Escaping the Gaping Mouth of Hell: Call to Repentance

We serve a merciful God- but to have mercy there has to be judgment or sentence we had to escape. I have been impressed this past Father’s Day with the thought that was uplifted in a CE Program on the “Faith of Our Fathers.” The question is are we continuing in that Faith. The next morning I opened my eyes to Isaiah and starting to read at random until the last chapter. At first I felt like the Ethiopian and became somewhat discouraged at what I could understand, then I read of “ But to this man I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.” Isa.66:2 After this it talks of how men though they appear they just slay an ox it is as if they slew a man, and when they burned incense it was as if they blessed an idol, because “When I called, none did answer; when I spake they did not hear: but they did evil before mine eyes, and chose that in which I delighted not.” Is. 66:4 The Lord then declares how he will recompense His enemies, before he opens up another beautiful promise of his kingdom of Zion. She will travail and bring a man child and bring forth her children and rejoice with her and she shall comfort us. The promise is to spread abroad to the Gentiles, “Like a flowing stream”. This sign will be spread to “isles afar off, that have not heard my fame, neither have seen my glory; and they shall declare my glory among the Gentiles.” 66:19 The promises continued and I felt so thankful to be a part of this heritage and be a part of this seed. Along with this thankfulness a soberness descended of the great responsibility it is to be a part of this “New heaven and Earth”. Right beside these promises, God also promises to consume His enemies. It promises to the men that have transgressed and rejected his plan: their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be abhorring unto all flesh. Then the book of Isaiah’s closes and Jeremiahs opens. In my early youth searching for the Lord these books helped me make judgments on sin in my life and many verses are marked for my reminders, that God is not mocked whatsoever a man soweth this shall he also reap Gal.6:7. Jeremiah calls out for repentance to those that hold a form of righteousness, but really are backsliders, unrepentant, are hearers but not doers and yet when in the time of their trouble they will say, arise and save us. Jer. 2:27.

Down this line of thought I have been reflecting on our Savior. His love. His life. His suffering. His sacrifice. His Grace. He offers to take our burdens and relieve us of our cares if we but follow him. His blood is there to cover our sins. He is their to make intercession for us and hear our prayers. He gave us His Word to follow and understand His will. He gave us His Holy Spirit to guide us through the manifold decisions we face everyday. Such service, such blessings, so many promises as Isaiah said would be poured out like a “flowing stream” to all flesh. To really accept this mighty benefit comes at no small cost-We must give up ourselves and allow Him to use us as it pleases him. Present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy acceptable unto God which is your reasonable service. Rom 12:1. Which is your reasonable service. In the light of the promises of God that we read about and witness from day to day we can only accept that to be a living sacrifice is only to be reasonable. We deserve way less even death if it were not for Jesus Christ.

However it is only the meek, contrite, hearts that will fit through the “strait gate”. It is not to the strong, the willful, knowledgeable or to the willfully ignorant. It is for the humble. The ones that fear God. We live in an enlightened age, but I fear too many times we appear before God as naked creatures. We have allowed ourselves to sleep in many areas in our lives. We got the knowledge of centuries behind us but we can’t meet the simple requirement of the truly contrite heart. Jesus had no place to lay His head, and yet when we go to worship him we desire a soft place to sit and a temperature to suit are fancy. We do not like noise of children to distract us--we like carpets to walk on. We like the speakers voice to be moderated to a volume which we can control. Sometimes I wonder if we should not be more uncomfortable while listening to the Word of God. The shifting of our flesh on hard benches to remind of us of the way of the flesh. The stifling heat and sweat to remind us of the fate of the earth. The unpleasant noises to remind us of how the devil’s distractions. The hard surface under our feet to remind us that the way is not going to be easy. To come from such a setting you realize these people gathered for a purpose and not creature comforts. I am talking Spiritual and not purely focusing on temporal comfort. Yet perhaps fashion would de dampened a little if you knew you were going to sweat in it.

I am speaking to my self as well as to whoever may read this article. Do I only call out to God when I am at wits end? Is my faith mainly for those occasions when I have run out of options? Do we really desire the Lord? Do I really love my neighbor as myself? Would I be living my life complacently if I really believed in the weakness of my flesh and my neighbor’s and our chances if we do not fully trust in the Lord to guide us through these perilous times?

