Monday, October 31, 2011

The Drawbridge Story




For some reason this story came to mind today. I cannot tell you if it is 100% true or not, it has served well as an illustration that sticks in the mind. I am sure it is based on a actual happening. Someone has done a little research on it. There is a English version, a American and a Prussian version. I personally like the Prussian version. You can read this at http://www.snopes.com/glurge/drawbridge.asp


This I would describe as the American version. If possible read the other versions.

John Griffeth lived in the western part of the United States [Oklahoma, according to some versions] during the depression years of dustbowls, dryness and drought. Married in 1929, the Griffeths watched their farming dreams blow into dust. Finally, they gathered their little son with their meager belongings and moved east.

There John landed a job at the Mississippi River tending a drawbridge. One summer day [April 5 in one version] in 1937, he took his son to spend the day with him. Wide-eyed and full of questions, Greg watched his father as he raised the bridge to let the ships pass, then lowered it for the great trains to roar across the river.

About noon, John put up the bridge and sat with Greg on an observation platform to eat their lunches. They enjoyed the activity on the waterfront. John dreamed about traveling so he told Greg stories about the ships and where they were headed. He was so caught up in the stories that he lost consciousness of time. Suddenly he was awakened by the shrill whistle of a locomotive. He glanced at his watch, noting that it was nearly time for the Memphis Express.

John made his way to the gear-room, sat on the stool and took the lever in hand. He looked up the river and back down to see if any ships were coming. Then he glanced below ... Wait! No! No! This can't be! Terror gripped him as his heart leaped into his throat and his blood froze in his veins! Evidently, Greg tried to follow his father, slipped off the catwalk and fell into the massive gears below. His leg was caught and as sure as the sun rises in the morning, if the bridge was lowered six tons of revolving metal would grind him to death!

Mind spinning, John frantically sought for answers! He thought, "I'll run back, tie a rope, let myself down..." -- but, no! There was not a third of the needed time.

John moaned! He was trembling and perspiring as his eyes brimmed with tears. The shrill cry of the train whistle was alarmingly close. More than anything, he wanted to spare his son; but if he did many would die! There was no other way to spare their lives! Stricken and overwhelmed with grief, John bowed his quivering head, covered his eyes, and released the lever. The gear room shook as the wheels turned and the great bridge settled down into place. In moments it was over and the Memphis Express came roaring past.

John lifted his head and looked in the train. There a man read the morning news, the conductor was looking at his watch, and a woman in the dining car was feeding her little girl with a long spoon. No one noticed the heart-broken Griffeth. No one was aware of the grieving father or the newly torn body of his dear son. Choking with passion John called out, "What's the matter with you people? I just GAVE MY SON for you! Don't you even care?" Nobody heard; nobody looked; nobody knew and no one responded as the train disappeared across the river.

The heavenly Father watches our own eternity-bound generation as we speed down the rails of life. Without Jesus we too are hopeless and headed for destruction. Our sovereign God "sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him" (1 John 4:9). What an amazing sacrifice as God "spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all" (Rom. 8:32).

Friend, do you sometimes wonder if God loves you? God's good news to man is this: that question has been settled forever! He points you to "the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all" (Heb. 10:10). God very definitely established the fact of His love! "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Rom. 5:8). Do you understand, my friend? It required the life of the Son of God to save us! We would hopelessly smash right into eternal destruction without the blood of Jesus! "Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him" (Rom. 5:9).

Sixty years ago, John Griffeth's heart was broken by pain and tragedy! He gave his son to save 400 lives. 2,000 years ago, God gave His own Son to spare millions! "Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many" (Heb. 9:28). We may ask, why not "all"? Many attempt to cross that river-of-no-return while rejecting the sufficiency of God's precious Son! Proudly refusing the Son is to say to the Father, "He's not good enough for me!" Why cling to sin rather than allowing the Lord Jesus to bear it? These reject "him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood" (Rev. 1:5). Didn't Jesus warn that the majority will end in the rubble of destruction and few will cross to the wonder of eternal life! (Matt. 7:13-14).

