by Marc Hill

“Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold.” Psalm 73:1-2.

This scripture goes on to talk about how the psalmist envied the arrogant when he saw the prosperity of the wicked. As for me though I almost lost my foothold when I let my purpose come from other pursuits besides doing the work of God. I have tried to get my fulfillment from school, my pursuits in graphic design, and work. However, it has left me unfulfilled!

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What will you do with your freedom?

Will you do your best? While asking God for some challenging tasks.

Will you be a tireless disciple, do you really have to ask?

If you do then you are not doing much but less, you just need a heavenly blast.

Which is talk to many people as you can let them know you’re God’s servant.

So freedom has a lot of meaning and it is not sitting around and dreaming,

But keeping eradicating our sins, giving praise to Jesus and continually let him in.

He is not the enemy but our friend.

So what will you do with your freedom?

Have you taken it for granted and not discipled anyone?

Oh you think Jesus will come knocking at your door without seeking him first.

All you need is a heavenly thirst which is repenting, baptized and spread the scriptures to many nations.

While keeping loving your fellow Christians and having some patience.

So what will you do with your freedom? – Paul Lonzo, 2009

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Guest Editorial: Nick Bordieri – Director of MERCYworldwide

“On one occasion an expert of the Law stood up to test Jesus. ‘Teacher,’ he asked, ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ ‘What is written in the Law?’ he replied. ‘How do you read it?’ He answered: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind and love your neighbor as yourself…’ Jesus replied, ‘Do this and you will live.’” Luke 10: 25-27

In a well known interaction, an “expert of the Law” asks Jesus, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus responds by referencing two Scriptures – Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18 – inferring that to receive eternal life, the Law of the Lord demanded (1) total devotion and commitment to God and (2) love for our neighbor. To illustrate the Scriptures, Jesus tells the Parable of the Good Samaritan. Then, Jesus asks the “expert of the Law,” who was “the neighbor” to the man who fell into the hands of robbers? The “expert of the Law” responds, “The one who had MERCY on him.” Then, Jesus commands him to “go and do likewise,” thus guiding him on the path “to inherit eternal life.”

What moves me about this passage is that the “expert of the Law” was supposedly righteous, because he knew and taught the Law of the Lord. The Samaritan, on the other hand, was considered little better than a pagan and despised by the Jews. Jesus uses this irony to drive home the point that knowing the Word of God was not the same as obeying the Word of God. In other words, one can be religious and not inherit eternal life! In the parable, the two religious men – the Levite and the priest – avoided the battered man, “the neighbor,” who was left beaten, stripped and rendered helpless on the side of the road. In contrast, the Samaritan stopped what he was doing and where he was going to care for his neighbor, who was in dire need. The two religious men who chose to ignore him – by going to the extent of crossing on the other side of the road – avoided not only observing their neighbor’s pain and suffering, but also the guilty feelings for not ministering to his needs. It was out of compassion for his neighbor, that the Samaritan showed his love and obedience to God.

On Saturday June 20, 2009, Denise and I were privileged to receive news about the Day of MERCY from various congregations in the SoldOut Movement around the world!

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Click here to give to world missions!

Chris & Theresa Broom

When I was eight years old I contracted Guillain-Barré Syndrome. I was paralyzed from the eyebrows down, on a breathing machine and fed through a tube. After recovering to the point of being self sufficient I spent a year in a wheelchair. Thirty-four years later, I have to wear braces on my legs, have a damaged windpipe, and damaged vocal cords. To walk up just a few flights of stairs leaves me out of breath. On March 8, 2009 I started the 30 flights for 50 days challenge. Every day I will prayer climb 30 flights of stairs for a total of 50 days; that’s 1500 flights total. I am doing this to raise the funds needed to support missionaries that are devoted to the needs of our sister church in India, as well as Chicago’s Spanish and Teen / Campus Ministries.

1. Why do we need “Missionaries in India?”

Shirly, Malar and Debbie rejoice during the baptism of Catherine (second from left)!

• From 1953 to 2006 crime is up 212%, including murders (up 231%), riots, burglary, kidnappings (up 356%), trafficking, illegal drugs (source: National Crime Record Bureau)
• Corruption is widespread in India. It is prevalent within every section and every level of the society.
• Corruption has taken the role of a pervasive aspect of Indian politics. In India, corruption takes the form of bribes, evasion of tax and exchange controls, embezzlement, etc. (source: People’s Union for Civil Liberties and central vigilance commission of India.
• 1,151,175,100 opportunities to share the gospel (sourced: UNICEF)
• We currently support Raja and Debbie Rajan who live and lead our sister church in Chennai, India. This contribution will guarantee their support and therefore leadership for these ministries for the next year!

