—–

From:
Sent: Wednesday, April 14, 2010 9:50 AM
To:
Subject: Fwd: The Cross in our bodies!

—– Forwarded Message —–

From:
To:
Sent: Tuesday, April 13, 2010 3:10:28 AM GMT -10:00 Hawaii
Subject: Fwd: Fw: The Cross in our bodies!

———- Forwarded message ———-

From:
Date: Mon, Apr 12, 2010 at 8:53 PM
Subject: Fw: The Cross in our bodies!
To:
Subject: FW: The Cross in our bodies!

Such An Incredible Thing…

He (Louie) was talking about how inconceivably BIG our God is… How He spoke the universe into being… How He breathes stars out of His mouth that are huge raging balls of fire..  Etc. Etc. Then He went on to speak of how this star-breathing, universe creating God ALSO knitted our human bodies together with amazing detail and wonder. At this point I am LOVING it (fascinating from a medical standpoint, you know.) . And I was remembering how I was constantly amazed during medical school as I learned more and more about God’s handiwork.

It was because he started talking about laminin. I knew about laminin.. Here is how Wikipedia describes them: ‘Laminins are a family of proteins that are an integral part of the structural scaffolding of basement membranes in almost every animal tissue’ You see…. Laminins are what hold us together… LITERALLY. They are cell adhesion molecules. They are what holds one cell of our bodies to the next cell. Without them, we would literally fall apart. And I knew all this already. But what I didn’t know is what they LOOKED LIKE..

But now I do.  And I have thought about it a thousand times since (already)….Here is what the structure of laminin looks like… AND THIS IS NOT a ‘Christian portrayal’ of it…. If you look up laminin in any scientific/medical piece of literature, this is what you will see….

Laminins

Now tell me that our God is not the coolest!!!   Amazing!  The glue that holds us together…. ALL of us….Is in the shape of the cross.  Immediately Colossians 1:15-17 comes to mind.

‘He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.  For by him all things were created; things in heaven and on earth, visible And invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or Authorities;     All things were created by him and for him.  He is before all things, and in him All things HOLD TOGETHER.’

Colossians 1:15-17

Thousands of years before the world knew anything about laminin, Paul penned those words. And now we see that from a very LITERAL standpoint,we are held together… One cell to another…. By the cross.

Arnold

—–Original Message—–
From: a friend
Sent: Wednesday, December 02, 2009 4:02 AM
To: undisclosed-recipients:
Subject: “Daniel’s Gloves”

I sat, with two friends, in the picture window of a quaint restaurant just off the corner of the town-square. The food and the company were both especially good that day.

As we talked, my attention was drawn outside, across the street. There, walking into town, was a man who appeared to be carrying all his worldly goods on his back. He was carrying, a well-worn sign that read, ‘I will
work for food.’ My heart sank.

I brought him to the attention of my friends and noticed that others around us had stopped eating to focus on him. Heads moved in a mixture of sadness and disbelief.

We continued with our meal, but his image lingered in my mind. We finished our meal and went our separate ways. I had errands to do and quickly set out to accomplish them. I glanced toward the town square, looking somewhat halfheartedly for the strange visitor. I was fearful, knowing that seeing him again would call some response. I drove through town and saw nothing of him. I made some purchases at a store and got back in my car.

Deep within me, the Spirit of God kept speaking to me: ‘Don’t go back to the office until you’ve at least driven once more around the square.’

Then with some hesitancy, I headed back into town. As I turned the square’s third corner, I saw him. He was standing on the steps of the store front church, going through his sack.

I stopped and looked; feeling both compelled to speak to him, yet wanting to drive on. The empty parking space on the corner seemed to be a sign from God: an invitation to park. I pulled in, got out and approached the town’s newest visitor.

‘Looking for the pastor?’ I asked.

‘Not really,’ he replied, ‘just resting.’

‘Have you eaten today?’

‘Oh, I ate something early this morning.’

‘Would you like to have lunch with me?’

‘Do you have some work I could do for you?’

‘No work,’ I replied ‘I commute here to work from the city, but I would like to take you to lunch.’

‘Sure,’ he replied with a smile.

As he began to gather his things, I asked some surface questions. Where you headed?’

‘ St. Louis ‘

‘Where you from?’

‘Oh, all over; mostly Florida .’

‘How long you been walking?’

‘Fourteen years,’ came the reply.

I knew I had met someone unusual. We sat across from each other in the same restaurant I had left earlier. His face was weathered slightly beyond his 38 years. His eyes were dark yet clear, and he spoke with an eloquence and articulation that was startling. He removed his jacket to reveal a bright red T-shirt that said, ‘Jesus is The Never Ending Story.’