I wonder, friend, are you perhaps as the man totally intent with the news down here - or as the lady with the long spoon oblivious to the danger? Knowing of the sacrifice, will you ignore the crucified Son? We must not insult the One who gave His all! Today we travel the rails of life and the assurance for a safe arrival is free, but the cost is infinite! Jesus paid for our passage through the "sacrifice of himself" (Heb. 9:26). God is so concerned about saving you from the ruins of hell that He gave His "own blood" (Acts 20:28). As Griffeth brokenly cried, "Don't you even care?"

Would you be willing to sit on that train, trusting your own activity to save you apart from the son, or would you confess the son paid it all? Life was not granted because the man paid for his newspaper instead of stealing it that day. Obeying commandments and human acts of love never saved any one. We all fail! Jesus said, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life" (John 5:24). Will you cross that bridge from death unto life? We must never depend upon good works or church ceremonies to escape condemnation. Trust the Lord alone! 


Source - Rev. Chuck Brocka, originally derived from a sermon by Dr. D. James Kennedy; Holwick Illustration #152



The only thing I would point out is that this story happened as a tragic accident, with God it was not an accident that motivated Him, but His love for us and the mutual consent of Christ and His love for us, poor mortals.

Friday, October 28, 2011

Help Vote for Haiti Orphanage

http://givingoflife.com/browse/gods_littlest_angels_haitian_baby_ministry/

A brother that spent time in Haiti as a Volunteer, sent me this link. Check it out. They are tied fourth place and need a few votes to get the grant. I have not researched it extensively but it seems like a good cause.

Christ Life in the South Pacific Story




Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ 1 Cor 11:1
A missionary was once sent out to preach the gospel in the South Sea
Islands. His boat was shipwrecked on the rocks and he was the sole
surviving member of the group. The inhabitants of the island were
hostile, but allowed him to live among them on the condition that he
did not speak about his God. The man quietly and patiently lived his
dedicated Christian life. Day after day, year after year the life he
silently lived witnessed of the saving love and redemption of Jesus.
When he died they buried him on the island. Some years later another
group of missionaries arrived. This time the Polynesians welcomed them
and listened carefully. The missionaries were amazed at the people’s
interest in the gospel. “Do you know about Jesus ?” they asked. “Oh
yes!” said the islanders. “Who told you about Him?” the missionaries
asked. “He lived on our island” they said. “The man you are talking
about is buried here.”

They took the missionaries to the spot where the man of God had been
buried. “He is the man you are speaking about,” they said, pointing to
the grave of a man who was not allowed to speak about Jesus, but whose
dedicated life lived the pattern of Jesus every day.

Friday, October 21, 2011

Bible Flannel Graphs Popular with Bible Study Children




This picture and pictures is from the felt source http://www.thefeltsource.com/BibleSeparates.html This is the same flannel graph that we use.
     A couple that were missionaries in Mexico were elected Wednesday Evening Bible Study superintendents. They suggested and purchased a Deluxe Bible Flannel graph. They used it in Mexico to explain Bible stories. I had the opportunity to volunteer and experience this as a valuable tool to making Bible study come alive to preschoolers up to intermediate age children. The last evening the parents were amused how enthused the children were to going to class. 
     The graph consists of a foundation board where you can "stick" on landscapes, sea scapes, or buildings for a setting. You have a guide book with over a hundred Bible stories. It gives memory verses, basic story, summary of the moral, etc. It also tells you what is needed for a Bible scene. There is hundreds of felt people, objects, and props that are numbered. The book gives out the number code for all the felt items you need to tell that particular story.
    To tell the story you must interact with the children. Ask them questions. They enjoy when you set up the scenery because with a few pieces you can drastically change the setting. As for the presentation: It is best to read the story as many times possible in preparation so that when you present it --you can tell it without looking at your paper much. Challenge the children to memorize the memory verse. After the story and singing period we ask questions to see if everybody was paying attention. It is enjoyable and rewarding and a good idea for Wednesday Bible Study for children.


