TEARS For The LORD- A Poem

TEARS FOR THE LORD- A Poem

The Holy God and Terrible Judge presided above,

Against my staining sins and crimes there was enough,

To sentence me to lasting death, a cursed, cold grave,

Was there no one at all for my soul to save?

In breathless, twisted anguish my deeds were caught,

And in lame defense was I defenseless with naught,

to justify my waywardness, my sins, my crimes,

In my ears I heard death's harsh toll begin to chime.

Who shall deliver me from this body of death,

And light the chamber within my darkened breast?

Who shall seperate me from my sin with infinite breadth?

Is there any to ignite in me a holy Eternal breath?

A wonder then to behold, an awesome, beautiful sight:

The Lamb of God approaches in bright, unapproachable light!

The Holy God, upon Whom fell my most unholy blight.

Pierced through by nails, by whip, by sin and devilish night.

Blessed Substitute Who took my sin as His very own,

Suffered Holy Wrath Himself, for all of us, to spare.

Suffered His stainless soul to be so horribly marred,

And laid them all in death within that cold, dark tomb.

Omnipotent Power raised Him up with scars remaining!

Retrieving waiting souls that hoped for that Blessed Day,

Ascending to heaven, to a throne of Kingly display,

Almighty God in new life and glory-power reigning!

O'er death, o'er sin, o'er all the devil's power disdaining,

Bringing my spirit to God and to life, regaining

Far more than ever I lost and ever before knew,

And finding in the Father's heart, a passion-love true!

Then on a certain day, upon death's bed of night,

And prepared to close my eyes in temporary sleep.

Then open them again and then only will I see:

An awesome glorious sight, in approachable Light:

The LAMB of God approaches with scars still remaining,

I fall to my knees, my hands in His strongly sustaining.

My God, my God what anguish you suffered for me!

Sobbing, sobbing still, firmly in Love's gentle eternal grace,

Sobbing, sobbing for my Savior with fervant grateful embrace,

The LORD raises me up, and His eyes look to mine and sees:

Tears of sorrow, tears of joy, tears born from former life.

Now free from sin, from death, from mortal turmoil and strife.

No tears for the eternal morrow, no, nor for today,

For sorrow and lamenting liquid, He shall finally wipe away.

Mercy and Truth are now met together

Righteousness and peace have kissed each other

The Truth has sprung out from the Earth,

Righteousness looks down in blood stained worth!

March 25, 2010

The LORD JESUS: OUR ULTIMATE Health Care Provider

Well, its happened; a national health care system has been narrowly voted in, and many Americans are upset to say the least, that in such an economy as ours, with unemployment as it is, and a host of other problems, now would be the worst time to burden us with yet MORE taxes, with LESS quality health care. Yet here we are!

Perhaps we the people would do well to revisit the issue of making sure that those in D.C. get the same exact coverage as we will; perhaps that would even be a pre-requisite for any who would run for office in the coming elections. Perhaps that might reverse this decision? Maybe so, but I won't hold my breath on that.

In the meanwhile, what are we to do; especially those who are already sick and in need of continuing care?

Remembering JOHN's Gospel, chapter 5 from last Sunday's sermon at church (the pastor there is going through an "Encountering Jesus" series), there in that portion of scripture, we learned about "a certain man . . . which had an infirmity for thirty eight years (vs. 5)". Can you imagine in those days, without the hospitals, pharmaceuticals, and professional medical personnel, being sick for thirty eight years?

In this particular case, this man was surrounded with other sickly people, multitudes of impotent folk, along with the blind, the halt, the withered (vs. 3) all together, gathered around a pool and its five porch areas, the pool of "Bethesda" which means incidentally, "the house of kindness".

These sick folk waited for the moving of the waters in that pool for it was believed (whether rightly or not) that it was an angel that stirred those waters, and that whoever entered first, would be healed of their malady. Not so 'kind' of an experience for those who came in second, or third, etc.

The LORD Jesus enters the scene, and approaches this man, and we might wonder why this particular man, among so great a multitude. He asks the impotent man a question that He will be asking us more, here in America, now that this national health care system is going into place:

"Will you be made whole?"

If the LORD so chose, He could have healed every single person there, but He is focused on this one man. Listen to what the man says in response:

"Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steps down before me. (vs.7)"

Now we get a better picture, and perhaps an answer to our question - Why this man, above any of the others? He never stood a chance (literally!) of getting into that pool without someone to help him. As long as he was alone, others would assuredly get healed before him. Others would be first, he would always be last.

NOT SO! Our Loving LORD Jesus will bring this man into a position of being the first to be healed here!

Yet perhaps you feel this way yourself, perhaps this is the very situation you are struggling with. This may be the situation for a lot of us in these coming days ahead. We feel alone, with no one to help us, no attending physicians until some appointment weeks or even months in the future (or if its proven that we hold politically-incorrect views, maybe never?).

No resources, no immediate attention. We are left to our own devices to struggle against the ailment that confronts us. Feelings of loneliness, desperation, hopelessness threaten to engulf us and plunge us down into despondancy!

Whereas before we would simply pick up the phone, schedule an appointment, visit the doctor, specialist, hospital and receive treatment and gradually be on the road to recovery - - such resources will likely become scant and more remote. It may well be that we no longer can trust that such medical assistance will be there for us.

Who can we trust?

The LORD Jesus arrives in our direst time of need, when we feel most alone and helpless: just like that man at the pool of Bethesda, and asks us, "Will you be made whole?"

