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Prophe-Zine Issue 086
PropheZine #86
November 1, 1999
Bob Lally Publisher
Mimi Nila Senior Editor
Rick Woodcock Asst. Editor
Abraham George Asst. Editor
Lori Eldridge Asst. Editor
Bob Ippolito Asst. Editor
ARTICLES
Dr. David R. Reagan.........Six Reasons Why All Christians
Should Desire the Soon Return of Jesus
Carol Leoffler..........A Milestone in History: A Halloween Tale
K.J. Onweller...............Fasting: A Study of Isaiah 58
COMMENTARIES
Berit Kjos.....................Halloween
BIBLE STUDY
Rexella Van Impe...........Perhaps Today - Walking In My Shoes
ENCOURAGEMENT
Author Unknown.......The Grocery List - submitted by John Terry
POEMS
Author Unknown............The Lamb - submitted by John Terry
Christina Lake...............The Conqueror
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Hi Subscribers!
The Lord is good - All The Time!
As I send this latest issue I find myself in a precarious position - unemployed with 4 mouths to feed! Possibly the next issue will deal with faith! And although I know all the scriptures dealing with God's providing for our daily needs, faith, standing on His word.....as human beings it is still difficult to not be frightened or nervous. Our flesh tends towards this and I have discovered that after years and years of trying to tame this earthly vessel it is nearly an impossible task. Especially when there are freshly baked chocolate chip cookies around the house!
Now, it is different for each of us. But, for me in situations like this my mind just wants to be nervous. What must be done by everyone in this situation is to continuously read His word, saturating your mind with Gods word and most importantly His promises, and ask the Holy Spirit to not only bring peace but to show you His will. We need to do His will at all times.
We have a survey on PropheZine and I ask that you please visit and take the survey. Hundreds have already. You will see the results and I find them quite interesting. (http://www.prophezine.com). Please stop by often. We have hundreds and hundreds of great teachings on audio (http://www.prophezine.dyndns.org/prophezine/realaudio/) If you are a business owner please consider advertising on PropheZine. Our rates are low and the visits are high (75,000 monthly from 135 countries)!
Please enjoy this issue. Know that the Birth Pangs I mentioned in the last issue are increasing.
Jesus is returning soon!
Bob
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| Six Reasons Why All Christians
| Should Desire the Soon Return of Jesus
| By Dr. David R. Reagan
|
As every new year dawns, I find myself earnestly yearning that it will be the year that will initiate the end time events that will lead to the Lord's return to this earth.
The first of those events will be the Rapture of the Church. That will be followed by the Great Tribulation of seven years, a period of unparalleled horror that will culminate in the return of Jesus to reign over all the world. The writings of the early Church Fathers (100 to 300 A.D.) reveal that one of the earliest prayers of the Church was "Maranatha!" (1 Corinthians 16:22). That word is actually an Aramaic phrase that means "Our Lord come!" This prayer expresses a fact that is confirmed by many other scriptures; namely, that the First Century Church had an ardent desire for the soon return of Jesus.
A Waning of the Zeal The Twentieth Century Church seems to have lost that desire. Most professing Christians today do not pray "Maranatha!" They do not yearn for the return of the Lord. Instead of yearning, they are yawning. Christendom at large is caught up in apathy regarding the return of Jesus. And that is sad, for the Word says that the return of the Lord is our "Blessed Hope"
(Titus 2:13).
Also, we are constantly admonished in Scripture to watch for the Lord's coming and to be ready. Jesus Himself said, "Be dressed in readiness, and keep your lamps alight . . . for the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not expect" (Luke 12:35,40). Paul exhorted Titus to live "looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and savior, Christ Jesus"
(Titus 2:13). And as Paul faced death in prison, he wrote:
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing. - 2 Timothy 4:7-8
Think of it, Paul says that a special reward - "a crown of righteousness," will be given to any person who lives his or her life loving the appearing of the Lord.
Are you a candidate for this reward? Do you have a zealous yearning in your heart for the Lord's soon return? Do you pray daily, "Maranatha!"?
Looking for Jesus
There are at least six reasons why every Christian should earnestly desire the soon return of Jesus:
1) Jesus - When Jesus returns He will get what He deserves - honor, glory and power.
When He came the first time, He was repudiated by the Jews, rejected by His home town, and spurned by his family. He was persecuted by the religious leaders, betrayed by a friend, denied by another friend, deserted by His disciples, and mocked by the masses. He had no place to lay His head. His only possession was a robe.
He was born in a stable, raised in poverty, nailed to a tree, and buried in a borrowed tomb. Today, people scoff at Him and ridicule Him. His name is used as a curse word.
That is not what He deserves!
It is going to be different when He returns. The first time He came as a gentle and helpless baby. He is going to return as a mighty warrior. He came the first time as a suffering lamb to die for the sins of the world, but He will return as a conquering lion who will pour out the wrath of God on those who have rejected the love, mercy and grace of God. His first coming was marked by compassion, humility, and a willingness to be judged and to die. He will return in triumph and in wrath to judge and make war against the enemies of God. He came the first time as a Servant; He is returning as a Monarch.
Jesus was humiliated in history. I want to see Him vindicated and glorified in history. And He will be because His Father has promised Him that He will reign over all the earth (Psalm 2:7-9). He has also been promised that He will manifest His glory before His saints (Isaiah 24:21-23) and before the nations of the earth (Isaiah 66:18 & Psalm 22:27-31). Paul says He is returning "to be glorified in His saints . . . and to be marveled at among all who have believed"
(2 Thessalonians 1:10).
2) Satan - When Jesus returns, Satan will receive what he deserves - defeat, dishonor and humiliation.
I'm sick of Satan. I'm tired of his plots and schemes and lies and deceptions.
I'm fed up with his sicknesses and temptations. I'm weary of his physical, emotional and spiritual pollution. I'm disgusted with his wrecking of marriages and homes. I loath his wars and terrorism. I despise His ceaseless attacks on the Church.
I often feel like the martyrs portrayed in Revelation who cry out day and night before the throne of God, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood?" (Revelation 6:10) Like Isaiah, I want to cry out to God, "Oh, that You would rend the heavens and come down!" (Isaiah
64:1).
The fate of Satan was sealed by the Cross, but his nefarious activities will not cease until the Lord returns. At that time, the Word says that God will deal with Satan decisively. Luke 18:7 says that God will vindicate His elect who cry out to Him day and night by providing them justice. Romans 16:20 says that Satan will be "crushed." The book of Revelation says he will then be thrown into the lake of fire where he "will be tormented day and night forever and ever"
(Revelation 20:10 - see also, Isaiah 14:12-17).