We can comfort our selves in the direction we receive from our ministers, brethren, and heritage, but that does not allow us to escape the reality that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance. The Lord says “to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.”

Since we see we see through a glass darkly it does not seem open to me to point at things. It only seems God wants to show us all His goodness and glory to us that are of His people and warn us of His coming judgment. He is a righteous judge that will judge the conditions of the heart.

Why would I need to repent as a Christian? 1. How attached am I to this world? 2. Do I really believe in the judgments of God? 3. If I do what am I doing about it? 4. Am I concerned about the souls of man? 5. What is my prayers directed at? Are they to relieve the needs I see around me are they thankful to the goodness of God?

What need I do? Pray, Pray, Pray. Pray for vision, Pray for Repentance, and Pray for Revival.

This is my inspiration for Today

Quote

A man may study because his brain is hungry for knowledge, even Bible knowledge. But he prays because his soul is hungry for God.

Leonard Ravenhill

Keeping Priorities

James A. Garfield was President of the United States of America, taking office March 4, 1881. On his first Sunday in Washington after his inauguration, a member of cabinet insisted that a meeting must be called to discuss a matter that threatened a national crisis. The President refused on the grounds of another appointment. The cabinet member reiterated that the national matter was of grave importance and suggested that President Garfield break his engagement, but President Garfield refused to do so. Then the cabinet member remarked, "I would be interested to know with whom you have an engagement so important it cannot be broken." President Garfield replied: "I will be as frank as you are. My engagement is with the Lord, to meet Him as His house at His table at 10:00 tomorrow morning, and I shall be there.

Adult and Youth Sunday School Lessons

March, April, May 2010 (page. 59)

Can the Internet Ruin Our Brains?

A brother e-mailed this to me this morning. It is something I have wondered about in my own case and it makes it more interesting that perhaps there are some side effects that indeed can be harmful to "Googlers". Draw your own conclusions.

Interesting article...

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/06/03/internet-ruining-minds-carr-shallows/

Internet and Telephone Poem

The Internet we'd all agree, is better left alone,
But shouldn't we we be wary of the humble Telephone?

To sin upon the Internet, my fingers move a mouse,
To sin upon the Telephone, I open up my mouth!

My fingers could, upon the Net, find sordid trash to view,
My mouth upon the Telephone could sordid gossip spew.

My fingers on the Internet can fill my mind with dirt;
My mouth upon the Telephone can others greatly hurt.

My fingers can, upon the Net, strip others bare to shame,
My mouth upon the phone can strip my neighbor of their name.

The Internet, with all its smut, has nasty things to tell,
But oh, the tongue upon the phone-is flamed by fire and hell.

(Author Unknown)

More Weeping Between the Porch and the Altar

Let the priest weep between the altar and the door posts. I walked round the front of the podium one day, in a distinguished, wonderful college, fourteen hundred students listening. I just walked round and said to the professors, “Gentlemen you are teaching young men to be preachers. In one sense, they are going to guide the church in the future days. Tell me this, do you have for them a course on weeping? And if they graduate, do you have a course on howling?”

An old professor came and sat at the back in one of my meetings. He believed in old blood and fire, hell-fire preaching and holy living and a church being something which God deposited in the world just to show people how He can redeem us and get a bride for Himself. And you know, all the other professors in that university say, “That old man is senile.”

I like an old statement that was made I think by Montgomery, “All earthly things with earth will fade away, but prayer grasps eternity.” And if we’re going to see as God sees… Praying, just recently, the Lord seemed to say this to me, “If you claim to be filled with the Holy Spirit the things that grieve the Spirit will grieve you.” Who does the Lord cast His burdens on? Does He roll them away into the oblivion? No, no, no. He says, “My yoke is easy, My burden is light.”

We don’t want people to think we’re depressed. I mean, everything is depressing outside, why cover it over? We are heading for judgment faster than you could ever think unless there is a divine intervention. And the key, again, is the priests weeping. The priests howling.

