A S P E C T S - a monthly devotional journal For subscription information on receiving Aspects every month via e-mail, or the laser-printed edition by mail, see NOTES, COPYRIGHT & SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION near the end of this file. Aspects is written by David S. Lampel. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Issue #04, March 1991 (Internet Edition) T E N T M A K E R S ----------------------------------------------------------------- In this issue: Perspective - Available Perspective - Ordinary Perspective - Flexible Perspective - Confident ----------------------------------------------------------------- It had been a long, arduous journey. The apostle Paul and his companion, Silas, had just completed a whirlwind tour of the Northern Mediterranean region: They had passed through Syria, Cilicia, Derbe and Lystra (where they picked up Timothy) strengthening and encouraging those churches; then on to Phrygia and Galatia and, after being turned away at Bithynia, continued on to Troas, where Paul's vision beckoned them to Macedonia; then to Samothrace, a day later to Neapolis, and on to Philippi, where he and Silas were arrested, stripped and beaten with rods, and thrown into prison. Upon their release, they found momentary solace at the house of Lydia in Thyatira, then proceeded to Amphipolis, Apollonia and Thessalonica, where they spent three weeks reasoning through the Scriptures in the local synagogue and were almost jailed again. By night they fled to Berea where, again, the Jews from Thessalonica stirred up local opinion against the missionaries. Traveling by sea, Paul left his companions and journeyed to Athens, where he spoke before a crowd of philosophers at the Areopagus. An itinerary that would bring anyone to their knees. So it must have been a weary and possibly low-spirited apostle who entered the cosmopolitan, albeit immoral, city of Corinth. Paul would not have been interested in the flashy distractions of this metropolis, neither the companionship of one of its famous temple prostitutes. He would instead--after months of travel and fleeing for his life--be searching for a place of rest and restoration with people of like mind and Spirit. People like Priscilla and Aquila. Just imagine, if you will, being so terribly far from home, bereft of even your traveling companions; bone-weary from being constantly challenged, ridiculed, and pursued; now in a strange and alien city, where licentiousness is not only permitted, but the official religion. Imagine, evening is approaching and the dying sun is burnishing the streets of bustling Corinth a deep orange. Strangers bump your shoulders, shopkeepers beckon you closer. The evening air is filled with the disorienting stench of this foreign culture. Nothing is familiar, nothing comfortable. Out of desperation, you ask a street vendor where you might find a prosperous tent-maker in the city; you are of that trade and seeking employment. With a dismissing wave of his hand he tells you to go down this street, then that street, until you reach a house that looks like this. With the mumbled directions repeating through your head, you wend your way through the darkening streets and alleyways, until at last you stand before the previously described address. Timidly you rap against the heavy, wooden door; loud voices and angles of lamplight seep through the cracks that divide the door's timbers. Suddenly the gate swings open, and before you know it you are standing in the midst of friends--brothers and sisters to whom moments before you were unknown. For you have found not only tentmakers, but the open arms of fellow Christians. Priscilla and Aquila(1) were not professionals. They had never studied at the seminary, were not apprentice clergy. They were tentmakers by trade, but Christians in heart. We know little of these two saints but that they were zealous for the Kingdom of Christ, and were eager to share His love with others. They lovingly erected their tent of protection over their brother, Paul, taking him into their home and their family. They stand as one of our finest examples of philia love. ________________________ This month Aspects gleans four character traits from the life of Aquila and Priscilla that can be applied to our lives today, as we deal with those both in and out of the family of God. * This couple made themselves available to others at a moment's notice * They were ordinary lay-people, not professional clergy * They remained flexible, even though they had a business to run * Priscilla and Aquila were confident in their relationship with Christ ----------------------------------------------------------------- Perspective A V A I L A B L E ------------- As I consider our availability to the Lord, I then turn it around to consider His availability to us. And I wonder, has He ever turned any one of us away? Has He ever told any of us to just cool our heels for awhile, because He was busy with someone else? Putting aside all high and pious thought for a moment, doesn't a reasonably decent human being make a point of making himself available to those who are always available to him? Should we not show this same courtesy to a God who is always available to us? ________________________ Written for Our Learning(2) ------------------------ After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them, and because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them. ACT 18:1-3 The churches in the province of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Priscilla greet you warmly in the Lord, and so does the church that meets at their house. 