As bad as this whole thing is, I can't help but wonder: Christians all across this nation have prayed earnestly that this Health Care bill wouldn't pass, and we know that God's ears are open to the righteous (and certainly we must have at least a few of these left in this fallen nation), and that He hears the prayer that's in accord with His will. So why did the LORD allow this bill to pass?

I believe its to provide for us an opportunity to see Him strong on our behalf, an opportunity to trust Him, over any provision of health care from doctors and hospitals (good as these may be). Could it be that we've become overly dependent on our health care? What did the saints do before health coverage was a part of an employers benefits package?

They prayed a lot more!

They sought God, and were more attentive to His Word!

They trusted in the ONLY Trustworthy Man that there is, the Man from Galilee, the LORD Jesus Christ! He will be approaching us in these days ahead, days in which we may be diagnosed with a serious health condition, but with little chance of immediate treatment, that might prove fatal if not for help secured for us elsewhere - -

At the nail-scarred hands of our Great Physician who is eager to bring us to Bethesda and into the kindness of His healing touch! You are the one He will be approaching, when all other help fails, and He will ask you the same question:

Will you be made whole?

When the man told the LORD of his helpless plight, Jesus' answer was immediate, and these were the words of the Almighty!

"Rise, take up your bed and walk! (vs.8)"

The man was of course, attentive to receive such a word, and by faith and in obedience to the LORD's command, made the attempt; instantly the grace of God was present to enable him to do so!

So too, we must receive healing from the LORD, knowing of course that He is in fact the Almighty, and fully capable of meeting our needs. Again and again the Word admonishes us to not put trust in the flesh, but in the LORD. See JER 17:5-8 for example.

There's nothing wrong with physicians or medicine of course, but as such resources will no doubt diminish we will find ourselves trusting God rather than man and his own medical wisdom.

God will prove Himself strong on our behalf, of that we can be sure!

2 CHRON 16:9
For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him.

PSALMS 91:1-6
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.

PROV 3:1-6
My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments:
For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee. Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart: So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man. Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

JER 30:17
For I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the LORD; because they called thee an Outcast, saying, This is Zion, whom no man seeketh after.

May the LORD Jesus bless you all, and bring you to an even deeper level of communion and prayer with Him, as He provides Himself as our ever faithful Shepherd and Healer!

ZEALOUS For the NAME of the LORD

I have a confession to make: I'm very angry these days! You might think, 'What James? Angry? But you're a Christian! Christians aren't supposed to be angry, but remain steadfastly in a state of joy and peace, right?'

Aside from the fact that the LORD Jesus got angry in the Temple, when He saw the corruption that was there, and the religious authorities were actually the ones impeding true worship from taking place; and the fact that scripture does say:

EPH. 4:26
Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath 

And in Proverbs it has this to say about angry people -
Prov 29:22, 24
An angry man stirreth up strife, and a furious man aboundeth in transgression.
Make no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man thou shalt not go:

So its wise that we not associate with such that have uncontrollable tempers, and seem to always be angry. However, there is a time and a place for anger or righteous indignation just so long as it is righteous, and it doesn't lead to sin.

So what has me so worked up? We'll get to that in a bit, but before we do, I'd like to talk about religion in the Judaic system established by God in the Old Testament (particularly the Pentateuch), that is, the ways of the LORD and about man-made religion.

The ways of the LORD in the beginning was very simple; God came and had fellowship with Adam and Eve in the cool of the evening, there in the Garden of Eden. In this love relationship there was just one rule (a one rule 'religion', if you will): don't eat the forbidden fruit! That would be the proof of their faithfulness, devotion and love for their Creator.

Not that there was anything inherently sinful in the fruit of that tree, any more than the fruit of any other tree, I'm quite sure. It was in the disobedience of God's command that Adam and his wife sinned. Once they discovered that what Satan had promised the woman, that they would be "like gods, knowing good and evil", and a means to acquire wisdom (GEN 3:5-6) was a lie. When they had transgressed the Law of God, they then took it upon themselves to sew fig leaves together and make aprons in order to cover their own nakedness.


They attempted to create a means to cover their sins using their own wits and ingenuity, and here is the first example of man-made religion!

God came along and after questioning and dealing with the two of them, made coats of lamb skins; it must have been astonishing and dismaying to Adam and Eve to see something die (for the first time) and see its blood shed! The price for sin against God meant someone had to pay for such a spiritual debt! Here was the lesson that they learned, for the offering to atone for sin, blood must be shed.

Then there was the scene with their two sons, Cain and Abel. No doubt the spiritual lesson of the parents would have been taught to their kids, and so Abel and Cain would know about blood sacrifices for sin.

Yet when these two men made their offerings, Cain's was refused, for it was an offering of grain, which of course was without blood. One question that's been posed before: How did they know which offering was accepted and which was not? Did a holy fire come down out of heaven and consume the sacrifice much like in the day when Elijah challenged the prophets of Ba'al? That's a question I should like to ask Abel when I see him in heaven!

Interesting to note that in both of these instances, vegetative growth was used rather than the blood (from the meat) of animals in order to present an offering for sin!

Propelling into the future at break neck speed, we come to the deliverance of Israel from bondage in Egypt, and to the Mount of the LORD and the giving of the Law from God to Moses. He was up there for a long time apparently, and the people of Israel grew restless.