We sure need

a heaven born,

earth shaking,

hell-terrifying revival.

And it only comes through brokeness, it comes through honesty.

Leonard Ravenhill

Weeping Between the Porch and the Altar

LET IT SLEEP!

One day Napoleon ran his index finger round a great country, he was talking to his generals and he said, “There lies a sleeping giant, LET IT SLEEP!! Because,” he said, “if that country ever wakes up and harnesses it’s man power to it’s mineral power it will shake the world.”...

See the devil standing there, he isn’t running his finger round a map, he is running his finger round the church of Jesus Christ and he says, “There is the church of Jesus Christ asleep, LET IT SLEEP!!” “Because if it ever rediscovers the power of the Holy Ghost, if it ever rediscovers the resurrection power of Jesus, it will shake the world.”

Leonard Ravenhill

Weeping Between the Porch and the Altar

Assurance of Salvation

This sermon was reprinted in September 2010 edition of the African “The Voice of Christians Fellowship“. One of my Canadian ‘African’ brothers emailed this to me recently. Inspiring.

Assurance of Salvation

By Min. Reuben Koehn (1907 – 1995)

Assurance, as being considered here, is to confirm and give confidence to being saved. This is generally thought of as an experience during conversion. Some experiences are related to the physical while others are related to the spiritual. Many Christians are relying on experiences and confirmation and guidance; they are praying for experiences to edify and encourage them in their Christian life.

Spiritual experiences are really not a source of life, they are believed by many to be a proof that they are in favor of God. They believe that if experiences are not made occasionally, it is a sign of a lukewarm or even cold condition.

That many are experience-minded is seen in many Christian writings, as well as public testimonies. The Church paper seems to bring them out more than daily conversation. It is also standard that converts, or those asking for baptism and church membership, tell a conversion experience.

It seems like a growing number of young converts are troubled because they do not have the experience they believe it will take to assure their salvation. Has the church raised an image that is not required by scripture?

The conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus (John 3: 1-21) deals directly with becoming a Christian-being born again of water and Spirit. The new birth is not a product of man, but it is an act of God upon the heart, a work that gives one a change of attitude, affection, and desire. The change is a complete one, not saying, however, that he will never sin again. The new birth is not dependent upon joining a church or upon the observation of ceremonies. Neither is one justified by an experience, but one is justified on faith in Christ’s accomplished work on the cross. When one completely surrenders to God and entirely trusts in Jesus as Savior, the Holy Ghost gives him a new nature. This new nature is necessary; for the old nature is enmity against God.

It is through the Holy Spirit that man becomes convinced of his sins. It is through the Holy Spirit that such a one is directed to Christ as the One who will forgive. And it is through the Holy Spirit that man becomes aware of sins forgiven and of being a child of God. This awareness is an assurance of peace and, in turn, produces joy in the heart.

Review the recorded conversions of the New Testament and see how few refer to the type of experience some are seeking today. Paul’s conversion was dramatic, but what particular part of it would one take as evidence that he was now a Christian? There is no personal statement or testimony of sins forgiven, of peace in his heart, or of joy in his life. However, no one doubts this conversion. The account in Acts 16:25-24 is also a thrilling one, where in a very pronounced way the jailor and his house were saved and baptized in a course of hours. But again, there is no recorded testimony of sins forgiven and peace. They believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.

While Paul was preaching outside the city of Thyatira, a woman named Lydia believed the gospel. She and her household were baptized. All this is recorded without comments about an experience. She believed what Paul preached. Think of the three thousand at Pentecost as giving testimony through an experience of conversion! Those who gladly received the Word were baptized in the name of the Lord.

Sometimes today the convert is pressed for an experience: “Do you have a day, a spot, an occasion where you believe the Lord forgave you and accepted you as His child, where peace and joy came into your heart?” Yes, some are definite on when and where, but not everyone is. Because some can and others cannot, it frustrates those who cannot. They believe to have made necessary corrections; they have prayed for forgiveness, promising to love and serve God all their days, but they have no particular assurance of being born again. They hear and read experiences of some others and have come to accept experiences as a norm, and when it doesn’t come, they are perplexed.