1CO 16:19 And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints. And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God's will. 2CO 8:1-5 1SA 3:1-10 [I would like to express my 1CH 28:9 gratitude to my wife, Linda, DAN 3:28 for her invaluable assistance MAR 10:45 this month in researching 2CO 9:12-13 Scripture and quotations for 1TI 1:12 Aspects.] 1PE 5:2-3 ________________________ Make Me a Blessing Out in the highways and byways of life, many are weary and sad; Carry the sunshine where darkness is rife, making the sorrowing glad. Make me a blessing, make me a blessing, Out of my life may Jesus shine; Make me a blessing, O Savior, I pray, Make me a blessing to someone today. Give as 'twas given to you in your need, love as the Master loved you; Be to the helpless a helper indeed, unto your mission be true. Make me a blessing, make me a blessing, Out of my life may Jesus shine; Make me a blessing, O Savior, I pray, Make me a blessing to someone today.(3) It's possible we could all improve our availability. In your life, to whom? ________________________ "Brutus visiting Ligarius found him ill and said, 'What! Are you sick, Ligarius?' 'No, Brutus,' he said, 'if you have a noble enterprise at hand, then I am well.' So should the believer say of Christ. What might excuse us from other labor shall never prevent our engaging in his service." (Spurgeon) "You do not do God a favour by serving him. He honours you by allowing you to serve him." (Nyquist) "Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him, and will dine with him, and he with Me." (Jesus)(4) ----------------------------------------------------------------- Perspective O R D I N A R Y ------------- We know so very little about Aquila and his wife Priscilla--just that they were two, rather ordinary, followers of Christ who made themselves available to Paul and other believers of their time. As Hebrews 11 is a roster of those with extraordinary faith, so is the entire Bible a roster of the effectiveness of the ordinary. Consider just a few that came into contact with Jesus: the Samaritan woman at the well(5), who was actually a bit to the left of ordinary--she of multiple husbands and questionable morals; Simon of Cyrene, who helped carry the burden of His cross(6); and the woman who annointed His feet at Simon the leper's house.(7) Each, in their own ordinary way, was used to further the Kingdom on earth. ________________________ Written for Our Learning ------------------------ The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, "Look, the Lamb of God!" When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, "What do you want?" They said, "Rabbi" (which means Teacher), "where are you staying?" "Come," he replied, "and you will see." So they went and saw where he was staying, and spent that day with him. It was about the tenth hour. Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, "We have found the Messiah" (that is, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, "You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas" (which, when translated, is Peter). The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, "Follow me." Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. Philip found Nathanael and told him, "We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote--Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." "Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?" Nathanael asked. "Come and see," said Philip. When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, "Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false." "How do you know me?" Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, "I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you." Then Nathanael declared, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel." JOH 1:35-49 As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." At once they left their nets and followed him. Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him. MAT 4:18-22 As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector's booth. "Follow me," he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him. MAT 9:9 JOS 2:1-21 JOS 6:16-25 ISA 64:6-8 MAT 9:10-13 MAR 1:16-20 LUK 5:1-11 ROM 9:20-21 2CO 4:6-7 What Can I Give Him? What can I give Him, poor as I am? If I were a shepherd I would bring a lamb; If I were a wise-man I would do my part; Yet what can I give Him? Give Him my heart.(9) ________________________ "Many true saints are unable to render much service to the cause of God. See, then, the gardeners going down to the pond and dipping their watering pots to carry the refreshing liquid to the flowers. A child comes into the garden and wishes to help, and yonder is a little watering pot for him. Note well the little water pot, though it does not hold as much, yet carries the same water to the plants. And it does not make any difference to the flowers that receive that water, whether it came out of the big pot or the little pot, so long as it is the same water, and they get it. You who are as little children in God's church, you who do not know much, but try to tell others what little you know. If it be the same gospel truth, and be blessed by the same Spirit, it will not matter to the souls who are blessed by you whether they were converted or comforted under a person of one or ten talents." (Spurgeon)(8) ----------------------------------------------------------------- Perspective F L E X I B L E ------------- What a disruption to a household! Just imagine your own home--that comfortable haven where things never quite get put away, where children slam the screen door every 5 minutes, where dirty dishes are spontaneously regenerated from thin air--being used regularly as a meeting place for an entire church. Now add to that a periodic move to a different city, where not only the household would have to be re-established, but the family