Social Networking for Businesses

Something happened today on KTN TV leaving me totally exited
You see on Aungust I posted on tiz blog bout using social network to market companies product , and I submitted to my someone a finding bout its implication and how we can engage with our customers using Linkeln Twitter of Facebook and market our new product and services..coz majority of people, more than 70% of Internet users under age 35 browsed social networks, and he said it was a a great thing that they have been working towards ,
So whare was i???…hhmmm oooh okay it was these two guyz Mark Kaigwa and Kahenya discussing bout the same on break fast live on KTN ..

I have been thinking a lot and being exited bout e-marketing and after I finish my lessons for music production I will go back to school and study marketing ..i think am hell of a marketer why lie I market Jesus , my music , my company ,bible… and for me that’s a great gift ..its in me am exited like hell ..hope one day to have a marketing company God willing ..
Look at this stuff i found

Social Networking for Businesses

As we have all seen online, social networks like Face book and Twitter have exploded with internet users. Since this is where the people are online, how do businesses make use of these networks?
Many businesses figure they can use them to market their products or services just like they do in traditional marketing strategies (read: offline). However, what they’ll soon find is that’s not acceptable to users of the social networks. The users are there to network, make friends, stay in touch, not be bombarded with more commercial advertising they see everywhere else. Does this mean that businesses should stay away from social networks? Not necessarily.
Soren Gordhamer explains how social media is changing business, in a good way. Companies like Timberland, which is a boot and shoe company use social networks like Twitter to make connections with the followers of his Twitter account. He doesn’t talk promotional talk, Gordhamer states that he discusses his life and the social issues he’s interested in. Gordhamer cites Southwest Airlines uses their Twitter account to resolve customer complaints in a real-time manner.
The key point here is that businesses are using these networks to enhance their brand and engage with their customers and fans, not shove more marketing messages in their face. Another way to do this is to share information with your followers. Vadim Lavrusik on his blog discusses how universities use social networking sites to communicate with their students. Many of these networks, like Facebook, were created for college students, so this seems like a brilliant idea for universities. They also use these pages to connect with students. Stanford University uses their Facebook page to showcase student talent, further supporting their students in the online realm.
Just as universities can level the platform to connect with students, social networking sites allow smaller businesses, who may not have the capacity or the budget, to play on the same field as larger businesses. Jennifer Schiff with SmallBusinessComputing.com reminds us that Dell earned $3 million in revenue using Twitter. Sure, this is great, but how can a small business do this? Schiff reports on a small, well established bricks-and-mortar business, The James Store, and how they were able to reinvent their 63-year-old clothing business for the modern online world. The James Store uses Facebook to provide special offers to their Facebook fans that are only available to those people – not offline. It gives them the capability to increase their market size – from local to global with their ecommerce site – and bring in new sales.
The James Store is much different, and smaller, than Dell, but social networking sites have made it possible for them to play on the same playing field and connect and engage with their customers.
MO NEWZ

STUDY: Time Spent on Social Networks Has Tripled

Social networking usage by Americans continues to soar. According to a new report from The Nielsen Company, Americans spent 17% of all their Internet time using social networking sites. This was nearly triple the time spent a year ago.

As users spend more time on social networks, advertisers are starting to take notice and move their campaigns to social networking sites. According to Nielsen, the online advertising spending on top social networks and blogs was estimated at $108 million for August 2009, a 119% increase over August 2008 figures.
Social networks offer advertisers several key advantages over regular sites. They can target users based on location, age and relationship-status by virtue of having accessible profile information. Companies can also communicate directly with potential customers using social media channels.

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If God Created Everything, Who Created God?

If God Created Everything, Who Created God?