The conviction of being a sinner creates a burden in the heart. The burden is because of sin on the heart. This causes condemnation and a fear of being lost and separated from God in eternity. Moved by this fear and unrest, a sinner seeks forgiveness through Christ. He approaches Jesus repenting, asking forgiveness, and pledging himself to the Lord completely. Upon this, forgiveness is received, the burden is lifted, and condemnation is gone. Along with this, the attitude, affections, and desires are changed. There is a mind to deny self, the world, and all evil. For this change, there is only one explanation: old things are gone, and new things have come forth, proving that a new creature in Christ Jesus is born. This is salvation and the proof of it.

The most important point is not a pointed experience but a change in ones attitude, affection, and desires. The details may not be clear, but “one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see” (John 9:25)

Salvation is by faith in Jesus Christ, believing His promise that whosoever will come to Him, He will in no wise cast away but honor his request to forgive and receive him as His child. When this promise is truly accepted in the heart without a reserve, then comes a feeling of peace with God, and joy springs forth as a result. Peace and joy are not the source of salvation but are the fruits of it by faith.

The change of attitude, affections, and desires is in itself an experience that man alone does not develop. This is the grace of God bestowed only upon His children. To ask and see an assurance when the requirements are met is casting a shadow upon faith in the promises of God.

Reprinted from “Messenger of Truth”, Vol. 73, No.23

Fighting Cancer?

Here is something my sister sent me. I wonder if she was referring me to the diet which complements the Old Testament Jewish Diet. She is Adventist. Point 15 was impressive to me.

Johns Hopkins Update - Very Good Article
AFTER YEARS OF TELLING PEOPLE CHEMOTHERAPY
IS THE ONLY WAY TO TRY ('TRY', BEING THE KEY WORD) TO ELIMINATE CANCER, JOHNS HOPKINS IS FINALLY STARTING TO TELL YOU THERE IS AN ALTERNATIVE WAY .


