Cards Cut

Apart from the options of buying individual insurance and being covered by group insurance through companies, there is also the Texas Health Insurance risk pool, initiated by the Texas Legislature. This health insurance coverage is provided to people who cannot obtain adequate coverage as a result of their medial conditions.

It is also open to “federally eligible individuals” as defined by HIPPA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act1996). This program is managed by a nine-member board of directors, all of whom are appointed by the Commissioner of Insurance.

The policy issued by this Pool covers medical expenses including prescription drugs. There is a standard premium rate set by the members of the board. These rates are usually reviewed twice a year.

The state of Texas also has provision to insure the health of children. One of the programs is the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) initiated for families who don’t qualify for the Medicard program, but at the same time are not in a position to buy insurance. The coverage under this plan is for children between the ages of 0 and 19 years.

The other program is the children’s Medicard. This program considers children between the groups of 0 to 19 years. This program is provided at no costs and is beneficial package in that apart from covering medial bills and prescription drugs, it aims at preventive health care.

The coverage is provided to children whose families have assets below the established levels.

Both the CHIP and Medicard programs are beneficial for children. They cover a full range of services from regular check-ups, preventive care, immunization, lab tests, to hospital visits and the related expenses.

The advantages of both the programs are many. Apart from the health benefits, both these programs provide coverage at affordable rates that can well fit the budgets of all qualifying Texan families. The premium rate is flexible and is calculated based on the number of people in the family, as also the total income and expenses.

All said, both CHIP and Medicard have been designed by the Texas Legislature to give relief to families who neither qualify for Medicard nor have the ability to pay the expensive installments of private insurance.

Term Life Insurance provides detailed information about term life insurance, group term life insurance, and more. Term Life Insurance is affiliated with Dental Insurance Plan.

Or at least that is what some would conclude is the result of the route my religious experience has taken me. But, of course, from my perspective, the trip through the Christian, organized and corporate church has brought me a freedom that those who speak of “freedom” and “grace” within the crazy world of disorganized religion could never know. Experience is the best teacher and may be only one that leave you with any depth of conviction.

Having been a devotee from my youth through middle age to a literalist view of Christianity as both a lay member and then on into the ministry, and then, slapped awake by reckless religious change, I have become an expert in what I don’t believe anymore. I can explain well why inerrancy is a mistaken view of scripture. I can explain Christian origins and the violent history of the so called Christ-like church. I can well explain the misery a literalist view of Christianity can inflict upon a soul, a marriage or a family, and how well any system of rigid, “we are the true people and we have the true perspectives” keeps one from one from every being truly free to think.

But being an expert in what I don’t believe is not satisfying personally of course. A journey should lead somewhere and growing up should provide a positive result from past experiences. Throwing Jonah off the ship did indeed stop the storm, but being swallowed by a sea beasty is not the most pleasant experience either. At least after being puked up on shore, we can hope that we can draw a few conclusions from the whole ordeal. It’s those conclusions, for me, that I would like to share with the hope that those who experience a similiar awakening thru disillusionment with the organized Church, of any denomination, can identify with.

First of all, while many will say, “well you just had a bad experience with THAT church,” this is not really so. This is usally followed by my needing to come to their church and see the difference. While my personal experience was a combination of sincere searching and wonderful friends, the end result has been a spiritual disaster for many, of whom I am only one. I say “disaster” but in the long run, it was a case of what’s “bad” turning out for the good. The issue is no longer finding the “right” church or a nicer group of really really spirit led people. The issue has become the cover up in Christian origins and history that many pastors of many denominations tell me, “well, I know that is so, but if I say that, I’ll lose my job.”

The average person in the pews is a follower and a conformer and not a reformer. They are way too trusting that the minister is telling them everything he knows. They need to know that most only tell you what they think you can handle. That is, of course if he has a valid theological education. The self appointed types are never going to do enough study to put them out of the religious racket that rewards their efforts so well. The less informed the man, the louder he will yell and the more angry for God he will appear to be in an effort to hold on to his turf. He will also be generally sincere, but sincerely wrong. Remember, sanctified ignorance is still ignorance.

So what do I believe? What conclusions have I come to that work for me, albeit not for those who have yet to walk this path?

I no longer need to attend a corporate church or belong to a religious organization to feel safe and informed. My experience was neither one that provided safety nor information anyway. I’ll take a quiet seat next to the river anytime. Once you get into the corporate church, you better get ready to kiss your money, personal energy, time and freedom of thought goodbye. In far too many places, you really do check your brain at the door.

I don’t need to listen to a man try, every week to convince me the Bible is the inerrant word of a never really here, ever present God. It is not. Most ministers I know only tell the congregation what they can handle, which is precious little and certainly nothing new from what mommy and daddy taught them. Many people attend church out of fear of tribal (family) retribution if they stopped. They don’t want to attend. They don’t get anything from it. They disagree with it. It is boring. It is repetitive and manipulative. They’d rather stay home and rest, but…it’s what I/we are expected to do and darn it, what I want to do never counted for much anyhow.

I no longer need or want any organization to plan my life’s time to suit their needs or give them the illusion of work being accomplished. Ministers are notorious for making their own work. Some spend the sermon offending and scaring everyone so they can spend all week visiting for damage control. Many plan so many things to do for the members during the week, that they seem to forget that most real people have a life of work and family. Many judge your spirituality by your attendance at these events while saying that you really don’t have to attend, but you do. Ministers often construct the Church in such a way as to create a full week of work for themselves. This work is not necessarily real work, but it keeps him “busy”. If you are in such a church, one that seems to invade not only your weekend, but most of your week, just withdraw to a more simple life of just church attendance and I bet you get a visit or some sideways comment from the pulpit not to forsake the assembling of yourselves together as is the custom of some…namely YOU.