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The Genesis Flood: Why the Bible Says It Must be Local

The Genesis Flood: Why the Bible Says It Must be Local

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MY POEMS

Your fellow-ship!Share
® Lawrence Mwangi

Inside my heart is a precious candle
On top of rugged volcanic hills in me
Silent breeze and wind blowing
Making its flame dance like an angel

I normally feel it an see its light
warm, dazzling in the lonely night
Lookin feeble but it has the might
To scare creepy zombies and voices

Sometimes winds are so strong for it
Depending on what I watch, hear
Friends I hang out with
Or how unfair it has been for faithfuls

sometimes I hardly feel my precious
I sit under the acacia tree all alone
Cold breeze , no birds singing
What happened, what went wrong

I walk down the valley .
To the river bed , throwing stones
I hear a tap on my shoulder ‘hey Lawi!’
Its my friends ..I smile ..hurray

We sit and decide to campfire
Mr. Jabali brings a wild pig we roast
Miss Nyota dances with the guitar
Slowly I forget ma worries as we pray

Dude Deli opens his heart to us
The girl Waridi tell us her life story..
Tears of joy roll our cheeks as we identify
With their situations and the paths

On the horizon I start now to see ..yeah
Little precious candle! Just waiting me to
Realize the grace has always been sufficient
Paul said never neglect the fellowship

Ebenezer that Loves I
® Lawrence Mwangi

I cried tears of desperation in I desert
Inside caves ravens brought your love
The echoes of your voice calling …
May son I love you …reached out to I

Your sweet word, kept I going
Your promised so eternal and Ital
Quenched I eternal thirst for real
What can I man be without u

In mars the beautiful red planet
The waters of Europa Jupiter’s moon
In the deep deserts of Africa is your spirit
In I office as I sit to serve I feel you

In middle of I mess your big hand reaches
When I head went down with shame
Them checking what will happen wit’ me
Your hand was always around I father

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Who Uses Social Networks? – eMarketer

Who Uses Social Networks? – eMarketer

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Guyz are becoming social junkiez or what???everyone is on FB or twitter ama vipi hii risto
Tho’ caution shud be used those social medias are sometimes a source of pain there was this ka chille I really really really wanted and I guess my problems started on facebook coz of some other friends I had I am made to believe, after a month or two of nice dating things fell apart he he auch!!! shit happens men and the way she was a cutie!?? n-way never mind zo hupotelea kwingi ……the photos you upload the comments and updates may jeopardize your reputation relationship or even your work ..BUT when used wisely it can build you company career and even make money with it, a resent study shows more and more guyz are using social network across the world and companies are taking that advantage to reach and engage the customers get their views on products …..wakati power ime jam look into facebook every update is ‘GGRRRRRR ‘ so if respective providers have their page they tell guyz ‘we are sorry its XYZ and we are fixing it soonest possible we sincerely apologize‘ that enough is a mile stone ..also on product and services ..how many times do u see on somebodies status asking ,‘what is this service bout company X all about?’and the guy has like 700 followers so when u answer on that tweet u educate 700 guyz ..what a cheap source of marketing
Facebook may have recently passed MySpace as the most-visited social networking site, but it’s facing stiff competition for the attention of social media marketers. By some metrics, Twitter is more popular in the marketing world..if ur on twitter utaweza get the latest news on Nation, on mobile world, on IT depending on who ur following ..there is this guy called whitemaasai gives updates on newest technology in this region of Africa

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Why are Christian Movies So Bad?

Why are Christian Movies So Bad?

maze nimekua ni kithing about this story for long untill i found this article in a Christian forum ..Not only does it happen in Hollywood look at our ‘local artistes’ here in Nairobi, the music videos being produced are of very low standard and they say as long as the message is passed that’s the most important …..listen to choir songs and some gospel stuff and compare with secular ……..that’s not wise……even as you pass the message quality is very important ..i remember when I was doing my song I could have done a full album everybody wanted me to do that but I knew coz of short time [I was on leave] I will produce poor quality stuff ..Everyone who watched the song praised it …and I spent a lot of money on it and time ..the song I re-did it like 4 times … that’s y it dint take long to be played on TV ..so its time we style up as gospel artist and actors alike and take over the Industry I have watched Chronicles of Narnia, Lord Of The Rings, Marriage Cancelor, why did I get married , Passion of Christ and Fireproof and we can do nice stuff believe me ….its my dream that I never tell anybody to act!! Tho Am totally shy on stage ha ha nimejaribu mara mob sana

Read the stuff below I found in a forum!!! Its true..i love being criticized

________________________________________

http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/djenkins/2009/04/29/why-are-christian-movies-so-bad/

Quote:
The above points all lead to one predominant problem: young Christians aren’t encouraged or trained to become great artists. If a young Christian wants to become a filmmaker, they are often either discouraged to do so because Hollywood is so dangerous, or if they do find encouragement, they have a hard time getting proper training. There are two primary things that can foster someone becoming a better artist: one, seeing and being inspired by hundreds of great films, and two, getting a great artistic education. For better or worse, many parents won’t allow their kids to see some of the great films (because of questionable content), and many Christian kids are discouraged from attending the best film schools (also because of questionable content). This not only impacts potential filmmakers, but actors as well.

