He Did Eat Continually At The King's Table

"Now when Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, was come unto David, he fell on his face, and did reverence. And David said, Mephibosheth. And he answered, Behold thy servant! And David said unto him, Fear not: for I will surely shew thee kindness for Jonathan thy father's sake..."
~ II Samuel 9:6-7

As I read through II Samuel 9 today, I was amazed again to read about David's relationship with this man named Mephibosheth. This man was the grandson of David's enemy Saul. In fact, it was common practice among rulers of those days to kill, capture, or torture anyone who was related to the vanquished king. It was probably expected of David to find out Mephibosheth and to eliminate him. With that in mind, I can only imagine the terror in Mephibosheth's mind as he stood before David for the first time.

Yet David had something else in store for his supposed enemy. You see, David had made a promise to his best friend, Jonathan, that he would watch over his children. Mephibosheth just happened to be Jonathan's son. And although years had passed since that promise, David was still true to his word. And although Mephibosheth would have been considered as the enemy of King David, David now shewed him mercy and grace.

"So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem: for he did eat continually at the king's table..."
~ II Samuel 9:13

So it was that Christ sought us out while we were the enemies of God. In our sinful, hell-bound state he reached down and shed his mercy on us. He brought us into the banqueting table of his fellowship and love. He allowed us to feast at his table. Wow!

Selfless Pursuit of the Will of God

Imagine yourself standing at the end of a large rope with in a group of several other men and women. At the opposite end of the rope stands another group of people who are prepared to pull against you when the buzzer sounds. Your goal is to pull so hard that you drag the rope and the other team until you are able to reach out and grab the prize that has been set at the edge of the arena.

Suddenly the starting bell rings and you are off. At first you pull half-heartedly, but quickly you realize that this is no small task. That other team is determined to drag you over to their side and claim the prize for themselves. You won’t have any of it. You pull harder. You push your feet into the ground. You grip the rope so tightly that your knuckles turn white. Your brow becomes covered in sweat and your shirt becomes all messed up. You can tuck it back in in a few minutes. Right now you are busy. You are determined to claim that prize for your team.

You begin to make a little headway. You and your team drag them about a foot in your direction…then two feet…then five. Finally, your teammate at the end of the rope reaches out and grasps the prize. You have pulled far enough to claim the reward. You release the rope and together with the others you begin to cheer and applaud one another. You did it.
Isn’t it funny that in a game as silly as tug-of-war you are willing to commit every last ounce of strength so that one of your teammates is able to claim the prize. All sense of selfishness disappears and the only thing that matters is that the team wins regardless of who gets to grasp the prize at the end.

What an amazing Biblical truth that each of us could bear to learn: To put aside all self pride and endeavor with all of our strength to reach for the prize of the high calling of Christ Jesus!

“I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”
~ Philippians 3:14

So often I fear Christians are pushing forward in the work of Christ solely for the purpose of looking nice in the eyes of those around them. While I am glad that they are at least doing the work of God, it is sad that they are doing it for sinful reasons. It is sinful to motivate ourselves in the work of God through the wickedness of pride.

Yet how often do we see this happening? Preachers are more concerned with announcing greater numbers than in seeing individual lives being transformed into the image of Christ. Bus workers are often more concerned about winning the spring campaign than they are concerned with the eternal souls of those on their buses. Soul-winners are short changing the gospel and leading men and woman through false professions so that they can simply get another ‘notch on their belt.’

We need a revitalized sense of serving Christ that is motivated by a love for God and souls. We need to get over the pride that drives us to seek our own glory. We need to throw our self-image out the window and give every ounce of our strength to seeing the Will of God accomplished in our lives and in our churches. Let’s press toward that prize!

In Christ,

Nicholas Z. Cardot

In the Arms of Sweet Deliverance

In the Arms of Sweet deliverance, gonna’ lay my heavy burdens down And with my Lord I’ll abide When at last my travelin’ days are done, In the land somewhere beyond the sun, In the arms of sweet deliverance, In the arms of sweet deliverance I shall rest by and by …

This is one of my favorite songs. This song is all about taking your burdens to the Lord instead of bearing them yourself. It is so easy in our life to just make it through the day by the things of the world. This is not what God wants from us. He wants us to have a daily walk with him. He wants to bear of our burdens. He wants us to talk to him. He wants us to wait on him and to trust Him to take care of us.

Of troubles I’ve had much more than enough; Many the days my path is rough; Many the days I wonder what to do. But then I talk to my God in prayer and he assures me that he’s right there and whatsoever may come he’ll see me thro’

I’ve read in the book how the Lord once said, “The rain will fall on the good and the bad, But wise is the man who waits upon the Lord.” When trials and sorrows multiply I will not ask him the reason why, For strength is mine only heaven can afford.

There have been times in my life when I was going through a trial and the last thing that I did was go to God in prayer when it should have been the first thing that I did. There have been other times when I went to God as soon as the trial started and it ended quicker and with a better result than when I went to the Lord after trying to get through it on my own.

Last year while Nick was away at basic training, I was unable to sleep most nights. I remember the first week that he was gone I didn’t sleep more than an hour a night and I was still working 8-10 hours a day. That made for some very long days at work. I tried to find ways to fix the issue on my own instead of turning to the Lord. When I finally took it to him in prayer I started sleeping most of the night. It was still lonely at night but there was a peace that the Lord was looking out and taking care of me. This is what the Lord wants to do on a daily basis is to take care of us.

When the trials come who are you turning to? Are you turning to the Lord? Are you relying on yourself and the things of the world to get you through?

I have a desire to be a mother and to raise my children to serve the Lord. It is so easy to get discouraged as the months go by and realize that I am not going to be a mother in the next few months. Many times I have to stop and look at my prayer life in this area. I have to see if I took this burden to the Lord and prayed consistently about it. We are so quick to want to point fingers and say that it is someone else’s fault, but how often does the fault lie with us because we didn’t take it to the Lord and rely on him to answer?