They decided to make a golden calf(s) and proclaimed that "these be your gods"! to the children of Israel. See EXOD 32:7-8. More false religion. The LORD didn't take too kindly to this horrendous infraction against His Holiness, and it brought down His righteous indignation! Even Moses, meekest man in all the Earth was full of wrath against these people prone to sin!

The Tabernacle (the design of which was given to Moses as well, at the giving of the Law) was erected once again during the time of their voyage to Israel, and every thing connected with the Tabernacle and worship of God was carefully prescribed by the LORD; He gave them explicit instructions on how, where and why they were to worship the LORD, even right down to the incense and the sort of altars they were to be built.

In LEV 10:1-6 we see how the LORD dealt with the sons of Aaron who took it upon themselves to light a 'strange fire' which the LORD did not ordain! Those two men were slain by the fire of the LORD for their misconduct! God takes it VERY, VERY seriously how He is to be approached, worshipped and represented before the people of God!

In EXOD 20:25 it states:
And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it.

The LORD Jesus Christ is referred to as 'the ROCK' in scripture, as well as that 'stone cut without hands'. I find it interesting then, that if any sacrifice is made on an altar of stone, its not to be of hewn stone, but natural; in other words any changing of the rock's appearance through human effort would pollute it and any sacrifice offered upon it.

God will not accept any human design, imagination, efforts in works or elaborate religious creations in regards to the justification He Himself provides for the salvation of mankind!

In NUM 25:1-11 There is an account where Israel committed whoredoms with the pagan nation of Moab (this seduction was performed by the counsels of Balaam, who advised Balak to have the Moabite women go into the camp of Israel and lure their men); in the throes of erotic passions, the Moabite women would bring out their idols, and they would pay homage to these false gods.

This wasn't even done under cover of darkness, nor behind the backs of Moses and Aaron; note vs. 6:

And, behold, one of the children of Israel came and brought unto his brethren a Midianitish woman in the sight of Moses, and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, who were weeping before the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

Because of this, a plague from the LORD broke out among the children of Israel, but it was suddenly stopped. How? Did they have an ecumenical meeting with Baalpeor and the leadership of that nation? Did they have a consensus and seek out common beliefs so that they could dialogue and come to a mutually agreeable belief system whereby they could join together and form a peaceful religious association so that they might better their world?

No. Read in vs. 7-8:

And when Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up from among the congregation, and took a javelin in his hand;
And he went after the man of Israel into the tent, and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her belly. So the plague was stayed from the children of Israel.

Harsh action? Cruel punishment? An unjust deed?

Listen to what the LORD had to say about this!


NUM 25:10-13
And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, hath turned my wrath away from the children of Israel, while he was zealous for my sake among them, that I consumed not the children of Israel in my jealousy. Wherefore say, Behold, I give unto him my covenant of peace: And he shall have it, and his seed after him, even the covenant of an everlasting priesthood; because he was zealous for his God, and made an atonement for the children of Israel.

Because one man had the zeal, the love for, and awesome reverence for the LORD and His Holy Name, he took it upon himself to stand up for righteousness and bring a stop to the whoredoms and spiritual adultery that had infested the camp of Israel. He slew those who were guilty of High Treason against the LORD GOD Almighty, Creator and Judge of all the Earth! For that, the plague ceased at the command of the LORD, and He blessed Phinehas!

Much later, after the reign of King David, and his immediate successor, Solomon, the nation of Israel found itself divided into two separate houses, that is, the house of Israel, and the house of Judah, and these two houses of the divided kingdom were at odds with one another. The house of Israel fell into idolatry and was eventually judged; Judah remained faithful at first and intermittently afterwards, but later they likewise succumbed to idolatry and left the living God for the false gods of the pagan nations around them. Both houses were judged and carried away to Babylon in the days of Daniel the prophet.

Yet generations prior to this point, God sent prophets (Isaiah, and Jeremiah to name two of them) to warn and to plead with the people of Israel (the nation) to return to the LORD, and not forsake His Law; to return to Jerusalem and worship Him in Spirit and in Truth, and not to seek out Bethel in the northern region of the house of Israel (Bethel was a city established as an alternate to Jerusalem where people could worship YHWH as well as the other gods of the pagan nations). The LORD didn't take too kindly to having to share His people in their affections for other gods!

Amos 5:5-6
But seek not Bethel, nor enter into Gilgal, and pass not to Beersheba: for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, and Bethel shall come to nought.
Seek the LORD, and ye shall live; lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and devour it, and there be none to quench it in Bethel.

In the days wherein the LORD Jesus Himself walked the streets of Galilee and Jerusalem, the Pharisees were exulting in the Law as though they could work out their salvation by their own efforts, and attempt a justification by the Law! Yet the purpose of the Law was to reveal our sinful hearts in light of the Holiness of God's Law!

This is why the LORD Jesus was so angry with these religious leaders! They were perverting the Word of God, the Law, and using both towards their own selfish ends of monetary gain, and the reception of reverence from others. Read MATT ch. 23 to read the rebukes of Love Incarnate towards these religious leaders!

The church has been born, grown, established now for about two thousands years, and in today's current world, the situation is the same!


The WORD of God has been altered, polluted by the heinous hewing away of scriptural truth by liberal scholars and their hammers and chisels of blasphemy.


New Age and Emergent church organizations and groups are likewise taking away or adding to the WORD of God in the creation of a pseudo-Christian religion!

