and CFOs. With corporate style organizations, the need for increased donor support to cover the associated costs of preaching today’s gospel has never been higher.
Surprisingly, for the effort shown to date, many of America’s top 11 evangelists struggle not only to get their message out, but also in introducing themselves to America. Survey results released in February of 2007 showed that among 34 public figures from four basic fields, of the ministers, Dr. Billy Graham topped the ranks for being best known and having the highest positive impression on a majority of Americans. Second in notoriety was Pat Robertson, but paling in the field of positive impression when compared to Dr. Graham. Chuck Colson, from the former Watergate era was unknown to 87 of Americans. Bill Hybells, unknown to 96 of Americans. Franklin Graham, son of Billy Graham, was unknown to 76 of Americans. T.D. Jakes, recently touted by a national magazine as the next Billy Graham, was unknown to 68 of Americans. Finally, Joel Osteen, known more as a writer than his role as a preacher, and while preaching every Sunday to 30,000 people in his own church and another 7,000,000 each Sunday via TV, Joel Osteen was still unknown to 67% of Americans.
As ministries expand and move forward in organizational and administrative capacities they are forced to embrace the technological field for spreading thier message. International borders become a natural hurdle in the race to expand. For some ministries, this hurdle from a management view point becomes a hurdle much larger than anticipated, for the way things are done on American soil, is rarely the same in countries like Canada, the UK, Europe, South Africa, Australia, and Asia. Each country has it’s own cultural differences, legal and taxation requirements. Each country has it’s own regulations on how much of the ministries office work must be done in country. Each border crossed becomes a learning curve for the evangelist and key administrative team.
Birthed due to the increasing need to help ministries expand are International Facilitators, who can quickly pave the way for ministries by going first into countries, setting up the proper legal, financial, taxation, and administrative services. These contract ministry administrative and operations specialists can shave months off the time it would take a ministry to enter a country legally. At least one such organization routinely maintains offices in countries such as Canada, the UK, South Africa, and Australia, servicing several ministries simultaneously out of the same offices, keeping administrative costs for each ministry down by sharing overhead costs. Rarely seen and rarely heard, these International Facilitators empower ministries to cross international borders easily, allowing Evangelists to focus on ministry to the people, while knowing they already have in place, full compliance and operational integrity with the governing bodies of the host nation.
There is no doubt, the church as we once knew it is changing. In North America, surveys are showing there is growing discontentment amongst parishioners with the conventional church, while at the same time, North America is seeing growing satisfaction amongst those who are switching over to small house churches. The television church is now deeply entrenched in our society, allowing many followers to be exposed to churches from the comfort of their own home. As the church continues to preach a message that is "marriage" or "birth" focused, Single Adults feeling alienated by this message continue, to a large part, stay away from any form of church all together. As the conventional church preaches and teaches marriage, and in recent decades marriage restoration, recent statistics are now giving those in the church community a higher divorce rate than in the non-church community. The church is definitely facing changing times.
Where the church goes from today will be largely determined by the church’s ability to change, adapt, and reach it’s listeners with a personal touch, while allowing for those who wish to sit on the fringe. The "hold to the status quo" mentality of many of the church's older guard, will no longer breathe longevity into this institution. While the core message remains the same, the window dressings currently used to display that message must change to stay current with the times. In the past, churches were clearly run by the Pastor. Today it’s often the executive officers who run the church directing the administrative ministry machine, leaving the Pastor free and clear to focus on his or her first vocational priority, ministering to the people.
by: James C. Tanner
Life in America has changed greatly over the years, with massive changes in technology, global politics, lifestyle choices and family dynamics. Many of us remember the days where we heard "Rock of Ages" bellowing out from windows of the local church down the street, now to hear it replaced with "gospel Rock N’ Roll". During the course of change in our society there has been noteworthy shifts in our religious behaviors and religious institutions. Two generations ago, circuit riding preachers were still for many the evangelist of the day. Through the years, as televisions arrived into each home, so too did the faces of television evangelists such as Rex Humbard, Oral Roberts, and Billy Graham, to name a few.