"...Yet ye have not, because ye ask not." James 4:2

The Lord is waiting with his arms of deliverance to shelter us and to carry us through the trials of life. There is nothing to great or too small for the Lord to handle. He is always there waiting for us to come to him in prayer so that he can carry you through the battle. What’s it going to be? Are you going to try it yourself and drag the trial out further? Or are you going to go the Lord in prayer and allow him to carry you through?

Serving the Master,
Diane Cardot

Lovers of Their Own Selves

In 2 Timothy 3, God gave Paul a list to characterize “the last days”, or as it is also referred to, “perilous times”. The first trait written was that people would be lovers of their own selves: “For men shall be lovers of their own selves…” (vs. 2). People in the last days would be known as being fond of self, or having self-love, i.e. selfish.

Now we can clearly see that this selfishness, this self-love, is normal in the human heart. In fact, it shows itself in a person as soon as that person is able to express himself! For example, no one has to teach a cute, cuddly, little baby how to throw a temper tantrum to get his own way. That selfishness comes naturally.

So what does a people, a society, a nation do to curb this selfishness in the individual? Well, a healthy society will impose restraints on this self-love. It will recognize the need to teach children respect for authority, such as with their parents at home, their teachers at school, their preachers at church, and with the law of the land. If a nation will be healthy and vibrant, it must teach children to be well-mannered and respectful of persons and the property of others.

But what is our nation doing about this? Is our society winning the battle to instill a respect for others, or is it losing ground by institutionalizing the love for self? We may be able to answer this by asking ourselves the following:

Are parents being encouraged to train and discipline their children, or are they discouraged from it lest the children become “inhibited”?

If a child is failing the courses at school, is he being held back, or is the grading system being adjusted lest their flunking do them “psychological harm”?

When someone commits a terrible crime, are his rights being taken away, or do criminals still have rights, even though they’ve shown no respect for the rights of those they’ve robbed, maimed, or murdered?

Do we have a generation addicted to drugs [and alcohol – a drug!], given over to self-indulgence, and without regard for social values?

Does today’s “music” of the world reflect and reinforce a love of self?

Do the “worship services” of many churches reflect and reinforce a love of self?

Selfishness [self-love] has become institutionalized in our society. Selflessness is not a hallmark in our country, although it still can be seen, but selfishness is prevalent and easy to see.

I know that evil has always plagued societies, but it would seem like Bible Christianity had acted as a restraint in our society. However today, it sadly seems like Christian standards of morality and decency are being pushed aside, and perversion is flaunting itself proudly in many communities, colleges, communication mediums, and in our nation’s Courts.

Are we in the last days? I believe we are. But does this mean we should just sell everything and go hide away on some mountain or in a cave? Of course not. What do we do? Well I’m glad you asked!

Let’s be men and women of character – CHRISTIAN CHARACTER! Let’s train our children in the way they should go. Let’s obey the commands of the Lord that are intended to restrain our self-love and keep us from the practice of sin; and let’s see that same obedience developed in our children, our next generation. The Lord Jesus said, “If ye love ME [not self], keep MY commandments”. Let’s put into practice selfLESSness by having J.O.Y. = Jesus, Others, then You!

Yes, perilous times are upon us, but know this: The darker the night, the brighter the light! We and our children can live a life that’s selfless and that honors the Saviour!

Pastor Mike Szekely

The Pastor's Pen

God's Simple Plan of Salvation

My Friend: I am asking you the most important question of life. Your joy or sorrow for all eternity depends upon your answer. The question is: Are you saved? It is not a question of how good you are, nor if you are a church member, but are you saved? Are you sure you will go to Heaven when you die?

God says in order to go to Heaven, you must be born again. In John 3:7, Jesus said to Nicodemus, "Ye must be born again."

In the Bible God gives us the plan of how to be born again which means to be saved. His plan is simple! You can be saved today. How?

First, my friend, you must realize you are a sinner. "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).

Because you are a sinner, you are condemned to death. "For the wages [payment] of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). This includes eternal seperation from God in Hell.

"...it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgement" (Hebrews 9:27).

But God loved you so much He gave His only begotten Son, Jesus, to bear your sin and die in your place. "...He hath made Him [Jesus, Who knew no sin] to be sin for us... that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Jesus had to shed His blood and die. "For the life of the flesh is in the blood" (Lev. 17:11). "...without shedding of blood is no remission [pardon]" (Hebrews 9:22).

"But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).

Although we cannot understand how, God said my sins and your sins were laid upon Jesus and He died in our place. He became our substitute. It is true. God cannot lie.

My friend, "God...now commandeth all men everywhere to repent" (Acts 17.30).

This repentance is a change of mind that agrees with God that one is a sinner, and also agrees with what Jesus did for us on the Cross.

In Acts 16:30-31, the Philippian jailer asked Paul and Silas: "...'Sirs, what must I do to be saved'? And they said, 'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved...'"

Simply believe on Him as the one who bore your sin, died in your place, was buried, and whom God resurrected.

His resurrection powerfully assures that the believer can claim everlasting life when Jesus is received as Savior.

"But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name" (John 1:12).

"For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved". (Romans 10:13).

Whosoever includes you. Shall be saved means not maybe, nor can, but shall be saved.

Surely, you realize you are a sinner. Right now, wherever you are, repenting, lift your heart to God in prayer.

In Luke 18:13, the sinner prayed: "God be merciful to me a sinner." Just pray: "Oh God, I know I am a sinner. I believe Jesus was my substitute when He died on the Cross. I believe His shed blood, death, burial, and resurrection were for me. I now receive Him as my Savior. I thank you for the forgiveness of my sins, the gift of salvation and everlasting life, because of Your merciful grace. Amen."

Just take God at His word and claim His salvation by faith. Believe, and you will be saved. No church, no lodge, no good works can save you. Remember, God does the saving. All of it!

God's simple plan of salvation is: You are a sinner. Therefore, unless you believe on Jesus Who died in your place, you will spend eternity in Hell. If you believe on Him as your crucified, buried, and risen Savior, you receive forgiveness for all of your sins and His gift of eternal salvation by faith.

You say, "Surely, it cannot be that simple." Yes, that simple! It is scriptural. It is God's plan. My friend, believe on Jesus and receive Him as Savior today.

