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RECAP NEWSLETTER - 4/25/5 Issue 37
"TOO WONDERFUL" How often do we think about God? How often do we think about how much He loves us and thinks about us? In this chapter, David extols that God fixation on us is so great, that David said just thinking about it was "too wonderful for me". Our puny little brain cannot fathom the total love and involvement that God has toward us. The fact that no matter what we do, what we think, what we say, where we go, when we were, or even when we are asleep, God thoroughly knows us! Even before we were growing in our mother's womb, David said that God knew us; and as we grew, He knew "all my members". Even the minutest detail about your life is important and precious to God. Even so much as the length of the fingernail on your pinky finger is noted. David was awed when he considered that God thinks so much about us that we cannot even number the thoughts that He has toward us. Even when we are asleep and doing nothing, God thinks about us. It reminds me of the earthly picture of a parent sitting by their child's bed at night, just watching them sleep. He loves us - "such knowledge is too wonderful for me." One day, like Moses in Exodus 33:11, we shall see Him "face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend."
Revelation 22:20 "He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come
quickly. Amen.
MISC QUOTES I'VE FOUND "Normally a Christian will take only what is good and leave the bad. This discernment does not always work with music, however, because if the music is bad and the words are good, many Christians are not able to separate them and both are swallowed together." "In State incorporated churches, the pastor is paid a guaranteed salary to teach people how to live by faith." "Pastors are supposed to be undershepherds of Christ. Too many modern preachers are so bent on understanding the culture that they develop the mind of the culture and not the mind of Christ. They start to think like the world, and not like the Savior." "Despite the fact that, as already asserted, framing worship as entertainment will no doubt entice some people to worship who would otherwise be uninterested, trying to win the hearts of pagans by making Christianity attractive to them must be rejected as a valid evangelistic strategy. Why? To be blunt and to the point, it is because Jesus never directed, or even suggested, that His disciples try to win the world by making Christianity attractive to the world. As some have put it, Jesus told His disciples to preach the gospel, not sell it. His instruction to the twelve as basically, "If you can't win people with substance, move on" (Matthew 10:14)..." "I cannot think what we shall find to do in heaven," mused [Martin] Luther. "No change, no work, no eating, no drinking, nothing to do." "Yes," says Melanchthon, "'Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us.'" "Why, of course," responded Luther, "that sight will give us quite enough to do." "A little city girl was in the country for the first time and saw the night sky. "Oh, mother, if heaven is so beautiful on the wrong side, what must it be like on the right side!" "We measure distance by time. We are apt to say that a certain place is so many hours from us. If it is a hundred miles off, and there is no railroad, we think it a long way; if there is a railway, we think we can be there in no time. But how mear must we say heaven is from us? -it is just on sigh, and we get there." -Spurgeon. "Michael Faraday was a chemist, electrician and philosopher. A distinguished scientist, calling on him, put this question: "Have you conceived to yourself what will be you occupation in the next world?" Hesitating a while, Faraday answered: "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things that God hath prepared for them that loved Him." And then he added, in his own words, "I shall be with Christ, and that is enough."
ADDED RESOURCE LINKS
CURRENT EVENT RECAP The month of April has seen many sordid events. Deaths, decisions, and deceptions. If you have the opportunity, I recommend you read Pastor David Meyer's account of April in his May 2005 newsletter at lasttrumpetministries.org. April was the month when several notable anniversaries occurred. Waco, Columbine, Oklahoma City, and now the start of the Iraq war. Seems more than mere coincidence that all four of those events happen at the same calendar spot as the witches' sabat of Ostara. I am writing this newsletter on May 1st, which is also the anniversary of the official end of the Iraq war and also the Druid New Year, Beltaine. To say that Satan is orchestrating events in this world is obvious - his fingerprints are all over them. Yes, various means, methods, people, and entities fulfill the various roles and actions, but ultimately, it comes from one source. Too many times I see concerned individuals get all worked up about a particular event, blaming it on certain people - and stopping there. Yes, information is valuable, but perspective and interpretation are just as important. As Christians, we need to look at events in this world not as random acts of misfortune, tyranny, or freak acts of nature. Matthew 24 tells us of many signs that will point to the larger picture that Christ is just about to return. As Christians, we need to be able to recognize and discern those signs, but we should not be so focused on those signs that we forget what those signs are pointing to. When we hear of abnormal weather patterns or anomalies, it should make us sit up and take notice that it was abnormal. We should be saying, that is not normal. Evolution teaches people that nature is random. God's Word teaches that nature was created perfect, sin cursed it, but it still operates, largely, in an ordered fashion. The New Age crowd looks at the increasing anomalies in the weather and tectonics as evidence for their 'earth changes'. Christians should recognize them straight from Matthew 24:7 "...there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places." There are many, many of these events taking place every week, but they do not make the mainstream news because Christians might suddenly realize that there are signs everywhere of Christ's imminent return! When that cruise ship, Norwegian Dawn, was struck by the 'freak' wave, many news outlets labeled it as freak, unusual, and unexpected. For me, it made me think that if it is truly so abnormal as to be called a freak wave (especially 70+ feet high), maybe, just maybe, there was a reason. Turns out that the ship that was hit was the one that Rosie O'Donnell and her lesbian 'partner' chartered on