As people changed, so have the faces of ministries that attempt to reach them. The small country church has now given way to the "Mega Church", and done so at a time when the unchurched population in America is reaching an all time high. So many Americans stay away from church, that according to The Barna Group (www.barna.org, a research group based out of Ventura, California) if all the unchurched Americans formed their own nation, they’d be the twelfth largest nation in the world, and it would include 13 to 15 million born again adults and children.
Powered by the great commission, "Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel", ministries have pushed forward in their focus, and in doing so, been forced to take on the inner workings of a major corporation. Evangelistic ministries have become known for their supporting administrative and executive organizations, with many churches now having CEOs, COOs, and CFOs. With corporate style organizations, the need for increased donor support to cover the associated costs of preaching today’s gospel has never been higher.
Surprisingly, for the effort shown to date, many of America’s top 11 evangelists struggle not only to get their message out, but also in introducing themselves to America. Survey results released in February of 2007 showed that among 34 public figures from four basic fields, of the ministers, Dr. Billy Graham topped the ranks for being best known and having the highest positive impression on a majority of Americans. Second in notoriety was Pat Robertson, but paling in the field of positive impression when compared to Dr. Graham. Chuck Colson, from the former Watergate era was unknown to 87 of Americans. Bill Hybells, unknown to 96 of Americans. Franklin Graham, son of Billy Graham, was unknown to 76 of Americans. T.D. Jakes, recently touted by a national magazine as the next Billy Graham, was unknown to 68 of Americans. Finally, Joel Osteen, known more as a writer than his role as a preacher, and while preaching every Sunday to 30,000 people in his own church and another 7,000,000 each Sunday via TV, Joel Osteen was still unknown to 67% of Americans.
As ministries expand and move forward in organizational and administrative capacities they are forced to embrace the technological field for spreading thier message. International borders become a natural hurdle in the race to expand. For some ministries, this hurdle from a management view point becomes a hurdle much larger than anticipated, for the way things are done on American soil, is rarely the same in countries like Canada, the UK, Europe, South Africa, Australia, and Asia. Each country has it’s own cultural differences, legal and taxation requirements. Each country has it’s own regulations on how much of the ministries office work must be done in country. Each border crossed becomes a learning curve for the evangelist and key administrative team.
Birthed due to the increasing need to help ministries expand are International Facilitators, who can quickly pave the way for ministries by going first into countries, setting up the proper legal, financial, taxation, and administrative services. These contract ministry administrative and operations specialists can shave months off the time it would take a ministry to enter a country legally. At least one such organization routinely maintains offices in countries such as Canada, the UK, South Africa, and Australia, servicing several ministries simultaneously out of the same offices, keeping administrative costs for each ministry down by sharing overhead costs. Rarely seen and rarely heard, these International Facilitators empower ministries to cross international borders easily, allowing Evangelists to focus on ministry to the people, while knowing they already have in place, full compliance and operational integrity with the governing bodies of the host nation.
There is no doubt, the church as we once knew it is changing. In North America, surveys are showing there is growing discontentment amongst parishioners with the conventional church, while at the same time, North America is seeing growing satisfaction amongst those who are switching over to small house churches. The television church is now deeply entrenched in our society, allowing many followers to be exposed to churches from the comfort of their own home. As the church continues to preach a message that is "marriage" or "birth" focused, Single Adults feeling alienated by this message continue, to a large part, stay away from any form of church all together. As the conventional church preaches and teaches marriage, and in recent decades marriage restoration, recent statistics are now giving those in the church community a higher divorce rate than in the non-church community. The church is definitely facing changing times.
Where the church goes from today will be largely determined by the church’s ability to change, adapt, and reach it’s listeners with a personal touch, while allowing for those who wish to sit on the fringe. The "hold to the status quo" mentality of many of the church's older guard, will no longer breathe longevity into this institution. While the core message remains the same, the window dressings currently used to display that message must change to stay current with the times. In the past, churches were clearly run by the Pastor. Today it’s often the executive officers who run the church directing the administrative ministry machine, leaving the Pastor free and clear to focus on his or her first vocational priority, ministering to the people.
Self-Contemplation
Self-Contemplation
by: Tina Montalto
When Moses was up on the mountain receiving the Ten Commandments, he asked God how shall Moses answer the question, what is his name? And God said unto Moses: I AM THAT I AM.
