I am a member of the International Fellowship for Everyday Saints and am announcing immediate forgiveness for extreme sinners. It is Good News! "Because of the increase of lawlessness, the love of most will freeze to death, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. This good news of the Kingdom will be announced in the entire inhabited world as a testimony to all nations ... and then the end will come" - Jesus. This is the goal I aim for.
Jesus said, “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” (Luke 6:38 NIV)
This past weekend it snowed. Over New Year’s, it also snowed. The accumulation at present is over a foot, deeper in the drifts. Now, I have received it and if anyone is wanting to enjoy snow and you miss it, you are welcome to come to one of these Northern realms affected by the climate change.
However, to my knowledge, the snow did not come in answer to the sharing of snow with others. It is not like God blessed my generosity of sharing my snow with others with more snow.
However, I did observe a kind of giving like this occur over the past week. New Year’s Eve & New Year’s Day, I shoveled several other people’s sidewalks. They cleared up and I got some good exercise. Later, someone else pitched in and helped me by clearing out my sidewalk a little bit … not once, but twice … one of those times on a day when the snow was particularly heavy they cleared a path.
Some people think that this verse is all about money. Others insist it is all about karma. Both are wrong. There is something about people who fear God to some degree: they will return favors and often be more generous in the return gift than the original gift. God oversees the hearts of people so that sometimes even hard-hearted souls will give generously in return when they receive a gift.
Again, that giving may not be tit-for-tat. It may be that Person A will shovel a walk and Person B will bring cookies. This giving was seen after the generosity of Americans to Southeast Asian natural disasters. Americans gave a LOT of money to help. The Southeast Asians helped generously, though the amount was not the same, when Katrina struck New Orleans. Actually, proportionally, the people from SE Asia probably gave more generously. The Good News of Jesus was at work in both instances. God brings generosity not according to what one does not have, but according to what one does have.
The Church & Mission’s appropriation of the tithes and offerings for local churches operates on a similar basis: Some give the Good News to the congregation, the church supports them. Some give their lives to reach lost people among the nations around them. The church supports these missionaries as their representatives.
I count it a privilege to have received gifts to pass on to others, such as the gift of $20 one lady gave me. I had given a few New Testaments to a ministry she was involved in, and she helped so much more. Now the bus tokens purchased with her money are going to those who happen not to have bus fare when they get on the bus … and with the tokens is a token of truth: A booklet, a gospel of John, etc.
So the gifts keep flowing, Because I am generous? No, because God is generous!
A chorus of angels assigns a chore for us:
Run to see the Savior, Christ the Lord.
Young Mary’s heart, soon pierced by evil sword.
Yet magi come with royal gifts, implore us
Let us pray and worship Christ the King
of Whom the moving stars in heaven sing:
Your Jewish baby prince is bringing peace
His sacred suffering shall send forth release
from debt to sin. “You must be born again.”
We run abroad, afar to spread the news,
that God saves any He’d elect to use
while carried by the Comforter, our Friend.
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Below are links to various resources on Christmas: links to sites with historical information on Christmas.
CHRISTMAS IN BETHLEHEM:
Christmas is an opportunity to share the news about the gift that God gave the world, Jesus, whom people can TRUST for their eternal lives! No other message can be GREATER THAN THIS GOOD NEWS! Unfortunately, many people in the world cannot or will not accept this gift of ?Light and life.In fact, there are a growing number of skeptics, atheists, some scholars and agnostics who are attempting to use ?evidencefrom science, archaeology and literature to show there is no God and the Bible does not contain truth! In 2009, a DVD supposedly on Biblical Archaeology was produced that is full of inaccurate information on the OT. The film
indicated that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were NOT father, son and grandson! The use of false accusations such as these cause doubt and confusion. The Bible stands on its own testimony, ?inspired of God2 Tim.3:16. There is a great need for Christians to be able to accurately communicate the truth of God?s Word!
This is especially important when it comes to the Birth of Jesus!
