Battlefield Magazine May 2005 by Jonathan Medina

From the

www.warzoneministries.com

Battlefield May 2005 Reviews

Extreme Makeover (Heart Edition)

Seventh Day Slumber: Once Upon a Shattered Life Bleach : Farewell Old Friends Lifehouse : Lifehouse

t! l u a F r It’s You

Showbread:

e Masses Rocks th t for Chris

Challenging those who carry the label “Christian” to also carry their cross.

www.warzoneministries.com

Contents C ontents May 2005

The Juice

drink it up Stupidity of the Sexes 6- Girls - The Fear of Inadequacy 7- Boys - Lust of the Heart Bible Study: We Win 8- Passage /Questions 23- Commentary Feature: 10- It’s Your Fault: Naomi Thull 22- Extreme Makeover (Heart Edition): Kori Schwartz

Life as we know it we are alive...right?

Reviews 14- Seventh Day Slumber: Once Upon a Shat tered Life Lifehouse: Lifehouse 16- Bleach: Farewell Old Friends Showbread: 3 Questions With Showbread 17- Showbread: Show Review, Hollywood CA.

18- National Treasure

The Bubble we call home our christian bubble of protection

Laugh it Up Clown! 20- Random Strangeness - Coffee Pots and Armidillos: Bob Smiley

19- Ministry Spotlight Christian Surf Magazine 31- Prayers

Challenging those who carry the label “Christian” to also carry their cross.

From the

Battlefield

Magazine

________________________ Staff Designer : Jonathan Medina Art Consultants: Roberto Comparan Dionne Brocco Editor: Meredith Wyant ________________________ Contributors Writing: Jonathan Medina Meredith Wyant Naomi Thull Stephanie Hahn Kori Schwartz Bob Smiley Ryan Mcloughlin Photography: Tooth And Nail Records (Seventh Day Slumber Pg.14) (Showbread Pg.16) Bobby Schutz - (Surfer Nathan Rex Pg. 19) Monthly Financial: Meredith Wyant Eve Medina Glory Skateboards Transformed Clothing Disciple Clothing ________________________ PO Box 661 Proctor, VT 05765 802.483.9940 www.warzoneministries.com

Soldier of the Month

Name: Michael McHale Age: 17 Location: Pennsylvania Favorite Verse: Joshua 1:9 because whenever I have fears or doubts of something in life, I have this verse to think about. It tells me that God is always there for me. And so this verse is a real comfort. I Dig Warzone Ministries Because: I was listening to the song “Frontline” by the band Pillar, and the theme of Warzone Ministries attracted my attention. That’s how I stumbled upon it. It’s a great site to go to. The people at Warzone Ministries are very open about new ideas, and they are very good at listening to whoever visits their site. This is a great site, for fellowship and to learn about Jesus, and you do not see many decent youth sites on the internet that many teens get involved with. This is one of the few sites that has been successful, and their magazine is great. There are times where I need encouragement, and I can always get it by Warzone Ministries. Merits: This guy has been erupting with enthusiasm ever since our ﬁrst correspondence. He is out there everyday trying to get the word out about us and our services. Thank you Mike!

First, we would like to thank God for His provisions for our work as a ministry. He has provided for us in countless ways. We would like to thank Bob Smiley for his endless supply of scrumptious comedy. If you’re reading this small print, take a second to remember that Jesus loves you. Vision Statement Picture this: you and a small group of soldiers are behind enemy lines. Every day, you awake to the smell of smoke and burning ruins. You hear gun shots ringing out in a number of directions. The battlefield is saturated with the blood of your fellow soldiers. The enemy is everywhere and restlessly searching to find and destroy you. You and your small group make radio transmissions to the other groups fighting in different areas. The transmissions are diverse and helpful to other soldiers in many ways: warning of dangers, words of encouragement, directions to resources, and even an occasional joke. This is the essence of From the Battlefield Magazine. It’s much like the radio transmissions described above. This is reality. We awake to this battle everyday; in the spiritual realm, the battle rages and it continues without ceasing. Take heart soldiers, if God is for us who can be against us? We are promised victory. Let us press on toward the goal.

Ministry Briefing

Issue Three - who would have ever thought that we would make it this far? I remember when I first started telling people that we were going to do a magazine; a good deal of them would look at me sideways. Now -what you have in your hand is a testimony to what God can do with a couple of willing hearts. We are going to try to consistently release this magazine closer to the beginning of the month (obviously starting next issue). Our first issue was released late March, and our second in mid April, but now as we get semi-organized, we can crank these things out like hotcakes. We had four talented young ladies contribute to this month’s issue. We can officially consider it our Girl Power issue. Pretty soon they are going to take over and send me home. Until then, I will continue to write you. This month is going to be an exciting month. Our new warzoneministries.com website has just been released. If you haven’t been there yet, shame on you- go check it out, I’m sure it will be to your liking. Thank you for reading and being a part of the Warzone Ministries family. If we can do anything to serve you better, please let us know. Much Love, Jonathan

OOPS..

How exciting, our ﬁrst retraction! Our deepest apologies go to Marilyn Whipkey. She was the rightful owner of the Brian Welch photos used in our last issue. During the whirlwind of magazine assembly that goes on here, we mistakenly replaced Marilyn’s last name with Rader. Again we apologize and ofﬁcially note that both photos used last month belong to Marilyn Whipkey.

