Exloring Life Eternal

"... from the beginning of the world there was a mystery hidden with God in Jesus Christ, Who is the Creator of all things, so that now, the vast & intricate wisdom of God, might be displayed to the rulers & authorities in the heavenlies according to the eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord!" - Ephesians 3:9-11


PRAISE:
We are so thankful for God’s work in the lives of the dozen MBBs living in our city. They are part of the beautiful tapestry that He is weaving together in this multi-ethnic metropolis. It is exciting to see these new believers grow in their love of the Lord and their desire to take the good news to their communities.


PETITION:
Pray for the many tentmakers that are in language learning. Arabic is a tough language. It is humbling to be good enough to speak like a 2 year old! Pray for giftings beyond our abilities. Pray for opportunities to speak the heart language of those God called us to share His love.

Pray for tentmaker families who are taking leave shortly. Pray for God's guidance and blessing on their plans. Many have speaking appointments and supporters to visit. Pray for rest and spiritual refreshment in the midst of these responsibilities. Pray for good family bonding times, for a renewed vision and a strengthening for the year ahead.

Please pray for a local believer who is deeply entangled by many sins that leads him to have a very complicated life. Pray for guidance to those who are discipling him.

Five believers in one extended family got together last week for worship and prayer. Family dynamics are as strained here as any other place on this planet, and one of the girls prayed desperately for their father to join them in their faith in Isa Al-Messih. Pray for the gospel to move along these and other family lines.

Pray for the group of 6–10 local Muslim seekers who meet with a few tentmakers in the desert several times per Week. They discuss a range of topics including the signs of the last day, Wahabism, and the merit of Mohammad and/or Jesus in pleading for their followers at the judgment. These men choose to attend the majlis (meeting place) to talk about the things of God instead of watching the World Cup! Amazing! Pray for God’s work in their hearts.


TESTIMONY
Several weeks ago an Arab Christian man met a middle-aged local Muslim man at a social function. They hit it off quickly and soon they began discussing the mysteries of life and the troubles of being here on earth. The man is very dissatisfied with Islam and his current life. They got together on other occasions to talk more freely about life and the One who can change us from the inside out. “Abe” took a New Testament. Then he took the Psalms. Then a Jesus video, then a book. Over a period of several weeks, Abe was being drawn to God. Finally, just over a week ago, he said to his Arab Christian friend, "What must I do to have peace with God?"

Now Abe is in the kingdom growing bit by bit. He is keen to know the Word and to spend time learning the Scriptures God’s revealed truths. Pray that he would continue to grow. Pray for his protection in his Muslim saturated local environment.

Also, May 4 was Rhode Island Day & the National Day of Prayer.
A rather appropriate coinciding of days:

Rhode Island was founded by Roger Williams, a forebear of Grandma Doris Hibbard, as the first American colony without an established church, ie. genuine freedom of religion. However, he also was part of the first congregation of baptists in America & was baptized
on this continent after being convinced that babies didn't gain anything from being soaked, but that Jesus does deserve a clear conscience.

The National Day of Prayer is the first Thursday in May annually. It is a day for praying for the salvation of the nation. Sort of a civil religion thing ... yet also an occassion for testifying to the grace of God in Christ, & to pray particularly for the salvation of fellow countrymen.

Here are some articles for Reference by a Christian who studies the Word & the words used by the world.

This topic arises from a series of studies I have been doing on the Post-Exilic period into the early Christian era:

Hebrew Usage in the First Century
http://orvillejenkins.com/languages/hebrewfirstcentury.html

You will see this article links to other related articles. If you are not familiar with this focus of study on my website, let me refer you to the following Topic Menus there:

Language and Culture (several on biblical languages)
http://orvillejenkins.com/languages/

Theology and Christian Faith (some cross-listed on the Languages Menu)
http://orvillejenkins.com/theology/

- OBJ.

Contrary to teaching of some who have heard about the confidence & assurance Christians can have: our salvation is not a license to sin, but it means we are sent ... "Go & sin no more." In other words, salvation is salvation from sin. To be "once saved & always saved" is essentially a freedom from the curse of the Law, which is death, damnation, and destruction. We are saved from sin. We are not saved to sin.

