On this blessed day!

"But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." Matthew 6:33

"Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled." Matthew 5:6

"Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favor of the Lord." Proverbs 18:22

It was 12 years and 8 days ago in the afternoon, on a lonely Sunday drive home, when my life began to change- though I didn't know it at the time. I had walked away from God for a time (out of anger at him), and had only recently came back to him and "prayed back through" (as we Pentecostals call it). I had gone to visit a dear friend of mine in south Georgia that weekend and was on my way back to my rented room in Lawrenceville.

My friend, David, has a beautiful family and as much as I enjoyed being with him, my heart yearned for a family of my own, especially a wife. I had been through a failed marriage of my own (the reason I walked away from God in the first place) and now found myself yearning for the love of a good woman (Yes, I mean LOVE- not lust).

My newly cleansed heart began to cry out to Jesus for what I desired and knew I needed. I drove with tears running down my face and one hand raised in the air- worshipping my God and petitioning him for my needs. As I prayed, I reminded him that he had said that "it is not good for man to be alone." Then I made the request that would change my life: "Lord, I need a wife, but I want this one to love you more than she loves me." Little did I know the glorious changes that would bring.

The very next day, at about 10 AM (forgive me, honey, if I get the hour wrong- I'm close), my boss walked up to me with a beautiful woman following him. He spoke to me and said, "Mike. This is Della. Would you mind training her?" My first thought was amazement that he would ask me to train anyone at all. I'd only been on the job for 10 days! My next thought came after seeing the trainee- she was beautiful! Sure, boss, I'll be happy to train her!

As we talked, I could see that she was as sweet as she was beautiful. The biggest thing that stuck out to me, however, was her love for God. She really loved him!

One week later, I worked up the courage to ask her out to dinner. To my joy, she accepted. As we walked out the door of the warehouse, heading to my car, I suddenly remembered- I hadn't cleaned my car out! I was a true bachelor. There were fast food bags and newspapers galore in the floor board of the passenger front seat! Would she see this and walk away? It was too late now. All I could do was pray, "Lord, Help me".

When I opened the door to let her in, I didn't see her face. I'm sure she was shocked, but she said nothing. To my delight, she got in. The poor woman's knees almost touched her chin, due to the floor board's garbage.

We went to Ryans and got the buffet. I have no idea what I ate, nor who else was around. All I could see was Della. She was even more charming outside of work than she was at work. We talked for a while and, too soon, the evening was over.

The following Saturday, she invited me over to her Dad's house and helped me clean my car. Apparently, she saw something in me more than my being a slob! I'm still not sure what.

A few weeks later, she asked me to accompany her to her mother's grave, who had passed away one year earlier. We went after work. It was a starry night, so it wasn't very hard to find the grave. As Della cried softly on my shoulder, the Lord spoke to me: "This is my gift to you and your responsibility. Take care of her." I began to cry with her.

On February 23, 1999, one year to the day after our first date- and one year and seven days since we first met and one year and eight days after I cried out to my God for a Godly wife- Della and I married! God is so good!

Della has followed me and the call of God on our lives ever since. We've lived in Ga, Tx, Ms, Ar, and now Pa. We've had times of plenty, and times of little. We've had times of laughter, and times of tears. But always, we've had God and each other. She prayed for me when I was week, backed me up when I was right, and spiritually spanked me when I was wrong. A better help mate could never be found!

So, on this day, my love, I want to tell the world how much I thank God for you! I also want to tell the world and you, that I truly love Della Mae Winskie- now and always. Thank you for tolerating me these 11 years! I still don't know who's training who! With love, from your husband, Mike

Like fine china?

"Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honor unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered." 1 Peter 3:7

Now that I've quoted this verse, I would like to ask you to stay with me here. It is possible that we all (myself included) may learn something here.
This verse is not spoken of much in our current politically correct and "enlightened" society. Why? The contents of it is offensive to many people- especially the part about the wife being the "weaker vessel". How dare anyone say that about a woman! After all, women can do anything a man can do and are just as valuable as a man.
I will not cloud the issue at hand by getting into all the differing roles and responsibilities of a marriage. We can discuss that on another occasion. Instead, let's discover what this particular verse has to teach us.
The verse starts with the word, "likewise". It means, "In the same way" or "just as". This verse is a continuation of the thoughts on A married couple that Peter began in chapter 3, verse 1. The last thought before verse 7 is about the wife being in subjection to her husband. Now, he says to the husband, "likewise"- meaning? As much as some of us would rather not admit it, sweep it under the rug, and ignore it, we husbands are (at various times and in certain situations) supposed to have an attitude of subjection to our wives as well.
Does this mean that the wife is a co-head of the home? NO. God doesn't create two headed monsters. There is only one head of the universe- God almighty. There is only one head of the home- the husband. So how is the husband to be in subjection to his wife?
By being a servant leader! Put another way, Paul said for us to "love (agape'- unconditional love) your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it" (Ephesians 5:25). We are to love our wives so much that we live our lives in such a way that will bring honor to her, show her and the world how much we love her, and help her to "work out (her) own salvation with fear and trembling. She should feel safe and secure in her relationship with her husband- knowing that he loves her and has her best interest at heart. (Man, do I have a long ways to go! Help me, Lord!)
We are further instructed to "dwell with" her. It means to "reside with as family". Some would read this and say, "Well, duh! Isn't that what married people do?" Sadly, not so much.
Many take jobs that hinder their relationship with their spouses. Many stop communicating and sharing their plans, hopes, and dreams with their spouses. This one simple area would go a long ways toward rekindling a lot of marriages that are on the rocks. God gave us our wives to be our "help meets" (Genesis 1:18). The word literally means "help help". In other words, guys, us hard headed men DO need a lot of help!
If we will stay in deep communication with our wives, we can avoid a whole lot of spiritual traps that we might not otherwise see! A Godly wife is a great resource. She knows her husband better than he knows himself, many times. While we tend to go through life with blinders on, she is able to help us see around them and avoid catastrophe. She should be our best friend, our lover, our confidante, and our closest advisor- above ALL else (save the Lord).
Many, unfortunately, choose to shut their wives out of their daily grind. She is our help meet in every area! If you're a pastor, you're wife can help you pray and talk through the decisions you must make. If you're a CEO, your wife can help you pray and talk through the decisions you have to make. She may not know your job like you do, but God has gifted her to be especially attuned to the world around you and your home. If she warns you about a certain situation or person, you would be well advised to take it into further prayer, instead of blowing her off. You may just save your job and marriage!
We are not only to dwell with our wives, but we are to "dwell with them according to knowledge". Who's knowledge? Yours? Hers? Gods? Answer: YES! I believe that we are to dwell with her according to what we know to be right and wrong, what she knows to be right and wrong, and especially what God says is right and wrong. Isn't that saying the same thing in three different ways? No.
Of course what God says is right and wrong is absolutely final and binding. We must build our lives upon the foundation of his word. It is our life and salvation. However, who among us knows the whole word of God? Are we all in the same place in God? Again, no.
Therefore, we have to dwell with our wives according to knowledge. Your wife came from a different background and culture than you did. She has had different experiences in life and with God than you have. In some areas, she may not know as much as you. In other areas, she probably knows more than you.
When she knows less, don't brow beat her. Lovingly pray for her and help her to understand (when she's ready for it). When she needs to be propped up in the Lord and encouraged, do it!
When she knows more than you in an area, put down your manly pride and except the Godly counsel she is giving you. She's there to help you. When you're weak, she'll likely be strong, and vice verse. It's truly a great thing to grow together and help each other through life and your walks with God.
We are also to give "honour unto her". Honour, in the Greek, means, "a value, i.e. money paid, or valuables; by analogy esteem (especially of the highest degree), or the dignity itself." Our wife is to have the highest esteem and value in our lives. Noone should even come close to the level that our wives has in our eyes, hearts, and minds! NOONE. Outside of Jesus, should be higher or even equal, to our wives. Not even our children should be equal to our wives in our lives. She should have our love, devotion, and complete trust.
How many marriages could be saved, if this one principle were followed? How many could be saved, if they would lower their jobs, hobbies, friends, outside family, and children to a level BELOW their wives? Our priorities should be God, Wife, Children, everything else.
Here's the tricky phrase, though. We are to honour her "as unto the weaker vessel". What does that mean? Was God through Peter, somehow putting women down? Was Peter ignoring God for a moment and throwing in his own male chauvinistic thoughts?
The word "weaker" here means, "strengthless". The word vessel here, means, "a vessel, implement, equipment, or apparatus (specifically a wife as contributing to the usefulness of the husband)." So we are to place the greatest value on our wives, understanding that she is our most useful, yet strengthless vessel. Why was that put there? Because, bu the way that God created us, women are, as I heard one preacher put it, like fine china! Beautiful and very useful, but fragile.
Part of honoring her is protecting her. Others should have to go through us to get to her! We should want to protect her, emotionally, financially, physically, spiritually- in every way. A broken piece of china is useless. Though it can be repaired, it's never as strong as it was. Our first job is to protect our wives to the point of being willing to die for them!
God, nor Peter, were putting down women. In fact, they were showing us the extreme value, love, and care that we need to give and show to our wives!
We are also told to give honour to her because we are "heirs together". When we were married, God began the process of making two distinctly different people, one flesh. We are heirs together. Neither person in a marriage, nor the people in the church, are on our way to heaven alone. We make it together, helping each other and supporting each other along the way, or we may not make it at all!
We are heirs together of the grace ("the divine influence upon the heart and it's reflection in the life") of life. His grace is a partnership with us that saves us and enables us to make it to heaven. He lovingly leads us and moves on our heart and we willingly and lovingly, with his help, obey (a partnership). Our marriages should be a physical reflection of that heavenly relationship to a lost and dying world to see!
Finally we are told to do this, "that your prayers be not hindered". If we do not treat our wives in the Godly manner they should be treated, get ready to lose out on some answered prayers. Our prayer life is hindered when our marriage life is not what it should be.
If any of you have further insite into this verse, I'm open to it. I'm learning just as you are. Lord, help our marriages, our homes, our companies, and our country to live our lives in the Godly manners that you teach us to follow! God bless you all!