Therefore, when Hollywood starts to pursue more faith-based films and filmmakers (which they have), they find the cupboard bare. So even if and when they decide to make a faith-based film, they have a hard time finding great Christian filmmakers or actors, which affects both the film and the publicity. A name actor in an action or comic book film is willing to go to Comic-con to promote their film to film buffs and nerds; they know they need to go where the core fans are. This publicity is necessary of course. But if they starred in a faith-based or Biblical film, are they going to go to a church or a Christian convention to promote it to the core fans? Not likely.

Yes, it’s true that Hollywood should do a better job of understanding and relating to the heartland Christian audience. But at some point the Christian community needs to know its role in the problem. I’m talking to myself here, too. I’m a Christian, I’m a filmmaker. I’ve made a few films, and they were pretty good, but they weren’t good enough. I’ve got to get better. We can complain all we want about how Hollywood doesn’t reflect our values, but we lose that right if we’re not producing great projects and artists of our own.

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Michael Jackson autopsy leaked

this guy touched our lives Y lie? michael was great entertainer despite all the bad stuff he did and dancil while holding his crotch i can say he used his talents and inspired many
i cant say more i will just sal like reverend
“‘Michael rose to the top. He outsang and outdanced and outperformed the pessimists. Every time he got knocked down, he got back up. Every time you counted him out, he came back in. Michael never stopped.” Rev. Al Sharpton

more news
The Sun is reporting that it has received a copy of the corner’s autopsy report and by the sounds of Jackson was in pretty bad shape.
According to the leaked document Michael was literally skin and bones having barely eaten and the contents of his stomach showing only pills, although they don’t say what kind. His hips, shoulders and thighs supposedly were riddled with needle wounds which is believed to be a result of daily injections of narcotic painkillers.
Further details in the report supposedly point to a wig wearing anorexic body weighing about 112 pound. Additionally the body had several broken ribs from the rescuers attempts to resuscitate him. There is also suggestions that four injection sites were found above or near to his heart.
Three of the injections had penetrated the heart wall — causing damage — but a fourth missed and hit one of the 50-year-old star’s ribs.
The autopsy also found unexplained BRUISING on Jackson’s knees and on the fronts of both shins. And there were CUTS on his back, indicating a recent fall.
The King of Pop’s once handsome face bore a network of plastic surgery scars, while the bridge to his nose had vanished and its right side had partially collapsed.
As inquiries into the tragedy last night focused on the star’s personal physician Dr Conrad Murray, a source close to the Jackson entourage said: “Michael’s family and fans will be horrified when they realise the appalling state he was in.
“He was skin and bone, his hair had fallen out and had been eating nothing but pills when he died. Injection marks all over his body and the disfigurement caused by years of plastic surgery show he’d been in terminal decline for years.
Source: Sun UK – The shock findings of the Michael Jackson autopsy
This of course flies in the face of all the reports of the people really close to him who said that Michael was in the best shape he had been in years as he got ready for his concert tour.

http://www.inquisitr.com/27642/michael-jackson-autopsy-leaked/

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Liquid water on Saturn moon could support life

well well guyz i have never told yah i love space science like nobodies business
there is this thing inside me that tells me there is alot in space ..when i look at hizo photos za mars i feel like i wanna be there i am amazed by gods creation and there is no space news i miss..or sci fi movies ..there is this latest movie Knowing by Nicholas Cage about end time ..its kinda religious and its about how the sun all over sudden becomes mans enemy and destroys the whole world ..exiting tings here is some news I wanna share with you