What does that mean for us as individualized centers of God? We are the first part of that name. We are the "I am". Spirit being all, is the infinite, unifying circle "I Am That I Am."
We concentrate on the "I am". This is the concept of self-contemplation. Self-contemplation is what you think about yourself, how you identify yourself, how you define yourself.
When you think or say statements that begin with "I am . . .", you are contemplating yourself. You are defining your freedom or your limitations. This is very powerful, and why many strong and effective affirmations begin with "I am."
All the studying, all the understanding, all the belief in the Absolute Goodness of the Universe (God), will not be healing or of help or comfort to us, if we do not start first with self-contemplation -- because Spirit and Law can only express for us by expressing through us. Our minds are the gatekeepers of the Universal Flow of Good. We can either have the gates opened or closed. It is our choice.
The mechanism that opens or shuts those gates is our self-contemplation. Our self-contemplation is what lets us believe and subjectify an idea. Once we subjectify an idea, it must be expressed in the physical world.
Here's an example. The Universal Flow of Abundance is constantly available to us. It is flowing around us and through us. We block the flow through us (and into our experience) when we believe statements like " I am bound to work hard all my life for very little." " I'm just trying to make ends meet." "That's for rich people, not me." Can't you just feel the gates closing down tight? Can't you just see the flow going around us like water moving around a rock in a stream?
We can believe there is Good in the Universe, but until and unless we see ourselves as Good, we will never experience that Good.
That is why I say it all boils down to self-contemplation. You cannot experience anything that you do not first accept in and for yourself. If you think of yourself as an average Joe, average things will happen in your life. If you define yourself as an employee, you will never have your own business. If you identify yourself as a victim of a disease, you have stopped the flow of health and healing in your body. If you know that people find the loves of their lives, but that won't happen for you, you have just contemplated yourself as unworthy of such love, and love will flow by.
The words "I am" are incredibly powerful because they are your direct connection to Divine Power. You are the "I AM" in "I AM THAT I AM". "I AM" is the presence of God in you -- just as "I AM" is literally in the name (nature) of God (I AM THAT I AM). "I AM" is the individualization of the absolute, unconditioned, limitless, all-expressed, Divine Intelligence, Cosmic Consciousness of "I AM THAT I AM." This is a profound, spiritual understanding of what we would humanly think of as just two little words.
Just think, when you say "I am . . .", you are invoking the creative power of the Universe.
Consciously use the "I am" self-contemplation as a tool to improve your life.
(c)2006 Tina Montalto
by: Tina Montalto
When Moses was up on the mountain receiving the Ten Commandments, he asked God how shall Moses answer the question, what is his name? And God said unto Moses: I AM THAT I AM.
What does that mean for us as individualized centers of God? We are the first part of that name. We are the "I am". Spirit being all, is the infinite, unifying circle "I Am That I Am."
We concentrate on the "I am". This is the concept of self-contemplation. Self-contemplation is what you think about yourself, how you identify yourself, how you define yourself.
When you think or say statements that begin with "I am . . .", you are contemplating yourself. You are defining your freedom or your limitations. This is very powerful, and why many strong and effective affirmations begin with "I am."
All the studying, all the understanding, all the belief in the Absolute Goodness of the Universe (God), will not be healing or of help or comfort to us, if we do not start first with self-contemplation -- because Spirit and Law can only express for us by expressing through us. Our minds are the gatekeepers of the Universal Flow of Good. We can either have the gates opened or closed. It is our choice.
The mechanism that opens or shuts those gates is our self-contemplation. Our self-contemplation is what lets us believe and subjectify an idea. Once we subjectify an idea, it must be expressed in the physical world.
Here's an example. The Universal Flow of Abundance is constantly available to us. It is flowing around us and through us. We block the flow through us (and into our experience) when we believe statements like " I am bound to work hard all my life for very little." " I'm just trying to make ends meet." "That's for rich people, not me." Can't you just feel the gates closing down tight? Can't you just see the flow going around us like water moving around a rock in a stream?
We can believe there is Good in the Universe, but until and unless we see ourselves as Good, we will never experience that Good.
