Legacy...

...do You have one?
Local 'Can Man' —Giant in the Lord
December 2011

Everybody in his neighborhood in Tucson, Arizona, knew him as “The Can Man, Charley.” Every day he had a route of about 6 miles where he walked to collect recyclables. But you didn’t meet Charley for very long without realizing that money from the cans didn’t just go into his pocket, supplementing his retirement income. He was really about something else. And everyone that he met on his route was offered one of those other somethings: a no-nonsense gospel tract. You soon would learn that the sale of the cans kept the tract supply going.

And if you followed him a little while, you found a complex system of ministry in this tiny little man. And it started early. Charley remembers the Holy Spirit prompting him to praise God while playing toy cars with his friends. Later, in World War II, the Lord erected a sudden wall of protection against an enemy attack that should have killed him.

Back home, working in the steel industry, Charley began buying tracts and sharing the gospel. He organized outreaches for his church covering specific neighborhoods with repeated visitations leaving a different tract each time. Over the years, his consistent passion for God’s word deepened his ability to follow up the tracts with strong personal ministry.

Retirement freed him to expand his vision. To him the tracts were just an opening where personal ministry began. His consistency in reaching out to others built confidence in his contact with the Lord and strangers began approaching him with additional questions about their relationship with God and their concern about eternity. With hours of personal Bible study each day, he seldom was at a loss for an appropriate biblical answer to their concerns.

His can collecting not only provided funds for more tracts, he became well known to the businesses on his route. They began saving cans for him and he would leave stacks of tracts on their counters, replenishing them on the next visit.
His wife, Dot, says he would frequently come in from his route with a little bigger smile and more spring in his step, to announce: “One more led to the Lord, today.” Maybe it would be the homeless man who was begging by the supermarket or someone he had met on the street. Occasionally, someone driving by would recognize him and pull over for a chat.

His obituary reports that, after he was saved in 1961, he logged over 285 cover-to-cover trips through his Bible. “Seldom was he at a loss for a scripture to share with anyone who might have a question,” says Dot.

Only the Lord knows how many tracts he actually handed out in his lifetime, but in the last 10 years of his retirement, Chick Publication’s records show well over 125,000 tracts bought, mostly with money from sale of his cans. As friends on his route learned how he financed his ministry, they offered money to help. At first he refused until Dot convinced him that it was not for him, but so that more tracts would reach more people for Christ. At 87, his eyesight and hearing was fading and his gait slowing. One morning in October the Lord welcomed him home from doing what he loved, crossing the street while walking his route. The driver of the SUV saw him too late, but some of his tracts will still be pointing people to the Lord for years, perhaps until Christ returns for us all.

Preparing For Separation And Loss

From the Concerned Nazarenes...

“Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.” 2 Corinthians 6:17

It is difficult to lose a loved one, especially a parent. For several years, during the time when my parents were old but still fairly healthy, the thought crossed my mind from time to time that someday in the future, I would be facing the reality of losing one of them, and then the other parent. When the day came that mom got weaker, and eventually needed nursing home care, I took another step closer to that reality that the loss was near. It helped me to recognize and accept the fact that it was going to happen, and that I must be prepared for it.

There is another type of separation which is very difficult to deal with, and that is separation from your church of many years because of false teachings. I believe more Christians are now facing this issue than ever before. In these days of apostasy all around us, pastors and other leaders are falling over each other in a rush to compromise the gospel for the latest fad, and some of them have been the most trusted and solid Christian leaders in the past. The result is that more Christians are finding it very difficult to find a church which is biblically sound.

My position is clear on this, and scripturally sound: when a church has stopped preaching and abiding by sound doctrine, and you have done all that you can to help correct that course, you have no choice but to leave that unhealthy church. And when Christians start coming to the realization that they can no longer stay with their church, it is still difficult to make that final decision that severs the ties that they have had for so long. It truly is like losing a loved one, or like getting divorced. Yet they will not feel the full impact until they have left, and will be shocked at the aftermath of their decision.

To those who are approaching this decision, I must give you some advance notice as to what will probably happen to you after you leave. Some of it is based on what happened to us, although I have had similar testimony from dozens who have written to me about having to leave. Regardless of what happens after you leave, you can know that continuing to place your faith and trust in Jesus Christ will help strengthen you in any situations you encounter.

You can expect some or all of the following:

1. Prepare to be alone. Do not expect a flood of concerned phone calls or emails from folks from your old church. This is what happened with us, and was also the same with many who have written to me. It will be as if your old friends, perhaps even relatives, never knew you existed. You will start wondering, “were these people really my friends, my brothers and sisters in Christ? If so, why has not one person picked up the phone to ask why we are no longer at our church of many years?” So be ready for a really strange, inexplicable silence from most of those you thought were your closest friends in church.

2. Prepare to be labeled the cause of the problem- in the “nice” way. In the best case scenario, leaders from your former church will explain to others that you are confused, and have erred, and you nee time to come to your senses before coming back into fellowship. Perhaps they will ask the church to pray for you and your family. You will become in their eyes someone to be pitied. However, do not expect that they will try to help you in any way; it will most likely only be rhetoric.

2. Prepare to be labeled the cause of the problem- in the WORST way. In the worst case scenario, the pastor and/or leaders will make sure that the church understands that you are the cause of the problem, that you were divisive, that you refused to go along with the “mission” of the church, and that you brought all this upon yourself, and no one else. If they go even further, you may actually be called out publicly as a troublemaker, sometimes from the pulpit itself, as some have testified in their letters. If you stay and fight, you may even be “disfellowshiped” and thrown out of the membership.

3. Do not obsess with convincing others. If some are willing to listen to you, and months later it seems to have had no impact on them, let it go. It is not up to you now. Speak to others who give you the opportunity, but move on after that, unless they sincerely are interested in finding the truth and hearing all sides of the matter.