its maiden voyage for an organized gay family cruise. Surprise, surprise? I think not. Sin always catches up with you. Right now in India, they have over 8.5 million people with HIV. The number one cause of the transmission is attributed to sex with prostitutes. That nation is quickly reaping the result of their sin. Our country, America, is already a gangrene-infested corpse staggered in its final death throes. It is still moving, but when it falls, it will not get up again. Ever since the blatant execution of Terri Shiavo, our nation is embracing embryonic stem cell research and abortion to record levels. It does not raise any eyebrows - Christians barely bat an eye, it is so common that it is perceived as an excepted norm!! On top of that, we have Connecticut now approving civil unions for homosexuals, and Washington D.C. considering it. It was a sad commentary on the American Christians that the Navajo Council outlawed same-sex marriage for their nation. The Indians were here before the Pilgrims. The Pilgrims brought Christianity, and now the Indians are having to remind the Christians about the values of the Pilgrims. The world seems eager to kill innocent blood. Increasing legislation around the world (even in some Muslim countries) permits euthanasia, embryo testing, and abortions. Several stories this month alone detailed the atrocities from Australia, California, Iran, France, Netherlands, Canada, Wyoming, Florida, Missouri, New York, and more. The "culture-of-life" line is a joke. It seems more of an excuse to drag politician's feet as slow as possible and to do as little as possible as long as it has an inkling of leaning toward the vague notion of 'promoting' a culture of life. Forget promoting, let's start demanding! Just like bread and circuses distracted the Romans from the decay in their nation, American Christians are lulled and distracted by the billboards of life so that they will not see the directional signs that God has given! The average American so-called-Christian has the faintest inkling of the spiritual state of our nation. If your doctor told you your wife was just a little sick, you probably would not do much. You would probably rest and hope to recover. However, if your doctor called and exclaimed that she was thirty minutes away from death and warranted radical medical treatment, you would be on your feet in a second to do what needs to be done. Christians are not watching and taking heed and praying for our country. Frankly, they don't care. With such a large emphasis on 'felt needs' in the apostasy-laden-purpose-clubs, the average Christian is concerned about themselves and getting a feel-good fuzzy warmth. 2 Timothy 4:3 warns, "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears." Two of my neighbors have dogs. One I like, the other needs some discipline. The nice dog is a puppy, full of energy. She loves to come over and get her ears scratched. Have you ever watched a dog when it gets its ears scratched? They get somewhat lethargic, comfortable - they love it. Too many so-called-Christians look for churches that do the same. Make me feel comfortable. Appeal to my emotions. Distract me. Today's Christians do not need their ears scratched, they need the rolled up newspaper! What are we doing for God? Forget about your selfish desires. Serve God! Read His Word, study it, meditate on it, pray and commune with God! Get others involved as well! Disciple others! Have Bible studies were you study the Word as the Bereans! Do not follow the cell-group model of the purpose-driven-blasphemy where you arrive at a preconceived-consensus. In April, it was reported that more than 400,000 pastors in 162 countries have been trained under Rick's "church health principles". They are recipes for bad health, not good health. Is it any wonder that the church is no longer effective in the policies and morals of our country because so many churches are relying more an anecdotes, psychology, witty illustrations, and New Age ideas that eviscerate the dependence and absoluteness of God and His Word? How can a church stand up and say something is sin and utterly wrong when it does not even depend on the Scriptures itself? How, if you tailor your doctrine and standards to what somebody 'feels', can you stand up and say anything is right or wrong? There was an excellent article on 4/8/5 that talked about the hostage situation in Atlanta that attracted so much attention to the Purpose-driven-drivel. One quote summed it up very succinctly, "You see, Ashley made a significant choice that day between the Word of God and the words of Warren. Like millions of others who keep the Bible around the house for a second opinion, she chose to read to her captor from Warren's book instead of God's Word." Purpose-Driven: The book that replaced the Bible? I fear so. So what will happen to America - land of the porn and the smut, leader of child killings, and homeland for the lukewarm and cold? While I cannot say absolutely, it appears largely that we will be the phoenix that gives impetuous to the furtherance of the global community by our collapse that is initially monetarily. It has already be quietly voiced in several news outlets that the collapse of the dollar will affect the world. What a perfect excuse for a world to rally behind new guidelines and control. Near-total economic collapse. One man will have a solution. Everyone will listen. The manipulated oil, gasoline prices, and Iraq War instability will provide perfect a scapegoat to an engineered monetary collapse. It is interesting that our trade deficit last week was announced at $666 billion dollars. Signal or mere coincidence? Time will tell... You may have picked up that a subtle theme of this recap was also Heaven. When we look at our crumbling world, we should not be filled with a woe-is-me attitude, we should lift up our eyes to our Redeemer, and also look abroad to those needing His help.
II Corinthians 5:8-11 I was reminded of this song this week...
"Heaven's sounding sweeter all the time... Are you more willing to be present in this body, or present with the Lord? What is your perspective throughout the day? What is your relationship with Him? Do you labor to be accepted of Him? Do you persuade men to turn to Christ? I trust and pray that He will find you faithful serving Him more today than you did yesterday.
REMINDERS & PRAYER REQUESTS
Pray for our President that if he is not saved, he will come to the true
knowledge of Jesus Christ. Pray that he will work to the protection
of the American people, and the punishment of the wicked.
Pray for the requests in PrayerList, and also in iChurches.
May God richly bless, |