Scientists have found evidence that cold, Yellowstone-like geysers of water are issuing from a moon of Saturn called Enceladus, apparently fueled by liquid reservoirs that may lie just tens of yards beneath the moon’s icy surface.
The surprising discovery, detailed in Friday’s issue of the journal Science, could shoot Enceladus to the top of the list in the search for life elsewhere in our solar system. Scientists described it as the most important discovery in planetary science in a quarter-century
“I think this is important enough that we will see a redirection in the planetary exploration program,” Carolyn Porco, head of the imaging team for the Cassini mission to Saturn, told MSNBC.com. “We’ve just brought Enceladus up to the forefront as a major target of astrobiological interest.”
The readings from Enceladus’ geyser plumes indicate that all the prerequisites for life as we know it could exist beneath Enceladus’ surface, Porco said.
“Living organisms require liquid water and organic materials, and we know we have both on Enceladus now,” she said. “The plumes through which Cassini flew last July contain methane, contain CO2, propane — they contain several organic materials.”
The third necessary ingredient — energy for fueling life’s processes — could exist around hydrothermal vents around the bottom of Enceladus’ water reservoirs, just as it does around Earth’s deep-ocean hydrothermal vents.
The results impressed University of Colorado planetary scientist Robert Pappalardo, who has studied Enceladus and other icy moons but was not involved in the newly published research.
“I think the discovery of activity on Enceladus is about the most exciting discovery in planetary science since the volcanoes of Io,” he said, referring to the detection of volcanic activity on Jupiter’s moon by the Voyager probe in 1979.
The findings unveiled Thursday are based on imagery as well as temperature readings from Cassini, a U.S-European spacecraft that has been studying the ringed planet and its moons since 2004.
The precise sources of the geysers could not be spotted directly, because Cassini’s camera isn’t quite good enough to spot the bright spray of water and ice crystals against the bright ice on Enceladus’ surface, said imaging team member Andrew Ingersoll, an atmospheric scientist at the California Institute of Technology.
However, Cassini’s camera repeatedly recorded the spray of ice crystals and water vapor from Enceladus’ south polar region, backlit by sunlight. That imagery allowed researchers to trace the source back to the mysterious dark “tiger stripes” previously seen on Enceladus.
Researchers investigated several possibilities for the origin of the geysers, including the idea that the contents were driven by warm ice turning directly into vapor, or consisted of a cometlike slurry of ice and dirt.
The Cassini team found that the spray from the geysers was composed of equal proportions of ice and water vapor. That ruled out the “warm ice” model as well as the “comet” model, Porco said. The best remaining model was that the geyser was driven by liquid water beneath the surface.

“We arrived at our last model, and in some ways somewhat reluctantly, because this is a pretty extraordinary result,” she said. “Like [the late astronomer] Carl Sagan was fond of saying, ‘Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.’”
The imaging team’s conclusion was supported by the temperature readings from Cassini’s infrared spectrometer: Although the surface temperatures were far below freezing, the readings showed relatively warm spots in the south polar region, centering on the tiger stripes. Scientists traced the internal heating patterns that could create such warm spots, and concluded that temperatures could be above freezing mere yards beneath the surface.
“It can be warm enough 10 meters or so beneath the surface,” Porco explained, “and there’s enough pressure to keep liquid water stable at that depth.”
Still more supporting evidence came from an analysis of the ice surrounding the “tiger stripe” cracks. That ice was amorphous and virtually crater-free, indicating that it welled up relatively recently.
Cassini’s images showed that the geysers rose hundreds of miles above the surface. Based on the imagery, researchers concluded that most of the ice crystals fell back to the surface as snow. Some of the ice escaped Enceladus’ gravity field to become part of a wide, thin ring of Saturn known as the E ring.
Boiling water beneath the surface?
The Cassini team theorized that water could be heated to the boiling point far beneath the surface, pushing up through the “tiger stripe” cracks, Porco said. The source of the heating could be molten rock, perhaps extending nearer to the surface in the south pole region, she said.
“If you have molten rock, then we really are playing the game of looking possibly at an environment that is conducive to living organisms,” Porco said. “If this is correct, we’ve just hit the ball out of the park. It doesn’t really get much more exciting than this. If this is all we did on Cassini, this would have made the mission worthwhile.”
The types of living organisms Porco and astrobiologists have in mind aren’t little green men or even little green fish. Rather, they’re more likely to be microbes that have adapted to the type of sunless, chemical-fueled environment seen around Earth’s hydrothermal vents. For years, scientists have theorized that such environments might exist beneath the similarly icy surface of Europa, a moon of Jupiter, or beneath the surface soil of Mars.
Years of further research
It will literally take years to follow up on Cassini’s findings about Enceladus: Although the spacecraft made three close flybys of the moon in 2005, the next close encounter isn’t scheduled until 2008. Porco said the Cassini team is already working to change the probe’s orbit to get closer to the moon, and she said it would be imperative for the Cassini mission to get an extension beyond 2008 for even more encounters.
“It would be insanity to think that we wouldn’t get it, based on this discovery,” she said.
Ingersoll said observations need to be repeated to solidify the case for liquid water on Enceladus. “I’d be perfectly happy to do this again, just to see how much variability there is,” he said.

