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| 5 Minutes Bible Study - Widows, Orphans, And PrisonersThu, 08 Jan 2009 04:33:05 -0800 by Faith1316WIDOWS, ORPHANS, AND PRISONERS by Dr. Harold SalaReligion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. James 1:27It was late at night as my taxi made its way from the airport in San Jose, Costa Rica to the small hotel where I was staying. I was hungry, and after I checked in I made my way to a nearby restaurant. As I walked the short distance, I noticed that the streets were filled with youth, say, from age 7 to 13 or 14. They were dirty and poorly dressed, and they seemed to be milling around with nowhere to go. Naturally, I was a bit uncomfortable.Who are all those kids on the street? I asked, and by the look I received, I quickly realized this was not a question I should have asked. They are street kids, was the curt reply.In most major cities of the world there are thousands of children without homes or parents. Some have been abandoned by their parents, some are orphans, and a few have chosen that way of life rather than live with the discipline of an established care facility.Of all those whom God has compassion and care for, there are two groups which seemingly head the list: widows and orphans. And often the Bible mentions them at the same time. What do the two have in common? Plenty. Both have been left in the world by someone who loved them. Both are enjoined by sorrow, and both are victims who often suffer extreme hardships. Long ago the psalmist wrote that God would be a father to the fatherless, and a defender of widows. While it is true that Gods heart is touched by the plight of widows and orphans, it is also clear that He works through people and that He expects us to help provide for those who are in need--something most would prefer not to face.Perhaps nothing more clearly demonstrates the baseness of human nature than the greed of those who take advantage of widows and orphans. Even Job, long ago, described how wealthy men took advantage of widows. He described greedy men, saying, Even the donkeys of the poor and fatherless are taken. Poor widows must surrender the little they have as a pledge to get a loan (Job 24:3, LB). Under the law of Moses, widows and orphans were given protection, at least legally. Deuteronomy 24:17 says, "Justice must be given to migrants and orphans and you must never accept a widow's garment in pledge of her debt.(LB) In the New Testament Paul instructed that widows who were older women and had no family to care for them were to be provided for by the church (1 Timothy 5:1-16). Apparently regular financial help was made available so they could maintain their dignity and live without begging.Today we have government programs, at least we have them in many parts of the world, but have we, as a group of believers, ignored the plight of those who are widows and orphans? To bring home the issue, may I ask what your church does for widows or those who have no parents? Not much, in all probability.Was Pauls concern only that they be kept off the street and not be forced into begging or prostitution as is sometimes the plight of homeless women? Or was Paul also thinking of a support system, of loving care as part of the family of God?Is it strange, really, that the pain of widows and the pain of orphans run parallel to each other? It shouldnt be. Families are the driveshaft of society, and that is well and good. Yet when we exclude those who dont quite fit into the mold of our families, it is a tragedy which not only reflects on our character but besmirches the mandate of the Father whom we serve. Widows and orphans are very much with us today. They are not everyones responsibility. They are mine. They are yours. They are ours.Resource reading: 1Timothy 5. Related: jackbigbox "harold sala" "bible study" widow orphan | |
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| WYA Partnership VideoThu, 08 Jan 2009 04:29:11 -0800 by WorldYouthAssoPartnership Video:Our mission is to inspire and empower youth to pursue a higher standard of living and take an active role in strengthening their communities, as they become leaders of tomorrow. Related: "world youth association" | |
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| Beethoven piano concerto Solomon Cutner & Boult 1944 P1Thu, 08 Jan 2009 04:04:10 -0800 by chad410According to Bryan Crimp's biography, the evidence seems clear cut: Solomon was most definitely exploited by his teacher, Mathilde Verne as a youth. She was a Clara Schumann pupil who had founded a new school and saw Solomon both a the boy to make the school's name and a source of income. Legend has it he was found in an East End Ghetto - however his Father was a master tailor and hardly suffering, An application to a Jewish charity brought about the boy's entering the MV school (Lessons and schooling paid for - it was expensive even in those days). Solomon was playing the Tchaikovsky and Brahms D minor at the age of twelve !! (move over Kissin). Solomon had had enough by the age of fifteen; he began to loathe playing the piano and resented Verne's exploitation to such a degree that he could rarely bring himself to talk about, so painful an experience was it. He then went to Paris to study with a Leschetizky pupil whose name escapes me and someone else (Levy ? sorry this is a bit hopeless). But the point is he rebuilt his technique slowly and painstakingly during this time whilst maturing as an artist. He played again in London when he was 21 and through the twenties and thirties rebuilt his career. By the time of the war he had achieved a considerable repututation once more in the UK and to some extent in Europe (arguably a poor and greedy manager curtailed his overseas touring and the growth of his international reputution - he later went to the legendary Ibbs and Tillet). It was not till after the war that he became feted in America (consecutive sold out Carnegie Hall recitals etc.) and the rest of the world. It was during the war that Walter Legge decided that Solomon was to be the mainstay in the classical piano repetoire for HMV's new LP catalogue. Hence the Beethoven cycle as a successor to Schnabel's and a slow assimilation of his repetoire on disc. It may come as a surprise to hear that before the war Solomon's Chopin was hailed as the equal of Rubinstein's and Cortot's; he shared many a piano subscription series with them at the Wigmore Hall in London. (His interpretations of the 2nd and 3rd sonatas were particularly famous - not recorded alas.) Gradually Solomon's interpretations of Beethoven became more central to his musical thinking and as such he began to be seen as THE ideal Beethoven interpreter. He gave an all Beethoven recital Carnegie Hall for instance, to much acclaim. Solomon's stroke in December 1956 deprived the musical world of his Art; and surely ranks as one of the great tragedies in musical life - he was at the time at the height of his powers and fame. Related: solomon cutner beethoven piano concerto no boult | |
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| ITFT JourneyThu, 08 Jan 2009 03:57:05 -0800 by ravneetjatanaITFTITFT Education Group under its Centre for Integrated Rural Development,has recently trained 1007 Rural BPL Youth from Haryana of +2 & above belonging to rural areas, under SGSY Special Project Scheme of Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India. Related: "itft chandigarh" haryana rural youth training | |
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