Cancer Update from Johns Hopkins :
1. Every person has cancer cells in the body . These cancer
cells do not show up in the standard tests until they have
multiplied to a few billion. When doctors tell cancer patients
that there are no more cancer cells in their bodies after
treatment, it just means the tests are unable to detect the
cancer cells because they have not reached the detectable
size.
2. Cancer cells occur between 6 to more than 10 times in a
person's lifetime.
3. When the person's immune system is strong the cancer
cells will be destroyed and prevented from multiplying and
forming tumors.
4. When a person has cancer it indicates the person has
nutritional deficiencies . These could be due to genetic,
but also to environmental, food and lifestyle factors .
5. To overcome the multiple nutritional deficiencies, changing
diet to eat more adequately and healthy, 4-5 times/day
and by including supplements will strengthen the immune system.
6. Chemotherapy involves poisoning the rapidly-growing
cancer cells and also destroys rapidly-growing healthy cells
in the bone marrow, gastrointestinal tract etc, and can
cause organ damage, like liver, kidneys, heart, lungs etc.
7.. Radiation while destroying cancer cells also burns, scars
and damages healthy cells, tissues and organs.
8. Initial treatment with chemotherapy and radiation will often
reduce tumor size. However prolonged use of
chemotherapy and radiation do not result in more tumor
destruction.
9. When the body has too much toxic burden from
chemotherapy and radiation the immune system is either
compromised or destroyed, hence the person can succumb
to various kinds of infections and complications.
10. Chemotherapy and radiation can cause cancer cells to
mutate and become resistant and difficult to destroy.
Surgery can also cause cancer cells to spread to other
sites.
11. An effective way to battle cancer is to starve the cancer
cells by not feeding it with the foods it needs to multiply.
*CANCER CELLS FEED ON:
a. Sugar substitutes like NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful, etc are made
with Aspartame and it is harmful . A better natural substitute
would be Manuka honey or molasses, but only in very small
amounts. Table salt has a chemical added to make it white in
color Better alternative is Bragg's aminos or sea salt .
b. Milk causes the body to produce mucus, especially in the
gastro-intestinal tract. Cancer feeds on mucus . By cutting
off milk and substituting with unsweetened soy milk cancer
cells are being starved.
c. Cancer cells thrive in an acid environment. A meat-based
diet is acidic and it is best to eat fish, and a little other meat,
like chicken. Meat also contains livestock
antibiotics, growth hormones and parasites, which are all
harmful, especially to people with cancer.
d. A diet made of 80% fresh vegetables and juice, whole
grains, seeds, nuts and a little fruits help put the body into
an alkaline environment . About 20% can be from cooked
food including beans. Fresh vegetable juices provide live
enzymes that are easily absorbed and reach down to
cellular levels within 15 minutes to nourish and enhance
growth of healthy cells. To obtain live enzymes for building
healthy cells try and drink fresh vegetable juice (most
vegetables including be an sprouts) and eat some raw
vegetables 2 or 3 times a day. Enzymes are destroyed at
temperatures of 104 degrees F (40 degrees C)..
e. Avoid coffee, tea, and chocolate , which have high
caffeine Green tea is a better alternative e and has cancer
fighting properties. Water-best to drink purified water, or
filtered, to avoid known toxins and heavy metals in tap
water. Distilled water is acidic, avoid it.
12. Meat protein is difficult to digest and requires a lot of
digestive enzymes. Undigested meat remaining in the
intestines becomes putrefied and leads to more toxic
buildup.
13. Cancer cell walls have a tough protein covering. By
refraining from or eating less meat it frees more enzymes
to attack the protein walls of cancer cells and allows the
body's killer cells to destroy the cancer cells.
14. Some supplements build up the immune system
(IP6, Flor-ssence, Essiac, anti-oxidants, vitamins, minerals,
EFAs etc.) to enable the bodies own killer cells to destroy
cancer cells.. Other supplements like vitamin E are known
to cause apoptosis, or programmed cell death, the body's
normal method of disposing of damaged, unwanted, or
unneeded cells.
15. Cancer is a disease of the mind, body, and spirit .
A proactive and positive spirit will help the cancer warrior
be a survivor. Anger, un-forgiveness and bitterness put
the body into a stressful and acidic environment. Learn to
have a loving and forgiving spirit. Learn to relax and enjoy
life.
16. Cancer cells cannot thrive in an oxygenated
environment. Exercising daily , and deep breathing help to
get more oxygen down to the cellular level. Oxygen
therapy is another means employed to destroy cancer
cells.
1. No plastic containers in micro .
2. No water bottles in freezer .
3. No plastic wrap in microwave ..
Johns Hopkins has recently sent this out in its newsletters. This information is being circulated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center as well. Dioxin chemicals cause cancer, especially breast cancer.Dioxins are highly poisonous to the cells of our bodies. Don't freeze your plastic bottles with water in them as this releases dioxins from the plastic. Recently, Dr Edward Fujimoto, Wellness Program Manager at Castle Hospital , was on a TV program to explain this health hazard. He talked about dioxins and how bad they are for us. He said that we should not be heating our food in the microwave using plastic containers. This especially applies to foods that contain fat. He said that the combination of fat, high heat, and plastics releases dioxin into the food and ultimately into the cells of the body. Instead, he recommends using glass, such as Corning Ware, Pyrex or ceramic containers for heating food. You get the same results, only without the dioxin. So such things as TV dinners, instant ramen and soups, etc., should be removed from the container and heated in something else. Paper isn't bad but you don't know what is in the paper. It's just safer to use tempered glass, Corning Ware, etc. He reminded us that a while ago some of the fast food restaurants moved away from the foam containers to paper The dioxin problem is one of the reasons.
Please share this with your whole email list.........................
Also, he pointed out that plastic wrap, such as Saran , is just as dangerous when placed over foods to be cooked in the microwave. As the food is nuked, the high heat causes poisonous toxins to actually melt out of the plastic wrap and drip into the food. Cover food with a paper towel instead.

Quote from Wiebe's Corner

This may not always be true, but it's a provoking thought never-the-less. J. Wiebe

It is sometimes said that the level of love and trust we feel from others is equal to that which we give.

Adult & Youth Sunday School Lessons

Volume 46 . Number 3

(page. 59)