Author Archives: if4es

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About if4es

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.

Thanksgiving: A Rare Fruit

Posted on September 13, 2013 by if4es

The other day, I was sharing the good news with a person at the bus stop. Others milled about and listened, a gentle dialogue ensued as I tried to direct the conversation away from the theories of good and evil or neutrality of all morality to the facts that we have all sinned.

Just then, a young man I had seen and talked to early, a couple years earlier, walked up to me and said, “Do you remember me? My name is D. You had asked me if I was saved. Well, now I am saved. I am going to [name omitted] Church. I just wanted to tell you.”

Oddly enough, even though the person had interrupted the conversation that had been happening, even though the earlier conversant had become a little antagonistic, when the young man said that they had been saved, the person with all the “hard questions” said, “Yes, that’s good.”

It reminds me of this story from the Gospels in Luke 17:11-21

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2017:11-21&version=HCSB

To paraphrase: 10 lepers (a disease like AIDS) had been sent by Jesus to show themselves to the priests. The lepers were all healed. But only an ethnically diverse healed leper returned to thank Jesus. One in ten. So if only ten percent of those who are born again, ever thank those who witness to them, there are likely others who are now attending church who never took the time to contact me. In fact, I know of others who have taken steps of faith after being challenged.

Have you ever taken the time to thank those who bless you? Have you ever taken the time to thank those whom you ask to pray for you? Have you ever taken the time to thank Jesus for healing you? Are you glad you are alive? Tell Jesus today. He’ll be glad you did, and it will be recorded in the scrolls of eternity.

What am I thankful for today?
A new friend took a book of John and started reading it.
A co-worker was challenged to re-consider a public confession of faith for Jesus.
I can carry on an ordinary conversation yet smell like Jesus with many people.
The word of God is reaching more and more students at the local community college.
Time with my wife.

That is what Peasant Perfume is all about.

Simple words, meaning discovered,
truth discerned, kindness shared.
A dance of lives around the tree
and then reaching out to enjoy wisdom
from on high that brightens heart and opens eyes
… yet is full of integrity
and harmless but for the reminder to get dressed.
Tree of life or tree of knowledge of good and evil?
you may ask.
Yes, the knowledge of good and evil has been chopped down,
life takes root in those once confused.
Leaves from that tree cover souls
and soften steps across holy ground.
Do you hear the sound?
The Lord is walking with us now.
We have crossed the bridge,
there shall be no turning back now.

Categories: Evangelism | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Comfort, Comfort, My People Jerusalem

Posted on September 6, 2013 by if4es

Right now the Middle East remains in an uproar: Egyptians are in an uproar, and Palestinians are raging against the state of Israel. Jordan is facing a flood of refugees. Bethlehem may soon have a few tourists. But I find that the “Jerusalem Syndrom” or “Stendhal Syndrome” to be most interesting of all this: people go to the “holy” city only to find that there are a bunch of sinners there. Sinners needing to be evangelized, so they evangelize them, or at least attempt to, in their own religious versions.

I’ve been there and done that! In 1994, I was a short term worker in Washington, DC. Enjoyed my time, but got a little too isolated from the group and my mind started to wander away from the mission. I started to peregrinate and preach. I dare say, it was fun. I thought the world was going to end in 3.5 days. (Times, time, and half a time, you know.)

Well, it didn’t, and the Lord forgave me for my false prophecy. So I am no prophet. Big deal.

But that does not mean I am not an evangelist. I may not be called upon to bring a final serious message of judgment, but I can bring a message of joy to the world. That joy is found in Jesus. Moral reform is good. Preaching is good. But all cities need this preaching. All souls need the good news. I am not much of a church planter, though my efforts to disciple others have resulted in a small disciplemaking movement.

The reality is though, that my life is marked (or some would say marred) by something else: suffering and disappointment with the worldly and the temporal hopes dreams. I work part time for a government agency that works among the least and among of those in the worst circumstances as a certified peer support specialist. In other words, I’m not just certifiable, I’m certified. I have a plaque to prove it.

