[Biblemat] Renewed In Spirit / New Material Available!

[Ethan R. Longhenry]

Greetings!

We at Renewed in Spirit would like to wish everyone a happy new year.  We 
hope that we can continue to be a source of instruction and encouragement in 
2007.

We are pleased to announce that there is new material available at Renewed 
in Spirit (renewedinspirit.org)!

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He Did it For Others
(Nathan Ward)

There is something remarkable about Jesus' sacrifice for us. That, of 
course, goes without saying-after all, He gave Himself for us while we were 
enemies to God. But beyond that, there is something remarkable about the way 
in which He gave Himself. (...read more at renewedinspirit.org!)

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Together Time
(Edwin Crozier)

"Communal socializing also appears to be on the way out. Putnam finds that 
Americans in 1997 were entertaining friends and acquaintances at home 40 
percent less often than in 1975, attending club meetings nearly 60 percent 
less often, and giving half as many dinner parties. Families are also eating 
together less often. In 1975, 50 percent of married Americans agreed that 
'our whole family usually eats dinner together'; in 1997, only 34 percent 
did. What we are doing more of, to replace this communal activity, is 
watching TV, renting videos, and Web surfing and working on our home 
computers," (David G. Myers, The American Paradox, 2000).

As goes the world, so goes the church.(...read more at renewedinspirit.org!)

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Demas Loved This Present World
(Andy Sochor)

What a sad statement! In 2 Timothy 4:10, Paul tells Timothy of Demas' 
desertion and gives the reason for it. "Demas forsook me, having loved this 
present world". This is a danger that we as Christians need to watch out 
for - loving the world. 1 John 2:15 warns us: "Love not the world, neither 
the things that are in the world." Also, James 4:4 tells us that "friendship 
of the world is enmity with God" and "whosoever therefore would be a friend 
of the world maketh himself an enemy of God." Let us notice some things that 
could lead us, like Demas, away from the truth and back into the world. 
(...read more at renewedinspirit.org!)

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For the ladies...

Are You Willing to be Taught?
(Sarah Elam)

That aged women likewise be reverent in demeanor, not slanderers nor 
enslaved to much wine, teachers of that which is good; that they may train 
the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be 
sober-minded, chaste, workers at home, kind, being in subjection to their 
own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed, (Titus 2:3-5).

In the past, I have looked at this text as this being only the 
responsibility of the older woman. Recently, I have come to look at this in 
a different way. Am I, as a younger woman, allowing the older women to 
fulfill the role that the Lord has given to her? (...read more at 
renewedinspirit.org!)


Proverbs 31: An Analysis of the Virtuous Wife, Part 5
(Brooke Williams)

She is like the merchant-ships; She bringeth her bread from afar, (Proverbs 
31:14).

This verse seems a puzzle at first glance.  Trying to find parallels between 
a godly, feminine woman, and a sailing vessel seems to stretch of the 
imagination.  Upon review, however, there are some noticeable parallels. 
Imagine living in a coastal village a century or two in the past; before 
cars, before interstates, before even daily mail delivery.  Every family 
must work hard to scrape a living out of the land.  But on the day a 
merchant ship comes to port, hope comes with it.  On the ship came 
merchandise from afar.  Some offered hope for civilization: tea, linens, and 
ornaments of all sorts.  Some offered hope for making life just a little bit 
easier: plows, canners, and other handy items.  Either way, merchant ships 
were a welcome sight.  So, also, is a worthy woman.  Her ambition is to be 
an ever better helper to her husband.  She aims to make his life easier, and 
make it finer.  She is a welcome refreshment to her husband. (...read more 
at renewedinspirit.org!)

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Please visit us at renewedinspirit.org, register and receive these e-mails 
every other week and be able to participate in our discussions, and tell 
your friends!

Thanks!

Ethan R. Longhenry / editor at renewedinspirit.org
Editor, Renewed in Spirit
an interactive online spiritual publication
http://www.renewedinspirit.org