the worth of a soul

.....And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul? ....the ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough....

I am sure that  "gaining the whole world" looks differently to everyone.  Relationships - money - status....not everyone seeks the same things.  But the pursuit of those things no matter what they are or in what combination we desire them in can be dangerous.  The choices that we make so we can gain what we desire here on earth...those are choices that affect eternity. 

I was reminded again today of the story of Jesus and the woman at the well.  That story can address any area of our lives where we are seeking more of this world.  He tells her that He will give her water - living water - and she will never thirst again.  Our dry and thirsty souls crave a water that will soothe and fill it up - but we look everywhere else for satisfaction and never find it.  In the process of chasing the satisfaction of our souls how many times have we (myself included) made a choice that has given away a piece of our soul to the enemy?  Stepped on someone to achieve status, had a sexual relationship outside the marriage bed, lied and gotten a few extra dollars??  Those choices affect us...affect our soul...traps us into the very things we seek after till they become a prison....and what does it do for us?  What does it profit us to gain it all and yet we lose our soul in the process?

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Cardboard

Cardboard Stories from The Austin Stone on Vimeo.

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Pastor Bike has been Freed!

Pastor Bike

Petition being delivered

From Voice of the Martyrs:


Thank you for adding your name to the online petition asking the Chinese government to free Pastor Bike. Your voice was heard! Pastor Bike is FREE! On Friday, August 29, prominent Chinese house church leader Zhang Mingxuan, affectionately known as "Pastor Bike," his wife and a co-worker were released from Chinese custody. Pastor Bike was arrested along with his wife and co-worker August 6, two days before the Olympic Games began in Beijing. An outspoken evangelist, Pastor Bike has travelled on his bike to many places in China, handing out Christian literature and Bibles and preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Instead of being held at a prison or a detention center Pastor Bike and his wife, Xie Fenglan, and their co-worker were taken to resort hotels on a "forced vacation" designed to ensure that they couldn’t talk to any foreign media. Pastor Bike was scheduled to do an interview with the BBC the day of his arrest.
All three believers are in good health and spirits and praising God for their release, according to our co-laborers at China Aid Association. The detainees said during their confinement they had opportunities to witness to guards and even high-ranking government officials staying at the hotels where they were held.
On August 26, The Voice of the Martyrs and China Aid Association launched an international online petition drive advocating for Pastor Bike, his wife and co-worker to be released. On September 4, China Aid Association delivered the petition — which had more than 57,000 names printed on 619 pages — addressed to Ambassador Zhou Wenzhong at the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Washington, D.C. Included was a letter thanking the Chinese government for releasing these house-church Christians.
We are thankful to you and the thousands of others who logged on and signed the petition. Christians in free nations often wonder if we can really make a practical difference for Christians in persecuted countries. Pastor Bike’s release shows that WE CAN!
Continue to pray for Pastor Bike, his wife and their co-worker and for other believers in China.

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Pastor Bike

Free Pastor Bike! Sign the Petition Now! Pastor Bike standing with Anna, an orphaned

Christian girl also persecuted by the Chinese government.


Pastor Bike, as he is affectionately known, is considered to be one of the most outspoken evangelists in China. He is a bold believer willing to cross borders, hand out Christian literature and Bibles, share Christ with those under age 18 and lead thousands to Christ. All these actions are considered "illegal" in communist China.
On August 6, just two days before the Olympics began, Pastor Zhang "Bike" Mingxuan was arrested, along with his wife and a coworker.
In response to these arrests, The Voice of the Martyrs and China Aid Association have launched a petition drive to free these three Christians and to let the Chinese government know that the world is aware that these Christians are being detained.
Together, our voice can make a difference. Please follow the link below to learn more, and please forward this email to your friends.
Go to FreePastorBike.com to sign the petition now.

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Pastor Bike

I received the following email from VOM and wanted to share it with you.