Wednesday, October 19, 2011

War in Heaven

File:Pieter Bruegel I-Fall of rebel Angels (merge).jpg

This painting War in Heaven by Pieter Brungel has facinated me for a long time as a boy.


Rev.12:7-12

 7And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
 8And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
 9And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
 10And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.
 11And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
 12Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.

The things that impress me about this passage is that it is the background to the spiritual battle we fight today. The accuser of the brethren, the great deceiver has been cast down to earth. He has great wrath because his time is short. However we can overcome this warfare by the blood of the lamb. Meaning in simple terms Trust and Believe wholly in Jesus and God's will for our lives. To do this is like having blood on the door post symbolized in the Jewish Passover in Exodus. I just earnestly want to be watchful and make sure to be an overcomer in this conflict.

Another Brungel painting the Triumph of Death that had a profound impact on my young mind as a child. It filled me with a fear of the end and how I do not want this nightmare to be my fate, as a result of ignoring the  Cross of Christ in my life. Note that there is a cross in the middle of the painting slightly to the left. Other than the lone cross there is a absence of hope in this picture--it is past. In fact the Saints must have already ascended to their reward and now the reality of the end has truly come. Sorry perhaps this may strike you as morbid but we do well to think on the big picture and see where our life's choices could lead us. 

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Mathematics of Prayer: Andrew Murray speaks on Prayer and the Word

The Praying Hands

Little of the Word with little Prayer is Death

Much of  the Word with little Prayer gives a sickly life.

Much Prayer with little of the Word gives more life, but without steadfastness.

A full measure of the Word and Prayer each day gives a healthy and powerful life.

-Andrew Murray
The Prayer Life
(Must Read)

Who Are The Holdemon Mennonites- Church of God in Christ Mennonites?

Mennonites in flip flops
This photo was observed at this address
http://theaestheticelevator.com/2009/07/01/intentional-observation-mennonites-in-flip-flops/

When you see the thousand different shades of Mennonites---Holdemons are like those pictured above. The men encourage one another to wear the beard and dress in plain (albeit, store-bought) clothing. The women usually have their dresses sown or sew their own dresses. They are encouraged to maintain a uniform modesty.
There is quite abit of material on the web about Holdemon Mennonites. There is quite amount of material that is misleading or even negative. This is usually the case when the doctrine of the One True Church Doctrine, or Church Discipline is discussed. It really is not that difficult or even unusual to comprehend. When talking to older people I find alot of denominations used to live alot of the Bible doctrines or teachings we still uphold today. The Church of God in Christ, Mennonite was started as a official "denomination" around 1859. This was spear headed by Mennonite reformer John Holdemon. He had concerns about a slip in spiritual well being of the Old Mennonite Church and a concern that unconverted people were being brought in and also a lapse in child training, etc.
What I write here is really a contemporary view and is not an "authorized" version. I am happily a member in this Church and recommend it as a Church that deals with sin . I personally have a heart out there for people that are looking for a Church that "really" is living the "Faith delivered to saints" and calls sin, sin.