That is why I say it all boils down to self-contemplation. You cannot experience anything that you do not first accept in and for yourself. If you think of yourself as an average Joe, average things will happen in your life. If you define yourself as an employee, you will never have your own business. If you identify yourself as a victim of a disease, you have stopped the flow of health and healing in your body. If you know that people find the loves of their lives, but that won't happen for you, you have just contemplated yourself as unworthy of such love, and love will flow by.
The words "I am" are incredibly powerful because they are your direct connection to Divine Power. You are the "I AM" in "I AM THAT I AM". "I AM" is the presence of God in you -- just as "I AM" is literally in the name (nature) of God (I AM THAT I AM). "I AM" is the individualization of the absolute, unconditioned, limitless, all-expressed, Divine Intelligence, Cosmic Consciousness of "I AM THAT I AM." This is a profound, spiritual understanding of what we would humanly think of as just two little words.
Just think, when you say "I am . . .", you are invoking the creative power of the Universe.
Consciously use the "I am" self-contemplation as a tool to improve your life.
(c)2006 Tina Montalto
Customer Service Rating: God
Customer Service Rating: God
by: Cory L. Kemp
Holiday shopping season officially starts the day after Thanksgiving. Traditionally called Black Friday, what for most of the country is a day to sleep late and socialize with visiting relatives and friends, is for retail workers the beginning of the countdown until close of business on Christmas Eve. Swarms of people come out to see what is available, enjoy the decorations and wistfully lament how fast time goes by. How can it be Christmas again already?
It's the retail rhythm of life, and stores are the official worship centers of this highly consumeristic season. As a precursor to this main event, an article flashed across my computer screen last week, indicating that disgruntled shoppers were taking charge and fighting back against poor customer service. I can only imagine what these irate and aggravated customers did to vent their frustration regarding being overcharged and underserved. But I also know what it feels like to stand behind the counter, exhausted, aiming to do everything I can to help, but what I have to offer is seen as not enough.
What customers who complain about poor customer service will not tell you is their whole side of the story. They won't tell you they have not ordered their merchandise early enough to be delivered before they need to be on the plane to their mom's house in another state. They won't tell you that they broke the pretty blue and white vase, the last one in stock, as they put it into their car. It was , you see, broken when they purchased it, and they want a refund. They also won't tell you how they held up the line behind them being unpleasant to a sales associate who was unable to locate their item in the back room because they had ordered a completely different product from another company.
What you will hear is the partial story. Although it is the truth, it is not the whole truth. The truth, the whole truth, is that many of us know we have put too much pressure on ourselves regarding shopping and entertaining, we have waited too long to be able to complete our tasks thoroughly, let alone joyfully, and so we become frustrated, blaming other people at hand for our poor choices. I have stood on this side of the counter too, and recognized the bitterness and enraged feelings that begin to rise inside me like music from a horror movie, as the hidden monster was about to strike.
Raising this issue now is a moment to remember all the times I realized, as I rang people up for ornaments, holiday serving pieces and collector nutcrackers, that blaming retailers for poor customer service is a lot like how we treat God when our prayers are not answered and things don't go our way. Prayers are very much like sales transactions. We place our order for the work, the relationship, the house, the vacation, the weather we want, move on to the next task, and assume God is at work on filling our order. when we realize that the order hasn't been filled to our specifications, we often become irritated, blame God and wonder why God is being mean to us, ignoring us, or not giving us what we want. What about that whole asking and receiving business in the bible? Doesn't that really work?
Our overabundance of material wealth in the United States has backfired on us in so many ways. We assume that if we want something, it must be available, and be available when we say so, even when we are dealing with God Almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earth, Wonderful Counselor, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. God's abundance is always at our door, but not always at our disposal. God isn't about supporting our use it/toss it society, regarding material objects or human resources. God is also not about being dictated to according to the terms we set for how we think things should run.
In chapter forty, verse twenty-five, the prophet Isaiah asks us, on God's behalf, an important question: To whom then will you compare me, or who is my equal? Do we really want to be treating God as a purveyor of poor customer service in our lives? Do we really think God isn't treating us kindly or lovingly just to make our lives miserable? I do believe God has an interesting way of working with circumstances that doesn't usually enter my mind, except in retrospect. But I also believe that God has my best interests in mind, and is quite delighted to help whenever asked with an open mind and heart.