That sits at my desk like the the Plaque I once received as a Distinguido Guesped used to at my dorm in college. I was a Distinguished Guest of the governor of Sinaloa State or Mayor Mazatlan there in Mexico, or something like that. Yippee!! Distinguished guest. All I had to do was do a little dramatic interpretation and travel with a bunch of choral members to a podunk, persecuting part of our Southern Neighbor and have a good, clean, moral life as I honored Jesus. The Bible says, those who honor God, God will honor.

What if the Kfar Shaul Mental Health Centre in Israel, were to not issue a certificate of insanity, but of honor to these guests, who like Saul (i.e. Shaul) had a few chips shy of a full bag, with a certificate for their intense interest and compassion for this city of conflict. Imagine how you would feel going on vacation to Hawaii only to find all the natives working in gray suits and ties and all the land given over to the chaos that happens on Wall Street … Doesn’t sound like a vacation.

Just because you went to such an advertized “tropical paradise” that had been corrupted and spoke out for a little common sense, would you want to be called a fool? No.

But Hosea said that the prophet will be called a fool (Meshuggah). When a nice person meets a wicked world which has been worshipped with wonderful words, that nice person might get a little upset when they find out the reality. You would … Right? I hope you would.

So, back to the issue at hand. As these prophets / religiously fanatical tourists recover, why not give them a certificate for wanting the city of Jerusalem to be morally pure and peaceful?? Honor them for their ability to cope again with a sinful world. Commission them in Jesus name to preach peace to all nations.

Use those with Jerusalem or Stendhal syndrome to become Fools for Christ … people who don’t fit in with the world because they love God. Let us be a little loony for the Lord! Let us give him our minds and let us give the world a piece of it too.

Maybe those that the world calls misfits are simply called to fit into another world, a world yet to come. A world that is perfect.

In this world, we will have trouble. BUT, TAKE HEART! Jesus conquered the world!!! He is alive! He’s not dead. He’s not crazy. He’s not lazy. HE really is LORD and HE really dead get up and folded the grave clothes at the tomb. Now, he is busy building a new Jerusalem.

The old Jerusalem is like Sodom and Gomorrah: it distresses the righteous lot who try to live their so much that they can’t stand staying there forever, they run for their lives. Distressed and dispirited. But Jesus is the Good Shepherd. He takes care of souls who go to great cities like Mecca, Rome, and Washington, DC and New York City, only to lose their grasp on “normalcy.” He comforts us with the hope of His return. He is the Messiah. We are not.

Now, what about those who think this world is all there is? I feel sorry for them. They may be in animistic tribes wearing animal parts or they may be in the ‘hood wearing hoodies or they may be businessmen wearing ties and going to fine restaurants or they may be on a campus wearing a backpack or they may be taking care of a posse of kids whom they hope will grow up to be “normal.”

Let’s get real. It is OK if dreams are shattered and illusions are exposed. It is OK to be different. It is OK to preach outside or in the streets. Let the prisoners free! Let the slaves go free! Let the fools go free! Maybe if Jerusalem had tolerated the most Divine Fool she would be a cultivated city today, instead of a city where the past is nearly all that there is to celebrate about it at the present.

Blessings on all who go to Jerusalem to comfort my people: the mentally ill and non-conformists. May God’s people surround the saints restrained with comfort and friendship.

Categories: Evangelism, Peer support, Suffering | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

God unveils Himself through creation

Posted on August 27, 2013 by if4es

Read Genesis 1-2 here:
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%201-2&version=LEB

Throughout we will look at who God is, but notice He reveals, or unveils, himself through creation. The purpose of creation was not for God to hide Himself and be unspoken of in regard to what exists, but so that He might be more fully known & seen.

Our purpose for learning is not just to learn and know what is right and wrong, what is good for us and what is bad for us by experience and experiment. The goal of science is to know God. Creation exists because God existed first. So, let us step back a moment and consider: our goal is not just to know ourselves, but the God who is intimately concerned with out wellbeing. The God who made us the way we are is a little bit of what we will look at this week, with the hope that we will learn a little more about how to live well in His light.