But Satan doesn't want to go to Hell alone. He's working overtime to take as many people with him as he can. And I want that work stopped! I want Satan to get what he deserves.
3) The Creation - When Jesus returns, the creation will receive what it has been promised - restoration.
The material universe was originally created in beauty and perfection. There were no poisonous plants or animals, nor were there any meat eating animals. There were no natural cataclysms like earthquakes and tornados. Mankind lived in perfect harmony with nature.
But when Man rebelled against God, one of the consequences of his sin was that God placed a curse on the creation. Poisonous plants and animals suddenly appeared. The animal kingdom turned against itself and Man as some of the animals became meat eaters. And the natural cataclysms began to take their toll. Man now had to strive against nature to survive.
But the moment God placed the curse on the creation, He promised that one day it would be lifted through "the seed of woman" (Genesis 3:15). That promise is repeated throughout the Scriptures. For example, in Isaiah 11, the prophet says that when the Messiah comes to reign, "the wolf will dwell with the lamb" and "the lion will eat straw like the ox." He further states that "the nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra" because the snake will no longer be poisonous.
Paul reaffirms this promise in the New Testament in the eighth chapter of Romans. He pictures the whole creation as being like a pregnant woman gripped by birth pains, crying out for the moment of delivery. He says that moment will come when "the sons of God are revealed." In other words, it will occur at the resurrection when the Lord returns (Romans 8:18-23).
On the day the Lord returns, the earth will be renovated by earthquakes and supernatural phenomena in the heavens (Revelation 6:12-17). The result will be a refreshed and beautified earth. The destructive forces of nature will be curtailed. Deserts will bloom. The plant and animal kingdoms will be redeemed. Poisonous plants and animals will cease to be poisonous. The carnivorous animals will become herbivorous. All of nature will cease to strive against itself. Instead, it will work together harmoniously to the benefit of Man. (Isaiah 11:6-9; Isaiah 35:1-10; Isaiah 65:17-25; Acts 3:19-21; and Romans 8:18-23)
4) The Nations - When Jesus returns, the nations will receive what they have been promised - peace, righteousness and justice. Mankind has dreamed of world peace throughout history. Disarmament treaties have been negotiated, peace treaties have been signed, international organizations have been created, but true peace has remained elusive. The Bible says that permanent world peace will never be achieved until the Prince of Peace, the Messiah, returns. Both Isaiah and Micah prophesied that when the Lord returns, the nations "will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks" and that "nation will not lift up sword against nation, and never again will they train for war" (Isaiah 2:4 and Micah 4:3). The hope of the world for peace will never be realized in summit conferences between heads of state. The only hope is the return of Jesus who will rule the world with "a rod of iron" (Psalm 2:9 and Revelation 2:26-27).
5) The Jews - When Jesus returns, the Jews will receive what they have been promised - salvation and primacy.
God has made many wonderful promises to His chosen people, the nation of Israel. Most of these are unfulfilled and will not be fulfilled until a remnant of the Jews turn to Jesus and accept Him as their Messiah. The prophetic scriptures tell us this will happen at the end of the Tribulation when the Jews who are left alive have come to the end of themselves and decide to turn to God. Zechariah says this remnant will "look upon Him whom they have pierced and will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only son" (Zechariah 12:10). The prophet also says that on that day of repentance, "a fountain of salvation will be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for impurity" (Zechariah 13:1).
This believing remnant will then be regathered to the land of Israel to receive the blessings that God has promised the nation. Those incredible blessings are described in great detail in chapters 60 through 62 of Isaiah. God's Shekinah glory will return (60:2) to a rebuilt Temple (60:7). The nations will send all kinds of assistance (60:10), including their wealth (60:5). The land of Israel will be reclaimed (60:13), the nation will receive respect (60:15), the people will enjoy peace (60: 18), and the Messiah will live in their presence (60:13,19). All the ruins will be rebuilt (61:4) and the land will be filled with joy (61:7-8) and praise (61:10-11). The nation will be a beacon of righteousness, and its glory will be witnessed all over the world (62:1-3). To sum it up, Isaiah says the nation of Israel will be "a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of God" (62:3). In effect, the world will be turned upside down regarding its relationship to the Jews. Today the Jewish people are despised and persecuted. They are the butt of jokes and ridicule. But a day is coming when all that will cease. Zechariah says that during the Lord's millennial reign the Jewish people will be so honored that when a Jew walks by, ten Gentiles will grab his clothing and say, "Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you" (Zechariah 8:23).
6) The Saints - Some of the promises to the Saints - to those who are member's of the Lord's Church - will be fulfilled at the time of the Rapture. The Rapture is an event that could occur any moment. It will precede the Second Coming. At the Rapture, the dead in Christ will be resurrected and the living will be translated to meet Him in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). It is at this time that both the living and dead in Christ will receive their glorified bodies. These will be immortal, perfected bodies - like the body that Jesus had after His resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:42-53 and Philippians 3:21). When Jesus returns to this earth, the Saints will come with Him and will witness His glorious victory over the Antichrist and his forces (Revelation 19:11-21). The Saints will then receive what they have been promised - a redeemed earth and ruling power over the nations (Matthew 5:5 and Revelation 2:26-27). Jesus will reign from Mount Zion in Jerusalem as King of kings and Lord of lords (Isaiah 24:21-23). David in his glorified body will reign as king of Israel (Jeremiah 30:9 and Ezekiel 34:23-24). The Saints in their glorified bodies will be scattered all over the world to assist with the Lord's reign (2 Timothy 2:12 and Revelation 2:26-27). Some will serve as administrators (mayors, governors, presidents, and kings), others will serve as judges, but most will serve as teachers, for the entire educational system of the world will be in the hands of glorified Saints. It will be their responsibility to teach those who are in the flesh about the Lord. There will be no legislators (thank God!), for Jesus Himself will give the law. (See Isaiah 2:1-4; Isaiah 66:19-21; Jeremiah 3:12-18;
and Luke 19:11-27.)
These six reasons make it clear that every Christian should be earnestly desiring the return of the Lord. Yet apathy prevails. Why?
Yawning about Jesus I have found four reasons for the apathy and indifference that characterize the Christian community concerning the return of Jesus: unbelief, ignorance, fear, and carnality.
Unbelief - Regarding unbelief, many professing Christians simply do not believe that Jesus will ever return. Most of these are people with a liberal view of Scripture. They have spiritualized away the meaning of the Second Coming, just as they have spiritualized the virgin birth and the miracles. To them, the Second Coming is nothing more than a fairy tale. In 2 Peter 3:3-4 we are told that the end times will be characterized by scoffers who will mock the Lord's promise to return. The tragedy is that many of these are people who profess to be Christians.