2. Why do we need to support staff for a “Spanish Ministry“ in Chicago?

Esperanza Flores Gets Baptized

• “From 1990 to 2000, the Chicago metropolitan statistical areas (MSA) Hispanic population grew by 600,000, or 68.7%. This population segment is young and relatively low-income” (sourced: Bnet/ Chicago Fed Letter)
• This ministry has grown from 3 to 20 disciples over the past year. There is a great need for devoted trained staff that speaks Spanish. We currently support Juan Carlos Garcia part time. He has to work four days a week at another job in order to support his family, but because of this contribution, he will be assured support for the rest of the year and therefore, he will be able to devote three full days a week to the needs of the Spanish ministry.

3. Why do we need to support staff for a “Teen / Campus Ministry” in Chicago?

Willie Hill (right center) gets baptized!

• 4 in 10 girls will experience at least one pregnancy before reaching age 20.
• FACT: 48% of teen girls think it might be possible they’ll become pregnant in the next five years. (sourced: Seventeen/Candie’s Foundation survey, (February 2008 issue))
• 1 in 10 teens suffer abuse in romantic relationships, and many think it’s often justified (Chicago Tribune Feb 2009)
• About 20 percent of teens will experience teen depression before they reach adulthood. 30 percent of teens with depression also develop a substance abuse problem. (sourced Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General, “Depression and Suicide in children and adolescents”)
• More than 60 percent of teens said that drugs were sold, used, or kept at their school. 20 percent of 8th graders report that they have tried marijuana. (sourced: teendrugabuse.us (online)
• Teen suicide was the 3rd leading cause of death among young adults and adolescents 15 to 24 years of age, following unintentional injuries and homicide. (FamilyFirstAid.org (online)
• We currently support Joel and Brittany Parlour part time. They are both college students and are devoted to being a great example in their lives and academics. This contribution will assure that they will be supported through the end of the year and therefore, they will be able to devote all their “out of school” time to the needs of this ministry rather than having to devote that time and energy to a part time job.

On April 26th, we will collect our 2009 World Missions Contribution! Thank you so much for your donation. I am confident that it will help many miracles come true.

Sincerely, Chris Broom: Lead Evangelist, Chicago International Christian Church

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“But you, O Lord, are exalted forever. For surely your enemies, O Lord, surely your enemies will perish; all evildoers will be scattered. You have exalted my horn like that of a wild ox; fine oils have been poured upon me. My eyes have seen the defeat of my adversaries; my ears have heard the rout of my wicked foes. The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, proclaiming, ‘The Lord is upright; He is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in Him.’” Psalm 92:8-15

Several weeks ago, while my 21 year old son Joel was rummaging through some old cassette tapes that I keep in the attic, he came upon a message simply entitled, “The Bombay Report.” Since the Chicago Church is presently very involved in the support of our dear brother and sister Raja and Debbie Rajan in Chennai, India, this tape caught his eye. He called me several days later and told me it was imperative that I listen to it. I agreed, but never did. A month later, I was having a discipling time with one of my best friends, Chris Broom. He pulled out a portable tape player and insisted that I listen to it and tell him what I thought. I turned on the tape player and immediately a young, excited, fired-up disciple came on and proceeded to give an update on the ministry and work going on in Bombay, India in 1987. Initially, I didn’t recognize the young preacher who was speaking. After a few minutes I thought I recognized his voice, but I couldn’t put a name to it. At the 10:06 minute mark in the tape, he mentioned the names of his wife and son – Kama and Joel – and I was shocked! The speaker was me! That young, fired-up, zealous, reckless, unhindered man of God was me… over 20 years earlier! A flood of memories rushed through me of the month I had spent in Bombay back in 1987. It was during a campaign, where people from all over the world came into the city of Bombay to do nothing but eat, drink and sleep evangelism for one month – to help that young church move forward powerfully!

It was one of the most exciting times in my life! Kama and I had just had our first child a month earlier and the opportunity came to go to India. India missions had been on my heart ever since I was converted in 1980 in a campus ministry on the University of Montana in Bozeman. One of our elders had traveled to India and developed connections with missionaries there. He had gotten me really interested in the work, and we often spoke of traveling there together. I remember sending flyers, care packages and letters to help people I knew were less fortunate than myself. Through the “World Bible School,” I had studied with many people there via mail. I remember the letters that would come back from those with whom I was building long distant relationships. They would repeat over and over the gratitude and desire they had to study God’s Word and to know Him. In many ways, I gave part of my heart to India. I remember the excitement of hearing the missionary reports from those who were living there.

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