4. Do not forget what church you are really a member of. You are a member of the true church of Jesus Christ, and not any one denomination. That cannot be taken away from you. Church leaders and denominational leaders will often fail, sometimes miserably, and you will feel abandoned. But the true head of the Church, Jesus Christ, never fails, and never leaves you. “My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand.” John 10:29

5. Do not let your emotional ties cloud your allegiance to the Lord. Yes, there will be emotions that will toss you to and fro, and perhaps months of crying, and wondering why did it all have to happen this way? It’s not like you had to move out of state to a new job, or some other reason that is very understandable. But if there is false teaching in your church, and staying would mean compromising the truth, what choice do you really have?

6. If you have young children, you must leave even sooner. Our children are too precious, and if false teaching is in a church, rest assured it will filter down to the youngest in the church. Contemplative mysticism is being taught in the Nazarene church to young middle schoolers already. Are you willing to risk your young child or teenager’s spiritual well being and remain at your church out of some misguided loyalty, or because you will miss all your friends, the potluck dinners and the church picnics?

6.(sic) Continually pray for guidance and wisdom, stay in God’s word, and ask the Lord to help you find a solid, Bible believing church. It’s really that simple. Your spiritual health should always come first above any other reason to stay at your church. If you have exhausted all your own efforts at trying to wake up the leaders, or others in the church, then you have done all you could. You must now trust the Lord no matter what.

If you are thinking you may have to leave your church because of false teaching, may the Lord guide you, and give you wisdom, as you make your decisions. It is not a decision to be taken lightly, but it may be the only option you have left. If Jesus Christ is truly your foundation, you know that He will never leave you. He will be there for you, even when all others have betrayed you.

Blessings,

Manny

The Daily Spurgeon, June 12, 2011....

The tendency among men is, when they grow a little earnest, to expend their zeal upon other people, and frequently in the way of faultfinding. It is wonderfully easy to wax indignant at the indolence, the divisions, the coldness, or the errors of the Christian church, and to fulminate our little bulls against her, declaring her to be weighed in our balances and found wanting, as if it mattered one halfpenny to the church what the verdict of our imperfect scales might be. Why, instead of a tract upon the faults of the church, at the present moment, it would be easy to write a volume; and when it was written it would be wise to put it in the fire.

Friend, mind those beams in your own eye, and leave the Lord Jesus to clear the motes from the eye of his church. Begin at home; there is in-door work to be done. Instead of vainly pointing to the faults of others, pour forth thine earnestness in praising God, and say thou unto thine own heart, “Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name."

From a sermon by Charles Haddon Spurgeon entitled "The Saints Blessing The Lord," delivered October 20, 1872.

May 21, 2011...enough said...

And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken? When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.---(Deu 18:21-22)

A future and a hope for Israel...

They are scattered: behold them wandering on the face of the earth without a country of their own; they are a people who have been oppressed and downtrodden almost beyond belief: the hand of the heathen and the hand of the so-called Christian hath been very heavy upon them; they have been jeered and hooted at for ages, though they are in truth the very nobles of God, and their ancient lineage is like that of kings. Let us not, however, despair for them. Abraham, their father, was but a heathen when God called him out of a family that had worshipped the seraphs and made him to be a witness of the living and true God, and honored his faith with exceeding great reward.

Doubt not, then, that he can call Israel again from all her wanderings, cleanse her from all her profane traditions and her unbelief, and separate her unto himself to be a holy people, in whom once again his power shall be made known, and made known in such a way that they shall not speak of the ark of the Lord, or the redemption out of Egypt as the chief symbol of their national glory, or the grandest theme of their patriotic song, for a greater redemption and a greater manifestation of the Divine presence shall be in the midst of Israel than the wilderness of Sinai had ever known, or the mountains round about Jerusalem had ever witnessed. God grant it to them, and hasten the fulfillment of the promises in which he has made us to hope.

From a sermon by Charles Haddon Spurgeon entitled "A Bright Light in Deep Shades," delivered May 12, 1872.

He Did Not Come Down–Part 3 of 3

Posted by Brad Gilbert on 2/17/2011
MATTHEW 27:39-44, key vs. 40, 42

As we finish up this study on these three groups of people who were present at the crucifixion of Jesus and how they all wanted Him to come down from the cross, we look at the final group:

SENTENCED ON THE CROSSES – 27:44

The first thing that we notice is that the Two were Critical – 27:44. Matthew’s Gospel account clearly shows us that both of the thieves who were on the cross, suffering from the death penalty for their sins and transgressions against society, were critical and blasphemous when the process of the crucifixion started. Both of these men were just like the scribes and chief priest in that they were under conviction for their sin.

And when we go to Luke’s gospel account, we see that there are two ways to respond to conviction.

One thief was Calloused – Luke 23:39. This thief was looking for what just about everyone else is looking for – some sort of temporal relief from their current situation. Many people come to church, or begin to pray, not because they seek to worship a holy God and repent of their sin, but because they are expecting some magical genie to grant them their wish so they can go back to living their life they way they had before.

This thief was not seeking forgiveness of his sins, but just a pardoning from his punishment. He was bitter at his lot in life – though it was well deserved. Some people are so obstinate to their need of a saviour, even till the bitter end.

But we notice a change in the other thief, he was Convicted – Luke 23:40-43. This second thief shows us a couple of truths:

1. It is never too late to turn to Christ as long as you have breath.
2. When under conviction, we can choose to either get better or get bitter.

Too many people today are under conviction about their sin, yet too prideful, scared, or confused to turn to Christ.

We read both in Matthew 27:50 and Luke 23:46 – HE DID NOT COME DOWN!

A great theologian of old Matthew Henry said in relation to this portion of Scripture - He {Jesus} was, at His death, numbered amongst the transgressors, that we, at our death, might be numbered among the saints.

We are all one of the thieves on one of the crosses because we are all sinners who deserve an eternity in Hell and the Lake of Fire. I am glad that in June of 1999 it was not too late for me and I called out to Jesus in repentance and faith and He saved my soul!