Ignorance - I think most of the Christians who are apathetic about the Lord's return are just ignorant about what will happen when He comes back. As a result, they cannot get excited about an event they know nothing about. I was in this category for thirty years. Although I attended church faithfully, my church ignored the teaching and preaching of God's Prophetic Word. I didn't have the foggiest idea about what would happen when the Lord came back, and the result was apathy about His return. But when I began studying Bible prophecy and learned what is in store for believers when the Lord returns, I started jumping pews and shouting "Maranatha!" I have never been apathetic since that time. Fear - The apathy of some Christians is due to the fact that they fear the Lord's return. Because of that fear, they try to repress the thought that He might break from the Heavens at any moment. They fear He might return on one of their "bad" days or when they have an "unconfessed sin" on their conscience. These people are caught up in works salvation. They do not understand that they are saved by grace and that "there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1).
Carnality - Finally, there are many carnal Christians who cannot get excited about the coming of the Lord because they are in love with the world. They are walking with one foot in the church and one foot in the country club. They want the Lord to come, but they want Him to come when they are 80 years old and have experienced all that this world has to offer. In other words, they want Him to come, but they don't want Him to mess up their lives.
A Seventh Reason Let me conclude with a personal note. There is another reason I want Jesus to return. It has to do with the fact that when you love someone, you want to be with them. I love to fellowship with Jesus in worship, in prayer, and in His Word. But these forms of fellowship are no substitute for being with Him. I love Him, and therefore . . .
I want to be with Him.
I want to bask in the presence of His love and
holiness.
I want to see the glory of God in His face.
I want to kiss His nail-scarred hands and say,
"Thank you!"
Thank you for . . .
dying for me,
forgiving me,
changing me,
guiding me,
comforting me,
and for giving my life meaning and purpose.
And I want to join the Saints and the Heavenly
Host in singing, "Worthy is the Lamb!"
Maranatha!
www.lamblion.com
lamblion@lamblion.com
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| A Milestone in History:
| A Halloween Tale
| By Carol Loeffler
|
In the year 1483 in Eisleben, Saxony, a baby boy was born to a poor coal miner. As he grew up and observed the poverty of his father, this boy, named Martin, chose to pursue a different vocation. He decided to become a lawyer and, in 1501, entered the University of Erfurt, where he excelled in his studies. As he came to the end of his schooling in 1504, an event took place which changed his life.
While he was walking the campus grounds, a storm broke so forcefully that Martin fell on his face in fear. The thunder was deafening and lightning struck all around him. Instinctively, he cried out to the patron saint of coal miners, whose name he had heard invoked during his childhood, "Saint Anne! Save me from the lightning. If you save me I will become a monk."
Shortly thereafter the storm stopped. Being a man of his word, Martin withdrew from law school and entered an Augustinian monastery where he applied himself so diligently that he obtained a Doctorate of Theology within a few years. But the more he studied, the more troubled his heart became; for although he was becoming an expert in theology, he lacked peace personally. The question he repeatedly wrote in his diary was: "How can a man find favor with God?"
In search of such peace, Martin devoted himself to an exceedingly pious life-style. He would fast for ten to fifteen days at a time. When temperatures dropped below freezing, he slept outside without a blanket. Between his studies, he beat his body until it was black and blue and bleeding-hoping that somehow by punishing his flesh, he could rid himself of the thoughts and motives that he knew were not right. (These were typical practices of the medieval church...) He went to confession so many times a day that finally the abbot said, "Martin, either go out and commit a sin worth confessing or stop coming here so often!"
Martin was so introspective and continually plagued by what he knew of his own depravity and sinfulness that once, while sitting at his desk writing theology, he felt the presence of Satan so tangibly that he grabbed a bottle of ink and hurled it across the room to where he thought the devil was standing. The bottle crashed against the wall and left a mark that can still be seen today.
Finally, in 1509, Martin decided to make a pilgrimage to Rome in hope of finding the elusive peace for which he longed. He set out on foot and crossed the Alps. On his descent, he almost died of a high fever before making his way to a monastery at the foot of the mountains. There the Brothers nursed him back to health. While there, a wise monk approached him and said, "You need to read the Book of Habakkuk." And so Martin did just that. He read Habakkuk. It was a good suggestion. Habakkuk was a struggler just like Martin, and like us today: If God is good, why does He allow suffering? If there really is a devil, why doesn't God just obliterate him? (When we throw out questions, we then plunge into our personal pursuits-and wonder why we don't get answers.) One verse captured Martin's imagination: Habakkuk 2:4. "The just shall live by faith." He couldn't get it out of his mind.
Having recovered sufficiently to continue his journey to Rome, he went to the Church of St. John's Lateran, a typical cathedral of that day. There is a staircase there that is said to be from Pilate's judgment hall. The existing stairs are four parts: the special inner two are said to have been transported there miraculously from Jerusalem. The outer two are ordinary. The inner steps are not walked on. Here pilgrims mount painfully on their knees, a step at a time, saying prayers as they go. The pope had promised an indulgence to all who would undergo this rite.
As Martin repeated his prayers on the Lateran staircase, Habakkuk 2:4 suddenly came into his mind: "the just shall live by faith." He ceased his prayers, returned to the University of Wittenberg, and went on to explore the revolutionary idea of "justification by faith." And with great deliberation, on October 31, 1517, Martin drove a stake into the heart of the prevailing pagan concepts by nailing his famous 95 Theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany, and started the movement known today as the Reformation-the single most important event in modern history.1 Appropriately, he did this on Halloween. His name, of course, was Martin Luther.
The church leadership didn't like the implications of his views and ultimately, at the Diet (council) of Worms (a town) they excommunicated him as a heretic. He went on to write commentaries that are classics today; hymns like, "A Mighty Fortress is our God"; and translated the entire Bible into German, a classic which remains the literary masterpiece in the Germanic tongue.
* * *
The just shall live by faith. By faith; not by intellect, sight, or feelings. Faith is the currency of eternity. God wants us to be rich people. Faith is not believing in spite of evidence; it is obeying in spite of the consequences.
The Holy Spirit has given us a trilogy on Habakkuk 2:4, The Just shall live by Faith; Rom 1:15-17, The Just shall live by Faith; Galations 1;6-9; 3:1-3, 11, The Just shall live by Faith; Heb 10:38, (introduces the "Hall of Faith, Hebrews 11.)
It takes three epistles of the New Testament to expound just one Old Testament text of six words! (This is one of the several reasons I personally ascribe authorship of the Epistles to the Hebrews to Paul.) One small verse in Habakkuk changed the course of history. Among the most fascinating portions of the Bible are the lesser known "Minor" prophets. (The scholastic term "minor" derives from their small size, not their significance!) Why not undertake a personally tutored study of some of them.
