Newsletter

My this is simply amazing.... And you will find more info about this report on Snoops.com http://www.snopes.com/glurge/laminin.asp

Be blest! ~San

The Glue...

A couple of days ago I was running (I use that term very loosely) on my treadmill, watching a DVD sermon by Louie Giglio...and I was BLOWN AWAY! I want to share what I learned....but I fear not being able to convey it as well as I want.

I will share anyway.

He (Louie) was talking about how inconceivably BIG our God is...how He spoke the Universe into being...how He breathes stars out of His mouth that are huge raging balls of fire...etc. Etc. Then He went on to speak of how this star-breathing, universe creating God ALSO knitted our human bodies together with amazing detail and wonder. At this point I am LOVING it (fascinating from a medical standpoint, you know.) .....and I was remembering how I was constantly amazed during medical school as I learned more and more about God's handiwork. I remember so many times thinking...."How can ANYONE deny that a Creator did all of this???"

Louie went on to talk about how we can trust that the God who created all this, also has the power to hold it all together when things seem to be falling apart...how our Loving Creator is also our Sustainer.

And then I lost my breath.

And it wasn't because I was running my treadmill, either!!!

It was because he started talking about laminin.

I knew about laminin. Here is how wikipedia describes them :"Laminins are a family Of proteins that are an integral part of the structural scaffolding of basement Membranes in almost every animal tissue." You see....laminins are what hold us

Together....LITERALLY. They are cell adhesion molecules. They are what holds one Cell of our bodies to the next cell. Without them, we would literally fall apart. And I knew all this already. But what I didn't know is what laminin LOOKED LIKE. But now I do.

And I have thought about it a thousand times since (already)....
Here is what the structure of laminin looks like...AND THIS IS NOT a "Christian portrayal" of it....if you look up laminin in any scientific/medical piece of literature, check out what you will see...

Now tell me that our God is not the coolest!!! Amazing!

The 'glue' that holds us together....ALL of us....is in the shape of the cross. Immediately Colossians 1:15-17 comes to mind.

"Who is the image of the invisible God; the firstborn of every creature; For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him; And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.. "
Colossians 1:15-17

Call me crazy. I just think that is very, very, very cool.

Thousands of years before the world knew anything about laminin, Paul penned those words. And now we see that from a very LITERAL Standpoint, we are held together...one cell to another....by the cross.

You would never in a quadrillion years convince me that is anything other than the mark of a Creator who knew EXACTLY what laminin "glue" would look like long before Adam even breathed his first breath!!

We praise YOU, O Magnificant Lord!

Why worry about tomorrow, God is already there!

****

From Bob Ross

Fellow brothers in Christ,

I want to start by saying thank you to Chris, for his inspirational guidance below.

I have been a strong believer in Christ for all of my life, but I have had plenty of times that I did not like what I saw in my mirror when I stopped for an honest look. I am certain that we can all nod to this in acknowledgement. Jerry reminded us (in a psychology note) that a man who becomes uncomfortable by another man’s advice is a likely candidate for that ‘shoe’ to fit and be worn. Some men are better at accepting responsibility for themselves than others, and some are not very good at all. Fortunately, for me, I have accepted and understood Jesus Christ’s example and message for the full benefit that it represents. My challenge, of course, is to utilize the necessary discipline to stay on the path that I know to be correct. Some days I am better at this than others…but it is a blessing to me (and us) to have this group of believers that have so much inspiration and truth to share.

On the other hand, we have the Seal mailing…which is full of many men of differing spiritual persuasions. As some of you have noticed, I write things from time to time that may be nothing more than a seed for encouragement of discussion - all the way to comments that stir up all kinds of motivation for discussion. It is no secret that I do this for a reason.

I am admittedly new to the practice of evangelism. As a Team Guy over the years, I witnessed quite an uproar against it. The locker room was usually abuzz whenever this person or that person would make a solid reference to the witness of their faith in Jesus Christ. As I look back, I now will say that it was more about somebody not wanting to face a sense of guilt for their personal life style, than it was the thought that their rights were being infringed upon unjustly. It seems that this has not changed much.

Does anybody know Tim Drylie? Tim was my LPO in ST1 B – 1983-84. Tim proclaimed that he was born again and was determined to change us all. He would root through everybody’s mail in admin and throw away the Playboy magazines that were delivered as subscriptions before anybody could get them… We thought that he was off of his rocker. Tim witnessed that he was saved from the evils of drunkenness and whoring and beating up innocent victims, etc. He told us that we were doomed to Satan’s grasp if we did not follow him… OK. I knew what he was up to, but he certainly did not get anyone to take him serious for his witness and we tended to regard him as a pain in our backside. Tim’s heart was in the right place, but his methods proved to be ineffective – at least during that given capture of time. Was he counterproductive? No, I think not. He certainly demonstrated courage in his stand and effort. Today, I look back and smile…and think that I wish he was reading this and enjoying it as a positive reference.

Billy Hoffman is very strong in his witness. Billy and I have known each other a long time, and we have shared a common (and intense) commitment to our service. In honesty, to say that we were ‘intense’ is being light… I would not want to hurt Billy for anything, nor would ever want him too feel that there is a breach in my support of him. That said, I don’t always agree with everything that he subscribes to, but I don’t chase him with a bucket of water about it either. Some might liken Billy’s approach to putting a message on the bumper of his truck and chasing you down with it. Maybe so…, but really - who am I to say that he is wrong, or that I am more righteous than he in my beliefs or methods? I believe that God makes Himself available to all of us and we each work with Him in a way that we relate to that aligns us with His work. Sometimes we steer true to what we believe is our designated bearing. Other times we face a conscious acknowledgement, and adjust in our manner or delivery. Of course, I believe that God gives us steering directions, but we must listen with our heart to hear Him. Only upon the Day of Judgment will we all know who was closer to doing God’s intent than his brother. I have a strong feeling that God is going to say to a lot of folks – “I sent Billy to you with many messages. How many of these did you listen to and learn from?”