How about you? Which thief are you?

He Did Not Come Down–Part 2 of 3

Posted by Brad Gilbert on 2/15/2011
MATTHEW 27:39-44, key vs. 40, 42

In our last post, we took a look at the first group of people who were present at Jesus’ crucifixion. This post, we will study the second group:

SCRIBES & THE CHIEF PRIEST – 27:41-43

The scribes, Sadducees, Pharisees, and chief priest were always at odds with Jesus during His earthly ministry. There are certain characteristics we notice about this group.

The first characteristic we observe was that they were often Copycats – 27:41. These religious leaders were acting more like politicians than they were prophets or preachers. We observe this from the word “likewise.” They were not leading the way like they were supposed to have been doing, but just following the crowd.

It is a sad truth that many preachers and teachers will change, or soften, what they believe in order to gain a larger crowd. Most do not proclaim what they believe based on conviction; but test the wind to see what is the popular and follow after that. Beware of those who claim to be preachers, yet will not stand against anything. It has be aptly said before that, “If you won’t stand against anything, you will fall for everything.”

Another truth we notice is that they were Compassionless – 27:42. We know that they had no compassion on those in need. How? Because they knew of all the people Jesus helped that they themselves often ignored. They did not believe in Jesus while He was amongst them healing the sick and lame; they wouldn’t have believed on Him had He came down from the cross.

The measure of a man’s faith can been seen in how they help others less fortunate than himself. The religious leaders always had to have the attention focused on them, and thus had no time or desire to help others. When the spotlight must always be pointed on us, even while helping others, reveals a real deficiency in our character. It is during those times when we are more worried about our reputations and what we can gain from “helping” someone that we are following the lead of the religious rulers of Jesus’ day in showing our lack of compassion.

The final characteristic we notice is that they were Convicted – 27:43. By making the statement, “for he said, I am the Son of God,” these religious rulers reveal to us that secretly, they were under conviction. They wanted Jesus to come down from the cross because they did not want to admit that they were sinners in need of Redeemer.

When under conviction, you have one of two ways to respond, as we see from the final group in the upcoming post.

He Did Not Come Down–Part 1 of 3

Posted by Brad Gilbert on 2/13/2011

MATTHEW 27:39-44, key vs. 40, 42

We live in a world today that is very antagonistic to God and the things of the Bible. I thought about something that recently came across my desk from Answers in Genesis. They are a very successful Science group that promotes Creation and a literal interpretation of Genesis. Their newest project is a life sized replica of Noah’s Ark. There was a feature story on ABC’s “World News With Diane Sawyer, and article in the New York Times, and many other world-wide publications.

With this notoriety came a lot of negative backlash. Much of it came from the secular world, but some of it even came from the “religious” crowd who were against promoting a literal belief in Genesis. Why? Because to believe literally in Genesis would mean that mankind would be held accountable to its Creator and then would have to take the remaining Bible literally.

Most of religion today does not want to take a literal approach to God’s Word, especially to Jesus’ claim to be the only way to heaven. This was never more evident than at the crucifixion of Jesus, as we see in vs. 40 & 42 and the phrase, “let him now come down from the cross…” But if Jesus had not died on the cross, shed His precious blood for the remission of sins, and rose from the grave on the third day, then there would be no hope of salvation.

The sad truth is that the world is filled with people who don’t want to recognize Jesus as dying on the cross for their sins. Are you one of the ones groups of people who wanted Jesus to come down from the cross? This coming week, we notice from the text 3 groups of people who wanted Jesus to come down from the Cross, and we will look at the first group today:

SINNERS IN THE CROWD – 27:39-40

The first thing we observe about this group is that they Spoke Evil – reviled. The word used for reviled here is – blasphēmeō, which means:

1. to speak reproachfully, rail at, revile, calumniate, blaspheme

2. to be evil spoken of, reviled, railed at

They spoke all manner of evil and lies about Jesus as He hung there on the cross paying for their sins. We live in a world, and amongst people who can’t wait to blaspheme the name of Jesus. Whether it is taking the Lord’s name in vain out of anger, or making our precious Saviour the punch line of some crude joke on a television show – people are still reviling the name of Jesus.

They try to “tear down” the name of Jesus because the Bible tells us in Act 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

A second characteristic we notice about them is that they Stirred Emotions – wagging. This was a display of their contempt and a public insult. Job suffered the same response from his so-called friends, as he said in Job 16:4 I also could speak as ye do: if your soul were in my soul's stead, I could heap up words against you, and shake mine head at you. David felt the same shame and penned this: Psalm 109:25 I became also a reproach unto them: when they looked upon me they shaked their heads.

A final characteristic we observe is that they Spewed Error – saying. Here is a group of people who probably never read OT Scripture, or would have anything to do with anything else Jesus might have said, but are quoting Him now OUT OF CONTEXT because it helps their cause.

Just like those today who like to quote (Judge not…God is love…etc) but have no clue on the context of those verses and what they really are saying. There are a lot of “Bible experts” out there who never have even read the Bible from cover to cover before.

These SINNERS IN THE CROWD wanted Jesus to come down off the cross, but He didn’t! Stayed tuned as we will move on to the second group of people who wanted Jesus to come down from the cross.

A Christmas Carol from Paul

---By David R. Stokes

Christmas is more than a day in December -- it is a season. Reminders of this are all around us -- the weather, the gatherings, the music on the radio. It is not unusual for savvy media outlets to saturate their formats with all things Yuletide for a few weeks at the end of the year. It puts us "in the mood" -- not to mention puts money in their accounts.

What's your favorite Christmas song? Some like to hear about chestnuts roasting on an open fire -- others love to think about bells jingling. Yet others tear up (with good reason) thinking about a Holy Night so long ago. They may even want to fall on their knees.

A case can be made that the greatest Christmas song ever written is one with no familiar music. The tune is no longer available to us. But the lyrics -- ah, those lyrics -- well, they're actually inspired. As the Apostle Paul was writing to young Pastor Timothy about everything from order in the church to the dangers of greed, he gave us an easily overlooked but enduring Christmas nugget.

