Introduction

'And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.'
Holy Bible, Eph. 2:6 NIV

Bursting with Life!

We have resurrection Life coursing through our hearts because of God's grace alone. We enjoy health, perfect peace, and joy unspeakable through Satan's eternal defeat by Christ on our behalf. These Gospel facts form the theme of this month's issue. They will lift you up with Christ, and stop you striving to deserve His blessings.

What do you say when asked if Christians can drink alcohol? E-pistles will point you in the right direction. Carry a pocket packed with Gospel labels and read our Power Evangelism Tip to see what God will do.

Aww look, there's heaps more, just scroll down and get stuck in...

Raised With Christ by E. W. Kenyon

But for the Grace of God

Christian! You stand in the grace of God, not under law, but blessed by the grace of God. (Ro. 6:14) He has put away your guilt, nailed your sin to the Cross, Christ bore all the punishment you deserve so that you can revel in the grace of God.

What grace? This grace...

The Easter Message

Editor's Perspective

'Christian' Barbarism, Mock Elections, and Terminal Paranoia

Lopping off the heads of a dozen hostages is barbaric. Laying siege to, and invading a defenceless country, killing 100,000 civilians and 500,000 children is the epitome of 'Christian' civilization. So the NWO propagandists would have you believe. The scale of Western State terrorism renders that of Islamic radicals insignificant by comparison.

According to its own 1996 War Crimes Act, the whole US leadership deserve the death penalty as war criminals for grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions committed in Fallujah. Far from being embarrassed, US thugs flaunted their crimes. Hospital patients were pulled from their beds, manacled and forced to lie on the ground, along with their doctors. Pictures of this appeared in the NYT. Even Goebels would cringe with envy at their gall.

We are told elections were held in Iraq. Much like say, Hungary holding 'elections' under Russian occupation during the Cold War. If that had occurred, US propagandists would have roared at the farce, because voters didn't know the names of the candidates, what they stood for, and no candidate or party dared call for the withdrawal of Soviet troops. Such was the equivalent in Iraq. How do journalists keep a straight face whilst reporting such mockery?

Equally ridiculous was the presidential 'election' in Afghanistan. Where, Hamid Karzai, was swept to victory by the grateful masses. Perhaps they see him as a role model; a long-time resident in America, the CIA's handpicked, and groomed candidate, described by the US Press as 'a known and respected figure at the State Department and National Security Council and on Capitol Hill'. The Perfect Afghan leader!

Forty years ago, I recall our Grammar school teacher solemnly warning us to watch out for the telltale signs of a police state developing, hinting darkly about restrictions of liberty, and freedom of speech, of the legal sanctity of 'Habeas corpus', and the like. We yawned, but he was almost prophesying. What would he make of 'Patriot Acts, the Dept. of Homeland Security, pre-emptive mass arrests, spot-checks, legally recording punter's phone calls, and email.

How easily it has been achieved, simply cry, 'War on drugs' then 'War on Terror', meaning the valiant foot-troops are fighting a war, so anything goes.

The Washington Post commented blithely, 'A new status quo has been declared, one in which violence, paranoia, and strip searches are not just part of a sacrifice one must make for a better future. They are the future.'

This kind of thing really makes me homesick, and I don't mean for England or America. How about you?



Colin Melbourne

E-pistles

Subscriber's Question and Answer

An African subscribers asks,

Is drinking alcohol against the Word of God?

Answer: There are many legalistic fellowships, especially amongst the cults, who completely prohibit Christians from drinking alcohol. They have great difficulty supplying a sound Scriptural foundation for this, and base their arguments on contortions of God's Word (particularly the Old Covenant Nazirite vows of Nu.6) and upon human traditions. Drinking alcohol for pleasure is...

Power Evangelism Tip

Sticky Label Lifelines

Soon after I was saved the Lord gave me a wonderful soul-winning idea that He's used to save people I've never even met. In a magazine I saw an advertisement offering small address labels, and wrote asking the company to print several thousand with different Scriptures on them instead of an address.

They were beautiful, postage stamp size, plain white with five lines of 8-point text; a thousand for about five pounds. You guessed, the first verses I used were John 3:3 & 7, and John 14:6 with a bit of punchy attention grabbing text.

At first I simply used to stick them on envelopes and postcards, but soon realized their potential. Carrying some in my pocket wherever I go I stick them at eye-level on lampposts, on notice boards, train windows, supermarket shelves, mirrors, in toilets, anywhere the Lord prompts. Nominal Christians get upset, and mutter about byelaws, but the Lord loves it.

It wasn't long before the Lord showed me how He was using them. We led a youth to Christ, and took him to a Gospel meeting. Sitting in my car's passenger seat he noticed a Gospel sticker stuck on the glove box lid. He read it out aloud, and said, 'Where did you get that from? I read one of those stuck on a bus-stop window just two weeks ago!'

You can do that. Get them printed in different languages for when you travel abroad, and post some to your missionaries, and Christian penpals overseas.

Practical evangelism tips