Dialogues between so-called Christian leaders and all other world religions are seeking harmony, focusing on common ground and a mutual consensus whereby they can tackle and solve global problems such as poverty, hunger, global warming, etc. and claim that THIS is what the Gospel of Jesus Christ is all about?? These leaders of 'the church' are encouraging meditative practices that are not only unbiblical, but born of occult wisdom from the very same ancient cultures which God had judged in days gone by!

Instead of the LORD Jesus Christ being revered and worshipped, there's talk among such people about the 'Christ-consciousness' and the worship of false Christs as well as themselves!

Instead of the Body of Christ, there is the world church comprised of pseudo-Christians, Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists, animists, nature worshippers, etc.

Instead of the WORD of GOD there is a homogenized amalgam of globally spiritual beliefs and world views, that are primarily Hinduism at its core.

Instead of prayer there is mysticism; also contemplative prayer, a euphemism for mantra meditation, a totally Hindu concept.

Instead of transgression of GOD's Holy Law being called sin, its the failure of recognizing the divine within ourselves, and our lack of self esteem and adhering to old, out-dated belief systems (like the Bible) that's being called sin.

Instead of repentance from sin and towards God, the repentance of today is understanding the failure to recognize our full potential, and in dwelling too much about 'pie in the sky in the by in bye' heavenly mindedness that we become no earthly good, and lack commitment towards a global P.E.A.C.E. plan!

Instead of the preaching of the Gospel for salvation and being born again in Christ, there are mystical meetings where people gather in order to become 'enlightened' to the truth that God is in all, and thus we are part of God and really... we ARE God!

If this isn't enough to cause me to become angry (and it most certainly IS!), there is the added effrontery that comes from pastors and Christian leaders who not only keep silent in their protests against these things, but who actually voice their approval and praise! They're commending the very things that they should be condemning!

WHY AREN'T THE PULPITS HERE IN AMERICA THUNDERING WITH THE CONVICTION OF OUR HOLY GOD IN LAYING CHARGES AGAINST THESE PAGANIZED PROSTITUTIONS AND APOSTATE LEADERS?!!

WHY are they not teaching about and exposing the LIES and HERESIES of these movements?!!

WHY are they focused on building their own fiefdoms and kingdoms within the four walls of their own high-tech, seeker friendly, popular and prosperous sanctuaries?!

WHY are they carrying on in such a happy-go-lucky, "isn't our church wonderful?" Laodicean mood when these heretical dogmas, doctrines of demons, seducing spirits, and apostate leaders are creeping in and infesting the body of Christ with this plague of paganism?!

WHO WILL STOP THIS PLAGUE? WHO WILL STAND FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS with the HEART OF A PHINEHAS? WHO WILL STAND FAST IN THE FAITH ONCE DELIVERED TO US?

Heed the words of Jesus Himself:

LUKE 18:8b
...Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?


And for these pastors and Christian leaders, does this aptly fit as a rebuke to any of them? Hear the LORD's lament and scathing declaration through Isaiah the prophet:

ISAIAH 56:10
His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber. Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter.

Note, these watchmen are blind... not seeing, perceiving, understanding the very dangers they should be warning our congregations about! They love spiritual slumber, ease, comfort and don't want to be bothered about controversy in the world that is narrowing its aim upon the church. They are bent on their own gain, greedy but never having enough, selfishly motivated and careless regarding the sheep.

See also EZEK 34:1-10

Who among God's faithful churches will stand in this terribly sad day of apostasy, and will remain true to the LORD, even if it means losing their tax exempt status, even if it means government fines, even if it means losing their church building because they refuse to comply with a government sanctioned DEPARTMENT of PEACE edict (potentially what's in store in our future -- an article at The TRUTH Under FIRE)

...even if it means a prison sentence, even if it means losing one's own life here in America the once-free nation, upon which God had shed His grace.

May the LORD raise up such an army of dedicated saints who will wage no war against flesh and blood, but only against principalities and powers of wickedness that are gaining a greater strangle hold on this world as well as the church at large.

UPDATE- 10/26/10: In addition to this admonition, I have also included this fiery, holy message by Leonard Ravenhill: ZEAL, LOVE ABLAZE.

Prayerfully yours,
brother James FIRE

Have You Slain Your Giant Today?

Giants, dragons, griffins, satyrs, gods and demi-gods . . . the very stuff of myths and folklore, and not to be taken seriously; or are they? 

Well probably not the griffins and satyrs (...maybe) but what about dragons? Or giants?
Is there any substantiation that these could have been real?

Those of us who know our Bibles (and take the Word of God seriously) know that it speaks of giants, AND dragons, but is there any corroboration in history, any documented evidence?

There certainly seems to be for dragons in the way of 'dinosaurs', a term actually created in the mid 19th century, in 1842 by Sir Richard Owen and derives from Greek δεινός (deinos) "terrible, powerful, wondrous" + σαῦρος (sauros) "lizard".

Prior to that point, people simply called them dragons.

Messages From Martyrs

Once again I would like to bring up the issue of Christian persecution as its growing at alarming rates all over the world.


How many Christians would you guess have died as martyrs this last year? Believers in Jesus who died for their faith?

5,000? 10,000?

How many Christians are being persecuted right now for their faith?

2 million? 20 million?

