Thursday, July 18, 2013
Monday, February 25, 2013
For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds; 2Corinthians 10:4
Well,I have been waiting for God to give me the Part Two of this series, and have been wondering when it would come. My step-son David is presently in Iraq; experiencing some of the heaviest fighting ever in the region. My faith is unwavering, and we picture the REAL presence of God's angels all around David and all of his men. I KNOW that those angels are there, and that the enemies that he's fighting, are NOT a people who serve the true living God; so God's will be done; I am just praying for David's safety; I am not praying that he will kill a lot of people; although I know that they will have to in order to stay alive; I am also not happy that he is fighting for his life in a horrible war, but obviously, someone has to step up to the plate to protect our freedoms; I am convinced that God is protecting him every day, all day!
There are no accidents in this life, and because I believe that, I understand why HE had me begin this series when I did...I happen to be on Max Lucado's mailing list for his weekly devotionals; his staff, nor I, knew that I would be writing about angels at the same time that they would send out his excerpt about angels. Consequently, I am compelled to include it here in this entry. God only knows, but after this, I sense an "Angels...part three" coming soon. In that one, I will probably be giving Biblical accounts of angels.
Angels Watching Over You
by Max Lucado
One of my friends recently took a heart-stopping mission trip to Vietnam. He and two companions set out to smuggle Bibles and money to Christians there. Upon landing, however, he was separated from the other two. He spoke no Vietnamese and had never traveled in Hanoi. Imagine his thoughts, then, as he stood in front of the airport, holding a bag of Bibles, wearing a belt of cash, and knowing nothing more than the name of his hotel.
Taxi driver after taxi driver offered his services, but he waited and prayed. Finally, knowing he needed to do something, he climbed into a taxi and spoke the name of the hotel. After an hour and a thousand turns, he found himself deposited at the designated place. He paid his drivers, and they went on their way.
That’s right, “they” drove off. The front seat of his taxi had been occupied by two men. Only later did the uniqueness of this fact strike him. He saw hundreds of taxis during his days in Vietnam, but not another one of them had two drivers.Angels minister to God’s people. “ has put his angels in charge of you to watch over you wherever you go” (Ps. 91:11 NCV).
Billy Graham reminds us, “If you are a believer, expect powerful angels to accompany you in your life experience.”? But what if you are not a believer? Do angels offer equal surveillance to God’s enemies? No, they don’t. The promise of angelic protection is limited to those who trust God. Refuse God at the risk of an unguarded back. But receive his lordship, and be assured that many mighty angels will guard you in all your ways.
God sends his best troops to oversee your life. Imagine the president assigning his Secret Service to protect you, telling his agents to motorcade your car through traffic and safeguard you through crowds. How would you sleep if you knew D.C.’s finest guarded your door? How will you sleep knowing heaven’s finest are doing just that? You are not alone. Receive God’s lordship over your life. Heaven’s many, mighty angels watch over you.From Come Thirsty Copyright 1995, Max Lucado
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Other Man's Secrets
I once had a good friend of Asian descent; during my frustration with the attitudes, and actions of people all around me, my good friend told me in his broken accent"Ahhhhh...you nevva know otha man's secrets!!"
I have never forgotten that...this video says it all!!! dedicated to Leslie Tan
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Who is This Jesus?...Part II
Who is this Jesus???
By Larry Wiseman
So just who is this Jesus that so many people talk about? Some say He was the son of God, some say He was a prophet; others say that He was the son of man, or even just a man, while still more say that He did not exist, more say that they don’t know or care who He is or was, and there are those who say that He was simply a joke. Many say and many pray and wait for His eventual coming again, but there is one thing for sure…almost no one can say that they’ve never heard of Him, no matter who He may be. Some use the name of Jesus Christ to swear with, and others, instead of swearing, pledge an allegiance of faith and servitude to a King that they have never seen.
Multitudes of people “think” they know who Jesus is, and millions are certain that they know exactly who He was and is. Some force their explanations of Jesus to conform to their own innovations and imaginations, while others use the Word of God to prove their case. There are several versions of God’s Word, and most of them agree who Jesus was and is; some versions have been written for the sole purpose of convincing others to believe in a certain doctrine or belief system.