A church can make you feel really really guilty for not “serving the brethren”, but resist that and serve yourself first. Just say no. Then love the ones you can quiety behind the scenes to their good. What you’ll find is others saying “brother, I wish I could do what you are doing, but…” The bottom line is they are afraid of what others will think of them. Get over it.

I no longer give my money to churches. A real God doesn’t need my money. I gave them enough and they mispent it, plain and simple. Approximagely $75,000 worth of giving and I was the darn Pastor! Along with that, they wouldn’t save social security because you don’t have to with a pastor’s income, and then broke a promise for retirement pay. Spiritual bastards all…

Most churches teach the Old Testament tithing as if Jesus himself set it up for the New Testament Church to prosper under. Jesus could not care less about tithing even in his own day. Of course he wasn’t anticipating all that would follow and be done in his name either. One prominent Church Father went so far as to note “what profit this myth of Jesus has brought us.” Yikes, yet true.

Tithing is one of those convenient things that doesn’t come under the New Covenant, but is still God’s will for our financial well being. Or so one is told. Eat all the mice, snakes, dogs, pigs and rabbits you want, but God loves a cheerful tither. In fact, it is how your prove God exists as the promise is to try it out and see if the windows of heaven won’t open for YOU. They won’t no matter what Malachi says in the Old Testament. If you complain, the minister will tell you something like, “you have air don’t you?” or “you have a job don’t you, and wonderful children?” You can’t win. Churches that rely on cheerful giving only will never be able to buid a church that can be mistaken for a mall with spires. Nope, it’s tithing, of course from your heart, but it darn well better still be ten percent of your GROSS, not NET income!

I no longer abide the teachings of the lone Guru and Grand Poopa types in religion. The ranters, healers, teachers and showman of Jesus Land add precious little to a thinking person’s spirituality. Too many are clowns in the area of religion and while entertaining, generally are consumed with securing their next fix of narcissistic supply and bucks. Many are sincere, but not critical thinkers…no money in that.

The scary part is that they can spew utter stupidity of both scripture and common human sense, and we are supppose to care what they think. I don’t and you should think it through if you do. We let these men get by with BS far too often. If we keep it up, we will regret the day we let God’s men of faith and power mix their religion with our government. We already are coming to regret how some in government confuse their own religious perspectives with governing. Any man that can lead one to believe obsurdities, as they say, can lead you to commit atrocities.

I don’t need to find God in a glass, mahogany, teak, gold, silver or platinum Cathedral, Church or Worship Center. I once attended a place where the building was dedicated as the “House for God.” It cost millions and most of the people who paid for it, never set foot in it…a TV ministry. But then the place was sold and God was evicted. Good thing the Book says he wasn’t living there anyhow. Any real God lives within the human anyhow, a place most humans would never think to look. No literalist church wants you to discover you don’t need the church after all to be a content and grounded human being. They certainly don’t want you to think you were born right the FIRST time.

When people ask what church I attend, as they are wont to do here in the south because they can’t fathom that you wouldn’t, I tell them the “Non-Condemnational Church of God.” They look at me and just say “oh”….and then “I get it”. But they don’t.

Life is experiences and experiences are for learning. I haven’t really gone from Pastor to Bastard. Well, ok for some I have. But I am free, and while it’s true the truth can set you free after pissing you off, there is more deeply spiritual truth to be learned outside of organized religion, mall size churches and from men who are given far too much attention as if they knew. It’s within you…..It’s within YOU.

Direct Response Business writing is different to ordinary business writing, which is why I decided to share this mini series of tips for stopping the hair-tearing frustration when working with Microsoft Word.

These 8 tips share insights to how to get your page looking exactly the way you want it to…

1) Start a new page by pressing Ctrl + Enter not by pressing the enter key until Word starts a new page for you. Doing it this way means that any additional text you add before your page break does not push your text further down the next page.

2) Add a border to your page when creating an Order Form (See my article: Direct Mail Campaigns: 10 Rules to Creating Your Magnetic, Irresistible Order Form).

From the menu: Format, Borders and Shading. On the Page Border tab explore the Art options in the Style section.

3) Use leader tabs to make it easier to read columns of tabbed text. A ‘leader tab’ enters a dotted, dashed or continuous line leading up to the tabbed position.

From the menu: Format, select Tabs, type a position for the tab and choose a Leader style.

4) Create the underlines on an order form using an underlining leader tab. See the previous tip.

5) Balance the gap between a page border and the text:

From the menu: Format, Borders and Shading. On the Page Border tab use the Options button to set the Margins and the ‘Measure from’ setting.

6) Balance columns of text on a page. Insert a continuous section break at the end of the last column of text:

From the menu: Insert, Break, Section and then Continuous.

7) Add page Numbers. From the menu: Insert, Page Numbers. Select the style and position you want.

Set the page numbering to start at 1.

In books or reports, where you have a table of contents at the beginning, you may want to start the page numbering on the first page following the contents page.

First you must have a section break:

From the menu: Insert, Break, Section and choose Next Page.

On the page where you want to restart the page numbering:

From the menu: Insert, Page Numbers, Format. Select Start at. Click OK, THEN Click on CLOSE. If you click OK you may upset any headers/footers you have created

Bonus Tip: If you are creating a form using the tables feature in Word and want the table to be as close to the bottom of the page as possible, you get a blank page following the one containing your table. This is because a table always has an empty line following it and, because there’s no room on that page, it automatically creates another.