The actual answers may just astound you. I have three reports from two different sources: The Berean Call and Gospel For Asia:

First stop: Communist China -

CHINA CHRISTIANS SENT TO LABOR CAMPS [Excerpts]

Police in northern China have sentenced five Christian church leaders to two years of "education through labour" after they protested against a police raid on their church, a rights group said Wednesday.

The punishments came after a Shanxi province court last week sentenced five other leaders of the same church to up to seven years in prison for trying to protect the unregistered church from demolition, said ChinaAid, a US-based Christian rights group.

"To arbitrarily send five innocent citizens to labour camps is in direct violation of international human rights covenants," the head of ChinaAid, Bob Fu, said in a statement.

The statement said the case, in the city of Linfen, showed Chinese authorities were intent on suppressing religious freedom.

Up to 1,000 followers of the unregistered 60,000-member Fushan church in Linfen held a protest prayer meeting a day after police raided church buildings on September 13, the rights group said.

Following the protest, police began rounding up church leaders, it said.
"Education through labour" is a punishment meted out by police that does not require judicial procedures such as a trial. The punishment has long been criticised as arbitrary and susceptible to abuse.

The government says China's official churches have 15 million Protestants and five million Catholics. But there are believed to be many millions more worshipping in "underground" or "family" churches, which refuse to submit to government regulation.

http://www.mysinchew.com/node/32304

Second stop: somewhere in India -

New Believers Attacked by Family
February 4, 2010

When Soumil Dutta, Shreyas Das and Saaz Das decided to surrender their lives to Christ, their families turned on them.

Their attackers beat them in an attempt to intimidate them in to denying Christ, but the three young men remained steadfast.

After the beating and threats did not work at home, the relatives tracked down Gospel for Asia–supported pastor Dadra Thackeray. Since it was through his church that these new Christians heard about Jesus, they threatened Dadra with extortion, saying they would make him pay 100,000 rupees ($2,164 US) for each person who became a believer through his church.

Our GFA field correspondent noted that the Lord is using Pastor Dadra in a great way to reach many souls for the Kingdom in the village where these three believers live. Pastor Dadra needs prayer for protection for him and his family, and that he will have grace and wisdom to handle the situation wisely.

He also asks for prayer for the new believers who are being treated badly by their family, that the Lord will also protect them and strengthen their hearts so their faith will remain strong.

The family members and the others tormenting them, who are still furious about the choice these young men have made, need prayer as well, that they will come to know the love of the Lord and realize the truth about Jesus.

http://www.gfa.org/news/articles/new-believers-attacked-family/?cm_mmc=GFA-_-Email-_-377991-_-100204-prayer-new-believers-beaten

Pastor Dadra is serving in Assam, India. Learn more about the state he's working in.

Third stop: The Middle East, Israel and Egypt -

BEATEN BUT UNBOWED [Excerpts]

A recent visitor to Jerusalem, Majed El Shafie, bore witness to [anti-Semitism and the persecution of Christians] at a reception and press conference held at the Van Leer Institute on December 14.

Shafie and his colleagues formally introduced his Toronto-based international human rights organization, "One Free World International."

Shafie knows a great deal about Christian persecution: He converted from Islam to Christianity in his Egyptian homeland when he was 18.
"During my years in law school in Alexandria," Shafie explains, "the persecution of Christians was going on all around me and it made me wonder why it was happening. For the first time in my life I started to think about it. I started asking questions of my best friend Tamer, who was a Christian, and I started reading the Bible. I started making comparisons between the Bible and the Koran....Of course, converting from Islam to Christianity -- or to any other faith -- is dangerous business in Muslim lands.

Under Shari'a law such conversions are understood to be a capital offense - enforced by the death penalty in some states, and bringing about various abuses and vigilante tactics in others. Nonetheless, Shafie was outspoken about his new faith."

After I converted I wrote a book about the difference between Islam and Christianity which soon caused me to be arrested and imprisoned. There were three charges. The first charge was that I was trying to make a revolution against the Egyptian government. The second charge was that, because I was seeking equal rights for Christians, I was accused of trying to change the state religion to Christianity. The third charge was that I worshiped Jesus.

So in fact I looked at the judge and I said, 'Guilty as charged.'"

Shafie was imprisoned and tortured. Even today scars on his back testify to the violence he endured. After a lengthy hospitalization, he was placed under house arrest in Alexandria, and it was from there that he escaped and made his way to Israel.

Finally in 2002 Majed got approval to enter Canada....Shafie's December 2009 trip to Israel was, in part, a gesture of thanks to a country that gave him a new beginning. He also took the opportunity to affirm his personal support of Israel as a free nation and to take a stand, in solidarity with Israel, against anti-Semitism.

Shafie appeared at his press conference with two Canadian members of Parliament, Scott Reid and Mario Silva, both of whom are actively engaged with issues related to human rights and anti-Semitism. Dr. Frank Dimant, executive vice president of B'nai B'rith Canada, and Timothy King, a One Free World board member, also shared the podium with them.

The speakers agreed that "anti-Zionism is the new anti-Semitism."Shafie went on to say that the report on the IDF's Cast Lead operation in Gaza by the head of the UN fact-finding mission, Justice Richard Goldstone, serves as a disturbing example of anti-Zionist rhetoric.

Shafie underscored specific facts about Hamas's tactics and the IDF's response that were not mentioned in the Goldstone report:

"We needed to know from his report that Hamas was using civilians as human shields. We needed to know from his report that for I don't know how many years Hamas has been shooting thousands of rockets into Israel.

