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BEST OF 2002-2003 Guiding Light lights the hearts of hopeful students Cavalier smashed in Schenley Quad Air Force ROTC simulates POW camp Wait is over for Guiding Light hopefuls! Pitt students pack Destinta Theatre to watch 'The Passion of the Christ.' Controversial movie receives David Limbaugh's commentary! PHOTOGALLERYPhotogallery of the funeral procession ceremony for Reagan to the Capitol HOTPRESSIONSCommandments controversy is so commie and not constitutional SPECIAL FEATURE FEATURE Pitt Dance Team goldens Heinz Field Pitt Dance Team rainbow Heinz Field IMPRESSIONSA patriotic war is just to protect people (1)It is a matter of principle and ethicsPrivacy or perversion in the bedroom Israel, Israel, what have you done for Palestine! Pitt should be proud denying same-sex benefits Keep the Reagan legacy alive by voting for President Bush this November
Homosexuals do not need a special bill!
Wake up media and uncover the terrorists! Mount Rushmore needs to be revisted to include Ronald Reagan Clinton wants Kerry who promotes immoral issues, do you? 9-11 report should not have been bipartisan! SPORTS Women's softball team saw Rockets falling. Hungry Panthers win Pittsburgh Classic EXPRESSIONSConstitution supports God and patriotism One Numb-er Vote for the perfect candidate 24-7! What if Jesus talked football? Pitt Dance Team's colors of black, red, green, and white give significance to the Christmas season! Nativity reminds tourists of Christ's birth Both evolutionism and creationism are based on faith! Gong Show winner recited about 'If cocaine were an alien, what it does not want you to know!' Gospel revealed through semantics and word play Only the right antidote can protect your life God's love is alphabetically revealed in random languages
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"Peacefully, Redeeming Eternal Savior Elegantly Nurtures Carefully Everyday!" (P.R.E.S.E.N.C.E)Ramesh C. Reddy Editors note: Today's devotional is based on the time spent on Dec 03, 2004 studying and contemplating Luke 1:26-28. May you know the Lord's actions are done to give you new life in Christ! Amen! “In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you." (Luke 1:26-28, NIV) Observations: I asked myself who are the characters mentioned in these verses?
Character 1: God! I asked myself what is the role of God in these verses?
Interpretation: I asked myself what is the significance of what God did! I saw this to be very significant because it showed me that God was the initiator to send a messenger to earth. Specifically, the messenger was sent to Nazareth, a town in Galilee. Without God’s initiative the messenger would not have arrived! What God initiates, He finishes. In this case, He used an angel to accomplish His purpose. Observations: Character 2: Angel Gabriel I asked myself what was the role of the angel?
At God’s command, Angel Gabriel obeyed and went with the message to Nazareth! While at Nazareth, the Angel Gabriel visited a virgin pledged to be married to a descendant of David. Interpretations: I asked myself what was the significance of mentioning who the Angel visited? I found it interesting that we are not given the name of the person the angel visited right away. Instead, all we know is the label given to the one being visited as a ‘virgin pledged to be married’. Character 3: Virgin This emphasized to me the importance of the phrase a ‘virgin pledged to be married’. I asked myself what it meant and what it did not mean! Even though this person gave her word to the one she was going to marry, she did not have sexual intercourse with that person. She did not reason, ‘I am going to marry that person anyway, so it does not matter if there is sexual intimacy before marriage’ Instead, she remains a virgin pledged to be married to Joseph, a descendant of David. Character 4: Joseph I asked myself the significance of mentioning ‘Joseph, a descendant of David.’ It made me think, a lot of credit goes to her for remaining a virgin especially being pledged to Joseph, a descendant of David because Joseph comes from a line where sexual sin almost destroyed a dynasty. Sadly, when there is a sin in a family line, that sin continues through the generations unless there is a stop put to it somewhere. King David was involved not only in sexual sin when he committed adultery with Bathsheeba but also was involved in murder to cover it up. Joseph comes from that family line. King David did repent of his sin (Psalm 51, Psalm 32) and hopefully that cycle of sin was eliminated from that family line. APPLICATION I: A lot of credit goes to Joseph too because in a patriarchal society the man usually decided about marriage and so on. Joseph was very careful that the engagement would remain sex-free until marriage. I have a lot of respect for both the Virgin and Joseph because an engagement to be married did not make them allow sex into their lives unlike today! Sadly today, we have couples having sex before marriage when they know they are definitely going to be married using that as a rationalization to think they are not doing wrong. Others go ahead and lose their virginity because they just cannot wait until marriage night or never intend to marry but want to experience what God gave for the confines of marriage thinking what they are doing is not wrong! Character 5: Mary Finally, the name of the virgin is mentioned as Mary! I asked myself, ‘What does Mary experience?’ Mary experiences, the Angel Gabriel tell her 3 things:
Being greeted by an angel of the Lord can be so cool if the angel comes with a positive message! In this case, that’s what Gabriel does! Gabriel lets Mary know that she is highly favored! That is so awesome to know that the Virgin Mary was not just favored but highly favored! Character 6: Lord Not only does the Angel Gabriel tell her she is highly favored but also lets her know that the Lord is with her. Wow! That is amazing! Gabriel comes to earth with a message from God and part of the message is to let Mary know she is not alone but the Lord is present with her! Those days were turmoil with the politics of that day! Amidst that turmoil, the Virgin Mary is visited by an angel with a message! The angel must be commended too for following God’s orders and coming to earth to deliver the message! I saw important implications for our lives! I ask you now dear friend, can you say that the presence of the Lord is with you? Dear friend, this Christmas season if you cannot answer with a resounding ‘Yes’, I want you to know it does not have to be that way! As God took the initiative to send the Angel Gabriel with a message to the Virgin Mary, God has taken the initiative for you too! Yes, he has friend! No matter what you have done, no matter where you have been, you are never out of His love and never out of His reach! Yes, no sin of yours is too big for God to forgive you and give you His peace! All the guilt you have, God already took the initiative to help you experience forgiveness and grace. God did it through sending Jesus Christ to save you and me from our sins. Jesus paid the price with His life on the cross, shedding His blood for you and me. His blood can clean us where we are and cover us with His purity. When God looks at us, He sees Christ covering us! That is amazing to know! For Christ to cover us, He has to be with us! When you turn over your life to Him, Jesus will be there for you! He will never leave you nor forsake you! If you have given your life to Him but have gone your own way, it is not late to come back to the One who loves you and wants to be part of your life. Yes, He does! This Christmas season, you can say, that the Lord is with you because He wants to be with you if you will ask Him to be part of your life and your daily living! Peacefully, Redeeming Eternal Savior Elegantly Nurtures Carefully Everyday! (P.R.E.S.E.N.C.E)/”Can you say the Lord is with you?” Won’t you allow Jesus to be a presence in your life this season! You can do it right away and don’t even have to wait! Why not pray these words in your heart and mean it! Prayer: No matter what you feel in your heart, know that Jesus has come in and resides with you! You are not alone! To make your walk strong with the Lord, spend time in prayer talking to Him as you would to a friend. You don’t need special words to talk to the Lord. Spend time in His Word reading Psalms and turning them into prayer. Next allow God to heal you and speak to you through the Gospel of John! It is also important to be part of a body of believers to help you grow in the faith. Find a Bible believing church that preaches Christ crucified and risen to bring us hope, healing, and help! As a student, it is not too late to join a fellowship on campus too! Feel free to email me at reddy4hisglory2004@yahoo.com if you want to meet to study the Bible, pray with, talk about Spiritual issues or whatever is on your mind! Express your view |
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DECEMBER 2004 Weather
AUGUST 2004 Chapter 1 How seriously do you T.E.S.T.I.F.Y to prophecy? (Aug 28,04) Who do you P.O.I.N.T to? (Aug 29,04) Will You Take a S.T.A.N.D? (Aug 30,04) How is your P.R.A.I.S.E?(Aug 31,04) SEPTEMBER 2004 How do you handle T.E.M.P.T.A.T.I.O.N? (Sept 01,04) Who controls your T.I.M.E? (Sept 02,04) What kind of P.R.O.F.E.S.S.I.O.N are you in? (Sept 03,04) Whose T.E.A.C.H.I.N.G.S do you listen to? (Sept 07,04) What C.A.P.T.I.V.I.T.Y are you facing today? (Sept 08,04) Where do you need H.E.A.L.I.N.G? (Sept 09,04) Where do you need A.N.S.W.E.R.S? (Sept 10, 04) How is your own S.O.L.I.T.A.R.Y time with the Lord? (Sept 13, 04)
"Where do you want to be C.L.E.A.N?" "What do your actions C.A.U.S.E?" (Sept 16,04) CHAPTER 2: "What kind of F.R.I.E.N.D are you?" (Sept 17, 04) "Where does P.A.R.A.L.Y.S.I.S take hold of you?"(Sept 20, 04) "What are you thinking in your M.I.N.D?" (Sept 23, 04) Previous Devotionals How is your C.O.N.F.E.S.S.I.O.N? (Aug 09,04) How far does your I.N.T.E.R.C.E.S.S.I.ON go? (Aug 05,04) Whose B.U.R.D.E.N.S do you carry? (Aug 04,04) When does P.R.A.I.S.E come on your lips? (Aug 07, 04) What do you do in your C.A.P.T.I.V.I.T.Y? (Aug 06, 04) How can you F.O.R.G.I.V.E? (Aug 03,04) JULY 2004 S.L.A.V.E.S (July 01,2004) C.O.N.F.I.D.E.N.T (July 02, 2004) G.R.A.C.E (July 03,2004) A.T.T.I.T.U.D.E (July 06,04) S.P.E.C.I.A.L (July 07,04) C.H.A.I.N.S (July 08,04) M.O.T.I.V.E.S (July 09,04) C.A.L.L (July 10,04) C.O.U.R.A.G.E (July 12,04) L.I.F.E (July 13,04) C.H.O.I.C.E.S (July 14,04) DECEMBER 2003 G.E.N.E.A.L.O.G.Y(Dec 22, 2003) K.I.N.G.D.O.M (Dec 22, 2003) D.O.U.B.T.S (Dec 22, 03) P.R.A.I.S.E (Dec 23, 03)
L.O.V.E
(Dec 24,03) C.H.R.I.S.T.M.A.S (Dec 25,03) DEC 2003 G.E.N.E.A.L.O.G.Y(Dec 22, 2003) K.I.N.G.D.O.M (Dec 22, 2003) D.O.U.B.T.S (Dec 22, 03) P.R.A.I.S.E (Dec 23, 03)
L.O.V.E
(Dec 24,03)
C.H.R.I.S.T.M.A.S
(Dec 25,03) |