What a effects way to use drama. This skit is moving and will draw you closer to the Lord. God is using this video. After viewing read the article below.
CBNNews.com - Forget the billions of dollars spent on producing Hollywood films and all-star lineups.
Multi-tiered movie theaters and box office ads weren't needed to promote and draw nearly 6 million views of a five-minute skit on GodTube and YouTube. It's the second-most viewed video on GodTube, having nearly seven times more views than its third-place competitor.
The "Lifehouse Everything Skit," performed by Mission Baltimore with music by Lifehouse, has deeply moved the hearts and souls of America, and the only "hook" pulling people toward it is a yearning to draw closer to a forgiving and embracing Savior.Click on the video player to view the powerful and spiritually moving drama that depicts Satan's hold and Christ's all-encompassing grace. Video is used with permission by the Church of God. (more)
Sunday, October 28, 2007
I. Overview to the Section
A. An introduction to the person of Jesus
The first four chapters focus our attention on the person who is central to the Gospel story: Jesus Christ. We learn about the type of person he is by understanding the nature of the events surrounding his birth and early life. We see his qualifications and validation for service as God’s chosen one.
B. An introduction to his ministry
We see that he is connected to God and used by him to announce the Kingdom of Heaven. We see that he has the power to defeat demonic forces. We see that his ministry has a tangible affect in the lives of those who desperately need the touch of God.
C. A foreshadowing of things to come
We see the world-wide reach that Jesus’ ministry will eventually have. We see the conflict which will ensue over him and the eventual result of that conflict, both good and bad.
II. Chapter 1 - The Genealogy and Birth
A. The genealogy connects Jesus to key people and events in Israel’s past.
1. The genealogy connects Jesus to Abraham and thus to the Abrahamic covenant.
2. The genealogy connects Jesus to David and thus to the Davidic covenant.
3. The genealogy implies that Jesus is the answer to the problem of the exile.
B. The birth shows that God is involved in Jesus’ life in a powerful and amazing way.
1. God is intimately involved in superintending the details of Jesus’ life.
2. Jesus’ ministry to Israel will deal directly with her sin problem.
3. Jesus will manifest the very presence of God to his people.
III. Chapter 2 - The Early Life of Jesus
A. The visit of the wise men foreshadows the inclusion of Gentiles in the Kingdom of Heaven.
B. The conflict with Herod foreshadows the conflict Jesus will experience and his ultimate death as a result.
C. The flight to and return from Egypt shows that Jesus is fulfilling the history of Israel.
IV. Chapter 3 - The Ministry of John the Baptist
A. John’s preaching announces the coming of Jesus as the one who will usher in the Kingdom.
1. John preached as an Old Testament prophet.
2. John pointed to Jesus as the one who will enact God’s end-time plans.
B. Jesus’ submission to John’s baptism shows his identification with Israel’s need for repentance.
C. The heavenly pronouncement at Jesus’ baptism shows his acceptance as God’s son.
V. Chapter 4 - The Validation of Jesus and the Beginning of his Ministry
A. Jesus’ faithfulness to God during the temptations shows his worthiness as God’s servant.
B. The temptations show that Israel’s true enemy is a spiritual foe.
C. The beginning of Jesus’ ministry shows his authority and ability to change people’s lives.
1. His call of the first disciples shows his authority over man.
2. His ability to heal and cast out demons shows his authority over spiritual forces.
3. His ministry shows intense concern for the lives of individuals.
VI. Conclusion
These chapters set the stage. We have been introduced to the person central to the story. We know that he is an important person in God’s plan as detailed in the Hebrew Bible, and we have seen his ministry in outline. Next we will hear what he has to say about being part of God’s Kingdom.
These Are The Facts
Sunday, July 29, 2007
By Winkie Pratney
God Loves You
He made you. He knows how you feel. He understands all your problems. He knowsyourbackground. He knows your name.
And God loves you and wants you to have the best for your life. Everything God does, He does out of love.
His love is not just a good feeling about His Universe, but an unselfish choice to will our highest good. “Herein is love; not the we loved God, but that He loves US and sent His Son to be the way through which we could be forgiven and come back to Him.”
Sin Has Come Between You and God
Sin is really selfishness; a “me first” attitude of heart and life. It is denying God’s right to be God in your life. It is breaking His laws, and scorning His guidelines for happiness.
It is putting yourself first, above everyone else; living first of all to serve and please you instead of God, and refusing to treat all others according to their rightful place and value in the Universe.
“And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world; and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil...”
”All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”
God Hates Sin Because It Costs So Much
Sin is the cause of all the heartache in our world. God didn't plan sin. He never plans unhappiness. He wants man to be happy and free. Sin is the reason why there is pain, misery, and death in our land. Sin enslaves us to our feelings instead of allowing us to do what is right and reasonable. Sin makes us feel guilty and afraid and alone.
Sin is the most expensive thing in the Universe.
It cost God His only Son.
It cost Jesus Christ His life.
God, who must be just, can never allow sin to go unpunished, or the universe would begin to collapse in evil. When God's infinitely important law of love for happiness is broken, the lawbreaker must pay the penalty. A law without a penalty is only advice. The penalty must be as important as the law it is designed to protect. For such a terribly important law as God's law, that was made to direct and protect His intelligent, moral creatures, God set a penalty as high as possible; endless death. Separation forever from His Universe and all the rights and privileges of living and growing in it through eternity. "The soul that sins shall die... The wages of sin is death."
You, As A Sinner, Deserve To Be Punished
You know that deep inside. By rights, you should pay the penalty of your sin. You knew what was right, but did not do it. You have made a mess of your life. If you are really honest, you know you have no excuses to make. Nothing you could say to God could possibly justify the choices you have made to please yourself.
"Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of law... for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified... If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His Word is not in us."
But -
If -
The Lord Jesus humbled Himself and became man. He lived a perfect life and never broke His Father's law of love. He offered His own perfect life as a sacrifice to provide a substitute for the penalty of your sin. His death on the cross shows at once how much God loves you and how much He hates your sin. You can choose one of two things: pay the penalty for your sin or resolve to turn your back on the past and give your life to God, letting the Lord Jesus be your substitute. God cannot forgive you unless you are willing to stop fighting Him and make Him your Boss. His Holy Spirit makes you willing to change, and He draws you now by His love. He wants to help you make a life-changing decision, now! Jesus said, "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life; no man comes to the Father but by Me." "He that trusts his life wholly to the Son is experiencing eternal life; he that does not believe on the Son of God shall not see life; but the anger of God abides on him."
SALVATION is God's plan to restore man to a holy, happy relationship with Him. All problems of sin, doubt, failure, and lack of victory in God's power can be conquered by the following steps:
1. Rethink...
To do this, you MUST be TOTALLY HONEST!
If necessary, get paper and pencil and WRITE DOWN the things that have come between you and God, and stopped you from serving Him as you ought.
2. Repent...
3. Renounce...
4. Replan...
5. Receive...
THERE IS NO TIME LIKE NOW...
GOD HAS DONE EVERYTHING HE CAN FOR YOU...
THE NEXT MOVE MUST BE YOURS!!!
Are you willing to trust His love? Will you choose His life, or turn your back on His love and choose a future without Christ, without hope and without an end? Will you be very honest with Him right now? Talk to God before the touch of His Holy Spirit lifts off your life.Tell Him in your own words something like this:
"God, I'm sorry I've been selfish and rebellious so long. I'm sick of my old life and I want to change. Please forgive my sin, and give me the power to live my life from this moment on for You. I give you my heart; take over everything I have and am, and be my Lord and King. Amen."
Welcome To the Family!
If you have surrendered your life to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, you have entered an exciting new world. Things should be different, life will be fresh and new. If God has really taken the throne of your heart, the following things will grow in your life:
1. Desire For Scripture"
2. Difference Of Standards"
3. Discipline Of Self"
4. Despised By Society
5. Seeks Other Christians
6. Serves the Lord
7. Sticks To the Task
God Loves You
He made you. He knows how you feel. He understands all your problems. He knowsyourbackground. He knows your name.
And God loves you and wants you to have the best for your life. Everything God does, He does out of love.
His love is not just a good feeling about His Universe, but an unselfish choice to will our highest good. “Herein is love; not the we loved God, but that He loves US and sent His Son to be the way through which we could be forgiven and come back to Him.”
Sin Has Come Between You and God
Sin is really selfishness; a “me first” attitude of heart and life. It is denying God’s right to be God in your life. It is breaking His laws, and scorning His guidelines for happiness.
It is putting yourself first, above everyone else; living first of all to serve and please you instead of God, and refusing to treat all others according to their rightful place and value in the Universe.
“And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world; and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil...”
”All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”
God Hates Sin Because It Costs So Much
Sin is the cause of all the heartache in our world. God didn't plan sin. He never plans unhappiness. He wants man to be happy and free. Sin is the reason why there is pain, misery, and death in our land. Sin enslaves us to our feelings instead of allowing us to do what is right and reasonable. Sin makes us feel guilty and afraid and alone.
Sin is the most expensive thing in the Universe.
It cost God His only Son.
It cost Jesus Christ His life.
God, who must be just, can never allow sin to go unpunished, or the universe would begin to collapse in evil. When God's infinitely important law of love for happiness is broken, the lawbreaker must pay the penalty. A law without a penalty is only advice. The penalty must be as important as the law it is designed to protect. For such a terribly important law as God's law, that was made to direct and protect His intelligent, moral creatures, God set a penalty as high as possible; endless death. Separation forever from His Universe and all the rights and privileges of living and growing in it through eternity. "The soul that sins shall die... The wages of sin is death."
You, As A Sinner, Deserve To Be Punished
You know that deep inside. By rights, you should pay the penalty of your sin. You knew what was right, but did not do it. You have made a mess of your life. If you are really honest, you know you have no excuses to make. Nothing you could say to God could possibly justify the choices you have made to please yourself.
"Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of law... for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified... If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His Word is not in us."
But -
In His great love and wisdom, God found a way to forgive you, and still be just . . .
If -
. . . you are willing to meet his conditions.
The Lord Jesus humbled Himself and became man. He lived a perfect life and never broke His Father's law of love. He offered His own perfect life as a sacrifice to provide a substitute for the penalty of your sin. His death on the cross shows at once how much God loves you and how much He hates your sin. You can choose one of two things: pay the penalty for your sin or resolve to turn your back on the past and give your life to God, letting the Lord Jesus be your substitute. God cannot forgive you unless you are willing to stop fighting Him and make Him your Boss. His Holy Spirit makes you willing to change, and He draws you now by His love. He wants to help you make a life-changing decision, now! Jesus said, "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life; no man comes to the Father but by Me." "He that trusts his life wholly to the Son is experiencing eternal life; he that does not believe on the Son of God shall not see life; but the anger of God abides on him."
SALVATION is God's plan to restore man to a holy, happy relationship with Him. All problems of sin, doubt, failure, and lack of victory in God's power can be conquered by the following steps:
1. Rethink...
Stop running away from the Voice of God and look at your life. We do not naturally want to obey God; only if we let the Holy Spirit show us our sin as GOD sees it will we realize just how bad we have been.
To do this, you MUST be TOTALLY HONEST!
Don't pretend.
Don't "play down" your sin.
Stop making excuses!
Admit it from your heart! "God, I am all wrong!"
If necessary, get paper and pencil and WRITE DOWN the things that have come between you and God, and stopped you from serving Him as you ought.
2. Repent...
Turn your back on your old way of life. Be WILLING to lose any habit, any plan, any friend that you have been living your life for instead of God. This is not easy, but Jesus said if we want to follow Him, we must first count the cost. (Luke 14:25-33) Salvation is like a marriage. Two people promise themselves to each other, pledge their love to each other before a watching world, and give up all their old dates. This is what God wants you to do to know His love.