We need to know from his report that before the Israelis bombed any target in Gaza, they sent thousands of fliers into the area and told the people to get out - 'We're going to bomb here in two hours.' Goldstone's report is a disgrace!"

After speaking about anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism, Shafie then began to discuss the plight of persecuted Christians. One Free World reports that in 2008, 165,000 Christians were killed worldwide because of their faith, claiming, "Every three minutes a Christian is being tortured in the Muslim world... between 200 million and 300 million Christians are persecuted in the world, of which 80 percent are in Muslim countries and the rest in communist and other countries."
(Gilbert, "Beaten But Unbowed,"
The Jerusalem Post, January 1 - 7, 2010, p.18-19).

Lastly, from the ministry of Voice of The Martyrs, I'd like you to meet a prisoner in Pakistan, who was sent there because she believes just as you and I do: in the LORD Jesus Christ, her LORD and SAVIOR.

Her name? Asia Bibi - here is her story:

Asia Bibi, a 37-year-old Pakistani woman from the village of Ittanwali, was arrested by police on Friday, June 19, and faces possible blasphemy charges. Asia is the wife of 50-year-old Ashiq Masih, and their family is one of only three Christian families in a village of more than 1,500 families.

Many of the local women work on the farm of Muslim landowner Muhammad Idrees, including Asia. During their work many of the Muslim women have pressured Asia to renounce Christianity and accept Islam. In June, the pressure became especially strong.

On Friday, June 19, there was an intense discussion among the women about their faith, with the Muslim women telling Asia about Islam. Asia responded by telling them about her faith in Christ. Asia told the Muslim women Christ had died on the cross for our sins, then asked them what Mohammed had done for them, according to VOM sources. She told them Jesus is alive, but Mohammed is dead. “Our Christ is the true prophet of God,” she reportedly told them, “and yours is not true.”

Upon hearing this response the Muslim women became angry and began to beat Asia Bibi. Then some men came and took her and locked her in a room. They announced from mosque loudspeakers that she would be punished by having her face blackened and being paraded through the village on a donkey. Local Christians informed the police, who took Asia into custody before the Muslims could carry out their plan. She is currently being held at the police station in Nankana city.

Christians there urged the police not to file blasphemy charges, but police claimed that they must go forward due to pressure from local Muslim leaders.

The Voice of the Martyrs urges Christians around the world to pray for Asia Bibi and her family. Further, we call on the Pakistani government to insure that the rights of Christians like Asia are protected.

There are others we can pray for as well: many others - to read and pray for these brave saints, please follow this link -

http://www.prisoneralert.com/ (on this page, please scroll down until you see "Prisoner Archives on the left side of the page, right under the story of Asia Bibi)

To view the VOM web site, please follow this link -

http://www.persecution.com/

May the LORD Jesus bless and keep us, and grant us a heart of unparalleled compassion for the persecuted saints in this world.

agape, grace & peace,

brother James

In Whom Do We Trust?

Every so often I get an email in my inbox that admonishes me to help take a stand against some atheist who is determined to get "In God We Trust" off of our money.

I used to jump on those opportunities because I believe we should never, for a moment, forget our roots and the heritage of this nation; regardless of how humanists, atheists, agnostics and others have tried to deny the historicity of our Christian roots, they exist. We were a nation that trusted God!

Still, I find that at least in part I'm somewhat less inclined to get on that bandwagon, only because it really won't matter that "God" is no longer printed on our paper currency if He isn't first printed on our hearts.

In this day and age, it seems more and more professing Christians are falling by the way side, "giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons" as represented in the emergent church and the word/faith, even the now blatant new age movement!

Do we as Christians in this nation, trust our LORD as we should? When tragedy strikes, where do we look to first? Our bank account? Our health insurance? Our family or friends? 

HOLY LIFE or Hypocritical Legalism?

I would like to once again address the issue of holiness; a previous article in FtMoF on this subject was entitled wholly, holy May 10, 2009 and its available for you to review (perhaps before you read this article).

For those who would like even more information on this subject, you can review a 3-part article from The TRUTH Under FIRE - 


Monday, September 21, 2009
The Simple and Serious Gospel of Salvation – Phase II The Sanctifier is the Saint's Fire

Parts Two and Three are as follows -

Wednesday, September 23, 2009
The Simple and Serious Gospel of Salvation – Phase II The SANCTIER is the SAINT’s FIRE: Part Two

Monday, September 28, 2009
The Simple and Serious Gospel of Salvation – Phase II The SANCTIER is the SAINT’s FIRE: Part Three

In my interactions with other believers, and in my zeal in sharing what I've learned about holiness and desire to encourage holiness in all of our lives, I was confronted a number of times by fellow Christians, who almost with an air of dismissal, have said things like,

"Yeah, but we're not under the Law but under grace."

"Yes, but you have to be careful because that can lead to legalism."

"But we already are holy, what's the need for striving for something we already have?"

I have even been told that I'm promoting a legalistic form of Christianity based on works!

If you believe that any of the above statements are true in the context of encouraging holiness in the life of the believer, then this most certainly needs re-examining in the light of scripture!
I have found an excellent article by J.C. Ryle on this subject and below are some excerpts (not in contiguous order) as well as the link to the entire article, should you wish to read it:

"We must let men see by our good conversation that we are indeed the children of the Holy One, or our son-ship is but an empty name. 'Say not,' says Gurnall, 'that thou hast royal blood in thy veins, and art born of God, except thou canst prove thy pedigree by daring to be holy.' " 

"We must be holy, because this is the only proof that we love the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. This is a point on which He has spoken most plainly, in the fourteenth and fifteenth chapters of John. 

