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RECAP NEWSLETTER - 10/18/5 Issue 44
"HOMESICK" What brings you joy in life? Is it your circumstances? Is it a lack or absence of tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, and sword? If your joy comes from that, you are in for some rude awakenings real soon. Our joy should come from our salvation, not our circumstances! When you get discontented and depressed in life, it is because you have lost sight of your salvation, Christ's Return, your blessed hope (Titus 2:13)! Circumstances and sin can cloud and distract our vision, that is why we flee from sin and its lusts. Psalm 125:4-5 says, "Do good, O LORD, unto those that be good, and to them that are upright in their hearts. As for such as turn aside unto their crooked ways, the LORD shall lead them forth with the workers of iniquity..." Do I strive to be upright in my heart? God is not as concerned about them that are upright in their Sunday dress and hypocritical perfectness. No! He cares about those that are upright "in their hearts"! Anybody can put on a good show. Anyone can walk the walk and talk the talk. What about you? Is your faith and hope real? Have your sins been forgiven? If so, stop wallowing in them! God did not forgive our sins just so that we can appear good yet still nurture our private sins in some dark corner of our heart! We must strive to be upright in our hearts! There are many saved Christians, who started out walking the right way, but turned "aside unto their crooked ways." Do not follow the world and its lusts! It sees and lusts after temporal things. The Christian who is upright in heart is looking into eternity, living in light of His soon Return, cleansing his life from sin, and is waiting not for what this world has to offer, but to a fellowship and communion with Christ. Malachi 3:16-18 "Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name. And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him. Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not." What do you talk about with Christians at church or in your local ministry? What do you talk about when you go out to eat, or when you are visiting each other? Do you even talk to other Christians that you can talk with? There is a 'church' about two blocks from me that has several thousands in attendance. Almost every Christian I have talked with that has visited it noticed that there was an absence of fellowship there. Everything is prime and proper, but it is dead. The administration has become so focused on appearance and desiring the praise of men more than the praise of God that it is common for people there to associate righteous living with 'uprightness in appearance.' I have visited there several times and talked with the people, some of whom I know. People come in, sit down, chit-chat, observe the 'service', then the 6,000+ auditorium clears out in literally ten minutes the second the paid hireling, er 'pastor', is done. It is rare to see people linger afterwards and talk. It is rare to see people before the service intermingle and talk. The primary topics of conversation revolve mainly around work, work, work, and sports. In the time that I did visit there, it was a very rare blessing to find an older couple or two who would speak as Christian to Christian. We talked about doctrine and much more! The time of fellowship before the 'service' was more of a blessing than the glitzy singing and performing that took place later. Why am I mentioning this? That 'church' mentality stifles Christian growth. When Christians get used to looking at temporal markers such as appearances, performance, and circumstances, we lose more sight of Christ's Return. It is so so easy to not be upright in heart when you are attending a church of even a couple hundred. Why? Little accountability. If you spend serious time talking to a Christian who sincerely fears the Lord (Mal. 3:16), you should quickly either be encouraged to study God's Word and live for Him more, or it should create in you a desire to fear the Lord as you aught. It is very interesting to see a Christian who regularly goes to a large church talk with a Christian who regularly attends a church (usually much smaller) and who fears the Lord. It makes one of them uncomfortable, and it makes the other one a bit irritated or bored at the shallow conversation. The verses remark that the LORD, Himself, stated that those that fear and serve Him and fellowship with other Christians who fear God, are very precious in His sight. They are included as His jewels, someone of whom He is very proud. What about you? Do you sigh and long for Christ's Return? Are you homesick for Heaven? Does Psalm 119:74 describe your interaction with fellow Christians? "They that fear thee will be glad when they see me; because I have hoped in thy word." Or are they more excited to see you because you have the latest gossip or sports scores? Are we looking at circumstances to define our happiness instead of fellowshipping and a relationship with Christ? Has sin and material objects clouded our vision, perspective, and hope? Are you striving to live upright in heart? Do you desire God to work in you and to cleanse your life, to make His desires yours? Are you fellowshipping with other Christians about Him and His Word? Do you fear God and serve Him? Will He proudly call you one of His jewels? Psalm 130:5-6 "I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope. My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning." Christ's Return is more dependable and sure than even the sun coming up in the morning. Let us have that kind of faith and hope - and live in light of it. Maranatha!