To be blessed, is to be turned from sin. Any other secondary material blessings actually derive from that primary one.

There is actually a great judgment facing those who go on in sin after coming to a knowledge of the Truth: Hebrews 10 talks about this in the New Testament.

So, if you claim to know the truth, why are you continuing in Islam if you have not thoroughly studied the Word of God, which can be found in the canonized & Holy Bible if you look for Jesus & seek eternal life?

If you do know the Good News & realize the fact that the path to wisdom begins by living in light of the Reality & Rule & Reconciling nature of the Lord, then Why are you not following Jesus?


Having read some stories of "christians" who "converted to Islam," I found NO real evidence of any such conversion. As Muslims suggest, they were at best, already muslim: under the law.

The only reasons or motives I found on websites had to do with the sins of some who bore the name of Christ ... & NOTHING to do with the Bible. Essentially, some people who did not want to seek the Lord with their whole heart&mind fell for some cultural miscellany that certain forms of Islam offer (obedience to a certain cultural pattern & traditions, that is Law.) ... & that they believe that there is one (1) God.

The demons also know that there is one God. (James 2:19) So, what does faith that only 1 God exists prove? One has intelligence comparable to that of demons/jinn. Note that when James says it is "good" that his audience is aware of the existence of God, it is a sarcastic comment and does not indicate the moral perfection of his readers. In other words, it is "good" compared the "folly" of denying the existence & efficacy of God [& His Word].

Christ died on the cross, as prophesied through the willingness of Abraham to offer up his son. The tomb is now empty. ... Now that is an obedience that is both powerful & proving, convincing & conquering!!
(Reflecting Christ in our lives results in real knowledge of God & wisdom from God, not merely knowledge about God based on human wisdom.)

Let me encourage you, fear God & understand the Word of God!!

Get a Bible
Read Genesis-Exodus 34.
Read Deuteronomy-2 Kings, Ezra-Esther.
Read the Psalms, Job, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes.
Read Isaiah - Malachi.
Read the whole new Testament, with particular to Luke-1 Corinthians.
Study Galatians-Colossians.
Read the letters to Timothy & Titus,
Don't neglect to read James, 1 Peter, 1 John & certainly Revelation.

While you would do well to read the whole canon of Scripture, these are books that particularly outline the main purpose of God in human history.

Don't be afraid of what your peers, family, & leaders will think. Read the Bible & follow Jesus who died for you out of love for you. You will be glad you did.

If you care to write: "Mertaka at everybody dot org."
Mert Hershberger

Today I met some folks, who call themselves "Jehovah's Witnesses."

I had seen them trapsing through the apartment a few times, preying on single women, trying to "teach" them something. When they announced what was occuring within the apartment adjacent to mine.

Before I go any further, I have to admit something: I believe Jesus came to save sinners & that I am the worst, (In other words, I am a person who sins against the truth God has shown me.), but for that very reason, Christ came, so that in me, the worst, He might display _His_ limitless patience, to the honor of the only wise God, immortal, invisible, eternal, to our Father in Heaven be all dominion, authority & majesty forever & ever, Amen!

My neighbors have this in common with me then: we watch TV at times. Apparently this is a heinous crime. I suppose that I should report it to my supervisors at work. There is a TV at work & I have watched it for some number of minutes (which I cannot specify here due to a lack of ability to track such a statistic, I do after all have a job to do.) So, probably I am a worse sinner than my neighbor:

1. I sometimes look at the TV at work. Only God can forgive me of this sin, would say the Pharisees. (If you do not detect a hint of sarcasm, perhaps you should play a laugh track from a TV show.)

2. Though I at times desire to watch TV, I have not been able to afford the latest greatest model of TV from the local electronics store. Again, these "Jehovah Witnesses" would surely point out once again: that their Bible includes the term, Jehovah Jireh, Jehovah Will Provide // God will See to It (A translation using a title for the Lord GOD who is my Savior & street / "common" language.)