JOHN 14:15,21,23;15:14If ye love Me, keep my commandments.He that hath my commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me.If a man love Me he will keep my words.Ye are my friends if ye do whatsoever I command you. 

Plainer words than these it would be difficult to find, and woe to those who neglect them!"
"[This] question can never be out of season. The wise man tells us, "There is a time to weep, and a time to laugh-a time to keep silence, and a time to speak" (ECCLES 3:4,7); but there is no time, no, not a day, in which a man ought not to be holy. Are we?" 

"I ask to be heard today about this question. How stands the account between our souls and God? In this hurrying, bustling world, let us stand still for a few minutes and consider the matter of holiness. I believe I might have chosen a subject more popular and pleasant. I am sure I might have found one more easy to handle. But I feel deeply I could not have chosen one more seasonable and more profitable to our souls. It is a solemn thing to hear the Word of God saying,
HEB. 12:14Without holiness no man shall see the Lord. 

"What then is true practical holiness? . . .
A holy man will strive to be like our Lord Jesus Christ (emphasis mine). He will not only live the life of faith in Him, and draw from Him all his daily peace and strength, but he will also labour to have the mind that was in Him, and to be "conformed to His image" (ROM. 8:29).
"It will be his aim to bear with and forgive others, even as Christ forgave us -to be unselfish, even as Christ pleased not Himself -to walk in love, even as Christ loved us -to be lowly-minded and humble, even as Christ made Himself of no reputation and humbled Himself.
"He will remember that Christ was a faithful witness for the truth -that He came not to do His own will -that it was His meat and drink to do His Father's will -that He would continually deny Himself in order to minister to others -that He was meek and patient under undeserved insults . . . 
"that He thought more of godly poor men than of kings-that He was full of love and compassion to sinners -that He was bold and uncompromising in denouncing sin -that He sought not the praise of men, when He might have had it -that He went about doing good -that He was separate from worldly people -that He continued instant in prayer -that He would not let even His nearest relations stand in His way when God's work was to be done.
"He will lay to heart the saying of John, He that saith he abideth in Christ ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked (1 JOHN 2:6); and the saying of Peter, that Christ suffered for us, leaving us an example that ye should follow His steps (1 PETER 2:21).

These are but a few jewels of truth and grace drawn from this source; if you would like to read this article in its entirety, please follow this link -

Holiness. A Sermon by J.C. Ryle

If I could now address some of the statements made by others, in mild objection to the mandate to living holy lives, I shall take them one at a time:

~ The assertion (and supposed refutation of the necessity of holiness in our lives) that 'we are not under the law, but under grace' only emphasizes more strongly, the case that we should live holy lives! The purpose of the Law is that our sinfulness would be realized, that we can't live up to God's Holy Standard of Holiness and Righteousness.

The purpose of grace is the forgiveness of and deliverance from sin and its diabolical power, the justification of believers, the imputation of righteousness, and the sanctification of the believers heart as well as their mind!

In essence, it's because we are under grace and not under the Law, that we for the first time in history (ever since the creation of the church, the body of Christ) can effect holiness in a practical sense in our lives, not by our own will or strength, but by the empowerment of God's grace!

~ It's been said that we must use caution because any intent towards holiness in our lives could lead to 'legalism'.

My question to such an allegation is, 'How so?' Since true holiness is acquired by the grace of God working in the life of a yielded believer, who is convicted of his own sin and sinful heart and desires to "put on the new man" and to "put off the old . . ." (EPH 4:22-24; COL 3:9-14) and seeks the power of God's Spirit to accomplish this (HEB 4:16), how then can such conduct lead to legalism, unless that believer ceases to solicit the "succouring" (i.e., securing, help, assistance) of our Savior, the LORD Jesus Christ?

One cannot pursue holiness and legalism in the same breath, or in the same step. It's the same with walking in the Spirit and walking in the flesh: one can't conduct himself in both arenas simultaneously. In fact these two comparisons are related, that is: holiness is a work of the Spirit (empowered by GOD); legalism is a work of the flesh (self-empowerment).

If the attention and focus of the heart is in the procurement of God's empowering grace and the power of His Holy Spirit, and if the saint seeks to yield himself to his Father's holy will and influence, and if that believer acknowledges that a certain temptation yet claims a hold in some portion of their sinful heart and thus, that portion must be crucified and identify with the death of Christ on the cross, how then is that saint in danger of legalism?

Such thinking of unnecessary caution brings gleeful delight to the enemy, as it would be the very last thing he would wish, that the church would wake up to and follow the call to holiness!

~ The idea is brought up that we have no need to struggle for holiness as this is something that has already been granted to us in Christ Jesus. And to this sentiment I give a whole-hearted "AMEN!"

By the shed blood of the Lamb we have been cleansed from our sin, and our wickedness is no longer held to our account - our spiritual indebtedness to the Holy Judge of All Creation has been "paid in full"* by the LORD Jesus who won our atonement on the cross! We as His body, the church, are now called a HOLY nation (1 PET 2:9).