If His plan is not perfectly clear, read this letter over and over until you understand it. Your soul is worth more than all the world.

"For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" (Mark 8:36).

Be sure you are saved. If you lose your soul, you miss Heaven and lose all. Please! Let God save you this very moment.

God's power will save you, keep you saved, and enable you to live a victorious Christian life. "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, Who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it" (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Do not trust your feelings. They change. Stand on God's promises. They never change. After you are saved, there are three things to pratice daily for spiritual growth: Pray - you talk to God. Read your Bible - God talks to you. Witness - you talk for God.

You should be baptized in obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ as a public testimony of your salvation, and then unite with a Bible-believing church without delay. "Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord..." (2 Timothy 1:8).

"Whosoever therefore shall confess [testify of] Me before men, him will I confess also before My father which is in heaven" (Matthew 10:32).

Written by Robert Ford Porter

Addicted To God (Part 4)

We Must Always Be Growing Our Desire For God!

It is sad that there are Christians reading this who have only been saved for a few months or a few years who have more excitement and desire to be used of God than those who have been saved for many years.

It is sad that there are Christians reading who have been saved out of wicked sin who are more excited about being used of God than those who have enjoyed growing up in Christian families or who have enjoyed having a good family for some time now.
I was saved as a young child. I have been saved for over fifteen years, but it’s time right now for me to be more excited about serving God and having God do a work in my life than I have ever been.

There are those who struggle with addictions. They struggle with a desire to smoke a cigarette that is so strong they can’t break that habit. They struggle with a desire to drink another sip of alcohol. Those desires have been fed for years and now they struggle to break those desires and those habits.

You see for years they enjoyed cigarettes or drugs or alcohol and now to stop is one of the hardest things in their lives.

But why don’t we as Christians decide that we are going to spend so much more time with God, and doing the work of God that we get addicted to God! I mean, why don’t we cultivate our desire for God until it is so strong that people couldn’t get us away from church if they tried. So that people couldn’t get us to cuss or say something wrong if they paid us. Someone at work once asked my wife if she ever cussed. She said no. They offered to pay her ten dollars to say a bad word. She told them that it would take a whole lot more money than that to get her to cuss.

Our desire for God should be so strong that we are addicted to him!

We need to do right so much and feed that desire for God so much that we can’t be pulled away for anything. We need to feed it so that we would be addicted to doing right and living morally straight. How bad do you want God to do a work in your life?

Developing An Addiction To God

1. Spend time with those who are addicted to God!
   
   To be a success in any area of life we must spend time with people who are a success in that area. It does not matter if you are an electrician, a carpenter, a preacher, or an engineer. It does not matter what industry you are in. If you spend time with people who are successful in that field, you will learn how to be a success.
   
   Be faithful to church as there is no better group of people to be around when trying to grow your desire for God than those who are at the house of God.
   
2. Spend time feeding your addiction to God!
   
   Sometimes you won’t want to go to church. Sometimes you have to go and then later you will want to. Spend lots of time in the Bible and praying even when you don’t want to. Sometimes the ‘want-to’ only comes after much time spent doing the right thing.

Conclusion

How badly do you desire to have God do a work in your life? How strong is your desire for God? Is your desire for God so strong that it changes your life, your conversation, and your behavior?

I could never understand what it might be like for thirty eight years of waiting for God to do a work in that man’s life. He desired that blessing so badly he would wait seemingly forever for it. How strong is your desire for God in your life?


In Christ,

Bro. Nick

Addicted To God (Part 3)

How Bad Do You Want God To Do A Work In Your Life?

My question for you today is, “How bad do you want God to do a work in your life?”

There are two types of desires:

1. Flippant desires- where we would like to have something but aren’t willing to allow our life to change in order to get it.
2. Life changing desires- where we would be willing to do anything to fulfill that desire.

A desire is only as strong as the action it produces.

When I ask you how bad you want God to work in your life, I am not asking how much you feel like it would be a neat thing. I am asking how much your life is being transformed by the thought of God being real in your life. How much of your time is consumed thinking about God? How much of your time is consumed reading the Bible? How much of your time is consumed praying? How much of your time is consumed fighting against sin? How much of your time is spent feeding the desire to have God in your life or don’t you? Do you just spend your time living for the flesh and feeding the desire to live for the world and feeding the desire to do those things that oppose the very nature of God!

You see when you get a real desire to have God do a work in your life it goes beyond saying it with your lips and your tongue. It will transform your behavior. That’s the type of desire I’m talking about today. A desire is only as strong as the action it produces!

Life IS A War Of Desires

I’ve learned that often life is a war of desires. Paul said in Romans 7 that he often desired to one thing, but found himself doing something else. We desire to do right for God, but we desire to do wrong in the flesh.

“For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do…. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.” ~ Romans 7:19,23

An old Indian chief once said that there are two dogs fighting within him. One dog is good, pure white dog. The other is bad, pitch black dog. A young Indian asked the old chief which dog would win the fight. The old Indian replied that the one whom he fed would win the fight.

You say that you desire to have God do a work in your life…..But do you actually feed that desire. You say that you want to enjoy the blessings of God….But do you actually feed that desire and live for him.

To Be Continued Tomorrow...

Addicted To God (Part 2)

“Now there is...a pool, which is called...Bethesda...And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years. ~ John 5:1-5

They beg the doctor for a solution, but in those days there was no solution. Jacob would have to live his life without legs. Now in those days there was no state aid. There were no wheelchairs. At the age of one year old he had been condemned never to be wed, never to have a family, and never to understand any of the joys of society but only to live life as a cripple.

Finally after growing up as a cripple, he hears of this miraculous pool called Bethesda. It was said that an angel would come down from heaven and stir the water there. It was said that whoever would step in the water would be healed of any disease or illness that they had. I can imagine as this man’s eyes light up. He gets some friends to carry him to this pool and he begins to wait for the stirring of the water.