It contains: The Prelude (Old Testament including Jesus?s Genealogy-how God used the Jewish people to be a witness to the world), The Town (Bethlehem) of Jesus Birth, The
Postlude and The Future (Jesus Ministry and the second coming of Jesus as told in Revelation). During this Christmas season the Mission Focus will present some facts found in these sections. We are starting with the Prelude. This gives a background about important historical and spiritual points from the Old Testament (and secular history) that prepared the way for Christ?s Birth. Included was prophecies such as Micah 5:2, "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times." MAGI: ?From about 600 B.C. to 600 A.D., the MAGI were from the PRIESTLY TRIBE OF THE KINGDOM OF PARTHIA (IRAN). Daniel chapter 2:48 tells why King Nebuchadnezzar II
appointed Daniel to be the leader of the Magi after interpreting his dream! Chapter 2 of Daniel is important to read as it tells us so
much about the power of God! BIRTH OF CHRIST: ?We know now that that King Herod probably died in 4 B.C. The Magi came after the Birth of Jesus, but before the death of King Herod. They spoke with Herod. So Jesus was probably born in 5 or perhaps 4 B.C.
CHRISTMAS HAD ITS ORIGINS IN THE EARLY CHURCH, NOT PAGANISM
Credible evidence to support the traditional dating of Christmas on the 25th December. Not only so, he argues that "the Roman pagan festival was instituted after the Christians had already been celebrating the birth of Christ on that day for many decades. Their pagan festival was an attempt to create an alternative tradition, which already was associated with the birth of Christ" http://www.christianaction.org.za/index.php/articles/biblical-worldview/212-was-jesus-born-on-25-december
Why did the early church institute December 25 as Christmas, a day for giving gifts? Because it was the day when Maji presented Jesus with their gifts. See the next link:
THE STAR OF BETHLEHEM & the DAY OF THE CROSS:
A look at the heavens during the time of Christ & an affirmation of the birth of Jesus. The basis for studying astronomy and not practicing astrology: The stars tell us about the God of heavens like a thermometer: They signify things are hot & cold but don't make things
hot or cold. Stars indicate what is going on but don't make things happen. ?This explanation of the Star is compelling…NASA's Chief Engineer for the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdX6XzyaDzA http://www.bethlehemstar.net/
Several mistakes in this “debate” as I listened to it:
A. Suze Orman attempts to justify her homosexual feelings/actions for another woman through her monetary success. Money does not prove anything. If it did, Al Capone and the crooks who successfully steel millions would be saints. Money is not the basis for right & wrong. Money is not the basis for marriage.
A2. Suze bases her argument on estate taxes (and she makes not claim to poverty, to my knowledge.) But then says that this is not really the issue when the Ryan Anderson states that he and the Heritage Foundation share the position calling for the abolition of the unjust estate tax.
B. There is something wrong with Suze Orman. She is a sinner … like everyone else was in that room, not to mention in the world. Therefore, Suze’s choices do not prove anything about what should be legally endorsed or not.
C. Suze basis her definition of marriage on monetary status: from that perspective all of the following could be eventually: polygamy, incest, herbogamy, pontigamy.
D. Love leads to life in terms of reproduction, not merely adoption.
E. America is defined as tolerant & loving … forget the liberty to state truth based on what God said & based on historical realities.
F. A very small, very biased sample size (the studio audience) is used to represent an entire nation of well over 315,000,000 people. Hmmm… not a very sophisticated way to prove a point.
G. Suze calls Ryan Anderson uneducated, when in fact he is well educated, being a Ph.D. from Notre Dame and graduating with highest honors from Princeton. She then recants and states that while he may have his facts collected and correct, he is wrong. She then lifts herself up and says she has “compassion” on him. That is a lie. She has no compassion for him, otherwise she would hear Ryan out. She is arrogant because she judges as intolerant while not wanting to tolerate him.