It's my heartfelt hope that as we stand on the threshold of another holiday season, that we can approach each other with open hearts and minds, remembering that, given the truth and a chance, most people will do their best for each other, simply because they can and they want to.
by: Cory L. Kemp
Holiday shopping season officially starts the day after Thanksgiving. Traditionally called Black Friday, what for most of the country is a day to sleep late and socialize with visiting relatives and friends, is for retail workers the beginning of the countdown until close of business on Christmas Eve. Swarms of people come out to see what is available, enjoy the decorations and wistfully lament how fast time goes by. How can it be Christmas again already?
It's the retail rhythm of life, and stores are the official worship centers of this highly consumeristic season. As a precursor to this main event, an article flashed across my computer screen last week, indicating that disgruntled shoppers were taking charge and fighting back against poor customer service. I can only imagine what these irate and aggravated customers did to vent their frustration regarding being overcharged and underserved. But I also know what it feels like to stand behind the counter, exhausted, aiming to do everything I can to help, but what I have to offer is seen as not enough.
What customers who complain about poor customer service will not tell you is their whole side of the story. They won't tell you they have not ordered their merchandise early enough to be delivered before they need to be on the plane to their mom's house in another state. They won't tell you that they broke the pretty blue and white vase, the last one in stock, as they put it into their car. It was , you see, broken when they purchased it, and they want a refund. They also won't tell you how they held up the line behind them being unpleasant to a sales associate who was unable to locate their item in the back room because they had ordered a completely different product from another company.
What you will hear is the partial story. Although it is the truth, it is not the whole truth. The truth, the whole truth, is that many of us know we have put too much pressure on ourselves regarding shopping and entertaining, we have waited too long to be able to complete our tasks thoroughly, let alone joyfully, and so we become frustrated, blaming other people at hand for our poor choices. I have stood on this side of the counter too, and recognized the bitterness and enraged feelings that begin to rise inside me like music from a horror movie, as the hidden monster was about to strike.
Raising this issue now is a moment to remember all the times I realized, as I rang people up for ornaments, holiday serving pieces and collector nutcrackers, that blaming retailers for poor customer service is a lot like how we treat God when our prayers are not answered and things don't go our way. Prayers are very much like sales transactions. We place our order for the work, the relationship, the house, the vacation, the weather we want, move on to the next task, and assume God is at work on filling our order. when we realize that the order hasn't been filled to our specifications, we often become irritated, blame God and wonder why God is being mean to us, ignoring us, or not giving us what we want. What about that whole asking and receiving business in the bible? Doesn't that really work?
Our overabundance of material wealth in the United States has backfired on us in so many ways. We assume that if we want something, it must be available, and be available when we say so, even when we are dealing with God Almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earth, Wonderful Counselor, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. God's abundance is always at our door, but not always at our disposal. God isn't about supporting our use it/toss it society, regarding material objects or human resources. God is also not about being dictated to according to the terms we set for how we think things should run.
In chapter forty, verse twenty-five, the prophet Isaiah asks us, on God's behalf, an important question: To whom then will you compare me, or who is my equal? Do we really want to be treating God as a purveyor of poor customer service in our lives? Do we really think God isn't treating us kindly or lovingly just to make our lives miserable? I do believe God has an interesting way of working with circumstances that doesn't usually enter my mind, except in retrospect. But I also believe that God has my best interests in mind, and is quite delighted to help whenever asked with an open mind and heart.
It's my heartfelt hope that as we stand on the threshold of another holiday season, that we can approach each other with open hearts and minds, remembering that, given the truth and a chance, most people will do their best for each other, simply because they can and they want to.
Intelligent Design On Another Planet?
Intelligent Design On Another Planet?
by: Babu G. Ranganathan
Imagine finding a planet where robots are programmed so that they can make other robots just like themselves from raw materials.
Now, imagine an alien visitor coming to the planet and, after many years of studying these robots, coming to the conclusion that since science can explain how these robots work and function there's no reason to believe that there was an ultimate intelligent designer behind them.
The analogy above certainly is not perfect but it is sufficient to reveal the fallacious thinking of those who attack intelligent design behind life and the universe.