3. Renounce...
Give up all rights to your own life. If you are going to be a part of God's world-changing family, you cannot be your own boss any longer. You must die to your own plans, dreams and ambitions, and be willing to do whatever God wants you to do. He knows exactly what will make you the most happy. It may hurt to surrender everything at first, but God knows best, and will never ask you to do anything that you will regret in the end. A true Christian has nothing of his own. Time, talents, money, possessions, friends, career, and future; all must be surrendered for his King's service wherever and whenever He wants them.
4. Replan...
Be prepared to make many changes in your life! The very moment you make this heart-choice for God, the old "you" will die, and a new person inside you will begin to live. If the Holy Spirit is speaking to you about getting something right with someone, you must be willing to do it, before God can help you. Wherever you need to confess wrong, or restore or repay something to someone, the Lord Jesus will give you the courage and the words to say. Becoming a Christian implies the willingness, as far as is humanly possible, to right all known wrong. (Prov. 28:13) If you have written out a list of things that have come between you and God, ask His forgiveness now for those against Him. Plan to make right all others with the people you know you have wronged, and feel guilty about. The circle of confession must fit the circle of committal of sin. Those against God, confess only to Him; those against one person, to that person alone; those against a group, to the group. (See Spiritual Checkup)
5. Receive...
The Lord Jesus Christ by faith, (a loyalty of love to the Word of God), to rule in your heart as King. He must be your absolute "Boss" from now on! This act of faith is neither an "idea" or a mere "feeling" but an act, a choice of your will, made intelligently and carefully. Give Him your doubts, your weakness, and your loneliness. Your heart will never have peace, your doubts will never clear up, you will never die to the world until you trust, surrender, believe from your heart! Be totally honest with Him. Receive Christ into your life as your Lord and Master to live for Him from this moment on, forever. (Rom. 10:9-10)
Ready?
THERE IS NO TIME LIKE NOW...
GOD HAS DONE EVERYTHING HE CAN FOR YOU...
THE NEXT MOVE MUST BE YOURS!!!
Are you willing to trust His love? Will you choose His life, or turn your back on His love and choose a future without Christ, without hope and without an end? Will you be very honest with Him right now? Talk to God before the touch of His Holy Spirit lifts off your life.Tell Him in your own words something like this:
"God, I'm sorry I've been selfish and rebellious so long. I'm sick of my old life and I want to change. Please forgive my sin, and give me the power to live my life from this moment on for You. I give you my heart; take over everything I have and am, and be my Lord and King. Amen."
Welcome To the Family!
If you have surrendered your life to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, you have entered an exciting new world. Things should be different, life will be fresh and new. If God has really taken the throne of your heart, the following things will grow in your life:
1. Desire For Scripture"
Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God." A true Christian wants to find out what God asks him to do in His Word. The Bible is spiritual food, a weapon to defeat the devil, and a manual for daily living. (Job 23:12; Jer. 15:16; Deut. 6:5-7; Rom. 10:17; 1 Pet. 2:2) Make a solemn vow to God that you will spend a certain time or read a certain number of chapters in His Word. Read Ecc. 5:46; God will take you at your word with any promise you make to Him. Then decide sensibly how much time you can afford to give your King time to train you every day. If you read 10 chapters a day, you can finish the Bible right through once every 18 weeks. Read 5 chapters of Psalms, one chapter of Proverbs each day and you will finish both books once a month. Five minutes a day of reading will take you through the Bible in less than a year. Decide on a time or a number of chapters; make your vow and STICK TO IT!
2. Difference Of Standards"
If any man be in Christ, he is a NEW CREATION; old things have passed away; behold, all things are become new." A real Christian is different in habits, actions and purpose; in word, thought and standards. No person is a real Christian who is not trying to live like his Lord!Becoming a Christian is like learning to drive on the other side of the road. You must be careful for a while until you learn to think and act BY HABIT in this new way. It will take time and discipline to develop the right habit patterns. BEWARE of the crisis! In times of stress and sudden temptation, you may be tempted to return to the old way of life, especially if habits from the past have been deeply rooted in your mind. But "There is no temptation taken you but such as is COMMON to man; but GOD IS FAITHFUL Who will not allow you to be tempted above that which you are able; but will WITH THE TEMPTATION also make a way to escape, that you may be able to bear it." (1 Cor. 10:13; Gal. 6:15-16; Eph. 4:20-24;Phil. 3:7;1 Pet. 1:13-16; 1 Jn. 3:1-3)
3. Discipline Of Self"
But the fruit of the Spirit is Love, Joy, Peace, Gentleness, Long-suffering, Goodness, Meekness, Faith, SELF-CONTROL..."A child of God begins to discipline old areas of self-indulgence. Food, drink, in both quantity and quality, harmful stimulants, showy dressing and living, late nights and mornings, all come under the searchlight of the Holy Spirit for control and discipline. Your life will show constant changes for the better every day, as God shows you things needing revision. He is easy to please, but hard to satisfy! He wants your life as clean and efficient as the Lord Jesus Himself. "Every man that has this hope in him, purifies himself even as HE is pure." (I John 3:3; Matt. 16:24; Luke 3:11; I Cor. 9:25-27; John 15;2; Gal. 5:22-23; I Cor. 10:13; I John 4;17)
4. Despised By Society
Jesus said: "Because you are not of this world, the world will hate you...if they have persecuted Me, they shall persecute you." A real Christian will have trouble from those who pretend not to understand his new life, or from lukewarm church members who are backslidden in heart and whose halfhearted lives are exposed by his radiant witness. A true Christian is a sane person in a madly selfish, morally insane world. The Christian is the only person who truly lives an intelligent, balanced life; his light shows up others' moral darkness, exposing their sin. Under the constant rebuke of such light, selfish men can only react in one of three ways; run from it; try to destroy it, or surrender to it and give their lives to God. Make no mistake; if you will live for God, you can expect trouble from the world around you. "All that will live Godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution...Blessed are you, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for My sake; rejoice, and be exceeding glad; for great is your reward in Heaven." (Matt. 5:10-12; 2 Tim. 2;12; Jn. 15:18-21; Rom. 8:18;12:20-21; I Pet. 2;20-21)
5. Seeks Other Christians
By THIS shall all men know that you are My disciples; if you have LOVE one toward another." God's love is to unselfishly choose the HIGHEST GOOD; of Him, as King first, then of all His creatures and His creation, according to their relative scale of values in the Universe. True love is not just a feeling, but a CHOICE; sometimes it will be hard, but it will always by right and always be the best thing to do. Love is an ACTION; love without action is no love at all.Find a true church, with true faith. That and only that which saves FROM (not IN!) sin and exalts (loves, talks about a lot) the Savior, the Lord Jesus, is true faith; ALL ELSE is false religion, and will slowly destroy your newfound joy and love in Christ Jesus. Just as live coals stay aflame in the fire, so spending time with others on fire for God will help keep you aflame for Christ. Go where you feel at home, where people love you, and work with them for the Lord Jesus. Be willing to break off with any friends who try to drag you back to the world. Your aim is to be like Jesus. The world is filled with phonies. Keep your eyes on Jesus as your Example. Never lower your standards to try to "fit in" with others, whether they claim to be Christians or not. You cannot please Christ and the world too. (Rom. 15:5-6; Acts 2:42; Eph. 3:17-19;Heb. 10:25; I Pet. 1:22; 1 Jn. 1:2,7;3:14;7:7-13)
6. Serves the Lord
"For me to live is CHRIST, and to die is gain!" said the Apostle Paul, a mighty love-slave of Jesus Christ the Lord. A true Christian IS a witness. Everything he does counts for God - or against Him! The task of world evangelism is not just for the minister or preacher; the Lord Jesus gives it to EACH of His disciples as his or her LIFEWORK. We are responsible for the souls of men and women, boys and girls, who pass into eternity around us every day. Whatever our job or living is, whether we preach, pray, write, design, build, trade or travel, labor with our hands, keep house or state - EVERY THING WE DO must tell OF and For the Lord Jesus and His Kingdom. You must consecrate all you have and are to this task, and ask God for His promised power to carry out the work. Jesus said - "You shall receive POWER after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you; and you shall BE WITNESSES unto Me, both in Jerusalem and all Judea and in Samaria." At home, in the immediate neighborhood and among the outcasts of society and "unto the UTTERMOST PART OF THE EARTH." (To every nation and tongue that God opens the door for you to reach) EVERY Christian is a missionary; EVERY unsaved person is a mission-FIELD. Your friend may cross the world; you may cross the street; but all of us have a call to be missionaries for the Lord Jesus to help Him reach the world. (I Jn. 3:17;1 Pet. 2:2;I Jn. 3:16-24;2 Cor. 9:6-7;Acts 1:8;Phil. 1:21; Matt. 10:32;25:29;Jn. 14:12)
7. Sticks To the Task
God hasn't planned cycles of constant sin and repentance for ANY of His disciples! You are not infallible, but neither are you EXPECTED to go back into sin. God has promised to keep you safe and protected from all outer dangers; the world, the flesh and the Devil have no power over you as long as you stay close to the Lord Jesus; but KEEP GOING ON WITH HIM! (Luke 9:62)A true Christian is determined to stay true to God. The express teaching of the Bible is to live a life of HABITUAL victory over sin out of love to God. (Matt. 5:13-18; 7:12-27; Mk. 12:28-34; Jn. 15:8-14; Rom. 13:9-11; 1 Jn. 3:3-11) No other life is truly Christian. All of us will be faced with temptation, weakness and possible failure. But by God's grace we can habitually overcome. Nowhere in the Bible is forgiveness automatic as long as sin is persisted in. A lot of lukewarm, halfhearted church members are going to get shocks on the Day of Judgment! STICK TO IT - God will help you! "This ONE THING I do - forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forwards for the things yet to come, I press towards the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." (Phil. 3:13-14; 1 Jn. 1-4;Ps 37:23-24; Rom. 6:1-14; 2 Pet. 1:1-10;John 5:37,39)
Knowing God's Will
Sunday, July 22, 2007
By Winkie Pratney
"How can I know the will of God?" If you haven't asked this question openly or secretly you are probably not a Christian.
Walk through the halls of time and you will see the men of God who changed history. Look at them carefully. They were not special men. You will not often find the naturally gifted among their ranks. But all had one thing in common - they knew and did the will of God in their generation, and God did a work through them to shape the course of history. Those that God used in the past were just ordinary people with an extraordinary Master. They were not all champions of great faith, but little people who saw their own need, and put their small faith in a great God. The driving force in their lives was the sure conviction that God had called them to His work - and that as long as they were faithful to that call, He would work with them and through them against impossible odds to victory. They KNEW His will! Living in His purpose, they could be natural and let Him be supernatural.
Scripture Is a record of common people who found the will of God. Jacob met an angel Joseph with his multi-colored coat had a dream. Paul saw a blinding light. Samuel heard a voice. John had a vision. God is wholly involved with us as human beings! He spoke to men then, and He has not changed. At every point of history, He waits to show the way.
God is looking for willing hearts - those who whole-heartedly decide to do the will of God. (II Chron.16:9) You can know God's will! God has no favorites. You do not have to be special, but you have to be available. You do not have to be clever, but you must be willing to learn from Him. You do not have to be talented, but you must be willing to obey whatever He commands. You do not have to possess much, but you must give everything you have.
Has the "will of God" been a mystery to you? Have you longed to know what He wants for you, but somehow never found the way? Then read on. If you will faithfully apply these Biblical principles of guidance to your life, you can know the voice of God and do His will as surely as any man or woman of God that ever lived.
