October 29, 2007 by John Rasmussen.

The History of "Halloween". 

Dear John,
As our children get ready to go "Trick-or-Treating" let us
learn a little about the day "Halloween." Therefore John,
we will depart from our usual message to take a look at a
pagan holiday, that changed because of Christianity, and
thus became a Holy Day that is still observed in some
Denominations still today!

Therefore we will look at a ancient pagan ritual, that is still
practiced today. It's original name was "Samhain," however
we know it as "Halloween."

"Samhain" began at sundown on October 31st and extended
into the following day. According to the Celtic pagan religion,
known as Druidism, the spirits of those who had died roamed
the earth on "Samhain" evening. This night was much feared by
the Celtic people, and they sought to ward off the spirits with
offerings of food and drink. 

The dark side of this event was the fact that the Celts built
bonfires, at so called sacred sights, and sometimes preformed
rituals involving HUMAN and/or Animal Sacrifices, to honor Druid
gods. Samhain was abandoned only when the people converted
to Christianity during the very early middle ages.

Now during that period of time the Church often incorporated
modified versions of ancient pagan rituals in order to win
converts. For example, Pope Gregory IV successfully replaced
"Samhain" with All Saints Day, which fell on November 1, thus
the evening of October 31 became known as All Hallows' Even,
which was later shortened to Halloween. All Souls Day, as it is
known as today, is a Holy Day in the Roman Catholic, and
Anglican Churches, honoring those who have passed away.

Some aspects of this ancient pagan tradition thought to be
incompatible with Christianity, were linked with folk beliefs
about evil spirits. In British folklore, small magical fairies
became associated with Halloween mischief. The jack-o-lantern,
originally carved from a turnip, originated in medieval Scotland.
A small candle would be put into the turnip, that had a scary face
carved on it. This was to be lit at night and displayed to scare off
evil spirits which they feared roamed about that night.

Between the 15th & 17th Centuries, Europe was seized by a
hysterical fear of witches, who were thought to ride flying brooms
and to assume the form of black cats. Thus the images of witches
and black cats soon joined other European superstitions as
symbols of Halloween.

In the 19th & early 20th Centuries, young people often
observed Halloween by perpetrating minor acts of vandalism,
such as overturning sheds or breaking windows. Beginning in
the 1930's, Halloween mischief gradually transformed into the
modern ritual o  trick-or-treating, though some still choose t
perform acts of vandalism on Halloween still today. 

A final note, John, is the fact that Halloween is the high
holy day of the satanic church. So it still bears a very dark side
indeed, even today! 

References: ( Encarta Reference Library 2006, and the
Encyclopedia Britannica 2006. )

In HIS Love & Service,
Pastor Allen

I hope the above was of some information to you about this time of year. That is why I

really do not participate by decorating for this holiday. I have on occassion gave out

candy and a Gospel Salvation tract. We have a Trunk or Treat at church where people come

to church and pass out candy to kids from the trunk of there cars to kids. Wouldn't it

be great if all the moneys spent on Halloween one day was spent instead on spreading the

gospel. Give to your favorite ministry at this time. Pray about this ministry and our needs

to continue this work. Our websites are hopefully fixed as of this blog post and the viruses

I spoke of the other day have been cleared up. Thank you for your prayers!

Qoute of the Day: Too many people are quick to give us advice, when what we need is help.

God Bless you!

Remember you may contact us with your comments or questions regarding this ministry at

jrlivn4jc247@aol.com

J.R. on Tract for Jesus!

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October 26, 2007 by John Rasmussen.

As of today I have been alerted of our gospel sites livn4jc.com and freegift4life.com has been infected with a Malicous code virus possibly since the 22nd of Oct. Any one accessing these sites can be infected with a virus. It is causing my browser to hang up and not respond on AOL dial up, It also caused a friends computer on High speed to hang up. During this time do not access these two sites. Pray that this will be easily fixed. If you have accessed these two sites recently, do a scan on you computer for spyware/virus etc. We do not deposit cookies or any spyware from our sites, However some one has deposited some code for it to do so. I don’t understand how this is possible since the server has a firewall? Hopefully this will be resolved soon. I am in the process of planning a new site for livn4jc.com anyway. All of our sites are not hosted by the server that these two are. This Blog is hosted by 1&1 hosting and has not had the same virus infected against it, as well as our ministry site of ontractforjesusministries.org or livn4jcstore.com. I hope this has not caused a problem for any of you. I don’t believe accessing my own sites has caused a virus or spyware on my computer, I have a firewall. So hopefully it won’t for you. All I know to do is pray! Hopefully the server people can resolve this issue!