Brian Welch: Recently Adopted by God

Photos By: Marilyn Whipkey Battleﬁeld Magazine 5

Girls

Fear of Inadequacy

Stupidity of

Inadequacy The quality or state of being inadequate or insufﬁcient; defectiveness; insufﬁciency; inadequateness. Source: Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

It’s amazing that some people don’t even know the meaning of this word, let alone know how to spell it. I mean, how many times have you felt a tad defective, or just plain not good enough? I’ve felt it all too often. When I was in school, the fear of inadequacy would prevent me from raising my hand to answer; I was afraid that if I got it wrong I wouldn’t be good enough. I was shy and I wouldn’t open up for fear that I wouldn’t be “cool” enough. Even after I left school, this fear still lingered in my life. I wouldn’t apply for a better position at work, for fear that I wouldn’t do a good enough job at it. You might say, “Well, what’s wrong with not answering a question or with being shy? That’s not that bad…” That may be true, but it is the little things that form our habits for the big things. When your fear begins to stop you from going in the direction God wants you to take,… well, then it can be life threatening. If this fear is stopping you in your path, and you can’t move forward, then it is time to step out in faith. Think of a video game. You know the kind: the one with all of the different paths to choose from. When your character gets low on strength, isn’t there always a power boost that you can collect right at the exact time that you need it? Well, when we choose to follow God’s path, it is very similar. God supplies us with all of the strength, knowledge, and “power boosts” that we need to handle the path He wants us to take. I’m not saying it will be easy because we have all of the supplies, but we know that we have what it takes to make it. The trick to stepping out in faith is to ﬁrst get a direction from God. Know where He wants you to go, and then have the faith that He will supply you with what you need along the way. Don’t let fear stop you from experiencing the life God has for you; know that you are completely adequate in Him.

Check-It

Psalm 138:8 The Lord will fulﬁll his purpose for me; your love, O Lord, endures forever- do not abandon the works of your hands.

I am Meredith-the mother of all things stupid. I have signiﬁcant experience with this topic. I have traveled the road of stupidity for… let’s just say,… a long time. I want to share my wealth of knowledge with you before it’s too late.

f the Sexes

Boys

Lust Of the Heart

Lust. You may know it as, “checking out chicks.” Every guy has had a whiplash moment; where we have whipped our head around without a thought, just to catch a glimpse of a girl. We quickly correct this by looking straight again- as we think, “Oops. I hope no one saw that,” or we keep looking until we run into something (true story). Whatever the case, guys are drawn to admire a woman’s beauty, and simultaneously called not to lust. God has given us the desire to look at women, but not the permission to lust. Why not? What is God saying to us? Is He saying we are doomed to failure? No, absolutely not. God is saying that lust doesn’t happen in our eyes; instead, it happens in our hearts. We can look at a woman and acknowledge/admire her outward beauty without lusting (for some people this may take practice). If looking and admiring is not lust, then what is lust? Lust is the desire for something outside of God’s provision. In the case at hand, it’s the desire to have that woman you are looking at, outside of a God-ordained relationship. Lust is ungrateful and greedy. God hates it because it’s almost like telling Him that what He has for you (or has already given to you) isn’t good enough. Even though we should guard our eyes, the trick to beating lust is in guarding our hearts. Here are three ways to give lust the boot: 1) Have faith. In the Bible, the apostles’ boat was caught in a storm. They woke Jesus in a panic, yelling, “We are perishing!” (Mark 4:38) This reminds us of our approach to faith sometimes. When the waters get a little rough, we start to panic. Relax, God has it in hand. 2) Cultivate a thankful heart; take every opportunity to thank God for His love, discipline, and provision in your life. 3) Don’t be a dog. Come on man; let’s make it safe for girls to walk around the mall without the fear of being objectiﬁed (to treat as an object). Show some respect- Hot Wheels are objects, not girls.

Check-It

2 Timothy 2:22 Matthew 5:28 Now ﬂee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousbut I say to you that everyone who looks at a wom- ness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on an with lust for her has already committed adultery the Lord from a pure heart. with her in his heart.

I was a quick study in stupidity 101. Regardless of common sense and good advice, I was stubborn in my quest to make poor choices. I want to share with you some things that I’ve learned from falling on my face or watching others fall on theirs.

Scripture \\

Bible Study We Win Read the passage and answer the questions afterward. Before you start reading, spend a little time in prayer, and ask God to speak to you through His Word.

Romans 8:26-39 26 In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; 27 and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. 29 For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; 30 and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified. 31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us

all things? 33 Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justiﬁes; 34 who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. 35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 Just as it is written,”FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH ALL DAY LONG; WE WERE CONSIDERED AS SHEEP TO BE SLAUGHTERED.” 37 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Battleﬁeld Magazine 8

Questions:

Answer the questions here and see page 23 for commentary. According to the passage, who intercedes for us? _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ What does God do for those who are called according to His purpose? _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________

Whom did God predestine? What did He predestine them for? _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ If God is for us who can be against us? _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ How does the passage conﬁrm God’s dedication to our well being? _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ How do we have the power to “overwhelmingly conquer” trials in our lives? _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ How does verse 37 deﬁne God’s character? _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________

What can separate us from the love of God? _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ What things are listed in the passage that cannot separate us from the love of God? _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________

? ?

What does this passage ultimately say about God’s relationship with us? _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________

How can you practically apply this passage to your life? _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ Battleﬁeld Magazine 9

! t l u a F r u o Y s ’ t I mi Thull

ao Written By: N

Yes, it is. Don’t even bother trying to deny it. You did it. You sinned. You messed up. You did the deed. You pulled the trigger. You made the move. It’s your fault! No! Don’t even start whining. I hear the words coming out of your mouth. You’re making excuses now, pointing ﬁngers now... trying to shift the blame to somebody—anybody now. It’s your fault! By this time you’re probably wondering what I’m talking about. I will sum it up in two words: personal responsibility! If you sin, it’s your fault. If you act like a heathen, it’s your fault. If you profane the name of Christ with ungodly living, it’s your fault. If you are overcome by a recurring sin, it’s your fault. If you’re a hypocrite, it’s your fault. And most importantly, if your eternal destination is hell—it’s your fault!

