Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Pastimes : Ask God -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: IN_GOD_I_TRUST who wrote (30218)	5/30/2000 4:01:00 PM
From: IN_GOD_I_TRUST	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 39621

In Brooklyn, New York, Chush is a school that caters to learning disabled children. Some children remain in Chush for their entire school career, while others can be main-streamed into conventional schools.At a Chush fund-raising dinner, the father of a Chush child delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he cried out, "Where is the perfection in my son Shaya? Everything God does is done with perfection. But my child cannot understand things as other children do. My child cannot remember facts and figures as other children do. Where is God's perfection?" The audience was shocked by the question, pained by the father's anguish and stilled by the piercing query. " I believe," the father answered, "that when God brings a child like this into the world, the perfection that he seeks is in the way people react to this child." He then told the following story about his son Shaya: One afternoon Shaya and his father walked past a park where some boys Shaya knew were playing baseball. Shaya asked, "Do you think they will let me play?" Shaya's father knew that his son was not at all athletic and that most boys would not want him on their team. But Shaya's father understood that if his son was chosen to play it would give him a comfortable sense of belonging. Shaya's father approached one of the boys in the field and asked if Shaya could play. The boy looked around for guidance from his team-mates. Getting none, he took matters into his own hands and said "We are losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him up to bat in the ninth inning." Shaya's father was ecstatic as Shaya smiled broadly. Shaya was told to put on a glove and go out to play short center field. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shaya's team scored a few runs but was still behind by three In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shaya's team scored again and now with two outs and the bases loaded with the potential winning run on base, Shaya was scheduled to be up. Would the team actually let Shaya bat at this juncture and give away their chance to win the game? Suprisingly, Shaya was given the bat. Everyone knew that it was all but impossible because Shaya didn't even know how to hold the bat properly, let alone hit with it. However as Shaya stepped up to the plate, the pitcher moved a few steps to lob the ball came in softly so Shaya should at least be able to make contact. The first pitch came in and Shaya swung clumsily and missed. One of Shaya's team-mates came up to Shaya and together the held the bat and faced the pitcher waiting for the next pitch. The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly toward Shaya. As the pitch came in, Shaya and his team-mate swung at the bat and together they hit a slow ground ball to the pitcher. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could easily have thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shaya would have been out and that would have ended the game. Instead, the pitcher took the ball and threw it on a high arc to right field, far beyond reach of the first baseman. Everyone started yelling,"Shaya, run to first. Run to first." Never in his life had Shaya run to first. He scampered down the baseline wide-eyed and startled. By the time he reached first base, the right fielder had the ball. He could have thrown the ball to the second baseman who would tag out Shaya,who was still running. But the right fielder understood what the pitcher's intentions were, so he threw the ball high and far over the third baseman's head. Everyone yelled, "Run to second, run to second." Shaya ran towards second base as the runners ahead of him deliriously circled the bases towards home. As Shaya reached second base, the opposing short stop ran to him, turned him in the direction of third base and shouted, "Run to third." As Shaya rounded third, the boys from both teams ran behind him screaming, "Shaya run home." Shaya ran home, stepped on home plate and all 18 boys lifted him on their shoulders and made him the hero, as he had just hit a "grand slam" and won the game for his team. "That day," said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, those 18 boys reached their level of God's perfection." Funny how this is so true and shame on us! Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world is going to hell. Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says. Funny how you can send a thousand 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire, but when you start sending messages regarding the God, and something good, people think twice about sharing. Funny how the lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but the public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace. Funny isn't it? Funny how when you go to forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you're not sure what they believe, or what they will think of you for sending it to them. Funny how I can be more worried about what other people think of me than what God thinks of me. Funny isn't it?!

To: IN_GOD_I_TRUST who wrote (30218)	6/27/2000 8:29:00 PM
From: IN_GOD_I_TRUST	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 39621

* Please Read This ** This lays out the Christian belief pretty clearly. If it does nothing for you right now, just remember it: Just as there are physical laws that govern the physical universe, so are there spiritual laws that govern your relationship with God. Law 1: God loves you and offers a wonderful plan for your life. God's Love: "God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16,NIV) God's Plan: [Christ speaking] "I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly" [that it might be full and meaningful] (John 10:10) Why is it that most people are not experiencing the abundant life? Because . Law 2: Man is sinful and separated from God. Therefore, he cannot know and experience God's love and plan for his life. Man Is Sinful: "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23) Man was created to have fellowship with God; but, because of his own stubborn self-will, he chose to go his own independent way and fellowship with God was broken. The self-will, characterized by an attitude of active rebellion or passive indifference, is an evidence of what the Bible calls sin. Man Is Separated: "The wages of sin is death" [spiritual separation from God] (Romans 6:23) The third law explains the only way to bridge this gulf. Law 3: Jesus Christ is God's only provision for man's sin. Through Him you can know and experience God's love and plan for your life. He Died In Our Place: "God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8) He Rose from the Dead: " "Christ died for our sins. He was buried. He was raised on the third day, according to the Scriptures. He appeared to Peter, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred." (1 Corinthians 15:3-6). He Is the Only Way to God: "Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life: no one comes to the Father but through Me" (John 14:6) It is not enough just to know these three laws. Law 4: We must individually receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord; then we can know and experience God's love and plan for our lives. We Must Receive Christ: "As many as received him. To them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in his name" (John 1:12) We Receive Christ Through Faith: "By grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works that no one should boast" (Ephesians 2:8,9) When We Receive Christ, We Experience a New Birth: (Read John 3:1-8) We Receive Christ Through Personal Invitation: [Christ speaking] " Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any one hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him" (Revelation 3:20) Receiving Christ involves turning to God from self (repentance) and trusting Christ to come into our lives to forgive our sins and make us what He wants us to be. Just to agree intellectually that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that He died on the cross for our sins is not enough. Nor it is enough to have an emotional experience. We receive Jesus Christ by faith, an act of the will. The following explains how you can receive Christ: You Can Receive Christ Right Now by Faith Through Prayer (Prayer is talking with God): God knows your heart and is not concerned with your words as He is with the attitude of your heart. The following is a suggested prayer: Lord Jesus, I need You. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life and receive You as my Savior and Lord. Thank You for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Take control of the throne of my life. Make me the kind of person You want me to be. Does this prayer express the desire of your heart? If it does, I invite you to pray this prayer right now, and Christ will come into your life, as He promised. [Taken from the Four Spiritual Laws by Bill Bright]