1. God is. God was. God will be. He is not a what, but a holy Who.

2. Who is this God exactly? He has a voice and His Word creates. God is reasonable and logical. The Word, the Express Image of God was there in the beginning. The Word interacted with creation, bringing light and life and love into where and who and why we are.

3. The breath of God, or the Spirit of God, brooded over the earth. The Wind of God blew over the earth. God is spirit. The Spirit is needed for a new work of God to start.

4. God gives light at the start of a new work. Indeed, whenever a new advance of the Kingdom has been given, it started with light shining in a chaotic culture. God brings truth to bear in our abode.

5. God is wise. He knows how to differentiate the diversity of life and inorganic forms. He does all things well. When he is finished, it is very good.

6. God is good. Everything that God made was good, therefore, we can know that God is good. It requires a good person to make something good.

7. God is persons, and not just a singular person. He said, Let US make man in our image. for God to say US and our (singular) image, implies that God is one God, one character, but a plurality of persons: God Himself, the Voice & Expressed Thoughts of God, the Breath of God.

8. God is not ashamed. We should not be ashamed of God. We never need to doubt God. God never doubted Himself. After all, there is no reason to doubt life or doubt goodness or doubt love.

9. God is alive and wanted life to flourish. God had thoughts and opinions and a voice and breath and gave life to the man and woman and gave gifts to the human race. God created and formed and fashioned and spent time with man in the garden. God made beauty and is therefore beautiful and majestic. Allah al-Majd.

10. God is love. How do we know God is love? The word love is not even mentioned? It is clear: God gave. To love is to give. God gave His life to the mankind. We are made in the image of God and are meant to bear His life within us. We are not meant to be a dead image, but to be a living image, walking with God, working with God, worshipping God.

Do you worship God? Do you ever step back from life and rest and reflect on the character and nature of God? Do you ever consider all that God has done and give thanks? Oh, what a loving Father we have! He sent His Son Jesus to die for you so you could live. HE died so that you could live. How loving is that? HE made the sacrifice. Stop trying to sacrifice yourself for God. Let Him give himself to you. God is a self-sacrificing God. The Lord is a self-expressing God. We reflect His glory.

Categories: God | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Love Poem

Posted on August 19, 2013 by if4es

Genesis 2:20-25 (LEB based)
The man gave names to every domesticated animal and to the birds of the sky and to all the animals of the land. But for the man there was not found a helper as his opposite. Yahweh God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man. While he slept, He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in the place of it. Then Yahweh God fashioned the rib which he had taken from the man into a woman and brought her to the man. And the man said,
“This one is now bone from my bones
and flesh from my flesh;
this one shall be called ‘Woman,’
for this one was taken from man.”
Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and shall cling to his wife, and they shall be as one flesh. The man and his wife, both of them, were naked, and they were not ashamed.

For most men, finding a wife is not an easy process. Now, perhaps some immoral men find a second wife easier to get, but it was not this way from the beginning. In the beginning, it was God’s design that there should be one man for one woman. How much difficulty there has been in the world because marriages fail and are replaced so quickly! It ought not be so.

Notice, God did not merely recognize what the man surely felt: something is out of order for there to be a lack of a mate for the man. Immediately, the man began naming the creatures on the land and in the sky. The first engineer is God, and the first scientist was the man He made, ie. Adam.

It seems the man was so busy naming the creatures and doing His God appointed task, that he got tired. There are many animals made by God, so this would have taken some time. Yet there was no match. Have you ever looked and looked and found nothing, and then you suddenly found what you sought after getting some rest?

This is what happened to Adam, he was so exhausted that he slept and slept deeply. It was as though his scientific endeavors served as an anesthesthetic. In that deep sleep, God took from his side a rib, or a part.

What is so significant about taking something from his side? Had God taken a toe, the man might have ruled over her. Had He taken the man’s hair, she might have ruled over him. Hand God taken from the man’s hand, he might have made her work all the time. No, God took from the man’s side, so that she might be beside him, near his heart, a companion next to him, a counterpart. They were to correspond to one another. They were a match designed in heaven, made on earth. The mind of God knew how to match the heart of a man and a woman, and so the man sang.