But when he arrives he is saddened to find that there are many people there. There are many people who are trying to get in the water. Eventually the water is stirred and he begins to crawl toward the water. But before he can get into the water someone else steps in and his opportunity is gone. The tears begin down his eyes as he is so disappointed but he determines that he will stay closer to the water and crawl faster next time. But again someone steps in before him. And it goes on like this not for days, not for weeks, not for months, not for years, but for decades as this man sat with this disease for thirty-eight years.

His Desire Outweighed All The Obstacles

Friends, I am only twenty three and I will be the first one to tell you that I have no idea what it might have been like for him to have stayed there for thirty eight years.

But somehow this man’s desire to be healed was stronger than any of his disappointments. This man’s desire to be made whole was stronger than any of his loneliness. This man’s desire for God to do a work in his life was stronger than any of his obstacles and he remained at the pool of Bethesda, his place of hope for thirty eight years! His desire was so strong for God to do a work in his life that he waited thirty eight years without ever giving up.

To Be Continued on Tuesday...

Addicted To God (Part 1)

“Now there is...a pool, which is called...Bethesda...And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years. ~ John 5:1-5

Todd and Amy have two children, Alex and Garret. They love them and they do their best to provide for them. And when the news comes that Amy is pregnant with a third child they are both overjoyed. They are as excited as ever to know that they will soon have another child. After eagerly and painstakingly waiting nine months they are blessed with a beautiful baby boy. He is healthy. He is strong. He is everything they wanted in a child. They name him Jacob. They take Jacob home and begin to take care of him. Throughout the months to follow they watch as he develops as the other two children had done.

But after several months they begin to notice a problem. You see Jacob has a problem with his legs. They bow out in a peculiar way and Todd and Amy get worried. They take their child and they go the doctor’s office to see what the problem might be. When they arrive they are told in detail how his legs are formed wrong. But the doctor encourages them by telling them that the corrective surgery to fix this problem is nothing but routine for him. He tells them they can have his legs fixed and in only months he will be walking and running as well as any child his age. Without a doubt they go for it. The surgery is performed and Jacob is soon running and playing, as we all know, as well as any other child.

But let’s go back and change the scenario just a bit. Two thousand years ago a man and woman just like Todd and Amy are thrilled to know that they soon will be the proud parents of a little baby. And when the day comes they are overjoyed to hold a healthy little boy in their arms. Perhaps they even name him Jacob. It was a popular Jewish name. They begin to take care of him and they watch as he begins to develop into a young boy.

But just as in Todd and Amy’s case they begin to notice a problem. His legs are not formed correctly. They rush to get the help of the doctor and the doctor gives his diagnosis. His body will continue to grow, he tells them, but his legs will grow weaker and weaker until he is no longer able to use them. Perhaps, he’ll be two years old when they become too weak to use, perhaps sooner. They beg the doctor for a solution, but in those days there was no solution. Jacob would have to live his life without legs. Now in those days there was no state aid. There were no wheelchairs. At the age of one year old he had been condemned never to be wed, never to have a family, and never to understand any of the joys of society but only to live life as a cripple.

To Be Continued Tomorrow...

The Feminist Movement and its Contribution to the Modern Home (Part 2)

The issue in the minds of most liberal women is the idea of equality. They feel that to be a housewife is a disgrace and that they should not have to subject themselves to that low degree. They feel that the position of housewife is a lower position and that they should not have any more responsibility to fulfill that role than should the husband. The problem they have is that the look at the proper Biblical role of women as a lesser position and the workforce as a higher position. This is twisted, corrupted thinking. The Biblical pattern provides for the care and love of women. It provides for them to be honored and exalted. Yet the modernist looks at it as the opposite. The workforce is a hard place and a hard path to go. It is a place that the husband should not want the wife to have to lower herself to. If God leads then the husband and wife will go that direction but usually God does not lead in that way and the husband should have a desire to deliver his wife from having to live through life in the modern workforce. That is the once accepted Biblical pattern for women and the home.

This is the trend that has taken American women by storm in our modern generation of Americans. This trend has lead to the breaking up of the family, the insecurity of children based on the lack of love and acceptance no longer being found in the home, and many more issues. Women were at one time the primary teacher of the children in the home. Today the public school systems have become the mental mothers of children in many ways. The school system is now the one who determines and teaches the children the philosophies that will affect him for the rest of his life. They now provide for the children counselors and psychologists to provide the emotional stability that the children can no longer find in their homes. They have counselors that will help them to determine their life occupation which was at one time the role of the mother and father. The public school system is brainwashing America’s youth into believing Atheism, evolution, and many other blasphemous lies of the devil. And this brainwashing is being allowed because of the rise of the feminist movement. The wife is now at work when she was at one time at home teaching, training and loving her children. Satan has stepped in, transformed the philosophy of women, and is now destroying our children by the millions and millions.

We must understand that the way God ordained is the way that God blesses. People cannot have proper, functional families and live in such a way that is in direct rebellion to the plan of God. America needs to turn back to God in the area of the family if she ever hopes to see God’s blessing on her again. The transforming of the family has brought about the transforming the nation toward the sins of the devil and of hell. And the transforming of the family has been brought about by the rise and exaltation of the feminist movement.

In Christ,

Nick

The Feminist Movement and its Contribution to the Modern Home (Part 1)

At the founding of America the home was the most important thing in a person’s life. Men bleed and died in order to prepare a land where they, their families, and their posterity could live in freedom and prosperity. They fought with their lives to protect and prosper their children, wives…… their families. Men worked hard to provide for the home, often working far more than eight hour shifts, far more than five days a week, far more than is the norm today. Women of the day were exalted, loved, and taken care of. These women loved their families and counted it a great honor to raise and rear children with godly principles of hard work and character. Women of these days didn’t look at being a housewife as a chore, but as a privilege. They loved their children to the point that they wanted to give all that they had to see them grow up to be men and women of character for the next generation.

God’s design for the home is very similar to the way of life that was the accepted norm for the home in the early American republic. Yet today the home has become a very unimportant part of society. Nearly fifty percent or more of modern marriages end in divorce. Millions of children across America have no idea who their real, biological parents are because their parents live in fornication and adultery to an extreme degree. The modern family is in a sad, sad condition. Statistics tell us that Christian homes have the same, if not higher, rate of divorce that married couples of lost families. This is not God’s plan for our lives or for this great nation but is a demonstration of how much the sinful trends of the world have infiltrated the lives and families of Christians.