Let me explain:
To become a member you must be "Born-Again"
When you become baptized you become responsible to "walk circumspectly" and righteously. We are all human and not perfect by any means, but we work together as a brotherhood to encourage one another to good works and keep our focus on Christ.
As far as the OTC doctrine it is only Bible based. It is necessary for Church discipline. A scary word? Discipline? Just because most Churches avoid it today does not make it any less Biblical. Does not every  successful business or company have a set of guidelines or code of ethics that are to be followed? God is a Lord of decency and order. You can not serve God and Mammon at the same time. So if you are harboring and living in sins like adulatory, fornication, premeditated lying, etc. you will be disfellowshipped, with the hopes of you seeing the seriousness of the sin and repenting of it so you can be restored. The Church is to be without spot or blemish and so to this end when such sin becomes known it is dealt with to keep the Church pure as well. It does not matter if you are an elder (minister) or lay member you must repent and become accountable for the sin in your life. Just because the World says it is okay to do away with moral obligations--it does not allow Churches to allow open sinning in the camp. To tell you the truth it also makes you think twice before throwing your life away to immorality and loose living (1 Tim 5:20) .
The Church has the keys to the kingdom to work as a body to work towards spreading the Gospel and making sure our lives are not a reproach to the World. The Church as Christ's bride needs to be a light to the World in these times. Alot of Christian people know what is right and wrong, but are helpless to collectively deal with sin.
Another plus is the bond of the brotherhood. For the most part one can travel from congregation to congregation and feel a common bond of fellowship. I find it refreshing to sit with someone you have never met before and talk about the spiritual fight as if you knew each other your whole life. I don't know really more what to say then that I want to recommend to you that there is still a place or Church that strives not to bow to Baal. We are not a utopia on earth but rather a people and a Church committed to making it to heaven. We have our human tendencies but that does not stop us for reaching for the mark of living for Christ. If you want to know more look up   http://churchofgodinchristmennonite.net/

May God Bless you and remember to pray for direction daily, because we all are truly in a spiritual war that is not being fought with guns and bullets, but rather with the matters that have to do with the soul, heart and spirit.

As far as Bible References about discipline and those things of which I feebly wrote:

The seriousness of ignoring sin and living a life of disobedience : Rev.20:12-15 Rev.21:8
Eph. 5:25-27
Mat. 18:15-17
1 Cor. 5:4-7,11
2 Thess. 3:14-15
Avoidance
1 Cor. 5:11
2 Thess. 3:6,14
Rom. 16:17

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Witty Wisdom from Wiebe: Lutzer on Success


Better to love God and die unknown than to love the world and be a hero;
better to be content with poverty than to die a slave to wealth;
better to have taken some risks and lost than to have done nothing and succeeded at it.
- Erwin Lutzer

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Plain Old Day Trip-- Don't Forget Gospel Tract Boxes

Gospel tract with hand
       Took my family to the zoo the other weekend. It came to me that adage, "You are not a tract worker unless you have a tract in your pocket". Availability is the key. I knew we would be passing a town I had been working near during the week. It had come to me to put out some tract display boxes in a few of the businesses along the road. So we took along three boxes to get started. When we stopped for gas, I put one in the gas station and walked across the street to put one in a laundromat. The idea here is not to tell you what I did as much as------ I was impressed how easy it was ---just to have tracts available in my vehicle to be able to take few minutes of a day trip and make it a small tract run. The difference could be that it might be in the right place in the right time for somebody. It is a must to have packets in the car also for handouts.
      On a different day I put some tracts in my pocket on the way to work. Later in the afternoon there was a time were it was the perfect time to hand them out. If they had not been there --I would not have used them. Trust me --I need more spontaneous tract work in my life. It is a small thing to do, but with a prayer it may do so much for yet another. It all starts with just having a tract in your pocket..........

Sunday, October 9, 2011

The Smart Phone: Remembering The Tower of Babel and the Mark of the Beast?

 


       The story of the Tower of Babel has always intrigued me. I have wondered at the motives behind the building of it. Everyone wanted to be and stay connected. Imagine the potential of increasing knowledge if the whole world could speak one language.
  I think today and the world of internet and technology is the closest the world has ever come to rivaling the pre-Babel Tower connectedness. Just read the story:
  Now the whole world had one language and a common speech.  As people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there.

   Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”

  But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower the people were building.  The LORD said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them.  Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.”

  So the LORD scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. That is why it was called Babel because there the LORD confused the language of the whole world. From there the LORD scattered them over the face of the whole earth.
Genesis 11:1-3;5-9

It is amazing the unity of purpose and then the need God had seen to discourage such a effort. Technology has mushroomed in the last hundred and twenty years from horse and buggy-automobiles-planes-spacecraft-and now the internet. The internet apparently can even speed up communication so that great distances are as nothing. Interpreting languages via media is getting easier. And so on. Just thoughts...