If she truly felt compassion for him, she would perhaps be moved to grant Ryan Anderson’s organization the Heritage Foundation a gift of substance. This is the most ugly kind of love: it boasts of itself, while giving not gifts; it does not lead to future generations, but propagates lies; it claims to be tolerant, but cannot stand to hear the truth.
IF this is America, then America will fall. And like Babylon of old, it will be a great fall. Like Rome, it will fall utterly when the rottenness in Washington, New York, and Hollywood have pooled together into a cesspool of corruption that leads to the pit. Woe to this America with a futile, empty compassion! Woe to this America that calls evil good and good evil. Woe to this America that conspires against righteousness!
Is there hope for America? Yes, if people in America will repent and trust in Jesus and humble themselves and delight themselves in the redeemer rather than in the ridiculous notions of their own morality. There is hope, ready to be had, if only Americans will call out to Jesus as their friend and will acknowledge their own sins and turn from the sins of our fathers. There is hope if we allow the Word of God once again to govern society and look not only to vain tradition but to the Scriptures which are able to equip us for every good work.
If there is a lack of good work this year, it is because we have failed to look to Jesus to provide it.
If there are hungry people in the world, it is because we have fed ourselves rather than sharing.
If there are lonely people, it is because we have lacked real compassion & real love that reaches beyond marriage into all nations.
This Christmas, remove any barriers to joy & peace in your life so that you can share in the Love of Christ which is shed abroad in our hearts.
See if any of the following are blocking your capacity to love:
1. Bitterness & lack of forgiveness. If so, let go and forgive.
2. Lack of gratitude. If so, count your blessings.
3. Loneliness. If so, befriend the lonely.
4. Sickness. If so, go to the Doctor.
5. Ignorance. If so, study the Bible & hear a message on Jesus & be honest.
6. Feeling poor. If so, share something you have with others.
7. Hunger. If so, work with your hands and go to a Christian to ask for help buying food.
8. Fear of death. If so, repent of your sin & return to the Lord Jesus. He conquered death.
9. Worry. If so, pray in Jesus name and read promises from the Word of God.
10. Uncertainty. If so, do the one thing you know you last knew was the right thing to do.
It says in Isaiah and is quoted in part about John the Baptist:
The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
“Prepare the way of the LORD;
Make straight in the desert[a]
A highway for our God.
4 Every valley shall be exalted
And every mountain and hill brought low;
The crooked places shall be made straight
And the rough places smooth;
5 The glory of the LORD shall be revealed,
And all flesh shall see it together;
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”
(Isaiah 40:3-5; cf Luke 3:4-6)
In other words, a prophet would come who would go before the Messiah and prepare society to receive her king. Whenever a king comes, the earth must be prepared lest he have any trouble. Better he ride on a horse and bring deliverance than that he ride on a mule and His people suffer judgement. … at least that was the Jewish perspective of the time. Yet on a mule he had to ride in order to fulfill prophecy. Humble he came, over the rough roads of Galilee, Samaria, and Nazareth.
Jesus later called all of us who are saints to engage in the same work that John did: lowing mountains and raising up valleys. No longer should the valley of the shadow of death be as dreadful for those whose hearts are lifted up to the Lord. No longer should the mountain top experiences lead us to arrogate ourselves against the Lord. Instead, we will walk upon a smooth path. Each person who walks with Jesus should help ease the way by going before others who follow them in the way of Jesus.
Are you leading others to Jesus or away from Jesus? Are you choosing to follow Jesus are walk away from Him? When you see others follow Jesus, do you try to put a stumbling block in their path or do you seek to smooth their path by encouraging them? Hopefully you are among those who cultivate faith though love.
Jesus later said in his own ministry that faith does exactly this, it prepares the way for the faith of others. To quote Jesus:
Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.” (Matthew 17:20-21)
Later we read this:
And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither away so soon?”
