by Kathy & Bharati Ramteke Plants have been used throughout history, (and even during pre-historic times), by civilizations around the world for food, medicine, tools, household implements and spiritual ritual. So, it is not surprising to discover that both the old and the new Testament contain hundreds of descriptions of the use of herbs for all of these purposes. Acacia wood is one of the first references to plants in the Bible. God instructs Moses to use acacia wood to build the Sacred Tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant. Later in history, Christ's crown of thorns was also fashioned from Acacia. You…

We had a sweet time at the National CCCC Conference in Buffalo. Here are some thoughts coming out of our time there. I love that we are connected both to Acts 29 and the 4Cs. It’s important that we’re not alone on an island as we start the work of church planting. These two networks provide much needed wisdom, encouragement, resources, friendship, and prayer. I love that 7 Mile Road has other churches and pastors that we can lock arms with in this work. I feel like the 4Cs is on the cusp of a church planting movement and we…

Some days my computer helps me fly like an eagle. Other times, it bogs me down like a hippopotamus. On “eagle days” I’m grateful for my computer. But there are those “hippo days” when I rue the day I bought one. Recently I’ve had to contend with a virus that invaded my computer. What bothers me most is that viruses are created maliciously. Bright people who live with a darkness in their lives want to make other people miserable. What’s worse, I permitted the virus to enter my machine by opening what I thought was an innocent e-mail. Sin resembles…

The Big Read reckons that the average adult has only read 6 of the top 100 books they've printed. Well let's see about that. Copy the list below and do the following steps: 1) Look at the list and bold those you have read.2) Italicise those you intend to read.3) Underline the books you LOVE (or color them)4) Reprint this list in your own LJ so we can try and track down these people who've read 6 and force books upon them ;-) 1. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen2. The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien3. Jane Eyre…

Wisdom Way of an eagle in the sky (big picture), the way of a snake on a rock (eye for details), the way of a ship on the high seas (float and not sink; treat upon all obstacles), and the way of a man with a maiden (be passionate on your job) Let your Vision lead you and do not be aimless, Peter Christopher Raj of Franklin Templeton Investments Ltd., comments on Proverbs30. Read Proverbs 30 here. Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Do not slander a servant to…

I recently came across this strange paradox. India is both poor & rich! 35 per cent of Indian population lives on less than $1 a day, which is comparable to Bangladesh’s 36 per cent and much worse than Pakistan’s 17 per cent. The World Bank reported that India is 12th wealthiest nation in 2005 with its GDP touching 785.47 billion dollars or Rs 35,34,615 crore . US was the wealthiest nation with GDP of 12.46 trillion dollars. While India was way down compared to China, positioned fourth with 2.23 trillion dollars of GDP, it was wealthier than Mexico, Russia and…

In the West, it is becoming politically intolerant to question whether Islam produces tolerant and diverse societies. The lessons of some 1400 years of history are mixed on the question - historically, Islam has produced tolerant as well as intolerant societies, depending on the country/ region and time-span being discussed. For example, within India, the Mughal rulers (who were all Muslim) were some of them tolerant and some of them intolerant. Jews were tolerated at certain times/ places in Muslim societies but not in others. And so on. But what happens when a society becomes increasingly Islamised? That is a…

There was this holy man that was taking bath in a river. He saw a scorpion floundering around in the water. He decided to save it. So he stretched out his hand to pick up the scorpion but the scorpion stung him. The holy man again tried to get the scorpion out of the water but the scorpion stung him again. This went on for several time. A man was standing nearby and saw what was happening. He told the holy man to stop saving the scorpion that kept stinging him. The holy man asked, "Do you know why the…

Right now the Thomases are sitting at the Jet Blue terminal awaiting their flight to Buffalo. For the next 4 days, we’ll be at the National 4Cs Conference. The 4Cs has graciously made it possible for us to attend, with one of the nights being devoted to church planting. 7 Mile Road will be among the plants that will be highlighted. We’re so excited to have 4 days to attend seminars, hear from Mark Dever, connect with pastors and church planters, watch ESPN (ok, maybe that’s more me than Shainu), order room service (again more me than Shainu), and see…

A few friends back home commented, "So, I hear there are good looking men here?" Okay, here´s the deal. I think it´s a bit overrated. It´s just like back home, you´ll see guys of all varieties and handsome men come in all backgrounds. If you like guys that look Italian and a bit of Latino, then you´d love it here. I did see some really good looking guys here. In a way, I don´t mind being a foreigner because I found out that it is a good way to impress guys here. I mentioned that people are nice towards foreigners…