  Now a little on the Mark of the Beast. I am in no way considering myself as having any authority at all in delving into the mysteries of Revelation. I only consider that every age and Christian can find some kind of Holy Spirit directed inspirations from this book. To me the verse on nobody can buy and sell without the Mark of the Beast has rolled around in my head when I hear Christians say they have to have the internet for their business. (even me) 

 It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads,  so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name. Rev. 13:16-17


I will let me readers grab their own Bibles and read more if they care to. To me their is a power being unleashed like the world has not seen, at least as we know.

And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season. Rev.20:1-3

And Now Smart Phones....
  It was interesting to talk the other day about how they are tracking you every move. Persecuted Christians have to remove their batteries of their cell phones to prevent being tracked by government agencies when going to prayer meetings. If I understand Verizon can know every place you have traveled in the last couple years to the minute because your smart phone has a tracking device. Needless to say you internet and digital communication is recorded. For more info: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2019239,00.html
  The dangers of the device is that it is absolutely captivating enslaving the user with endless options and apps. Also the ability to do those things that are made available that we would not do if they were at our finger tips. Case study: a fellow I am aquainted with had up to 2,000 pictures on his phone which would not have been taken if it was not "so easy".  The major danger is the emotional attachment and dependency of the user. It is alot of thimes as omnipresent as God in their lives. Some stats:

Cell-phone texting has become the preferred channel of basic communication between teens and their friends, with cell calling a close second. Some 75% of 12-17 year-olds now own cell phones, up from 45% in 2004. Those phones have become indispensable tools in teen communication patterns. Fully 72% of all teens2 -- or 88% of teen cell phone users -- are text-messagers. That is a sharp rise from the 51% of teens who were texters in 2006. More than half of teens (54%) are daily texters.
Among all teens, their frequency of use of texting has now overtaken the frequency of every other common form of interaction with their friends 
http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1572/teens-cell-phones-text-messages

Read more from the Pew Center:  

  • Half of teens send 50 or more text messages a day, or 1,500 texts a month, and one in three send more than 100 texts a day, or more than 3,000 texts a month.
  • 15% of teens who are texters send more than 200 texts a day, or more than 6,000 texts a month.
  • Boys typically send and receive 30 texts a day; girls typically send and receive 80 messages per day.
  • Teen texters ages 12-13 typically send and receive 20 texts a day.
  • 14-17 year-old texters typically send and receive 60 text messages a day.
  • Older girls who text are the most active, with 14-17 year-old girls typically sending 100 or more messages a day or more than 3,000 texts a month.
  • However, while many teens are avid texters, a substantial minority are not. One-fifth of teen texters (22%) send and receive just one to 10 texts a day or 30 to 300 texts a month.

  Alot of numbers! As far as emotional attachment it is not figure of speech when people say they "love" their iphones. They have also become a " best friend, partner, lifeline, companion." People feel stressed out or somehow un-whole without their cell phones. They did brain imaging and the brain neurons firing showed not patterns of addiction when the subjects saw their iphones, but they showed the pattern of love and compassion as evidenced when in the presence of a girlfriend, boyfriend, or family member. These people actually "loved" their phones! I got this info from a article by Martin Lindstrom, New York Times. They conducted the tests on 16 people and I am not really into polls and stats, but these figures we have been studying are bringing out a point that you can observe on your own.
  What's the danger? These are the end times and satan has been loosed. If a device and power like this can rest in the palms of the hands of impressionable youth, where will this lead? If it has the magnetism of drawing such affection and keeping its captive so connected and dependent----what direction is it going in the future? The ability to call up distractions, media opinions and the temptation to view uncleanness. Not time for fear, but rather sitting down and counting the costs and taking the stand of "Watch and Pray". It is time to share caution about being on the cutting edge. We are not aiming to be Amish caught in the static of this date on the calender is where righteous living stops. Any advancement after here is sin. However we do need to sit back and watch developments. I am now thankful the Church has been slower to accept these things with a prayerful concern. May it continue. In the last days perilous times will come....If we believe that will we hold a device in our hand or on our lap that will keep us connected with the smorgasboard of the world every second of the day one click away from consciousnesses?