You can get rid of the page very easily, Click to the left of the empty line at the top of the empty page. You get a black box where you’ve selected the invisible paragraph marker.

Click on the font size box, type the figure 2 in the box and press the enter key. The font is set so tiny that it fits on the page under the table and the ‘empty page’ disappears.

In the other articles in this mini-series I share another 17 tips:

* Preparing Word - How to Stop Word being ‘bossy’ and taking over your document.

* Keyboard shortcuts (some well known, others not so well known) to save you time.

* Creating Contents lists; quick tips for spell checking and hyphenation.

* Paragraph numbering and spacing (Including how to stop your numbers and bullets disappearing when you want a line gap between paragraphs!)

©2005 Original Work by Carol Bentley

Learn more about Persuading People to Buy… Subscribe to your free reports, with no obligation, at http://www.CarolBentley.com.

Carol is the author of ‘I Want to Buy Your Product… Have You Sent Me a Letter Yet? (How to create powerful sales letters, advertisements, flyers, brochures, web pages and newsletters that persuade hundreds, or even thousands, of additional customers and clients to buy from you!) by Carol A E Bentley (Rated 5-star on Amazon.co.uk) This book is available at a special offer at http://www.CarolBentley.com/offer.

Carol is one of the highest paid direct response copywriters available. If you would like to talk to Carol’s office about having her work on your current or next sales project you can use the contact form on her website http://www.CarolBentley.com/contact.asp.

Here in America, we hear a great deal of talk in the Christian world about the Ten Commandments. True, there are statues in our Supreme Court of Moses carrying the sacred tablets and the Ten Commandments can be found in the halls of many of our oldest universities and courts of justice. Christian parents can often be heard commenting about how bad things have gotten in the USA “ever since they took the Ten Commandments out of the schools.”

THE TORAH: PRAISE THE LAW!

“Torah” is a Hebrew word that means teaching, instruction or law. The Torah is also known as the Law of Moses as well as the Five Books of Moses (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy), also referred to as the Pentateuch (Greek for “five containers,” which refers to the scroll cases in which books were being kept). The Torah is the central and most important document of Judaism revered by Jews for centuries. The Torah is written in Hebrew, the oldest Jewish language. Torah primarily refers to the first section of the Tanakh- an acronym, based on the letters T (for “Torah”), N (for “Neviim,” the Prophets), and K (for “Ketuvim,” the Sacred Writings). It is the collection of the teachings from God to human beings in written form - which is sometimes used to refer to Judaism’s written law and oral Law, encompassing the entire spectrum of authoritative Jewish religious teachings throughout history, including the Mishnah, the Talmud, the Midrash, and more.

For Jews, the Torah was traditionally accepted as the literal Word of God as given to Moses. For many, it is the primary guide to the relationship between God and man, and the whole meaning and purpose of that relationship, a living document that unfolds over the generations.

To the Hebrews, it explains what God requires of them regarding the manner in which they live their lives and the things they should do, can do, and should not do. It spells out the manner in which God was to be approached and how the Hebrews were to keep the Law. The acid test for the chosen people of God was and is their conformity to these Laws.

IS “GOOD” GOOD ENOUGH?

In case one wonders what it is God requires in the Torah, there are HUNDREDS of Laws and statutory requirements revealed there. There are civil laws for functioning as a community, ceremonial laws regarding the sacrificial system and atonement for sin, and there are the moral laws, the Ten Commandments, that are intended to help one live righteously before God.

With so many laws, one cannot help but wonder if ANYONE can actually keep even PART of them. After all, with our propensity toward evil-doing, surely there are NONE among us who could now, or ever, have towed the line.

Let’s say I was “good enough” to obey 100 of 300 statutes of the Law. I didn’t speed or spit on the sidewalk, for example. Is my keeping of that small portion of the Law enough to merit the favor of my Holy Creator? How would I ever know? Do we then humanize God and hope that He will grade us on some sort of Celestial Curve and assume that He merely requires us to do the best we can?

GUARANTEE: No one will gain God’s favor by their own ability to keep the Law because we humans are unable to keep it. 1 John 3:4 says “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.” No, self-righteousness simply won’t cut it with God. Isaiah says “our righteousness is filthy rags.” (Isaiah 64:6)

Leviticus 19:2 declares, “Be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.” Are YOU holy? God is. He has no unrighteousness in him but the Scripture says, “There is no one righteous, not even one, (Romans 3:10).” According to my Hebrew Lexicon, the Hebrew word for “unrighteousness” is pronounced “eh’-vel” and is defined as “unrighteousness, violent deeds of injustice, injustice of speech or injustice generally. It refers to evil actions, speech, or even unspoken thoughts.

Ouch.

A drop of unrighteousness will forever stain that which is righteous. Holiness is moral perfection. It is being perfect and completely righteous. To sin even once is to NEVER regain perfection again. The Hebrew word “holy” (qodesh) means “separateness.” We use the word “sanctified.” We are to “come out from among them and be separate” from the fallen world, holy vessels of the Lord. We are required by God, according to the Torah, to be holy as God is holy.

How’s that coming, by the way?

Isaiah wrote that God is “Holy, Holy, Holy is the LORD of Hosts,” (Isaiah 6:3). I learned in Bible College that, any time God uses a word or phrase more than once, He’s using a phrase of exclamation, trying to call attention to its supreme importance. God requires us to be holy. Impossible? NOT if we keep the Law perfectly.

You go first.

It’s easy. All you have to do is never sin. Just keep that Law perfectly at every point without fault and you will merit a true holiness before God.

Go ahead.