* * *
Notes:
1. Manuscript by his son D. Paul Luther preserved in the library at Rudolstadt, quoted by F.W. Boreham in A Bunch of Everlastings or Texts That Made History, Judson Press, Philadelphia, 1920, p.20.
Visit our Website at http://www.khouse.org, Special Offer...From Kononia House FREE for one year! Personal UPDATE is read by over 200,000 Christians each month find out why! The Source for Christian Intelligence. Biblical Relevance of Current Events. Information derived from public and private sources. Provocative insights into the Bible. 32 pages of wide ranging topics - Prophecy, Scientific, Personal Stewardship, Textual Insights, God's Love. Take us up on this offer! This offer is limited to first-time subscribers in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and Western Europe. For outside areas, the cost is $40/year. You can call us at 1-800-KHOUSE-1, or write Koinonia House, P.O Box D, Coeur d'Alene,ID 83816
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| Fasting: A Study of Isaiah 58
| By K.J. Onweller
|
I don't know how many of you really know what fasting is all about so I'll try to explain. Basically, you go without food and water for a period of time to learn from the Lord. It sounds nuts, I'll be the first to admit: starve yourself for the Lord? Why would that be necessary?
Some people take fasting to the extreme as some act of piety by which they can force God to do something for them. I have to tell you that this is ridiculous and a waste of time. You might as well eat a cheeseburger if you are going to demand something of God in this fashion. At least you'll have a full stomach this way.
On the other hand, there are sincere people who abstain from food and drink in order to pray for other people or to seek God's will in their lives.
Sometimes they get results, sometimes they don't? Why the difference?
Jesus gave us part of the answer for failed fasting when he said:
"When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full." (Matt 6:16) [The Proper Fast]
It is in the 58th chapter of Isaiah that we can find explained the proper kind of a fast with the amazing results it promises.
"Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers. Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high." (Isaiah 58:3-4) Fasting needs to be something that transforms you. If you end your fasting no differently than when you began, it was a complete waste of time: you will be no closer to the Lord than when you started.
"Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, ONLY a day for man to humble himself?
Is it ONLY for bowing one's head like a reed and for lying on sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord?"
(Isaiah 58:5) Fasting must be more than humbling yourself and repenting (sackcloth and ashes always symbolizes repentance). Unfortunately, this is as far as some people go with their fasting. And, sadly, this is why their fast can often end in disappointment.
[What are the amazing results of the proper fast?]
"Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard." (Isaiah 58:8) Do you want this? I certainly do! The way you achieve this is outlined in the preceding verses:
"Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter--when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?" (Isaiah 58:6-7) Basically put, fasting (in addition to humbling yourself and repenting of your sins) must also include: 1) loosening the chains of injustice, 2) helping the less fortunate. And, as if this wasn't clear enough, the concept is clarified a few verses later:
"If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday." (Isaiah 58:10)
A-Ha! How clear it is. Your fasting should also be to stop your accusatory finger-pointing and malicious talking behind another's back. And, it must also be a time when you learn to identify and help the needy.
[Fasting has four purposes.]
1) To Humble Yourself 2) To Repent Of Sin 3) Stop Finger-Pointing And Bad-Mouthing 4) Helping The Needy.
If, during your fast, you cover all four areas you will have these amazing results:
"Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I." (Isaiah 58:9) To be transformed such that your righteousness is obvious to all and to be able to call on the Lord for anything and to be answered--doesn't that make fasting worthwhile to you?
"But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, WILL REWARD YOU."
(Matt 6:18) [An Example]
For some of you an example will be in order on how fasting can work for you.
I live in a small place with my wife and two small children. Finding time to devote exclusively to the Lord when the children are awake is next to impossible for me. For this reason, I will often fast at night. What I would typically do is to stop drinking any liquids when I get home from work. I'll skip dinner but still sit at the table with my family, simply explaining to the kids that I'm not eating. They're too young to understand anyway. After they go to bed I'll then go off by myself (I have to let my wife know ahead of time I'm fasting so that she will give me the quiet time). Then I'll start by praying and seeking the Lord's will through bible reading. Using a bible with cross-references and a concordance can be a great help during these times.
[How often should you fast?]
We know the four reasons: humbling, repentance, ceasing to be accusatory, learning to help the needy. So, basically, when I find myself slipping up I
know it is time to fast. For example, if I find I'm being too arrogant or am beset with some recurring sin, it is definitely time for a fast. Or, if I'm having issues with blaming people for my problems or badmouthing, it is time to fast. Or if I feel I'm being too selfish and inattentive to the needs of others, it is time for a fast. I hope you are seeing the point here. Fasting is designed to restore your relationship with God through these four areas.
[How long should you fast?]
In my situation it would only ever be for an evening at a time but for you it could be different. It also depends upon what I'm fasting about. There have been times when I've fasted and knew within 15 minutes that the need for fasting was over. There have been other times when I was continuing on late into the night. The point is that you continue your fast until the reason you are doing it has been resolved.
As you fast remember that the purpose is to increase your relationship with God.
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Prophezine Commentaries
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HALLOWEEN
A Seductive Bridge Between Two Cultures
By Berit Kjos <www.crossroad.to>
"We have the holiday back again. These pagan calendars are imprinted in our genes. They cannot be taken away." (Wiccan author Zsuzsanna Budapest) In honor of the Halloween season, the last week of October has been declared "Earth Religions Awareness Week" in Asheville, NC. The mayor's proclamation explains that Earth-centered beliefs, are "among the oldest spiritual systems on the planet" and that pagan practitioners "have given us practical knowledge of herbal remedies, midwifery and alternative forms of healing."1 That may sound good to all who have embraced the new global spirituality touted in schools, movies, and the wildly popular Harry Potter books. But some of the local pastors were understandably alarmed. Concerned that such a government endorsement could speed the spread of witchcraft, they led a group of 25 Christians to City Hall. "We just wanted to counter that by making a positive statement that we believe Jesus is Lord," said Pastor Ken Lewis of the West Asheville Baptist Church.
Mayor Leni Sitnick apologized, but refused to rescind the special designation for the week of October 25. "I don't tell anyone how to believe, but I support everyone's right to freedom of religion," she said. "Being aware of different religions, of all religions ... should not be feared." Of course, a government proclamation is far different than public awareness. But never mind. These days, facts and logic seem to slip away from ideological conflicts.