One of the big unanswered questions has to do with why so much heat is emanating from such a little moon. The Saturnian system is about 890 million miles (1.4 billion kilometers) from the sun, so sunlight isn’t much of a factor. Moreover, Enceladus is just 309 miles (500 kilometers) wide, compared with Europa’s diameter of 1,940 miles (3,138 kilometers).
On Europa, internal heat is thought to be generated by a molten core as well as tidal flexing. But on Enceladus, the calculations for such effects fall short by a factor of 10, Porco said.
Some scientists have theorized that Enceladus is an asymmetric moon, with a small molten core that’s off-center. That could explain why the warm spots are concentrated in the south polar region, and why Enceladus might have regional reservoirs of liquid water rather than a global subsurface ocean. However, scientists would have to explain how the core came to be off-center in the first place.
Related resources
New scientific frontiers
Pappalardo said the research related to Enceladus’ geysers suggested many more scientific questions yet to be answered.
“I think it certainly elevates the priority of further Enceladus exploration, by the Cassini spacecraft first off,” he said. “We really need to understand what’s going on there. What kind of plumbing is there on Enceladus? What could be maintaining the liquid, if there really is a reservoir of liquid water within?”
Like Pappalardo, Brown University planetary scientist James Head ranked the results from Enceladus alongside the 1979 discovery of Io’s volcanoes. Head, an expert on Europa, said the findings could help reverse NASA cutbacks in space science missions. For example, NASA recently put a proposed mission to Europa and Jupiter’s other icy moons on hold.
“People are really striving to try to reverse that, because it is such a clear imperative,” he told MSNBC.com.
Porco said that the evidence for liquid water could well put Enceladus ahead of Europa as a priority for further exploration, but Head said one icy moon shouldn’t be pitted against another.
“These are the kinds of exciting results that exploration is all about,” he said. “I wouldn’t say it would change the ranking on Europa vs. Enceladus. What it really says that we need to get off our butts and explore Europa — because the same kind of exploration is going to give us hundreds of insights about comparable things.”

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my leave

My leave was amazing I had a lot of fun and I think I really rested
My plans for leave was to go visiting places but that dint happen I decided to spend time with friends and I had loads of fun , we traveled, nyamachomas Naivasha and Kitengela with Nafthali[roasted goats ], moooooovies we watched ‘marriage counselor’ more than 4 times waaw! That’s the movie of the month ha ha ha and guyz came to my place twice for a sleep over I will post some photos here[ist day we where 13 guyz and the second almost 20 ]
It was awesome amazing, I dint know people are that a blessing, I felt loved thanks so much hope FM chatz I really treasure you guyz, you are such a blessing and as time goes by more stuff gonna come, wewe na hiyo plot yaku-do a song for the whole group we do together …I think its awesome, we have all types pf talents in the group, script writers, vocalists, instrumentalist, producers, marketers, lets do this,
I have known that God has blessed us with friends but often we take them for granted, when we are going through stuff and we praying for answers to hurts loneliness, being broke, loosing hope, etc God has already answered we just need to take time and spend with people and talk, you cant explain how much healing is with this race made in Gods image …

WE VISITED A CHILDRENS HOME WITH UPPER ROOM BS GROUP IT WAS OFF THE HOOK!! U CAN SEE THE PHOTOS and we went kwa kina Muthoki and ate like never before food food food!!!!!

on the last day other friends come to cook me pilau[alot of it], do me some manicure and pedicu
re ha ha
I am expecting a lot this season I have also thought a lot about music and might be going back to the industry but am keeping my option open ..
Well I don’t have a lot to write I don’t know where my morale for writing went but I know it will be back soon …..THAT WAS LEAVE WELL SPENT!
Be blessed I will keep u posted if something new comes up
Baraka!!