God knows where you are!

Do you ever wonder if you're completely alone? Do you ever feel as if your prayers are either bouncing off the ceiling or, have gotten lost somehow in the vast space between you and the throne of God? Worse yet, do you ever feel that God is either, ignoring you, angry at you, or making fun of you? Don't worry, you're not alone.

First of all, How did Job feel when he'd lost his wealth, his health, and his children? His "friends" in his face pointing a religious finger at him probably made him feel worse! It's easy for us to read Job's responses as if he were standing up and shouting his attempts to protect himself. Personally, I don't believe that. I believe that the correct picture of this event would be different. His friends were the ones raising their voices at him. I think Job's posture was a man sitting on the ground. He was broken and hurting. He had tried over and over to understand any wrongdoing on his part that could've led to the events he was suffering through. His voice, I believe was barely above a whisper, with his head hung down and tears running down his face. Yet, eventually, God showed up!

How did David feel when the king had turned against him and tried to kill him? All David had wanted was to be a blessing to God's people. Why was the king that he loved, and some of his followers, trying to kill him? Yet, it was in these times that God used him to write some of the Psalms that we know and love! Yes, God did show up- time after time.

How did Paul and Silas feel when they were in a cold and nasty jail? All they'd done was preach the word of God. For this, they were beaten, whipped, and put in chains? Did they wonder if it was worth it? Did they think about quitting. After all, wouldn't life be easier if they just went with the flow of human thought, in stead of following God. To the world, God's word is foolishness! They must've been severely tempted to give up. I don't believe that their singing began as a bold step of faith. I believe that their singing began as a personal cry- almost like a small child who's been injured cries out to get their parents attention! I think they began singing praises to God because they were at the end of their rope. There was nothing else that they could do. But when their heartfelt desperation reached out, it touched the God who was looking for that certain sound.