Till the next post! Praying the issues are resolved!

J.R On tract!

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October 25, 2007 by John Rasmussen.

Please RSVP here due to limited seating if you have not already confirmed your attendance in some way!

This is a special luncheon occurring every Thursday as a gift to the Marketplace and Business community (no cost other than your lunch).

Marketplace Leadership Luncheon
www.MLL-HSV.org

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October 22, 2007 by John Rasmussen.

How is being a Christian like being a pumpkin? God Sees us, picks us out of the dirt,cleans us off, takes the yucky material out of us by forgiving us, puts a smile on our faces and places a shining light within us for others to see.

Jesus Said: “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in Heaven”  (Matthew 5:16,  NRSV)

Let God completely control your life and you’ll always be in the right place at the right time.

The more time I spend keeping my eyes on who God is, his perspective, his goals for me, the more joyful I feel, the more peace I have.

Yesterday is a cancelled check, Tommorow is a promissory note, Today is the cash we have- Spend it wisely.

The task ahead of us is never as great as the power behind us.

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. “  Phillipians 4:13

Believing God For Great Things to come! Thanking him for a Wonderful Saturday in Amish Country in Lawrenceburg and Etheridge Tenn. And a Great morning at Church Sunday! Looking forward to a great week! Pray about our ministry and all those who click by our sites. I am praying for you!

Go to the Blogroll for a link to some of our other sites and friends of this ministry. I did not get some of the Graphics and pictures to show up in the last blog post. Technical difficulities beyond the blog programs control and the server.

Have a Great Day and a start to a great week!

God Bless you!

J.R. on Tract!

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October 16, 2007 by John Rasmussen.

I Dare You is available through Joyce Meyer Ministries or wherever books are sold. WE’RE CELEBRATING THE GOOD NEWS: I Dare You is Joyce’s latest book to reach the New York Times Bestseller list! This insightful book can help you live each day to the fullest. Pick up your copy today—or get two and bless a friend. Discover the purpose God has for your life and dare to pursue it with passion!   “Most of us come to a point in life where we think, Surely there must be more than just merely existing. So I’ve written a new book that will help you discover how you can live a life of purpose and passion. I encourage you to get your personal copy today.” —Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyers has inspired and continues to inspire my life! I have not read the above book, however, I’m sure it is good. I have read her “Battlefield of the Mind” and heard many of her sermons and tape/cd series. Her daily devotional books are great as well, I read them everyday and it has helped me in my christian walk with the Lord. You may pick them up from a store or order directly from her site, press the bar above, or her ministry link from this blog.

Hope you will find her a blessing in your life as I have!

Have a great day! Read the previous entries to this blog, it may be of help to you!

God Bless You!

J.R. On Tract Today!

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October 15, 2007 by John Rasmussen.

Stroke is a medical emergency. Every Second counts, because time lost is brain lost! Know these stroke warning signs and teach them to others.

  - Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body.

  - Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding.

  - Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes.

  - Sudden trouble walking, dizziness,loss of balance or coordination.

  - Sudden, severe headache with no known cause.

If you or someone with you has one or more of these signs, don’t delay! Immediately call 9-1-1 or the ambulance medical services [EMS] number so an ambulance- ideally with advanced life support - can be sent for you. Also, Check the time so you’ll know when the first symptoms appeared. It very important to take immediate action. If given within three hours of the start of symptoms, a clot busting drug can reduce long-term disability for the most common type of stroke.

from a card by the American Heart Association- 1-800-AHA-USA1 (1-800-242-8721)

Or online at www.americanheart.org

Hope the above is of help and a reminder of the needed steps to take in a stroke emergency.

Have a Blessed Day in the Lord! and tell others about this blog!

God Bless you!!

J.R. on Tract for Jesus!

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October 11, 2007 by John Rasmussen.

==========================

1. Faith is the ability to not panic.

2. If you worry, you didn’t pray. If you prayed, don’t worry.

3. As a child of God, prayer is kinda like calling home every
   day.

4. Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of
    shape.

