Hi there!

“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” (2 Corinthians 3:17)

How evil can one man become? It is sad to watch the the terrible ongoing conflict and death happening in the streets of Libya because of Colonel Gaddafi’s defiance. What is even sadder is the same defiance heard in his son, Sayf’s voice who seems to be following and supporting his father’s thinking. How many more lives will be taken before this man is deposed? May we all keep informed this week so that we can pray for this nation that is seeking freedom along with so many of its neighbours. The ripple affect is incredible and not just with the increase of gas prices on our side of the world.

William arrived safely in Ottawa Friday afternoon. It seems he is really enjoying meeting these Chin people, his own tribe from Myanmar. They are all figuring out their various connections from the past. Pray that the two congregations will want to support William in his many ministry endeavours when he returns in June. I’m sure he will have lots to tell and pictures to show on his blog - www.william.heartlandfellowship.ca. He is coming back to Brampton on Monday. Please continue to pray that we will be able to grow him while he is here in various ways. His nation is mostly likely in line for a major upheaval and William’s apartment is right in downtown Yangoon where any action could occur. Next weekend he will travel up to Howie & Sheila’s cottage in Parry Sound for another “winter wonderland” experience. Please pray for Sheila whose teaching assistant died unexpectedly this past week due to a heart attack.

Please remember to pray for Richard and his orphanage. This week he mentioned that they would be embarking on making bricks for their own use and for sale. Richard has been quite sick for the past couple of weeks.

Home Group happens this Thursday at the Burtons’ home at 7:00 p.m. as we view Don Carson’s video series and pray.

Gary and I will be away March 5-13 for another week of writing. Please pray that Gary will be able to get a lot accomplished and that he will be able to sell his books through various opportunities. Gary can always be reached at gvc@kainos.org.

God bless,

Wendy
wendy.carter@kainos.org
This blog is a summary of our 9:00 Sunday morning services held at 7777 Churchville Rd., Brampton, ON L6Y 0H3, 905-230-8116. It can always be found at www.blog.heartlandfellowship.ca.

Are Rich People Special? by Gary Carter: Charlie Sheen, a rich actor, didn’t show himself to be very special this week because of his poor behaviour. In Matthew 19:23, Jesus says, “…it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.” One main difference of a rich person is their capacity to give. Paul told Timothy (I Timothy 6:18) to command rich people to be generous. We are embarking on a new program to go after grant money for Heartland’s various projects in the weeks ahead. Foundation money is available but some of these organizations are more generous than others. Please pray that the hearts of the leaders we contact will be stirred to the causes God has laid upon our hearts. Money doesn’t count for much if it isn’t used properly.

Yours/Mine/Ours (Romans 16) - by Steve Macdonald: Steve continued with his defining of Paul’s friends and various connections. Phoebe lived in Cenchrea (Romans 16:1) which is about 8 miles from Corinth and she also lived in Rome. According to Acts 18:18 after Paul’s lengthy stay in Corinth he stopped off in Cenchrea to have his hair cut because of a vow. Did Paul visit her church in Cenchrea to see it for himself? Would he have entrusted this letter to the Romans that she delivered to a woman he had not met? Priscilla & Aquila lived in Corinth, Cenchrea, Syria, Jerusalem & Rome at various times. In their travels did they ever talk about a friend of theirs named Phoebe and the church in Cenchrea?

Petrobas became a Bishop of Neapolis (main port of Philippi) and later spent time in Jerusalem and Rome. Paul visited Neapolis (Acts 16:11). Hermas was a Bishop of Philippi and spent time in Rome. Were Andronicus and Junias prisoners in Philippi with Paul (Romans 16:7)? And if so would they not have encouraged each other by talking about their friends and the good they were doing?
Plilologus and his wife, Julia, travelled with Andrew. Andrew appointed him as Bishop of Sinope.
Apelles, Bishop of Heraclea, and Paul’s friend, Stachys, Bishop of Byzantium, also travelled with
Andrew. Herodian, Bishop of Patrae and Paul’s “fellow Jew” travelled with both Paul & Peter. Phlegon
Bishop of Marathon was a resident of Rome. With all of these connections and travels to similar places
- Rome, Jerusalem, Byzantium, Macdonia, Patrae, Sinope – many more good conversations would have happened along the roads.

Ready … Reset by Gary Carter: The Oscars are happening this evening. These awards have become gods to some people. Even to get a nomination is something. But who really knows or cares? People are developing solutions based on their own wishes. They are diverting attention from the real problem. They are doubling speed in the wrong direction.

In 2 Chronicles 14, 15 & 16 in the Old Testament we learn about King Asa (king of Judah) whose father was King Abijah. Asa started off well and had peace in the land for about ten years as he relied on God who was aware of him and was used by God. But when he did not rely on God and after being rebuked by the prophet Hanani he became angry and brutally oppressed some of his people. As a result he suffered a disease and in a few years died.

Lessons from Asa:
1.He was conscious of the mess up: sin was accepted, idols occupied the mental space of the people.
2.He was convicted to tear up: he sought the Lord and obeyed Him. In our world it seems we can’t speak against anything. You have to ask yourself the right questions and not develop better answers.
3.He was committed to build up: some times we need to make changes in our lives.
4.He was consecrated to look up: he relied on God himself.
Some important questions to ask:
Do you see how bad it is?
Do you know what you need to change?
Are you committed to repositioning your assets?
Are you completely sold out to the Lord:

More Proofreading Needed (in newspaper headlines) by Steve Macdonald:
Experts say Death by Fire Squad isn’t that Bad
Lawyers Back despite Use of Bug Spray
Slowdown Continues to Accelerate
The top half of the students are well educated, the bottom half receive extra help, but the middle half we are leaving out.
Berkley turns blind ear to Fiance Committee
“We hate math” say 4 in ten – a majority of Americans