Happy Independence Day! (Pardon to those readers in other countries–this is a special day for those of us in the United States of America.) Two hundred and thirty years ago marks the beginning of the nation we live in. There have been astounding changes in our country since then. We have overcome slavery, civil war, depressions, wars, and good times. In spite of our failings we have remained a beacon of freedom, especially religious freedom, to the world. Why? I believe it is because of the Grace of God. What should be our response? Prayer. This page from Christianity Today reports on the activities of prayer for the country occurring not only today, but throughout the year. We must not neglect our responsibilities in this matter. Thank God today for his blessings and pray for our repentance and His mercy. God Bless America! You can contact Christianity Today at info@christiantoday.com.

http://www.christiantoday.com/news/america/4th.july.independance.day.celebrated.in.prayer.across.america/548.htm

“If you change the heart of a woman, you change the heart of a home.” This insightful statement was made by Mrs. Helen Duff Baugh, founder of the Christian Business Women’s Council–a dinner program designed to reach businesswomen with the gospel message and the foundation of Stonecroft Ministries. And for nearly seventy years, Stonecroft has maintained that philosophy, expanding to thousands of groups and tens of thousands of volunteers around the world. The non-denominational, non-profit Stonecroft Ministries provides a variety of programs and resources designed to connect women to God, each other, and their communities. These include Women’s Connections, Christian Women’s Clubs, After 5s, Moms on the Run, Stonecroft Couples. Each group is designed to meet the needs of homemakers, mothers, businesswomen, and couples in drawing them closer to Christ. Besides the groups, Stonecroft holds larger events such as Capture The Moment, Impact, and the Stonecroft Ministries Cruise 2007. Stonecroft also offers resources such as books, Bible studies, and devotionals available through the web site. We last visited the web site in 1997. At that time I remarked that the site “could use a little more pizzazz”. Well, the site is now excellently designed and implemented and is a pleasure to use. You can contact the Kansas City, MO-based Stonecroft Ministries at connect@stonecroft.org

http://stonecroft.gospelcom.net/

When you think of people who most often see the worst side of people, you think of the police. That’s their job, to catch the bad guys, to give us tickets when we don’t drive safely, to help citizens in distress, to keep order in our community. It’s a stressful vocation. Those in law enforcement who call on Christ as their savior have a fellowship of like-minded compatriots in the organization ChristanCops.org, which operates the Iron Sharpens Iron web site. Their name is taken from Proverbs 27:17. Their purpose is to join together to support, encourage, and enrich one another. The site has a number of interesting articles such as Officer Safety – 7 Causal Factors of Assaults and What The Bible Says About Law Enforcement, personal testimonies, links to related sites, and information on meetings and Bible studies. The site operates well, but could use a little design work. The text/background contrast is too low to read easily on the Law Enforcement Outreach (L.E.O.) Trips page. This is a site you can recommend to your friends in law enforcement. You can contact Iron Sharpens Iron at admin@ChristianCops.org.

http://www.christiancops.org/

“Christians aren’t perfect – just forgiven.” We’ve all seen and acknowledged the truth of that statement. But even forgiven Christians have problems, sometimes severe problems, like alcohol, drug, or sex addiction, family violence, homosexual tendencies, and more. For some, conventional recovery helps like Alcoholics Anonymous, are too intimidating or not available. For many, being a Christian means you’re not supposed to have these problems. Christians In Recovery (CIR) was formed because of the need to reach out to fellow believers in love and provide the help they need. CIR is not a crisis center, hotline, or professional therapy group, a substitute for attending church or for professional help or assistance, or intended to replace or undermine any other Christian organization or group. They do provide information, referral and resources for anyone who is in recovery or who desires to recover from abuse, family dysfunction, depression, anxiety, grief, stress, etc. and/or obsessive/compulsive behaviors, addictions of alcohol, drugs, food, sex, gambling, pornography, etc. CIR is the only full-featured Christian recovery community on the Internet. CIR handles requests for recovery help by email, message boards, Internet support groups, daily on-line chats, referral, books, materials, Bible studies, and more. Read through the site for membership information, resources available, testimonies, and much, much more. Multi-option drop-down menus, search, and a site map make it easy to navigate. If you or someone you know needs some help (don’t we all need help at some time or another?), CIR is a prime choice for receiving that assistance. Contact CIR using the form at the “Feedback” link.

http://christians-in-recovery.org/

Well, Dan Brown sure made a splash with his novel, The DaVinci Code. It claims that Jesus actually married Mary Magdalene and that their descendants live in France to this day. And all this has been hushed up by the Roman Catholic Church since the Council of Nicea in 325 AD. It seems we never knew the real story until now. Maybe you’ve read the book. Maybe your friends have. Hollywood certainly has and the movie is already being advertised. The real question is: Is any of this true? Well, Christianity Today’s Christian History & Biography section has put together a whole special section on The DaVinci Code, exploring its claims and testing their validity. Thirteen articles plus several web log links will give you the answers. Remember, The DaVinci Code is a novel–not history. It claims to be based on the truth, but that claim is extremely suspect. Read the articles. Not only will you get the straight skinny on the book, but you will learn some very interesting stuff along the way. Four books are also described and available for online purchase. Don’t be afraid of The DaVinci Code, it can provide an opening for discussion and witness with your friends. Just use this site to be prepared when the subject comes up. Thanks to Christianity Today for providing this well-written, informative, and timely resource. You can contact Christianity Today at cheditor@christianhistory.net.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/history/special/davincicode.html