As human beings, we possess this unbelievable tendency to blame our faults/failures/sins on everyone besides ourselves. It’s like we can’t stand the thought of actually being accountable for something we’ve done or for who we are. We have become masters in The Blame Game. Of course, this inclination is as old as time. The ﬁrst criminals to use The Blame Game were none other than Adam and Eve. They sinned. Adam blamed Eve, and Eve blamed the snake. Poor snake—he had no one else to blame! (Just Kidding) The interesting thing about this story is that God didn’t care who blamed who. He didn’t care who started it or whose idea eating the fruit was. If you read in Genesis 3:1419, you’ll notice that everyone got judgedAdam, Eve and the snake (which was the devil). The Blame Game didn’t work for Adam and Eve, and it won’t work for you.

The Blame Game... and What God Thinks Of It. Let’s find out what God thinks of people who blame others for their sins. We are going to look at a story I like to call, The Tale of Two Kings. Once upon a time there was a king who had been commanded by the Lord to war against a neighboring city. His instructions were for complete and total destruction. Every living thing was to be killed, including every man, woman, child, baby, and all livestock. Unfortunately, he disobeyed that command. When the prophet of God came to confront him, the king said, “...for the people spared the best of the sheep and oxen, to sacrifice to the Lord your God; but the rest we have utterly destroyed (1Samuel 15:5b).” Of course, the errant king blames his people! He has the nerve to say that his disobedience was someone else’s fault and that it was for a spiritual purpose. Needless to say, this king did NOT live happily ever after. The consequences of his sin were the loss of his throne, a gruesome death on the battlefield, and the departure of the Holy Spirit from his life. Once upon a time (again), not so long after the first king disobeyed, another

king rose to power. Again, it was the time when kings went out to battle. Yet this king decided to live the high life and relax on his rooftop. While being a bum, he notices a beautiful woman bathing on her roof. To make a long story short, the king commits adultery and then orders the murder of the woman’s husband to cover his sin. When the prophet of God comes to confront him, the king had this to say, “...For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against You, You only, I have sinned, and done what is evil in Your sight, so that You are justified when You speak and blameless when You judge(Psalms 51:2-4).” This king accepted responsibility for his sin. He knew that it was his fault and there was truly no one else to blame but himself. Because of the king’s brokenness, the Lord forgave him. Though there were still consequences of his sin, he did not lose his throne or his life in a violent manner. The Lord also kept His promise that the Messiah would come through this king’s lineage. You could say that this king lived happily ever after. In case you haven’t figured this out yet, the first king was King Saul. His sad story is told in I Samuel 15 & 16. The second king was King David. His story of sin and forgiveness is told in II Samuel 11 & 12. David’s song of repentance can be found in Psalm 51.

Battleﬁeld Magazine 11

Honestly, God thinks The Blame Game is crazy. And since He is the Righteous Judge, He gets to call the shots. Romans 2:5-6 says,“ But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render to every man according to his deeds.” If you did it, you will be judged for it. And that’s the truth. It doesn’t matter what happened to you as a child or who told you the lie. If you committed the sin, you will receive the judgment. The Blame Game doesn’t work with God. Period. The Blame Game... And How to Beat It. •Honesty - First of all, you can’t stop The Blame Game by blaming others for your tendency to blame people. Did you get that? Be honest with yourself. You need to ask yourself some hard questions. Am I really a Christian? Am I devoted to Christ? Do I seek to know Him by consistent daily prayer and study of His Word? Am I completely submitted to His will or is there still an idol in my life? Are there secret sins in my life? These are questions that only you can answer. Everyone else in your life can be fooled. You can put on a show and be somebody that you’re not. You can lift your hands in worship, sing a song, talk about God and even pray... and yet still be far from Him. Spiritual actions do not equal a relationship with Christ. “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never know you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’” Matthew 7:21-23 •Brokenness – Second of all, you can’t beat The Blame Game if you don’t really care that you have done wrong in the sight of God. Psalm 51:17 says, “The sacriﬁces of God are a broken spirit; A broken and

contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.” We all know what happens when we drop a glass on the floor. It shatters into millions of pieces. It is broken, crushed, utterly useless. Once you have been honest with yourself and have seen the greatness of your sin against the holiness of God, it will crush your heart. I’m not talking about emotion, though your emotions may be touched. God doesn’t forgive because of tears; He forgives because of brokenness. When you can say before the Lord, “I have sinned and You are right to judge me!” just like King David did, you have been broken. •Conscious Action – Finally, the way to overcome sin is to take conscious, decisive and sometimes radical action! Romans 6:12 says, “..do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness;” In other words, stop making it easy for you to sin. If you have a problem with watching ungodly television shows, get rid of your cable. If you have a problem with looking at ungodly things online or spending too much time online, get rid of the Internet! If you have a problem with pride, study humility in the Word and enlist your friends to hold you accountable. The Lord always provides a way of escape when a temptation arises, so use it! Sometimes you need to flee from compromising situations. Sometimes you will offend people when God has burned a holy standard on your heart. Sometimes you will look a little weird, but if that’s what it takes to please God, I am willing to do so and I hope you are, too. And just like my pastor says, if all else fails and you simply cannot overcome a sin in your life, go into your room and don’t come out until God has changed you. Pray through! This is definitely something that I have experienced myself. I used to blame (of all things) my personality as the reason for my rebellion, pride and lack of love. My biting words and sarcastic comments were just because I was a “leader.” I was intolerant of others, unmerciful, unkind and altogether ungodly. And then I realized that I was wrong. I was dead wrong. The Lord did not save me so I could be the epitome of some

Battleﬁeld Magazine 12

personality type. He saved me so I could be His “bondservant, not quarrelsome, but kind to all, able to teach, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition.(2 Timothy 2:24-25a)” What I formerly considered a strength (my so-called leadership personality), the Lord revealed to be my greatest weakness. He continues to break me more and more each day. It’s my prayer that you begin to realize