Satan knows that if he can destroy the home then he can destroy the church and the nation. To accomplish this destruction of the home he has tried to fill the minds of wives with discontentment. God does not intend to make a woman suffer through raising children, but it is His intention that children are to be a blessing and an heritage of the Lord. Yet Satan has reversed this godly trend that once dominated the minds of American wives and has put in them a spirit of discontentment and rebellion. He has slipped into their minds a desire to be free from the so-called bonds of being a housewife and have tried to encourage them to desire their equality with men. God intended that women be exalted, honored, and loved by their husbands. Satan is transforming that once accepted norm into a desire to be above men in such a way that would cause them to be in the workforce providing for the family. Satan is duping women into believing these thoughts of equality and freedom from being a housewife and is destroying our homes and our nation. Children now have to grow up and with no understanding of the love of two parents living under one roof, sharing, caring and providing for one another.

To Be Continued...

The Hope of a Nation

When Nehemiah heard of the conditions in Jerusalem, he was immediately stirred in his heart. In fact, by all accounts, Nehemiah's heart was broken and he literally mourned and wept at the state that his homeland was now in. You see, there were small groups of people who had been in Jerusalem trying to repair certain parts of the city. Instead of seeing progress, however, they were laughed at, ridiculed, and held up from their task. In fact, their opposition knocked the wall down and burned the gates. The nation of Israel was in derision. Nehemiah was right to be heart broken.

And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire. ~ Nehemiah 1:3

God's people were laughed at and their great city, their great accomplishments were torn to the ground. Today America is in the same condition. Our great landmarks of American history are being torn apart. The Christianity involved in the founding of this nation is being white-washed from the history textbooks. The Scriptures that once guided our leadership have become a relic that society looks upon with scorn and disdain. Christians who once set the standard for American living are now the laughingstock of the modern American culture. Preachers who take a stand against sin are derided as hate-mongers and as divisive. God is all but banned from the public eye.

The wall of America also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire. In Nehemiah's day, those words drove him to weep and pray for his people, yet in our day Christians do very little in response to the declining state of our nation. Christians sit and watch as our nation quickly fills with sin. We stand idly by as Satan attacks us from within. Instead of being moved to tears for the sick condition of our homeland, we live insignificant lives catering to the devil's desires. We do little for the cause of Christ. We live apathetic to the need of this land.

We have been raising generation after generation of lazy Christians. Christians are now too lazy to read the Word of God and pray, let alone impact their community for Christ. Christians are too lazy to make any attempt at serving Christ the way that men and women did in the book of Acts. Our laziness to serve and love God the way that we ought to is sending this nation to hell!

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. ~ II Chron. 7:14

The world doesn't know any better than to do the things that they do. You can expect the world to promote sin and wickedness. If we want to see this nation turned around, we are going to need to see Christians that are filled with the Holy Spirit of God take a stand and make a difference. We need men and women to stand as that shining light on a hill in this dark and troubled world.

Will you join me in praying for America? Will you join me in seeking God's face? Will you join me in seeking revival in our own lives so that we might see a revival in America?

Will you join me?

Is the World Comfortably Abiding in Your House?

A stubbornly resistant cold/virus has held me housebound for nearly a week now. Because there's not much else I can do but rest, I've had time to surf through cyberspace, and to scroll through the blogs of other Christian women. It's been wonderful to see the threads of Christian virtue woven through the writings of so many good ladies and young women.

It's always a good thing to try and imagine what you would do should the Lord Jesus Christ stop in for an unannounced visit. It helps to assess what one has in her home and whether or not it should remain there.

Yet I am troubled... troubled by a book. A book that I've seen highly praised by those who have read it and by those who have only heard about it yet cannot wait for a quite moment to sink their minds into its pages.

Many blogs I've seen have posted a picture of the book's front cover; and as soon as I saw its title I determined in my heart not to buy it and not to read it, ever! Maybe the information stored within its chapters would be quite worthy of my time. It may be chock full of applicable principles. But its title speaks of a separation issue right off the bat. You're curious about the title, right? Here it is, "Passionate Housewives Desperate for God." I think if all of us are honest, we'd have to admit that it brings to mind a less than virtuous television program—a sitcom that's worse than the worst, revealing and reveling in the ugliest traits a woman could possess. "For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world." A perfect verse to describe the television program I'd rather not mention—it's that bad.

Why would an author who says God is her Father find it necessary to look to the world to title the book she, no doubt, labored over for months and months? Does not the Scripture exhort God's children, "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." Could it be the perfect will of God that the title of one's book conjure up polluted images of the world in the mind of the reader? Could it be acceptable to the Lord that one blogger mixed up the title's adjectives while writing her intentions to read this short volume? There's something very wrong about this, I think.

It's always a good thing to try and imagine what you would do should the Lord Jesus Christ stop in for an unannounced visit. It helps to assess what one has in her home (magazines, catalogues, DVDs, CDs, etc.) and whether or not it should remain there. And if He did come for a visit, each one of us would greet Him with much adoration and deep reverence, wouldn't we? But would we be ashamed at some of the items lying about the living room? Would we hurry to change the radio station? And what would we do if "Passionate Housewives Desperate for God" was displayed on the coffee table directly in front of the place where the Lord was seated? I can hear it now: "It's not what you think, Lord, really. The title is different, it just sounds the same, but it's not the same thing as that television program. It's this book about Christian living, and it's really good, but it's not anything like that show. I know it looks that way—my unsaved neighbor thought the same thing—but it's not, really. Here, I'll just hide it for now." Shame. Not because of its contents (like I said, it may be a very good book), but because its title is equated with the wicked world. The unsaved around us should be able to plainly see the difference Christ has made in our lives. May it never be said of the professing Christian woman that the world comfortably abides in her house.