business as well. And then, just as before, there would soon be meetings and worship services being held inside your doors. Blessed are the flexible, for they shall know exhaustion. ________________________ Written for Our Learning ------------------------ Paul stayed on in Corinth for some time. Then he left the brothers and sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. Before he sailed, he had his hair cut off at Cenchrea because of a vow he had taken. They arrived at Ephesus, where Paul left Priscilla and Aquila. He himself went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. ACT 18:18-19 Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus. They risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them. Greet also the church that meets at their house. Greet my dear friend Epenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in the province of Asia. ROM 16:3-5 The churches in the province of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Priscilla greet you warmly in the Lord, and so does the church that meets at their house. 1CO 16:19 JER 1:6-10 JER 18:1-10 LUK 12:35-40 LUK 12:42-48 1CO 12:4-6 2TI 3:16-17 I'll Go Where You Want Me to Go It may not be on the mountain's height or over the stormy sea, It may not be at the battle's front my Lord will have need of me; But if by a still, small voice He calls to paths I do not know, I'll answer, dear Lord, with my hand in Thine, I'll go where You want me to go. Perhaps today there are loving words which Jesus would have me speak, There may be now, in the paths of sin, some wand'rer whom I should seek; O Savior, if Thou wilt be my Guide, Tho dark and rugged the way, My voice shall echo the message sweet, I'll say what You want me to say. There's surely somewhere a lowly place in earth's harvest fields so wide, Where I may labor thru life's short day for Jesus the Crucified; So, trusting my all unto Thy care--I know Thou lovest me-- I'll do Thy will with a heart sincere, I'll be what You want me to be. I'll go where You want me to go, dear Lord, O'er mountain or plain or sea; I'll say what you want me to say, dear Lord, I'll be what You want me to be.(10) ________________________ Sometimes flexibility must become synonymous with radical change. And that can be painful. We rebel against it, rally long lists of rationale against it. Surely God isn't asking me to do that! But wasn't that precisely what Jesus did? Chuck Swindoll says: "Had Christ not taken a drastic step, sinners like us would've never survived the fall. We would never have been rescued. We would be permanently lost. The cross was God's incredible response to our extreme dilemma. Christ did something radical."(11) "The service of the Lord does not only include implicit obedience, but also a willingness to put aside our sinful desires, and to surrender completely to the leadership of the Holy Spirit." (Calvin)(12) ----------------------------------------------------------------- Perspective C O N F I D E N T ------------- One of the most impressive things to me about Priscilla and Aquila, was their confidence in pulling Apollos aside to suggest he didn't quite have the complete Gospel. That took real courage--not to mention Scriptural maturity. Apollos was an intelligent, charismatic speaker who had most of the truth. But Aquila and Priscilla knew he wasn't preaching (as Paul Harvey would say) "the rest of the story." Can you imagine having the Scriptural confidence to suggest to, say, Billy Graham that maybe he should check in for a refresher course? ________________________ Written for Our Learning ------------------------ Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervor and taught about Jesus accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John. He began to speak boldly in the syna- gogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately. When Apollos wanted to go to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him. On arriving, he was a great help to those who by grace had believed. For he vigorously refuted the Jews in public debate, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ. ACT 18:24-28 JOS 1:8 1CH 28:20 NEH 6:15-16 PSA 71:4-6 PRO 3:25-26 PRO 4:4-7 JER 17:7-8 ACT 8:4 2CO 3:4-5 PHI 4:13 PHI 4:19 HEB 13:6 1PE 3:15-16 ________________________ I Love to Tell the Story I love to tell the story of unseen things above, Of Jesus and His glory, of Jesus and His love; I love to tell the story because I know 'tis true, It satisfies my longings as nothing else can do. I love to tell the story--'tis pleasant to repeat What seems, each time I tell it, more wonderfully sweet, I love to tell the story, for some have never heard The message of salvation from God's own holy Word. I love to tell the story, for those who know it best Seem hungering and thirsting to hear it like the rest; And when in scenes of glory I sing the new, new song, 'Twill be the old, old story that I have loved so long. I love to tell the story! 'Twill be my theme in glory-- To tell the old, old story of Jesus and His love.