It may be not be a toe-tapper like I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus -- but it completely captures the essence of Christmas. That essence is incarnation. This means that God became one of us so that He could reach those of us willing to surrender to Him.

As the Apostle winds up a series of thoughts about the church and those who serve and lead, he pauses to reflect on a larger issue. Strategies and structure are not ends in themselves. They are secondary to powerful ideas. While he may have felt the need to give Timothy some practical advice about how to do his important job, he never lost sight of the why in all of it -- nor should we. There can be many controversies in life -- macro and micro. All of them require attention. Some of them require systems and structure. No doubt, this was something with which Timothy wrestled. Therefore, his wise mentor, Paul, offered his advice.

Things that tend to polarize people often have little to with objective truth. Instead, subjective experience is allowed to play too large a role in our lives and passions. When this happens, Paul's writings suggest that we need to stop and sing. And we should sing something very specific -- the most beautiful of all Christmas carols -- though it is highly unlikely that we'll hear the words blended with any seasonal music.

We are not told the style of music, nor are we told the instrument or instruments used to express it (if any). We are given just the words. They are inspired -- and they have endured. They are ancient words, yet ever new.

The first Christmas Carol is introduced in scripture this way: "Beyond all question, the mystery of godliness is great..." (I Timothy 3:16 NIV).

Communities of faith throughout history have wrestled with many things. But Paul reminds us all these centuries later that there are some no-brainers for the faithful. First and foremost is that most powerful of all ideas is that God has come to the earth -- the Word has been made flesh.

So, this season, let us reach back for one of the forgotten "oldies" -- a first-century worship favorite. They likely sang it in places like Ephesus, Thyatira, and Philippi. There were no ornate cathedrals or padded pews, no multimedia presentations to tantalize the eyes -- just words, powerful and profound. Go ahead and make up your own music -- but don't mess with the words. They are from God. They are a Christmas gift from the one who gave us the reason for the season.

And, one...two...three...

"He appeared in a body,

Was vindicated by the Spirit,

Was seen by angels,

Was preached among the nations,

Was believed on in the world,

Was taken up in glory."

- I Timothy 3:16 (New International Version)


Merry Christmas!

David R. Stokes is a minister, author, columnist, and broadcaster.

95 THESES TO THE MODERN EVANGELICAL CHURCH by Greg Gordon...

60. Many will be surprised to hear Jesus say, “I never knew you, depart from me.” (Mt 7:22-23; 1Cor 6:9-10; Gal 5:19-21)

61. Men have taken the place of the Holy Spirit in confirming men in their supposed salvation. (1Jn 2:3-5; 2Ths 1:8; Gal 6:12-15)

62. The doctrine of hell and eternal suffering is something little grasped by most professing “christians”. (Mt 13:42; Jam 5:1; Ps 9:17)

63. The judgment seat of Christ is perhaps one of the most neglected topics in the modern pulpit. (2Cor 5:10; Rom 14:10; 1Cor 3:13)

64. The second coming of Christ needs to be re-instated as the church’s general thrust and burden. (1Jn 3:2-3; Col 3:4-6; 1Ths 4:14-17)

65. The church has lost the fear of God and has over emphasized the love of God. (Heb 12:28-29; Lk 12:5; Heb 10:31)

66. The church has left evangelism to a few trained professionals. (Acts 8:1,4; Acts 4:29; Rom 10:14)

67. Repentance is considered a one-time act in modern evangelism rather than a way of life. (Rev 3:19; Heb 12:17; 2Pt 3:9)

68. The Lordship of Jesus Christ is something that is not taught in many pulpits. (Acts 2:36; 1Cor 12:3; Rom 6:18)

Yes...it has been a hard, introspective week...

If it hasn't been seen yet, this blog is not about trains or models. It's about the propagation and exaltation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the spreading of His Word through a medium folks will allow in their house...

For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.---(1Co 15:3-8)

It is not opinions that man needs: it is Truth. It is not theology: it is God. It is not religion: it is Christ. It is not literature and science; but the knowledge of the free love of God in the gift of His only-begotten Son.

"I know not," says Richard Baxter, "what others think, but for my own part I am ashamed of my stupidity, and wonder at myself that I deal not with my own and others' souls as one that looks for the great day of the Lord; and that I can have room for almost any other thoughts and words; and that such astonishing matters do not wholly absorb my mind. I marvel how I can preach of them slightly and coldly; and how I can let men alone in their sins; and that I do not go to them, and beseech them, for the Lord's sake, to repent, however they may take it, and whatever pain and trouble it should cost me.

"I seldom come out of the pulpit but my conscience smiteth me that I have been no more serious and fervent. It accuseth me not so much for want of ornaments and elegancy, nor for letting fall an unhandsome word; but it asketh me, 'How couldst thou speak of life and death with such a heart? How couldst thou preach of heaven and hell in such a careless, sleepy manner? Dost thou believe what thou sayest? Art thou in earnest, or in jest? How canst thou tell people that sin is such a thing, and that so much misery is upon them and before them, and be no more affected with it? Shouldst thou not weep over such a people, and should not thy tears interrupt thy words? Shouldst thou not cry aloud, and show them their transgressions; and entreat and beseech them as for life and death?' "Truly this is the peal that conscience doth ring in my ears, and yet my drowsy soul will not be awakened. Oh, what a thing is an insensible, hardened heart O Lord, save us from the plague of infidelity and hardheartedness ourselves, or else how shall we be fit instruments of saving others from it? Oh, do that on our souls which thou wouldst use us to do on the souls of others!" ---Horatius Bonar, Words to Winners of Souls

Picture of a Prophet

By Leonard Ravenhill

The prophet in his day is fully accepted of God and totally rejected by men.

Years back, Dr. Gregory Mantle was right when he said, "No man can be fully accepted until he is totally rejected." The prophet of the Lord is aware of both these experiences. They are his "brand name."