Try not to think of a long, red, unlit candle. You can’t do it? Me neither.

Now, try not to sin. Even if that were possible, one would get prideful about their ability to be perfect.

That’s sin, too.

How can anyone keep the Ten Commandments perfectly? If we covet our neighbor’s goods - find ourselves wishing we had a dress or a truck like theirs, then we have broken the whole Law. James 2:10 states, “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.” Remember, God requires us to be perfectly holy just like Him for “without holiness no one will see the Lord,” (Hebrews 12:14).

Now what??

PROBLEM SOLVED!

Since the sin of Adam, we have all been sinful, imperfect people. That’s why God gave us the Torah as a guide to be more holy. Since God requires perfect holiness, he initiated the sacrificial system so that we COULD be holy. When the Law is broken, we are to offer a blood sacrifice for our sins. After all, there was no other way to eradicate the effect of sin except by blood. “. . .Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins,” (Hebrews 9:22). This shedding of blood indicated that the penalty for sin had been paid; a life had been sacrificed for the lives of all who have sinned. The sacrifice was an example of how God’s wrath was either poured out onto either you and me OR or upon the sacrifice. Jesus Christ’s willing submission to the massacre on the cross paid the price for our sins and affected the means of reconciliation. “Because one person disobeyed God, many people became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many people will be made right in God’s sight,” (Romans 5:19).

Our sins will never be forgiven unless blood is shed in our behalf. The temple in Jerusalem is now a Muslim temple. Because nowhere in the Hebrew Scriptures does God reveal that His sacrificial system has ceased operations, it’s apparent that God still requires a Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). Though there may be modern Rabbis that say something contrary to this, God does not say that. God’s people can not, will not be forgiven without the shedding of the blood of the lamb, and without the transference of the sins of the people to the goat, the sins of the people are not forgiven.

What now? After all, we are inherently selfish and evil and cannot keep the Law. Gossip, jealousy, lust, rage, hatred, theft…a single evil thought against our neighbor breaks the whole Law. If we are all being honest with ourselves (trust me, God already knows us in our most secret depths of our souls), we ALL break the Law constantly. I have never kept the Law and neither have you. I am certainly not holy as God is holy. Therefore, I’ve decided I will drag a lamb into church on Sunday and slaughter it in front of God and everybody. Right?

WRONG!

The Torah says (Deuteronomy 6:5), “And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.” Why don’t any of us actually do this? Because we sin! This verse describes the sum or the Law, that we are to love God in this way. If we do not, then God says, just a few verses later (Deut 6:13-15), “You shall fear the LORD your God and serve Him, and shall take oaths in His name. 14 You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are all around you 15 (for the LORD your God is a jealous God among you), lest the anger of the LORD your God be aroused against you and destroy you from the face of the earth.”

Wow! God says that those who are imperfect will be “destroyed.” This is a horrible dilemma for us all. We have no more blood sacrifices in the temple, and have not had one for centuries. God has never told us we could cease sacrificing animals for our sins. So, what’s a sinner to do?

Stay with me…

The Galatians had the same problem we have today. They were a congregation of Jews who decided to follow Jesus as Messiah over 1900 years ago. They were not holy, and they were trying to keep the law as best they could to “become” holy and merit eternal life. Problem? They had broken the Law from day one! Face it, no one ever has to teach a baby to steal or be selfish.

These Galatians received a letter from the Apostle Paul who showed them how they could be in a right relationship with God through the atoning blood of God’s perfect Lamb, His only begotten Son Jesus Christ. He wrote: (Galatians 2:20) “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”

Jesus had died as the only possible sacrifice that humanity would ever need. His blood sacrifice on the cross as the Lamb of God has done away with the issue of sin. Through Christ, we can all be free from sin for it has all been washed away. “Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow,” (Isaiah 1:18). God has since chosen to forget our sins, “casting them into the Sea of Forgetfulness, “as far as east is from West.” Galatians 3:29 states, “If you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to promise.” The promise? Yes, the promise of redemption, abundant life, eternal life with God is all available in Jesus. He has redemption to give all who call upon Him by faith.

ARE YOU HOLY? YOU BET HIS LIFE YOU ARE!

Yes, Jesus has taken away our sins, and His perfect holiness now belongs to US! Feeling holy yet? You were crucified with Him and reborn with Him. His righteousness has, therefore, become YOUR righteousness as well, in God’s eyes AND in Satan’s. Far too many people pray very sincere, pious-sounding prayers where they say, “Lord, I am not worthy.” To these I say, “Friends, the cross was good enough for YOU, too! There are NO V.I.P. Sinners. Jesus was all you ever needed. Receive that truth by faith!”

Jesus lived a perfect life without sin. He willingly gave up His life to free people from the Law which showed us what sin is. As Paul said, “I would not have known sin is if the law did not show me.” The Law is a stern taskmaster showing no mercy and forces those who see themselves as “good” to point an accusing finger at others who they perceive to be “bad,” creating an ungodly caste system even within the Church.

God makes use of the Law to kill but not to bring life. He makes use of the Law to strike dead all of a man’s hopes of happiness by the deeds of it. But it is the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus Christ, that He uses to encourage, comfort and, yes, RESURRECT us. The Law never empowered us for service; it merely showed us our wickedness. It never gives us the strength to perform what it requires of us. We cannot merit eternal life by keeping the Law and doing its works. It is only by faith in Jesus Christ which we can gain eternal life. Paul wrote: “you have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead in order that we may bear fruit for God. While we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. But now we are discharged from the law, dead to that which held us captive, so that we serve not under the old written code but in the new life of the Spirit,” (Romans 7:4-6).