(13) ________________________ "No believer should be content with hoping and trusting, he should ask the Lord to lead him on to full assurance, so that matters of hope may become matters of certainty." (Spurgeon) "Assurance does not grow like a hot-house plant, pampered in an even temperature and sheltered from every puff of wind! It is an outdoor species, meant to flourish in the ever-changing weather conditions of the world." (Cockerton) "No person who moodily indulges a despondent view of his own capacities is likely to accomplish much. By God's help the weakest of us may be strong, and it is the way to become so, to resolve never to give up a good work until we have tried our best to achieve it. To think nothing impossible is the privilege of faith. We deprecate the indolent cowardice of the person who always felt assured that every new enterprise would be too much for him, and therefore declined it, but we admire the pluck of the plowman who was asked on his cross-examination if he could read Greek, and replied that he did not know because he had never tried. Those Suffolk horses that pull at a post until they drop are worth a thousand times as much as jibbing animals that run back as soon as ever the collar begins to press them." (Spurgeon)(14) ----------------------------------------------------------------- D I A L O G U E ------------- [Dear Readers: I welcome questions, clarifications, or outright disagreements with the content of Aspects. We are all accountable to each other to remain true to Scripture. And, as I stated below, God's holy Word is too wonderfully terrible for any one of us to claim absolute authority in its interpretation. When you disagree with anything in Aspects, or would like to share some of your own insights, please write to me. Periodically I'll share these Dialogues in Aspects.] from David Russell, San Diego, CA: My eyebrows raised when I hit the sentence, "We must each discover our own reality." [February Aspects, p.2] Reality doesn't depend upon man's perception, obviously, as your quote from Spurgeon stated. But I had trouble understanding your point in the next paragraph. Are you saying that Scripture is not absolute truth? Or that our perception and understanding of it [are] not absolute? I would like your definition of "scriptural chauvinism" and perhaps an expansion of the sentence that contains "...a different knowledge (i.e. understanding?) of God..." ___________________________________________________________ When God wrote Scripture He wrote absolute truth. He put down exactly, succinctly, what He intended in the manner He intended. Before He penned Scripture, God wrote man into this world. Why? We need not chase the tail of that philosophical canine, but to say that He had His reasons. That's enough. As a wiser man has said: "Let God be God!" God also had His reasons for creating this man with a mind, with reason, with the ability to make choices--no matter how foolish those choices might be (see Gen 3:6). Humans are grossly imperfect beings (he said from years of experience) and the only rational conclusion is that this was His intention, for He had the wherewithal to do otherwise. We each must discover our own reality. Put another way, we each have been left to discover our own reality. Absolute truth has always been filtered through the lenses of our own perception. Ask the color-blind person what the color Green looks like; ask Helen Keller (if we could) what water feels like as it gushes over the hands; ask my wife what broccoli tastes like, then ask me. Jesus said: "No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6) We accept that as truth, absolute. But over the centuries we have layered onto that clear, crystalline statement so many traditions, that our lenses have become clouded. Ask a Catholic believer what is necessary to be saved and he might speak of things far different than the Baptist believer. Did the criminal hanging next to Jesus walk the aisle, partake of the Eucharist, have Last Rights said over him, or attend Sunday School? Was he baptized by immersion? He said, with simple clarity of faith: "Jesus, remember me when you come in Your kingdom." (Luke 23:42) And it was sufficient. When it comes to our relationship with God, it is my contention that there is far less truth than we have come to imagine. God's truth is simple, crystalline. It is man that has clouded our lenses of perception. From childhood I have been encouraged to have a personal relationship with God and with His Son, Jesus Christ. It is impossible for different humans to establish personal relationships with God and have them all be identical. On a more fundamental level, we each perceive God Himself differently. The Father has demonstrated Himself differently in each of our lives: To one person He may be the Great Healer, because He took away pain; to another He may be the Comforter, because He demonstrated His consolation to them. Then to another, He is very little, because they cannot comprehend an invisible God. My dictionary defines chauvinism as militant, unreasoning, and boastful devotion to... What I perceive as scriptural chauvinism are the bombastic pronouncements of official truth by various sects and denominations--not scripture itself. God intended only one truth per Biblical statement. For example, let's consider the long-debated passage found in Hebrews 6: Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And God permitting, we will do so. It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace. HEB 6:1-6 (NIV) Now, God meant to tell us one, specific thing when He wrote that. But scholars and commentators have been debating this passage for centuries--each one convinced he is correct. God's holy Word is too wonderfully terrible for any one of us to claim absolute authority in its interpretation. Truth is absolute; reality, on the other hand, is whatever is real to any one of us. I have long been impressed with the mysterious perfection to be found in the Trinity (or as David Hocking would say, Tri-unity). Like a triangle that would collapse if only one side were taken away, our proper relationship with God depends on all three persons of the Godhead. God the Father is the great and invisible object of our worship. Even those who have stood in His presence cannot describe Him; they can only describe the effects of His glory (see Isaiah 6:1-7). As soon as we see our God--actually view His person--He is then accountable to our standards (which is why it is