Jesus answered and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done. And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.” (Matthew 21:20-22)
Friends, could Jesus have been any clearer? He wants no obstacle to our faith! Heaven has come to earth. This is what Christmas is about. Now earth must make way for the Kingdom of Heaven to spread through out the earth so that none should perish but all should come to repentance. While Scripture is clear that this all is not “all” without exception, but all without distinction should respond to the Lord. Poor & rich, Jew & Gentile, slave & free, male & female, civilized & barbarian, near & far … ALL will be represented before the King of Heaven.
What chasm lays between you and God? If you will but perpetually pray in Jesus name, that barrier can be overcome.
As Paul testified to the Ephesians:
Jesus Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father. (2:14-18)
If you need proof, look at how Nick Wallenda overcame fear and walked with the Lord across such a chasm on the path to victory:
If a chasm like the little grand canyon cannot interrupt him from worshipping the Lord God, why should the little troubles you face keep you from crying out continually to our Savior, “Lord, have mercy!” He is listening. Cry out to Him now! Jesus will save you. Jesus alone.
If you have chosen to follow Jesus today, feel free to email me at: mertaka (at) everybody-dot-org .
There are really only two times in the week when you need to gather:
1. When you believe you are really sick and need help.
2. When you want to help someone else.
Matthew 18:20
The more you want to help, the more you need help, the more you gather.
Gathering is an opportunity for growth. Growth comes not only by frequency, but also by increasing size and multiplication of gatherings.
Some focus on depth of growth alone. Interesting subject matter. Profound truth. Rigorous workouts.
Others focus on size alone: expansive invitations, bigger meeting places.
More wise is using these first two as a means to multiplication and bringing all of life under good order.
This progressive growth of frequency, depth, size, number, and impact of the family of God gathering is what is intended by the advance of the Kingdom of God.
Ashura is the day when Shi’ites comemoratethe martyrdom of Mohammad ‘s grandson, Hussein son of Ali. Some Shi’ites cut themselves with knives and chains to identify with the suffering of Hussein. One saying goes, `A single tear shed for Hussein washes away a hundred sins.`” http://www.LoveSaudis.com
This Shi’ite holiday took place last week.
In Judaism and Christianity, there is also a certain amount of truth to the fact that suffering is redemptive. In the Hebrew Scriptures, it was a truism, that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. Forgiveness required bloodshed.
Perhaps the clearest place where this is taught in the New Testament is the Letter to Hebrews. In the Mosaic Law, the sacrificial laws of Leviticus are clearly explications of the principle of life for life via blood. However, the levitical sacrifices had to be continually offered. Those sacrifices & ashes were then taken outside to camp. Sin was removed as the sacrifice was removed.
When Jesus came, he preached the truth in love and then was rejected by His people. He too went outside the gate and suffered “outside the camp” thus removing the sin of the people against him outside the camp. He took away sin once for all.
Now Christians, whenever we are oppressed and opposed for taking a stand for truth in love and love in truth, whenever we suffer rejection, we can still praise the Lord knowing He has a plan for that rejection, namely to remove the sins of those who oppose. We leave people who oppress alone in order to allow them to find peace. We move on and allow the people we were reaching previously to reconsider.
In my own life, I have been removed from a number of jobs. Those which I most enjoyed have either regretted disallowing my role or have found a way to reincorporate me. Is that because I am special? No. It is because all those were works of reconciliation. Actually, that is the goal of life: reconciliation. We are born alienated from God and must be reconciled to God. While children are born somewhat innocent, they bear the guilt of previous generations. They inherit the load, genetic or social or moral or whatever you want to call it, that separates them from the peace God intends. However, by regularly leaving previous situations we have gotten ourselves into and the associated sins, we find ourselves gradually liberated to serve the living God with the Good News of Redemption.
Increasingly, we become better and better bearers to truth and purer and purer in our love for others.
Lest anyone believe that by their migrations they have already achieved perfection, if you are lowly enough to browse the internet, you are not perfected in the glories of heaven where people praise God perpetually. So then, what must we do? Praise God as much as you can now. Spend your days invested in the glories of grace by talking about Jesus.
You say, but that would be very unproductive!
