THIRTY ONE DAYS OF BIBLE TRUTHS - DAY 20 (DRIVEN)

BIBLE VERSE: "Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong (1 Corinthians 16:13)

TRUTH: Christians who are tuned in to the work of God and the persecution facing His saints worldwide have been aware for years now about a young American pastor named Saeed Abedini. Pastor Saeed was captured by Iranian authorities when he was visiting his Iranian relatives just for being a Christian. Put in one of the worse prisons in that islamic dictatorship, Saeed was brutalized constantly for many years by the Persians to get him to deny Christ. Reports came out that they denied him medical treatment; beat on his vital organs and put him in sub-human conditions. Still he would not deny Christ and quite the opposite, his wife (who lives in Wyoming) reports that he was actually leading other prisoners to a saving knowledge of Christ! 

As of last fall, Saeed had already led 30 men to Christ in the midst of torture by the islamic authorities. Saeed was released in January 2016. However, he was driven by the Gospel of Jesus, just as the Apostle Paul was he and Silas were jailed in Philippi for preaching Christ. Paul and Silas were so full of the Holy Spirit that they sang psalms and hymns while in chains. The Philippian jailor eventually responded to them after it all came down, "sirs, what must I do to be saved"? Most Christians will never experience these extreme forms of persecution, but we should ask ourselves: "Are we as driven to live the Joy of Jesus so we can share the Truth of Jesus to a lost and perishing world, regardless the circumstance?"

(Image Credit Here)

FESTIVAL OF HOPE REVIVAL- THREE POWERFUL MESSAGES

DR. FRED LUTER, PRESIDENT OF
THE SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION (LEFT)

Only among real children of God could the first African-American President of the Southern Baptist Convention, preach at a revival at a National Baptist church with worship music led by an American baptist musician minister! The just concluded  Festival of Hope - a three day revival in Springfield Illinois, offered the Capitol city its first visit by the historic Dr. Fred Luter. He is the pastor of Franklin Avenue Baptist Church which was hard hit by Hurricane Katrina and the first Black leader of the world's largest Christian denomination!

It was my privilege to meet this powerful man of God whose messages stirred the heart and showed one and all what revival really is all about - a ministering to those already saved to remind them of the Power of God and the Savior Jesus Christ. I wish to present here the text of all three messages ;the theme and a brief summary, so you may be able to look into them yourselves to see how God will speak. His application to each of His children is different. This is the amazing thing about the Living, breathing Scriptures! 

You and I can read the same passage and most likely agree fully on the context....BUT then GOD, BUT, GOD, will then take one word from that verse and speak Truth, Revelation, Comfort and Encouragement into a situation we are dealing with! Then 100% of the time,  the Holy Spirit will direct us to another part of God's Word, in order to give us the explanation! Why? Because Scripture explains Scripture. This is what we, we- the People of the Book, call- The Sufficiency of Scripture!

NIGHT 1, MESSAGE 1:
THE ULTIMATE BATTLE - You and I are in a battle against evil for control of our souls. We are saved because The Good Shepherd - Jesus came to lay down His Life for us. But the devil - he has come to steal, kill and destroy...even the sheep or the saints of God. Are we going to let him? Are we going to let him disqualify us for God's service and destroy our testimony? NO! Meditate on these Scriptures used by Dr.Luter for this message and decide through Prayer, fasting and supplication how we're going to prepare for this battle of the ages:
JOHN 10 (NKJV):
⁷ Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. ⁸ All who ever came before Me^[a] are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. ⁹ I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. ¹⁰ The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

¹¹ “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. ¹² But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. ¹³ The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep.¹⁴ I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. ¹⁵ As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.

NIGHT 2, MESSAGE 2:

JESUS MUST BE THE FOUNDATION - If Jesus is NOT the Foundation of the church, it will not stand! What are you and I basing on our Faith and Walk on? More importantly, Pastor Fred said, in this Declaration of Faith by Peter where he was given the "keys" to heaven by the Lord Jesus, some of these keys were fleshed out! Mr. President pulled up the largest bunch of keys and went down each key one by one. Each key represented a trial or trouble or even a praise we're experiencing and the appropriate Scripture to respond to it! For spiritual warfare, the key is Isaiah 54:17 "no weapon formed against me will prosper". For those seeking healing we have the key of Psalm 34:19 "many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers out of them all"...and so on,,,about 20 times! For whatever ails or troubles you, my brothers and my sisters, find a bible dictionary and seek out the verse, then speak it into your own life and meditate on this following text:

MATTHEW 16 (NKJV):

¹³ When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?”
¹⁴ So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
¹⁵ He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
¹⁶ Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
¹⁷ Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. ¹⁸ And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. ¹⁹ And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed^[d] in heaven.