Then Daniel’s story began to unfold. He had seen rough times early in life. He’d made some wrong choices and reaped the consequences.. Fourteen years earlier, while backpacking across the country, he had stopped on the beach in Daytona. He tried to hire on with some men who were putting up a large tent and some equipment. A concert, he thought.

He was hired, but the tent would not house a concert but revival services, and in those services he saw life more clearly. He gave his life over to God

‘Nothing’s been the same since,’ he said, ‘I felt the Lord telling me to keep walking, and so I did, some 14 years now.’

‘Ever think of stopping?’ I asked.

‘Oh, once in a while, when it seems to get the best of me but God has given me this calling. I give out Bibles. That’s what’s in my sack. I work to buy food and Bibles, and I give them out when His Spirit leads.’

I sat amazed. My homeless friend was not homeless. He was on a mission and lived this way by choice. The question burned inside for a moment and then I asked: ‘What’s it like?’

‘What?’

‘To walk into a town carrying all your things on your back and to show your sign?’

‘Oh, it was humiliating at first. People would stare and make comments. Once someone tossed a piece of half-eaten bread and made a gesture that certainly didn’t make me feel welcome. But then it became humbling to realize that God was using me to touch lives and change people’s concepts of other folks like me.’

My concept was changing, too. We finished our dessert and gathered his things. Just outside the door, he paused. He turned to me and said, ‘Come Ye blessed of my Father and inherit the kingdom I’ve prepared for
you. For when I was hungry you gave me food, when I was thirsty you gave me drink, a stranger and you took me in.’

I felt as if we were on holy ground. ‘Could you use another Bible?’ I asked.

He said he preferred a certain translation. It traveled well and was not too heavy. It was also his personal favorite. ‘I’ve read through it 14 times,’ he said.

‘I’m not sure we’ve got one of those, but let’s stop by our church and see.’ I was able to find my new friend a Bible that would do well, and he seemed very grateful.

‘Where are you headed from here?’ I asked.

‘Well, I found this little map on the back of this amusement park coupon.’

‘Are you hoping to hire on there for awhile?’

‘No, I just figure I should go there. I figure someone under that star right there needs a Bible, so that’s where I’m going next.’

He smiled, and the warmth of his spirit radiated the sincerity of his mission. I drove him back to the town-square where we’d met two hours earlier, and as we drove, it started raining. We parked and unloaded his things.

‘Would you sign my autograph book?’ he asked. ‘I like to keep messages from folks I meet.’

I wrote in his little book that his commitment to his calling had touched my life. I encouraged him to stay strong. And I left him with a verse of scripture from Jeremiah, ‘I know the plans I have for you, declared the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you; Plans to give you a future and a hope.’

‘Thanks, man,’ he said.. ‘I know we just met and we’re really just strangers, but I love you.’

‘I know,’ I said, ‘I love you, too.’ ‘The Lord is good!’

‘Yes, He is. How long has it been since someone hugged you?’ I asked.

A long time,’ he replied

And so on the busy street corner in the drizzling rain, my new friend and I embraced, and I felt deep inside that I had been changed. He put his things on his back, smiled his winning smile and said, ‘See you in the New Jerusalem.’

‘I’ll be there!’ was my reply.

He began his journey again. He headed away with his sign dangling from his bedroll and pack of Bibles. He stopped, turned and said, ‘When you see something that makes you think of me, will you pray for me?’

‘You bet,’ I shouted back, ‘God bless.’

‘God bless’ And that was the last I saw of him.

Late that evening as I left my office, the wind blew strong. The cold front had settled hard upon the town. I bundled up and hurried to my car. As I sat back and reached for the emergency brake, I saw them…. a pair of well-worn brown work gloves neatly laid over the length of the handle… I picked them up and thought of my friend and wondered if his hands would stay warm that night without them.

Then I remembered his words: ‘If you see something that makes you think of me, will you pray for me?’

Today his gloves lie on my desk in my office. They help me to see the world and its people in a new way, and they help me remember those two hours with my unique friend and to pray for his ministry. ‘See you in the New Jerusalem,’ he said. Yes, Daniel, I know I will…

‘I shall pass this way but once. Therefore, any good that I can do or any kindness that I can show, let me do it now, for I shall not pass this way again.’

My instructions were to send this to four people that I wanted God to bless and I picked you. Please pass this to four people you want to be blessed.

This prayer is powerful and there is nothing attached. Please do not break this pattern. Prayer is one of the best gifts we receive. There is no cost but a lot of rewards. Let’s continue to pray for one another. God bless and have a nice day!

‘Father, I ask you to bless my friends, relatives and e-mail buddies reading this right now. Show them a new revelation of your love and power. Holy Spirit, I ask you to minister to their spirit at this very moment. Where there is pain, give them your peace and mercy… Where there is self-doubt, release a renewed confidence through your grace, In Jesus’ precious Name Amen.’

