THE BISHOP was SHOCKED
-by Martin.

Ours is a complacent, comfortable fellowship. Isn´t it?

Reform? To what? Into what? The same as before? No, we´ve been
through that and lost sight of the original model and, for the greater
part, shut our doors to the Holy Spirit. Evidence? Look around you,
do you see a reviled, persecuted community, on fire with the Spirit
of God, in love with Jesus showing love for one another, giving freely
and living in that place which is the worship of God? Do you see a
called out people willing and ready to die for Jesus?

Twenty years ago I was a postman in the north of England, walking
past one of our oldest and grandest cathedrals – they called it a
minster. The sun has just risen and it was delightful to be outside.
An elegant tall runner in shorts and tee shirt stopped, smiled
benevolently and asked, ‘Young man (lovely, I was not young but
enjoyed the compliment), how would you say we should improve
the church?’

I answered, ‘Raze it to the ground, sell off the land for housing for
the poor, meet on the town market place in rain or shine, be seen,
be heard, and pray fervently the Lord Jesus honours your doings.’

A few days later a close friend, a canon in that cathedral said to
me, ‘Someone´s really upset the Bishop. Told him to destroy the
building and sell the land and meet on the market place. Wouldn´t
be you by any chance, would it?’

ANDREW’S COMMENT: Now, we don’t just want a big “church
bashing” session here. Though the story is rather “blunt” and
comes with a big dose of humour, I believe these “words that
shocked the bishop” could do with some serious thought and
serious comment. If you have something to say, please post
your responses below-

The Lord wants to unleash a gushing river of new wine into the church today, but we must leave some things behind…

While the message of the gospel itself is both timeless and flawless,
the packaging we wrap it in must adapt with the times or we will
quickly lose relevance. Pipe organs, steeples and choir robes…
(The same can be said for telethons on Christian TV that have the
look and feel of a 1978 game show.)

Jesus told John the Baptist’s disciples that people don’t put new
wine in old wineskins because the skins will burst and the wine
will be wasted. “Put new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are
preserved,” Jesus said (Matt. 9:17, NASB). But many churches
and ministries today insist on pouring their new wine in the old
models, again and again. We resist innovation and we fight progress.

I’m willing to guess that 90 percent of what we are doing in church
today needs a total makeover. We are facing the most daunting
renovation project in the history of the church. But the task is not
impossible…

-READ THE FULL ARTICLE-

http://www.charismamag.com/index.php/fire-in-my-bones/32712-new-wine-old-wineskins-and-the-fear-of-change

If you or someone you love is struggling with a porn addiction, take these steps to freedom…

1. Spill your guts. The first step toward repentance is honesty,
and it must be brutal. To repent means to turn 180 degrees, so
this decision cannot be half-hearted. It’s not enough to whisper a
quiet prayer under your breath. To break free from a life-controlling
habit as powerful as porn, you must talk to someone else. And
you should do it sooner, not later.

James 5:16 says, “Confess your sins to one another, and pray for
one another so that you may be healed” (NASB). I have prayed
with many guys about their porn addictions, and they have testified
that the power of their sin broke the moment they admitted it. Sit
down with someone (preferably a more mature Christian you know
and trust) and put all your cards on the table. If you humble yourself,
God will give you grace to change.

2. Get ruthless. Sin is deceitful. It loves to make up excuses such
as, “No one knows about your habit, so it’s not hurting anyone,” “I
deserve this little treat” or “I can play with fire and not get burned.”
Don’t believe the lies. Esau sold his birthright for a bowl of soup,
and many men today forfeit their relationship with God by
compromising with porn.

You can’t break free from sexual sin by slowly backing away from
it or taming it like a pet. The Bible tells us to “flee” from immorality
(2 Tim. 2:22). You must lay the axe to the root of your problem.
Cut off all access to porn. Say goodbye and slam the door in its
face. And if you can’t stop looking at it on your phone or computer,
get rid of your phone and computer.

3. Keep no secrets. Guys addicted to porn struggle with constant
shame. They can’t enjoy prayer or worship because they feel
condemned. They can’t share their faith with others because they
feel like hypocrites. And many Christian men are so full of guilt
they turn to alcohol or drugs to numb their pain.

It’s not enough to confess your sin to a brother once. You must
stay in relationship with people who love you enough to confront
you. Find one or two accountability partners and make a covenant
with them to live transparently. And don’t wait until you fall to call
for counsel. Contact them whenever you feel tempted. Send up
a flare and ask for help before it’s too late.

4. Refocus your life on others. Lust is ultimately about self-
gratification. When a young man gets hooked on porn, he can’t
grow up emotionally. This is why some adult men in their 50s and
60s act like 13-year-olds when it comes to sex. They are stuck
in perpetual puberty.

You will never break free from the bondage of sexual sin simply by
gritting your teeth and trying to forget the images you saw in
magazines or videos. You must totally redirect your energies toward
serving others: your spouse, your children, your church and the
needy people around you. Throw yourself into selfless ministry and
starve your illegal urges.