Clearly, the woman was beautiful and the man was refreshed as soon as he woke from his sleep, because he immediately sang a love song. Interestingly, this is the second love song. The first was when God made mankind. This reveals a mystery: As God loves mankind, so a man must love his wife. It will not always be easy, but it will be possible. God will heal the heart if we rest in him.

God heals the heart not by all these beasts of the field, though those are certainly nice. A bird cannot compare to a person, no matter now lovely the bird’s song. Any man worth any salt will know that a human love song truly sung between a couple has more heart in it than the song of any other creature. The dutiful dog is not delight compared to a wonderful wife.

Some speak of this as a time of innocence. And surely there was innocence: no shame. But the last sentence speaks of more when it speaks of two in the nude without shame. It speaks of love. While it does not say that they knew each other (there seems to be little mention of the word “know” apart from the tree and until after the curse), still the Lord brought the woman to the man and he sang.

The only time there is absolutely no shame when a couple comes together like that is when there is perfect love. Perfect love casts out fear and shame and anger and anxiety and sadness. There is a satisfaction in love, and the song the man sang indicated he was satisfied at last.

Are you looking for love? Where are you looking? Are you doing God’s will? Are you doing the work God has assigned for you to do like the man naming the animals? Are you following Jesus like the woman followed the Lord in the garden to her man? If you are lonely, look first to Jesus and do the work He has assigned you. I cannot guarantee you will immediately find a husband if you are a woman or a wife if you are a man, but you will find purpose.

Finally, do not look too hard for someone just like you. The man did not look for a man, but for one that was his opposite, his counterpart. The woman was not led by God to another woman, this would not make sense in God’s kingdom. They were not led to match up with boys and girls. Here we see a family beginning in seed-like form: a husband and wife meeting, called by God, made in His image, walking in love. It was paradise, heaven on earth. Multiplication requires diversity.

To close with, I would like to include a poem I sent to my wife before we were engaged. Her response made me realize that this woman who had been corresponding with me for years just might be the one who would correspond with me face to face one day.

Courage in a Raging Internal Environment
Send first to S.E.F. on November 6, 2000

When mourning dawns upon the whirling earth
and tears begin to stream the face of mirth
a cry erupts and breaks the dullness of
the eye: a plea for Son, “O Fiery Love,
Come warm the heart that’s borken by a soul
untouched by tender hands.” Alone, the sol-
dier marches on, his only food the fruiful day
that is to shine: a dream still far away
to eyes that cannot gaze upon the Light
beyond the freezing smog of sluggish fright.
Then pain, though thick around my mind, is pierced
by promise of a change in whether fierce
or fair the day shall be when met by
courage that internall foes cannot deny.

Categories: Marriage, Poem | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

To be Alone or to Make Contact? Connect to Christ

Posted on August 12, 2013 by if4es

YHWH God said, “It is not good: the man is alone. I will make for him a helper as his opposite.” – Genesis 2:18

God is good and knows what is good. He is intimately involved in our lives and He longs to give us the best. Jesus loves you.

Anyone who has been truly alone for a long time knows that it does something to the soul. The waves of time and the winds of thought erode more quickly at a person who is alone. It is harder to stand against temptation if one is alone.

Not even God Himself remained alone forever. God is love, and in His love and with love He made us. We are made in His image and designed to love. You cannot love alone. This is why it is not good to be alone. God does not want to be left alone. Look for Him with all your being.

God did not give man a pet dog or cat or even appoint a pet lamb to stay in his house for a few days. The Lord God made him a helper. Not only can we love alone, we also need help in our lives. Someone who will strengthen us to face the storms. We need a cheerleader and a champion.

This is true not only of spouses, even single people do better on teams. Eunuchs were appointed to the king’s palace. Paul served, like the twelve, in teams that the Lord sent out at least two by two usually.

Community is inherent in the human race. No success is real if achieved singularly. There are always others who help. If not, the success will die as soon as the person dies.