GOAL AND PLAN
God's will for your life is a GOAL, not a blue-print. His one ultimate goal, or purpose, is for you to be conformed to the image of His Son, Jesus. God's goal NEVER changes. A goal is the point you are trying to get to - it sets your direction. While on your way to this ultimate goal, you will encounter many smaller goals and purposes along the way.
Guidance is a lifelong process. God will reveal goals, help you reach them, then set new, higher ones. Therefore, knowing God's will for your life is a continued discovery of the present most effective plan to help you eventually reach (through a series of sub-stages) His ultimate goal for you. Should you miss God and make a wrong decision at one of these sub-stages, all is not lost However, many times there are consequences to pay. Sometimes you may miss an opportunity that may never again come your way... and many times good years that belong to God are simply wasted. But the moment our self-dependence or mistakes are confessed to God, and His pardon obtained, He will take you where you are at and work with you, daily pointing out the best course to take in order for you to reach His ultimate goal for you - to be conformed to the image of His Son, Jesus.
CONDITIONS
You cannot expect to hear from God until you are fulfilling these essential conditions for knowing His will. Check your life against these before you ask for guidance:
1. A DESIRE TO KNOW AND DO ALL THE WILL OF GOD. Don't ASK for guidance unless you are prepared to ACT on it! God is always willing to make His purpose known. If you "cannot" find an answer, it may be that you have some secret reservation in your heart. God will not show you His will if you are merely considering doing it. Unless you are prepared to trust His wisdom and love, and DO what He shows you, don't ask Him. Many say they can't get God's guidance, when they really mean they wish He would show them an easier way. God promises to show us only if we are ready to act on His revelation. (John 7:17)
2. BE A LOVE-SLAVE. God guides the meek, or those with yielded wills. If we have unyielded rights or stubborn wills, we cannot expect His guidance. A love-slave lives to serve, not be served. He owns nothing of power, possessions, or personal rights. He has no plans of his own that are not subject to the command of his Master. God does not guide those who want to run their own life. He only guides those who admit their need of His direction and rely on His wisdom. (Matt. 10:24,37-39; Phil.2:58; Psalm 25:9)
3. A WILLINGNESS TO BE COUNTED A FOOL. Doing God's will often conflicts with what's going on in our surrounding selfish world. Some Christians don't really do anything for the Lord, excusing themselves by saying they are "not sure of God's will." We need not always expect a voice from the sky when the path of service is clear. God gave us common sense, and He expects us to use it. Most of the time, His will makes sense to our reason and intelligence. God's will is usually an area of general direction, within which He leaves us relatively free to work for Him. (Proverbs 6:20-22,11:3) However, sometimes His direction cuts across all human reason, and even goes totally contrary to it! When the inner voice of God speaks clearly, obedience may be counted as madness in the eyes of the world. But if you are willing to be God's fool, then you will see His power. (Matt.11:25; Acts26:24-25; Mark 3:21; 1 Cor. 3:18-20)
4. A CLEAN CONSCIENCE FROM THE PAST. Guidance will always be hindered or misunderstood if there are still sinful things in your life that God has urged you to get right. How can He show you more if you have not obeyed the things He has already shown you?(Luke16:10) Every time you kneel to pray, the finger of His Spirit will point back to that thing He wants you to get right. A clear conscience is absolutely essential for distinguishing between the voice of God and the voice of the enemy. Unconfessed sin is a prime reason why many do not know God's will. It is the "pure in heart" who will see Him. (Matt. 5:8,23-24; Psalm 24:3-6)
5. REGULAR TIME OF PRAYER AND READING THE WORD OF GOD. God's will is expressly revealed in His Word. It is indeed a foolish and inexcusable thing to neglect the Scriptures if you have access to them. Bible study shows us what God expects in daily living. No guidance will ever go against Scriptural principle. Prayer teaches us by experience what the presence of God is like, and how His voice sounds. Many do not recognize the call of God simply because they have never taken the time to really talk with Him long enough to know what He is like. It is not enough to know about Him - you must know HIM! (Proverbs 6:23; Isaiah 58:9-11; John 17:3)
METHODS
God speaks and has spoken in many different ways. Guidance breaks down into three basic categories - personal, corporeal, and supernatural. Study the following examples in Scripture.
I. PERSONAL (Individual Direct Guidance)
1. THE WORD OF GOD - The Holy Scriptures, the foundation of all guidance.
. Regular Bible Reading - The "jigsaw" principle. You fill in a portion of a "puzzle" each time you read a section of the Bible. A key piece fitted in will suddenly reveal a whole picture.
A. Regular Bible Reading - The "jigsaw" principle. You fill in a portion of a "puzzle" each time you read a section of the Bible. A key piece fitted in will suddenly reveal a whole picture.
B. Open Page Method - Definitely not to be abused! Ask God in faith to guide you to the right Scripture for your need. Open the Bible, trusting Him to speak to you from it.
C. Mental Suggestion - In prayer God will sometimes bring to mind a verse, a chapter, or a book of the Bible. Turn to the place and begin to read until God speaks to you.
D. Recalled Memory Verse - Often, during a time of temptation or difficulty, God will bring to your mind a verse of Scripture that will give clear instruction. It is to your benefit to know and memorize parts of the Word of God. (Psalm 119:9-11,15-16, 33-35, 65-68, 97-l05; Proverbs 2:1-20, 3:1-6, 4:1-13; II Tim.3:14-17)
2. THE WITNESS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT - An inner voice known by all true children of God.
The Holy Spirit is able to "check" you inside as to whether or not something is of God. You must NEVER act on a doubtful impression, especially if it is accompanied by haste. God leads, not pushes! Rushed urgings are usually of the enemy. There is never a feeling of worry or fear with the voice of the Good Shepherd. His Voice is gentle, familiar-sounding, loving, and leaves you with a sense of spiritual uplift and rejoicing, never fright (John10:3-5,14-16,27-28) Test all of your spiritual leadings by the Word of God, especially whenever you feel a sense of uneasiness or fear. (Rom. 8:14-16; John 14:16-17; 1 John 2:27, 4:1-3,13; Col.1:9-11)
3. WAITING ON GOD - Listening to Him in prayer and getting to know His voice.
God has three answers in guidance - (1)"Yes" (2) "No" and (3) "Wait". We cannot have a demanding attitude towards God. Sometimes there must be delays. Our lives are bound up with others, and many times God has to wait until they are ready (or until we are), before giving us the go-ahead. "Wait" is the most difficult of all answers, but sometimes it's the most necessary. Here is the test of a love-slave.(Psalm 62:1,5, 33:20, 25:5, 27:14, 40:1, 130:5, 37:7; Isaiah 40:31, 49:23; Hosea 12:6; 1 Chron.28:9)
II. CORPOREAL (Other Christians)
Although God greatly desires to speak to each of us personally, He also likes to use other members of the Body of Christ to pass on needed pieces of the "puzzle" to us. This helps teach us gratitude for His work in the lives of others, and the needed lesson that none of us are a law or light to ourselves. We can learn a lot from other Christians, although in the end, we are responsible to no one but Him.
1. GODLY MEN AND WOMEN - The advice of experienced Christians sought as confirmation.
Counsel from those who are known to have a pure and trustworthy walk with God is often of great value when seeking further light on some major decision. This counsel should be more in the area of principles, not pronouncements. Carefully concerned and loving suggestions aren't necessarily final or direct statements from the Lord. True godly counsel will of course always line up with the Word of God and Scriptural principles.(Proverbs 15:22, 12:15, 13:10, 11:14, 24:6; 1 Thess.2:11-15)
2. GOD'S SERVANTS IN THE MINISTRY - Preaching under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Sometimes God will use a message or sermon anointed by the Holy Spirit to bring needed light when you are facing a difficult decision. Perhaps the word you need to help give you direction is waiting for you at the next meeting! (Exodus 4:10-12; 1 Samuel 3:10-21, Isaiah 6:8-9; Rom.10:14-15; I Cor. 2:1-2; 1 Pet. 4:11)
3. THE GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT - In line with previous leadings from the Lord and the Word of God.
Scripture records incidents where God has confirmed direction through such gifts in His Body as prophesy, words of knowledge, and words of wisdom. Study their function in Scripture. Such words are simply spiritual parallels to individual godly counsel and preached messages, and should not be looked on with more authority than any of the other means the Lord chooses to use. Never act solely on a "word" given to you by another.
Remember, the key is individual responsibility for our own actions, and it is you that must make the final decision, and not someone else for you. (Rom. 12:6-8; I Cor. 12:1-12, 27-31, 14:12,26-33,39-40; Eph. 4:8-11; II Tim.1:6)
III. SUPERNATURAL
The instances of "supernatural" guidance, or special Divine Intervention in our lives are more rarely recorded. These cases are rare, but not because there are only a few who ever reach the "exalted height" of such direct contact. In fact, God may sometimes choose to act in this way because those on the receiving end are so spiritually insensitive and dull that they might otherwise never hear or understand! Although it is not wise to generalize principles from such occasional interventions, it is certainly clear through Scripture and history that men and women have received authentic direction from such Divine channels of contact
1. THE AUDIBLE VOICE OF GOD. God can and has spoken to people audibly. I know a very trustworthy person who became a Christian as a result of God answering his prayer for help in this way. He described the voice like this: "Like everyone I had ever loved in my life all rolled up into one, like someone I had known all my life, yet I knew I had never met" As in the case of Saul and the crowd that witnessed the Lord's baptism, it is apparently a real sound and not just a mental impression. Examples: Samuel (I Samuel 3:1-10); Elijah (I Kings19:9-13); Saul (Acts 9:1-7); the Lord Jesus and the multitude (John 12:2730).
2. VISIONS AND DREAMS. The early Church gave much more attention to this subject than do most Christians today. A dream is like a spiritual TV commercial - short, easy to understand, and given at the time when our whole attention is undistracted. Visions, on the other hand, are superimposed over the normal visual reality around us, and do not have to happen when we are asleep. If you believe that God may be trying to speak to you in this way, prayerfully consider the details of your dream or vision, remembering that they may represent symbols or principles - not necessarily absolutes. And finally, talk it over with a trusted and mature friend in Christ. Both dreams and visions, when inspired by the Holy Spirit, can be powerful means by which God speaks to His people. Examples: Peter (Acts10:9-16); Isaiah (Isaiah 6:1-8); Daniel (Daniel 8:1-27, 7:1-28,10:1-9); John (Rev. 1-20); Elihu (Job 33:14-18); Joseph (Matt. 1:19-21).
3. VISITATION. It appears that angels in Scripture do not "guide" in the same way as the Holy Spirit Himself does, but they have been sent to warn believers of danger, as well as provide for their physical needs and safety. They also have made significant announcements, as in the case of Mary. Many believers throughout history have had authentic vision or visitations - and many numbers of Christians have seen either Jesus or ministering angels at their deathbeds. Examples: Abraham (Genesis 18:1-33); Moses (Exodus33:19-23); Joshua (Joshua 5:13-15); Jacob (Genesis 32:24-30); Manoah (Judges 13:2-23); Zacherias(Luke 1:8-20); Mary (Luke 1:26-38).
A WORD OF WARNING before we leave this area. Young Christians can easily become fascinated with the "special cases," and exalt these above the more simple and ordinary daily ways God uses to speak to us. To deliberately seek or glorify any form of guidance Is an outright invitation to spiritual deception, We are not to seek or specify how God should speak, but only seek Him in any way that He wishes to make Himself known. And as previously mentioned, for God to have to use such methods is no guarantee at all of our superior spiritually - it may instead be an indication of spiritual Immaturity.
STEPS
The following method of receiving guidance combines most guidance principles into three basic steps:
1. GIVE UP YOUR OWN DESIRES. Take your own desires to God in prayer and place them aside for the Lord to crucify. In prayer, give your desires to Him, and ask Him to give you His desires. Tell Him that you are willing to "die" to the things you want most to do, in order to do the things He has for you.