Galatians 3:13, he wrote, “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangs on a tree:” We cannot fulfill the Law for ourselves because we are wicked. Jesus Christ has done it FOR us. He is, therefore, the end - the fulfillment - of the Law. He is our Deliverer, delivering us from our inability to keep the Law. Jesus is the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53 who suffers and dies as the only needed blood sacrifice required by God for sin. Verse 5 says, “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed.” Jesus saves us through His death. Through His resurrection, we can have Eternal Life. Psalm 16:10 says, “thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.” God would not let His servant suffer corruption so He raised Him up from the tomb.

Do you believe this stuff? It’s called “grace” (Ephesians2:8-9), defined by many as the “unmerited favor of God. ” I prefer the definition, “the power to do what God calls us to do.” You must simply believe it just as you believed for your salvation, forgiveness…everything. After all, Habakkuk 2:4 says, “…the just shall live by his faith.”

Live free of the bondage of Religious rule-keeping that only leads to acts of self-righteousness. Live a life that’s free from the constant hoop-jumping like some sort of trained circus animal, always looking over your should in hopes that the Father noticed that last good deed for the day. The word “religion’ is defined as a “return to bondage.” Jesus came to set us FREE! The world has us all programmed and functioning in a Performance Mode from cradle to grave. That’s NOT how one’s relationship with God was ever intended to be.

EVERYTHING you’ve ever done, or ever WILL do, has been forgiven. Think about it: Jesus took ALL our sins upon Himself 2000 years ago and nailed them to a cross. How many sins had you committed at that time? None. How about 1500 years later? None. How about 120 years ago? For most of us, none. So, why would those sins from five years or five minutes ago, or five years from TODAY be any different? He gives you His righteousness so that you may be perfectly holy in God’s eyes.

Lest anyone think this gives us a license to sin, fact is, we don’t NEED one - we’re going to sin ANY WAY. Will there be consequences if we do? Absolutely. Galatians 6:7 warns us: “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” Though this is absolutely true, that we will reap as we sow - so, sow carefully - there is NOTHING that will ever separate us from the love of God (Romans 8:38-39).

Fall in love with Jesus for His grace alone! There is a overwhelming, grateful kind of love that causes people to want to live their lives on His behalf, because they believe in His cause and because they cannot wait to tell others what they’ve received from Him. Freedom from sin! Freedom from bondage of legalism! These are things worth shouting about - things all of humanity is actually dying to hear.

Do YOU have that kind of love for Jesus? Is it motivating you to do great things for this King?

Or are you still serving a institution rather than the Incarnation of God?

Religion offers no life.

Relationship with Jesus DOES for He is Life itself.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Michael’s mission is to bring Discipleship and Encouragement to the Body of Christ. Since 1999, he has broadcast over 300 hundred inspirational articles and a dozen booklets on subjects that will interest the thinking Christian, all designed to accelerate the process of spiritual development in God’s people.

He is the founder of t.e.a.m. ministries (team1min@aol.com). An Author, Pastoral Counselor and Teacher, his eMail broadcasts, known as “Your Town for Jesus” are reaching millions around the globe WEEKLY. Write team1min@aol.com if you’d like to SUBSCRIBE.

A licensed/ordained minister, a Certified Workplace Chaplain, and a Professional Member of NIBIC, he has ministered in Methodist, Pentecostal, Charismatic, Baptist, Disciples of Christ, College and Cowboy churches. He is also a Speaker on the Christian Speaker Network and may be available to speak to your church or Christian group.

In today’s competitive marketplace, one of the keys to successful business development is to build, manage and expand profitable long-term relationships with both key customers and potential new clients.

For this reason, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) has become one of the hot topics in the business world in the last few years.

It’s not only important to implement CRM but the key challenge is to do it right.

When done in a proper manner, it not only makes companies more responsive and targeted in the way they interact with customers, but also makes them educated and smarter about extending product and service offerings.

The right CRM solution isn’t just designed for the company which acquires it but is also meant to provide the best industry experience to that company’s clientele. If they find satisfaction in dealing with an organization that remembers them, interacts with them and memorizes and keeps all of it’s commitments to them, they will have a satisfying customer experience, and they will be back with more business.

The following six points can help you to select the right CRM solution for you -

1. Focus - Find out what your existing, profitable customers want, so that their needs can be met. This helps in finding the business’s focus - whether in customer service, marketing campaign management, sales order management, call center sales, interactive voice response (IVR) systems or field force automation.

2. Deployment - The appropriate CRM solution depends upon how it will be deployed in the company - whether it will be set-up as a traditional solution, an on-premise installation, a hosted service, or a hybrid solution that blends the two. Citing an example, a large industry that already has an on-premise CRM solution may decide that a hosted solution is the perfect way to rapidly extend access to CRM capabilities to a remote division. Or, a small but fast-growing organisation may choose a hosted CRM solution that allows it to gain access to market-leading CRM features and functionality without having to invest up front in infrastructure.

3. Functionality - For organisations that view CRM as a key business strategy, embedded real-time and historical interactive analytics are vital. A CRM solution is incomplete when it cannot provide critical insight regarding historical trends to identify root causes of consumer issues. Without analytics, an organisation can be hindered in its ability to make the right decisions.

4. Vendor - It is also important to select a vendor that has deep experience and is focused on helping customers achieve desired business outcomes.

5. Hosting Infrastructure - For hosted CRM solutions in particular, it is important to evaluate the hosting infrastructure that encompasses the people, processes, and technology responsible for assuring application performance and reliability:

6. Re-evaluate - It should be remembered that CRM is a process itself. One needs to evaluate the strategy and processes on an ongoing basis to meet the changing needs of the company.