Life is a race, a marathon, a relay. One generation passes the baton to the next. The receivers of life must carry it forward together. We are the human race, not a solitary sprint.

Interestingly, there is a difference that is one of matching opposites, a fitness that belongs to marriage. No married couple will agree about everything. If they do, they don’t need each other. Oh, if only Adam had not agreed with his wife in eating the fruit! If only we would demand less harmony with people, we would enjoy them more!

Satisfied couples and satisfied team members expect more from themselves than their partners. They have found that truly it is better to give than to receive.

However, alone, there is no giving or receiving, only looking and naming.

Are you alone? If you want a friend, you must make friends: do what you can with your present skills: name animals, tend a garden, share the good news, talk to your neighbors. Before you know it, you will no longer be alone, but will be surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses.

Cross the street and meet a stranger and tell them Jesus loves them. Or cross the city until you find someone who loves Jesus and let them encourage you.

You will witness this reality: God will not abandon you and will give you those iron-sharpen-iron type friends who will prepare you to resist evil.

If you need connection, feel free to contact us.

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Creation Comfort

Posted on August 5, 2013 by if4es

In the beginning …

Those words are like an invitation to a fresh start. God started fresh when He began this world. There is minimal information about what preceded the earth, other than that when it all began, it was formless and void. Devastation and ruin and in the mist of that time where the Spirit was at work, brooding. The Word was preparing to move out into action. The Bible does not give us any description of potential other beginnings; it says, THE beginning. This was the time when God created the heavens and the earth.

All God had to do was speak and things happened. God is awesome!!

God said, “Let there be light, and there was light.”

Simple. Everything you see is light reflected or refracted through the universe, or perhaps an immediate revelation of Jesus as The Light Himself.

God is light, so the first thing God did was make light. What he spoke was accomplished exactly as He spoken. Precision. Beauty. Excellence. Good. Sun, moon, stars, and later rainbows and snowflakes are all excellent presenters of light. If you are in Jesus, you too are the light of the world. If the King of Glory shines in your life, the worldd will see you and reflect on the goodness of God.

Okay, light, but there was also life: plants were formed on the third day, later birds and fish on day five. The Life of God grows and spreads and multiplies. The life of God reaches the depths. The life of God soars on the heights. The life of God moves across the earth. The life of God reproduces after its kind.

In the DNA of every living thing, is the message of that creature. The message of human life is contained not only on the 23 strands of DNA in our bodies. The 24th strand of DNA is the revelation of Scripture. It serves to correct the mutuations of our sinful and cursed lives. The Scriptures were sent to bring blessing.

Indeed, humans were blessed in the beginning. Male and female were made to love. Light, life, and love. This community is something that governs the world. How? Simply by receiving and reflecting the love of God in creation. The male and female parts of the human race speak of the giving and receiving that take place between God and man, the Lord and Israel, Christ and His church.

Throughout the ages, there is interwoven, a mysterious dance of duty and delight we meets in the the Divine-Human encounter. The glorious mystery is hidden with Christ in God.

Notice that throughout Genesis one, there remain differences and distinctions, male and female, varying kinds, different days, etc. Yet despite all of that, it is very good in the end as all obeys the command of God. Obedience and conformity bring blessing when Christ is the shape of our soul.

God said, Let us make man in our image, in the image of God he made him. Male and female He created them. And He blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and rule over the birds of the air, over the fish of the sea, over the beasts of the earth and over every living creature that moves on the face of the earth and order it. He gave them every green plant and every seed bearing plant for food … and God said, It is VERY GOOD!”

Order is good.
Family is good.
Food is good.

The goodness in the world is best enjoyed when people, male and female, live to reflect not on their own glory, but to reflect the glory of God. Family must follow the divine pattern of male and female meeting on the basis of the image of God and in graceful respect and loving-kindness. Only then will order, family, and the meals we share be very good.

God rested.

