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"15-
20,000 Attend Historic March for Traditional Marriage in Canada"
April 16, 2005
 LifeSiteNews.com
reporters at the March interviewed leaders responsible for bringing groups in the
thousands to the March. Rev. Dominic Tse of the Chinese Christian community represented
a group of over two to three thousand people attending the March. "The Chinese community
is solidly against bill C-38 because marriage is such a central institution for
the Chinese culture in general and we don't want the government or courts to touch
this definition of marriage," he said.
by Teresa Neumann : Apr 15, 2005 :
Life Site News
Read more . . .
http://www.breakingchristiannews.com/
articles/display_art.html?ID=558
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 April 16, 2005
"The
Measure of Maturity"
by Francis Frangipane
Frangipane Ministries,
Inc.
www.frangipane.org
comments@frangipane.org
 It
has been my experience that too many of us, as Christians, have been confused about
love. We have assumed that attaining the look of love was the same reality as actually
being transformed into a loving person. I'm not saying that we have consciously
planned on being shallow or noncommittal, but that somehow we have settled on the
cosmetic instead of the real.
We have developed an "altar" ego, a look for church that lasts, at best, just a
few minutes longer than the church service itself. All we have really accomplished
is to perfect the art of acting like Christians.
I think we have yet to learn to consistently walk according to the standards of
Christ's love. I hear how quick some are to speak about the flaws of those they
supposedly love, and I wonder, what kind of love demeans an individual behind their
back? When I witness unloving words from a Christian's mouth, I am reminded that
we have much to learn about Jesus and what it means to follow Him.
David prayed, "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation
of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my rock and my Redeemer"
(Psalm 19:14).
Our words are the by-product of our meditations. Whatever is brooding in our hearts
will eventually ascend to our lips. If we have unforgiveness prowling within, our
conversations will be barbed with negative comments; even in moments of light-hearted
banter, if we are harboring bitterness, it will slice through our speech. Jesus
taught that "the mouth speaks out of that which fills the
heart" (Matthew 12:34). We cannot fix our words without first fixing
our hearts.
When the Lord judges us for our words, it is because He is seeking to purify our
hearts. True, the heart is deceitful above all things and it is difficult to know
our own iniquity. Yet if we simply pause and listen to how many of our words are
without love, we can track them back to the real problem: loveless hearts.
A New Anointing
Christians are in the fire of God. The Holy Spirit is purging the church from negative
chatter. A fresh anointing is at hand where God's people shall speak with the character
necessary to represent Him. What the Lord told the prophet Jeremiah He is speaking
also to us:
"Therefore, thus says the LORD, 'If you return, then I
will restore you -- before Me you will stand; and if you extract the precious from
the worthless, You will become My spokesman.'" Jeremiah 15:19
Let us pray that as God exposes our lack of love, a time will soon come when we
will pray with credibility: "You have tried my heart; You
have visited me by night; You have tested me and You find nothing; I have purposed
that my mouth will not transgress" (Psalm 17:3).
Do we see this? God judges the quality of our entire lives by the soundness and
substance of our words. Thus Jesus warned, "But I tell
you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for
it in the day of judgment" (Matthew 12:36). Let us consider Christ's
warning soberly. He continued, "For by your words you will
be justified, and by your words you will be condemned" (Matthew 12:37).
James adds, "Judgment will be merciless to him who has
shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment" (James 2:13). I have a
holy fear in my heart concerning these warnings. I know that if I am merciless toward
others, God will be merciless toward me.
Character Counts
Sometimes I think we try to mask our critical attitude by calling it "discernment."
The fact is, most of what manifests in our discussions about others is simply judging
after the flesh. If we truly love an individual, we will be as loving in their absence
as we are in their presence.
Jesus said His disciples would be known by their love. Paul said that the love of
Christ is supposed to control us, which means it is the nature and discipline of
love that keeps us from joining in verbal attacks or even subtle criticisms. You
see, it takes character to avoid being sucked into gossip and criticisms. There
is a high road we can take. It starts with prayer, it extends to grace, it is slow
to speak, it approaches an individual with a meek heart, it talks privately with
the person; it is forgiving when wronged and patient with the spiritually immature.
Of course, if someone is involved with criminal activity or seriously endangering
others through their sin, we must love the greater community and take steps to protect
the innocent. There is a time to discipline or even publicly expose sin (Matthew
18:15-17), but it's after we exhaust other means of correction -- and even then,
our motive should communicate our hope of redemption and not allow our disclosure
to become a smokescreen for revenge. In all things, love must guide our words.
Child's Eye-View of Love
Recently my youngest daughter, Eden, sent me a list of quotes that came from little
children. Each child was asked to describe what love meant to them. Their answers
were, at times, quite intriguing. One in particular, from a four year old boy named
Billy, has stuck with me. He said, "When someone loves you, the way they say your
name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth."
That thought seems to say it all: "When someone loves you . . . your name is safe
in their mouth." Behold this clarity of vision as love is defined by a little child.
When we truly walk in Christ's love, those around us will be safe -- and others
will see the love of Christ that controls us.
Beloved, to walk in covering love is to show ourselves truly acquainted with Christ.
Let us ask God, "Father, show me my heart. Is Your love ruling, even in the unseen
areas of my life? Are the names of others safe in my mouth?"
by Francis Frangipane
Frangipane Ministries, Inc.
www.frangipane.org
comments@frangipane.org
A service of Frangipane Ministries, Inc.
Copyright (c) 2005
All rights reserved.
Unless otherwise stated, all Scripture quotations
were taken from the NASB.
  ~~~~
Francis Frangipane's
Upcoming Itinerary:
Beginning July 1, 2005
In Christ's Image Training Online
Registration for the July 1, 2005 term begins soon!
www.frangipane.org
July 7-9, 2005
ICIT On-site Seminar
River of Life Ministries
Cedar Rapids, IA
www.frangipane.org
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"With
all the tensions and conflicts in our world, it is easy to be distracted from
the primary focus of the church, which is the Presence of God. The Presence of
God is to Christians what the Promised Land was to the Jews -- our 'Promised
Land' is God Himself. If we find His Presence, our evangelism will reach the
lost and our nations transformed. This book will revolutionize how you view the
end times and rivet your heart upon attaining Christ's likeness."
-- Francis Frangipane