Remember reading comic books as a kid? Superman, Archie, Combat, they were the reading preferred by many kids–but not necessarily their parents. In the US, we (except fort the true aficionados of the form) tend to look down on comics. That attitude often applied to animation also, except maybe for Disney features. But times change and we’re just beginning to catch on to the popularity and importance of comics, graphic novels, anime, and computer animation in the rest of the world. So what about using comics as an evangelistic tool? Hmmm… That’s what COMIX35 thought. Since 1996 they have been working to fulfill their goal of training ministries and individuals to produce effective Christian comics as part of an evangelism strategy and/or discipleship program for their own people. WHy comics? Comics are the world’s most widely read form of popular literature! Comics have some very attractive characteristics. They have Universal Appeal, Cultural Versatility, Clarity & Simplicity, Longevity & Accessibility, and Low Cost. COMIX35 primarily trains Christian communicator personnel overseas but has held sessions in the US. Check with the site periodically to see their schedule. And check out the competitions for “Animations for Web & Mobile Devices,” The Josh McDowell More Than a Carpenter Comic Competition, and the International Christian Comics Competition. Prizes! The site is easy to use and informative. There are links to Christian Comics sites, a FAQ, training schedules, information on how to participate and to donate. Try contacting COMIX35 at COMIX35@comix35.org.

http://comix35.gospelcom.net/

It’s almost that time again. And what time is that you may ask? It’s Internet Evangelism Day. And it’s coming to an Internet site on your computer May 7. And what is Internet Evangelism Day? The purpose of IED is to communicate the outreach potential of the Web to the worldwide church. It’s an opportunity for churches, Bible Colleges and other Christian organizations to consider including within their schedules an Internet Evangelism focus day. The site offers lot of material and resources to help in the task. And you don’t even have to be a computer nerd to be involved. There is information on the day, ways to help, articles, planning, publicity, potential, how it works, church and outreach sites, training, and much, much more. This collaborative effort by the Internet Evangelism Coalition (IEC) around the world has developed an approach which allows maximum flexibility to participants in targeting their audience and their approach. The site itself is state of the art, exceptionally well-designed and implemented. And those who built it provide expert guidance in building sites for your church or group. This excellent site is not just a resource for IED, but for understanding how the “Information Superhighway” can be used for evangelism through out the year. Take a good look. Too late for this year? It’s never too late to witness for Jesus. You can contact Internet Evangelism Day through the form at the “Contact Us” link.

http://ied.gospelcom.net/

Nearly two thousand years ago, a man rode into the bustling city of Jerusalem on the back of a donkey. People went wild. For that one day, Jesus of Nazareth had what we would call today “rock star status.” A week later, he was dead. His few remaining friends were in hiding. But, as we know, the story doesn’t end there. And in some sense it begins there, just outside of that garden tomb on a Sunday morning. And still today, we remember the events of that dramatic week. Starting this Sunday with Palm Sunday, we enter Holy Week. What else is there besides Good Friday and Easter? The Days of Holy Week lays it all out for us. The significant days of Holy Week are described in detail, including their scriptural origins, history, and practices through history. The informatiion is interesting and well-presented. The site is by Dennis Bratcher of The Voice, an organ of the CRI/Voice Institute (Christian Resource Institute). Read the Holy Week information and be better informed about Holy Week and thus participate with believer’s through the centuries in remembering Christ’s betrayal, crucifixion, and resurrection. You can contact CRI/Voice at .bratcher@crivoice.org.

http://www.cresourcei.org/cyholyweek.html

And now for something completely different. And no, it’s not because today is April Fool’s Day. Most of us probably look somewhat askance at the tattooed among us, especially in church. But Sacred Ink opens our eyes to see a different side of the ancient art of decorating the skin. Created by Chuckk (yes, two ‘k’s) Gerwig, Family and Youth Pastor at Santa Cruz Bible Church in California. An outreach to the tattoo subculture, Sacred Ink is a remarkable collection of stories of tattooed followers of Jesus. You’ll need the free Macromedia Flash plugin for your browser. Just click on the name of a person to see a well-produced short video of their testimony and how it is expressed in their tattoos. The testimonies are interesting and insightful. The sound is great. There are also articles on tattooing and the Bible, the site’s vision statement, a link to Relevant Magazine’s church finder for churches which may be accepting of tattoos, a link to theKristo.com’s dynamic Flash gospel presentation, and hot links. Since the site is brand new, several features remain to be fully implemented. These include the Wailing Wall and Personal Ink. This is a remarkable and dynamic site and well worth your visit. Click on the Contact link to use the form to contact Sacred Ink.

http://www.sacredink.net

Faith and begorrah! ‘Tis Saint Paddy’s Day! There will be parades, people wearing shamrocks, and even rivers dyed green for the day. Everybody’s Irish on Saint Patrick’s Day! But… Why? Who was Saint Patrick? What did he do? Really? Did he really chase the snakes out of Ireland? This site, part of the extensive History Channel web site, answers these and other questions about this fascinating man. The article is not long but covers his story well, with insights into how he managed to be so successful in his missionary work. There is also a well-done and interesting four-minute long video available (especially if you have a broadband connection). And, of course, a history of the holiday. Where was the first Saint Patrick’s Day parade? Hint: It wasn’t Ireland. There are also fun quizzes on the history of Ireland and all things Irish, fun facts about the Irish, travel destinations, and Irish literary figures. How could all these things be without Saint Patrick? The site is thoroughly professional, very colorful, and easy to use. You can contact the History Channel via the form on the Contact us page.

http://www.historychannel.com/exhibits/stpatricksday/?page=home