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Apollo 14 Astronaut: Space Aliens Are Real

Apollo 14 Astronaut: Space Aliens Are Real
FoxNews
An Apollo 14 astronaut told a group of UFOlogists Monday that aliens are not a myth and called on the government to disclose its findings, The Washington Times reported.
“It is now time to put away this embargo of truth about the alien presence,” Edgar D. Mitchell, who made the longest moonwalk in history, told those attending a conference in Gaithersburg, Md., set up by the Paradigm Research Group.
“I call upon our government to open up … and become a part of this planetary community that is now trying to take our proper role as a spacefaring civilization,” the 79-year-old added. “We are being visited.”
Paradigm Research Group founder Stephen Bassett backed Mitchell’s theory and demanded that President Obama’s administration release all information concerning extraterrestrial beings.
“If it does not disclose, by the end of May — this is not a threat or anything, you don’t threaten the United States government, they’re heavily armed … the PRG has an enormous and substantial network, and quite a bit of documentary evidence connected to this, particularly politically … and we are going to be extensively putting that out to the media, and we’re just going to make it as difficult on them as possible,” Bassett told the newspaper.

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A Biblical Pattern for Conflict Resolution

by George Cladis

Now during those days, when the disciples were increasing in number, the Hellenists complained against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution of food. And the twelve called together the whole community of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should neglect the word of God in order to wait on tables [literally: "be deacons"]. Therefore, friends, select from among yourselves seven men of good standing, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint to this task, while we, for our part, will devote ourselves to prayer and to serving the word.” What they said pleased the whole community, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, together with Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. They had these men stand before the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.
(Acts 6:1-6, NRSV)

In Acts, chapter 6, we have the election and ordination of the first Board of Deacons. The new committee was formed because of a dispute—sound like your church? There were two kinds of poor widows in the early Christian church: Palestinian (Aramaic speaking) widows and Hellenistic (Greek speaking) widows.

Palestinian widows were allowed to receive food “distribution” from the Jerusalem Temple unless they believed in Jesus as the Messiah; if they became Christians, they were banned from the Temple’s Soup Kitchen line! Greek speaking widows of Judaism were already distrusted, regardless of their convictions about Jesus, and forbidden from receiving the Temple’s distribution for the poor.

The early Church decided to take up a collection to help the new widow believers in Christ but they continued the Temple prejudice of giving only to the Palestinian widows! The Hellenistic widows were left with nothing from both the Temple and the early Church Food4Widows ministry. These widows complained to the Twelve (apostles) who seemed a bit annoyed but sympathetic to the concern: we need deacons [literally: table waiters or "hashers"]! And it is interesting to note that the deacons elected by the early church all have Greek names—one hopes the Palestinian widows would now get their fair share!

A helpful pattern emerges from this Scripture useful for work and every arena of life:

1. Listen Carefully: The disciples listened carefully to the concern, and they showed great customer service!
2. Assess Honestly: They recognized the inequity. Honest assessment is essential.
3. Discard Prejudices: They were willing to change old attitudes and prejudices in light of their new belief in Jesus.
4. Think Creatively: They created a new solution involving the whole group, a team elected from the people. Thereby, they resolved the problem.

God is at work changing your heart and now calls forth a new attitude and way of life to match the inner transformation. Are you ready for it?

© 2001 – 2009 H. E. Butt Foundation. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission from Laity Lodge and TheHighCalling.org.

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Does the Bible Really Say All That About Romance?

The Bible pictures God as a passionate, pursuant, and perfect lover.

Rodney Clapp

The Bible speaks not only of ardent love between men and women, but it presents God himself as a lover and his courting of creation as the Great Romance.

The symbol seems a strange one, considering the Christian reluctance to embrace romantic love. Yet it is distinct throughout Scripture. God desires Israel for his bride: “For, as a young man weds a maiden, so you shall wed him who rebuilds you” (Isa. 62:5; all quotations from the NEB). He fondly recalls the days of harmony, “the love of your bridal days, when you followed me in the wilderness” (Jer. 2:2). Yet Israel is unfaithful—God is the unrequited lover. “Will a girl forget her finery or a bride her ribbons? Yet my people have forgotten me over and over again. How well you pick your way in search of lovers!” (Jer. 2:32). God is a passionate lover, and passion can fuel anger. Like the country singer who wonders, “if I saw you, would I kiss you or want to kill you on sight?” God storms at his lover for her prostitution.

