Christian Guitar Resources Newsletter December 2nd, 2000 www.christianguitar.ws ------------------- CONTENTS ------------------- 1. LOGO CONTEST 2. WOW 2001 3. TAB DATABASE 4. MONTHLY DEVOTIONAL 5. TOP 50 SITES ------------------------------------------------ 1. LOGO CONTEST We're in need of a good logo for the site. I figured the best way to do that is with a contest. If you send in the logo that I end up using, I'll send you any Christian CD that you want. Here's the details: -The image must be square. Resolution is your choice, but I'd recommend around 600x600. -All entries must be submitted in .jpg format. -Use our color scheme in the logo. The blue color we use is #000099 and the gray is #cccccc. -There is no "deadline", but when I get an entry that I like, it's over. :) I would guess this will happen sometime early next week. -Simply e-mail all entries to me at contest@christianguitar.ws. ------------------------------------------------ 2. WOW 2001 My pick for CD of the month right has to be WOW 2001. The WOW series has been getting better every year, and this year is no exception. At the time of this writing, we have about half of the songs tabbed out already. You can get them here: http://www.christianguitar.ws/wow.htm ------------------------------------------------ 3. TAB DATABASE I'm still working my way through the praise section getting it converted to a database. Right now I'm working on songs that start with the letter "O". I should have the praise songs completed this week, then in a few weeks I'll start the massive task of converting the main Christian archive. When it's done, though, it'll be worth it. We'll have better looking directories, faster loading pages, faster and better searches, and it'll be MUCH easier for me to add new tabs. ------------------------------------------------ 4. MONTHLY DEVOTIONAL By far the coolest new feature to the newsletter - a devotional written by Ben Kraker! Ben writes some awesome stuff, and I'm very pleased to be offering one of his writings in our newsletter. You can find more of his devotionals at: http://www.benkraker.com/ ******************* Romans 8:5-8 "Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God." (NIV) "Why don't I feel God?" "He used to be close.. but now he seems so far away." "Why do I feel like this??" Do you feel like this? I have many times. These times have certainly brought me closer to God in the end... but it was hard! What brought me through was the Holy Spirit reigning in me. When I let go of me and let the Holy Spirit enter my life, things started to get better. Who are you making room for in your life? Are you letting your flesh get the best of you? I've been there so many times and I had no idea what was going on. But this verse nails it head on. If our minds are not set on God, then what are they set on? Either our minds are set on God and full of the Holy Spirit which brings life and peace, or they are set on the flesh and sin fills our mind, and sin brings about death. The sinful mind can is against God. It can not submit to God's law and receive His life. Take a moment and let God search your heart to see if there is any unconfessed sin in your life. Psalm 139:33-34 says it this way... "Search me, O God, and know my heart. Test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." (NIV) When God shows you something in your life that is contrary to His life, by all means, confess it and ask Him to forgive you! If you really mean it, God will forgive you. Then ask Him to give you the strength to flee from that sin. Now take a minute and ask the Holy Spirit to come fill you up and let Him lead your life. That is what he is here for, to occupy our minds and keep us focused on what really counts. We are so thirsty for God these days.. and so often we miss out on the Holy Spirit. Its like drinking a hot glass of water without ice cubes. We pray to God and we try to live for Him, but the Holy Spirit doesn't reign in us because we let sin enter in. Think of that glass of hot water. Picture the glass as being your life. The water is what you put in your life, and with the more sin you put in the hotter it gets - kind of like anger. The ice cubes represent the Holy Spirit. When you put ice cubes into hot water, it cools it down. When you let the Holy Spirit into your life and let Him reign, you'll notice that your problems with the flesh will be easier to resist. Your attitude will change.. if you let the Holy Spirit reign in you, everything will eventually change if you're serious. But please note that just as the ice cubes don't instantly cool water, God has his own timing that is much greater than ours and sometimes it might be rough and you'd like everything to be well immediately... in those times just rely on God and know that His timing is so much better than ours. Maybe some of you are really hurting, and God seems so far away. You do daily devotions and you pray and you go to youth group... All that is good, don't get me wrong. But ask yourself, "Do I really know who God is? Do I really know Him?" If you can't honestly answer yes to those questions, or if you're dealing with some other issues, please send me an e-mail. I would be honored to help you out and offer any advice that I can. I also invite you to dive into your Bible. Seek God and you WILL find Him. You've just got to make the effort to find out who God is before He will reveal Himself to you in awesome ways. Proverbs 8:17-18 "I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me. With me are riches and honor, enduring wealth and prosperity" (NIV) God has all you need. Just seek Him and receive His riches and honor, and His enduring wealth and prosperity. His wealth isn't in money, nor are his riches. His honor and prosperity can not even compare to that of anyone on earth. Seek God and you'll find how awesome and powerful and worthy He really is. Remember that God is good no matter what. No matter how you feel, God is good. For encouragement, look up the following verses in your Bible and highlight them. In times of discouragement, refer back to these. Deuteronomy 31:6 Deuteronomy 31:8 Joshua 1:5 In Christ, Ben Kraker ------------------------------------------------ 5. TOP 50 SITES The newest major feature added to the site this month is the "Top 50 Sites" section. Add your church, youth group, band or tab site to our list, and watch your hits go up. This is also a great place to find other cool Christian sites on the web. It's completely free (as is EVERYTHING on our site), so it's worth checking out. http://www.christianguitar.ws/top_list/ ------------------------------------------------ Have a great month, and feel free to e-mail me if you have any questions or problems with the site. IHL, Mickey mickey@christianguitar.ws http://www.christianguitar.ws/