At the end of it all, God is not just wanting to create stress. God is wanting to bring about a walk in the park. God desires for people to parade in his presence, not in pride, but in perfect purity and meekness. Instead of strutting, we must acknowledge that all our strength is in Him.

Then, we will find peace.

Categories: Environmental Healing, Good News, Marriage, Rest | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Redeeming the Time – Making the Most of the Moment

Posted on July 16, 2013 by if4es

In Ephesians, we are exhorted to buy back the time, or as the Holman Christian Standard Bible puts it: “making the most of the time, since the days are evil.” (Ephesians 5:15-16) http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians%205:15-16&version=NKJV;CEV;HCSB;MSG;NIV

Life is not to be wasted: no frittering away time with cheap sins and silly chatter. Get to the Good News.

This need not be boring. Is God boring? Is God bored? God is interested in your life and thinks about your life all the time. Are you boring? God is constantly supervising a universe that could easily implode were it not for the fact that He sustains the constants and restrains evil.

God is active is redeeming people today. Are you?

Are you redeemed? Are you out of the slave market, or are you always looking for another dollar and another way to serve yourself? Are you confused by all the options that the modern world offers you? OR … Are you free to serve the Living God?

Jesus is calling sinners to repentance. Are you calling sinners to repentance? There are two options, sin or repent and call sinners to repentance. If you think there is such a thing as holy selfishness, you are wrong. If you want to draw near the Lord, labor to share His Name with others. It is not a heavy load.

Jesus is the root of all joy. So when you share Jesus, you are sharing joy. If someone rejects joy by rejecting Jesus, you can keep your joy because you are being honored by suffering the same rejection that they gave to the prophets. If your message of joy in Jesus is received, you have the joy of sharing the Love of your life with another and growing the family of God.

If you receive Jesus as your joy, all of heaven rejoices with you and you will probably want to share Jesus with others.

Are you happy? Are you joyful? Jesus likes it when you look to Him and when your eyes meet His in the secret place, He will smile at you. The smile of King Jesus will give you LIFE!! Oh, friend, don’t look to your own resources. Look to Jesus. Don’t waste your life on lesser things. Let every little detail of your life serve to glorify God.

If you are a carpenter, build up the Kingdom. If you are a plumber, drain away the old ways. If you are a doctor, bring healing. If you are a government employee, admininister justice with mercy. If you are a missionary, go in the power of the Lord and help others find peace with God.

You say, Oh, but you don’t know how much I have to do each day!

Let God help you through the day and you will find your load lighter.

You say, Oh, but you don’t know how much I have sinned and how far I am from God’s mercy!

Did you know that you cannot escape God’s mercy in this life. Seek Him while He may be found. Cry out for His help! He will come to you in a moment.

Do you not understand?

Pray for wisdom.

Are you sick?

Pray for healing.

DO NOT GIVE UP.

Jesus loves you.

Every moment, focus on the work God is calling you to do. In those slow times, pray for others or simply thank Jesus that you have found rest for your soul.

My heart is happy because I got to talk to someone about Jesus today. This is my mission in life: to talk to people about Jesus and to listen to God’s heart about those I see. He loves people. So I usually have something to talk to Him about. I must confess, sometimes, I find it hard to be quiet, so I will go do that now: be still and know that He is God. He will be exalted among the nations. He will be exalted in the earth.

Categories: Evangelism, Good News, Prayer, Revival | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

What is IF4ES?

Posted on July 16, 2013 by if4es

IF4ES is an International Fellowship for Everyday Saints.
… OR

Mert at Park

Mert at Park


IF4ES is an intermittent fool for the eternal Savior.
IF4ES is about instituting freedom for enduring studies.
IF4ES is about initiating friendships for emotional stability.
IF4ES is a bunch of internet files for expressing salvation.
IF4ES is a bunch interesting forums for evangelical service.

We meet in restaurants, on busses, in church buildings, in homes, on the web, on the street, on college campuses. Wherever you find 2-3 Christians, you will immediately forage for the everlasting Sovereign. I.e. We are about witnessing to the Good News of Jesus.

