Honor and Shame

Different cultures react differently to the concepts of honor and shame... this book delves into those cultural differences and how to understand them when sharing Christ. It might be particularly interesting to soldiers stationed in Muslim nations.

Link: http://www.amazon.com/Honor-Shame-Roland-Muller/dp/0738843164/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-0324111-9965413?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1177691992&sr=8-1

Thought-Provoking Quotes...

"There are plenty of good reasons for fighting,
but no good reason ever to hate without reservation,
to imagine that God Almighty Himself hates with you, too."

--Love him or hate him (no pun intended), recently-deceased author Kurt Vonnegut always stirred up opinions. This quote is from his 1961 novel, "Mother Night", about WWII.

Faith at the Front

A new (actually, re-versioned) blog about faith and the military family is at
http://faithatthefront.blogspot.com/.

http://www.agreaterfreedom.com/ is a website for military Christian news.

U.N. Peacekeepers & Lethal Force

The BBC is running a series on peacekeeping. This link looks at "Haiti and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) where the readiness of Blue Helmets to impose peace using lethal force marks a departure from the more passive missions of the 1990s - sometimes with worrying effect:"
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/6542399.stm

The Church, The State, & Military Revival

A blog links to an article about a revival service held in Afghanistan, and asks its readers for opinions. The comments section is very interesting, to say the least: http://blog.wired.com/defense/2007/04/revival_rocks_g.html

Declaration of Inter-dependence

Christianity Today has posted an article about how churches around the world can minister together and learn from each other:

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2007/april/33.88.html

The Art of War

The classic book, "The Art of War," is available for free download at: http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/132

At the same site, you'll find interesting antique books about military life by doing a title search using the words "military" or "soldier"...or anything else that piques your interest.

South African Easter Greetings

The president of the Military Christian Fellowship of South Africa writes:

"Our dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ Jesus the Lord

We remember again with much thanksgiving and praise the great plan of salvation that our Lord God provided through His Son and our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, that we who believe and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ will receive the gift of eternal life and joy everlasting.

Thanks be to the God of our salvation.

We might lack physical and material temporary things here on earth, but He has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ (Eph 1:3).

He is risen and intercedes for us on high. Praise, glory and honour belongs to our Lord God.

HAPPY EASTER"

A Canadian Easter Greeting

The Military Christian Fellowship of Canada sends the following greeting and Easter message:

As we remember our Saviour's Passion this week and prepare to celebrate His death and resurrection, we cannot help but contemplate how unfathomable is God's love for us. “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. ...God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5: 6,8). What amazing grace!

Lent has been a time for contemplation and preparation. Our hearts turn to God for He is our hope. As John reflects, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16). Because of the incredible love and sacrifice of Jesus we receive reconciliation, and we rejoice that we are enabled to build an intimate relationship with God, and live a life in Christ. Yet John reminds us that we are called to Christ-like discipleship. Through the Holy Spirit we grow in Christ, and being obedient to Jesus' commands we honour our Father through loving service to His children.

“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God." John writes....

So this Easter we do not merely celebrate Christ's sacrifice and love, but being convicted we are moved to reach out to share God's love with all of His children. God values every man, woman and child, and Christ died not just for believers but for the sake of redeeming all of mankind, so our Fellowship is committed to join you, our brothers and sisters, in sharing God's story to all in this global village.

Holy Week Art

Contemporary artists' works depicting Christ and the cross can be seen at

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/special/calvary/1.1.html.

Holy Week

"Christ Is risen from the dead,
trampling down death with death."
-- Eastern Orthodox hymn

Christianity Today has some soul-stirring thoughts for this Holy Week at http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2007/april/29.78.html.