I sent this to more than four, but this story is so touching I felt each of you would enjoy it greatly.

GOD BLESS YOU MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY!!!

All of us have flaws.

Some talk too much, others are timid, yet others are always late. It’s human to have flaws. Those can be worked on and they are not fatal. But character is something you and I must have.

The way the Father sees us on the earth is not only as his children but also as stewards of what he has entrusted us with – gifts, talents & calling.

A steward has to treat what has been entrusted to him as his own, but never to become obsessive about it – he needs to remembers it belongs to someone else. As a steward you cannot afford not to be faithful. You can have flaws, but you cannot be unfaithful.

Suppose you have the gift of comfort. So many people need comfort in this life. As soon as you become aware your presence comforts people and ministers to them, will you be faithful to bless others through it? In other words, will you keep on keeping on?

It’s been 20 years now in my walk with God and I’ve seen one thing – there are a lot and I mean A LOT of people who come to Christ but never develop as consistent disciples. They may have gifts and talents, but they can’t be trusted.

Faithfulness is a non-negotiable. This means you will keep releasing to others what God has given you as long as you are alive! You must finish the course!

George Bakalov (c) 2009. Source: www.gbmi.us

George P. Bakalov

(This article is a courtesy of www.gbmi.us, a site designed by me)

Through the eyes of a child:

The Children’s Bible in a Nutshell

In the beginning, which occurred near the start, there was nothing but God, darkness, and some gas. The Bible says, ‘The Lord thy God is one, but I think He must be a lot older than that. Anyway, God said, ‘Give me a light!’ and someone did.

Then God made the world. He split the Adam and made Eve. Adam and Eve were naked, but they weren’t embarrassed because mirrors hadn’t been invented yet. Adam and Eve disobeyed God by eating one bad apple, so they were driven from the Garden of Eden. Not sure what they were driven in though, because they didn’t have cars.

Adam and Eve had a son, Cain, who hated his brother as long as he was Abel. Pretty soon all of the early people died off, except for Methuselah, who lived to be like a million or something.

One of the next important people was Noah, who was a good guy, but one of his kids was kind of a Ham. Noah built a large boat and put his family and some animals on it. He asked some other people to join him, but they said they would have to take a rain check. After Noah came Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Jacob was more famous than his brother, Esau, because Esau sold Jacob his birthmark in exchange for some pot roast. Jacob had a son named Joseph who wore a really loud sports coat.

Another important Bible guy is Moses, whose real name was Charlton Heston. Moses led the Israel Lights out of Egypt and away from the evil Pharaoh after God sent ten plagues on Pharaoh’s people. These plagues included frogs, mice, lice, bowels, and no cable.

God fed the Israel Lights every day with manicotti. Then he gave them His Top Ten Commandments. These include: don’t lie, cheat, smoke, dance, or covet your neighbor’s stuff. Oh, yeah, I just thought of one more: Humor thy father and thy mother. One of Moses’ best helpers was Joshua who was the first Bible guy to use spies. Joshua fought the battle of Geritol and the fence fell over on the town.

After Joshua came David. He got to be king by killing a giant with a slingshot. He had a son named Solomon who had about 300 wives and 500 porcupines. My teacher says he was wise, but that doesn’t sound very wise to me. After Solomon there were a bunch of major league prophets.

One of these was Jonah, who was swallowed by a big whale and then barfed up on the shore. There were also some minor league prophets, but I guess we don’t have to worry about them.

After the Old Testament came the New Testament. Jesus is the star of The New. He was born in Bethlehem in a barn. (I wish I had been born in a barn too, because my mom is always saying to me, ‘Close the door! Were you born in a barn?’ It would be nice to say, ‘As a matter of fact, I was.’)

During His life, Jesus had many arguments with sinners like the Pharisees and the Democrats. Jesus also had twelve opossums. The worst one was Judas Asparagus. Judas was so evil that they named a terrible vegetable after him. Jesus was a great man. He healed many leopards and even preached to some Germans on the Mount. But the Democrats and all those guys put Jesus on trial before Pontius the Pilot. Pilot didn’t stick up for Jesus. He just washed his hands instead.

Anyways, Jesus died for our sins, then came back to life again. He went up to Heaven but will be back at the end of the Aluminum. His return is foretold in the book of Revolution.

Let me what you think..

My friend Simon directly agreed as it would also be a good time to visit his father (we choose his father’s place to do this idea). His father lives in  a very small village called dusun Nganglik (7 degree 53’42,90″ S and 110 degree 51’35,11″ E), close to small town called Wuyantoro, in Central Java province.   So, a few days ago, me and my family with Simon and his went to this place and spent a night there.