What sound? The sound of a child who truly realizes that they can't do it. The sound that cries out- "Daddy, help me"! If you think about it, that's the common thread of all the miracles in scripture. When the people that God loved put down their pride, their ways of doing things, their ideas, and simply said, "God, I can't handle this, I need you to handle this"! At that point, that's when God swoops in to save the day!

Why does God wait? Does he not love us? Does he enjoy seeing us suffer? NO, NO, a thousand times NO! However, because he loves us and knows whats best for us, he allows us to go through the pain.

Did you ever look closely at the story where Peter walked on the water? There were these big, burly fishermen talking about the amazing miracles they'd seen that day. No doubt, they were really confused when Jesus sent them and the crowds away. Hadn't the crowds wanted to take Jesus to Jerusalem and crown him king? The disciples knew that Jesus was the Messiah. Wasn't the Messiah supposed to be the king that would free the Jews? Why would he do that? They got so lost in conversation that they were in the grips of a terrible storm before they knew what hit them! I think that they were praying- hard! When Jesus came walking on the water, they were surprised.

Jesus was (and is) God in the flesh! He knew the storm was coming before they were ever on the boat. He knew where they were before the storm and he knew where they were in the storm. Why did he allow it? Look at the results. The biggest miracle here was not Peter's walking on water, nor was it Jesus preventing his drowning and walking him back to the ship. It wasn't even the ceasing of the storm when they got back in the boat. The true miracle was when the faith of these men, and the love they held for Jesus, was built up, and they found themselves on their faces- worshipping the one true God in flesh and giving him their all!

God allows us to suffer in order that we may learn: a) We cannot do everything and we are not the masters of our own destiny, and b) That the all-powerful, all-knowing God of the universe truly IS in control, truly DOES love us, and we truly CAN and MUST trust him with it all.

Just something to think about!

Biblical discrepencies!

A good friend of mine, Gregg Stone, has a wonderful newsletter he calls "the Preacher's page". I greatly enjoy it and look forward to receiving each one. The messages are always very timely and true. Below, you will find a quote from the latest one that really got me to thinking.

"In 1631 an English Bible printer forgot the NOT in one of the Ten Commandments. Here's how his mistake in Exodus 20:14 read: "Thou shalt commit adultery." Because of this colossal goof, the edition became known as The Wicked Bible, and the printer had to pay a large fine.

　

　

An edition of the Bible printed at Cambridge , England in 1653 contained the following printer's error: "know ye not that the unrighteous shall inherit the kingdom of God?" (1 Corinthians 6:9)."

　

As you can see, leaving a small word out of the text- not- makes a HUGE difference in the meaning of a verse.

We live in a day and an hour that, in an effort to "make the word of God more understandable", keeps printing newer and newer versions of the "word of God". In principle, I have no problem with the idea itself. If someone were to go back to the KJV (King James Version) and go through the Greek manuscripts that those translators used, then a truly more understandable version could be brought out- without changing the word of God.

For example,1 Peter 3:1-2 states, "Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the CONVERSATION of the wives; while they behold your chaste CONVERSATION coupled with fear." In our current culture, the word "conversation" generally means to be in a good talk with someone. Therefore, many think that, in this scripture, the husbands will be reached by what the wife says to her husband. How many men, no offence to the women that are truly trying to reach their husbands, grow weary of their wives "preaching at them"?

In truth, however, the word Conversation comes from the Greek word "anastrophe", which means "behavior". It really is by how his wife acts AND talks that the unregenerate husband is won over- not simply by what she says. To put it bluntly, a wife can preach at her husband all day long, but if the husband sees no love of God in her actions and hears no love of God in her voice and attitude, then she's wasting her words.

If someone were to come out with a version of the Bible that said, in 1 Peter 3:1-2, "Be Christlike, wives, and be in submission to your own husbands; that way, if any husband does not obey the word of God, they may, without your trying to pound them with the word of God, be won to God by the Godly lifestyles that they see displayed by their wives; because they see the pure lifestyle coupled with the fear of God.", I'd have no problem with that.