The group, challenged by the prophet because they are smug and comfortably insulated from a perishing world in their warm but untested theology, is not likely to vote him "Man of the year" when he refers to them as habituates of the synagogue of Satan!

The prophet comes to set up that which is upset. His work is to call into line those who are out of line! He is unpopular because he opposes the popular in morality and spirituality. In a day of faceless politicians and voiceless preachers, there is not a more urgent national need than that we cry to God for a prophet! The function of the prophet, as Austin-Sparks once said, "has almost always been that of recovery."

The prophet is God's detective seeking for a lost treasure. The degree of his effectiveness is determined by his measure of unpopularity. Compromise is not known to him.

-He has no price tags.
-He is totally "otherworldly."
-He is unquestionably controversial and unpardonably hostile.
-He marches to another drummer!
-He breathes the rarefied air of inspiration.
-He is a "seer" who comes to lead the blind.
-He lives in the heights of God and comes into the valley with a "thus saith the Lord."
-He shares some of the foreknowledge of God and so is aware of impending judgment.
-He lives in "splendid isolation."
-He is forthright and outright, but he claims no birthright.
-His message is "repent, be reconciled to God or else...!"
-His prophecies are parried.
-His truth brings torment, but his voice is never void.
-He is the villain of today and the hero of tomorrow.
-He is excommunicated while alive and exalted when dead!
-He is dishonored with epithets when breathing and honored with epitaphs when dead.
-He is a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, but few "make the grade" in his class.
-He is friendless while living and famous when dead.
-He is against the establishment in ministry; then he is established as a saint by posterity.
-He eats daily the bread of affliction while he ministers, but he feeds the Bread of Life to those who listen.
-He walks before men for days but has walked before God for years.
-He is a scourge to the nation before he is scourged by the nation.
-He announces, pronounces, and denounces!
-He has a heart like a volcano and his words are as fire.
-He talks to men about God.
-He carries the lamp of truth amongst heretics while he is lampooned by men.
-He faces God before he faces men, but he is self-effacing.
-He hides with God in the secret place, but he has nothing to hide in the marketplace.
-He is naturally sensitive but supernaturally spiritual.
-He has passion, purpose and pugnacity.
-He is ordained of God but disdained by men.

Our national need at this hour is not that the dollar recover its strength, or that we save face over the Watergate affair, or that we find the answer to the ecology problem. We need a God-sent prophet!

I am bombarded with talk or letters about the coming shortages in our national life:
bread, fuel, energy. I read between the lines from people not practiced in scaring folk. They feel that the "seven years of plenty" are over for us. The "seven years of famine" are ahead. But the greatest famine of all in this nation at this given moment is a FAMINE OF THE HEARING OF THE WORDS OF GOD (Amos 8:11).

Millions have been spent on evangelism in the last twenty-five years. Hundreds of gospel messages streak through the air over the nation every day. Crusades have been held; healing meetings have made a vital contribution. "Come-outers" have "come out" and settled, too, without a nation-shaking revival. Organizers we have. Skilled preachers abound. Multi-million dollar Christian organizations straddle the nation. BUT where, oh where, is the prophet? Where are the incandescent men fresh from the holy place? Where is the Moses to plead in fasting before the holiness of the Lord for our moldy morality, our political perfidy, and sour and sick spirituality?

GOD'S MEN ARE IN HIDING UNTIL THE DAY OF THEIR SHOWINGFORTH.

They will come. The prophet is violated during his ministry, but he is vindicated by history.

There is a terrible vacuum in evangelical Christianity today. The missing person in our ranks is the prophet. The man with a terrible earnestness. The man totally otherworldly. The man rejected by other men, even other good men, because they consider him too austere, too severely committed, too negative and unsociable.

-Let him be as plain as John the Baptist.
-Let him for a season be a voice crying in the wilderness of modern theology and stagnant "churchianity."
-Let him be as selfless as Paul the apostle.
-Let him, too, say and live, "This ONE thing I do."
-Let him reject ecclesiastical favors.
-Let him be self-abasing, non self-seeking, non self-projecting, non self- righteous, non self-glorying, non self-promoting.
-Let him say nothing that will draw men to himself but only that which will move men to God.
-Let him come daily from the throne room of a holy God, the place where he has received the order of the day.
-Let him, under God, unstop the ears of the millions who are deaf through the clatter of shekels milked from this hour of material mesmerism.
-Let him cry with a voice this century has not heard because he has seen a vision no man in this century has seen.

God send us this Moses to lead us from the wilderness of crass materialism, where the rattlesnakes of lust bite us and where enlightened men, totally blind spiritually, lead us to an ever-nearing Armageddon.

God have mercy! Send us PROPHETS!

The Arrows - "In the Words of Satan"

Just keep moving on if you're easily offended...



I used to be in the Christian Music industry and one thing I can attest to is that they only get two out of three right...it is music and it is an industry but it certainly works hard to be anything but Christian. In light of my experience I rarely jump on a new group's band wagon and, in this case, am only posting the one video as it is a powerful, bare knuckles picture of the Prince of the power of the air.

Their other song is typically veiled, with no direct references to God, Jesus or the exclusiveness of the Gospel Message. How well I remember a Stryper tune that could just as easily be sung to a prom queen in the backseat of her date's car. As with other groups in the past, I'll wait this out to see what kind of fruit falls from the tree, before I go recommending them to anyone.

The sad truth is that most Christians are as celebrity oriented as their unsaved neighbor...the mere mention of God and the fact that the music doesn't contain a vocabulary that could peel wallpaper seem to be the only qualifications for CCM sainthood nowadays.

Still He Walked...

By David Langerfeld

He could hear the crowds screaming "crucify" "crucify"...
He could hear the hatred in their voices,
These were his chosen people.
He loved them,
And they were going to crucify him.
He was beaten, bleeding and weakened...
His heart was broken,
But still He walked.