You won’t believe that we found ourselves in a place like we were back in time of Noah. First, defenitely no internet. Then there was a tv but very old one and right before we came, it went dead only a few days ago. Good. Then, a very limited electricity where only 2 lights that were on during night time. So we were accompanied by moonlight only most of the time. We went to the kitchen and found that the cooking would need to be done by fire wood in an extremely primitive way of cooking.. just like a few years after the man discovered the fire the first time.. you know.. you had to build stones into the surrounding with woods within the spot and then light the fire there. Thanks God that the bathroom, even though it looks very old but pretty clean and decent to be used by us, this city people that tries to go back into the past.. ha..

When the night came, the dark started to covered the area. The light we had came from the moon light. We all then laid down on front yard that covered only with a very thin layer of bamboo sheet. Lucky, there was almost no mosquitoes. We chatted and laughed and enjoying the night all together with the kids. Simon’s father cooked for us as none of the ladies around us knows how to use the kitchen. Not even Anis, Simon’s wife. Mbah Ngatino then also picked some fresh chilly pepper from his house surrounding. The house is almost located in middle the forest of cashew trees. So we are actually laying down under some of this big cashew trees around us.

After a while, we then had dinner together.. we ate fried small fishes, fried small shrimps with rice. These are from the man-made lake very close to this location. The lake called Wonogiri, is for irrigation and electricity. We also ate hot small snails that were harvested from ricefields. Don’t feel bad, you guys need to try them… ha.. ha.. but the best part is the sambel,made by Mbah Ngatino!! Very hot and burning, fresh chilly pepper mixed with salt and garlic.

When we were all full, we went back outside to front yard where we continued our ‘laziness’ enjoying the night.. an hour later we then set a fire to grill some corns… no marshmallow.. this is not USA.. this is a spot just in the other part of the world where most people forgot that it is still exist in the very same earth. A few hours later, one by one started to dissapear inside the house. Juan and Dina went it to sleep, Anis and her baby too. Then Mbah Ngatino took some sarung.. a thin sheet that used by villagers to go to sleep.. no blanket or bed cover.. and gave the sarung to each of us, Simon, me and Joshua, Simon’s eldest son. We still talked a bit then quite.. zz..zzz…zzzz…

At one o’clock, I woke up suddenly trembling as it was so cold. We had been sleeping outside on the dirt with a bight night sky as our ceilings. I saw Simon was not there anymore.. only Joshua slept in pistol style under his grandpa arms. I jumped into my car seeking for some warm air inside the car. After awhile, I heard Simon calling everyone to go inside. I think that is a good idea…;)

The next day, when we wake up.. I then just realized that this spot is very ‘old’ compare to our living area back into our home. Wow.. I guess this is a very experience to each of us where we can experience something totally different, away from everything and all the busyness that always be there with us. Ha.. ha.. wanna try it?!

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Today 29 April 2009 is the biggest day of our son Juan Austin Mercy for it’s his 9th birthday.  Actually we have no specific plan for him at first, until last night we both decide to make a surprise for him..

This morning after taking him to school as usual and get house work done,  first we made a called to his school principal and told her about our surprise plan..she agreed & she would coordinate with Juan’s teacher about it ..hm sounds great. Then we went to bakery shop to take cakes we ordered a night before. Then we went back home to prepare a few things before heading to his school.

We got to his school around 12.00 noon, and waited around 15 minutes..on 12.20 pm we walked to his class room…some of his friends noticed we were coming and they told Juan, so Juan was the first one who greeted us at class door….Juan was having a big smile when he saw us…his eyes were wide to see we brought a black forest cake ..he said “wow wow, I thought you just bring me a chocolate candy bar..” , well Juan expected that we might come…but not sure yet…

Then his teacher paused teaching for 15 minutes..all his class mates and teacher sang Happy Birthday Song, prayed for him together, then Juan blew a candle…Afterward,  we gave each of them cake served in a medium plate..they are all seemed so happy..they love the cake… Since there were some cake left..so we gave them all to all his school teachers in their room..so they can also enjoy the cake..

So today…we are all happy,  plan runs well, can share laugh and cakes…it is a simple birthday party we make..the most important thing is that we have the opportunity to share of what we  are able to do to others…and enjoy the happy moment together…

Well friends…be blessed..today and always..

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It was a fine experience and a rare oppurtunity for me.  But glad to see the faces when they received the word of God that I preached. And this time I can preach about the stone of David where he used to kill Goliath.  The Bible clearly mentioned that this greatest warrior of Israel’s enemy was killed not by a weapon or any weapon-tool so called.  He was killed not by a sword but by a smooth small stone that was picked from a river bank. Wow! God could answer our prayer or solve our problem with a very simple and unthinkable miracle.  He is so much greater than our goliath.