2. RESIST THE DEVIL. Be on guard against the tactics of the enemy, and the temptations that may come your way. Each child of God has been given power over sin through Christ. Standing in His authority, drive back the enemy's voice. As Jesus did in the wilderness, you can quote an appropriate Scripture, and like the thrust of a sword, it will force the enemy to retreat. Do it simply and clearly, trusting that the power of Christ will back you up. (Proverbs 18:10; Eph.1:17-23; James 4:5-10; I John 3:78; I Pet.5:6-9)
3. LISTEN TO THE VOICE OF GOD.
The Lord wants to speak to you - He doesn't want to hide or make you play guessing games. If you have fulfilled His conditions, the lines of communication between you are open. Ask God to show you, in faith, expecting Him to answer. Look for an immediate, definite impression. Do what He tells you to do. If nothing comes immediately - thank God for His answer of "wait". Be faithful to what the Lord has shown you, and patient as you wait for further guidance. If you are being tempted, cry out to the Lord, for it is through Him that you will find your strength to stand firm in righteousness.
YOUR MOVE
Ahead of you is a generation that desperately needs a voice of authority. Men are tired of the constant failure of human wisdom - what they need most of all is to hear from Heaven. Can you be His vessel to proclaim "Thus saith the Lord!" to a lost and dying world? Dare YOU be guided by God? Will you accept the challenge to hear HIs voice and do His will?
"How can I know the will of God?" If you haven't asked this question openly or secretly you are probably not a Christian.Walk through the halls of time and you will see the men of God who changed history. Look at them carefully. They were not special men. You will not often find the naturally gifted among their ranks. But all had one thing in common - they knew and did the will of God in their generation, and God did a work through them to shape the course of history. Those that God used in the past were just ordinary people with an extraordinary Master. They were not all champions of great faith, but little people who saw their own need, and put their small faith in a great God. The driving force in their lives was the sure conviction that God had called them to His work - and that as long as they were faithful to that call, He would work with them and through them against impossible odds to victory. They KNEW His will! Living in His purpose, they could be natural and let Him be supernatural.
Scripture Is a record of common people who found the will of God. Jacob met an angel Joseph with his multi-colored coat had a dream. Paul saw a blinding light. Samuel heard a voice. John had a vision. God is wholly involved with us as human beings! He spoke to men then, and He has not changed. At every point of history, He waits to show the way.
God is looking for willing hearts - those who whole-heartedly decide to do the will of God. (II Chron.16:9) You can know God's will! God has no favorites. You do not have to be special, but you have to be available. You do not have to be clever, but you must be willing to learn from Him. You do not have to be talented, but you must be willing to obey whatever He commands. You do not have to possess much, but you must give everything you have.
Has the "will of God" been a mystery to you? Have you longed to know what He wants for you, but somehow never found the way? Then read on. If you will faithfully apply these Biblical principles of guidance to your life, you can know the voice of God and do His will as surely as any man or woman of God that ever lived.
GOAL AND PLAN
God's will for your life is a GOAL, not a blue-print. His one ultimate goal, or purpose, is for you to be conformed to the image of His Son, Jesus. God's goal NEVER changes. A goal is the point you are trying to get to - it sets your direction. While on your way to this ultimate goal, you will encounter many smaller goals and purposes along the way.
Guidance is a lifelong process. God will reveal goals, help you reach them, then set new, higher ones. Therefore, knowing God's will for your life is a continued discovery of the present most effective plan to help you eventually reach (through a series of sub-stages) His ultimate goal for you. Should you miss God and make a wrong decision at one of these sub-stages, all is not lost However, many times there are consequences to pay. Sometimes you may miss an opportunity that may never again come your way... and many times good years that belong to God are simply wasted. But the moment our self-dependence or mistakes are confessed to God, and His pardon obtained, He will take you where you are at and work with you, daily pointing out the best course to take in order for you to reach His ultimate goal for you - to be conformed to the image of His Son, Jesus.
CONDITIONS
You cannot expect to hear from God until you are fulfilling these essential conditions for knowing His will. Check your life against these before you ask for guidance:
1. A DESIRE TO KNOW AND DO ALL THE WILL OF GOD. Don't ASK for guidance unless you are prepared to ACT on it! God is always willing to make His purpose known. If you "cannot" find an answer, it may be that you have some secret reservation in your heart. God will not show you His will if you are merely considering doing it. Unless you are prepared to trust His wisdom and love, and DO what He shows you, don't ask Him. Many say they can't get God's guidance, when they really mean they wish He would show them an easier way. God promises to show us only if we are ready to act on His revelation. (John 7:17)
2. BE A LOVE-SLAVE. God guides the meek, or those with yielded wills. If we have unyielded rights or stubborn wills, we cannot expect His guidance. A love-slave lives to serve, not be served. He owns nothing of power, possessions, or personal rights. He has no plans of his own that are not subject to the command of his Master. God does not guide those who want to run their own life. He only guides those who admit their need of His direction and rely on His wisdom. (Matt. 10:24,37-39; Phil.2:58; Psalm 25:9)
3. A WILLINGNESS TO BE COUNTED A FOOL. Doing God's will often conflicts with what's going on in our surrounding selfish world. Some Christians don't really do anything for the Lord, excusing themselves by saying they are "not sure of God's will." We need not always expect a voice from the sky when the path of service is clear. God gave us common sense, and He expects us to use it. Most of the time, His will makes sense to our reason and intelligence. God's will is usually an area of general direction, within which He leaves us relatively free to work for Him. (Proverbs 6:20-22,11:3) However, sometimes His direction cuts across all human reason, and even goes totally contrary to it! When the inner voice of God speaks clearly, obedience may be counted as madness in the eyes of the world. But if you are willing to be God's fool, then you will see His power. (Matt.11:25; Acts26:24-25; Mark 3:21; 1 Cor. 3:18-20)
4. A CLEAN CONSCIENCE FROM THE PAST. Guidance will always be hindered or misunderstood if there are still sinful things in your life that God has urged you to get right. How can He show you more if you have not obeyed the things He has already shown you?(Luke16:10) Every time you kneel to pray, the finger of His Spirit will point back to that thing He wants you to get right. A clear conscience is absolutely essential for distinguishing between the voice of God and the voice of the enemy. Unconfessed sin is a prime reason why many do not know God's will. It is the "pure in heart" who will see Him. (Matt. 5:8,23-24; Psalm 24:3-6)
5. REGULAR TIME OF PRAYER AND READING THE WORD OF GOD. God's will is expressly revealed in His Word. It is indeed a foolish and inexcusable thing to neglect the Scriptures if you have access to them. Bible study shows us what God expects in daily living. No guidance will ever go against Scriptural principle. Prayer teaches us by experience what the presence of God is like, and how His voice sounds. Many do not recognize the call of God simply because they have never taken the time to really talk with Him long enough to know what He is like. It is not enough to know about Him - you must know HIM! (Proverbs 6:23; Isaiah 58:9-11; John 17:3)
METHODS
God speaks and has spoken in many different ways. Guidance breaks down into three basic categories - personal, corporeal, and supernatural. Study the following examples in Scripture.
I. PERSONAL (Individual Direct Guidance)
1. THE WORD OF GOD - The Holy Scriptures, the foundation of all guidance.
. Regular Bible Reading - The "jigsaw" principle. You fill in a portion of a "puzzle" each time you read a section of the Bible. A key piece fitted in will suddenly reveal a whole picture.
A. Regular Bible Reading - The "jigsaw" principle. You fill in a portion of a "puzzle" each time you read a section of the Bible. A key piece fitted in will suddenly reveal a whole picture.
B. Open Page Method - Definitely not to be abused! Ask God in faith to guide you to the right Scripture for your need. Open the Bible, trusting Him to speak to you from it.
C. Mental Suggestion - In prayer God will sometimes bring to mind a verse, a chapter, or a book of the Bible. Turn to the place and begin to read until God speaks to you.
D. Recalled Memory Verse - Often, during a time of temptation or difficulty, God will bring to your mind a verse of Scripture that will give clear instruction. It is to your benefit to know and memorize parts of the Word of God. (Psalm 119:9-11,15-16, 33-35, 65-68, 97-l05; Proverbs 2:1-20, 3:1-6, 4:1-13; II Tim.3:14-17)
2. THE WITNESS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT - An inner voice known by all true children of God.
The Holy Spirit is able to "check" you inside as to whether or not something is of God. You must NEVER act on a doubtful impression, especially if it is accompanied by haste. God leads, not pushes! Rushed urgings are usually of the enemy. There is never a feeling of worry or fear with the voice of the Good Shepherd. His Voice is gentle, familiar-sounding, loving, and leaves you with a sense of spiritual uplift and rejoicing, never fright (John10:3-5,14-16,27-28) Test all of your spiritual leadings by the Word of God, especially whenever you feel a sense of uneasiness or fear. (Rom. 8:14-16; John 14:16-17; 1 John 2:27, 4:1-3,13; Col.1:9-11)
3. WAITING ON GOD - Listening to Him in prayer and getting to know His voice.
God has three answers in guidance - (1)"Yes" (2) "No" and (3) "Wait". We cannot have a demanding attitude towards God. Sometimes there must be delays. Our lives are bound up with others, and many times God has to wait until they are ready (or until we are), before giving us the go-ahead. "Wait" is the most difficult of all answers, but sometimes it's the most necessary. Here is the test of a love-slave.(Psalm 62:1,5, 33:20, 25:5, 27:14, 40:1, 130:5, 37:7; Isaiah 40:31, 49:23; Hosea 12:6; 1 Chron.28:9)
II. CORPOREAL (Other Christians)
Although God greatly desires to speak to each of us personally, He also likes to use other members of the Body of Christ to pass on needed pieces of the "puzzle" to us. This helps teach us gratitude for His work in the lives of others, and the needed lesson that none of us are a law or light to ourselves. We can learn a lot from other Christians, although in the end, we are responsible to no one but Him.
1. GODLY MEN AND WOMEN - The advice of experienced Christians sought as confirmation.
Counsel from those who are known to have a pure and trustworthy walk with God is often of great value when seeking further light on some major decision. This counsel should be more in the area of principles, not pronouncements. Carefully concerned and loving suggestions aren't necessarily final or direct statements from the Lord. True godly counsel will of course always line up with the Word of God and Scriptural principles.(Proverbs 15:22, 12:15, 13:10, 11:14, 24:6; 1 Thess.2:11-15)
2. GOD'S SERVANTS IN THE MINISTRY - Preaching under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Sometimes God will use a message or sermon anointed by the Holy Spirit to bring needed light when you are facing a difficult decision. Perhaps the word you need to help give you direction is waiting for you at the next meeting! (Exodus 4:10-12; 1 Samuel 3:10-21, Isaiah 6:8-9; Rom.10:14-15; I Cor. 2:1-2; 1 Pet. 4:11)
3. THE GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT - In line with previous leadings from the Lord and the Word of God.
Scripture records incidents where God has confirmed direction through such gifts in His Body as prophesy, words of knowledge, and words of wisdom. Study their function in Scripture. Such words are simply spiritual parallels to individual godly counsel and preached messages, and should not be looked on with more authority than any of the other means the Lord chooses to use. Never act solely on a "word" given to you by another.