He could see the crowd as he came from the palace.
He knew each of the faces so well.
He had created them.
He knew every smile, every laugh, and every shed tear,
But now they were contorted with rage and anger
His heart broke,
But still He walked.

Was he scared? You and I would have been
So his humanness would have mandated that he was.
He felt alone.
His disciples had left, denied, and even betrayed him.
He searched the crowd for a loving face and he saw very few.
Then he turned his eyes to the only one that mattered
And he knew that he would never be alone.
He looked back at the crowd...
At the people who were spitting at him
Throwing rocks at him and mocking him
And he knew that because of him,
They would never be alone.
So for them, He walked.

The sounds of the hammer striking the spikes echoed through the crowd.
The sounds of his cries echoed even louder,
The cheers of the crowd, as his hands and feet were nailed to the cross,
Intensified with each blow.
Loudest of all was the still small voice
Inside his Heart that whispered "I am with you, my son",
And God's heart broke.
He had let His son walk.

Jesus could have asked God to end his suffering,
But instead He asked God to forgive.
Not to forgive him, but to forgive the ones who were persecuting him.
As he hung on that cross, dying an unimaginable death,
He looked out and saw, not only the faces in the crowd,
But also, the face of every person yet to be,
And his heart filled with love.
As his body was dying, his heart was alive.
Alive with the limitless, unconditional love he feels for each of us.
That is why He walked.

When I forget how much My God loves me,
...I remember his walk.
When I wonder if I can be forgiven,
...I remember his walk.
When I need to be reminded of how to live like Christ,
...I think of his walk.
And to show him how much I love him,
...I wake up each morning, turn my eyes to him,
.......And I walk.

From Larry Thompson's blog...

...December 22, 2009...

O Holy Night, or abolitionist theme song?

This song is a standard for Christmas Eve church services and programs. It is an old Christmas standard, plus lends itself to dramatic presentation.

However, like many songs we sing, including some in our hymnals, the words we know to this song are not the original words.

The original text to this song, or “carol” if you prefer, was written in French as a poem in 1847 by Placide Cappeau de Roquemaure. It was titled “Mi­nuit, chré­tiens, c’est l’heure so­len­nelle”. Here are the lyrics, translated into English.

Midnight, Christians, it's the solemn hour,
When God-man descended to us
To erase the stain of original sin

And to end the wrath of His Father.
The entire world thrills with hope
On this night that gives it a Savior.

People kneel down, wait for your deliverance.
Christmas, Christmas, here is the Redeemer,
Christmas, Christmas, here is the Redeemer!

The Redeemer has overcome every obstacle:
The Earth is free, and Heaven is open.
He sees a brother where there was only a slave,

Love unites those that iron had chained.
Who will tell Him of our gratitude,
It's for all of us that He is born,
That He suffers and dies.

People stand up! Sing of your deliverance,
Christmas, Christmas, sing of the Redeemer,
Christmas, Christmas, sing of the Redeemer!

These words are Biblical. (Although my Arminian brothers might squirm a bit.) They deal with incarnation, original sin, God’s wrath on sin removed by the Savior, humility before God, worship and celebration of salvation.

But, you say, I never heard these words! That is true, because someone changed them before you heard them.

That someone was John Sullivan Dwight, an American Transcendentalist , Unitarian and abolitionist.

A Unitarian does not believe in the deity of Christ. He believes Jesus was a prophet and good man, but not God or God’s son.

The Transcendentalists came out of Unitarianism, stressing the inner essence of man as capable of finding and celebrating truth and beauty and unity with all mankind. (It reminds me of my hippy friends in the ‘60s and ‘70s, all carrying around their paperback copies of Walden Pond.)

In short, Dwight was not a Christian, not a Trinitarian and not a believer in Jesus as savior in the orthodox sense. Therefore, he did not translate the lyrics, but changed them and adapted the thought to his philosophy.

Given Dwight’s religion and philosophy, you can see why he changed the reference from ending God’s wrath on original sin to “the soul felt its worth”. In other words, Jesus showed us our worth, rather than our need for salvation. This may be why this song is so popular today, it says Jesus came to raise my self esteem.

Much of the English lyrics are abolitionist. Though the original had a reference to slave and brother, it has greater emphasis in Dwight’s version.

Truly He taught us to love one another,
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains he shall break, for the slave is our brother.
And in his name all oppression shall cease.

There is nothing about atonement, or turning away the wrath of God, but in universal brotherhood and the defeat of slavery. At least it does not tell me I should “fall in love with Jesus”.

"Thank you for the fleas..."

"In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."  -1Thess 5:18

It's simple to thank God when He does miracles and answers prayers just the way we want them answered. It's also pretty easy to thank Him when we can look around and see many blessings in our lives. When our situation seems awful, though, and we're struggling through tragedy or just plain hard times, it can seem hard to believe that God is really there taking care of things; it can be hard to say, "I know You love me. Thank you for what You are doing even now."

Jobless rates in 29 US states rose last month, with Michigan suffering the worst rate at 15.1 percent and Nevada and Rhode Island close behind at 13 and 12.9 percent respectively. In California alone, payrolls have dropped by 687,700 workers in just the past year. It's a very difficult time for a lot of people across America and around the world, and giving thanks to God may be the last thing in the minds of those who don't know how they're going to pay their electric bill or put gas in the car.

Yet, it's good to know that the economy does not have God worried. His arms are not tied. The One who looks after the sparrows is fully capable of looking after each one of us as well, and even the rotten things that happen in our lives are in His hands. Jesus says, in Luke 12:7, "But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows."

Jesus never promised us gardens of roses or even daisies in this life. He did promise he would never leave or forsake us (Heb 13:5).

Thank You For The Fleas:

In her book The Hiding Place, Corrie Ten Boom tells of a time she discovered that God was working even in the most horrific circumstances.

Corrie and her sister Betsie had been imprisoned by the Nazis for hiding Jews behind the wall of their Holland home, and Nazi prison conditions pretty well unbearable.