After all, he rescued her as a newborn baby lying in her own blood, raised her to full womanhood, gave her fine clothes and jewelry, provided for her the best of foods, and presented her with sons and daughters (Ezek. 16:114). In return, she imperviously fornicates. “How you anger me!” shouts God (Ezek. 16:30). He threatens to turn her over to her many lovers, to strip her naked before them. The lovers will rob her jewelry, stone her, and hack her to pieces (Ezek. 16:39-40).

Which is it, then, kiss or kill?

Wait, for God is the perfect lover. He vents his anger, then whispers: “But now listen, I will woo her, I will go with her into the wilderness and comfort her” (Hos. 2:14). He follows her through fires, floods, dark woods, wherever she goes, then pleads “How shall I deal with you? Your loyalty to me is like the morning mist, like dew that vanishes early.” Don’t you see, he adds, “loyalty is my desire, not sacrifice” (Hos. 6:4-5). Love will heal: it will reveal the eternal identity and make all things new. Come, God says, and Israel may be “fair as the olive” and “flourish like a vine” (Hos. 14:6-7).

Then the persistent lover takes another tack. He is not out to woo only one tribe, one people, but all, and all of creation. This wild lover will stop at nothing. He condescends and assumes the nature of a slave. He walks among us and heals and proclaims peace and routes demons (and takes up a whip to show some of that old anger too). He demonstrates his power over death by raising the dead, he tells story after story to win our trust. He looks on us adoringly, and yearns, “How often have I longed to gather you children, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings: but you would not let me” (Luke 13:34).

And still we will not let him. He is embarrassing us. He keeps company with prostitutes, for one thing. Sometimes he acts too happy, and he eats and drinks more than a holy man should. Worst of all, he makes outlandish claims that he is the same God who has been chasing us all along. Finally, cruelly, we turn our backs on him once more, and nail his back to a cross.

But he is God, and mad in love enough to bear it, to take all our anger and guilt. Three days later, he is backand this shocks us into trying to love him better. Our infidelity is long and habitual, though, and we still slip often. There are yet many other gods winking at us, seducing us. Our resolve to be unfaithful is weakened, just the same.

We have been betrothed to our “true and only husband” (2 Cor. 11:2). We have seen that love really is stronger than death, stronger than life or angels or principalities or powers or anything else. In the end, there is no fighting it. We already hear fiddles scratching away at a distant feast, and we wonder more and more why we ran so hard from this lover. “Happy are those who are invited to the wedding-supper of the Lamb!” (Rev. 19:9).

We hear much of the wedding day, of great, jubilant crowds rumbling like a dozen waterfalls or rolling thunder. They have stopped running and, at long last, accepted true love. “Alleluia!” they cry. “The Lord our God, sovereign over all, has entered on his reign! Exult and shout for joy and do him homage, for the wedding-day of the Lamb has come! His bride has made herself ready, and for her dress she has been given fine linen, clean and shining” (Rev. 19:7-8).

Ah: the bride. Finally she is made new. God’s people bear renewed bodies; bodies sown in humiliation but raised in glory, mortal bodies clothed with immortality (1 Cor. 15:43 and 53). And so suns and moons, rocks and trees, all creation drawn into the heart of God, consummating the praise for which it was made (Ps. 148:5-6). Consumation is what weddings are all about.

Soon, very soon, the wedding of all weddings will begin. Heaven will crash open and the bridegroom appear on a white horse. God’s people may yet be panting from their headlong dash away from him, but they will gather breath to shout.

“‘Come!’ say the Spirit and the bride.

“‘Come’ let each hearer reply” (Rev.22:17)

This article originally appeared in the Feb. 3, 1984, issue of Christianity Today. At that time Rodney Clapp was CT’s editor of arts and sciences. He is now editorial director for Brazos Press.

Copyright © 2001 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

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Don’t miss our other Valentine’s Day CT Classics, “What Hollywood Doesn’t Know About Romantic Love” and “Bonhoeffer in Love.”

For more information on Valentine’s Day and it’s history visit Christianity Today’s Holiday area and read “Then Again, Maybe Don’t Be my Valentine | Does Saint Valentine’s Day have its origins in Christian

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