If you met me in the community somewhere, I may have given you a booklet or Bible. I may have given you a DVD or New Testament in your language or another book to point you to Jesus. If you met me at church, I may have urged you to pray for the nations. Perhaps you received a prayer booklet or other reminder to pray. If you met me elsewhere, you may think I am weird. What matters though is that I follow Jesus. If you are not currently attending church, please check out the “Find a Gathering” link at the top of the page and find a church near where you live. If you think I should add a church to the list, email me, and I might do that.

If you will look to Him, you will find Jesus is already looking for you. Has He found you? Are you founded upon Him? Perhaps you would like to know how you can have peace with God.

Let me encourage you to write me to request a New Testament or to read through the following Books of the Bible online: Luke, John, Acts, Romans at one of the links above or download the YouVersion app (or contact me for a paper copy if you so desire). Each time you read, pray that God would show you something about Jesus and what He would have you obey. When you hear or read something you think is helpful, give thanks and apply it to your life as simply and as quickly as possible. If something seems relevant to life and if you have truly learned it from the Holy Scriptures, who can you share it with? Truth is never meant to be kept to yourself. If you have questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. I live in Washtenaw County, and would be happy to meet you if you can contact me.

Jesus died on the cross to take away your sins.
He was buried according to the Scriptures.
On the third day, he rose again according to the Scriptures and was seen by many people.
If Jesus is alive, it makes all the difference in the world!
Jesus IS alive! He lives!! You can face tomorrow. There is hope!

Talk to Jesus about the bad things you have done and the good things He has done for you. Ask Him your questions and ask Him for Help each day. Dedicate your day to him when you get up in the morning. Dedicate your sleep at night. Consecrate your meals to Him. Offer your work to Him as a life of sacrifice. Live for Jesus 100%!!

International Fellowship for Everyday Saints is not so much about organizing a new denomination, but about prodding people in all existing denominations and religions to ardently pursue the Living God by obeying the risen Jesus Christ as Lord over all.

These posts seek to take everyday matters and orient them around the Hope that we have in Jesus: He is Lord and He will come back to reconcile all things in Himself to God the Father. We believe the Son of God, i.e. God the Son, is the only way to meet the true God. It is not shirk to call Jesus God or to say God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ Jesus. Nor is it arrogance for Jesus to assert all authority in heaven and earth. Nor is it pride or triumphalism for Christians to walk in the Light of that power. These statements and commands are found in the Word of God. I am a mere slave of the Word.

If you ever find anything in the Bible (and particularly the commands of Jesus) that I am not obeying, please do not hesitate to communicate that with me in a direct and gentle manner. I want to learn and grow.

Humility is measured by the degree to which one conforms to the suffering of Jesus on the cross. I, Mert Hershberger, do not want to be found lacking on the last day; so I will gladly embrace suffering, whether emotional, physical, or financial, as an opportunity for the dynamic expression of Christ to be at work in me.

Key verses of mine: Psalm 2:8, “Ask of me and I will make the nations your inheritance, and the ends of the earth your possession. … if you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” Matthew 21:22

Please email me at mertaka (at) everybody (dot) org if you would like to correspond with me.

You may also write to me at
Bro. Mert Hershberger
P.O. Box 981215
Ypsilanti, MI 48198-1215

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The basis for the following invitation is Job 19:21, 23, 25-27.

“Y’all, pity me, pity me, my friends, for God’s hand has touched me. Who then shall give that my words would be recorded and printed in a book? I myself know my Redeemer: The Living and The Last-He will stand upon the dust. And after my skin has been thus destroyed, from my flesh I will see God, Whom I myself will see for myself. Him my eyes wil see and not a stranger. My heart faints within me …” (MERT: my English-rendered translation)

Later Job’s “friends” were thus moved by God to give to support him when they realized that his poverty was permitted by God to allow them to be generous. If you contribute to this ministry, I will eagerly pray for you. Even if you don’t give, I will pray for you, if you ask. Philippians 3:12-14. If you are not feeling like a saint, please do not share your finances with me unless you are trying to repay a debt. “Seek first the Kingdom of God and to be in right standing with Him, then the finances will be found.”