That having been said, however, the truth is that the "modern translations" are not translations at all! They are transliterations. Instead of going word for word, as the KJV translators did, and translating the word into the (at that time) modern equivalent to that word for people to be able to understand it, they've reworded the word of God in such a way as to make the word of God ineffective.

Here's one example. John 3:13 is one of my favorite verses. It reads, "And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the son of man which is in heaven." In this one verse, Jesus was revealing to Nicodemus that, although he was speaking with Jesus face to face, Jesus was also in heaven at the same time he was speaking to him. In other words, he was telling Nicodemus that even though all he saw was a man, Nicodemus was actually talking to the very real God of the universe.

The New Living Translation says, "No one has ever gone to heaven and returned. But the son of Man has come down from heaven".

The Message Bible says, "No one has ever gone up into the presence of God, except the one who came down from that presence, the son of man."

The New American Standard says, "No one has ascended into heaven, but he who descended from heaven: the son of man."

The NIV says, "No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven- the son of man."

Can we not see the changes that they've made? Can we not see that they all leave the phrase "which is in heaven" completely off? Do we not understand the damage that they have done to the true meaning of the word of God?

John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life."

There is much in this verse, but we will focus on this one part. If a person believes, they SHOULD not perish. It does not say SHALL not. It is not a guarantee or a blank check. By believing in a biblical way, we have the option to follow Jesus and let him live through us. If we stay in that relationship with him we will make it to heaven. If, however, we choose to leave that relationship, we will NOT make heaven. That's why it says SHOULD, not SHALL.

When a couple gets married, they've made a commitment and are joined together in the eyes of God and man. If, however, one of them decides to leave the other and go off with someone else, they break the covenant. The marriage, in most circumstances, is over (and biblically could be). If we leave our covenant relationship with Jesus, we break the marriage and unless we go back in real repentance and pray back through, we will (in the words of a good friend of mine) bust hell wide open!

Now, what do the other mistranslations say?

The NIV says, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him SHALL not perish but have eternal life."

The NAS says, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him SHALL not perish but have eternal life."

The Message says, "This is how much God loved the world: he gave his son, his one and only son. And this is why, so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn't go through all the trouble of sending his son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him IS ACQUITTED; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that persons failure to believe in the one of a kind son of God when introduced to him."

The NLT says, "For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only son, so that everyone who believes in him WILL not perish but have eternal life."

In short NO TRUE BELIEVER should ever use the modern translations. It's that simple. They are not the whole word of God. A little bit of leaven leavens the whole loaf. A little lie written and passed off as the word of God makes the true word of God in the rest of the book to have no effect. Stick with the KJV and a good Strong's concordance. For now, anything else, is not the word of God!

Grace alone? What is grace anyway?

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." Ephesian 2:8-10

There is a belief in the "Christian community" that says that we are saved by grace alone through faith alone. The reasoning comes from the above stated scripture. They say that if we are saved by grace through faith, then we can add nothing to that and play no part in the salvational process. Of course, the actual ending of their argument is ignored. If we have absolutely nothing to do with the process of our salvation, then nothing is required of us- everybody is saved already!

The real crux of the matter is this, however: What is grace? When asked this question the vast majority will respond that grace is "God's unmerited favor". Is that the true definition? Greek word for grace means, "the divine influence on the heart, and it's reflection in the life, including gratitude".

Does this mean "unmerited favor"? No. God is a gentleman and does not force his will upon anyone's life. Indeed, the scriptures declare that "it is not God's will that any should perish...", yet we know from scripture that the majority of people will go to hell. So what does the definition of Grace really mean?

First, it says that grace is "the divine influence on the heart". Jesus said that no man can come to him except the spirit first draws them. God sees us in our fallen state. He sees all of our sins that keep us separate from him. Yet, he loves us anyway! Thanks to his sacrifice on calvary, the door is wide open for us to be in relationship with him! He loves us so much that he begins to try and draw us out of the world and into his will for our lives. No one comes to God on their own, God drew them out. He whispers his love for us in the little things in our lives. He reaches into our hidden desires and dreams and tries to open our eyes to new possibilities. He taps us on the shoulder while we're trapped in prisons of our own making, and tells us that he loves us and is willing to set us free!