Ah, what do you have to do that would be better than praising Jesus? Whipping yourself with and lacerating your skin? Let me urge you to press in to Christ and not to give up. Focus on Jesus in all you do.
Last week, my wife & I went to a lecture by John Lennox … however we were turned away due to the crowds. The theme of the discussion was going to be, “Does science need God?”
Let’s tie these two questions together: suffering & science and the redemptive power God in both.
Science ultimately has no real reason for why there is suffering. It can only say that there is. It cannot answer the question of why we are so dissatisfied with suffering if indeed death has been there from the beginning. So the Bible’s account of Eden when all was innocent is better than naturalistic, uniformitarian declarations. It is what it is is not a very satisfying truism.
God is who He is. Or better, God said, “I am who I am” That same “I am” has sent me to share this thought: we suffer because the human race falls short of God’s standards. All other discussions of secondary causation such as social pressure, genetic mutation, gravity, entropy, fall short if the question of Why? is left unanswered.
Pragmatic science is unsatisfying. Just like Adam was unsatisfied with naming animals until he named his wife and sang a love song over her, so all fields of science are meant to serve human society, and these are best accomplished when done in the covenant of love that God gives the human race.
So we see that even the Shoah, the Holocaust could be redeemed. God used it to motivate much of the West to call for an Independent nation for the Jews: Israel was nearly born in a day, as Isaiah had prophecied.
Now, do you want to redeem your suffering? Are you rejected by those who are powerful and prominent? Then go to those who are not so significant in your community. Go to those who are regarded as the nobodies. Sit beside those that the world laughs at. Hug the crying. Pray for those who are sick. Read to those who cannot read for themselves. Sing with a lonely child who longs to sing to the King.
There are so many ways you can go outside the gate as Jesus did. Don’t wait. Go today. God will go with you and then you will smile in His presence.
A. The poor need God very evidently. The rich think they have all that they need.
B. The poor are oppressed by the world but blessed by God. The rich exploit to get rich, but hoard their wealth, taking their blessings for granted.
C. The poor cry out to God, and he listens. The rich boast of being self-made people.
D. The poor are generous because they know what it is to need, so they are eager to share with others.
E. The poor are always looking up for help. The rich are helping themselves.
F. The poor must be patient. The rich can afford instant service.
G. The poor see God provide for them and give thanks freely. The rich think their wealth is a shelter.
=> To give to the poor is to lend to the Lord. To give to the rich is foolish.
Give down and look up.
Invest in the Lord’s work among the poor, share your whole life with Him & His people wherever you go this week.
If you don’t find His people, make friends and help them become part of the Lord’s people.
Crushed, disappointed, insulted, rejected? … Press on. There is more in store. Cry out to God for the promise to come.
This post is dedicated to a young woman I spoke with recently, and to all who self-injure &/or have suicidal thoughts.
Sometimes in this world, people both old and young say things that are mean-spirited. Sometimes they say them simply to make themselves look good. It can hurt even worse when they say things just to hurt someone else. Either way, those words which expose how far short of perfection a girl or boy falls often lead to feelings of shame, loneliness, and hopelessness.
“Will anyone love me just for me? Does anyone really care about me? I want to be beautiful / handsome. I want to be strong / elegant. I want to be liked and appreciated. Instead my face is rubbed in the dirt.”
Sometimes fellow students tear down the weaker ones. It is after all easier to pick on those who won’t fight back.
Sometimes parents expect a cool perfection from their children. It is after all parents’ job to help their kids grow up to face the realities of the harsh world.
Sometimes bosses or co-workers can pressure a struggling worker to perform beyond capacity or even perform more than everyone else.
Sometimes other authorities can put pressure on those under their charge. NOTHING WE DO IS EVER GOOD ENOUGH, cries the hurting heart.
There are two most common ways to respond: In anger: lashing out at those who insult. In self-loathing, listening to all those voices that expose imperfection.