Mail Hey, to you... whoever actually reads this. I just wanted to say thanks for the Bible; the NIV is a lot easier to understand. (Or as It would’ve been said in the King James Version language- Thank thee I do fo the just giving of the word of God; a translation with understanding of ease this is.) Or something like that. And thanks for the “From the Battlefield” magazine. I’d like to keep getting the magazine each month, so I put this card in here- for the payment, all I have is my old $2 bill. I was gonna keep it until all the other $2 bills were x-tinct; but thinking of Matthew 6:19-21, I gladly decided to send it. Anthony Cannon- Alabama I opened my mail today and I got my first edition of Battlefield. I didn’t put it down till I read every single last word in there. So outstanding, outstanding, outstanding job. The layout is superb. The graphics, I don’t know who did those. But whoever photoshopp’ed all those photos like the one on pg 12 just ROCKS! I couldn’t give you one suggestion to do it better cause it’s just incredible right now. So a gadrillion coolness points to your whole staff. Michael Gibb - California

that sin is your fault, that you stop playing The Blame Game and that God is able to transform you into His image.

Naomi Thull has just graduated from Bible College. She currently lives in Pennsylvania and is seeking God’s will for her life.

Battlefield - Ashley Androus, Oregon Don’t worry my child, For I am always near, Dont worry my child, You have nothing to fear, I am here to guide you, When you can’t steer, It’s always a battle, Sometimes it’s a war, Sometimes you fight the same battle, That you fought before, This is what I say to you, I’ll be your eyes, When you are blinded, I’ll be your peace, If you can’t find it, I’ll be your light, When it gets dark, I’ll still be with you, Even when We’re apart, When you’re out on the battlefield, And you have to fight a war, Just remember what I said before, I’ll be your eyes, When you are blinded, I’ll be your peace, If you can’t find it, I’ll be your light, When you’re left in the dark, I’ll always be with you, If only in your heart, So don’t worry my child, Don’t worry my dear, I am here to help you, You have nothing to fear.

Music Reviews Seventh Day Slumber: Once Upon A Shattered Life Release Date: 02.01.05 Label: BEC RECORDINGS / EMD I fell in love with these guys when I heard a song from their ﬁrst album. The words were convicting: “You have your Savior on the cross, While you sit on the throne, put yourself up on that cross, and put your Savior on the throne.” With the start of the ﬁrst song on their latest album, I knew they would steal my heart again.

manages to put their stamp on it. Even though it’s a “stock rock” album, it is still a good “stock rock” album.

-None Spiritually

+The predominant themes

in this album are healing and restoration: The single “Caroline” says “Caroline, let Him wipe away your tears, give you life, and make you feel beautiful again.” Another song called “Oceans from the Rain” talks about how God brings life from the hard times in life.

- None

Musically

Highlights Oceans from the Rain, Caroline, Make Believe

album. There isn’t anything extremely special about the music, but Seventh Day Slumber still

One Word: Encouragingous ( need to look it u

+OUSL is a “stock rock”

Seventh Day Slumber

Lifehouse: Lifehouse Release Date: 03.22.05 Label: GEFFEN RECORDS Lifehouse. In the beginning they were marketed as a secular band. As they grew in popularity, they became increasingly well known in the Christian music world, because of their faith-based lyrics. Now, nearing the twilight of their career, they have released a self-titled album: Lifehouse. Musically

+Songs like, “Into the Sun”,

and, “We’ll Never Know”, save this CD from musical mediocrity. “Into the Sun”, is highlighted by Jason’s vocals, and the mellow guitar riff that lazily graces the rhythm track. “We’ll Never Know” is one of the more passionate songs on the CD.

iew v Re nd c e i us Leg

Ammunition You may be asking, “Why use bullets as a rating system in music reviews, isn’t that a bit violent?” I have 2 things to say in response. 1) Read the name of the magazine again. 2) We live in a violent word where abortion (killing babies) is a form of birth control, forget about my rating system and go pray for these people. Musically Basically this section is about how the band sounds. We look at everything from production and instrument skills, to originality and style. X1 Sounds like a 2nd grade ﬂute-aphone concert. X2 I hear American Idol is having an audition near you. X3 Hey! That sounds like music.

- This album could have easily been

one song, since it all sounds the same. Maybe it’s my yearning for something more in music now-a-days, but after the third song all I heard was blah, blah. Spiritually

+ The songs carry general

truths, but nothing that punches me in the face.

X4 Flippin sweet! X1 The kind of CD you listen to for three months straight.

Spiritually This section is about the content of the CD. Is it edifying? We look at everything from lyrical expression to doctrinal concepts.

X1 Satan has this one in his CD case. X2 Maybe if there was content it would be spiritual.

- I hate to do this, but Lifehouse is really slacking these days in the spirituality department. The lyrics have been infected with vague innuendos.

X3 I feel a pulse! X4 Enough spiritual content to choke a horse*.

Highlights Into the Sun, We’ll Never Know One Word: Lacking

X1 Jesus would Jam to this CD.

*No horses were harmed in the writing of this legend. Battleﬁeld Magazine 15

Spin Of the Month Bleach: Farewell Old Friends Release Date: 02.28.05 Label: TOOTH & NAIL/SOLID STATE RECOR *I Sing* “I’ll write it down for you; If you want a Bleach review.” I know that was pretty whacky, but if you listen to the CD you’ll get it. Back in the day when I was a young punk, Bleach was among my collection of youthful Christian rock band CD’s. Now I am a little older (still a punk) and Bleach has left the building, but not with out leaving us one last offering. Musically +I was impressed. The last time I really listened to Bleach was probably 8 years ago. They have come a long way since then. Out of their raw talent they have chiseled a mellow, mature, and edgy brand of rock. The highlights of this album would have to be the vocals, and the band’s tendency to naturally catch a groove. -None Spiritually +Songs like “To the Top” which speaks of Jesus’ sacriﬁce and “Weight of It All”, which deals with the fact that earth is not our home, makes the spiritual content of the album sufﬁcient. -The spiritual content isn’t as accessible as I would have liked, but it is still in the CD for those who want to dig. Highlights Condition, Weight of It All One Word: Lively

3 Questions With Showbread

After the heart racing, adrenaline pumping experience, I got the opportunity to talk to Matt Davis.