PAGANISM IS IN. This irrational twist in the changing view of "the separation between church and state" demonstrates the new public attitudes toward occult thrills and earth-centered values. Since a multicultural perspective is fast becoming a graduation requirement in school districts across the country, educators look for creative ways to immerse students in various earth-centered rituals and experiences. So it's not surprising that a Wiccan priestess was allowed to present "a program designed to dispel witchcraft myths" at an Asheville elementary school -- something she has done every October for the past four years. After all, earth-centered religions fit right into the envisioned global spirituality needed to "re-connect with the earth" as Al Gore and other leaders have proposed.
The new public attitudes toward earth-centered celebrations fueled an interesting conflict in our California school district a few years ago. A simple request that Halloween festivities be held after school rather than during class time to free some Christian children from a duty to participate exploded into a
major community feud. Most parents were angry. They simply couldn't understand why some children would choose to avoid the traditional in-school celebration of a "harmless holiday." Why worry about the small minority who felt offended by its ancient link to a "dead religion?"
To resolve the conflict, a large public meeting was held. Only a few minority voices were heard. A former Wiccan priest explained that the old Celtic witchcraft that gave birth to Halloween is anything but "dead." Flourishing in today's pagan revival, it has become an official religion with tax-exempt status.2 A few Christian parents shared their concerns about programs that compelled children to celebrate occult themes. They knew well that pagan symbols and occult amusement were desensitizing children to a fast-spreading subculture obsessed with death, spells and black magic -- not just at Halloween but all year long.3
Teletubbies The majority booed, jeered, and refused to listen. "These are religious objections to secular events," declared Phil Faillaice, the president of the board. Everyone seemed to have forgotten that a different minority had, only nine months earlier, banned Christmas songs as offensive to their beliefs. But times have changed. By the end of the evening, the pro-Halloween group had won its case, and the media spread the "good" news from coast to coast.
"We have the holiday back again," declared Bay Area witch, Zsuzsanna Budapest. "These pagan calendars are imprinted in our genes. They cannot be taken away."4 "It's hard to give up a good party," added Daniel Melia, UC Berkeley professor of Celtic languages. "Satan is a Christian notion. This is a pre-Christian celebration."
He was wrong about Satan. The Old Testament mentions Satan fourteen times, and that doesn't include all his other names. From beginning to end, the Bible shows how Lucifer has always been stirring rebellion against God and hatred for His people -- even as he masquerades as an "angel of light." But then as now, the good news outshines the bad: the evil one could never cause more trouble than God would allow.5 THE ROOTS OF HALLOWEEN. Few understand the spirit behind Halloween better than Valerie Duffy, a former witch. (You can read her amazing testimony in A Twist of Faith). "The feast of Samhain (sah-ween) is an unholy Sabbath observed by occultists worldwide," she explains. Freed from the demonic forces that once controlled her life, she now lives in an "upstate New York" community that often publicizes Wiccan coven meetings and "full moon" celebrations. Each October, she fights -- and wins 6 -- a spiritual battle against oppressive forces that intensify their attacks near the Wiccan holiday.
Valerie knows all too well why Neopagans love Halloween. The old Celtic "sabbat"
is their main feast -- a window of time when the walls between the physical and spiritual worlds supposedly become thin enough to allow easy crossovers. This was the time to catch up with one's ancestors and other spirits from the underworld. 7 But don't think the Vigil of Samhain was just a fun holiday. The "Lord of the Dead", Samhain himself, is no deity to laugh at. Valerie explains why:
"On October 31, black-cloaked Druids bearing torches would go door to door to select humans for their New Year's sacrifice to the Lord of the Dead. In return for the child or infant, they would leave a hollowed turnip with candle light shining through the carved face -- a satanic counterfeit for the biblical Passover.
"In the reveling that took place on that night to Samhain, the demons supposedly loosed for the night would pass over the homes "marked" by the carved lantern. Those families had provided the required gift or sacrifice.
Other homes could be hit -- sometimes with sudden death.
"The children selected for sacrifice were tossed into a bonfire. The Druids called it a bone-fire since only the bones were left. From the agonizing screams of the dying, the divining priests would foretell the future of the village."8 Does the last statement sound familiar? Remember how the shaman or medicine man in Disney's Pocahontas read the future in the smoke from his ritual fire. When you look behind today's idealized images of the world's pagan religions, you find some awesome similarities. Small wonder since Satan, the mastermind behind the Druid rituals, has been repeating the same basic strategies throughout history.
Those who are captivated by occult thrills and symbols become blind to the dangers they have embraced. Images that once drew shudders, now produce laughter. I stopped by a large bookstore one day and discovered a huge new display inside. Startled, I stared at a child-sized open casket filled with vampire books. The wooden casket was leaning against a large imitation stone altar. On it stood an embellished cross with candles on each side. In the center, displayed like a Bible, lay a large book. Sickened by the mockery of Christianity, I checked the cover and found Memnoch the Devil, the latest top-selling vampire book by Anne Rice. On the gray cathedral-like wall above the altar hung a cross. I hurried out of the store.
THE PARADIGM SHIFT. This decade's culture clash may be more evident in October, but Halloween's celebration of occultism is only a symptom of a spiritual battle that rages all year. Most of us were grieved by this past year's school and church massacres -- horrendous symptoms of a rudderless society. Yet, murderous eruptions of violence have been increasing year by year at a pace that parallels the accelerating shift from Biblical truth to an irrational emphasis on self-esteem. For instance, some years ago, three teenage boys shamelessly stabbed, strangled, and beat a 55-year-old man crippled by multiple sclerosis -- then feasted on the spaghetti in his refrigerator. He "didn't have a chance," concluded the Newsweek story. "The boys who allegedly attacked him. . . were ruthless."9 Girls are fast catching up with boys. In New Orleans, a 13-year old schoolgirl pulled out a knife and plunged it into a classmate's back. "You name the crime, we have it; you think about the worst scenarios and we have them here,"10 said Edward Cue, an official with California's "hard core" Youth Authority school in Ventura.
The lack of remorse baffles law officers. Why are both children and adults losing the old sensitivity to the horrors of evil? Why can't they tell right from wrong? The New York Times cover story that declared "evil is back," raised the same questions: "What does it mean? Violence? Mindless wickedness? Malignant wickedness?"11 The answer is: all the above. People love evil. Children gleefully watch televised death scenes that might have shocked hardened spectators in the old Roman coliseum. The lure of cruelty, violence, and occult horrors sell some of the most popular children's books as well as supermarket tabloids. By its mere exposure and availability, evil has been reinvented. Now it feels good, not bad -- exciting, not repulsive. And Satan grins.