Imperfections that make us feel ashamed, can also add unique dignity to each of us. They are like the freckles that
Natasha Bedingfield sings about:
This reminds me of Jesus: sometimes people of His day talked about Him because He didn’t wash His hands. Sometimes people insulted Him because He was so confident that He had a special relationship with God. They hated Him because He worked long hours and healed the hurting and forgave the seemingly unforgiveable. Jesus forgave anyway.
In 1 John, it says that the spirit of the antichrist denies two things: 1. That Jesus came from God and 2. That Jesus came in the flesh. Taken to logical conclusion, the antichrist spirit denies the deity and humanity of Jesus.
So what? What difference does that make in how the poor kid who gets picked on in school feels?
When somebody treats you like you are not made in the image of God, that is the antichrist at work. If someone is despising you and all that you do, they are not doing the work of God but are serving the devil. Satan tries to get us to regret that we live. God gets us to regret that we have sinned. Lord, have mercy!
When someone treats you like you are not human with human feelings and an ordinary human body with human wants and needs, that is the antichrist at work. The antichrist expects a sterile sanctification. The Spirit of Jesus washes us with water from the Word, the Word of God. Lord, thank you!
And God’s word says, He loved us enough to send His own Son to cover over ALL our imperfections, sins, shame, and flaws. That is why Jesus was scarred on the cross and on the way to the cross was beaten and tortured, so that you and I could hold our heads up in dignity when the world, our old flesh, and the devil conspire to make us feel like we are useless and unwanted. He set aside heaven’s arms so that we could lift up holy hands and praise Him.
If people tell you that you are good for nothing and dirty: First, clean up if you are dirty. Second, be glad that you are clean in God’s sight. Third, forgive the people who have such dirty hearts that all they can see is filth.
If your own mind tells you that you are unloveable: First, separate the truth from the lie. While love is never “deserved,” anyone can be loved. God loves the least, the lost, the last. God loves you. Second, read promises in the Bible about how the Lord’s purpose is to bless and not curse. Third, receive God’s forgiveness for all your faults. He delights in you and rejoices over you with singing.
Zephaniah 3:17 (NIV)
“The Lord your God is with you,
the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great delight in you;
in His love He will no longer rebuke you,
but will rejoice over you with singing.”
We need to realize who is the source of all these accusations though: it is the devil, satan, that old serpent, the dragon. Satan hates you. God, however, loves you and delights in you. If you have persevered in reading this, I believe God is calling you to a deeper knowledge of His mercy. Consider reading a chapter from the Proverbs and a chapter from the Gospels every day. Or, develop your own plan for reading through the whole Bible in a year … and stick to it. God will speak to you in new and amazing ways. The lies of the devil will fade.
Maybe you are married and your spouse hates you and you feel miserable and you feel like giving up: Let me encourage you to keep loving and keep forgiving. God has a prize for those who persevere in marriage.
Maybe you feel lonely because all your fellow students or co-workers seem to despise you and ignore you or trip you up: Let me encourage you that you are special in God’s eyes. What you are learning is something teachers can’t teach you. You are learning what Jesus taught us, to love your enemeies. Don’t lose heart. Don’t give up: your work will be rewarded by the one who supervises all bosses and you are storing up for yourself a retirement that is out of the world.
God loves you. Jesus proves it. Live.
…
Now, about those who tear you down, how do you deal with them?
I must be 100% honest here: I am far from perfect. When I was a teenager, I picked on other students. Then, one day, a classmate I was picking on, told me off. They responded and told me to shut up, I was getting on their nerves. Maybe I was more sensitive than some bullies, but I don’t think so. When they talked back and said, “Shut up, it’s not nice, I’m not all that bad, you don’t have your facts straight.” I shut my mouth. I stopped insulting. Later, the Lord would fill my heart with Love, with the Holy Spirit as I started to regularly read the Bible and pray for the Lord to teach me how to love. God changed me.
Life is not easier for me, it is harder. But that is OK. It was not easy for Jesus, and He is with me when I face insults and injury, hospitalizations and hatred.
If you care to contact me, write to: MertAKA -at- everybody .ORG
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