Steph: What is your vision for your music? Davis: When it comes to our music, our vision is to take over the world. In Jesus’ name of course. (I think that they’re well on their way- Showbread is sweeping the U.S. with a serious following of raw rockers, there have even been sightings of stickers in Cambodia.) Steph: What role does spirituality play in your lives and music? Davis: Everyone in the band is a Christian. Spirituality has everything to do with our music and lives. Steph: What are your plans for the future? Davis: To make more albums and tour more, and to take over the world.” (More tours? More Albums? I was enthralled.)

Battleﬁeld Magazine 16

Stephanie Hahn - Reporting

Hollywood, California - The Roxy April 20th 2005

Show Review - Hollywood CA Showbread. Dynamic. Vibrant. Startling. To quote worthy words of Will Farrell: “Simply Scrumtrulecent.” Showbread live is a must see. Spectacular energy and serious booty shaking (last time we checked booty shaking wasn’t a sin) makes these guys one band you will never forget. I had the honor of seeing these guys live at the Roxy, in Hollywood. The venue was small and packed with unsuspecting prey- most were there to see the NonChristian bands. The Merch counters were polar opposites- on one side, there were Showbread shirts saying “You inspire me to sing to you”, and on the other you saw “F@!# ART. Let’s Dance”. It was such a true contrast between those that are of the world and those who are not. While I was waiting in anticipation for them to play, I looked around at the sea of lost faces. What an amazing opportunity for God; unknowing and unchurched people were about to hear some awesome praise in the form of raw rock. The curtains went up- and the music started instantly. Seven bodies stood there locked and loadedready to release a bevy of force. Looking at their eyes, you could see the light of the Holy Spirit in this dark and lost place. All dressed in their well known black and red; they were pumped and you could feel the

energy roll off their instruments. Vocalist Josh Dies was fully equipped with his red shorts and cowboy boots. Heads nodded in compliance. Bodies jumped up and down at the sounds of such screeches from vocalist Ivory Mobley. John on the Keytar, Matt and Mike on Guitar, Patrick on Bass and Marvin on Drums- the resonance rolled with amazing precision and concise splitting sounds. We raw rocked out to an awesome set. The band played songs off of their album “No Sir, Nihilism is Not Practical”. The audience was in awe, as Showbread played “Stab Art to Death”, and Dies got on his knees with his hand up in the air and sang to God, “You inspire me to sing to you”. What a sight for those unknowing people. You could see the passion for Christ on stage, and their love for the crowd was tremendous. Matt Davis said after the show, “That’s what it’s about, not just playing, but to love on others”. So true. So true. On my way home, I found myself praying whole heartedly for the people that the guys of Showbread touched from this awesome experience. Glorifying God in all we do- it’s a far fetched goal, none can reach it. I believe that God is using these guys in a tremendous way, though, and that’s what it’s about. Bloom where you’re planted, and in Showbread’s case- plant seeds as you go. This is Steph- I’m out.

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DVD Review

National Treasure: Adventure/ Action Rated: PG Distributed By: Walt Disney Home Video Directed By: Jon Turteltaub Starring: Nicolas Cage- Benjamin Franklin Gates Diane Kruger- Dr. Abigail Chase Justin Bartha- Riley Poole Sean Bean- Ian Howe Jon Voight- Patrick Henry Gates Harvey Keitel- Agent Sadusky Christopher Plummer- John Adams Gates Hunter Gomez- Young Ben Gates

This movie has received rave reviews from alot of my friends. Maybe I am missing it, but the movie really doesn’t do it for me. The Story The story follows one man’s journey to ﬁnd a treasure that was hidden by the founding fathers. The founding fathers being devout Masons (as the movie claims), felt that the treasure was too big for one man. They did a fantastic job of hiding clues leading to the treasure. In addition to the maze of clues, Benjamin Gates (Nicolas Cage) must also race against a second treasure hunter who is nipping at his heels. The Skinny: There are two clearly marked themes in this movie. The ﬁrst being the pursuit of treasure for more than its monetary value. Benjamin Gates is seeking the treasure not because he wants the money, but because he feels that it is an identity that was passed to him through his family. He needs validation that this identity is not a hoax, and that all the searching that his

family did before him was not in vain. If only the same commitment were in us to seek God at all costs. Where a man’s treasure is, his heart will also be (Matthew 6:31). This movie gets us thinking, “where is our treasure?” What lengths would we go to keep it? The second theme raises the question, “Is it ok to do something illegal, to accomplish a “good” end result. “ In other words, does the end justify the means? As Christians, we are called to follow God first and foremost. God instructs us to follow the laws of men until they conflict with his laws or direction. A good example is when Jesus heals on the Sabbath (Luke 13:14). This doesn’t mean that in all situations the end justifies the means. As Christians, as long as we are walking in God’s will, we will never have to answer this question. We only need to do as God directs us. The movie was good. It wasn’t anything overly special. It could have done without the freemasonry plugs (Gee I wonder who helped fund this movie). If you’re bored on a Friday night- then read your Bible, but after that, if you want to space, this isn’t a bad movie to rent.