So as you read this, what is your conclusion as to who Jesus Christ really is? Will you turn to the Bible, some theologian, your own belief system, some other person’s belief system? If you ask for help, you will be flooded with hundreds of well meaning people who seemingly know that they have the answer. Logically speaking, some will be wrong, some will be accurate and correct, while others will have a strange mixture of truth and fable. Question: If there is a real Jesus who has any power at all, especially if He is God Himself , don’t you think that He would want an individual that is seeking Him to know who He is? So who do you believe??? It has been said that everyone believes in something, even if it is oneself. So many people claim to have the answer, and he or she can usually be extremely scholastic in explaining where they derived their version of the truth from. Many will be extremely correct, but how do YOU decide? Is it possible that one can find the truth without being a “bookworm” or a great student?
Spirits
Remember this…one day, you may realize that if God exists, that he has a Spirit who is capable of conveying any message that He wants to come forth. Spirit of this, and spirit of that…Spirit of America, Spirit of St. Louis, Spirit of God, Spirit of man…on and on…who can we really trust? In a debate over any issue, the person who wins is the one who is the most convincing; the one who seems to be the most believable! Depending on the circumstances, it is possible that, given the right resources, along with the power of influence, that most people might be convinced of anything. Just look at the “kool-aid” drinkers in the Jonestown massacre. It is a good thing that “you can fool some of the people some of the time, but not all the people all of the time.”
So who is this Jesus? Do you know, or do you just think that you know? Is the Earth round or is it flat? Who convinced you of anything, and how were you persuaded to know it for a fact? There really is only one source to know who Jesus is. Men have the answers, given in God’s Word, but you may say “I am tired of depending on men, and I don’t even believe the Bible!” Many share your sentiments, so if you were ever to be convinced of the reality of God, the Bible, or Jesus, what would it take to convince you? If you were asked who you are, would you say that you “know” who you are…certainly, based solely on your own consciousness. Well then, Jesus should know who He is then, right? So let’s just ask Him, but where is He? You will notice that I have yet to give you a reference to convince you of my personal beliefs…personally I do believe that the Word of God is a real, living Word, unlike any book ever written, but let’s pretend that I am unable to convince you of this.
Why did I write the preceding article?
During a recent prayer time, I felt lead by the Holy Spirit to think through the process of the article that you have just read. I believe the there are several categories, if you will, of people in this world some of which can be classified as spiritual, some not so spiritual, some not spiritual at all, and others who would like to be spiritual, but for one reason or another, are not willing to surrender or commit to anything that causes them to lose control of his or her life. People who love God are happy about it, and love Him, and can’t seem to get enough of experiencing God in their life. There are others who only have God in their lives when they need Him, still others wish at times that they did not know anything about God, because He represents the guilt and conviction of the sin in their lives.
There is still another very large group of people in this world that do not know God, and are sick and tired of “religious” people who either force Christianity on others, or they are sick and tired of seeing people claim to be Christians, and not walk the talk. In a strange way, I respect this group, for they somehow understand how a decent Christian person ought to act, and are honestly disillusioned and disappointed, when they see the failures of Christians. “Who is this Jesus?” is not meant to denigrate the importance of truth or the Word of God, but, in fact, a message to all… that without the power of the Holy Spirit, no one can understand what God is all about. Christians should stand ready to “give an answer to all men”, “study to show thyself approved”, so that when God’s Spirit does work in a non-Christian’s life, we can be used of God to “feed His Sheep”. We must remember that we do not do the saving; we must allow God to do His work, and simply be His tools for ministry.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT IS BEHIND THAT DOOR!
The Pastor and his son
Every Sunday afternoon, after the morning service at the church,
the
Pastor and his eleven year old son would go out into their town and hand
out Gospel Tracts.
This particular Sunday afternoon, as it came time for the Pastor and
his son to go to the streets with their tracts, it was very cold
outside, as well as pouring down rain.
The boy bundled up in his warmest
and driest clothes and said, 'OK, dad, I'm ready.'
His Pastor dad asked, 'Ready for what?'
'Dad, it's time we gather our tracts together and go out.'
Dad responds, 'Son, it's very cold outside and it's pouring down rain.'
The boy gives his dad a surprised look, asking, 'But Dad, aren't people
still going to Hell, even though it's raining?'