Remember, the key is individual responsibility for our own actions, and it is you that must make the final decision, and not someone else for you. (Rom. 12:6-8; I Cor. 12:1-12, 27-31, 14:12,26-33,39-40; Eph. 4:8-11; II Tim.1:6)
III. SUPERNATURAL
The instances of "supernatural" guidance, or special Divine Intervention in our lives are more rarely recorded. These cases are rare, but not because there are only a few who ever reach the "exalted height" of such direct contact. In fact, God may sometimes choose to act in this way because those on the receiving end are so spiritually insensitive and dull that they might otherwise never hear or understand! Although it is not wise to generalize principles from such occasional interventions, it is certainly clear through Scripture and history that men and women have received authentic direction from such Divine channels of contact
1. THE AUDIBLE VOICE OF GOD. God can and has spoken to people audibly. I know a very trustworthy person who became a Christian as a result of God answering his prayer for help in this way. He described the voice like this: "Like everyone I had ever loved in my life all rolled up into one, like someone I had known all my life, yet I knew I had never met" As in the case of Saul and the crowd that witnessed the Lord's baptism, it is apparently a real sound and not just a mental impression. Examples: Samuel (I Samuel 3:1-10); Elijah (I Kings19:9-13); Saul (Acts 9:1-7); the Lord Jesus and the multitude (John 12:2730).
2. VISIONS AND DREAMS. The early Church gave much more attention to this subject than do most Christians today. A dream is like a spiritual TV commercial - short, easy to understand, and given at the time when our whole attention is undistracted. Visions, on the other hand, are superimposed over the normal visual reality around us, and do not have to happen when we are asleep. If you believe that God may be trying to speak to you in this way, prayerfully consider the details of your dream or vision, remembering that they may represent symbols or principles - not necessarily absolutes. And finally, talk it over with a trusted and mature friend in Christ. Both dreams and visions, when inspired by the Holy Spirit, can be powerful means by which God speaks to His people. Examples: Peter (Acts10:9-16); Isaiah (Isaiah 6:1-8); Daniel (Daniel 8:1-27, 7:1-28,10:1-9); John (Rev. 1-20); Elihu (Job 33:14-18); Joseph (Matt. 1:19-21).
3. VISITATION. It appears that angels in Scripture do not "guide" in the same way as the Holy Spirit Himself does, but they have been sent to warn believers of danger, as well as provide for their physical needs and safety. They also have made significant announcements, as in the case of Mary. Many believers throughout history have had authentic vision or visitations - and many numbers of Christians have seen either Jesus or ministering angels at their deathbeds. Examples: Abraham (Genesis 18:1-33); Moses (Exodus33:19-23); Joshua (Joshua 5:13-15); Jacob (Genesis 32:24-30); Manoah (Judges 13:2-23); Zacherias(Luke 1:8-20); Mary (Luke 1:26-38).
A WORD OF WARNING before we leave this area. Young Christians can easily become fascinated with the "special cases," and exalt these above the more simple and ordinary daily ways God uses to speak to us. To deliberately seek or glorify any form of guidance Is an outright invitation to spiritual deception, We are not to seek or specify how God should speak, but only seek Him in any way that He wishes to make Himself known. And as previously mentioned, for God to have to use such methods is no guarantee at all of our superior spiritually - it may instead be an indication of spiritual Immaturity.
STEPS
The following method of receiving guidance combines most guidance principles into three basic steps:
1. GIVE UP YOUR OWN DESIRES. Take your own desires to God in prayer and place them aside for the Lord to crucify. In prayer, give your desires to Him, and ask Him to give you His desires. Tell Him that you are willing to "die" to the things you want most to do, in order to do the things He has for you.
2. RESIST THE DEVIL. Be on guard against the tactics of the enemy, and the temptations that may come your way. Each child of God has been given power over sin through Christ. Standing in His authority, drive back the enemy's voice. As Jesus did in the wilderness, you can quote an appropriate Scripture, and like the thrust of a sword, it will force the enemy to retreat. Do it simply and clearly, trusting that the power of Christ will back you up. (Proverbs 18:10; Eph.1:17-23; James 4:5-10; I John 3:78; I Pet.5:6-9)
3. LISTEN TO THE VOICE OF GOD.
The Lord wants to speak to you - He doesn't want to hide or make you play guessing games. If you have fulfilled His conditions, the lines of communication between you are open. Ask God to show you, in faith, expecting Him to answer. Look for an immediate, definite impression. Do what He tells you to do. If nothing comes immediately - thank God for His answer of "wait". Be faithful to what the Lord has shown you, and patient as you wait for further guidance. If you are being tempted, cry out to the Lord, for it is through Him that you will find your strength to stand firm in righteousness.
YOUR MOVE
Ahead of you is a generation that desperately needs a voice of authority. Men are tired of the constant failure of human wisdom - what they need most of all is to hear from Heaven. Can you be His vessel to proclaim "Thus saith the Lord!" to a lost and dying world? Dare YOU be guided by God? Will you accept the challenge to hear HIs voice and do His will?
Mistakes In the Bible
Sunday, July 15, 2007
By Winkie Pratney
The Bible is full of mistakes.
The first mistake was when Eve doubted the Word of God.
The second happened when her husband did, too.
And mistake after mistake is still being made because people insist on doubting God.s Word
The Bible is full of contradictions.
It contradicts pride and prejudice
It contradicts lust and lawlessness
It contradicts sin, yours and mine
The Bible is filled with failures.
Because it is the record of people who failed many times.
There was Adam
There was Cain
There was Moses
There was David and many, many others
But it is also the record of God.s never-failing love
God did not write the Bible.
For people who want to play games with words
For those who like to examine good without doing it
For the man who does not believe because he does not want to
Modern man has discarded the teachings of the Bible.
For the same reasons other men have discarded it throughout history.
Woeful ignorance as to its true message and content
Determined apathy in refusing to consider its claims
Parroted pseudo-scholarship posing as honest criticism
Secret conviction that this Book is right and men are wrong
It is clear that only an ignoramus or prejudiced person would believe it.
Teaches outmoded, irrational, unreasonable and archaic principles
Is filled with hopeless discrepancies and unacceptable statements
Could only be the undirected, irrelevant, uninspired and unaided work of mere men
The Bible is, after all, only just another religious book.
For thousands who do not dare be honest with themselves and God
For those who are afraid to accept God.s challenge to an honest examination
For those unwilling to look, in case it tells them what they are really like inside
And you cannot understand or trust what the bible says.
Unless you are willing to consider the evidence and face up to the Author.
The Bible is full of mistakes.
The first mistake was when Eve doubted the Word of God.
The second happened when her husband did, too.
And mistake after mistake is still being made because people insist on doubting God.s Word
The Bible is full of contradictions.
It contradicts pride and prejudice
It contradicts lust and lawlessness
It contradicts sin, yours and mine
The Bible is filled with failures.
Because it is the record of people who failed many times.
There was Adam
There was Cain
There was Moses
There was David and many, many others
But it is also the record of God.s never-failing love
God did not write the Bible.
For people who want to play games with words
For those who like to examine good without doing it
For the man who does not believe because he does not want to
Modern man has discarded the teachings of the Bible.
For the same reasons other men have discarded it throughout history.
Woeful ignorance as to its true message and content
Determined apathy in refusing to consider its claims
Parroted pseudo-scholarship posing as honest criticism
Secret conviction that this Book is right and men are wrong
It is clear that only an ignoramus or prejudiced person would believe it.
Teaches outmoded, irrational, unreasonable and archaic principles
Is filled with hopeless discrepancies and unacceptable statements
Could only be the undirected, irrelevant, uninspired and unaided work of mere men
The Bible is, after all, only just another religious book.
For thousands who do not dare be honest with themselves and God
For those who are afraid to accept God.s challenge to an honest examination
For those unwilling to look, in case it tells them what they are really like inside
And you cannot understand or trust what the bible says.
Unless you are willing to consider the evidence and face up to the Author.
THE HOLY BIBLE: Wholly True
Sunday, July 01, 2007
- By Winkie Pratney
The Bible isn't like any other book that's ever been written. The claims of the Bible are unlike any other book - it's not a human book! God called His Word living. But unless you have a rock-solid commitment to truth, the Bible won't change your life - it will only be so many words in a sea of words.
Many of the Eastern thought forms use Scripture. They use it to capture people's hearts. That's because the Bible is so powerful you can't ignore it. God has built life into His Word, and all of the strong cults rip it off. They steal bites out of the Bible and use it They use the truth of it to try, to justify the lies they tell. Just the fact that pieces taken out of context are powerful enough to draw men's hearts should tell you what the whole Word, used under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, can do!
Some Credentials
Here are some facts that will be valuable for anyone with an open heart. Now, you don't have to throw your mind away in order to believe these facts, but if you don't want to believe, nothing will convince you. Mark Twain said, "It's not the things I don't understand in the Bible that bother me, it's the things I do understand!" This accurate insight exposes the real reason most people are afraid to study the Scriptures. They're afraid they might meet the Author, and they know they're not ready to do that...
So what are this book's credentials? I could say to you, "I've just written a book and it's the Word of God. It's a great book... took me a whole year to write it." And you would have every right to say, "Prove it!" In the various world religions, there are 30 or 40 books, each one claiming to be a superior revelation. Jesus said, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words shall not pass away." (Matt. 24:35)
The Bible doesn't attempt to defend its inspiration. You won't find any verse that says, "This book is really true, so you better believe it!!" But here is an interesting thing: Genesis opens with the words, "God said" nine times in the first chapter. The statement, "Thus says the Lord" appears 23 times in the last Old Testament book Malachi. So you have "God says" from Genesis to Malachi. "The Lord spoke" appears 560 times in the first five books of the Bible and at least 3800 times in the whole of the Old Testament! Isaiah claims at least 40 times that his message came directly from the Lord; Ezekiel, 60 times; and Jeremiah, 100 times! And the Lord Jesus quoted from at least 24 different Old Testament books - that's right, He just quoted.
In the mid-1700s Voltaire, one of the most influential writers of his day, held a copy of the Bible in his hand and stated that within 100 years from his time, Christianity would be swept from existence and would pass into history. What's hilarious is that merely 50 years after his death, the Geneva Bible Society used his house and press to print and distribute stacks of Bibles! They even made his house their headquarters! God has an incredible sense of humor!
Could You Write The Bible?
Say you were going to write a book, and this was how you had to write it: For a start find 40 different writers - totally different writers. Get some who are highly educated, even doctors - then get some farmers. Go dig a guy off a ranch somewhere and say, "I'd like you to help me write a book." Then find some fishermen. Go down to the wharf and find a couple of guys from San Francisco and say, "Hey! listen help me write a book." And they say, "Sure, fine... we'll help you." And then you get all of them to write on the following things: religion, poetry, ethics, science, philosophy, the creation of the universe and where it's going - and ask them to throw in a few things about where they think it will all end.
Next, you need to collect all that information, and then... oh, by the way, you have to separate these people so they can't communicate by phone or telegraph... only possibly word of mouth, passed down over the years. Ah yes, years... you collect all this stuff over about one and a half thousand years, and compile the whole thing in one book. What would you have? I know what you'd have - you'd have the most motley junk you've ever seen in your life, with people totally contradicting each other! I suggest you take a biology textbook from 60 years ago, and compare it with one today. And that's just 60 years! But that's not what you have when you read your Bible. The more you read this book, the more you see the incredible unity of it. Because the more you get into it, the more incredibly detailed it is, and you find there are not 40 people who wrote it, but One Person.
The Bible: Your Science Book
The Bible is scientifically accurate. The God of the Bible is the God who created the universe. True science and Scripture will always agree - they both have the same Author! No statement in the Scriptures is scientifically incorrect. Science can tabulate the "what," analyze the "how," and probe for the "why," but it can't tell us the "where from," nor the reason for which the universe exists. It can't say who you are or why you are here. It can tell us what we're able to do, but not what we ought to do.
At the same time the Bible was written, people thought the world was fiat and held up by three elephants. Big elephants. Someone asked, "What holds the world up?" Another said, "Three elephants." Then someone ventured to ask, "And what holds up the elephants??" Someone answered, "A big tortoise." And so the early sciences grew.