Pokemon Fictionalized evil -- the kind children enjoy in books and movies -- separates people from the reality of human suffering, which is just what the evil one intended. Many become spectators rather than participants in real community life. Eventually, both real and imagined violence becomes significant only as entertainment.
Some years ago, a car hit an elderly couple in a busy shopping complex. A crowd was already gathering at the scene when I happened to come by. It didn't take long to see the streams of blood from both their heads, yet no one had bound their wounds or covered their shivering bodies. I cried out for blankets or jackets, scarves -- anything to stop the bleeding and slow the shock. Nobody responded -- neither men nor women. When I tried to stop the bleeding from the woman's broken skull with a tissue from my purse, the spectators just stared with blank faces. I called to the owner of the car for a blanket or clothing. He didn't move. When I ran to his car and grabbed some dry cleaned clothes from his back seat, he protested. I suppose he didn't want blood on his clean clothes. Eventually an ambulance came and took the victims away.
The Bible mentions people who act like animals. "What's wrong with that?" some might argue. "Animals are nicer than people."
Those who study animals see the harsh nature behind the soft fur, brown eyes, and flattering media images. An anthropologist had been studying a group of monkeys for some time when a party of chimpanzees invaded the territory. "The results were devastating," he wrote. "During the hour-long hunt, seven [monkeys] were killed; three were torn apart in front of me. Nearly four hours later, the hunters were still eating. . . while I sat staring in disbelief at the remains of many of my study subjects."12 Were these animals evil?
No. Evil is unique to humanity. We alone are given a moral choice and God's Word to help us resist temptation. Animals are expected to follow their natural instincts, but humans are held accountable to God's standard. Ignorance of that standard doesn't cancel the consequences for not heeding it. "They are without excuse," the Bible tells us. And so we all face the consequences of the cultural slide best described in Romans 1:21-32:
" ...although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.
Professing to be wise, they became fools... and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator.... Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness... to vile passions.... [and finally] to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit...."
Does that list sound familiar? It goes on to describe those who despise God's truth. They are "proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them."
That's why Christians have faced persecution somewhere in the world most of the last 2000 years -- and why we can expect a revival of the same kind of hatred in this nation. But in the middle of it all, God reminds His followers, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." (2 Corinthians 12:9) The disappointments, divisions, slander, and hatred that uncompromising Christians face today may break our hearts and test our faith as we try to serve our King. Yet they serve God's purpose, for they help us see the malignancy of what God calls evil. Better yet, they also prompt us to trust God rather than our feelings, to exercise the faith and discipline needed to respond with love, and to make every effort to avoid the consequences of tolerating evil. Thus evil, when seen from His perspective, becomes a catalyst to make us strong in Christ, not in ourselves.
"Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place." (2 Corinthians 2:14)
* A cultural paradigm is a social awareness, a worldview, a pattern or framework for understanding reality, a point of view that determines how the general public evaluates good and evil, right and wrong. A paradigm shift means a cultural transformation, a total change in thinking, seeing, and evaluating social issues.
Much of the above information has been excerpted from A Twist of Faith.
Endnotes:
1. "Ministers decry mayor's proclamation honoring 'Earth Religions'," The Charlotte Observer, October 21, 1999 2. "Witches use taxes to gain public OK," The Journal (Providence, RI), August 14, 1989.
3. While the Bible warns against any contact with witchcraft, magic, spells, and spiritism (Deuteronomy 18:9-12), the obsession with occult books and games (Magic: the Gathering, Dungeons and Dragons, occult computer games) and youthful covens of witches practicing black magic, is multiplying from coast to coast.
4. Annie Nakao, "Pagan Ways Live On," San Francisco Examiner, October 22, 1995.
5. Job 1 shows how Satan had to ask permission.... God reigns, and He always does what He pleases. Therefore some who don't understand His ways, blame Him for evil or call Him weak for not ending it. How can you eliminate evil without turning humans into puppets without any free will?
6. The spiritual battle is won through memorizing, trusting, speaking and living God's Word. Valerie "puts on the full armor of God".
7. Margot Adler, Drawing Down the Moon (Boston: Beacon Press, 1979), 110.
8. Merle Severy, "The Celts," National Geographic (May 1977), pages 625-626, describes "the eve of Samhain... the start of the Celtic new year: "According
to the Dinshenchas, a medieval collection of "the lore of prominent places,"
firstborn children were sacrificed before a great idol to ensure fertility of cattle and crops. Samhain eve was a night of dread and danger. At this juncture of the old year and the new, our world and the otherworld opened up to each other. The dead returned, ghosts and demons were abroad, and the future could be seen.. . . Behind such Halloween games as bobbing for apples lie Celtic divination arts to discern who would marry, thrive, or die in the coming year. Behind the masks and mischief, the jack-o'lanterns and food offerings, lurk the fear of malevolent spirits and the rites to propitiate them." Page 601 gives additional insight: "Tacitus tells us of the bloodstained Druid altars of Anglesey in Wales. Caesar describes mass human sacrifice in Gaul: 'Some of the tribes make colossal wickerwork figures, the limbs of which are filled with living men; these images are then set alight and the victims perish in a sea of flame.' " For more general information about Celtic religion and Samhain, see Encyclopedia Britannica.
9. Barbara Kantrowitz, "Wild in the Streets," Newsweek (August 2, 1993); 40.
10.Connie Leslie, "Girls Will be Girls," Newsweek (August 2, 1933); 44.
11. Ron Rosenbaum, "Staring into the Heart of Darkness," The New York Times Magazine (June 4, 1995); 36.
12. "The Circle of Death," The American Enterprise (September/October 1995);
11.
Berit Kjos at www.crossroad.to
andy-berit@crossroad.to
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Bible Study
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Perhaps Today -
September, October 1999
Walking In My Shoes
- By Rexella Van Impe -
I truly enjoy reading the letters that come to my attention. While our demanding work schedules don't permit Jack and me to see every single piece of correspondence sent to the ministry, we read as many letters from friends and partners as we possibly can to stay in touch with how people are feeling. I especially take delight in letters from children or other "special" mail.
Recently I received a most unusual request from a woman representing a small charitable group dedicated to preventing domestic violence and helping provide a safe, warm environment for victims of abuse. The letter I received requested me to donate...a pair of my shoes!
Shoes? Used shoes? Yes, it seems this group collected shoes from celebrities or well-known people and "auctioned" them to donors who made contributions to this most-worthy charitable cause in the name of the person whose shoes they bought. I found myself intrigued by this strange request and the group's novel fund-raising project.
The young woman who wrote to me said she wanted my shoes because she had observed that I had been instrumental in helping people make positive changes in their lives through the love of Jesus, and was dedicated to helping share the Word of God to tens of thousands of people around the world. "You are someone that I am honored to ask to help us," she wrote.
