How does the Lord of Heaven Take and Transform a Wretched Life?

Bev Holmes-Brown | Within a 2 day period the Lord invaded my life with the reality of who He is and reset my future.  I had lived for 21 years, lead by my mind and my heart; therefore, carousing from one drama to the next and practicing a form of discernment that was based on twisted logic and unsound reasoning.  I had an awareness of a spiritual realm and had seen the supernatural in action; but my concept of God was at best vague; at worst deceived.

When I consider that one day, back in 1986, I was living life as normal; oblivious to God.  Then, just two days later, every dream, plan and value changed and I could think of nothing more important than getting to know Him.  He had made Himself known to me and in so doing had caused something inside of me to change.  So profound and so sudden was the change that I know it was nothing my heart or mind could have hatched up. 

The Canberra Declaration

Bill Muehlenbergl | This document, drafted by a number of concerned Christian leaders from various backgrounds, directs us to some of the key issues and values facing not just this nation, but all nations. The values listed here are very much under threat, and need to be vigorously and courageously championed.

How Australia votes at this upcoming election will in large measure determine if these values and social goods prevail, or are further weakened and undermined. We, the authors of this document, commend it to you for your prayerful consideration and support.

Tony Abbott says we should have more babies and let fewer people into the country

News.com.au | Mr Abbott today said the Coalition would cut the annual immigration intake to 170,000 places, compared to a peak of 300,000 two years ago, if elected. The Coalition wanted to make immigration more sustainable because many people thought it was "out of control", he said.

But Mr Abbott is keen for Australians to have more babies, echoing an instruction from former Liberal treasurer Peter Costello who called on them to have three children — one for mum, one for dad and one for the country.

"I would like to see our birth rate improve because even now, despite the uptick in the birth rate over the last few years, it's still significantly below replacement level," Mr Abbott said.

Australians tell Gillard to abandon Citizens' Assembly

Whatthepeoplewant.net | According to 64% of Australia's largest focus group, the What the people want project run by eJournal On Line Opinion, Julia Gillard's Citizens' Assembly should be abandoned.

Out of 1,666 responses, only 24% approved while 64% disapproved.

Chief Editor of On Line Opinion Graham Young said that the pool of responses from the What the people want qualitative survey was 11 times larger than the proposed 150 people who would form Ms Gillard's assembly, and probably more statistically significant.

"The responses show this was an unwise move by PM Gillard. The overwhelming majority of respondents attributed the move to bad faith, although other respondents believed it was a good move to consult the community."

A 40 Day Call to Prayer for Marriage and Family.

Praying for the healing of the land according to 2 Chronicles 7:14 and the restoration and protection
of marriage and family in our nation.

Inception is Possibly Best Film of New Century

Scott Nehring, Christian Cinema.com | Warning: Contains Possible Spoilers

Christopher Nolan (The Prestige, The Dark Knight, Memento) has established himself as the best director of his generation with this film. Then again, his generation includes directors like Brett Ratner, Ben Stiller and Ben Affleck, so he probably shouldn't start gripping his lapels too tightly.

Inception is a great movie. It is a masterful work. This is one of the most fully realized and complicated movies ever made. When I drag out the word "complicated", I mean Nolan tackles a plot with so many moving, interwoven layers that it is a technical marvel his movie is even comprehensible. The fact that one can walk away from the film with a clear understanding of what happened is worthy of an Oscar at the least.

Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Cobb, a guilt-ridden "extractor". He is a man who has the means, through technology, to enter a person's mind and rob secrets from their subconscious while the subject is in a dream state.

Kick-A** and The Perfect Game: How Kids Are Portrayed in Film Says A Lot About Our Culture

Marc T. Newman, MovieMinistry.com | The 1957 Little League World Series team from Monterrey, Mexico is facing another David and Goliath story this weekend. This time it doesn’t happen on a baseball diamond, but at the box office. The Perfect Game is based on the true story of a poor Mexican Little League team’s improbable road to baseball immortality. How will these boys fare against an 11-year-old foul-mouthed, blood-spattered vigilante named “Hit Girl” – one of the featured killers in the indie comic book-based Kick-A**?

The answer will say a lot about the kind of culture we inhabit, and what it considers “entertainment.”

AN OPEN LETTER FROM THE AFGHAN CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY

Australian Prayer Network | Christians in Afghanistan have written an ‘Open Letter’ to believers around the world calling for help in defending those who are being persecuted for their faith. The letter was written by Afghan Christians currently living in exile from their beloved homeland because they were forced to flee their country in order to save their lives and the lives of their families, due to orders of execution issued against them by the Afghan government for "choosing to convert to Christianity.” 

The letter addresses recent events inside Afghanistan following showing of an incendiary documentary showing photos and videos of secret “Afghan Christian Converts” aired on an independent TV station based in Kabul. The documentary was the first of its kind to ever air publicly on national TV in Afghanistan, a country that considers itself to be 100 percent Muslim. The controversial content, revealing names and faces of supposed Afghan Christian converts, sparked riots and demonstrations throughout Afghanistan in the days that followed.  

Presence Based Parenting

Warwick Marsh | Life is a journey. So is being a Dad. I know so much more now than I did when my children were young but I am still learning.

People often say, "How did you raise such great children?" My wife and I look at each other with a look of amazement because we both know the many mistakes we made as parents. We reply quite seriously that our children make us look good. We are not kidding. It's true and we are glad for it.

As I continue on in my parenting and fathering journey, I keep trying to figure out exactly what we did do right and how we can possibly explain it.

Bekasi, Indonesia: Jihad threat level high    

Elizabeth Kendall | On Sunday 27 June Islamic fundamentalist leaders at the Bekasi Islamic Congress demanded the city administration of Bekasi, West Java, enact Sharia (Islamic) laws so as to 'limit' apostasy. (Sharia limits apostasy by making it a capital offence to convert from Islam.) They also proposed that every mosque in Bekasi form its own paramilitary unit ('laskar') that can be quickly mobilised for 'war' against Christians if 'Christianisation' is not halted in line with Muslim demands.

Do You Have a Story to Tell?

July 2010 | Link-Zone is going to be taking some new directions in this next season ... we want to tell people's stories ...

We will still feature topical & thought provoking articles from favourite authors but not as a major focus. We will also continue to produce prayer updates and plan on increasing our bible study resources.

Please contact bev@link-zone.net if you have a story that needs to be written

From Winter to Spring – From Searching to Finding

Bev Holmes-Brown | One of the first encouraging scriptures given to me when I became a Christian was from Song of Songs, you will undoubtedly know it:

My beloved spoke, and said to me: "Rise up, my love, my fair one, And come away.
For lo, the winter is past, The rain is over and gone.
The flowers appear on the earth; The time of singing has come, And the voice of the turtledove Is heard in our land. (2:10-13).

It is true to say that before I knew or met Jesus, I existed in a spiritual winter.  I sensed that there was more to life than just the physical realm I saw and even explored the domains of psychics in my search to know more.

The fact that the spiritual realm was real was not hard for me to perceive.  I had had a few encounters with the supernatural realm that could not be explained away by even the most eloquent atheists.