Making the decision to implement CRM is not easy, but the payoff can be significant. By focusing on underlying business processes and cautiously assessing the choices available regarding deployment options, functionality, vendor experience and hosting infrastructure, each organisation can drive successful business outcomes with CRM.

At some stage of our spiritual development, we’ve got to realize that the laws of life are often paradoxical. With such and understanding it is much easier to handle all seeming failures, which are mainly caused by our addiction to linear thinking.

One of the greatest paradoxes of life is that people don’t become happy by pursuing happiness.

Of course, some people do not pursue happiness at all - they lost their illusions long time ago, and their main goal is to get by, or, perhaps, to gain a small advantage over others. They are doing what is natural for a natural person, so there is no reason to condemn them. But how about those idealists who believe that life is governed by spiritual principles, the ones that people can know and apply for their benefit? Is it worthwhile for them to strive and to pray, asking God to make them happy?

My personal experience, and experience of some people I know proves that the answer to this question is NO. Every time someone set his (her) mind to pursue happiness, he (she) is doomed for a disappointment.

Have you ever heard phrases like that: “Let someone come to my life and make me happy”, or “I will be truly happy when I’ll get this thing” ? The basic problem of the most seekers of happiness is that they look for it outside of themselves, but happiness just doesn’t belong to the world of things, or even human relationships. Truly, when we get what we want, or meet “the right” person, we experience fulfillment - but only for a short time. Unhappiness is a state of mind, and unless we deal with it at its root, it will eventually poison our prosperity and even our “ideal” relationships.

There is also another category of people, who believe that happiness comes from an inside, from our intimate relationships with God, and they do their best to cultivate those relationships through prayer, meditation and religious observances. They are closer to the truth, but still don’t comprehend it, and still don’t happy. Why? Because when people say “I need nothing but God to make me happy”, they continue to remain self-centered and blind to what He wants to do in their life.

I guess, most of us have been acquainted with unhappy religious zealots, and wondered why God’s promise of an abundant life does not work for them.

So, what is the solution?

I am deeply convinced that we become happy not because we seek to be happy, but when we strive to be fruitful, when we do our best to find out and to fulfill our life’s mission. Happiness is a by-product of fruitfulness.

Jesus knew that He came from God, and was going back to God. He was fully aware of the fact that God sent Him with a specific mission. Do we know that all these truths apply to us as well?

“I choose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit” (John 15:16).

This call is not something forced upon us from an outside by an arbitrary God. Our call consists of all that is the most natural and most essential for us. We cannot separate ourselves from our appointment without violating of ourselves. The cost of disobedience to our life’s mission is a life of an inner division and turmoil.

“I am the wine, and you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in Him, bears much fruit… If anyone does not abide in me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered, and they gather them and throw them into the fire” (John 15:5-6).

Jesus spoke of an inner fire of guilt, stress, dissatisfaction and tension that burns within minds of those who don’t come to the consciousness of their unity with God, and, therefore, remain unfruitful. However, to those who are obedient to their call, He gave a wonderful promise:

“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done to you” (John 15:7).

All things are added to those who seek the Kingdom of God above all else. All desires will be granted to those who put God’s desires first in their life. But how can we be sure of that? There is only one way, and it is our personal experience.

It does not matter whether you agree or disagree with the central thought of this article. What really important is whether you are willing to try and prove it for yourself. All the intellectual reasoning in the world cannot substitute one practical application of an idea.

Adequate scripture supports “Imprisoning” of those choosing to “go around” the laws of mankind (Gen. 40:3; 42:7; Lev. 24:12; Num. 15:34; I Kings 22:27; Judges 16:21- 25; Luke 3:30; Acts 12:4-10). In other words, if one selects to live in a society - then there are rules, regulations, laws, statues, ordinances, mandates, codes, canons, principles, and authority that must be adhered to. Now - anyone who has all of his/her mental faculties normally learns this early in life. However, since each of us has been created with a God-given free will, we can choose if we want to abide by the rules, or go against them.

In athletic contests (baseball, football, basketball, racing, etc.), one must abide by the rules or else they forfeit the contest. In the classroom, if one wills to obtain a “Passing Grade,” there is a certain achievement to obtain. In the world of employment, if one does not produce, then another is waiting in line for the opportunity to give the job a try.

Throughout the years “Liberals,” such as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and others have constantly been brain washing our legislatures into granting more rights for the criminal and less for the victims. This has also been carried into our Penitentiary Systems. Today many of the conservatives across our land are very upset with the way the criminals who have been removed from society have demanded various rights from within the prison walls - and have received such (at tax payers expense). We no longer see “Chain Gangs” along the roads, as they are busy “Recreating” inside the prisons, along with their colored TV’s, and air-conditioning.

May we understand that the individual who has committed violent crimes against fellow human beings (murder, kidnapping, rape, child molestation, armed robbery, brutality, . . .) have committed crimes that call for their being removed from society. The Bible teaches that a person who commits a “Capital Crime” (rape, murder, . . .) should be executed quickly (Gen. 9:5,6; Eccl. 8:11). However, due to the Liberals taking over our Judicial System “Capital Punishment” has been shelved. However, in some states - “Capital Punishment” is being restored. Thus, today we find inmates making demands upon prison administrators. They want:

a) Better food b) Higher pay c) Lower prices on commissary items d) Special clothing for their religious ceremonies e) To fire and hire new wardens f) More ethnic group guards g) More recreational facilities h) Visits from females for sexual pleasure

If I was going to revamp the “Maximum Security System” today, it would probably look like the following:

A. Grounds and Buildings

(1) The land would be in a very remote area, with plenty of acres to grow on and to protect the public. Inmates would arrive blindfolded so they would not even know which way to escape if they did.