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Christian Surf Magazine

Ministry Spotlight

Testimony told by Ryan Mcloughlin

Well, I’ll take you back to where it all started.... the time God began his work in us in which He promises to complete one day (Philipians 1:6). My name is Ryan Mcloughlin and I invited Christ to change my life when I was 7 years old. However, I didn’t stay in a real relationship with Jesus thru high school and into the beginning of college. But one day in California, at the age of 21, God had me return. I was surfing, drinking, partying... typical life of most of my friends at the time. I was left empty inside during all those years. I still knew Gods voice. Even though I was avoiding Him by the way I lived, He never left me. Just like it is written in the Bible, God never leaves you or forsakes you, (Hebrews.13:5). I could feel the conviction of my lifestyle and I am conﬁdent that it was the work of the Holy Spirit, alerting me to the dangers of sin. (James 2:14-15).

.C G.A.

This time, I needed to make a choice, a real choice. I chose to follow Christ, who is the way the truth and the life, and no one comes to the Father but by Him (John 14:6). This was God inviting me to know Him. Everything began here. I grew in my relationship with Jesus and I was inspired to share the good news with my friends. One person who God brought to my mind was my friend Bobby Schutz. I hadn’t talked with him for about a year and a half. Soon after the Lord had placed him on my heart, I got a phone call from him. He lived in Florida and I had just moved to Colorado. He was wondering if I wanted to go on a surf trip to Costa Rica for a month. At the time, I didn’t have much money and the date he was leaving was coming soon. It could be hard to get a ticket, but this was clearly God working in His power, so I prayed about it. I felt the Lord wanted me to go so I called about a ticket. It was extremely expensive and almost all airlines were booked up. I ended up ﬁnding a “specially priced ticket”, the ticket sales lady said that it was the last available seat on the exact day that Bobby was leaving.

I even got my ticket for a better price than Bobby paid, and he bought his ticket way in advance! So already I was seeing the Lord at work, orchestrating this trip. In short, we spent the month surﬁng every day, and daily I would be reading my Bible and this caught Bobby’s interest. He would grab my Bible and investigate some of the stuff I would talk to him about it for himself. This constant talk of Jesus went on throughout the month and reminders of Christ would be around every corner as we traveled through Costa Rica. Even in the smallest villages that we would pass thru, there were walls with “Jesus lives” painted on them. There was a person passing right in front of us with a scripture written on his shirt and pictures of Jesus on the bus we rode. The point is, Jesus seemed to constantly remind Bobby, “I am here”. (Rev 3:20). At the end of the trip, I was praying that Bobby would come to Christ before we left. This had not happened yet, even as we were on the way back to the San Jose airport, (by the way, Bobby ran out of money and had to change his ticket to the day I was leaving. He was scheduled to leave a week later). I still had faith that Jesus was in control. While we were in the airport, Bobby and I were in separate lines checking in and he got to the terminal long before me. By the time I got there, he was talking with Kyle Cohn (who was there for a contest that was going on the next day, but he was leaving). As I walked up, Bobby was talking to Kyle about God.

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Laugh it Up Clown! English teacher all alone stuck on the Tapioca stairs. Poor monster. I’d then ﬂy up into the air and across the country until I passed Alabama where some backwoods hunter would shoot me down with his shotgun. I’d fall like a wounded duck headed straight for his huntin’ dog named Snapper who couldn’t wait to “fetch” me. Then right before I hit the ground, I’d wake up. I mean, come on, we’ve all had that dream. Right?

Random Strangeness - Coffee Pots And Armidillos By: Bob Smiley The whole month has been strange for me. It started with me waking up one morning. That’s right. In the morning! I went straight to my coffee pot to make the perfect pot of coffee. I hit the brew button like I‘d done 3 times a day for the past year and nothing happened. I pressed it again and nothing happened. Well, that’s not exactly true. That vein in my forehead started pulsating. I started to panic but was hopeful that maybe this was one of those horrible nightmares that we all have. I turned around in hopes that a monster would begin chasing me up the stairs. The stairs would then turn into Tapioca Pudding making it impossible for me to run. Meanwhile my teeth would start falling out and my High School English teacher would magically appear telling me that the Semester ﬁnal is in 3 minutes and she hoped I’d studied all night for it because it would determine whether or not I’d get out of High School. I would suddenly be able to ﬂy away leaving the monster and my

Anyway, I turned around and was all alone still in my kitchen with a coffee pot that wasn‘t working. Now I really started to panic. My hands began to sweat as I pushed the button again and again. Nothing!!! My coffee pot was broken!! I had 278 emails to answer plus I needed to look up the word “Conundrum” and no coffee to help me!!! I quickly called my neighbor and said, “Scott! I‘ve got an emergency…No, I‘ve already heard about the new bag attachment for your lawn mower. Listen, my coffee pot is broken and I was wondering...” Scott suddenly interrupted me shouting, “Bob, just stay calm. We’re going to get through this. I’m coming over with my coffee pot. Don’t do anything stupid until I get there. I’m unplugging the pot right now...listen to it, Bob. Things are going to be ok. I’m walking outside now, Bob. There are people who care about you...hang in there, Bob! I’m on the cordless and am crossing the lawn. I’m almost there, BOB! HANG IN THERE MY FRIEND!! ITS GOING TO BE OK! I’M ALMOST THERE...I’M ABOUT TO RING THE DOOR BELL... KEEP LISTENING TO MY VOICE, BOB! WE ARE GOING TO GET THROUGH THIS!!” Scott was actually acting like I had a coffee problem! What a strange person. If anyone reading this has a similar story about their strange neigh-

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bor, I’d love to hear about it. Just write your letter on the back of a bag of coffee and mail it to me. I can’t wait to hear from you! Another strange thing that happened was when I was in New Orleans. I rented an economy size car which is basically a car made out of play dough only doesn‘t smell as good. I had a 3 ½ hour trip to where I was going so I headed out on the highway pedaling my car as fast as I could. Well, as soon as I got out of town, I started seeing armadillos running all over the side of the road. Obviously, there was some sort of armadillo convention that didn’t advertise until the week before, leaving all these poor armadillos to have to hit the main highway just to get to wherever it is that they were meeting. I kept looking for “Shreveport or Bust!”