But why should we pretend that Christ may pay us an announced visit? There's really no need to merely imagine His divine presence. He is here, right now. Remember what the Lord said to His children, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." His all-seeing eye inventories the life of the Christian every single second. My life, your life. Have you anything you'd rather He not find? Is there something in your home, such as the above-mentioned book, that just doesn't seem right? Get rid of it. There's an abundance of good, unquestionable reading material out there for the Christian woman's betterment. To end this post, I will leave you with Scripture, "Abstain from all appearance of evil." I Thessalonians 5:22. As for "Passionate Housewives Desperate for God"? I'll never buy it, I'll never read it, ever. No apologies given!


Sincerely in Christ,

Mary Engesetter


Author Info: Mary Engesetter is a happily married mother of three, writer, Sunday school teacher, church secretary, business owner, lover of nature and natural medicine, and, most importantly, child of God. She records her thoughts and observations about life through the keyboard and camera at her blog entitled "The Way It Is."

Falling in Love With Him...Again

After our first date things only went up hill in the relationship between my wife and I. We began to talk more. We spent more time together. We got to know each other, and eventually we fell in love. After a while we reached a point where we were totally infatuated with one another (that is the stage that we have now been in for the past three years!). When we stepped into that stage of our courtship a new aspect of our relationship emerged. We now went out of our way trying to make the other person happy. I wanted to know what restaurants she liked, what foods she liked, what colors she liked, what kinds of clothes she liked, and everything else that she liked. I then took that information and would take her to restaurants, buy her teddy bears, buy her flowers, buy her clothes, etc. I wanted to do whatever I could to make her happy.

It became my goal to try to find out what she wanted and then get it for her. Believe me, this was easy. My wife had such a small desire for new clothes, gadgets, and other stuff that it was easy to find out exactly what she liked. No matter what I got for her, she just loved it. She never commanded me to buy anything for her. She never coerced me to buy anything for her. In fact, most of the time she would complain and say things like "You shouldn't have!" or "You spent way too much on that!" or "I don't deserve this!" She was wrong. She deserved a lot more than I could ever give her. Even though she never once asked me to buy anything or do anything for her, I did because I loved her. My love drove me to do as much as I could to fulfill her wants. I wanted her to be happy with me, with what I did, with what I got her, and with what I did for her.

As we expand on our thoughts from yesterday, let's look once more at our relationship with God. If you've been in church for any time, you have heard people talk about the 'Will of God.' This is another one of those terms that I don't like. Let me explain before I get crucified. In our modern Christianity, many Christians always talk about the will of God on some huge scale as something that they are going to do years in the future. A teen will talk about what God's Will is for them after they graduate high school and after they graduate college while they are actively living in little sins today. A man will say that it is God's Will to start a ministry...someday. I hate seeing God's Will referred to exclusively in the future tense and exclusively on that large scale of thought.

Let's reshape the way that we look at God's Will and see it in the perspective of the relationship that we are supposed to have with God. The phrase 'Will of God' simply means 'what God wants.' Just like I said that I had set out on a quest to find out what my wife wants so that I can make her happy in our day-to-day lives, we need to be seeking out what we can do to satisfy what God wants in every area of our life. Don't just look at what God wants from you ten years from now. Think about what God would want from you today. Try to see what tie God would want you to wear when you get ready in the morning. Maybe you look at one tie and say to yourself, "I look really good in that tie so I should wear that one." And then you realize that it is pride and that God does not want to see you prideful so you decide to put off wearing that particular tie until another day. Yes, friends, God does care about the little things...and he cares about them today.

Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.
~ Revelation 2:4

We ought to fall in love with Christ all over again every day and do everything that we can to find out what he wants us to do to please Him! We ought to treat God as though he were our best friend and we are trying to make Him happy or as though He is our dear loved one and we are trying to pamper Him with our love, affection, and service. The infatuation of a love-struck college boy ought to be our example for our relationship with God.

So let me ask you a few questions. Did you take God out on that first date that we talked about yesterday? Did you begin to rebuild that relationship? Are you falling in love with Him over and over again? Are you seeking throughout your day to find ways to please our loving God?

If not, there has never been a better time to start.


In Christ,

Nick

Your First Date With God

I remember the day that I took my wife on our first date. It was in early July of 2004. We went to Wal-Mart and the mall and I was able to get her something to eat at the food court. As we walked around through the various stores, I had a difficult time thinking of what to talk about. I was nervous and most of our conversation was what I would now consider to be small talk. I couldn't think of what to say. I couldn't tell what products we should go look at. I couldn't decide if my hands should be at my side or in my pockets.

The entire time that we wondered around, I knew that I was attracted to her and I wondered if their was any mutual feeling or if she was just tolerating me. I wondered if she had any feelings for me and if she would want to go on another date or if this would be the last that I would see of her.

To make conversation I would ask her silly questions like 'When is your birthday?' Then I would say that my dad's birthday is that same month. I would ask her what color is her favorite, how many brothers and sisters she had, and what she like and disliked. It was pretty much a night of awkwardness...probably for both of us.

Ten months later, however, we walked down the aisle and said our wedding vows to one another. Since the time of our first date almost four years ago until now, my ability to carry on a conversation with her has dramatically changed. Today I can talk to her about anything. I can speak about whatever is on my mind or on my heart and she will respond and do the same. I don't worry any more by wondering if she feels toward me what I feel toward her. I know that she loves me.

I often hear people use the term 'fellowship' when referring to the relationship that we have with God. I have grown not to like this term. Don't mistake what I am saying. We need to fellowship and it is a Bible word. However, in many modern minds, fellowship has been so formalized.

We fellowship with other Christians only at organized functions. We fellowship with God only during our prayer time (if we have one) and even then we simply read our requests off of a list. True Scriptural fellowship includes much more than these formalities. It includes the same fellowship that I can now enjoy when talking with my wife or when taking her on a date.

If I spoke to my wife in the way that most Christians speak to God, she would slap me. That is to say if I only spoke to her for two minutes each morning and when I did I just read to her a list of my needs, I would deserve a black eye! Everyone of us would probably agree with that, yet we do the same thing to God. He doesn't want ten minutes in the morning. He wants fluid conversation all day every day. He wants to speak to us through his Word and he wants us to speak to Him through prayer.

