Saturday, November 27, 2004

:: KILL ONLINE ::

A new site is born: http://www.live-shot.com.

[LIVE-SHOT is a new concept. You can challenge yourself and compare your skills to other members with our on-line target shooting. We have developed a system where you can control a pan/tilt/zoom camera and a firearm to shoot at real targets in real time.

While your membership is active, access the viewing cameras to see how others stack up to your abilities, control the pan/tilt/zoom camera to take a look around, and schedule a reservation for your on-line shooting experience.

Currently, shooters will be able to fire 10 (ten) .22 caliber rounds at paper and silhouette targets. You may also have a DVD recording and/or the paper target from the session shipped as an option. Look for additional, varied shooting systems along with competitions to come online soon.]

Kill ONLINE, not sure when they will update this for warfare and killing for hire...

What a bored civilization...

Wednesday, November 24, 2004

:: Art Katz on Morning Devotions ::

Art Katz:

"Just a thought that this issue of personal morning devotion before the commencement of the day; it might be more significant that anyone knows, and it might be the actual factor of Israel’s hope of deliverance. For this, I use the text of Mark, chapter nine, of the young man who was thrown into the fire by a demonic spirit. “How long has this been going on?” Jesus asked the father. “Since childhood” (v. 21), since infancy, since the inception of his life, so that, prophetically, I am thinking, “What is being represented here? This is not just a child being molested, harassed. This is a child that is the particular object of demonic fury seeking to kill him.” This must represent Israel itself. The disciples, being unable to cast this out, asked Jesus, and He answered, “This kind [this ultimate kind] cometh not out but by fasting and by prayer” (v. 29).

The way that I have been given to understand that in the light of my own experience is that it is a prayer beyond petition. It is that communion with God where we linger and wait in His presence, because He is God and not because of anything that we would receive of utilitarian kind, that imbues us with something of Himself, so that when we have to confront Last Days’ demonic activity, we bring that reality, which is the accumulation of the daily times with God, that is greater than the visible reality of their power. What we obtain in that early morning communion will be critical in the Last Days for Israel’s deliverance. It is not heroics; it is devotion."

"I would just encourage those who are reading this interview to be inspired to not neglect the commencement of the day with the Lord, not just for the issue of their petition or reading of an obligatory chapter, in order that they have done their religious duty, but to spend sufficient time in the Lord’s presence, even when it is not felt, so that something is given of what is God Himself, ultimate reality. In the Last Days, we will defeat and move and deliver a victimized Israel from the clutches of those dark powers. That would be a last encouragement that I would like to express."

Art Katz Biographical Interview

About Reformation & Change

QUOTE FROM Teri Lee Earl: Generally, two words are used to describe an over-all change coming to the Church, 'restoration' and 'reformation'. Each has its strength and weaknesses in what it portrays or communicates.

Restoration often presumes that there are lost truths or practices that need to be 'restored'. As in the article posted on this site, Restoration of the Church by Arthur Wallis, God does work to 'revive' dead obscured truths, often in conjunction with a revival or spiritual awakening movement.

There are various restoration theories, however, that are in effect, various forms of deception. They tend to be loosely based on scriptures such as Mark 9:12-13 (please cross-reference this with Luke 1:13-17) and Acts 3:21 (please notice the context of verse 20 there, Jesus is the one who "comes to restore all things").

Commonly, these theories of restoration suppose that all expressions of the Church right after the early church have been deprived of 'real' truth and power. To solve this problem, the current movement and its teachers or prophets or apostles have come to save the day. They will now help 'restore' the Church to her former glory. At the very least, they will prophecy or teach that missing something. Perhaps it is that important truth that was previously-not-known-nor-ever-understood before they arrived upon the scene. Perhaps it is something that was lost to the early Church in times past-- until now.

Typically. these types of 'restoration' theories culminate in a fantastic expectation of the current movement, whatever that may be, to finally become the 'true' or 'victorious' Church. In other words, their group are the ones to be 'restored' to either as good as the first century church, or even superior to it.