Nandhini Raichand ( played by Jaya Bachan in Karan Johar’s Kabhi Kushi Kabhi Gham) is perhaps the best delineation of the ideal women within Hindi movies in recent times. And yet, her characterization presents a tweaking of conventional modes in which the ‘ideal mother’ is portrayed. Nandhini challenges the cultural notions of ‘Pati – Parmeshwar’ (The Husband is God) which has both religious sanctions and social approval. She is not cast as a ‘rebel’ but rather represents women who are caught within traditional socio-cultural boundaries and yet choose to question the system from within. Nandhini Raichand, even as a super…

I woke from my long slumber to find…I stepped out of my place to realize…I began to remember again why You… And just like that I’m wide-eyed and awakeAnd just like that I know why You’ve made meAnd just like that I tasted Your love all over again O Jesus… O Jesus… May I know in my heart, not just in my headMay I trust You in deed, not just in my wordsMay I walk out in Your plan, not just hope in it I am Yours O God… Abba…AbbaThank You for sending Jesus Jesus…JesusThank You…Thank You…Thank You And just…

Rev. Dr. Ernest Mall passed away on July 14th, 2008. He had a sudden massive heart attack and passed away. Along with his songs of praise and worship, his gentle spirit and kindness will always be remembered. We are rejoicing that he is with our Lord and savior, Jesus Christ.Announcement : Friday 18th - Viewing Saturday 19th - Funeral Service emm4ever@ernestmallministries.com Ernest Mall MinistriesMeri Rooh Ernest Mall in Punjabi Church Convention Laho Laho Yasu ka Laho Ghunaho Sye HumKo Dhota ha Mere Ru Khuda Ki Pasee Ha - Pastor Ernest Mall Ernest Mall Mundiya Nach Pastor and Gospel singer Ernest Mall…

“His Prayer House” is deeply sad to share this news with you that Pastor Ernest Mall, well-known gospel singer and evangelist, has gone to be with the Lord. He passed away on July 14th 2008 evening due to a heart attack. Pastor Ernest Mall was known world-wide. God blessed him with an enormous amount of talent. In 1986, he left the world of secular music to glorify the name of our Lord. He dedicated his musical abilities and gifts to serve the Lord and to spread the message of Cross around the globe. His melodious voice and music won numerous…

I have realized that so much of our evangelism needs to be ‘without words’. In a world driven by images ‘visuals’ attract our attention. And so, we need to be seen and not heard (to borrow words from a popular petra song). We need to be brand ambassadors for Jesus. We are used to talking. Not just talking but talking aloud. We say things that we don’t believe, things that we don’t practice and even things we don’t intend to. It is easy to preach a sermon. You can google-search and pull it off the net. There are books that give…

Genesis 3:1-4, "Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?" The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.'" "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman." One of the subtle strategies…

Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his handand marked off the heavens with a span,enclosed the dust of the earth in a measureand weighed the mountains in scalesand the hills in a balance?Who has measured the Spirit of the Lord,or what man shows him his counsel?Whom did he consult,and who made him understand?Who taught him the path of justice,and taught him knowledge,and showed him the way of understanding?Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket,and are accounted as the dust on the scales;behold, he takes up the coastlands like fine dust.Lebanon would not suffice for…

Tango Dancing: Before leaving Argentina, a few of us wanted to take a Tango dance class. There are plenty of dance clubs where they teach dancing and have dances. I took a class all in Spanish. There seems to be a difference between the tango you see on TV and performances and street tango. When you see professional performances, it tends to be a bit more provocative. Street tango or when tango is done in clubs by average people, it seems different. Actually, you don´t have to dance very close to the partner or dance sexy. You could if you…

Heard about this absurdity - British government has urged school kids to try oral sex in order to cut teen pregnancies! Have they gone crazy or what? Do they think it is a novel idea and a creative means to contain a moral dilemma. Read more here. SIFY, Daily Mail, Sun This advice is a part of Ten Commandments for young people released by chief medical officer Sir Liam Donaldson. He has suggested that teens should limit their sexual contact to touching, fondling and pleasuring each other. Crazy idea indeed. How can anyone stop at that point, without going all…

The US Secretary of Agriculture, Mike Johanns, has made it clear that the US government now values money more than it values health safety. He did this when he indicated that "an economic motive was behind the government’s delay of nearly three weeks before informing the public about the contamination, as the government anticipated foreign rice importers might reject the product". The "contamination" was of rice for human consumption with experimental genetically modified rice strain known as LL Rice 601, and Mr Johanns said the USDA spent the time preparing tests. This seems to reveal that, till this point, the…