(2) The total prison area would have ten-foot high fences which would be high voltage charged. There would be two rows of these fences. It would also have razor sharp wire on top and in between these, to stop an escape if one was able to climb over it.

(3) Under ground beneath the fences would be electronic movement detectors, so if an inmate was seeking to tunnel out an alarm would sound. Also - underneath the fences would be quarter-inch steel with rustproof coating, protruding at least ten feet deep into the earth.

(4) Outside of the fences surrounding the prison would be guards stationed in small bullet-proof watchtowers. They would be equipped with at least two machine guns and several thousand rounds of live ammunition. The guards would have access to radio communications to other prison personnel, high powered lights, escape alarms, video monitors, etc.

(5) Housing for the inmates would be: a) built by the inmates out of rough lumber, along with “Privies,” since there would not be plumbing; b) a hand-powered water pump would be provided for drawing water with which to cook and bathe (the inmates would do their own cooking and laundry under guard supervision); c) there would be limited lighting, and no receptacles to operate radios, TV’s, or any appliances (This is a prison and the inmates are to be punished for committing crimes. They have given up their rights when they broke the laws.); and d) there would not be any air-conditioning, except what breezes are blowing. The heating system would be provided by the inmates, via either burning of coal or wood. If they select to burn down their housing - it will probably take a lengthy period of time to obtain more rough lumber for them to build, and at their expense.

B. General Rules

(1) Absolutely no talking would be permitted unless authorized by prison personnel.

(2) No females would be on the prison staff (anywhere).

(3) No photos of females would be permitted.

(4) Anyone caught engaging in homosexual activity would have surgery performed on them to eliminate future activities. (In fact, if for some strange reason a sexual offender was not executed, he probably would be made a eunuch upon arrival at the prison.)

(5) Mail would be sent & distributed only once a week. (All of it would be censored.)

(6) One five-minute phone call “in” would be permitted per month at requested times, and no phone calls “out” would be permitted. Calls would be monitored and recorded for safety’s sake. (Remember this is a prison -rights have been forsaken.)

(7) One visit would be permitted per month. (This would be through glass, no touching, and words spoken would be monitored and recorded. No prison breaks are going to be in the making.)

(8) Inmates would be constantly shifted around from one area to another and if need be, he could be transferred to another Maximum Security Prison. (This would eliminate the formation of “Prison Power Bosses.”)

(9) No inmate would be allowed any personal belongings.

(10) Cell searches would be very common and unannounced. (This would disclose any unauthorized smuggled in articles or drugs.)

(11) Rebellious inmates would be subjected to isolated cells with minimal nourishment, until he promised he would stay “in line.” If he is in “Solitary Confinement” two times a year, he would be told that his next rebellious act would lead to his execution, and it would be carried out.

(12) Any inmate who insights a riot will be executed.

(13) Sunday would be designated as a day of worship and rest. All religious services would be supervised by the Prison Chaplain.

C. Work

(1) Every inmate would be required to work a minimum of 12 hours a day, (thus no need for “Recreation Periods”).

(2) Each inmate would be required everyday to produce a volume of work to pay for his room and board and for at least an hour’s pay for a guard at the prison as well as an hour’s pay of an “outside” law enforcement officer. Thus, the prisons would cease to cost the tax payer.

(3) Prison clothes would be assigned and each inmate would be responsible for them. If they are abusive to them, then they would go without.

D. Guards

All guards would:

a) undergo strict psychological examination prior to employment and periodically thereafter;

b) have in-depth background checks;

c) be anti-homosexuals;

d) have unannounced drink/drug checks performed on them;

e) understand that if a riot erupts and demands are made by inmates, they would not be met, even if the guards life was threatened;

f) be shifted into different areas of the prison unannounced (This would eliminate guards getting too friendly with inmates.);

g) undercover guards would be “planted” periodically among inmates to eliminate guards providing drugs, etc., to inmates.

h) undergo periodical unannounced searches (This would eliminate the carrying in of unauthorized materials to the inmates.)

i) be assured that undercover government agents would be periodically secretly planted within the inmate population, even without the prison administration’s awareness (This would be for the purpose of making certain that all is operating properly.)

Conclusion

I would hope and pray that everyone who reads this article would conclude as I have - “AMERICA NEEDS A RETURNING TO SOME BASICS.” It is a miracle to me that we have any law enforcement officers at all. When a person puts his/her life on the line to guard the American citizens and then they have liberal courts to smack the wrist of the criminals for punishment. If an officer shoots and kills a person committing a crime, they are harassed by an investigating board, and made to feel like they have done something wrong in carrying out their responsibility (protecting the citizens from the outlaws). May we be praying for guidance from our Creator as to what steps to take to get America back “In Line.”

Max jumped on my chest as soon as the first rays of sunlight streamed through the blinds.

“Are you awake?” he asked, licking his paw with infinite fastidiousness.

“I am now,” I said. “Hey, did you just say something?”

“No, I just thought something.”

“You mean we’re in telepathic contact?” I asked, not sure whether I was still asleep.

“Why do you think we were so popular with the Egyptian priests,” he asked smugly.

“Why didn’t you talk before,” I asked.

“Believe me,” he said, “It wasn’t easy, but I didn’t think you were ready before.”

“What makes you think I’m ready now?”