Yet, the definition of Grace does not stop there. It goes on to say that God's influence must be "reflected" in our lives. If Grace is the "unmerited favor of God" and we are saved by grace alone, then there is nothing else required of us. But, since grace is a process that begins with God influencing us, but that influence also has to be reflected in our lives, then we DO play a part in our salvation. Salvation then becomes a choice. It is up to us as to whether we are willing to accept that divine influence and allow him to work in our lives! If we do, then his influence will be reflected in our lives for the whole world to see.

For the record, "Unmerited favor" or, put another way, "favor from God that we do not deserve", is MERCY, not grace. Grace is a partnership between us and God. It is God working in our life and our submission and obedience to his will for us. His mercy caused him to go to calvary to pay for our sins. His grace gives us access to the blood that he shed. Mercy opens the door for the divine partnership of grace!

This is why, on the day of Pentecost, on the birthday of the church, the Apostles did not tell the multitudes that all they had to do was "believe in Jesus" and their sins would be forgiven. No, when the crowd asked "what shall we do?", the answer was "Repent, be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of our sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." (Acts 2:38)

What does the divine partnership of grace have to do with Acts 2:38?

First of all, noone would even ask the question "What shall I do to be saved", unless God had influenced their heart and convicted them of their sins- drawing them with his love to the possibility of a right relationship with God.

Next, they (and we) were told that we must repent. What is repentance? It is a spiritual ACTION on our part. It is our first response to the call of God in our lives. We see ourselves as sinners. We see the cross and all that Jesus did to pay for OUR sins. It is an emotional and spiritual response. It is a letting go of our own will and excepting and submitting to the will of God. It is, in short, a complete turning from our sinful ways and turning to God in COMPLETE surrender. This is part of our portion of the divine partnership of grace.

Further, they (and we) are told to "be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission (washing away) of your sins." Again, the partnership of grace is displayed. We submit to him in baptism and repentance, he does his part by applying the blood to our lives and washing away our sins.

Finally, they (and we) were told that we would "receive the gift of the Holy Ghost". Again grace is displayed. We submit to God and open our hearts to him, he infills us with his spirit.

One more thought. The proponents of the false "grace alone" theory point to John 3:16 as the plan of salvation. They say that "whosoever" believeth in him WILL not (actually says SHOULD not- it's not a guarantee!) perish but WILL have everlasting life. The Greek for Believeth here means "to have faith...to entrust ones spiritual well being to Christ." However, in John 2:23-25, a group of people "believe on Jesus" (same Greek word for believe). We are told that Jesus did not commit himself to them! Newsflash! If Jesus doesn't commit himself to you, you're NOT saved! Yet, in John 3:16, we're told we must believe and these people in John 2 did- but they were not saved. What are we missing here? Is this a contradiction? No.

John 3:3-5 says that we must be born again of the water and of the spirit. Look again at Acts 2:38. We must Repent of our sins, be baptized in Jesus name (born of the water) and receive the Holy Ghost (born of the spirit).

His mercy opens the door for his grace. His grace is a partnership with him that allows him to work in our lives and clean us up. It is a process that is activated and freely given at our biblical new birth (Acts 2:38) and continues, if we allow it, until we die. Grace is a lifetime commitment, not a one time event. God bless you all.

The refiners fire!

"But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like refiners fire, and like fullers soap: And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering of righteousness." Malachi 3: 2-3

Much has been said about God purifying us as individuals with his "refiners fire", to get out the sinful "dross" (the impure particles in Gold and Silver that rise to the top of their liquid forms- to be scooped out by the refiner) from our lives and hearts. Today, we're going to look at his refining fire from a corporate standpoint.