written on their backs just to let me know where they were all headed. I thought, “What a pity that they don’t have thumbs or else they could have hitch hiked and saved some time.” Anyway, I start laughing because when I was on tour with Riley Armstrong in Florida last year, we saw a ton of armadillos. Now, I don’t know why, but my arm has always automatically just pointed at any animal that I see on the side of the road. I don’t say anything, I just point. Its a habit that almost caused my arm to

be dislocated that summer that my dad drove us through a petting zoo. Anyway, Riley started making fun of me by pointing like crazy all over the road as if there was some rapid reloading armadillo gun shooting armadillos everywhere. It became a running gag on the entire tour. Thinking back about this, I decided to call Riley to tell him that I’d seen 18 armadillos so far and that I’d keep him posted as to the number attending this years convention. He responded to my story with a “Who is this and why are you calling me?” (that Riley is a real kidder!) He then says, “Are you listening to my C.D. right now?” I realized that I actually did have his C.D. playing and my favorite song “Silver and Green” was about to come on...so I told him I had to go. Anyway, about 5 minutes later, I thought it’d be funny if I caught an armadillo, took a picture of it and then sent it to Riley with a note saying “This is the Keynote speaker for this year’s convention!” I pulled over to the side of the road, jumped out and...well...I caught an armadillo. So its squirming and wiggling and I’m trying to explain to it that I’m just going to take its picture when I realize I should have got my camera out of the trunk BEFORE I caught the armadillo. So I walk over, open the trunk and start rummaging around while holding the armadillo out with one hand. All of a sudden, I hear, “Sir. Please put the armadillo down and slowly turn around.” I look up and can now see the cop lights reﬂecting in my back windshield. I hold the armadillo out and try to reason with the cop. “Sir, I’m just going to take a picture and my camera is in the trunk.” I start to reach for my camera but the cop, thinking I’m some armadillo black market salesman reaching for my 9 millimeter, shouts, “Sir! Stop right there! Put the armadillo down and back away from it and the car. I’m not going to tell

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r e v o e k a M e Extrem

Heart Edition By: Kori Schwartz

H.S. here, with a new contestant on Extreme Makeover “Heart Edition”. Ah, here she is now: a beautiful young woman, not too flashy, but a natural beauty. Now on the outside Ms. Contestant seems flawless, but let us pull back the surface for a deeper look at her heart. (Audience- “GASP!”) We have our work cut out for us today! An enormous tumor rests on the face of her heart. Unfortunately, it looks like bitterness and anger have made quite a home here. The challenge is great but with the help of some Biblical surgery (Hebrews 4:12), I’m positive we are going to have success. Now let us get started…. I can totally relate to Ms. Contestant. This could have been a picture of me. Throughout my life I have had my share of ups and downs. But by the revelation of H.S. (Holy Spirit) I have realized a destructive pattern in my heart and mind. I internalize hardships and do not completely give them over to the Lord. When these disappointments and anger are left in our hearts it will develop into a dangerous cancer called BITTERNESS. I know this because of personal experience. As women, I believe that bitterness can be a weakness for us. Ruth 1:20-21 says, “But she said to them, ‘Do not call me Naomi, call me Mara (which means bitter), for the Almighty has dealt bitterly with me.” Obviously Naomi felt as if she had gotten the short end of the stick in life. My question to you is, was the Almighty to blame? Was it God who made her life bitter? My answer is “life happens”. There are many times in life when we don’t understand why God allows certain things. But we are the ones who choose bitterness over surrender. Ephesians 4:31-32 says, “Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.” God instructs us to put away bitterness, to take it off like we would dirty laundry. The word bitterness in its original form is piezo, which means to pack: or press down (another form of capture). It is so important that when “life happens” to not press down and pack away our feelings. Be careful that when disappointments come not to let them capture your heart. Instead, come before the only One who understands all things and pour our heart out before Him in honest humility. Envision yourself coming to the foot of the cross daily, and laying down your hurts and disappointments. Pour your heart out before Him and then stand up and walk away. It may take weeks, even months but eventually God will turn your weakness into strength. Is your heart in need of an Extreme Makeover? Don’t let bitterness make its home in you. It could be fatal. Let H. S. start working today. It’s the only makeover you can’t afford not to get. There is nothing plastic about it; the surgery God does is permanent, and beautiful. Battlefield Magazine 22

Bible Study // Commentary Romans 8:26-39 Commentary According to the passage, who intercedes for us? It may seem as though we have only one intercessor but if we read closely the scripture outlines two intercessors. First the spirit prays on our behalf because “we don’t know how to pray as we should.” The scriptures then go on to talk about someone else in verse 27, who knows the mind of the Spirit and intercedes for the saints. We find out in verse 34 that this intercessor is Jesus. What does God do for those who are called according to His purpose? God “causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” Notice it doesn’t say “God causes all good things to work together for those who love Him.” God uses all things good and bad to ultimately benefit us. Whom did God predestine? What did He predestine them for? The Bible says He predestined “those whom He foreknew”, “to become conformed to the image of His Son” Without getting into a theological quandary, what we can say is that this group of people who love God and are called according to His purpose are destined for glory. We see this in verse 30 “and these whom He justified, He also glorified.” If God is for us who can be against us? This is a rhetorical question. The an-

swer is no one. What Paul (the writer of Romans) is trying to do is get us to question who can be against us. As we scroll down the list in our head, we come to the conclusion that no one can. How does the passage confirm God’s dedication to our well being? In verse 32 we read, “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?“ WOW! Think about that for a second. God didn’t even spare His own Son in His efforts to save us. Truly what will He withhold from us? How do we have the power to “overwhelmingly conquer” trials in our lives? Verse 37 says, “But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.” Him who loved us... who is that? In verse 35 we see that it’s Christ who loved us. It’s through Christ that we can overwhelmingly conquer the trials in our lives. How does verse 37 define God’s character? One thing that continually amazes me about God’s character is His tendency to bless His people in over abundance. When He told the apostles to pitch the net on the other side of the boat (John 21:6) they pulled in more fish then they could haul. In this case He is giving us the power in Christ to overwhelmingly conquer trials in our lives. What can separate us from the love of God? Below is a list of things that cannot