Combat. I think that combat is just one of many ways that a person can summon their courage to face and participate in the reality of what is really going on. How about the guy (or lady) who is walking down the sidewalk and has a kid chases a ball into intense traffic right before them? Most people will not think about a hero’s recognition when they instinctively dart out into the street to either stop the oncoming car, or sweep the child to safety. I think it is quite similar, except to compare that the danger was by design in combat and unintended with the child chasing the ball. Sure, it always involves risk. But to me, it is the same, because I know that God is looking out for my best interest no matter what life deals me.

Believers who face the likes of those who do not appreciate them simply need to exercise the same courage. Jim showed us all his courage when he made his position clear to all and accepted the consequences of their personal judgment. Thank You Jim. We may not know how many lives you changed by your stand, but I am certain that they are out there thinking about you right now…and the courage that you demonstrated.

I think that most of us came to this Teams business to learn how to be better at facing courage. Some think that there is POWER in being an ‘elite killing machine’…and that an acknowledgement of being a believer in Christ would weaken them. I say that they could not be more wrong. Courage comes in knowing that you are covered in what you do, because God is helping you to make the decisions that guide you in being a better servant to His work.

I trust that you will find this useful to strengthen you in your task.

Bob Ross

PS – I included Dan Fozzard (115, UDT 11, ST5) as an addressee. I thought he might want to jump into this with us.

****

From Chris Bent

Fellow brothers in Christ,

After today's events regarding Jim's honesty on the Seal mailing I feel it is important to keep things in our perspective... Maybe His perspective.....
Jim took a stand for Jesus like a strong apostle. Jim had no choice as his spiritual heart called him to speak out on the hypocrisy of certain rules or their nuances.

I was never in combat...I get the sense that many of you were.... The unspoken realities of evil and injustice has to be implanted in your souls. When you find the Lord...and when you become a part of the Truth...then there is mostly one clear vision and it must come out of you if you are to be true to that Holy Spirit you embrace.

Most of our guys are forged by our common experience and become men above others. Yet without spiritual growth they remain lost. I can see it so much more clearly now with my years(68). It is a humbling honor to have found the Lord. I am so lucky. How can I not, nor how can Jim not, share this enthusiasm with others.? We are charged to go forth anyway. How can we be true to our brothers and not share our/His joy???

We are called to be evangelical even if we get stoned. Our ministry is outside church walls. Our ministry is with strangers, the poor, our family, and our brothers.

Godspeed,

Chris Bent 31E

ps: One is poor if one is poor in the Spirit

****

From Russia with Love, Andrey

Hello All!

I feel I should share this with you guys:

John 1:29 The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, Behold, the
Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

Numbers 19 is a very special chapter in the Old Testament. We have a
picture of the Lord's vicarious death for our sins in the type of the ashes of
the red heifer. After the red heifer was killed, it was burned. The skin, the
flesh, the blood, and the dung were all burned. The whole red heifer was
burned. As it was being burned, the priest cast cedar wood, hyssop, and
scarlet into the midst of the fire.

What do cedar wood and hyssop signify? First Kings 4:33 said that Solomon
discoursed about trees, from the cedar to the hyssop. Cedar wood and hyssop
therefore signify all the trees. In other words, they signify the whole world.
What does scarlet signify? This word is also translated scarlet in Isaiah 1:18,
which says, "Though your sins are like scarlet, They will be as white as
snow." Scarlet, therefore, signifies our sins. For the cedar wood, hyssop, and
scarlet to be burned together means that the sins of the whole world were
gathered together with the red heifer when it was offered up to God; they
were all burned together.

Here, we see a picture of the cross. The Lord Jesus offered Himself up to
God. He embraced all our sins. The gross sins were there as well as the lesser
sins. The sins of the past, the present, and the future were also there. The sins
for which man feels the need of forgiveness, as well as the sins for which
man does not feel the need of forgiveness, were there. All sins were upon the
heifer, and they were all burned with it. Praise God!!!

Have a blessed day!

bro. Andrey,

S-Petersburg, Russia

****

YOU SAY	GOD SAYS	BIBLE VERSES
You say: "It's impossible"	God says: All things are possible	(Luke 18:27)
You say: "I'm too tired"	God says: I will give you rest	(Matthew 11:28-30)
You say: "Nobody really loves me"	God says: I love you	(John 3:1 6 & John 3:34 )
You say: "I can't go on"	God says: My grace is sufficient	(II Corinthians 12:9 & Psalm 91:15)
You say: "I can't figure things out"	God says: I will direct your steps	(Proverbs 3:5- 6)
You say: "I can't do it"	God says: You can do all things	(Philippians 4:13)
You say: "I'm not able"	God says: I am able	(II Corinthians 9:8)
You say: "It's not worth it"	God says: It will be worth it	(Roman 8:28 )
You say: "I can't forgive myself"	God says: I Forgive you	(I John 1:9 & Romans 8:1)
You say: "I can't manage"	God says: I will supply all your needs	(Philippians 4:19)
You say: "I'm afraid"	God says: I have not given you a spirit of fear	(II Timothy 1:7)
You say: "I'm always worried and frustrated"	God says: Cast all your cares on ME	(I Peter 5:7)
You say: "I'm not smart enough"	God says: I give you wisdom	(I Corinthians 1:30)
You say: "I feel all alone"	God says: I will never leave you or forsake you	(Hebrews 13:5)