Needless to say, I soon found myself in my closet searching for a pair of shoes to send. I actually ended up sending more than one pair, hoping that the group could find others who'd make a contribution for my shoes.
How could I possibly turn down such an unusual request?
As I was looking at my shoes, I couldn't help thinking about all the places those shoes had gone. Places and events flashed into my mind as I held each pair in my hands. In many cases, I actually remembered where I had been and what I had been doing when I wore those shoes.
Some of the shoes had carried me to crusade services in thousands of cities across America and into fifty countries across the world. The blue ones with the bow-I'd worn them on tent and auditorium platforms to sing the gospel for the Lord. I'd worn these shiny black ones years ago when I conducted on-camera interviews with some of the most interesting and influential men in world politics. The old, worn lace-ups with the scuffs were traveling shoes-I wore them in the ministry van during the long hours we drove from city to city. I wore this pair just last week in the TV studio as we taped the latest "Jack Van Impe Presents" program. The soft "at home" slippers were favorites I wore into my prayer closet to seek God's direction and to intercede for people with needs and troubles.
I soon decided that every pair of shoes had its own story to tell as I reminisced there in my closet. They had carried me through dust and mud, snow and ice. Sometimes they had been soiled and scarred by long, hard roads. At times they had been spotted and stained by my own falling tears.
What amazing stories would be told if my shoes could talk.
As I stood there, I couldn't help but wonder that if someone slipped on my shoes and let them carry her to where they had taken me, would I be confident or ashamed. "Oh, Lord," I whispered, "I hope my shoes would have a worthy testimony of carrying beautiful feet." As the Prophet Isaiah so eloquently exclaimed, How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings...that publisheth salvation (Isaiah 52:7).
Even after I turned off the light and shut my closet door, I kept thinking about shoes. I remembered hearing people over the years say how they wished they could walk in the shoes of some prominent minister or some other person they respected or admired. And I knew that in some cases they would have been disappointed, possibly even disillusioned, if they'd followed in the footsteps of their hero who might not have followed the straight and narrow pathway.
In today's world, we have often seen men and women in public life fail to set good examples. Sports figures who should have taken more responsibility for their influence on admiring young people have disclaimed their position as role models. Top business, military, and political leaders have blatantly violated the principles of truth, honor, and morality and willfully wallowed in cesspools of deceit and degradation. Who would want to wear their shoes?
The failure of mankind is not limited to modern examples. The Bible abounds with stories of individuals who chose to follow perilous pathways.
Consider the treacherous shoes of Judas, one of the disciples who followed Jesus. Although he walked in the presence of the Master, heard His teachings, witnessed His miracles, and shared the most intimate moments with our Lord, somewhere along the way Judas obviously began to travel down the wrong road.
I believe Judas lived a double life. The other disciples must have trusted him because, according to the Gospel of John, Judas was the keeper of the bag, or treasurer, for the disciples-but he was also dishonest, pilfering what was entrusted to his care (see John 12:6). And if you will recall, at the Last Supper, when Jesus announced that one of the twelve would betray Him, no one pointed an accusing finger at Judas. Rather, all of them asked, "Is it I?"
At one time, Judas had the opportunity to share in Christ's ministry.
Who knows where he might have gone and what God might have accomplished through him? But Judas's shoes carried him into the minefield of money.
When Mary of Bethany anointed Jesus' feet with very expensive ointment, Judas indignantly demanded of the Lord why He allowed such waste when the ointment could have been sold and the money given to the poor. He said this not because he cared about the poor, John tells us, but because he had become a thief and coveted the three hundred pence that might have been put within his care.
And it was money that drove him to betray Jesus. Judas went to the chief priests and asked, "What will you give me if I deliver Him to you?" (see Matthew 26:15). The sandals of Judas made a wrong turn and became shoes of treachery.
Over the centuries, many have despised Judas for his deliberate treachery, betraying Jesus to the lynch mob with a kiss. But how many still wear shoes like his-treacherous shoes, lying shoes, cheating shoes?
How many shoes are filled with feet that go to church on Sunday and to the house of the devil for the rest of the week? How many betray the Lord even today, perhaps not for thirty pieces of silver, but through other forms of selfishness and greed? Their treacherous footwear propels them to wrong places to do wrong things that betray Jesus day after day.
I heard a heartbreaking story of a woman who felt she had to get a divorce after thirteen years of marriage. She had two beautiful children who didn't lack for anything. Her husband was a successful businessman who provided an affluent lifestyle, with a nice house, beautiful clothes, and expensive cars. What was the problem? She discovered that on his lunch hour several times a week, her husband would leave the office and visit prostitutes. Betrayal! Deceit!
Here was a man who seemed to have it all. Respect of colleagues.
Prestigious neighborhood. All the trappings of prosperity. But he couldn't keep from wearing the shoes of treachery. And they took him down the slippery slopes to destruction.
Jesus himself told the story of the prodigal son, the young man who left his father's house with his inheritance and wasted it on riotous living in a far country (see Luke 15). He may have been led astray by the lure of popularity and the approval of the crowd. He thought he could buy satisfaction and fulfillment with money. He kept looking for a good time, taking pleasure in the things of the world. And all the while, his wandering shoes took him farther and farther away from his father.
Perhaps the prodigal son's intent was not as evil and treacherous as Judas's, but his self-centered shiftlessness was destructive, nonetheless.
He didn't stop until he hit bottom. When he had wasted everything he had and lost the adulation of the crowd, he ended up in the pigpen, his shoes battered and worn, ruined by the slop and the slime of the swine.
In desperation, he started back to his father's house, hoping to become a servant so he could at least have room and board. But his father had never given up on him. He had kept on looking down the road, waiting for his wandering son to come home. And one day he saw a familiar figure. He didn't look the same as when he had left. This man was dirty, dejected, humiliated, broken, smelly, and at the end of himself. But he was still beloved! And the father went running to meet him, embraced him, and wept over him with tears of joy and jubilation.
"Bring a clean robe for my son," he cried. "Prepare a bath for him. Put a ring of gold on his finger. Cook a banquet feast. Tell everybody to come help me celebrate! My son who was lost has come home!
"Oh," said the father, "one more thing. Throw away these worn-out, run-over, dirty, pig-pen smelly, wandering shoes. Bring new shoes to put on his feet. My son is home at last!"
Have you made some wrong turns in your life? Has your wandering taken you farther and farther away from the Father's house? Have you wasted what you have been given, and ended up in a low and shameful place?