Of course I am typing away on my laptop on the internet. How connected am I. I have no desire to be hypocritical but to be less connected is better and I use this blog to share concerns and let the reader discern for himself --What is Truth. To that I point you to further Bible study guided by the Holy Spirit. 

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Tract Work: Preparation for Rejection

I guess being a social person, I cringe the most about being rejected when passing tracts. Most people want to enjoy acceptance of others. At worst I like people to just go about there duties and they let me go about mine with no ado. However in tract work there is a dimension that you have to open yourself up to others indifference,  ignorance, or hostility of something you hold special and want to share with them. It changed our life and we desire others to receive the same blessings we have received from the inside out. Going on a tract run with two other brethren through the Bay Area. specifically Oakland left me physically exhausted after visiting people that would tell you off or laugh in your face. At times I would find it amusing that I was taken for  some different sect or promoting some other message than the "tried and true" Gospel of Jesus Christ. 
What happened to that fervency that I had after my New Birth when "old things became like new".As a boy, I had prayed the Lord to forgive me and went to sleep. I awoke that night with a great joy and freedom from guilt or sin. I wanted to go right there and then to church or anywhere and tell the world that I was different now. 
So what about this trying to "save face" scheme that wants to keep me from whole heartily, unabashfully pass out Gospel literature. I definitely do not need to feel ashamed of the "Good News". I personally know what good it did for a sinner like me. Just think of the opportunities that I have to share the opportunity with others around me. With tracts you can impact lives that you never see. Put out a box and multiple people may be warned, encouraged, or set-free. Small price to pay for a little personal discomfort if it could effect somebodies eternity for the better. Perhaps some that may read this suffer  more severe persecution or trials for the name of Christ. May God strengthen you and share with us that grace that helps you. 
That brings us to the point that Christ needs to be the main foal point and centerpiece of our effort. Forget yourself and put your best foot forward for Christ. He was rejected and despised of men. The life he lived for our sakes:
"He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not." (Isa. 53:3)


 He bore it all and carried on to the bitter end of dying on the cross.


 And imagine after all that he suffered he choose to come back and resurrect for us in victory. How could we deserve such favor and love of God.


On the attitude of the world towards the Christian, Jesus says: 


The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil. (John 7:7)

If the world hates you, you know that it hated me before it hated you.
If you were of the world, the world would love its own: but because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you (John 15:18-20)
Finally the Battle is the Lord's and not our own and he wins our battles not our own strength:
When thou goest out to battle against thine enemies, and seest horses, and chariots, and a people more than thou, be not afraid of them: for the LORD thy God is with thee, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.( Duet.20:1)


We are not to be afraid, but we are to move forward remebering how he helped us out of our personal Egypt. Which reminds me of a verse that came to me at the tract meeting. When I think of how my flesh has failed me in yielding to temptations and tests and when Satan has assailed me with trials---I like to think of revenge in the verse


For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation ........... that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge!  (2 Cor. 7:10-11)


It seems that remembering that we came out of Egypt (our life in sin) and our sorrow for our sin and repentance gives us a desire to be obedient and gives a certain zeal to be available to do God service in whatever capacity he chooses. 


Conclusion:
Tract work is not something we do for points or to win special favor of God. Rather it is something we do when we remember the mercy God has extended to our own life. In this light we realize that the Lord is the one who is rejected when we share his Word for the benefit of others. In fact we can expect to receive resistance. God tells us not to be afraid, but go forward. Before you go on a tract tour pray for God's grace to overcome our weakness or timidness that wants to weaken our resolve. It is not all bad to feel this weakness, because then we can just learn to trust the Lord a little more and not  just fight on our own strength.  JLT  