Dad answers, 'Son, I am not going out in this weather.'
Despondently, the boy asks, 'Dad, can I go? Please?'
His father hesitated for a moment then said, 'Son, you can go. Here are
the tracts, be careful son.'
'Thanks Dad!'
And with that, he was off and out into the rain. This eleven year old
boy walked the streets of the town going door to door and handing
everybody he met in the street a Gospel Tract.
After two hours of walking in the rain, he was soaking, bone-chilled
wet and down to his VERY LAST TRACT. He stopped on a corner and looked
for someone to hand a tract to, but the streets were totally deserted.
Then he turned toward the first home he saw and started up the sidewalk
to the front door and rang the door bell. He rang the bell, but nobody
answered. He rang it again and again, but still no one answered. He
waited but still no answer. Finally, this eleven year old trooper
turned to leave, but something stopped him.
Again, he turned to the door and rang the bell and knocked loudly on
the door with his fist. He waited, something holding him there on the
front porch!
He rang again and this time the door slowly opened.
Standing in the doorway was a very sad-looking elderly lady. She softly
asked, 'What can I do for you, son?' With radiant eyes and a smile that
lit up her world, this little boy said,
'Ma'am, I'm sorry if I disturbed you, but I just want to tell you that
*JESUS REALLY DOES LOVE YOU* and I came to give you my very last Gospel
Tract which will tell you all about JESUS and His great LOVE.'
With that, he handed her his last tract and turned to leave.
She called to him as he departed. 'Thank you, son! And God Bless You!'
Well, the following Sunday morning in church Pastor Dad was in the
pulpit.
As the service began, he asked, 'Does anybody have testimony or want to
say anything?'
Slowly, in the back row of the church, an elderly lady stood to her
feet.
As she began to speak, a look of glorious radiance came from her face,
'No one in this church knows me. I've never been here before. You see,
before last Sunday I was not a Christian. My husband passed on some time
ago, leaving me totally alone in this world.
Last Sunday, being a particularly cold and rainy day, it was even more
so in my heart that I came to the end of the line where I no longer had
any hope or will to live.
So I took a rope and a chair and ascended the stairway into the attic
of my home. I fastened the rope securely to a rafter in the roof, then
stood on the chair and fastened the other end of the rope around my
neck. Standing on that chair, so lonely and brokenhearted I was about to
leap off, when suddenly the loud ringing of my doorbell downstairs
startled me. I thought, 'I'll wait a minute, and whoever it is will go
away.'
I waited and waited, but the ringing doorbell seemed to get louder and
more insistent, and then the person ringing also started knocking
loudly. I thought to myself again, 'Who on earth could this be? Nobody
ever rings my bell or comes to see me.' I loosened the rope from my neck
and started for the front door, all the while the bell rang louder and
louder.
When I opened the door and looked I could hardly believe my eyes, for
there on my front porch was the most radiant and angelic little boy I
had ever seen in my life. His SMILE, oh, I could never describe it to
you!
The words that came from his mouth caused my heart that had long been
dead, TO LEAP TO LIFE as he exclaimed with a cherub-like voice, 'Ma'am,
I just came to tell you that JESUS REALLY DOES LOVE YOU.' Then he gave
me this Gospel Tract that I now hold in my hand.
As the little angel disappeared back out into the cold and rain, I
closed my door and read slowly every word of this Gospel Tract. Then I
went up to my attic to get my rope and chair. I wouldn't be needing them
any more.
You see---I am now a Happy Child of the KING. Since the address of your
church was on the back of this Gospel Tract, I have come here to
personally say THANK YOU to God's little angel who came just in the nick
of time and by so doing, spared my soul from an eternity in hell.'
There was not a dry eye in the church. And as shouts of praise and
honor to THE KING resounded off the very rafters of the building, Pastor
Dad descended from the pulpit to the front pew where the little angel
was seated.
He took his son in his arms and sobbed uncontrollably.
Probably no church has had a more glorious moment, and probably this
universe has never seen a Papa that was more filled with love & honor
for his son...
Except for One.
Our Father also allowed His Son to go out into a cold and dark
world.
He received His Son back with joy unspeakable, and as all of heaven
shouted praises and honor to The King, the Father sat His beloved Son on
a throne far above all principality and power and every name that is
named.