Monies given are used to pay for the communication of the Gospel, including such things as Bibles and Evangelistic DVDs.

If you are interested in contributing to the ministry entrusted to me of building up the saints for works of service and evangelism among least reached and least prominent people and nations (particularly those living in Washtenaw County), you may do so at the following site:

https://ccc2.securesites.net/index.php?option=com_catalog&view=node&Itemid=6&id=117:if4es

Anyone who contributes $50 or more to the ministry and leaves their address in the contact information, will receive 1 poetry book titled “Peasant Perfume: Poems, Proverbs, Prayers, and Parables” when the book is published.

If you cannot afford to contribute anything, but would like to pray for me, please do so. If you would like to curse me, remember, there is no sorcery against God’s people! Beware. God is my defense. The blood of Jesus atones for my sin and for the sin of all who repent and turn to Jesus.

Categories: About the Ministry | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

New Saudi Weekend Honors Sabbath: Will Bless both Jews and Arabs.

Posted on July 5, 2013 by if4es

King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia recently opened up the way for Saudi’s weekend to come more in line with Jewish and Christian interpretations of the weekend: Friday-Saturday rather than Thursday-Friday. Most markets around the weekend follow the Jewish or Jewish-Christian pattern of taking the Sabbath (i.e. commonly called Saturday) off.

Take a poll!

Bloomberg’s article on economic implications:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-06-23/saudi-arabia-changes-weekend-to-friday-saturday-spa-reports.html

More significant than the economic implications though are the implications for how this is a partial fulfillment that the earth is the Lord’s & everything in it. The Lord chose the Jews and revealed the Sabbath to them as a day to work and rest. I encourage everyone to take time to do that: to rest from all work. What is interesting about this, is that it is a sign that Arab peoples are reconciling with the culture of the Jews, even if the motive is temporal financial gain. What will this lead to, but Life from the dead … when they honor the Sabbath which remains: the finished work of Jesus on the cross!

Jesus, Isa-al Masih is the real establisher Sabbath. He is Lord of the Sabbath. He is the Sabbath, or rest of completion in that he enables us to relax in Him. We no longer need to worry about anything. We are now free to work productively and be happy because we are no longer slaves to sin. Maybe one day all Saudis will be liberated from all oppression of all sinful desires, but first it helps to have the law conform to the Law of the Lord.

If you do what blesses the Jews, you will be blessed. Jews are being blessed as they follow a form, how much more will they be blessed when they follow the Lord with their whole heart!! Muslims in Saudi Arabia are prospering a little financially as they serve God with their lips and actions while their hearts are far from Him. Consider what would happen if they loved the Lord in both soul and spirit, with their heart and their whole life:

1. They would find salvation as they trusted the Word of God, as they became slaves of the Word of God (Kalimattullah).
2. They would spread the Good News of Jesus rather than the laws of the desert.
3. They would reconcile fully with Israel.
4. They would stop funding the spread of false teaching.
5. They would labor to free Muslims from honoring Muhammed as the Greatest and give that Honor to the Lord alone.
6. They would work harder and value hard work as befitting good fruit for good lives.
7. They would find happiness in life.
8. They would see the desert bloom.
9. They would cease calling down judgment and building Mosques for the LAW.
10. They give in ways that bless Jews and Christians around the world.

If you are a Christian or Jew, consider praying for the full salvation of Saudi Arabia.
If you are a Saudi, consider praying to God for a full revelation of the Sabbath.

Categories: Environmental Healing, Good News, Law & Government | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Prayers for Henry Beaudine

Posted on June 15, 2013 by if4es

Written June 15, 2013
“I was not there today;
But, God, give grace that’s gain.
His valve should have no hole
so that his heart is full.
That wounds would heal and mend;
His blood should flow again.
That pains would go. Amen.”

Post Script:
June 25, 2013
I received a report last night that my nephew is eating much better. He may eventually catch up with his weight. God is clearly at work. All praise to His name.

Categories: Poem, Prayer, Suffering | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

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