*When Christ uttered from the cross, "It is finished!", the Greek word employed in the New Testament scriptures for this phrase is tetelestai, and it literally means "paid in full" - that is to say, all of humanity's debt of sin was paid by the blood of Christ (1 PET 1:17-19) - that the holy judgment that should have fallen on you and I (ROM 3:19) was placed solely on the whip-torn shoulders of the LORD Jesus Christ Who willingly laid down His life for us (MARK 10:45; JOHN 10:15-18), so we could have eternal life (JOHN 3:15-18; JOHN 6:68; JOHN 17:2-3)!

So there is no need then for the believer to acquire holiness? Yes there is, but that which effects a different part of our being; holiness in a positional sense covers our hearts (or spirit) and yet there is also a practical, or experiential holiness that we must obtain which stems from that positional holiness and is indeed an outgrowth from it, which deals with our minds. 
This is why it's said in scripture "Let this mind be in you" (PHIL 2:5) and "be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind" (ROM 12:1-2).

God loves us so much, he is not willing to leave us only justified, but sanctified as well.

Justification saves us from the penalty of sin, whereas sanctification saves us from the power of sin. See the difference?
And it's in the deliverance from the power of sin that we as Christians experience victory and in abundant life, which our LORD so dearly longs to bless us with!

Positional holiness deals with that granted to every believer who is born of God's Spirit, but practical holiness has to do with the mind of the believer, and bringing into conformity every thought to the obedience of Christ (2 COR 10:4-5). 
The battle for the mind of the believer is a very real arena of spiritual warfare, for its those embedded thoughts in our minds that will eventually lead to action: unholy thoughts breed unholy actions; holy thoughts breed holy actions.

Contextually speaking the preceding verses certainly speak of spiritual warfare, and the imagination and every high thing that exalts itself above the knowledge of God could in fact be the carnal, rebellious thought(s) yet residing in a believer's life; such is in need of execution via the cross of Christ and our identification with Jesus in His death.

We no longer are to think as the world thinks, we are no longer to meditate on and hold dear such thinking that is inherently sinful and in accord to the spirit of disobedience (EPH 2:2-10)!

If the LORD was content only with a positional holiness in our lives, and expressed an absent from fruit of holiness in manner and practice, why then are there so many admonitions in scripture, indeed, even commands for the church to "be holy"?

The LORD Jesus Himself stated:

MATTHEW 5:8,13-14,16
Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.
Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

MATTHEW 5:29-30
And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.

MATTHEW 5:48
Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

And Paul the Apostle further admonishes us -

ROMANS 12:1-2
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 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.

2 CORINTHIANS 7:1
Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

1 THESSALONIANS 3:12-13
And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you: To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints.

1 THESSALONIANS 4:7
For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.

And here the Apostle Peter states:

1 PETER 1:15-16
But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

Notice in all the above admonitions these godly apostles state their case that holiness is something to be acquired, something that should increase, and that we're called to this culture of holiness and that we should present ourselves for this express purpose, that we're to be transformed into this state of being, that is of Christ-likeness, and not merely that we possess holiness already (which of course we do, positionally).

Such lofty commands towards purity, and holiness can leave us quite discouraged, can't it? For we know what our hearts are like, and what we are capable of (to a certain degree), and this can lead to hopelessness.

However, let me encourage you in these thoughts:

In the book of Genesis the LORD commanded light to come out from darkness, and it was so. He only spoke a Word, and all of creation was established, in all of its glorious beauty.

The LORD God commands the heavenly host of angels, and they obey without the slightest of wavering.

The LORD Jesus commanded the storm to be still, and it complied.

He likewise ordered demons who were possessing people to come out, and they inevitably did so.

He spoke to the man with the withered hand, to "stretch forth your hand" and while it was physically impossible for that man to do so, out of obedience to the LORD, he asserted to move his arm, and it was restored!

The LORD Jesus gave His church a new commandment:

JOHN 13:34-35
A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

A truly remarkable commandment when you think about it . . . His command was that we love one another as He has loved us! This powerful, unfaltering, unconditional love is something entirely alien to this world and its population of unregenerate humans.

That's why when the world sees us loving one another with that same depth of quality as the LORD Jesus love for us, they will KNOW that we are the disciples of Jesus Christ (JOHN 13:35)! For no other means to display this sort of agape love is possible other than through Jesus Christ!

Are we able to obey this commandment? Of course, but only by God's empowering Spirit, and when we increasingly die to ourselves and become more like Jesus we will find ourselves loving those who, humanly speaking, are impossible to love, such as our enemies, persecutors, and haters.

When God commands, He provides the means for that command to be followed by the enablement of His Spirit.

Thus endeavoring to be holy in Jesus Christ is not legalistic by any means, its simply being obedient to the command of God, a command He expects obedience to, since He has made for us every provision necessary for its fulfillment in our lives.

I looked up the word "affection" in Websters and came up with this:

propensity disposition archaic affectation

And so I then looked up 'propensity' and found this:

an often intense natural inclination or preference

Scripture states the following regarding "affection" -

COLOSSIANS 3:2,5
Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:

What Christians are to have intense natural inclination and preferences for are "things above" not "things on the earth", and everything we do in the Spirit, everything we say in accord to the heart of God, all trials and experiences we have are things that the LORD guides us in and is preparing us for the future kingdom which HE will inaugurate! A kingdom of holy priests and children of the KING!

May the LORD Jesus richly bless and enrich our lives in Him as we endeavor to "walk even as He walked"!

agape,

brother James