Corrie writes:

"Barracks 8 was in the quarantine compound. Next to us--perhaps as a deliberate warning to newcomers--were located the punishment barracks. From there, all day long and often into the night, came the sounds of hell itself. They were not the sounds of anger, or of any human emotion, but of a cruelty altogether detached: blows landing in regular rhythm, screams keeping pace. We would stand in our ten-deep ranks with our hands trembling at our sides, longing to jam them against our ears, to make the sounds stop.

"It grew harder and harder. Even within these four walls there was too much misery, too much seemingly pointless suffering. Every day something else failed to make sense, something else grew too heavy."

Yet, in the midst of the suffering, the women prisoners around Corrie and Betsie found comfort in the little Bible studies they held in the barracks. Corrie writes they gathered around the Bible "like waifs clustered around a blazing fire…The blacker the night around us grew, the brighter and truer and more beautiful burned the Word of God."

When they were moved to Barracks 28, Corrie was horrified by the fact that their reeking, straw-bed platforms swarmed with fleas. How could they live in such a place?

It was Betsie who discovered God's answer:

"'"Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus." That's it, Corrie! That's His answer. "Give thanks in all circumstances!" That's what we can do. We can start right now to thank God for every single thing about this new barracks!'

"I stared at her; then around me at the dark, foul-aired room…"

They thanked God for the fact they were together. They thanked God they had a Bible. They even thanked God for the horrible crowds of prisoners, that more people would be able to hear God's Word. And then, Betsie thanked God for the fleas.

"The fleas! This was too much. 'Betsie, there's no way even God can make me grateful for a flea.'

"'"Give thanks in all circumstances,"' she quoted. 'It doesn't say, "in pleasant circumstances."  Fleas are part of this place where God has put us.'

"And so we stood between tiers of bunks and gave thanks for fleas. But this time I was sure Betsie was wrong."

It turned out that Betsie was not wrong; the fleas were a nuisance, but a blessing after all. The women were able to have Bible studies in the barracks with a great deal of freedom, never bothered by supervisors coming in and harassing them. They finally discovered that it was the fleas that kept those supervisors out.

Through those fleas, God protected the women from abuse and harassment.  Dozens of desperate women were free to hear the comforting, hope-giving Word of God.  Through those fleas, God protected the women from much worse things and made sure they had their deepest, truest needs met. 

We all have "fleas" in our lives. We all have those things that we can see no use for, things that are obviously horrible, unpleasant, painful things that we want gone. No life is free of "fleas", but if Corrie and Betsie can be our examples, God can use even these nasty insects for our protection and blessing. As we celebrate Thanksgiving Day, lets thank God for His constant care and provision, and for His hidden blessings that come in ways we can easily overlook.

---K-House eNews

Paul Proctor---Are You A Church Worshipper?

The church growth movement, you see, worships a two-headed god called “Results” and “Relationships” where nothing gets in the way of either – even God’s Word. It was first encountered in the Garden of Eden.

The religion of Results persuades us to, like Eve, take and eat of “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” even when the Lord says: “Thou shalt not.” But we do anyway because we believe the end justifies the means – and we’re convinced it’s for a “good cause.”

Today, many trained facilitators in leadership positions have infiltrated the church and convinced gullible and covetous Christians that if they rely on market principles and surveys, they’ll get the Results they’re after – which may or may not have anything to do with the Word and Will of God.

We call that “pragmatism.”

God calls it sin.

“A disciple is someone who so identifies himself with Christ and so reflects Him in character, word, and deed that he shares in Christ’s fame or infamy. The disciple’s identity in society will be determined by society’s view of his Master. Those who esteem, love, and admire Christ, will show the same affections toward his disciple. Those who hate Christ and are hostile to His cause, will hate his disciple, despise his lifestyle, oppose his proclamation, and seek to alienate him from society. This definition reflects not only meaning of a disciple, but that of a Christian – belonging to Christ.”---Paul Washer

The Truth about Christmas

By Miguel A. Guanipa

The story of Christmas is one that warms the heart and inspires our most enduring thoughts of peace and good will for all humanity; it gives us an opportunity to engage in the wonderful act of gift giving; it allows us to briefly turn our gaze from the stresses of daily life and refocus on being thankful for the pre-eminent joys amidst our circumstances.

But beyond all of the aforementioned very good reasons, the first reason why we celebrate the Christmas story is because it is a true story. And the spellbinding truth which Christmas proclaims is not the birth of one who came to teach us a new philosophy, or a new set of moral principles, but one who claimed to be God.

The singularity of this claim would then make it a matter of supreme urgency to dedicate our most sincere efforts to confirming its truthfulness; not only because it was Christ who made it, but also because of the weighty repercussions he cautioned were bound to the vindication as well as the negation of his claim.

It is important to note that unlike the frothy heroics of so called "blind faith", the logical consistency of this claim does not vanish once we summon our most basic faculty of common sense. Once a fervent agnostic himself, C.S. Lewis said it best in a brilliantly succinct catchphrase: "Jesus Christ was either a liar, a Lunatic or Lord".

That is, if Jesus Christ lied when he said that he was God then he should be denounced as a bald-faced liar or dismissed as a hopelessly insane individual. If he was either of the two then it is absurd to patronize him as a great prophet or teacher. But if perchance he was merely a well intentioned sage, whose teachings have been grossly misunderstood, it would be to his great discredit to leave his most crucial pronouncements veiled in impenetrable obscurity. Yet his contemporaries left us with no indication that they were beset by such ambiguity.

On the contrary, everyone who heard Jesus speak -- especially his most passionate adversaries -- clearly understood what he was claiming. Some believed and others simply did not believe and instead took him for a blasphemer, a charlatan, or a dangerous deceiver of the people. Though they offered no affirmation of his claims, there was never any doubt as to what he was claiming. And that is precisely why they responded with such virulence.