Trapped in Harm's Way- Inspirational Story

Silver Beads


During World War II, a US marine was separated from his unit on a Pacific Island. The fighting had been intense, and in the smoke and the crossfire he had lost touch with his comrades.
Alone in the jungle, he could hear enemy soldiers coming in his direction. Scrambling for cover, he found his way up a high ridge to several small caves in the rock. Quickly he crawled inside one of the caves. Although safe for the moment, he realized that once the enemy soldiers looking for him swept up the ridge, they would quickly search all the caves and he would be killed.
As he waited, he prayed, "Lord, if it be your will, please protect me. Whatever your will though, I love you and trust you. Amen."
After praying, he lay quietly listening to the enemy begin to draw close. He thought, "Well, I guess the Lord isn't going to help me out of this one.." Then he saw a spider begin to build a web over the front of his cave.
As he watched, listening to the enemy searching for him all the while, the spider layered strand after strand of web across the opening of the cave.
"Ha, he thought. "What I need is a brick wall and what the Lord has sent me is a spider web. God does have a sense of humor."
As the enemy drew closer he watched from the darkness of his hideout and could see them searching one cave after another. To his amazement, however, after glancing in the direction of his cave, they moved on. Suddenly, he realized that with the spider web over the entrance, his cave looked as if no one had entered for quite a while. "Lord, forgive me," prayed the young man. "I had forgotten that in you a spider's web is stronger than a brick wall."
We all face times of great trouble. When we do, it is so easy to forget the victories that God would work in our lives, sometimes in the most surprising ways. As the great leader, Nehemiah, reminded the people of Israel when they faced the task of rebuilding Jerusalem, "In God we will have success!" [Nehemiah 2:20]
Remember: Whatever is happening in your life, with God, a mere spider's web can become a brick wall of protection. Believe He is with you always. Just speak His name through Jesus His son, and you will see His great power and love for you.
Source Unknown 

Monday, October 3, 2011

10 Points for the Challenged Tract Worker


I wanted to review this article we published at the beginning. I have been reinvesting my time back into tract work now that my ice cream shop is closed down. We just had a tract meeting and I feel like I have neglected my duty long enough. It is time to put the hands back to the plow. I am planning to write a series of articles on this subject as we rediscover this realm of the Great Commission.

 

10 Points for the Challenged Tract Worker

1. PACE YOURSELF-Luke 14:28-30- It is not a one or two man crusade: Lasting results need to include as many people as possible. Realize attainable goals and raise the bar after the goals are achieved. Don’t burn all your fuel (enthusiasm) up at once, build up the fire over time including others.

2. ENJOY THE CHALLENGE-Col. 3:22-24- If you are doing it “as unto the Lord” you should be able to have a smile on your face and believe that the “battle belongs to the Lord.” Be creative and enjoy the challenge. You’ll not know what the Lord can work with your humble witness. You may have planted a seed that will sprout years later.

3. KEEP TRACTS ON HAND-2 Tim. 4:2-They say you are not a tract worker unless you have tracts on hand. More than half the time you need them you do not have them with you.

4. BE ORGANIZED-I-1 Cor. 14:40 It is a detriment to progress to know you will have to sift and sort out a number of boxes every time you want to go on a route. The boxes should be marked and ready to go. The church entry tract rack is a good indicator in if the tract men are on the ball. Hopefully they are not just dusty.

5. KEEP THE CONGREGATION INFORMED-Pro. 11:14- It is a congregational effort- try to make everybody involved.. A lot of failure in tract work is that people forget it exists.

6. INQUIRE FOR AND READ AREA RESPONSE LETTERS FROM GOSPEL TRACT-Luke 10:2- Reminds everybody that it is a real responsibility and that many others out there are passing out tracts even if we were too preoccupied else where.

7. TRY TO HAVE THREE AND NO LESS THAN TWO PERSONS ON A ROUTE-Ecc.4:9-12-It seems three is a good number to have on a busy route. The fellowship flows and you can keep the moral up on a slow day. A couple should invite a youth, older person, widow, or other family person to visit with and keep the route from becoming to much of a ritual drudgery.

8. GATHER AND HAVE TRACT ROUTE SATURDAY TO BRING ROUTES UP TO DATE-1 Cor.12:14-Have a number of brethren show up, number off, and enjoy fellowship in bringing the gospel to others.