Now, listen to what God said. Remember, this wasn't written in the last hundred years, or even the last thousand. This comes from over 2500 years ago... "Have you not known? Have you not heard? ... Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is He that sits upon the circle of the earth." (Isaiah 40:21-22) The word "circle" is the word "sphere" in Hebrew. Also, "He stretches out the north over empty space, and hangs the earth on nothing." (Job 26:7) Well, so much for elephants!
There are many other astounding scientific facts in Scripture, presented centuries before it became part of man's "knowledge."
Argument Melts Down
"But the day of the Lord will come like a thief in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up." (II Pet. 3:10) This very verse was used nearly a century ago to prove that the Bible couldn't have been divinely inspired because, "How could there be a fire big enough to burn the whole world? Silly fisherman!" It took over two more generations for science to catch up to what God had spoken through Peter, that an atomic reaction could actually melt the basic building blocks of matter itself. God was prophesying how the world would end.
In fact, two verses later we find these words, "...the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat!" (vs. 12) Do you know what the word "destroy" is? It's a Greek word that literally means to untie. That's an atomic physics statement from a fisherman! These and countless other examples show us how the Lord has hidden unsurpassed knowledge and wisdom in His Word.
Lots Of Lucky Guesses?
If there's one thing the Bible dares to do, that no other book in the world does, it's to accurately predict the future. God can arrange the situations and circumstances of history to bring about patterns laid down before the foundation of the world. The outline of many of these patterns is revealed in the Bible.
There are about 3,856 verses directly or indirectly concerned with prophecy in Scripture - about one verse in six tells of future events! God's challenge to the world is "Prove Me now - I am the Lord... I will speak, and the word that I speak shall come to pass." (See Jer. 28:9; Ezek. 12:25, 24:14) Buddhists, Confucianists, and Muslims have their own sacred writings, but in them the element of prophecy is obviously absent. The destruction of Tyre, the invasion of Jerusalem, the fall of Babylon and Rome - each were accurately predicted in the Bible and fulfilled to the smallest details.
In the brief life of Jesus alone we see over 300 fulfilled prophecies. The odds that these would all coincide by accident in one person are laughable. By the laws of chance, the conservative odds of even just 48 of those prophecies being fulfilled by one man are one in 10157. (That's 1 followed by 157 zeros!!!) Let me try to give you an idea of how immense this number is.
We'll take a very small object, let's say an electron. (Electrons are so small that if you lined them up, it would take 2½ quadrillion of them to equal one inch.) Now let's go back to our figure of 10157. If you tried to put this many electrons into a big pile, it would be 10,000,000,000 times lager than the universe as we know it - which scientists calculate to be 6,000,000,000 light-years across. (A light-year is the distance that light will travel in one year, moving at the speed of 186,000 miles per second.)
Now, take just one electron out and color it red. Stir it back into this pile for a hundred thousand years with all the others. Then blindfold a man and send him in to pick it out - first time! Impossible? These would be the same odds that one man would live and die according to only 48 of the prophecies about the Messiah, if it were only an accident. The Scriptures specifically predict events and happenings that are as modern as tomorrow's news release.
No Other Conclusion
You can put any test you like on this book and nothing is even in the same category, not even in the same class. It's not just a book - it is God who has spoken in history, and that's why He says that His word is "living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword"! (Heb. 4:12) Only the 66 books of the Scriptures bear this divine seal. No other work of man in any language even faintly resembles the intricate structure and design of the Bible. The fact remains - only an infinite mind could have devised this Book of books.
The Bible is a book with a universal message for all men. It's the only volume that a child and scholar may find equal delight in. Its simple, life-related principles can work in any country, transcending barriers of culture and race to bring peace, love, joy, and forgiveness. Only the Bible can make bad men good inside, transforming the rebel into the saint.
The greatest proof of the Bible is the difference its message can make in your life. If you haven't done so - will you ask God the Holy Spirit to reveal the truth of His power to your heart through its pages? But pray honestly, "God, I don't know if this is Your Word or not, but if it is and You can help me, please show Yourself to me as I read," and God will meet you in a living demonstration of His reality.
The Bible isn't like any other book that's ever been written. The claims of the Bible are unlike any other book - it's not a human book! God called His Word living. But unless you have a rock-solid commitment to truth, the Bible won't change your life - it will only be so many words in a sea of words.
Many of the Eastern thought forms use Scripture. They use it to capture people's hearts. That's because the Bible is so powerful you can't ignore it. God has built life into His Word, and all of the strong cults rip it off. They steal bites out of the Bible and use it They use the truth of it to try, to justify the lies they tell. Just the fact that pieces taken out of context are powerful enough to draw men's hearts should tell you what the whole Word, used under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, can do!
Some Credentials
Here are some facts that will be valuable for anyone with an open heart. Now, you don't have to throw your mind away in order to believe these facts, but if you don't want to believe, nothing will convince you. Mark Twain said, "It's not the things I don't understand in the Bible that bother me, it's the things I do understand!" This accurate insight exposes the real reason most people are afraid to study the Scriptures. They're afraid they might meet the Author, and they know they're not ready to do that...
So what are this book's credentials? I could say to you, "I've just written a book and it's the Word of God. It's a great book... took me a whole year to write it." And you would have every right to say, "Prove it!" In the various world religions, there are 30 or 40 books, each one claiming to be a superior revelation. Jesus said, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words shall not pass away." (Matt. 24:35)
The Bible doesn't attempt to defend its inspiration. You won't find any verse that says, "This book is really true, so you better believe it!!" But here is an interesting thing: Genesis opens with the words, "God said" nine times in the first chapter. The statement, "Thus says the Lord" appears 23 times in the last Old Testament book Malachi. So you have "God says" from Genesis to Malachi. "The Lord spoke" appears 560 times in the first five books of the Bible and at least 3800 times in the whole of the Old Testament! Isaiah claims at least 40 times that his message came directly from the Lord; Ezekiel, 60 times; and Jeremiah, 100 times! And the Lord Jesus quoted from at least 24 different Old Testament books - that's right, He just quoted.
In the mid-1700s Voltaire, one of the most influential writers of his day, held a copy of the Bible in his hand and stated that within 100 years from his time, Christianity would be swept from existence and would pass into history. What's hilarious is that merely 50 years after his death, the Geneva Bible Society used his house and press to print and distribute stacks of Bibles! They even made his house their headquarters! God has an incredible sense of humor!
Could You Write The Bible?
Say you were going to write a book, and this was how you had to write it: For a start find 40 different writers - totally different writers. Get some who are highly educated, even doctors - then get some farmers. Go dig a guy off a ranch somewhere and say, "I'd like you to help me write a book." Then find some fishermen. Go down to the wharf and find a couple of guys from San Francisco and say, "Hey! listen help me write a book." And they say, "Sure, fine... we'll help you." And then you get all of them to write on the following things: religion, poetry, ethics, science, philosophy, the creation of the universe and where it's going - and ask them to throw in a few things about where they think it will all end.
Next, you need to collect all that information, and then... oh, by the way, you have to separate these people so they can't communicate by phone or telegraph... only possibly word of mouth, passed down over the years. Ah yes, years... you collect all this stuff over about one and a half thousand years, and compile the whole thing in one book. What would you have? I know what you'd have - you'd have the most motley junk you've ever seen in your life, with people totally contradicting each other! I suggest you take a biology textbook from 60 years ago, and compare it with one today. And that's just 60 years! But that's not what you have when you read your Bible. The more you read this book, the more you see the incredible unity of it. Because the more you get into it, the more incredibly detailed it is, and you find there are not 40 people who wrote it, but One Person.
The Bible: Your Science Book
The Bible is scientifically accurate. The God of the Bible is the God who created the universe. True science and Scripture will always agree - they both have the same Author! No statement in the Scriptures is scientifically incorrect. Science can tabulate the "what," analyze the "how," and probe for the "why," but it can't tell us the "where from," nor the reason for which the universe exists. It can't say who you are or why you are here. It can tell us what we're able to do, but not what we ought to do.
At the same time the Bible was written, people thought the world was fiat and held up by three elephants. Big elephants. Someone asked, "What holds the world up?" Another said, "Three elephants." Then someone ventured to ask, "And what holds up the elephants??" Someone answered, "A big tortoise." And so the early sciences grew.
Now, listen to what God said. Remember, this wasn't written in the last hundred years, or even the last thousand. This comes from over 2500 years ago... "Have you not known? Have you not heard? ... Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is He that sits upon the circle of the earth." (Isaiah 40:21-22) The word "circle" is the word "sphere" in Hebrew. Also, "He stretches out the north over empty space, and hangs the earth on nothing." (Job 26:7) Well, so much for elephants!
There are many other astounding scientific facts in Scripture, presented centuries before it became part of man's "knowledge."
Argument Melts Down
"But the day of the Lord will come like a thief in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up." (II Pet. 3:10) This very verse was used nearly a century ago to prove that the Bible couldn't have been divinely inspired because, "How could there be a fire big enough to burn the whole world? Silly fisherman!" It took over two more generations for science to catch up to what God had spoken through Peter, that an atomic reaction could actually melt the basic building blocks of matter itself. God was prophesying how the world would end.
In fact, two verses later we find these words, "...the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat!" (vs. 12) Do you know what the word "destroy" is? It's a Greek word that literally means to untie. That's an atomic physics statement from a fisherman! These and countless other examples show us how the Lord has hidden unsurpassed knowledge and wisdom in His Word.
Lots Of Lucky Guesses?
If there's one thing the Bible dares to do, that no other book in the world does, it's to accurately predict the future. God can arrange the situations and circumstances of history to bring about patterns laid down before the foundation of the world. The outline of many of these patterns is revealed in the Bible.
There are about 3,856 verses directly or indirectly concerned with prophecy in Scripture - about one verse in six tells of future events! God's challenge to the world is "Prove Me now - I am the Lord... I will speak, and the word that I speak shall come to pass." (See Jer. 28:9; Ezek. 12:25, 24:14) Buddhists, Confucianists, and Muslims have their own sacred writings, but in them the element of prophecy is obviously absent. The destruction of Tyre, the invasion of Jerusalem, the fall of Babylon and Rome - each were accurately predicted in the Bible and fulfilled to the smallest details.
In the brief life of Jesus alone we see over 300 fulfilled prophecies. The odds that these would all coincide by accident in one person are laughable. By the laws of chance, the conservative odds of even just 48 of those prophecies being fulfilled by one man are one in 10157. (That's 1 followed by 157 zeros!!!) Let me try to give you an idea of how immense this number is.
We'll take a very small object, let's say an electron. (Electrons are so small that if you lined them up, it would take 2½ quadrillion of them to equal one inch.) Now let's go back to our figure of 10157. If you tried to put this many electrons into a big pile, it would be 10,000,000,000 times lager than the universe as we know it - which scientists calculate to be 6,000,000,000 light-years across. (A light-year is the distance that light will travel in one year, moving at the speed of 186,000 miles per second.)
Now, take just one electron out and color it red. Stir it back into this pile for a hundred thousand years with all the others. Then blindfold a man and send him in to pick it out - first time! Impossible? These would be the same odds that one man would live and die according to only 48 of the prophecies about the Messiah, if it were only an accident. The Scriptures specifically predict events and happenings that are as modern as tomorrow's news release.
No Other Conclusion
You can put any test you like on this book and nothing is even in the same category, not even in the same class. It's not just a book - it is God who has spoken in history, and that's why He says that His word is "living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword"! (Heb. 4:12) Only the 66 books of the Scriptures bear this divine seal. No other work of man in any language even faintly resembles the intricate structure and design of the Bible. The fact remains - only an infinite mind could have devised this Book of books.