The last thing Jesus told his church before leaving earth was: "Go ye therefore..." Mat. 28:18 After waiting to recieve his Spirit on the day of Pentecost, revival broke out! On the birthday of the church 3,120 souls were born again. What a great day. Many more were brought into the kingdom through Gods plan of salvation (Acts 2:38) over the coming weeks and months. Along the way, something happened.

Instead of going into the uttermost parts of the earth, they pretty much stayed in Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria. What happened? Revival slowed. God's people got "comfortable". Life started to become a routine. So, our Lord stoked his fire a little and allowed Herod to kill the Apostle James. He also allowed Peter to be taken captive.

That fast, the people hit their faces in prayer for their leader. Soon, Peter was free, Herod was dead, and life settled down again. Once more, God's people grew complacent. So, Jesus stoked the fires again.

A great persecutor, named Saul rose up, killing and torturing Christian men, women, and children by the thousands. As a result of this persecution, God's people finally began going to the "uttermost parts of the earth"- fleeing for their lives. The results were magnificent. Wherever God's people found themselves, revival broke out and untold numbers were born again into the family of God. After much prayer,the persecutor of God's people, was struck down and born again. Saul the killer, became Paul the apostle. Again, the church new peace.

Down through the years, the same pattern has been seen time and time again. The church gets complacent and comfortable. God allows an enemy to rise up to "lite a fire under his people". Then, after repentance, revival breaks out in the midst of persecution.

It happened under Nero. It happened in the middle ages, under the Iron fists of "the Holy Roman Empire" and the Catholic church. It happened in Europe and England during "The Great Awakening". It's happened here in the USA and is happening now in dictatorial regimes like China and the Muslim controlled countries. Millions are being born again, in spite of the absolute risk to their own lives!

We, as American Christians, seem to think that we're immune to this refining process- that somehow, we're special here in the USA. God would never allow those things to happen to us, right?

Many of us are looking around us and wondering what in the world is going on. Our elected leaders, by and large, are the most immoral and ungodly group we've ever had. Our country seems to be teetering on the brink of total collapse into socialism (which always brings oppression) and communism (which brings death to many).

The state of our churches is becoming even worse! Some churches are even openly advocating gay marriage, gay clergy, abortion, assisted suicide, Marxism, and ecumenical beliefs. After all,we're all just spokes on a wheel, trying to get to God in our own ways, right?

In the midst of all of this, God's true people have been praying for revival. The reason things are like they are is because God has, once again, lit his refiners fire. He will boil the impurities out of us and light a fire that will never be quenched! We will have revival.

But revival comes with a price. Many will be arrested. Some will die. To speak the name of Jesus in public will become criminal. We will, at some point, have to go underground. Just as they did in Rome, during Nero, and as they are doing now in China and the middle east. Through it all, though, God is accomplishing 2 things. 1) He's purifying his bride and preparing us for the trip home, and 2)He's bringing more and more people into the kingdom.

We've been praying for revival. It's almost here. I pray we're ready!

Just let them grow up! (by our daughter- Heather)

A green-eyed towhead girl sat on the kitchen floor banging spoons together. Mom was standing at the stove stirring a pot of stew for dinner that night.
The phone rings.

“Lucy” mom said, “ I have to step out and answer the phone. Don’t touch the stove it is very hot and you will get burned.”

Like every kid Lucy’s curiosity got the best of her.
She toddled her way over to the stove and reached up her tiny hand. She soon found out what hot meant.
As she let out a cry mom was soon their pulling Lucy into her arms.

“It’s okay sweetheart” mommy crooned, “I am here and I will help to make it feel all better.”

Yes the mom could have taken Lucy with her but how would Lucy have ever learned what hot meant. You see we can shelter someone so much that we never let them grow up. Sometime the best thing to do is let them learn and when they hurt we can always be there for them to wipe the tears away. A part of hurting is a part of growing. It comes one way or another. The thing is to let them know that you are always there for them and you love them.

God is that way. He lets us grow and find out for ourselves what life is all about. Just like the mom in this story he is there to pick us up when we fall and He forgives us.

So just a thought, maybe letting go is the best thing that we could ever do. We might just be surprised at the outcome.