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GLEANINGS FROM THE WORD Experiencing an extraordinary God in ordinary life Issue #914 September 22, 2003 Not Quite Thanks to all who took the time to send in answers to our recent questionnaire. There were many and I won't be able to acknowledge them all personally, but know they were very valuable and greatly appreciated An integral part of our ministry is our prayer team. We're looking for some additional members. If you think you might be interested in serving with us in this way, send an email with the subject "Prayer team" and we'll send you some additional information. There is always a battle in our house about who gets the internet next. There are four of us, all of whom use e-mail and only one computer with access to the Net. There are other computers, but one is an older beast and the other has never been networked properly. Since I use the Net a great deal with Gleanings and the one computer that has internet access is in my office, I tend to get quite territorial. We finally got around to purchasing a router to network two of the machines together. I drilled holes in the floors, walls and ceilings to be able to run the cable up to the right level for others to be able to use it. I unpackaged the fifty feet of cable and started feeding it through the wall. Major problem! There's not fifty feet of cable in the package, it's less than twenty feet long. No matter how I want to run the cable, I can't cover fifty feet with twenty feet of cable. Back to the office supply store to get a package with fifty feet of cable in it. Now I'm good to go again. I won't have an opportunity today but hopefully before the end of the week we'll have less tension in the house because we have more terminals. I was reminded of our efforts to find God. God's standard is perfection and sinlessness. No matter how hard we try, we'll never reach that goal. Our best efforts, combined with all the good deeds in the world and the most sincere of intentions won't reach far enough to touch Him. You can't make twenty feet of cable run fifty feet no matter how much you try. Our twenty feet fall pitifully short of what is needed. Even a Mother Theresa or a Billy Graham can't make it by themselves. Perhaps they have forty feet of cable, but forty feet doesn't reach fifty feet any more than someone who has only two or three feet of cable does. That's one of the wonders of God. He knows we can't reach Him by our own efforts. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8 NIV For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- not by works, so that no one can boast. Ephesians 2:8-9 NIV I know if you've been a Christian for any length of time, you've heard those verses more times than you can count. But do they still excite you? If you can read those verses and not feel an overwhelming sense of awe and gratitude, you've hardened your heart to the truth. It's time to get your fire rekindled again. This is big stuff. This is the best news the world has ever heard. If you understand what these verses mean and have accepted Christ, you are part of a wonderful, eternal miracle. Do you really understand? God sent His Son to die for you and me. That's incredible stuff. Until next time, may you come to truly understand the magnitude of the gift of God's grace and mercy in your life. May you jump for joy, sing His praises and want to run out and tell everyone you know Hoe good God truly is. Be blessed Hallelu Yah (Praise God)! Kevin YOU ARE Once you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour you are rescued.. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1:13-14 NIV Never let the enemy tell you that you are worthless or insignificant. You have value in the eyes of God so great that it was worth dying for. You are a blessing to the world. You are so precious to God that heaven will not be complete without you. HELP FOR THE HURTING Perhaps you've stayed away from God because you knew you weren't good enough to reach Him. Perhaps you've fooled yourself into thinking you can earn your way to heaven. Both perspectives fall short of the truth. There is only one way to get to God and that's through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Will you open your heart to Him today? You can simply begin the relationship by honestly and completely opening your heart, admitting you need God's help, and saying a prayer along the lines of: Jesus: I have made many mistakes in my life and done things I am not proud of. I have sinned. I need your love and forgiveness. I believe that you came into this world and gave your life on a cross to pay for my sins and that you defeated death and rose again. Please forgive me, and be the Lord of my life. I give my life to you Lord. Amen If you pray this prayer for the first time let me know so I can rejoice with you. Did you know that at Gleanings, we have a dedicated team of prayer warriors and all prayer concerns are kept strictly confidential? Your comments, your questions and your joys are shared with the prayer team, to keep me accountable as the head of the ministry and to encourage them as they see God at work in your life. As with prayer all these things are kept confidential within the Gleanings team. To share your questions, comments, thoughts, prayer concerns and praise reports email us If you enjoyed this issue of Gleanings From The Word, email it, in its entirety, to a friend. For information on use of Gleanings in your church newsletter or other situations please visit the permissions page . You can write to us at Gleanings From The Word Ministries International 114 Oak St Sherwood Park, AB Canada T8A 0V8 © 2003 K.F. "Kevin" Corbin Gleanings From The Word Minististries International - All Rights Reserved
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