He languidly ripped his claws into the bed covers and ripped off some cotton threads before stretching his elegant white limbs. Then he eyed me thoughtfully with his big golden eyes.

“You haven’t fed me any cat food in the past few days,” he said. “In fact, I’m not sure where you got the idea that a cat can thrive on oatmeal.”

“Well, you know I can’t even pay the rent. Who knows what’s going to happen to us?”

“That’s why I thought it time you got wise about the Diamond Sutra.”

“Is that some kind of Eastern scripture?”

“No, I’m talking about the mystical sutra, the emerald green subtle energy field that’s shaped like a diamond and sits in your heart.”

“Hunh?”

“Quiet!” said Max, clubbing my nose with his padded pink paw, claws sheathed.

“I’m listening,” I said.

“The diamond sutra has four edges, each edge signifying a divine attribute. The first edge is called Abundance, the second Health, the third Success, and the fourth, Relationship. All cats worth their weight in whiskers have these circuits running in harmony, and so, too, should any half-awake human being. All you have to do is to replace wanting with having. Get the feeling-tones right and your world will be right.”

He eyed me sharply, sizing me up, wondering, no doubt, if I could meet even his most compromised standards. “Now I’ve noticed that you appear to need to activate each of these energetic systems into your life. You’ve disrupted the circuit with your stinking-thinking.”

“Guilty,” I said, smiling sheepishly.

He gave me the look; then after clipping some misaligned hair on his tail with his teeth, he resumed his discourse.

“Flowing from one point to the next is the white light of infinite connectivity, the stream of life and manifestation, the river of consciousness itself.

“The only thing stopping this flow is YOU! In particular, all these absurd thoughts of scarcity that keeping running through your head. Look, if you think of scarcity, that’s what you’re going to get. You draw it to you with the same felicity with which a dumb dog attracts fleas by rolling in the grass.

“Abundance is your natural birthright. If you’re not experiencing it, then you’ve got a belief system that says you can’t get it or you don’t deserve it.

Similarly, the cells of your body respond to your thoughts, and if they’re not happy cells, you’re thinking distressing thoughts and eating garbage. Hence, poor health. ”

“Come again,” I said.

Once again, he gave me the look, then resumed his exposition, deciding to ignore the interruption.

“Success, of course, is doing things your way…basically doing what you want, the way you want, when you want. Look at me. Pay attention. Learn something. I live in a world of possibility. I entertain empowering beliefs. I have passion and motivation for positive change.”

“And what about relationships?” I asked.

“Tickle my ears,” he said.

I did, and he purred.

About the Author

Saleem Rana got his masters in psychotherapy from California Lutheran University. His articles on the internet have inspired over ten thousand people from around the world. Discover how to create a remarkable life. Free information.
http://theempoweredsoul.com/enter.html

Copyright 2005 Saleem Rana. Please feel free to pass this
article on to your friends, or use it in your ezine or
newsletter. It’s a shareware article.

There is no question the fact that the success of a business ultimately is thanks to the dedicated work of the workforce, yet one misfortune can quickly wipe out all your plans & bring down the financial profits to dust. In order to stay away from such an occurrence, you ought to insure your organisation, whether it’s a small business or a giant corporation. Nevertheless, please consider that SMEs are significantly more probable to require business insurance protection in today’s harsh world. This is for the most part because smaller company owners will have placed their complete lives & pay cheque into the company. Buy business insurance from an authorised and regulated company online today.

A handful of the things typically covered by nearly every business insurance covers include: natural tragedies, tornadoes, machine or equipment fault that shuts down the organisation, loss of earnings due to personnel negligence and lawsuits brought against the firm.

There are stacks of insurance businesses, which provide policy covers that include both protection for all main property and liability risks in one package. You can also get hold of a separate policy covers. Such a policy is referred to as a business owners’ policy (BOP). Large sized companies may well procure a commercial policy.

BOPs integrate building insurance for buildings & tools belonging to the business. If there is any loss of income as a result of disruption of functions and commerce because of tragedies like hurricanes, it can be insured under the Business Interruption Insurance.

There are a mixture of policies, which protects the firm’s legal duty for the injury it might well cause to others. It is the result your firm’s failure to do the business operations. It can as well be the actual injury or building damage caused owing to damaged goods, faulty fittings and blunders in services provided.

Yet, BOPs do not cover professional liability, auto cover, workers’ compensation or health and disability cover. Separate insurance policies are vital for professional services, vehicles and workers. More often than not, floods, earthquakes and terrorist attacks are not protected in the business cover. Always make sure before you purchase!

Weve had close to 2 metres snow in the last seven days. It has been so heavy that ski lifts have been closed, the railroad train was stopped at the train station in Chamonix and not heading onwards to Le Tour. Roads have been blocked past our Chamonix chalet and avalanche warnings published.

This is in direct contrast to a couple of seasons ago, when there was the unusually mild Jan weather conditions, grass appearing on pistes, and warnings that climate change would mean the conclusion of snowboarding in the Alps. The OECDs study from 2005 warned that climate change could make skiing far too costly for many snowboarders, with a third of ski resorts closing and the disappearance of glaciers. Glaciologists assert that it is unimaginable to assign these annual deviations in the weather to the off shoots of global warming.

So we might be experiencing the deepest recession in almost 25 years, and the Sterling has headed to new lows against the Euro, but the snowboarding is superior, and the recent bookings highlight that boarders are enthusiastic to revel in the exceptional snow conditions. This winter is certainly the best in six winter seasons, and a lot of skiers are stating its the best skiing conditions in at least ten winters.

Nevertheless remember that big dumps like these mean big risks of avalanche.