He wants us to share with Him what we need, how we feel, our burdens, our desires, everything about our daily life. There is nothing to small for God to listen. The best part is that you won't ever have to worry about whether or not God feels toward you the same way that you feel toward Him. God loves you more than you will ever love Him this side of Heaven. If anything, God is wishing that you would reciprocate the feeling.

You've got to start this relationship somewhere. My wife and I started through slow, awkward small talk and over time we developed our relationship to where it is today. Have you begun to build your relationship with God? Are you actively enjoying conversations with God? If not, maybe it's time to take God on that first date again and rekindle that flame!


In Christ,

Nick

A Lesson Learned: Persistent Prayer

This past weekend I was able to attend a ladies retreat with five other ladies from our church. We all had a good time and it was great getting to know the other ladies better. All of us that attended were married except for one lady. By the time we came home on Saturday, we were all ready to see our husbands again and those that had children were ready to see their kids.

We were in an active cabin. That was the camps way of saying that we were in a loud, noisy, crazy, etc cabin since the other cabin was quiet. We were in the right cabin though since we didn’t go to bed until very early in the morning both nights.

On Thursday night after the session they divided us all up into eight different groups. The way we were divided made it rare for us to end up with someone from our church and that was the point. While getting to know the other ladies that were in our groups, we had to decorate a paper flower in a mosaic pattern. It was a lot of fun.

Friday afternoon they did a craft. The craft was a candy tin where we took 12 Hershey nuggets and wrapped them in a piece of paper. You then arranged them inside of a tin that has a clear front so you could see the pieces all wrapped up. We then placed a ribbon around it with a paper tag that we made that could say a variety of things from "I love you," "Thinking of You," and "Thank You." They were very simple to make and they make a great gift idea.

There were a total of five different teaching sessions. The one that stuck out to me the most is from Friday night. The speaker taught about the woman in Matthew 15 whose daughter was vexed with a devil. The first time she speaks to the Lord he doesn’t respond. The disciples want Christ to send her away. The woman speaks to Christ again and is compared to a dog. The woman then uses Christ’s words when she says that even the dog eats crumbs from the master's table. Christ then answers her prayer by healing her daughter and he even tells that whole world about her great faith.

This is an example of a woman who had a need and she didn’t give up because Christ didn’t respond right away. She was persistent. She kept at it until she got an answer. How often in our lives do we go to Christ in prayer and then we stop praying because we don’t get an answer right away?

This was an encouragement to me to continue praying about the same thing until God answers. If I only pray about something once or twice and then say well God’s not going to answer this so I might as well stop praying, then I lack faith. This is not having faith that God will answer and supply the need. Don’t give up in your prayer life because God didn’t answer in your time frame. Pray consistently and God will answer in his time.


Serving the Master,

Diane Cardot

Those Hate-Mongering Baptist Preachers!

I just recently read a wonderful article over at 'The Jungle Hut' entitled creatively 'A Rant.' This article is a must read so head over and check it out. Rita Vernoy, the author of that article, is a missionary to South America. She has faithfully and selflessly served to help the people there. She works with them, lives with them, prays with them, and does everything that she can to share the gospel with them. She truly is an unsung hero...unless of course you ask a secular liberal!

She has received comments recently attacking her and making statements suggesting that she is destroying these people's tribal spirituality, that she is a hate-monger, or that she is a 'spiritual pollutant.'

This is not the first time that I have heard people attacked for trying to share the gospel of Christ and I assure you that it will not be the last. As early as the book of acts, men have been attacked for preaching Christ. Can't you see Stephen standing there looking into heaven asking God's forgiveness on those who are stoning him into the history books?

Yet that's not the point of this post. What I want to look at is the argument that I seem to have heard a lot recently in my own experience. I had a lady ask me recently if I didn't feel it was a little bit selfish for me to say that I was going to heaven and that everyone else was going to spend their eternity in hell just because they don't believe in Christ the same way that I do. I have had others use the hate-monger card in referring to our belief in the clearly-taught Bible doctrine of hell.

If you believe that God would send an unbeliever to hell, you are a hate-monger! If you believe that God condemns homosexuality, you are a hate-monger! If you think that God judges people for sin, you are a hate-monger! If you believe the infallible, inerrant Word of God that men have tried to disprove but have never been able to, well, then you are a hate-monger!

Truth is not like a pet store full of puppy dogs. You don't get to pick and choose what you like. If it's the truth, it doesn't change just because you don't like it. Those folks who attack the Word of God cannot change its accuracy just because they don't like what it teaches. Their disbelief in heaven or hell will not change the fact that they are going to one of those two places. Their disbelief in the Son of God will not change the immutable fact that he is the Savior of the world.

Bro. Nick, you really are a hate-monger! If that is true, then it is also true that your doctor is a raging monster every time he informs you that someone has a disease. "You have a rare disease, but we should be able to treat it," the doctor says. Would you start hating him or would you thank him and graciously accept the treatment? Duh!

When it comes to hard truth from the Word of God, though, we would rather call names than accept the truth and dive into the remedy, Jesus Christ! Our liberal friends are sadly mistaken and highly hypocritical.


In Christ,

Nick

Are Your Friends a Bad Influence?

Michael was a 17 year old boy who had ridden a church bus almost every Sunday for several years during his childhood and into his teen years. There were several people who had invested a lot of time and prayer into Michael’s life. At one point during his years of riding the bus, he made a confession of faith. If you talked to Michael, he could tell you about the day that he asked Christ to save him.

During the summer of 2003, I got to know this young man while I was home for summer break from college. He and my brother attended the youth revival at my home church that summer. When I saw them together at the revival meetings, I made the connection that they knew each other. I made a specific effort to invest time and love in my brother and in his friends. I spent a lot of time talking and listening to them trying to lead them closer toward the things of the Lord.

Back to college I went and as far as I knew Michael was still riding the bus. My brother, Brandon, had had enough of the church after the youth revival and had gone back to only occasionally attending church. My brother and Michael continued to influence one another to discontinue living for God. The two of them eventually backslid completely.