NIGHT 3, MESSAGE 3:
IF HE BRINGS YOU TO IT, HE WILL BRING YOU THROUGH IT- The powerful account of Jesus calming the storm in the boat, as His disciples freaked out is a great example for us. Even when we think we have all this Faith, we are actually more full of Fear than Faith! Jesus is hear to tell you that no matter what storm of life comes up against you, fear not - because He has beat that one too! Remember, my friends, while He was temporarily (for 33 years) the God Man, He is more importantly GOD - Divine and Powerful. Jesus has defeated death, sin and satan. So what have we to fear? Why are we so afraid and anxious? Whatever the storm is, He Who saves us, because He died for us, is there with us all along as He was with the men in this boat in the passage below...and He will take us right through it! Amen
MARK 4 (NKJV):
³⁵ On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.” ³⁶ Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. ³⁷ And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. ³⁸ But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?”
³⁹ Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. ⁴⁰ But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?”^[d] 41 And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!”

FRIDAY DONUT

Okay, this is a misleading headline, especially considering this verse from James 1:2 (ESV) "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds". The first reaction of most people could be "what, are you crazy? Trials and Joy do not belong in the same sentence!" They would have a point as who in their right mind wants to go through all kinds of problems, issues or some such thing - nobody.

But this is life and we were never promised a rose garden - or if you're walking in the ways of the world - a beer garden. The modern citizen of the civilized western world has gone so soft, they expect to have no time in life where things can go wrong.  This is because most in the west are too well off, comfortable and could care less about the other guy...and I am talking about Christians! When prosperity, most of which was built on a plastic bubble, hits the brick wall of America's chickens coming home to roost, the weak kneed among us: run for the hills, start taking prescription drugs or put their trust in pagan political messiahs instead of God. This is NOT the background which the Lord through the half-brother of Jesus, wants us to view our current situation. The bible was written for all people of all time, until such time, the Savior returns!

Therefore, He says "count" or consider it all joy". God, through James, is thinking extremely highly of us here because He is exhorting us to "lead the way" or making it a priority to look at our current situation as the launching pad for His Grace or Favor! This is what this phrase actually means in the original Greek language!! Can you dig that, baby?! God does NOT want us to wallow in the wilderness of this corrupt world, but to rise above it, and because WE, the sons and daughters of the God of Grace, look ABOVE the situation, (while everyone else is looking at their navel or some weak corrupt human leader to get them out of a fix)....then WE, the sons and daughters of God - will prevail!!!! He is actually calling us out to "get a hold of yourself, man (or woman) and lead you and yours and even, some of My weaker people out of this mess"!

That's it! That's the victory! That's the Boston jelly filled donut with the chocolate drizzle, my peeps! This entire first part of the first chapter of James is for this current time! It is how to endure, persevere and win. For instance, let us resolve right now, that we are not going down with the ship. The Captain and Commander in Chief of our souls - Jesus Christ - gave us the life jacket, so now is the time to put it on!

So, when we are faced with (the second part of James 1:2) trials, temptations, calamities, disasters...even those of our own making -  here is how we get out of its face : knees down, pray hard and  then look to UP Him - the God of Grace. That's my King, that's YOUR King and He has made a way for us! 

FEAR DOWN, FAITH UP!

Fear is the natural human reaction of the unknown. 

In the natural we fear walking down a dark city street at 11pm, after going to an all-night Walgreens for some emergency orange juice or something. We fear driving to a big city for, say a visit to a medical specialist, at 7 am because the gridlock outside of Dallas/Fort Worth or the Twin Cities because it may be something you are not accustomed to.

We look at our sweet children and fear for their future. The politicians have saddled our grand kids and their children with so much debt and hopelessness that they face horrible financial burdens, from the minute they are born. Even worse, they are being told that while they may have "the freedom to worship", they dare not  exercise those timeless, God-given values outside of the church building.

We fear for our futures, our families and our faith. All of these fears are legitimate. Mothers of all ages know the stress and burdens of keeping families together while a shrinking number of responsible men trying to keep their heads above water.....you get the picture.

Due to the political expediency of 'divide and conquer' politics, one group lives in constant fear of the other.  In all the aforementioned, we can nothing uplifting about any of this. Therefore Fear HAS to be a factor of the god of this world. Fear has to be a facet of a life of little faith....and it is.

For our exhortation today, I won't be-labor the point with my own thoughts, but would let the Word of God speak for itself. You and I can kid ourselves and put on the cheap band-aid of pop psychology to soothe our shattered nerves over the pressures of living, or we can go for the Truth and let the true peace of God wash over us and guide us unto the path of rest in His arms.

Mark Twain once said "Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear. Except a creature be part coward, it is not a compliment to say it is brave". But how do we get such courage? For one thing, it is not something easily acquired. It takes a lot of FAITH! Yes - it takes TRUST in the One Who gives and gives and gives and just asks for Love, Respect and Obedience in return!