CURRENT EVENT RECAP Now to paint a dark picture. America suffers the tragedy of less than two-thousand people killed in Hurricane Katrina. The death toll from the earthquake and fire of 1906 that destroyed San Francisco is only around four thousand. Yet, in a matter of minutes, over eight times that number of people were killed three days ago in Pakistan. America has been sheltered from many drastic events up until now. Perilous times have come. You cannot watch or read the news without someone speculating about how many people will die when the avian flu comes around, or just when x-number of earthquakes that are overdue will occur. Add on top of that the boogeyman of terror events, and you have a world living in perilous times. Already, since the last RECAP, there have been several notable earthquakes, with some even in North America. Last RECAP we postulated on the possibility of a double natural disaster. Last week we saw an instance of that with a earthquake and typhoon combo hit Taiwan. Already this week, more people have died in Guatemala from the Hurricane Stan mudslides than died in New Orleans from Hurricane Katrina. I almost hate to mention it, but the Pakistani governmental response appears quite more commendable than American governmental responses to a smaller event. Unfortunately, their governmental response is militarily. It has shown itself to be much more efficient in what it is doing (to a degree). Look for the military role over there to be used as an excuse and reason why we in America should allow the same. However, there are vast differences between the two. So far I have not heard stories of the Pakistani army going door-to-door confiscating guns or other means of protection, even though there has been looting. There are many other differences, but we will wait and examine the aftermath for a bit more. In the news, we are hearing an increasing tempo regarding the Avian Flu pandemic. On Tuesday, President Bush presented the argument for allowing him to use the military when the flu pandemic arrives. Then, lo and behold, that idea is ballyhooed in typical Hegelian fashion? Then, surprise, surprise, an earthquake happens on the other side of the world, where their military is the first major responder, pulling off an admirable and heroic rescue. See, it worked for them, it will work for us too, right? Wrong. While we need more time to examine the aftermath and other sciences, I am not stating that it was done deliberately via weather control, etc. I am not ruling it out yet, especially since the earthquake center was very close to the 33 degree latitude (34.6). Is it possible to cause earthquakes? If you read our last RECAP, I introduce the idea of 'weather manipulation' instead of 'weather control'. This would be similar. I will not mention more about it presently until we examine events further. Already with the Avian Flu peril, we are hearing similar arguments that circulated during the Anthrax peril. Vaccine companies are told to make lots and lots of vaccines that might work in healthy people, and just in case something goes wrong, the companies want to be protected against liability. On a side note, if a flu pandemic does start to come, your church and other public gatherings might be canceled (wisely) to prevents further contagion. Also (just common sense), when the average flu comes around, your church should keep in mind that interaction in such a group setting should be handled properly (wash hands, avoid shaking hands with everybody, etc.). Also, take note that there is increasing talk of quarantines with this subject. If you are quarantined in a region, city, or even building for an extended period of time, you had better be somewhat ready for it. I would not go around advertising that you have extra food, or such, but take prudent precautions for what even the government says will probably happen. Even though the President is openly suggesting the idea of quarantines, the Patriot Act allows a Governor to declare a state of medical emergency that imposes martial law, requires each person’s submission to the National Guard, demands relinquishing of personal firearms, and mandates involuntary vaccination, treatment, or quarantine. Of course, just like Hurricane Rita, NORTHCOM will probably take charge. Are you ready for such an event? The Red Alert event, or National Emergency, could be real or fictitious. One thing for sure, it will be contagious. By that I mean fear. When one region reports avian flu, nearby regions will probably panic and there may be a large exodus from nearby areas. Add on top of that the government line about limited vaccines, and you have an event that demands some sort of control to avoid civil panic. Where will you want to be? Where will you want your family to be? What steps are you taking today to plan for the eventual implementation of these events? Has your family discussed the dangers of the vaccines, and steps you may have to take? Obviously, the world is approaching the Satanic Halloween. As