The Bible is a book with a universal message for all men. It's the only volume that a child and scholar may find equal delight in. Its simple, life-related principles can work in any country, transcending barriers of culture and race to bring peace, love, joy, and forgiveness. Only the Bible can make bad men good inside, transforming the rebel into the saint.
The greatest proof of the Bible is the difference its message can make in your life. If you haven't done so - will you ask God the Holy Spirit to reveal the truth of His power to your heart through its pages? But pray honestly, "God, I don't know if this is Your Word or not, but if it is and You can help me, please show Yourself to me as I read," and God will meet you in a living demonstration of His reality.
People Who Make A Difference
Friday, June 15, 2007
Here is the latest newsletter from friends Corrie and Chris Harris who are the Directors of La Villa (The Village) an orphanage just outside of Managua, Nicaragua. Someone who I think are making a difference for Christ in our world today."Please pass the bean soup." I about dropped my spoon. We were dining at the Albrecht’s house one Saturday. "What? Stanton, I thought you did not like beans." Without a second thought Stanton answered, "Yes, but I would like to try Mr. David’s soup today." Not wanting to waste any delicious food I responded with, "Oh, ok, well, here, have a bite of mine and see if you like it before we pour you your own bowl." I leaned over the table with a tiny bit of soup on my spoon and my other hand hovering under it to keep any spills from happening.
"Hmm, yes, I think I like that. May I have my own bowl please?" I stared at Stanton in disbelief. I froze still leaning over the table, my jaw dropped, the spoon in mid-air. "Uh, ok. Wow, Stanton, what changed your mind?" Chris looked at Stanton and nodded his head with a wink and a smile and said, "Stanton learned the value of a bean yesterday."
Two days earlier, Chris had come up with a solution for the massive containers of beans we had in storage. Even though the children eat beans every day at VFN, we had not been able to make a dent in the pile of beans that was so generously donated. Some of the beans had already begun to be infested with rats. Chris had a plan to teach the teenagers about the importance of giving to others. With the bed of the truck filled with beans and some eager young teenagers (including our eight year old son, Stanton) they headed out.
Chilamatillo is a very poor town about one mile from Villa Familiar Nicaragua. The average family lives on only a few dollars a day. Discarded pieces of wood and metal make up the construction materials for most of the 150 houses (photo of typical house in Chilamatillo shown on right). There are no paved roads and no sewage system. In fact, they have very little plumbing, if any, and use a hodge podge of plastic containers to hold their water. (Pretty much what you or I would throw away makes up most of their household possessions). Ever so often you see a section of one of the houses painted. They have dirt floors, a tin roof, no glass in the windows, and old tattered wood or cloth for the doors.
You can imagine what a bucket full of beans meant to each household. "Mom, when we would drop some of the beans while we were shoveling them into those buckets, the people would run behind the truck, with cups or bowls and stuff, to pick the beans out of the dirt." Stanton could not understand why they would crawl on their hands and knees in the middle of the dirt road for barely a handful of beans! "Daddy, these people must really like beans." Stanton said. "No, son, they are starving and each and every bean makes the difference of how hungry they are when they go to bed". Somehow when he got up from that table he looked a little bit taller to me.
Later that night when I tucked him into bed I asked him, "Do you think all of those people are happy right now?" "Oh, yeah, Mom, you should have seen how happy they were when we were giving them those beans. Some of them chased the truck and wanted more. I don’t think they will be hungry tonight." I kissed him good night and while praying together for his dreams, we lifted up the poor of Nicaragua. Grateful for the experience my son had to open his eyes and his heart to life less privileged, I gently closed the door to his room and walked to mine. Suddenly, the unbearable heat was bearable, the mosquito buzzing by my ear just got a passing swat, and the hopeless state of the people I face everyday seemed hopeful. It takes a child sometimes to show us. Making a difference just takes each and every one of us helping our neighbor like Christ said to do. Maybe it is a bucket of beans, maybe it is a much needed hug from a dear friend, or it could even be something as simple as a kind word to a complete stranger.
Let’s not forget Erica… She continues to do wonderful in school and is learning Spanish rapidly. She is also full of great faith. She challenges me with her simplistic trust in God. I hear her angelic little voice saying her catch all solution to any problem, "Well, let’s just pray right now, Momma."
Prayer Requests at VFN… Out of the four new little children two are in good health but the youngest two are still struggling. We continue to watch Josué (2 years old) as we treat him for mal-nourishment and parasites. Alex (shown in photo on the left) has had a lot of problems and was hospitalized with double pneumonia but is now home recovering nicely, thanks to all the prayers! We just got a new Social Worker, and he is GREAT! We need a 24 hour nurse on site and a qualified Doctor to come in weekly to monitor the children. We need a full time Christian psychologist, an English teacher/missionary and more house parents called to the ministry. Thank you to those who already traveled to Nicaragua to be part of this work!We continue to be so thankful for each of you who lift up our family in prayer. We have been covered with safety, filled with contentment, satisfied with full stomachs while sleeping in comfortable beds--sheltered from the harsh weather here. Every day we see the hand of God move through the work we have an honor to be a part of.
God Bless You with His Peace!
Chris and Corrie Harris
Directors / La Villa Familiar Nicaragua
La Villa Familiar Nicaragua - VFN
Friday, June 01, 2007
Chris and Corrie are the new directors of La Villa (The Village) an orphanage just outside of Managua, Nicaragua. So many exciting things have been happening that I could not resist letting you in on some of the good news. The needs of La Villa are so great and God has answered so many prayers that we will have to narrow the field to only three areas.
Atmosphere and Attitude:
La Villa had been without a director for about nine months. Chris and Corrie found the buildings in disrepair, the children disorderly and aimless, and the employees basically fearful. They discovered locked buildings with needed supplies that had not been distributed; the school building was infested with angry red wasps; the “kitchen” was worse than dirty, and meals below nutritional needs.
Chris began getting order among the children, establishing boundaries, and meeting one-on-one with staff. Corrie focused on preparations for school to start in less than two weeks. They have 35 children, 10 go to a Christian secondary school and the rest attend school at La Villa.
Chris and Corrie are not challenging their culture; they are challenging using their culture as an excuse to be lazy, dishonest and without integrity. Last semester the teachers had to lock the doors to keep the kids in the classrooms. But on the first day of school, the children were in their seats working, and there was a pleasant hum all through the building. They were proud of their new uniforms and their “new” school—a repaired and freshly painted house next to the old school building. Order brings peace.
Reputation:
Because of some really bad things that happened in the past, the reputation of La Villa had deteriorated to that of being considered a hypocrite ministry by the people in a nearby town. Chris discovered this when trying to do business for the orphanage there.
On the road alongside La Villa’s property there is a strip of shanty houses, a squatter’s village of the poorest of the poor. Water and power are often turned off without warning in Nicaragua. When that happened the squatters would come to the guards of La Villa to get water. This was stopped by a former director and many people suffered needlessly. La Villa has a deep well with plenty of water. After checking out the story, Chris ran a water hose to the fence line and told the guards to give water to the people when theirs was turned off. That soon happened, the people came, and they were given water.
The next time Chris was in the town, he tried to buy some produce, but the farmer wouldn’t sell it to him. Instead, he started putting produce in the back of Chris’ truck and told him, “You’re the man who turned the water back on.”
Bonding with the children:
It is one thing to set rules in place, but it’s another to win hearts. More than 85% of the children have been abandoned, most by their mothers. Some of the teens know where their families are but they have been told that they are not wanted. Crushed is not the word for what they have experienced — devastation is a better one.
There has been heavy spiritual warfare to break through and win the children’s trust. It takes more than repairing buildings, clothing the children, and cleaning up where they live. Chris has made huge inroads, especially with the boys. Corrie sent out an urgent prayer request for one particular breakthrough that was needed. That same day, the breakthrough happened, and the next day an unexpected victory followed close behind. Here’s part of the story as Corrie wrote it:
“Yesterday a couple of the ‘tough kids’, the ones I have had to work with so hard, came to me. One of them is a little boy, seven years old that looks five because he’s so small. In his own eyes, he is the next heavyweight champion of the world! His name is Darwin. I have literally chased him to hug him. He has started to respond.
“He held a crumpled piece of paper with dirty little hands and read to me in Spanish (with one of his front teeth missing so it was really hard to understand him) his decision to Chris and me. He said he has decided to give me his entire heart, that he will love me forever, and that I am his Mama and Chris is his Papa. Soon after, other kids started running up to me with their papers and declarations. It is as if there had been a vote, and we won.”
Prayer moves the hand of God. Why He has chosen to wait for us to pray is a mystery only He understands, but He hears and answers when we ask. Two requests: a major need for La Villa right now is an interpreter with a heart for the ministry. And pray for Martha’s trip. This is more than a family visit—it’s missions.
Atmosphere and Attitude:
La Villa had been without a director for about nine months. Chris and Corrie found the buildings in disrepair, the children disorderly and aimless, and the employees basically fearful. They discovered locked buildings with needed supplies that had not been distributed; the school building was infested with angry red wasps; the “kitchen” was worse than dirty, and meals below nutritional needs.
Chris began getting order among the children, establishing boundaries, and meeting one-on-one with staff. Corrie focused on preparations for school to start in less than two weeks. They have 35 children, 10 go to a Christian secondary school and the rest attend school at La Villa.
Chris and Corrie are not challenging their culture; they are challenging using their culture as an excuse to be lazy, dishonest and without integrity. Last semester the teachers had to lock the doors to keep the kids in the classrooms. But on the first day of school, the children were in their seats working, and there was a pleasant hum all through the building. They were proud of their new uniforms and their “new” school—a repaired and freshly painted house next to the old school building. Order brings peace.
Reputation:
Because of some really bad things that happened in the past, the reputation of La Villa had deteriorated to that of being considered a hypocrite ministry by the people in a nearby town. Chris discovered this when trying to do business for the orphanage there.
On the road alongside La Villa’s property there is a strip of shanty houses, a squatter’s village of the poorest of the poor. Water and power are often turned off without warning in Nicaragua. When that happened the squatters would come to the guards of La Villa to get water. This was stopped by a former director and many people suffered needlessly. La Villa has a deep well with plenty of water. After checking out the story, Chris ran a water hose to the fence line and told the guards to give water to the people when theirs was turned off. That soon happened, the people came, and they were given water.
The next time Chris was in the town, he tried to buy some produce, but the farmer wouldn’t sell it to him. Instead, he started putting produce in the back of Chris’ truck and told him, “You’re the man who turned the water back on.”
Bonding with the children:
It is one thing to set rules in place, but it’s another to win hearts. More than 85% of the children have been abandoned, most by their mothers. Some of the teens know where their families are but they have been told that they are not wanted. Crushed is not the word for what they have experienced — devastation is a better one.
There has been heavy spiritual warfare to break through and win the children’s trust. It takes more than repairing buildings, clothing the children, and cleaning up where they live. Chris has made huge inroads, especially with the boys. Corrie sent out an urgent prayer request for one particular breakthrough that was needed. That same day, the breakthrough happened, and the next day an unexpected victory followed close behind. Here’s part of the story as Corrie wrote it:
“Yesterday a couple of the ‘tough kids’, the ones I have had to work with so hard, came to me. One of them is a little boy, seven years old that looks five because he’s so small. In his own eyes, he is the next heavyweight champion of the world! His name is Darwin. I have literally chased him to hug him. He has started to respond.
“He held a crumpled piece of paper with dirty little hands and read to me in Spanish (with one of his front teeth missing so it was really hard to understand him) his decision to Chris and me. He said he has decided to give me his entire heart, that he will love me forever, and that I am his Mama and Chris is his Papa. Soon after, other kids started running up to me with their papers and declarations. It is as if there had been a vote, and we won.”