Chance physical processes can produce some level of order but it is not rational to believe that the highest levels of order in life and the universe are by chance. For example, amino acids have been shown to be able to come into existence by chance but not more complex structures such as proteins which require that the various amino acids be in a precise sequence, just like the letters in a sentence. A single cell has millions of proteins.
There is no innate chemical tendency for amino acids to bond with one another in a sequence. Any one amino acid can just as easily bond with any other. The only reason at all for why the various amino acids bond with one another in a precise sequence in the cells of our bodies is because they're directed to do so by an already existing sequence of molecules in our genetic code. Without being in a proper sequence protein molecules will not function.
The sequence of molecules in DNA (the genetic code) determines the sequence of molecules in proteins. Furthermore, without DNA there cannot be RNA, but without RNA there cannot be DNA. And without eiether DNA and RNA there cannot be proteins, and without proteins there cannot be either DNA or RNA. They're all mutually dependent upon each other for existence!
If humans must use intelligence to perform genetic engineering, to meaningfully manipulate the genetic code, then what does that say about the origin of the genetic code itself!
If the cell had evolved it would have had to be all at once. A partially evolved cell cannot wait millions of years to become complete because it would be highly unstable and quickly disintegrate in the open environment.
The great British scientist Sir Frederick Hoyle has said that the probability of the sequence of molecules in the simplest cell coming into existence by chance is equivalent to a tornado going through a junk yard of airplane parts and assembling a 747 Jumbo Jet!
Considering the enormous complexity of life, it is much more logical to believe that the genetic and biological similarities between all species is due to a common Designer rather than common biological ancestry. It is only logical that the great Designer would design similar functions for similar purposes and different functions for different purposes in all of the various forms of life.
What if we should find evidence of life on Mars? Wouldn't that prove evolution? No. It wouldn't be proof that such life had evolved from non-living matter by chance natural processes. And even if we did find evidence of life on Mars it would have most likely have come from our very own planet - Earth! In the Earth's past there was powerful volcanic activity which could have easily spewed dirt containing microbes into outer space which eventually could have reached Mars. A Newsweek article of September 21, 1998, p.12 mentions exactly this possibility.
Contrary to popular belief, scientists have never created life in the laboratory. What scientists have done is genetically alter or engineer already existing forms of life, and by doing this scientists have been able to produce new forms of life. However, they did not produce these new life forms from non-living matter. Even if scientists ever do produce life from non-living matter it won't be by chance so it still wouldn't help support any argument for evolution.
We also know from the law of entropy in science that the universe does not have the ability to have sustained itself from eternity. The existence and complexity of the universe point to a Supreme Designer and Creator!
Those advocating the teaching of intelligent design are not demanding that Darwinian theory no longer be taught. Rather, the advocates of intelligent design want the merits of both theories taught side by side when the issue of origins is covered in science classes and textbooks. This is only fair.
Science cannot prove we are here by either design (creation) or by chance (evolution), but students should have full information available to decide which position science best supports.
What we believe about life's origins does influence our philosophy and value of life as well as our view of ourselves and others. This is no small issue!
Just because the laws of science can explain how life and the universe operate and work doesn't mean there is no Maker. Would it be rational to believe that there's no designer behind airplanes because the laws of science can explain how airplanes operate and work?
Natural laws are adequate to explain how the order in life, the universe, and even a microwave oven operates, but mere undirected natural laws cannot fully explain the origin of such order.
An organization of highly qualified scientists, known as the Institute for Creation Research (www.icr.org), has published some excellent books and material supporting faith in intelligent design for life and the universe.
Books published by ICR cover various issues such as the origin of life, genetic and biological similarities between species, the limits to biological variation and natural selection in nature, the fossil record, the age of the earth, etc.
Sincerely,
Babu G. Ranganathan
(B.A. Bible/Biology)
www.religionscience.com
Other helpful resources:
www.creationscience.com
www.ChristianAnswers.Net
www.religionscience.com
Scientific Evidence for a Young World: http://www.icr.org/index.php?module=articles&action=view&ID=1842
by: Babu G. Ranganathan
Imagine finding a planet where robots are programmed so that they can make other robots just like themselves from raw materials.
Now, imagine an alien visitor coming to the planet and, after many years of studying these robots, coming to the conclusion that since science can explain how these robots work and function there's no reason to believe that there was an ultimate intelligent designer behind them.