It's not too late for you. You can go back to the Father. Get rid of your wandering shoes and make your way back to the place from which you started. Don't worry about what you will say when you get there. Don't be afraid of whether He will receive you or not. The minute you start moving toward Him, the Father will see you and come running to meet you, arms outstretched, words of welcome streaming from His lips, tears of joy pouring from His eyes. He will wash you and restore you. He will dress you in new robes of righteousness. He will prepare the fatted calf and call all the family to welcome you home. He'll put a golden ring upon your hand to show that you belong to Him.
And He'll put new shoes upon your feet!
If we had the time and space, we could find many other examples from God's Word of individuals whose shoes went astray. We could examine Jonah, who ran from God. We could study Peter, whose wishy-washy sandals walked on the water with Jesus...and ran to hide in the alley when Jesus was being condemned to die. There are so many more. A common thread in every example would be that going away from God and following the footsteps of any man is risky. Only as we look to the Lord do we find an Example and Guide who will never fail. The only safe path we can follow is in His steps!
Well did the psalmist declare, Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path (Psalm 119:105). I'm told that in olden days, some people actually attached little lamps to the toe of each of their shoes, which freed up their hands to carry a load. As they walked into the darkness, the little lamps gave out just enough light for one more step.
Illumination of dark roads and sidewalks is not such a great problem anymore. With electric streetlights and battery-powered flashlights, it's fairly easy to see where we're going no matter which direction we go. But the darkness in men's hearts and minds is as great as ever. Only in the Word of God can we find the source of light that chases away the shadows and illuminates the right road to follow. If we seek-and respond to-the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we will find our feet following in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake (Psalm 23:3). And we will discover by experience that the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord (Psalm 37:23).
After a while, I picked out some of my shoes and sent them to the charitable organization that had requested them. But the lesson the Lord brought to my mind when I received that request is with me still. I don't think I'll ever forget it. My prayer is that the Lord will help me to live my life in such a way that if anyone ever put on my shoes and walked where I had walked, she would not be ashamed. If she should go where I had been, may her path have led her close to Jesus, Whose I am and Whom I serve.
I recall a little children's Sunday school song that says:
Oh, be careful little feet where you go,
Oh, be careful little feet where you go,
For the Father up above is looking down in love,
So be careful little feet where you go.
Every morning now when I put on my shoes, I find myself whispering a prayer. "Lord, where are You going to lead me today? What opportunities for ministry will I find on my pathway?"
One of these mornings very soon, a glad new day will dawn and all of God's children will be going home. What a glorious day that will be. I can hardly wait to see my Lord and Savior and rejoice in His presence. I have many beloved family members and friends who are already on the other side that I want to see again. And I can't even begin to imagine how beautiful heaven must be. At some point, I'm sure I'll want to explore the glorious abode where all of the redeemed will live for eternity.
What will it be like? I won't know until I get there. I'm only sure that it will be wonderful. Do you know what I think might happen? In the words of a beautiful old spiritual-
I got shoes, you got shoes,
All God's children got shoes!
When I get to heaven,
'gonna put on my shoes and
shout all over God's heaven!
www.jvim.com
E-Ma
il jvimi@jvim.com
In the United States:
Jack Van Impe Ministries
PO Box 7004
Troy MI 48007-7004
In Canada:
Jack Van Impe Ministries International
PO BOX 1717
Postal Station A
Windsor ON
N9A 6Y1
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ENCOURAGEMENT
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The Grocery List
A true, inspirational story of God's provision...
Louise Redden, a poorly dressed lady with a look of defeat on her face, walked into a grocery store. She approached the owner of the store in a most humble manner and asked if he would let her charge a few groceries.
She softly explained that her husband was very ill and unable to work, they had seven children and they needed food. John Longhouse, the grocer, scoffed at her and requested that she leave his store.
Visualizing the family needs, she said: 'Please, sir! I will bring you the money just as soon as I can." John told her he could not give her credit, as she did not have a charge account at his store.
Standing beside the counter was a customer who overheard the conversation between the two. The customer walked forward and told the grocer man that he would stand good for whatever she needed for her family.
The grocer man said in a very reluctant voice, "Do you have a grocery list? Louise replied "Yes sir!"
"OK" he said: "Put your grocery list on the scales and whatever your grocery list weighs, I will give you that amount in groceries."
Louise, hesitated a moment with a bowed head, then she reached into her purse and took out a piece of paper and scribbled something on it. She then laid the piece of paper on the scale carefully with her head still bowed.
The eyes of the grocer man and the customer showed amazement when the scales went down and stayed down.
The grocer man staring at the scales, turned slowly to the customer and said begrudgingly, "I can't believe it."
The customer smiled and the grocer man started putting the groceries on the other side of the scales. The scale did not balance so he continued to put more and more groceries on them until the scales would hold no more.
The grocer man stood there in utter disgust. Finally, he grabbed the piece of paper from the scales and looked at it with greater amazement. It was not a grocery list, it was a prayer, which said:
"Dear Lord, you know my needs and I am leaving this in your hands."
The grocer man gave her the groceries that he had gathered and placed on the scales and stood in stunned silence.
Louise thanked him and left the store. The customer handed a fifty-dollar bill to John as he said, "It was worth every penny of it." It was sometime later that John Longhouse discovered the scales were broken, therefore only God knows how much a prayer weighs.
God answers prayers! Send this to someone who needs to be encouraged!
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Poems...etc.
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The Lamb
Mary Had a little Lamb
His fleece was white as snow.
Everywhere that Mary went,
The Lamb was sure to go.
He followed her to school each day,
When it wasn't against the rules.
He made the children laugh and play,
To have a Lamb at school!
Then the rules changed one day,
Against the law it became.
To bring the Lamb of God to school,
Or even speak His name.
Every day got worse and worse,
And days turned into years.
Instead of hearing children laugh and play,
You heard them crying tears.
What must we do to stop the crime,
That's in our schools today?
Let the Lamb come back to school,
And teach your kids to pray.
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The Conqueror
by Christina Lake
Death, ever hungry
prowls across the earth
dedicated to draining
life from humanity.
We hear the hoofbeats.
Menace Incarnate
Pale rider of the skies
sorrow and sickness
are your minions.
We refuse to surrender.
Swift murdering thief
Cancer of the world
you steal the body
from mankind.
Your hunt is not eternal.
Victorious for a
short season longer
you'll know what it means
to be hunted.
The Conqueror is coming for you.
Because He lives, we can say,
"Death, where is thy sting?"
sentenced by your very nature
you shall be the last to perish.
Death shall be no more.
Christina Lake
2-24-99 (c)
Christina is a published writer and can be contacted at:
Christina Lake
4-309 Greenwich St
Brantford ON
Canada
NES 2X9