But their response is more a reminder that the truth sometimes is not immediately obvious, but still a very real and precious commodity. One should never squander our belief on any given truth claim until we have first proven that it can withstand a good dose of responsible scrutiny; because when we believe something that purports to be of great significance, we are obliged to act in accordance with that new revelation, and it would be a tragedy to invest the type of commitment some claims necessarily require, later to find out upon closer examination that we have committed ourselves to a lie.

But of most importance is to be certain that that which we have come to believe as true is actually the truth, since every action we take in response to the truth is another step closer to it. But when that which we believe to be the truth is actually a falsehood, and we have not securely bridged the gap between simply knowing about it and ascertaining its veracity, then every action in response to this "truth" is a deeper plunge into an abyss of deception.

If, on the other hand, we have indeed ascertained the veracity of a truth claim, but choose not to believe it, we can no longer claim ignorance when asked why it did not compel us to action, because we have knowingly chosen to reject it.

Now, any claims of truth raise a hedge of exclusivity, which is forbidden in an age when total inclusiveness is the only absolute criteria upon which any statements of truth can be made. But the ever-adjustable notion of inclusiveness and the transcendental virtue of truth do not always mix well, since truth can not logically embrace contradiction, even when it is done in the name of inclusiveness.

Those who deny the truthfulness of Jesus' claim are themselves affirming something which explicitly excludes that which it negates. Thus the charge that Jesus' claim is unnecessarily exclusive is something that anyone who proposes a declarative statement of truth is guilty of, including those made in opposition to that with which they disagree.

Conversely, Jesus does not coerce the inclusion of those who wish not to partake of the redemptive offer of his claim. His claim is exclusive only by default, as it has to exclude those who stand in opposition to it; because it is not Jesus who excludes those who reject him, but rather those who by rejecting his invitation freely exercise their prerogative to exclude themselves.

As an antidote for this moral conundrum, the implacable idols of tolerance have decreed that those who do believe in the claims of Jesus Christ settle on an amicable compromise, by conceding that this knowledge is true only for those who believe it. Anyone who views Christmas as simply a charming but essentially vacuous, mythic tradition will heartily agree with their assessment.

But Jesus Christ staked his whole reputation, without reservation, on the claim that his equality with God was firmly anchored on nothing but the truth. And the truth is not subject to one's preference; it is true, whether one believes it or not. It is not contingent upon belief, but rather belief is only justified when that upon which it is grounded is the truth.

This is the context within which Jesus Christ made his rather astonishing claim, the truthfulness of which endows the story of Christmas with its enduring significance. And though he made it in a least intrusive and most gentle fashion, he did not seek - then or today - to indulge the neutrality or merely passive assent from his hearers, because like no one else, he fully understood the full force of its implications.

Life without the Gospel...

Imagine life without the Gospel. For many people, even for many people that we know, this is their reality. What would such a life be like? How would we live, think, be? Without the Gospel we have only the law, only demands, rules, a raging conscience which is devouring us or which is caged and ignored. Without the Gospel there is no Jesus on the cross, no forgiveness of sin by His blood, no comfort in His Word. What is the result of such a void?

The answer is two-fold: pride or despair. A Pharisee or a Judas. Without the Gospel we are flung toward pride on the one hand, and despair on the other. Our Lutheran Confessions give us this insight:

As long as they hear the bare preaching of the Law, and nothing concerning Christ, and therefore do not learn from the Law to perceive their sins aright, [they] either become presumptuous hypocrites (who swell with the opinion of their own righteousness) as the Pharisees, or despair like Judas. [Formula of Concord, Epitome V.7]

We have to do something with our sin. If we cannot confess our sins and hear the promise of forgiveness, then we are set to get rid of our sins in another way. Either we act like we have overcome sin, or we know that sin has overcome us. Without the Gospel we go around like Pharisees or like Judas, governed by pride or despair. These are the only options. (There is perhaps a third option: total indifference to sin, but this is really the worst form of pride.)

Pride tries to handle sin by overcoming it. We see this effort embodied in the Pharisees. By all accounts they were very pious and outwardly holy. They added to the Ten Commandments hundreds of extra laws, but the common thing about all of these laws is that they were keep-able, do-able. This is the way of all man-made laws.

We tend to think that all the extra laws the Pharisees invented would make things more difficult; their standard would be more difficult to keep, but the opposite is true. As more laws are added the simplicity of the ten commandments is obscured. Traditions tend toward externals, and while the ten commandments demand love and sacrifice, traditions demand certain clothes and manner of hand washing. The law demands our heart, soul, mind and strength; traditions may be kept with our hands.

“Don't smoke.” “Don't dance.” “Don't eat meat.” Please add to the list your favorite man-made law. Whatever laws we add the the Scriptures might be difficult, but they are always possible. And this possibility is where pride lives. Whenever humanity invents a law it dulls the accusing edge of God's law until you have mere instruction that asks for correction instead of demanding repentance. This is the road of pride, the way of the Pharisee.

The other road taken without the Gospel is the path of despair. This is the result of the law doing what it is meant to do: it convicts us of our sin. The law shows us our sin; it always accuses. But the Lord intends that the Gospel would then come around to comfort us with the forgiveness of our sins. Without this comfort despair is given free reign; despondency runs free. This is the way that Judas went, and King Saul.

While our pride seeks to overcome sin, despair results from being overcome by sin. The Lord intends neither. He does not leave us to handle sin and death by our own resources and strength. His solution for our sin is the death of Jesus, His suffering, His blood, His cross and the resulting forgiveness and life. We take up the battle against sin not with our will or emotions but with our Lord Jesus and His Word of forgiveness and life.

Would that the Lord would keep us both from presumptuous pride and despair of His promises, and keep us in the comfort of His Gospel. And more, for all of us know people who live without the Gospel; whose lives are a swing between pride and despair, may God open our lips to speak His law and shed the light of His Gospel into the darkness of pride and despair. Amen.

INJ,
Pastor Wolfmueller