Attention WOLBI Alumni!!

Do you like free money? Do your friends like free money? Should anyone really have to ask this question? Isn't it obvious?
We all like to have a little extra money in our pockets, and Word of Life Bible Institute understands this! They've made it easy for students and our friends who are interested in the BI to get some extra money!

"But, how?" 

Well, with the Alumni Gift Award of course! Each year students are handed these little pink award slips to distribute to people we know. The "Hallelujah Chorus" resounds as we prepare to give them out to all our friends!

Fun Facts about the Alumni Gift Award:

Who it's for: anyone interested in applying to the BI in September 2011 or September 2012.

How to get one: any current or graduated student can give this award to a friend who is planning to apply to the BI for 2011 or 2012. A current student can get award slips from the admissions office at WOLBI. Alumni can print this one.

How much it's worth: this award is unique in that both the applicant AND the student giving the award receive money! The person applying will acquire $200 off their tuition (split between the two semesters) and the current or graduated student who gave the gift award will receive a check for $100 in the mail once the applicant enrolls in the September!

How it works:
*IMPORTANT* to receive this award, the award slip MUST be sent in WITH the new application.

Instructions for applicants:
Mail Application: send pink award slip in the same envelope with your application.
Online Application: if you are applying online, please email the admissions department (admissions@wol.ca, alliep@wol.ca) as soon as you have submitted your application and let them know that you have an Alumni Gift Award. Then, proceed to mail it in so we can process it!
Application Turned in at a Recharge weekend or Campus Days event: simple, just give us the award slip when you give us the application. For those of you who are wondering, YES you do get the $300 for applying at Recharge or Campus Days AND the $200 for Alumni Gift, totaling $500!!!

*The Perks*: This is a great way for  a new applicant to get an extra $200 off their tuition. Extra finances are sometimes hard to come by these days, so every little bit counts! ALSO, we students in turn get rewarded for rewarding our friends! Once the applicants enroll for the fall, Word of Life will send $100 in the mail for each gift award we handed out! Why WOULDN'T we take advantage of this opportunity! It's a win-win situation for everyone!

If you'd like to be a part of this offer, or have any questions, please contact our admissions department!
Email: AllieP@wol.ca, admissions@wol.ca, CassandraJ@wol.ca
Phone: 519-376-3516 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting            519-376-3516      end_of_the_skype_highlighting ex. 213 or 216. Toll Free: 800-461-3503 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting            800-461-3503      end_of_the_skype_highlighting

The Wards' Writing Summer 2011 Ministry Update

Thanks so much for reading this. We appreciate all of your prayers and support as we serve God here at WOLBI, Owen Sound Campus.

May God richly bless as you seek and serve Him!


Ward Prayer Letter Summer 2011

The Game of Life

I had the privilege this past weekend to share again the message "The Game of Life" at the RECHARGE Snow Camp weekend retreat here at WOLBI. It was very exciting to hear of at least 3 teens who were counseled to trust Christ as their Saviour after the message on Friday evening.

Using the metaphor of a game we compared various types of games with eternal realities of 'Real Life.'

From Jon in Real Life

The truth is:
Every Game has a Creator
     Every board game, sport or video game has a creator who has every right to create the rules of their game.

"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." Genesis 1:1

Every Game has Rules
     Every game must have rules to provide structure, enjoyment, and purpose.
     The Game of Life has rules, a universal standard of things that are right and things that are wrong.
     These 'rules' are true whether we believe them or not.
     We considered the Ten Commandments as basic rules for a successful life. However, just like penalties in sports, there are consequences for breaking those rules.

"For the wages of sin is death..." Romans 6:23a

"...And sin, when it is finished, brings forth death." James 1:15b

Every Game has an End
     There needs to be a point, purpose, and goal to every game and Real Life is no different.

"It is appointed unto man once to die and then the judgment." Hebrews 9:27

     The way to win the game of life is to simply play it perfectly according to the rules for your whole life!

"For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all." James 2:10

From Jon in Real Life

Little rope dude illustrating James 2:10

     The reality is impossible - we sin and bluntly put - we stink at the game of life. We just cannot consistently play by God's rules in our actions, our words, or our thoughts - we are losers at the Game of Life.

    That is not the end of the story though. Just like the ultimate cheat code in video games, we can hand over our lives to One who played the Game of Life perfectly for us!

"For He (God the Father) has made Him (Jesus, God the Son) to be sin for us, Who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him." 2 Corinthians 5:21

Jesus has won the game of life, by living a perfect life and dying the death He did not deserve. He offers His perfection to us, for our account so that we may stand before God with a perfect record on Judgment Day. 

Have you accepted His life for yours? Will you today?

Please let me know if you have questions or would like to know more about how you can know you too can win the 'Game of Life.'

Related Posts:

A Spiritual Lesson from American Idol - Truth
A Spiritual Lesson from American Idol - Believe it or Not

When "What's Best" is Bad

WOLBI Students are going to be able to tell where I am in my OT reading by this (and you should be much farther!) but Isaiah 30 impacted my life today.

Isa. 30:1-2 paints a picture of God's people, Israel, as absolutely rebellious and in an out-of-control, downward moral spiral multiplying sin upon sin. Pretty ugly, huh?! What was so bad to call for such a scathing accusation? They took counsel (mentioned again in vv. 9-11) and sought help from others (Egypt in this case), not God.

Throughout Scripture we are giving many examples of this same accusation. Abraham despite God's powerful promise (Gen. 12, 17, 22) tried repeatedly to intervene and 'help' God (offering Eleazer and Ishmael as his heir and fulfillment of God's promise!). Moses struck a rock the second time and it cost him the promised land, Uzziah lost his life as the wrong man carrying God's Ark in the wrong way, and Elimelech pays with his life for trusting Moab rather than God's 'house of bread'-Bethlehem in time of famine.

Jeremiah 17:5 says, "Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord."

How common is it for us to do the same? We say, "I know God's Word says...but I  really 'feel' that this is what God wants me to do." Or, "But everyone I talked to has told me that I should do this." How often do we run to others to bail us out of physical, emotional, financial, or social trouble instead of the God of the universe?

The alternative is given to us in verse 15 of Isaiah chapter 30 - returning to and resting in God. Doesn't John 15:5 say the same, "...without me (Jesus) ye can do nothing."

What are you trusting in today? On what are you basing life decisions? Only God and His Word provides the reliable, secure, and blessed resources for life on Earth.

Let's run to God to do things His way, in His time, by His counsel as we seek His counsel in His Word.
"Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is." Jer. 17:7

Movember!

Even with limited TV exposure I was amazed at so many commercials proclaiming the approach of Movember. What in the world is that about? My curiosity finally got the best of me. It wasn't hard to find out that Moustaches + November = Movember. The growing starts after a clean shave November 1 and is a constant talking point throughout the month to raise support and awareness about issues in Men's health.

"Did you know?
- In 2010 tragically more than 4,400 men will die as a direct result of prostate cancer." 

Some of the guys at the Bible Institute have joined in as well forming the Wolbranos (not to be confused with the Wolbranos Blog) group. Would you consider donating to prostate cancer research?

Check out my MoSpace for more information or to donate.

So it begins...

From Jon in Real Life