5. Stay filled with the Spirit. None of these previous steps are
possible without the Holy Spirit, who is our promised Helper (see
John 14:16). Self-help is not the answer. Ask the Spirit to fill your
life with His refining fire. He will go to the root of your unholy desires,
burn up your lust and give you supernatural ability to resist temptation.

-READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE BY J. LEE GRADY-

http://www.charismamag.com/index.php/fire-in-my-bones/32697-pull-the-plug-on-porn

We lived for years in the Former Soviet Union… established a Russian church, bible school, reached out to those going to have abortions, and helped them financially to get food and what they needed to support the children they already had. Every day our lives were threatened and our people all had relatives taken out by the Communists and murdered. There was great suffering for these people if in any way they crossed the govt…

[PLEASE NOTE: There has been some dispute of the facts relating to this testimony. Our sincere apologies, my friends. We only found out after this was published in good faith. Please see the last comments below about this].

We poured our lives out for them in every way we possibly could and many came to
Christ and were amazingly converted.

We provided them with food, clothes, etc and the best Gospel we
could preach. And when we poured out our lives for them we were
imprisoned for five long years. Our story is something, and we have
not shared it here. We do not share it to gain attention, for it is
normal according to the Bible to go to prison for the Gospel. I
could never tell you the suffering some have paid to live and/or
share the gospel in many nations of the earth. How quick we are
to give out our best religious ideas when we have not really had
to really pay a high price.

Through it all, my doctrine was radically taken back to the Bible
and I realized that God in His Word is serious about suffering for
His name and for His Gospel. We are so blessed to have gone
through it and would not change a thing that we suffered. Just that
He counted us worthy is worth everything we had to suffer.

We lost all. We lost our ministry, our family, our minister friends,
our reputation, our finances that we had. Our hearts were utterly
broken and crushed during it all. And thank God we did go through
it! And what He gave us in return is a million times worth it for how
He changed us into what He wanted us to be. When the day comes
that He says it is time, we will release our book…..IF He does.
The title is” Love on Trial.”

Now we live in Western NY and pastor a home fellowship of the
most precious saints who love us and treasure us and we pour our
lives out for them. And we have an intercessory prayer group, and
minister at a large Coffee bar, Bistro, and juice bar one night a
week where the lost come in and listen to us as we share. We
feed the hungry, and do what we can with what we have. And there
is not one minute we ever suffered for Him that we would take back,
for what He suffered for us is a zillion times more! The best gospel
that we shall ever preach is the gospel we have lived…

It is a straight gate and narrow way and few there be that find it. It
is new to Americans to suffer but it will purify us like nothing else.
Good ideas do nothing to change hearts. For Christians, suffering
for His name puts something of such eternal value in us that it is
only of Great Glory and worth it all a million times over.

Coming from where we have, our heart aches when we read articles
that make the Gospel sound so easy. Our ride into the Kingdom is
free, but each step we take from there on will cost our lives! So
many are arm chair experts at the Gospel. That will soon change
as our country changes. Thank God! And then we shall have a
move of God that will be something else!

-Please comment on this topic of “Suffering” below-

According to official statistics now published, the “double dip” for both the Eurozone and the UK began in the last quarter of 2011.

As the UK’s Telegraph published this week-
“Britain is suffering the longest peacetime slump in a century,
economists said on Wednesday as figures confirmed a double-dip
recession… According to Michael Saunders, a Citigroup economist,
Britain is now suffering “the worst recession recovery cycle of the
last 100 years” with the exception of the period of the Second World War.”

If anything, the Eurozone is much worse off, with the situation in
Spain, Portugal, Greece, Italy, France and even Holland seemingly
descending further by the week. I expect the crisis in Europe to
go on and on for decades without end. Literally, we will not see
Europe actually “recover” in our lifetimes. That is the prospect
ahead for the Eurozone.

So what of the USA? There will be no “official” word on any ‘double
dip’ recession in the US for some months. The NBER is very slow
to announce such things.

But with China in a serious slowdown, Japan in recession, Europe
and the UK in recession, and Australia on the verge, we are looking
at a synchronized global slowdown of huge size and scope.

Already we have spoken of this coming for a number of years now.
I believe we are in a time of great spiritual “purging”, and that this
crisis will – in the end – bring a cleansing to places like America,
which have years of crisis ahead of it yet. It will be painful, but
ultimately I believe it will be good for our nations, which have
become so selfish and materialistic. I do not expect America to
even begin to emerge from the worst of this until 2018 or so. (-Even
then, not fully).

The West has some very troubled times in store. But spiritually
I believe it will be for the best in the end.

Keep looking to Him – the author and finisher of our faith, my friends.

God bless you all. – Andrew Strom.

Telegraph Article-
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/9227431/Longest-slump-in-peacetime-as-Britain-slides-into-recession.html