Christians, we are commanded not to learn the way of the heathen, especially in regards to pagan holidays (holy days) Jeremiah 10:2. Halloween (Samhain) is Satan's day - his worshipper's main feast day -- a window of time when the walls between the physical and spiritual worlds supposedly become thin enough to allow easy crossovers. Deuteronomy 18:9 warns, "...thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations." Whenever you imitate activities associated with Halloween, you are literally practicing abomination! Too many Christians slough it off as just a holiday that had a bad past, but is now 'civilized'. They try to put a Christian 'spin' on the same activities, but it is still abomination! Abomination does not mean you can or cannot have a preference for it! Abomination literally means disgusting! The strongest language in the Bible is used to describe activities so vile and contrary to even the nature of God - abomination. If even Almighty God, the Creator, recoils in abhorrence at such activities how completely naive we must be to welcome it into our homes and churches!!! As a parent, you would be beyond horrified if your children came home one day after playing in the septic tank! Yet, Christians and churches today think that Christians can somehow 'redeem the holiday' by participating in vile, disgusting abomination! Every aspect of Halloween that you can think of is directly related to a Druid and Wiccan (i.e. Satanic) origin! Forget the baloney from Focus on the Family. There is no way for Christians to redeem Halloween by participating in events modeled after activities created for the worship of Lucifer! If you think I am being too harsh, consider carefully the words of God: " What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it." (Deuteronomy 12:32). When your children read in the Bible how we are to completely abstain from the abominations of this world, and you turn around and diminish God's DIRECT COMMAND by presumptuously involving your child in mimicking activities that play a prominent part in worshipping Satan, you are sizing yourself for a millstone around the neck (Luke 17:2)! What is the Christian family to do? While the world is reveling in celebrating activities derived from the worship of Lucifer, the logical choice is a time of prayer and worship of Christ. See if your church is having a prayer meeting that night. If not, organize one. Much evil and crime is conjured up during Halloween. If nothing else, have a time of family devotion where you examine the abominations listed in the Bible that God Almighty tells us to flee from. Satan has no power over God, and he knows it. Satan's time is limited. Make sure your children, and even yourself, do not get trapped into a morbid admiration of Satan's power, witchcraft and sorcery. The Bible gives us amazing glimpses at God's omnipotent power, yet our minds still struggle trying to wrap about the concept of even a fraction of His power. In Genesis 1:16, we find a little note tucked at the end of the verse which describes in a wonderful concise, yet matter-of-fact way, a portion of our God's power: "he made the stars also." It seems that it is included almost as an afterthought! Yet as incredible as filling the voids of the vast night with radiant stars, God named each one and numbered them - Psalms 147:4, "He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names." In Deuteronomy 4:14, God warns about the dangers of looking at creation and worshipping it instead of the Creator. He also describes it again in Romans 1:25. Yet, Satan has many Wiccans worshipping nature. A Christian, a child of God, should have a completely different response. Psalm 8:3-4 reminds us, "When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?" The realization of God humbles us as we worship Him. As Satan's feast day approaches, Christians should be preparing for the marriage feast of the Lamb, making sure our lives are clean from sin as we live daily for Him! No groom would take lightly the flirtings of their Bride after the ways of another, especially one contrary in all ways to Him. Isaiah 61:10 " I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels."
Life for Christ FIRST and highest above ALL!
REMINDERS & PRAYER REQUESTS Have family devotions instead of watching television. Pray that missionaries in foreign fields will get their support increases, due to the rising inflation discrepancies with the US dollar. Pray that missionaries will have the grace, support, protection, personnel, and health to win the lost in their area. Pray that we will have the boldness that we need to share the Gospel. Pray for the churches affected by the Hurricanes, that they will be able to find facilities or areas where they can meet, and also ways in which they can uniquely minister in light of their circumstances. Pray for the requests in PrayerList, and also in iChurches.
Pray for us here at informedchristians.com for wisdom, guidance, time,
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