If you were to see what He protected you from, day after day, you would fall on your face and bawl your eyes out. For those of us who make it to Heaven, because we have repented and been forgiven of our sins, by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we fear not the unknown, while having a Healthy Fear of God which the Bible demands.

Therefore, conquer your fears by just keying into these next few verses today and praying to the One who gave them, that we may rely totally on Him. It is only through this that we may come to rest secure in the Knowledge that He, literally, 'has our back'.

Do not be afraid of sudden terror

or of the ruin of the wicked, when it comes,

for the LORD will be your confidence

and will keep your foot from being caught.

(Proverbs 3:25-26 ESV)

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.

(1 John 4:18 ESV)

Be strong, and let your heart take courage,

all you who wait for the LORD!

(Psalm 31:24 ESV)

There are so many more Scriptures I can provide here, but these three should start us off on a journey today, of beginning to tap into the Tree of Life, from the Giver of Life. It's like making maple syrup.  One gallon of sweet and delicious Maple Syrup comes only after you have tapped 40-50 gallons of sap from the maple tree! Yes...it takes 50 to make one! 

So it is with Faith. You see, it takes a lot of Faith and it does take some work, to produce a life that is so sweet and precious to both the Lord and those around you! Won't you consider this today and let the Lord have your fears? We have to constantly tap into the sap which flows from Him, His Word and His Son - Jesus Christ. Are you ready to jump in, head first? Pray with me:

Father in the Name of Jesus, I trust only in You, completely in You and surrender ALL to You. I love, adore, worship, bow down and say now, Father, that I am through trying to do this all myself in my pride and arrogance...I give all my cares, fears and tears to You and rely in the Healing Power of Christ, the Author and Perfecter of my Faith in You. I camp on these Scriptures above, from Your Holy Word and claim the Victory which was won at the Cross as mine only because Your Wonderful Son, the Lord Jesus, won it at the cost of His Life, for me.
It is in His Name I pray, amen and amen!

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"NOT THIS TIME....!"

 A wolf does not usually go after an entire flock of sheep...nor will any other beast of prey. They will try and key in on one particular potential victim, try to draw it away from the herd and then pounce.


It is this way with so many. In a world where we have so much noise, distraction, social networking and mobility, folks are more isolated than ever. We have so much more to do with our busy lives, yet hardly not a moment of peace! It is uncanny. It is almost as if there is a trap laid for us, at any moment, and many get caught up. 


You and I have been through this kind of thing, at one time or another. We would be in a crowd of people and still feel rejection; less than the others there and like that sheep who suddenly got lost in the thicket, while our heads were down on the ground, grazing on or living life.

Christians feel this way, as well as anyone else. I know people who go to larger churches, so they could get lost in the crowd and maybe no one will speak to them. The majority of American churches have 60 or less in attendance, and still there are folks isolated there, as well. 


So, we know this happens. The question is, what do we do about it - both for ourselves and others. We need to know how to combat this when the enemy lies to us and tells us that no one cares for or loves us.  Once we have mastered that, we then help someone else.  To start that process, I sought out Psalm 91:2 after much meditation last night. Here are two verses in context, below. They contain a 50 cal. gun against despair which we can fire right now, as I, briefly break it out in part:



2. I will say to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”
3. For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler
and from the deadly pestilence. (Psalm 91:2-3 ESV)


Declare this right now, in Jesus Name, from verse 2:


"I will say to the LORD" -  Pray "Lord, I declare, call on you, say, claim, believe and boldly ask
"My refuge" - that You promised to be my Safe Place, my Secret Place, my Hiding Place
"My fortress" - You promised to protect me. You promised to be a shield around me. You promised to be strong tower. You promised to be the Place I go when I am weak. 
"In Whom I trust" - Therefore, Heavenly Father, I seek You, right now...not then, but I cry out now for that Promise to be made real in my life. I can't live another moment without knowing for sure that Your Mighty Arms are around me, holding me, caring for me, loving me and reassuring me that I am never alone.

Because I can approach and you and do this, God, in Jesus' Name, I know you will deliver me from being prey out there to all the wolves and lions that roam, with evil in their eyes, and honey on their lips, when their eyes are evil with intent to devour me! Thank you, Father, thank You, dear Lord, thank You, in Your Name I pray, dear Jesus, amen.


Friends, if you stay in this zone and pray and claim and declare His Righteousness and Promises, you will begin to come out of this and grow in love and fellowship with the Savior! Won't you? What have you to lose? We will talk more about this in the future. But let's start here!


Trust in Him NOW, He is always there for you NOW! Amen.