Prayer moves the hand of God. Why He has chosen to wait for us to pray is a mystery only He understands, but He hears and answers when we ask. Two requests: a major need for La Villa right now is an interpreter with a heart for the ministry. And pray for Martha’s trip. This is more than a family visit—it’s missions.
AFRICA TRIP
Friday, May 18, 2007
I know some are you are going to Africa for Summer Missions this year, so here are some of the natural wonders of the areas you will be in. The group is going to Eastern Africa. Tanzania and Zambia. Here is a little information on this area.
TANZANIA
Tanzania is to the wildlife enthusiast the Africa of our imagination. Boasting over 95,000 square miles of reserves, Tanzania is one of the best game viewing countries in Africa. From Mt. Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa, to Lake Victoria, the largest lake in Africa, visitors will find a country with vast, unbroken vistas.The United Republic of Tanzania is located in eastern Africa on the Indian Ocean between Mozambique and Kenya and includes the island of Zanzibar. The capital, Dar es Salaam, is located along the eastern coast on the Indian Ocean. Tanzania covers an area roughly twice the size of California. The terrain includes coastal plains, a central plateau, and highlands in the north and south. It is home to Mt. Kilimanjaro (the highest point in Africa), Lake Victoria (the second largest lake in the world), and the Great Rift Valley. The climate varies from tropical along the coast to temperate in the highlands. Natural resources include hydropower, tin, phosphates, iron ore, coal, diamonds, gemstones, gold, natural gas, and nickel.
There is more than 37.1 million people live in Tanzania. Kiswahili or Swahili (Kiunguju in Zanzibar) and English are the official languages; Arabic and numerous other local languages are spoken as well. The population is overwhelmingly native African (99%), most of whom are Bantu (95%). Religious practices on the mainland include: Christian (30%), Muslim (35%), and indigenous beliefs (35%).
ZAMBIA
Zambia is a land of natural wonders with friendly people, ancient traditions and mystic legends. Here nature is at its wildest and most exquisite with the profusion of birds, abundant wildlife, and raw, pulsating wilderness. Zambia has some of the greatest natural scenery on the continent - a gently undulating plateau of forests, savannah and marshland.
It is fed and shaped by three great rivers, bordered by three massive lakes andcovered by big, big skies. The country shares (with Zimbabwe) Victoria Falls and the Zambezi River - two of the region's major tourist highlights. Apart from sightseeing, these places are also centres for a range of activities ranging from canoeing to white water rafting and bungee jumping.
The legendary David Livingstone first saw the awesome glory of the Victoria Falls from Zambia and his memory today is enshrined in the nearby town of Livingstone. Lusaka, the vibrant capital city, is surprisingly rich in galleries, featuring local artists. The other major attraction in the capital is bustling open air Kamwala market, a few blocks south of the centre.
Described by the local Kololo tribe as ‘Mosi-oa-tunya’ - ‘the Smoke that thunders’ and in more modern terms as ‘the greatest known curtain of falling water’, Victoria Falls is a spectacular sight of beauty and grandeur on the Zambezi River, bordering Zambia and Zimbabwe.Facing the falls is another sheer wall of basalt, rising to the same height and capped by a mist soaked rain forest. A path running through the rain forest provides the visitor with an unparalleled series of views of the falls.
One special vantage point is across the knife-edge bridge, where visitors can have the finest view of the Eastern cataract and the Main falls as well as the Boiling Pot where the river turns and heads down the Batoka gorge. The immense depth of the gorge can be fully appreciated from this perspective and combined with the sea green river below, the shiny black rock face and lush green foliage, the 360 degree view from here is breathtaking.
PARABLE OF MONEY USAGE
Monday, May 07, 2007
Jesus was now nearing Jerusalem and the disciples still did not understand that He was not setting up His kingdom but that He would die, be raised and go to heaven to prepare an eternal place for those who placed their trust in Him. This parable teaches about Him going away and trusting the ministry to them.
Many confuse this parable with the parable of the talents Matthew shared in 25:14-30. There is a distinct difference in that parable because the slaves were given different amounts. In this parable all are given the same, about three month’s wages. When the nobleman returned he learned that one had earned ten times what he was given, another had earned five times and the third had earned nothing. The one who had earned most was also given the original wages of the person who did not put them to use.
This parable addresses the fact that those who utilize most effectively the gifts God gives them are rewarded the most. Notice that the individual who earned ten times was given praise (v. 17 ) and also given authority over ten cities. He had maximized the utilization of his gifts. The person who earned five times was not given praise but was given authority over five cities (v. 18). He had used his gifts but not as effectively as he could have. The third person did not use his gift so it was taken away from him. This unfaithful servant was not removed from the kingdom but his reward was taken from him.
God has given each of us, as His children, abilities to use for His kingdom. It is our responsibility to use those gifts to further God’s kingdom. We are most satisfied in our lives when we are doing that. We will be rewarded in eternity based on the effectiveness of our utilization of those abilities here on earth. . It will then be our privilege to return those rewards to Him as an act of worship.
I pray that you will discover God’s gifts to you and utilize them exactly and faithfully as God desires of you.
CREATED FOR MY GLORY
Sunday, May 06, 2007
"...everyone who is called by my name, whomI created for my glory, whom I formed and made."
Why is a question that we tend to ask when we don't understand the reasons for something taking place or the absence of the same. It's a question that most of us if asked would admit that we've asked God. It's a question that I've asked and have with tears in my eyes just yearned for an answer from God. In John 11, when Jesus heard that his close friends Lazarus was dying, He told those around Him. "This sickness will not end in death, No, it is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it." (John 11:44 NIV) Then it says that Jesus stayed where He was for two more days. If it were up to Mary and Martha, the sisters of Lazarus, they would have had Jesus drop everything and come right then to heal their brother and keep him from drying. But as we read this portion of scripture we see that it wasn't about them, or their brother, rather the circumstance that they found themselves in was was all about God's glory.
It's a very natural thing for us to become focused on ourselves when in the midst of our circumstances we find ourselves weighed down and burdened by the reality of pain and suffering. Could it be possible that the cancer our loved one is facing is for God's glory? Can my losing my job and not being able to get one for this long be because God wants be be glorified though it? I've been praying for my husband for years to come and know the Lord, but to no avail. Should I continue to pray or give up? Could this journey of pain be for the glory of God? How could my life of struggling with my addictions ever turn our to bring glory to God?
In the midst of our circumstances, as we face uncertainties day in and day out, we must remember that not only were we made for God's glory, but that everything, every circumstance in our lives, the good, the bad and that seemingly indifferent, are all a part of the plan that God has to bring glory to Himself. So, as we take steps day by day, moment by moment and face circumstances beyond our control, let's remember that it's about His glory which when accomplished will always work out for our good. "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." (Roman 8:28 NIV) Our circumstances will look much different when viewed through the lenses of God's glory. My friend, that is why we are here. - Worship Pastor TBC Mark Jones
Dr. David Livingstone
Monday, April 30, 2007
Dr. David Livingstone was a renowned Missionary who lived in Scotland in the 1800's. I took a survey and found that on the streets, most did not know who Dr. Livingstone was! Even sadder is that many Christians today either do not know the name or know very little about him or his work. The life of this hero of the faith should not be forgotten, least of all by those of us seeking to bring the name of Christ to a lost world.In Africa today there are millions of men, women and children who believe in the name of Jesus Christ because of the foundation laid by Dr. David Livingstone and the sacrifices made by him in his determination to follow Christ.
Dr. Livingstone was born in Blantryre, Scotland March 19, 1813, not of affluent parents but into a working class family, in conditions we could only classify as harsh by the standards of today. He worked in a factory form the time he was a small boy, working to support his family not for the luxuries of life but to survive.
Still, he had the most important thing; the love of family and a heart that was always seeking God. It was this love that drove him to study every chance he got: before work, after work and even during the short times that breaks were allowed.
Livingstone tells the story of a time at work when he was discovered reading his Bible. His supervisor demanded to know what he was hiding. He showed him his Bible to the boss's shock. The man then asked how a boy like David could have afforded a magnificent Bible like that. David explained he had won it in a contest for memorizing Psalm 119, the longest psalm in the Bible. Still not believing David, his supervisor asked him to quote the passage. After a few minutes, the supervisor gave in and returned David's Bible with the encouragement that he could continue to study as he had been doing.
David liked studying science but felt guilt because he loved God and believed the Bible to be the true word of God; many had said the Bible and science were incompatible. David would walk across Scotland to find the answer from a theologian and scientist named Dr Thomas Dick. Quoting from the book David Livingstone From Africa to Eternity by Sam Wellman, part of Dr Dick's reply included these two statements in reference to the question as to the compatibility of science and the Bible ."Such a common error. Some scientific observations are false because men are imperfect. But some science is true, too. On the other hand, every word in the Bible is true, but the truth takes several forms" He pointed out that many of the parables are meant to point the to truth, not that the parables themselves are true stories.
The other quote by Dr Dicks sums it up. "The Bible is the word of God, the wisest book we have or ever will have. But you must not be a fool with its wisdom".
That meeting would set him on a course that would see him studying medicine and theology in Glasgow. After graduating, the passion of his heart and his calling was to be a missionary and to help put a stop to slavery.
Dr Livingstone would leave Scotland and become a missionary doctor with the London Missionary Society. He would go on to explore more of Africa than any other European before.
He was the first European see and rename the falls that the native people called "the smoke that thunders" or Mosi-oa- tunya and give it the name by which is known today -Victory Falls.Dr Livingstone explored the Zambezi River, pushing ever further into the heart of Africa. He would stand on the shores of Lake Tanganyika and canoe the Congo River. At each and every turn he brought for the first time the Gospel to people he loved and would give his life for.
The cost of being a missionary can be high. Dr Livingstone would spend little time at home with his family and is beloved wife Mary would die in 1862 form malaria after once again joining him in Africa. Livingstone would never truly get over her death. Back in London, Dr Livingstone published his book Narratives of an Expedition to the Zambezi which would finance his next and last expedition to find the mouth of the Nile River. It was on this expedition after years of being out of contact with home that the New York Times sent the now famous reporter, Henry Morton Stanley, who will always be remembered for his famous words upon finding Dr Livingstone: "Dr. Livingstone I presume".
Dr Livingstone died in Africa on the 1st of May 1873. His body would be carried back to England and buried in Westminster Abbey, but as per his instructions, his heart was removed and buried under a mvula tree in Africa, the land he loved.Written By Pastor Tim Lane Union Gospel Misson - Sacramento
For More Livingstone Link:
SON OF MAN
Sunday, April 29, 2007
For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost." Luke 19:10
This verse at the end of the familiar story of Zaccheus is important for a couple of reasons. First note the title He used, "Son of Man" The title is interesting for He relates Himself to man rather than God, stressing His humanity. Jesus stepped out of eternity and into time and space by being physically born of a woman and living on this earth for some thirty-three years. He had all the characteristics of man including the temptation to sin. He was the only human who ever overcame those temptations and lived a sinless life. Because of that He was qualified to pay the price for our sins so that we might have eternal life.
Then He clearly stated His purpose “to seek and to save that which was lost.” This statement of purpose ties back to the parables of the lost (sheep, coin, and son) we looked at back in Luke 15. Remember the emphasis on the importance of the lost (sheep), the intensity of the search (coins), and the love of the sinner (son).
Jesus not only sought but He took the necessary actions that the lost might be saved. That required Him giving up His life. Because He lived a sinless life He was able to assume the heavy weight of each of our sins. God, the Father, hates sin so much He had to turn His back on His Son. In Matthew 27:46, the passage depicting the crucifixion Jesus cried out to His Father, “My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken Me.?”
We should thank God daily for His tremendous love for us in sending His Son to save us from our sins and we should thank the Lord Jesus for His willingness to go to the cross and lay down His life for our sin.
From - Joe Hanson Devotional April 29, 2007
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)