9. STRATEGIZE-Pro.29:18- Whether you have colleges, homeless, Spanish migrant workers or some other special interest group in your area, make an effort to try to reach them with special tracts and other outreach that could bear fruit.

10. PRAY-Luke 18:1- The work is the Lords and it is always important to entreat him to guide and bless your efforts as he sees best.

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Cheaper Than Leather Shoes




           Many times we are so sheltered from the true face of the real world. We see it's gilded side. Our young people at times see it as inviting, seducing friend. They don't notice the pain, sorrow and wages of sin. The hurts, the pain and despair. For me ----the emptiness. The gnawing feeling that eats on my soul that is naked and uncomfortable that tells me----that I am not finding fulfillment no matter what I do. A evil chuckle from somewhere in the background announces that I never will. I am deceived into believing that only the short lived pleasures and highs of this life are the closest I will get to any fulfillment. 
However there is so much hope and life in Jesus Christ, because he comes to set the captives free. He restores the Truth that we were made to be servants to God, not to languish as a slave to self. Millions are possibly a prayer or tract away from deliverance from the grasps of the wicked world if we would but make effort to spread the light of the Gospel. 
For myself I am a product of prayer of others. In a sense we all are. Our parents, grandparents, a mission or church group, and even some Christian out there praying earnestly for the souls of the lost, whom we may never see in our life---these people's prayers have reached the throne of grace. The end of the world will come --it is suggested by the fact that will God find faith in the World when he comes. So let us pray.....
Here is a painful prayer request for Lance Giesbrecht's neighbors in Ukraine. It seems Eastern Europe has more than its share of sorrows in the realm of "white slavery". 
JLT.


The Prayer Request:
This story below reminds us of Christina and Angela, our Ukraine neighbor girls. Christina was isolated and put to work servicing men by her mom after she was born again this summer at Bible Camp…  We are praying mightily for them and for their mom.


A Excerpt from the story Cheaper Than Shoes by Elora



         She glances at the man out of the corner of her eye and quickly wipes the stray tear inching down her cheek. I can’t do this anymore, she thinks. She’s just. so. tired. Her body aches. With a resigned sigh, she crosses her legs and pulls her jacket closer to her skin, protecting what’s exposed to the harsh wind coming from outside. What’s underneath would hardly count for clothing, and she silently hopes she won’t be sent to the streets this evening. Her feet still have blisters oozing from the heels she wore last night and there’s a purple bruise on her knee from where she tripped from a crack in the sidewalk. She whimpers at the memory – running from a drunk man, hearing the laughter of those around her when she fell, the whispers of slut and whore bouncing off the alley way. She closes her eyes and thinks of before this - laughing with her mom, fetching water with her sister, dreaming with her best friend.
She forgot what it was like to dream.
.......The man leaning against the wall taking in his surroundings catches her eye and smiles. He throws an obscene gesture her way and winks. Her heart sinks and she braces inwardly for him to come over.
“How much for a massage from this one?” he asks, pointing at her with a foreign glint in his eye. He is young. Successful. He holds a brochure in his hand with no words – she recognizes it as one the boys pass out at the airport.
.........The shop owner glances behind him, following the man’s gaze. Looking the girl up and down, he shrugs. “Twenty. Good price.




         Closing her eyes, she breathes deep his scent as he walks up to her. She studies his shoes for awhile. Leather. Expensive. A small scratch on the right foot – almost as if he ran into a twig while running. She refuses the realization he probably paid more for his shoes than he did for a short session with her. His hand wrap around her small arm and she winces at the strength. Her pulse becomes erratic and she lifts up a silent prayer, hoping someone is listening. Oh, God. Please let this be a dream. Please let the pain end. Please?

Someone is listening, right?
.........Lifeless. Forgotten. Invisible........

.........Someday, she thinks, someday someone will listen. Someone will hear, and she turns toward the window and watches the coming sun cast light against the deep black of another day.