(image by google)

PRAY THE NAMES OF GOD BONUS - DAY 31

JEHOVAH-SABAOTH - THE LORD OF HEAVEN'S ARMIES!
The great hymn "A Mighty Fortress is our God" has a verse that goes like this:
Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing;
Were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God’s own choosing:
Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He;
Lord Sabaoth, His Name, from age to age the same,
And He must win the battle.
This was written over 500 years ago by the great Reformer Martin Luther and is still sung in churches worldwide! It stands as the battle cry of the Christian who recognizes the God of the universe as the One Who will fight for us...and not just FIGHT, but WIN! Lord or Jehovah-Sabaoth means "The Lord of Hosts". Hosts is a military term which is found 240 times in the Bible! Some bible translations like the New Living, translates the phrase "Lord of Hosts as the Lord of Heaven's Armies!

Then we have the Christmas Carol - "Hark the Herald Angels"....with the line that says "with angelic hosts proclaim, Christ is born in Bethlehem"! Same thing - hosts means a multitude or organized group of heavenly beings, under the command of the Lord Jesus or...Jehovah Sabaoth!

The Name itself exudes the Fragrance of Dynamic Eternal Power, which cannot be trifled or messed with! The World will see this fearsome sight one day soon, and it will NOT be pretty! At the final return of Christ, to reclaim His Creation and sit on His Throne in Jerusalem for 1000 years, the full force of these hosts - Heaven's armies will descend on planet earth, with a vengeance!

At this point, the Wrath of God will be revealed, as predicted in the book of Revelation. The Lord of Heaven's Armies, which will have warriors like King David in it, will descend from Heaven to fight against the kings and rulers of this world. He will completely destroy them. The church and all believers will have been raptured or taken out, by then.

Before we get to that point though, we as believers should realize that He is fighting for us as well....and it's happening right now! We should realize that no matter what the Trial, Tribulation or family or personal crisis we are experiencing, He has defeated it already! All we have to do is go to Him, pray, ask and receive!

So, Father, in the Name of Jesus, I thank You, oh Mighty God, my Fortress and my Deliverer, that You, oh God are the Commander in Chief of the Universe. God, there is none like You in Power, Strength and I am in complete and total awe of You! 


You fought the battles of Moses in the desert against Amalekites and Sihon and Og the King of Bashan. You led Joshua into Canaan and with Caleb, Your amazing warrior, you gave them the Promised Land. With three hundred men You gave Gideon the victory. You gave David the victory. You gave Hezekiah the victory. You gave the Maccabees the victory when the Lamp burned with oil for 8 days, giving us Hanukkah.


Lord, all of these in the Old covenant had one thing in common – they believed You completely..as they should! Dear Lord, in these days, before the Final Battle when Jesus returns to fight the forces of evil and world leaders, presidents and dictators, You still fight for those who believe in You! 


I know it personally, dear heavenly, how much You have fought for me. I know how much You have done for me. I know how much You will still fight for me in days to come. And Lord, not just for me personally, but thank You for fighting for my entire family who live under the Leadership of Christ in our home. Lord You bring aid and assistance to Your children who are suffering under oppression of persecution around the world. 


Lord You fight for and free those who are in the prison of sin, self, sex and stress here in the United States, Canada and here in the western world! I thank You for that as well, dear Heavenly Father! 


Oh Lord, I also thank you for Your executing judgment against me when I sin, which You do, so that I may live a life worthy of being in Your presence….and that I may live a life worthy of living under the permanent and eternal guidance and protection of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies – the Lord Jesus, Sabaoth is His Name and it is in His Name I pray, right now, for all the saints who love His Appearing, in Jesus’ Name, amen and amen!

(image by google images)

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO OUR TROOPS WORLDWIDE!

To celebrate the end of the war in Iraq, I offer this video as a tribute to our men and women, who are still stuck on a base, outpost or aircraft carrier out there - in the defense of Freedom.


Two years ago, I made this video for an original song by my wife, Vicki. She is singing here and is accompanied by my nephew Brian Morgan. This was recorded in an old Baptist church in northern Illinois. 


Historians can debate the merits of this war and others, in the fight of terrorism. All we know is these long and drawn out wars, have taken a huge toll on the lives of our servicemen and women and their immediate families. Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome has risen to over 50% of returning Gulf and Afghan US Veterans.


These same veterans are suffering from alcoholism; broken marriages; depression; physical disability from combat. However their biggest issue was despair with life, due to an inability to cope away from the horrendous battlefield. 


These men and women need our prayers and support, now more than ever! They especially need it at this time of year!

Merry Christmas to all servicemen in the United States Armed Forces!


Here is the Word of God to comfort them:
Psalms 18:31-36 For who is God, but the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God?—the God who equipped me with strength and made my way blameless. He made my feet like the feet of a deer and set me secure on the heights. He trains my hands for war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. You have given me the shield of your salvation, and your right hand supported me, and your gentleness made me great. You gave a wide place for my steps under me, and my feet did not slip.