The analogy above certainly is not perfect but it is sufficient to reveal the fallacious thinking of those who attack intelligent design behind life and the universe.
Chance physical processes can produce some level of order but it is not rational to believe that the highest levels of order in life and the universe are by chance. For example, amino acids have been shown to be able to come into existence by chance but not more complex structures such as proteins which require that the various amino acids be in a precise sequence, just like the letters in a sentence. A single cell has millions of proteins.
There is no innate chemical tendency for amino acids to bond with one another in a sequence. Any one amino acid can just as easily bond with any other. The only reason at all for why the various amino acids bond with one another in a precise sequence in the cells of our bodies is because they're directed to do so by an already existing sequence of molecules in our genetic code. Without being in a proper sequence protein molecules will not function.
The sequence of molecules in DNA (the genetic code) determines the sequence of molecules in proteins. Furthermore, without DNA there cannot be RNA, but without RNA there cannot be DNA. And without eiether DNA and RNA there cannot be proteins, and without proteins there cannot be either DNA or RNA. They're all mutually dependent upon each other for existence!
If humans must use intelligence to perform genetic engineering, to meaningfully manipulate the genetic code, then what does that say about the origin of the genetic code itself!
If the cell had evolved it would have had to be all at once. A partially evolved cell cannot wait millions of years to become complete because it would be highly unstable and quickly disintegrate in the open environment.
The great British scientist Sir Frederick Hoyle has said that the probability of the sequence of molecules in the simplest cell coming into existence by chance is equivalent to a tornado going through a junk yard of airplane parts and assembling a 747 Jumbo Jet!
Considering the enormous complexity of life, it is much more logical to believe that the genetic and biological similarities between all species is due to a common Designer rather than common biological ancestry. It is only logical that the great Designer would design similar functions for similar purposes and different functions for different purposes in all of the various forms of life.
What if we should find evidence of life on Mars? Wouldn't that prove evolution? No. It wouldn't be proof that such life had evolved from non-living matter by chance natural processes. And even if we did find evidence of life on Mars it would have most likely have come from our very own planet - Earth! In the Earth's past there was powerful volcanic activity which could have easily spewed dirt containing microbes into outer space which eventually could have reached Mars. A Newsweek article of September 21, 1998, p.12 mentions exactly this possibility.
Contrary to popular belief, scientists have never created life in the laboratory. What scientists have done is genetically alter or engineer already existing forms of life, and by doing this scientists have been able to produce new forms of life. However, they did not produce these new life forms from non-living matter. Even if scientists ever do produce life from non-living matter it won't be by chance so it still wouldn't help support any argument for evolution.
We also know from the law of entropy in science that the universe does not have the ability to have sustained itself from eternity. The existence and complexity of the universe point to a Supreme Designer and Creator!
Those advocating the teaching of intelligent design are not demanding that Darwinian theory no longer be taught. Rather, the advocates of intelligent design want the merits of both theories taught side by side when the issue of origins is covered in science classes and textbooks. This is only fair.
Science cannot prove we are here by either design (creation) or by chance (evolution), but students should have full information available to decide which position science best supports.
What we believe about life's origins does influence our philosophy and value of life as well as our view of ourselves and others. This is no small issue!
Just because the laws of science can explain how life and the universe operate and work doesn't mean there is no Maker. Would it be rational to believe that there's no designer behind airplanes because the laws of science can explain how airplanes operate and work?
Natural laws are adequate to explain how the order in life, the universe, and even a microwave oven operates, but mere undirected natural laws cannot fully explain the origin of such order.
An organization of highly qualified scientists, known as the Institute for Creation Research (www.icr.org), has published some excellent books and material supporting faith in intelligent design for life and the universe.
Books published by ICR cover various issues such as the origin of life, genetic and biological similarities between species, the limits to biological variation and natural selection in nature, the fossil record, the age of the earth, etc.
Sincerely,
Babu G. Ranganathan
(B.A. Bible/Biology)
www.religionscience.com
Other helpful resources:
www.creationscience.com
www.ChristianAnswers.Net
www.religionscience.com
Scientific Evidence for a Young World: http://www.icr.org/index.php?module=articles&action=view&ID=1842
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