5. When we get tangled up in our problems, be still. God wants
     us to be still so He can untangle the knot.

6. Do the math.  Count your blessings.

7. God wants spiritual fruit, not religious nuts.

8. Dear God: I have a problem. It’s me.

9. Silence is often misinterpreted, but never misquoted.

10. Laugh every day - it’s like inner jogging.

11. The most important things in your home are the people.

12. Growing old is inevitable, growing up is optional.
      (Preach it!)

13. There is no key to happiness. The door is always open.
       Come on in.

14. A grudge is a heavy thing to carry.

15. He who dies with the most toys is still dead.

16. We do not remember days but moments. Life moves too fast so
      enjoy your precious moments.

17. Nothing is real to you until you experience it; otherwise
      it’s just hearsay.

18. It’s all right to sit on your pity pot every now and again.
      Just be sure to flush when you are done.

19. Surviving and living your life successfully requires
       courage. The goals and dreams you’re seeking require courage
       and risk-taking. Learn from the turtle, it only makes progress
       when it sticks out its neck.

20. Be more concerned with your character than your reputation.
       Your character is what you really are, while your reputation
       is merely what others think you are.  No matter the storm,
       when you are with God, there’s always a rainbow waiting.
       Leave gentle fingerprints on the soul of another for the
       angels to read. I don’t want to get to the end of my life
       and find that I lived just the length of it. I want to have
       lived the width of it as well.

Brought to my email inbox by www.mountainwings.com   You may subscribe to there email list

Have Great Day in the Lord! I have changed the format/theme of this Blog for a time to

have a wider Graphic/photo area. Hope you enjoyed the  above. Tell others about this blog!

Check out our other sites listed on the blogroll to the top right of this page.

www.livn4jcstore.com  our online t-shirt shop will be up and running next week for your orders, our webdesigner is working on the shipping part of the shopping cart. Click by and order!

J.R. On Tract for the Lord today and always!

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October 9, 2007 by John Rasmussen.

QUICK LINKS - Home | Schedule | RSVP | Add | Remove | Feedback | Mission     Marketplace Leadership Luncheon (MLL) - Empowering the Business Community

I hope you can be at the above Marketplace Meeting this Thursday in the Huntsville AL. area.

Bring a friend! RSVP at the above links.

Qoute of the Day: No man or woman becomes experienced all at once- except when falling in love.

Have a Blessed rest of the week! your comments or questions are welcome to this Blog.

J. R . On tract this week!

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October 4, 2007 by John Rasmussen.

Thanks for your recent prayers! My test for my leg pressure went well, I won’t know the results till next wednesday. I’m believing the Lord for a good report. I am going to get in more walking as time goes on. Well on a different note, Our t-shirt site has not been taking orders correctly. We are in the process of getting the necessary changes to correct the problem. It was not calculating the shipping and just basically not making a complete order. If you should order from us in the future, and I hope you will. If there is an error please let us know by email at jrlivn4jc247@aol.com . The order system places an order thru Paypal accounts. You can open up an account by going to www.paypal.com they withdraw payment from your checking account or other  forms of payment. If you tried to order from us in the past and did not complete a transaction, try again in the next week and a half. We hopefully will have all the bugs worked out by then. You may still request to be on our email and mailing list for future announcements about our store and other sites. We do not share email or mailing list with any other organization. Thank you for your patience with this matter. We look forward to your order. And on another topic, let me share this with you:

10 Ways to Pray

Pray daily for:

1. A deeper understanding of my value and worth before God.  Eph 1: 3-4  Psalm 139: 1-18

2. Caring Christian Friendships and involvement in Christian community. Heb 10:25 ; Prov 27: 8-10, 17

3. Opportunities to share Christ through my words and actions.  Matt 25:34-40; Matt 28:18-20

4. Strength to stand firm in the face of temptation. 1 Cor 10:13 ;  Matt 6:13

5. Greater understanding of what it means to be loved by God and to love others.  Phil 1:9-11 ; Rom 8: 38-39

6. Integrity and Honesty. Prov 12:22; Psalm 101:2b-3

7. Humility to admit my sins and ask for forgiveness.  Prov 28:13; Acts 3:19

8. Wisdom in my daily life and actions.

9. A sense of God’s Calling and purpose in my life. Eph 4:1-3 ; Eph 1:11-12

10. Graditude in all things.  Col. 3:15-17; Thes 5:18

Taken from a card by Today’s Christian Woman - www.todayschristianwoman.com

Have a great day in the Lord!

Also remember we have fundraisers for church, school, or group/non-profit with candles, t-shirts,tote bags, magnets. Email me of your interest for a sales packet at jrlivn4jc247@aol.com

Jesus Loves you!

J.R. On Tract at the Carabba’s Marketplace Meeting, hope to see you there!

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