Inspiration for Olympic Prayer Band Arrested

Pastor Zhang “Bike” Mingxuan, known for traveling across China on a bicycle to evangelize, was arrested by Chinese police just two days before the Olympics began. Pastor Bike was the inspiration for the recent partnership between The Voice of the Martyrs and China Aid Association to create the Olympic Prayer Band.
Learn More about the Olympic Prayer Band here
Pastor Asks for Prayer BandEarlier this year, Pastor Bike pleaded with VOM staff to ask Christians to pray for persecuted Christians in China during the Olympics. The pastor voluntarily preaches the gospel openly in China despite being persecuted. He has asked for his identity to be revealed to bring continued attention to the persecution of Christians in Communist China.
Thanks to Pastor Bike’s inspiration and the commitment of concerned Christians across the United States, more than 800,000 prayer bands have been circulated. On Aug. 6, Pastor Bike was arrested while trying to deliver medicine to his ailing wife. His wife and another pastor were also arrested. We have also learned this week that Chinese officials are opening a full investigation of the Olympic Prayer Bands that were distributed to house church members within China. Despite this increased pressure from Chinese authorities, Chinese Christians continue to ask for prayer and to make their plight known.
Order your Prayer Bands today!As the Olympics goes on, the harassment of Chinese evangelists continues to increase. Please help remind others to pray for persecuted Christians like Pastor Bike by ordering your prayer bands today!
More about Pastor BikePastor Bike, president of the Chinese House Church Alliance, rode his bike more than 10,000 miles, visiting 24 Chinese provinces to introduce nonbelievers to Jesus Christ. Armed with a Bible and his business card, which declared “Believe in Jesus, Earn Eternal Life,” Pastor Bike brought the gospel to thousands of people. He and other Chinese evangelists have been repeatedly harassed by Chinese officials during this Olympic year. Please pray for the release of Pastor Bike and his wife.
Order Prayer Bands
To order resources about the persecuted church or to donate to VOM, visit www.VOMBooks.com.

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Hello 2008! You are MY Year!!!

I feel like this year is gonna be BIG! That it's gonna include alot of changes - but that God's gonna take us to new places and use us to advance His Kingdom. Looking forward to all that He has to offer us!! I am starting off the New Year 2008 by accepting in Faith what the Word of God says to us:

18 But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today.
Deut 8:18

11 But the land you are crossing the Jordan to take possession of is a land of mountains and valleys that drinks rain from heaven. 12 It is a land the LORD your God cares for; the eyes of the LORD your God are continually on it from the beginning of the year to its end.
13 So if you faithfully obey the commands I am giving you today—to love the LORD your God and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul- 14 then I will send rain on your land in its season, both autumn and spring rains, so that you may gather in your grain, new wine and oil. 15 I will provide grass in the fields for your cattle, and you will eat and be satisfied.
Deut 11:11-15

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A Mighty Heart

I knew how this movie ended. I make it a point not to watch movies where I know that the lead character dies. I hate it when I accidentally watch movies like that - but this one, I watched on purpose. I have no idea why. It was an excellent movie - and it left me devastated. The only other time that I felt like that was when I watched City of Angels. It affects me when terrible or hard things happen to people and they have absolutely no one or nothing to call on. They survive. But they don't live. Because it takes so much to simply MAKE IT that once they are years past the event, they are often just a shadow of what they were before. I watched interviews of Marianne Pearl right after her husbands death and then with Angelina Jolie 5 years later and you can see how hard it is still. Of course it is - but my heart is broken because I felt like she was still all alone. I can't imagine what it would be like for me if I lost Carlos, but I know I could immediately turn to my Father in Heaven and I EXPECT healing and comfort and I do not feel alone. I know that I am speaking from a place that I don't know anything about but I can't shake the feeling of utter despair when I watch her. I came away with an "awareness" of two things after watching the movie - I am so very blessed in the relationship that I have with my Father in Heaven - and there are those who are carrying a burden that no one should ever have to walk with alone and they don't even know it.

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