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separate us from God’s love. The natural question is, if nothing can separate us from the love of God then why is there so much dysfunction in our relationship with Him. The reason is simple; our love for God is not like His love for us. His love is unconditional and ours is humanistic. The dysfunction in our relationship with God is because of our love (or lack thereof). What things are listed in the passage that cannot separate us from the love of God? In verse 35 the question was, will “tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword.” Paul answers this question in verse 38-39. “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” What does this passage ultimately say about God’s relationship with us? Let’s summarize what we have learned here. God has called us according to His purpose and has promised us victory. God is our ally and no opponent is strong enough to come against us if we abide in Him. He has pulled out all the stops in saving us, even to the point of sacriﬁcing His own Son. He has given us the power in Christ to overwhelmingly overcome all of our trials. Above all He has promised us an unconditional love. The bottom line, in Christ, we win. How can you practically apply this passage to your life? We as Christians have access to immense love, power and glory, if

we chose to engage it. We have the Supreme Being God Almighty actively working on our behalf. Don’t let your trials beat you, stop tying God’s hands and remember in Christ we win. Continued from page 21... you again!” So, I do what I’m told. I set the armadillo down and let him go. (See: He didn’t even run off, obviously mocking me and the situation I got myself in) The cop comes over and asks for my driver’s license. That’s when the line popped into my head. I never want to get in trouble but I can’t help myself sometimes. I said, “Its ok, Ofﬁcer. I have a license to carry a concealed armadillo!” He was laughing so hard he could barely get the handcuffs on me. Actually, he was great. I eventually showed him the camera I was getting and then told him the whole story. He was really cool and let me go. As I was getting into my car he said, “There’s a lot of armadillos along this road, son... pace yourself.” The only bad thing is that I took up so much time explaining things to the cop, that I didn’t have time to catch another armadillo for a photo. I drove back the next day but the armadillos were all at the convention by then. So, its truly been a strange month. It made me want to lock myself in my room and play my conundrum!

Comedian Bob Smiley lives in Texas with his two sons and incredibly beautiful and talented wife, who writes all his short bios that appear at the end of his articles. For more laughs or to order his comedy DVD, go to: www.bobsmiley.com

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Continued from Page 19... I was confused and wondering if Bobby had become born again and was now sharing his faith with Kyle. It turned out, that Kyle was telling Bobby why he was leaving. Kyle said, that God had told him to go home. Bobby was blown away because this whole trip seemed to have so much to do with Jesus. I shared with him and now Kyle is sharing with him. As the three of us stood there we informed Kyle of what had been going on. Kyle noticed the Lord’s work, and he now knew why God called him to be on this flight. It was a miracle that Kyle even was able to be on this plane. The plane was full and he was on stand-by. There was room for 7 people. At first, he was told they filled up the 7 spots, but then came back and said one of them was an infant, so he became the seventh person. Is it coincidence that he was the 7th person? God uses the number 7 in scripture to represent completion, perfection. As we stood there, Kyle quoted the scripture “where two or three are gathered, there I will be also” (Matthew 18:20). Kyle and I sensed the Holy Spirit come upon us and Bobby could feel the presence of God as well. Smiles lit our faces, as we knew God was with us. To Bobby this was very new, but he sensed the reality of it. Kyle being a messenger bringing good news, the same good news I brought, and God confirmed it with His presence. It was an awesome moment. I had to get to my plane, so I left, but Kyle and Bobby rode together to Florida, where I was heading as well. I arrived in Florida. A friend of ours named Sean was there to meet us at the airport. Years back, I shared my faith in Christ with Sean, who gave his heart to Jesus that very day. Sean and Bobby became roommates and Sean shared with Bobby. That was the first time Bobby was told of Jesus and the hope He offers. So there we were: Sean and I, the two people who witnessed to Bobby, standing in the airport waiting for him to get there.

I told Sean a little of what happened and we were anticipating being able to see Bobby come to Christ. All the sudden, Bobby came running up shouting, “guys, guys, I got saved!” His face was glowing! Kyle and some of his friends had all prayed with Bobby in the baggage claim area just moments ago and he was on fire! It was the best moment ever! Sean had faced rejection from Bobby years ago when he shared, but the seed that was planted obviously took root. I could tell Sean was encouraged. No matter how people react to the gospel, the seed is planted. Even though Sean faced rejection, the seed that was planted took root in time, and God used it. I went back to Colorado, but Bobby and I stayed in touch. We would pray and talk about things over the phone that God was teaching us through His word. One day, we were talking and I mentioned that God was impressing on my heart to do a Christian surfing magazine, you know, using the talents God has given you, for Him. I had been practicing graphic art on the computer. Bobby said that was the same thing God had been putting on his heart, he’s a surf photographer! So that’s the story from the beginning of the work the Lord has done in us. He has brought us to where we are, doing this magazine. It’s been a difficult thing to do, putting out this magazine with just the two of us, but God has accomplished this through us, not in our own power by any means. This testimony is to give God the glory. You see, all these things haven’t happened out of coincidence. God says all things work together for the good for those who love God and are called according to His purposes (Romans 8:28) The fact that you are reading this story right now is a testimony to our God. That what is impossible with man, is possible with God (Mark 10:27). Thank you Jesus for your grace to serve you! Check “Christian Surf Magazine” out at: www.christiansurfmag.com

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Petition The Lord\\

Prayers

We are but beggars and our loving God is still faithful to hear and answer our prayers.

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