required that we be "changed" before we can see Him). While I have no physical standards to apply to my God I can easily conjure up his majesty and power; only an invisible God could have the power to build the universe from His words alone. And only an invisible God can be in all places and times at once, for as soon as He would be seen in one place, the mind could not comprehend Him elsewhere. Before Jesus, man perceived God as an indefinable, exacting taskmaster whose very name was a mystery. Jesus brought to the world a tangible image of the loving, compassionate Father in whom dwell also purity and justice. In the fragility of our human state we cannot look upon the Father and live, but we are encouraged to look upon--to look to--the Savior, God in flesh. Then the Holy Spirit is our blessed comforter, our daily companion, our encourager, our support, our umbilical to the Father. Take away any one, and the relationship would collapse. And since every believer's relationship with God (and his perception of God) is based on his or her relationship with each part of the Trinity, then, with all these variables, how can we all have the same knowledge of God? What we each know of God is influenced by our life experiences, our experiences with God Himself, answers to prayer, how His Spirit speaks to us in worship, our ability to interpret and reason through the Scriptures, our personality, our receptivity to ideas different from our own... These various filters do not change God. He is eternally unchangeable. But they do color our perception of God--which becomes, for each of us, our reality. Not truth, but perceived reality. D. Lampel March, 1991 ======================================================================== NOTES, COPYRIGHT & SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION Notes ----- 1. Because these two names are most often listed with the wife first, it may be deduced that Priscilla (the diminuitive form of the more formal Prisca) came from a higher social class than her husband or was in some way considered more important. Aquila was a native of Pontus, in Asia Minor; he and his wife were Jewish Christians and citizens of Rome. The Edict of Claudius, in A.D. 49, forced them (along with all other Jews) to leave the City of Rome, as "the Jews were indulging in constant riots..." (Suetonius Vita Claudius 25.4). They settled in Corinth where indications are they had a thriving tent-making business. There is no evidence that they were Paul's converts; to the contrary, it would seem they had been Christians since before coming to Corinth. 2. Romans 15:4 (KJV) 3. Ira B. Wilson, Hymn #452 in The Hymnal for Worship & Celebration, WORD Music (1986). 4. Charles Spurgeon, The Quotable Spurgeon, (Shaw, 1990), p. 183; Victor Nyquist, More Gathered Gold (Evangelical Press, 1988), p. 290; Jesus of Nazareth, to the angel of the church in Laodicea, Revelation 3:20 (NASB). 5. John 4:7-42 6. Matthew 27:32 7. Mark 14:3-9 8. Charles Spurgeon, The Quotable Spurgeon, (Shaw, 1990), p. 201. 9. Christina Rossetti, Hymn #154 in The Hymnal for Worship & Celebration, WORD Music (1986). 10. Mary Brown, stanza 1; Charles E. Prior, stanzas 2 & 3, Hymn #444 in The Hymnal for Worship & Celebration, WORD Music (1986). 11. Charles R. Swindoll in Come Before Winter...and Share My Hope (Multnomah Press, 1985), p.160. 12. John Calvin, More Gathered Gold, (Evangelical Press, 1988), p. 292-293. 13. A. Catherine Hankey, Hymn #297 in The Hymnal for Worship & Celebration, WORD Music (1986). 14. C. H. Spurgeon, More Gathered Gold, (Evangelical Press, 1988), p. 13; J.C.P. Cockerton, Ibid., p.12; Charles Spurgeon, The Quotable Spurgeon, (Shaw, 1990), p. 321. Copyright Information --------------------- All original material in Aspects is Copyright (C) 1995 David S. Lampel. This data file is the sole property of David S. Lampel. It may not be altered or edited in any way. It may be reproduced only in its entirety for circulation as "freeware," without charge. All reproductions of this data file must contain the copyright notice (i.e., "Copyright (C) 1995 David S. Lampel."). This data file may not be used without the permission of David S. Lampel for resale or the enhancement of any other product sold. This includes all of its content. Brief quotations not to exceed more than 500 words may be used, with the appropriate copyright notice, to enhance or supplement personal or church devotions, newsletters, journals, or spoken messages. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture is from the New International Version. NIV quotations are from the Holy Bible: New International Version, Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by the International Bible Society. Used by permission. NASB quotations are from the New American Standard Bible (C) 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977 by The Lockman Foundation. Subscription Information ------------------------ Aspects is published monthly. There are two preferred methods of receiving it on a regular basis: 1) You may subscribe to the laser-printed (hard copy) edition, which is sent out via regular mail. This edition is different from this file you are reading in the following ways: - a "typeset" look, with italics, larger titles and headings, etc. - Scripture text and quotations are more obviously set apart - lines printed for your notes after each question - arrives pre-punched for a 3-ring binder - generally looks better 2) You may subscribe to the e-mail edition, which will be "mailed" to you directly each month. This edition will be formatted just like this file you are now reading--which still contains all the text of the printed edition. There is no charge for either option. 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