These restoration theories lend themselves to gross spiritual pride on the part of their leaders and followers. They begin or end with odd heresies and practices that are just as bad or worse than the very things that they had rejected as 'inferior' to themselves. Failing to produce the fantastic expectations they set up, many a person is left disillusioned. It is the wise man who prudently avoids certain restoration theories. END QUOTE

Teri Lee Earl
www.harvestnet.org




:: Building the Kingdom - quote ::

"If my Church believes in an everlasting temple, here on earth, they must build in a more temporary, less permanent way. There are many possible church structures, all of which can be good and useful, but people must not try to make any one of them into an absolute. People must keep hold of the content, and give it a new form, which is suitable for the people of this age."

(Frans Horsthuis - The Royal Way, p.168)

Friday, November 19, 2004

:: The Lowest Price is Lawless ::

Are Dollar Stores and Wall-Marts (and their various off-shoots and disciples) lowest prices actually a storefront for products manufactured by cheap labour and political prisoners in countries that violate human rights for the sake of profits?

It does not matter if it's China or Indonesia, or countries in South America, there has certainly been a mass exodus toward developping countries where construction, production and environmental laws are slacked, which attracts many brand names manufacturers. THing is, wages and absence of Unions are also a big dog in the balance.

The result is that there is an exponential increase of products that are imported here that have been built by people who's quality of life suffers tremendously. We would never work under their conditions.

Granted, our countries did work under those conditions, and is it our place to dictate the flow of their history in conquering these prematuraly? Shouldn't there be a genuine movement born from the people asking for reform? Even if it will massively mean imprisonment, where they will continue working just the same... or death?

How aware do we want to be? How responsible do we want to be with our money? What control do we have over all this? How should we shop, since Fair Trade isn't possible in countries living under political oppression?

Well, I don't know. Being poor forces me to look for lower prices, but I can't shake the deep malaise I have any time I walk in a Dollar Store, Wall-Mart being on my black list for violation of social environmental ethics, and for being a landscape eye-sore and a black hole for local economies... and being relentless at wanting what they want just because they can afford the lawyers and the years it takes for them to violate the population's request that they do their business elsewhere, or at a specific spot within the city's development plans.

Anyways, here's a good one from Voice of the Martyrs on that sort of topic that I got from the latest "Virtual House" newletter from Christianity.ca.

Tuesday, November 09, 2004

:: The Pain of It All... ::

"If you are going to be used by God, He will take you through a multitude of experiences that are not meant for you at all, they are meant to make you useful in his hands, and to enable you to understand what transpires in other souls so that you will never be surprised at what you come across."

Oswald Chambers

Saturday, November 06, 2004

:: HUMANITIES COLLIDING ::

POST-MODERNISM IS A CANVAS, NOT A GOSPEL

I don't think we have to defend Post-Modernism, it's only a very useful canvas. I do think, however, that we need to stand for truth. Anywhere that lie and deceit reign, it is healthy to identify them. Not being able to do so put us, and those who rely on us, at risk.

The Gospel is what I contend for, it is about knowing God and be known by Him, and living a life that reflects that relationship. And it is about doing what He does, guided and empowered by His Spirit, and being able to lay down whatever we're doing to follow where He leads.

The whole stack of Paul's Epistles were about church problems raised by improper leadership and discipleship. So it's not something contrived out of thin air when people also need to look at that reality. Granted, often it might start with bitterness, and the expression of it. But it should evolve and become a journey from bitterness to understanding of one's own sins as well, leading to a better understanding of grace, leading to an incarnated application of forgiveness, leading to a collective radiance from reconciliation: humanities colliding.

But whatever we go through this side of redemption, at any given time it is about the one who sees, for God will give light to those who thirst for it, but He will also bring us further into that light, into the raging fire of its core, so we are purified from our fleshly ways.

Yes, He'll redeem any situation if we'll let Him. And as long as we remember it's about change, then we will allow each other room to express outwardly things we still haven't found words for, only impressions. And we'll trust that within that grace mentality, we'll have found a place where we can grow. And those we minister to will also benefit from this dynamic.

Questionning leaderhsip is part of growing up. The problem could very well mutate ito a nastier cluster if what we come up with as far as solutions only reinforce a spirit of "independance." But the same can be said if the only thing we do is fear and keep silent when we witness abuse, when we decide we won't be our brother's keeper. The main tragedy of fallen leaders was isolation and unaccountability.

The ultimate expression of the prophetic is 'love.'

Blessings,