I’ll not forget the day that my mom called me at college to tell me that Michael was dead. He had been reported missing a few days before when he didn’t return home to his father’s house. His dad found him a few days later along the side of the road. Michael had been strangled to death and then stabbed over fifty times with a six inch deep knife.

I was saddened and burdened for my bus kids that I had currently in Chicago. Would I be able to make a bigger difference in their lives then I had in Michael’s? Then I thought of a verse that had helped me choose the right kind of friends: “But Amnon had a friend.” ~ 2 Samuel 13:3

Amnon ended up destroying his life and the life's of several people around him as a result of the influence of a bad friend. Michael was a boy that had attended church and knew right from wrong and yet he made the wrong choice. He decided to let his friends in the world lead him away from the things of God. Michael chose the wrong friends. He allowed his friends to influence him into a life that was sinful.

You may have friends that are Christians and you may think that you have nothing to worry about. You go to the same church, your parents have the same standards, you are all saved and the list can go on. These friends can lead you astray or may lead you in a direction that is not pleasing to the Lord. You are not exempt from peer pressure no matter how old you are.

“You are right now or soon shall be exactly what your friends are!”

The decision to do right and live for the Lord isn’t easy and you may not have a lot of friends when you are done. You may even have to cut off someone that was near and dear to you when you see them heading into a life of sin. I speak from experience when I say that it’s not easy to break off a friendship. However you will have a testimony of someone who loved and served the Lord instead of being known as someone who was once on fire and allowed the wrong friends to lead them astray. You have a decision that you have to make. Are you going to be like you friends that are doing wrong or are you going to live for the Lord?


Serving the Master,

Diane

I Got My Roadmap! Do You?

Have you ever gone on vacation without the roadmap? Drives you nuts in short order, doesn’t it? You stop at the first gas station and pick one up and whoever is sitting in the navigator’s seat gets to studiously mark out the route. Or if you are lucky enough to have one of the newer vehicles equipped with navigation tools would you consider leaving home without having it hooked up ready to go? Probably not!

I recall a weekend road trip that a friend and I took during college. On Thursday after noon, we left when class dismissed in Lexington, KY with the intention of driving shifts through the night until we arrived early morning at our destination in Letts, IA. We planned to take Interstate 74 through central IL all the way into IA. Too easy.

Because I had made the trip several times before (my girlfriend lived there at the time), I didn't think that I needed to take a roadmap. Yet sure enough, around two or three in the morning we began seeing signs for Chicago. "Chicago: 50 Miles"

I don't remember which of us was driving, but it didn't matter. We had taken a wrong turn somewhere and were now about a hundred miles off course. Although I am from Northern Illinois, I was not familiar with the road we were on and had no idea where to go to 'course correct.'

After realizing our mistake, we exited the interstate at the next available off-ramp and stopped at a gas station. We had need of only one thing: a roadmap! Amazingly we had no other navigation issues for the rest of our trip.

I learned an important lesson that night. Beyond the obvious 'always keep a map under my car seat' which is now my common practice whenever I go on long trips, I learned that without a roadmap it is nearly impossible to arrive at your intended destination when traveling in unfamiliar territory.

You guessed it. I'm not talking about road trips anymore. I'm talking about life in general. If ever there was a better analogy for life, I've yet to find it. Life is a journey through the most unfamiliar roads and terrain that you can imagine. You will experience wrong turns, get lost, and find yourself wishing that you had brought along a roadmap.

Simply put, our roadmap is the Word of God. God's Powerful Scriptures, or GPS, is a tool far older and more accurate than any technological marvel of today. It is the Word of God that can accurately direct us toward the perfect center of God's Will. It is the Word of God that can teach us to serve Him in ways that are pleasing to Him. It is the Word of God that will teach us in every area of our life.

It is the Word of God that can bring revival to America. It was the Word of God that presidents once looked to as the roadmap of National Policy. It was the Word of God that was once used as textbooks in public schools. It was the Word of God!


In Christ,

Nick

How to Deal With Life's Malfunctions

On July 16, 2007 I stepped out the door of an in-flight airplane for the first time in my life. As soon as the status light turned green and I launched myself out the rear side door of the plane, I knew that I had entered into an adventure both exciting and scary. I felt the rush of two-hundred mile-per-hour winds pushing against my body sending me twisting and turning through the air.

My first jump was my worst. I had a poor body position on my first exit which resulted in a parachute malfunction. Although my parachute deployed, my lines were twisted and the canopy wasn't fully expanded. I was headed toward the ground faster than the soldiers around me.

My first thought was that I was going to die on my first jump. That thought quickly disappeared, however, as my training kicked in. I remembered being drilled and prepped repeatedly for this moment. Since day one, we had studied corrective procedures for partial and full malfunctions. This was only a minor malfunction. I knew what to do to save myself from injury. This was nothing that I couldn't handle. It was nothing that I had not been equipped to deal with.

I twisted my legs and pulled apart on the risers. I kicked and spun and after about ten seconds my parachute was fully deployed. As lightweight as I was, I began to descend much slower than my fellow soldiers and was actually one of the last to land. The rest of my jumps have all been smooth rides and soft landings.

I learned an important lesson at airborne school. The Army puts a lot of effort into making sure that soldiers are equipped and trained to deal with the hazards that they face. More than that, God will never allow us to enter into a situation that He will not enable and equip us to deal with successfully.

There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. ~ I Corinthians 10:13

He won't ask you to jump out of an airplane until He has trained and equipped you to land successfully. He has given us his Word for training. His has given us a church for fellowship with godly friends. He really has given us everything that we need to be a successful Christian.

There is no way that we can place the blame for our failures on Christ. He has provided us with everything, including access to God himself, so that we can do what is right, accomplish God's will, stand true in the face of persecution, reach souls for Christ, and stay pure in a world of filth.

The next time you face a difficulty and you have trouble figuring out how to move forward, stop for a moment and remember your training. Remember the scripture passages that you have the taken the time to remember. Remember the sermon truths that you have learned over the years. Remember the lessons that you have learned from the Word of God and take control of the situation. Face your difficulty head on and with a strong reliance on God, tackle it!


In Christ,

Nick