3. I did not invite the two strange ladies wandering through the apartment building into my apartment. (Ladies, if you are offended by that & reading this, please understand: I do not desire for you to disturb the peace of my home. A. My wife was not at home. B. Don't bother my wife even if she is at home. You are not welcome in our apartment. I gave you a business card. It included this web address. You insisted that you could see, though you could not even read my name on the card, despite repeated attempts to justify yourself. If you need glasses to see, please wear them. I care about my own mother enough to ask her to wear glasses if she needs them to read, so when I am writing this, I am not saying anything I wouldn't say to my own mother: if you need glasses to read the Word of God & cannot afford them the Church of Ann Arbor is willing to help you purchase them. If you need medicine to heal the ailments, again, the Church is willing to hear your confession that Jesus is the Christ & that you, like all other humans (even us who know Jesus are in the church), make mistakes daily & moment by moment in need of God's grace ... please forgive me the "wrong" of caring enough about my own household to desire a safe apartment dwelling for my wife & any future children we might have, Lord willing. ... Please forgive me the wrong of seeking your own welfare & good health. It seems strange that you _claim_ to believe it Jehovah Rapha ... The Lord who Heals ... yet you do not obey His commands. He said, it is not the healthy who need a doctor / medicine / glasses, etc., it is the sick. In other words, if you insist that you know Him, listen to Him. He desires Mercy NOT a 1,000,000,000 year fast from TV before you can hear any of the Good News or be regarded as a civil human being. My neighbor has caused much less disturbance at the apartments than I have. There are others who party into late into the night at times & keep me & my wife awake & there are people out there killing, raping, committing arson, incest, & forms of perversion that I do not care to list on this site ... & you come into "our" space griping because 1 person watches TV. Please forgive me the wrong of saying wondering who you were in apartment. Is it wrong to say hello to a stranger in the State of Michigan, or does one have to be stamped, sealed, & certified with a certain JW code of ethics before you can smile with a pleasant layer of make up. BTW: None of the women in my family need make-up to be attractive or pleasant, & while they don't necessarily always put up a good front as you have been dutifully trained to do, my wife fears God & trusts in His Son: Jesus Christ, our Lord. I am not sure why you put on a Tammy-Faye-like masque. I am not sure who bewitched you into thinking like you do with odd ideas about God. [Does anyone know of anywhere that it states in the Bible that Hebrew as recorded in the Law, the Prophets, & the Writings, was the language of Adam & Eve in the Garden? That is a claim to knowledge which I do not see anywhere in the Bible. If it is true, it would seem imperative to me for all members of the Watchtower Society & all those who profess to go out as "Witnesses" on behalf of "Jehovah" to know Hebrew & repent of speaking "pagan" languages.) I have digressed, but I think you see where the line of legalistic reasoning gets a person: trapped & hopelessly bound in trying to perform little rituals such that you lose sight of eternity.

I asked them who they were, and they introduced themselves by what would be called a title. Later they asked me who I was, and I said, "Mert." I don't remember their names, quite honestly. I got little sleep last night & so am a little emotionally tense right now, as you perhaps notice from reading. It has been a much fuller day than expected.

I talked to a man in the group, who wore glasses. He didn't pretend to be able to see & then not see. He was honest enough to wear glasses. Praise the Lord! He can be healed! But those people that claim they are "doing good" & put on a cosmopolitan front, while in fact they don't know the One they speak of ... I have little patience for them. Praise God I have a wife who not only talks about Jesus, but cares enough to clothe & feed & keep a decent house when I am at the office or at the university.

I pity the man whose wife goes around all day "witnessing" for the Lord only to come home & condemn him because he watches a little news or is actually interested in watching a TV preacher tell him how to _know_ the Lord. I would rather eat no earthly food than talk to such a woman day after day. Again, Praise the Lord Jesus that He has shown favor by giving me a wife who is not fearful of eternal condemnation just because she glances at TV once in a while or of reading the Bible for herself, without the help of strangers. I am so thankful that she has listened to me as I sought to explain some passages of scripture to her, as we follow the One Teacher, the Lord.

(Again, I name no names here, I do not recall names & I merely list this out, because: A: time after time, this has been the pattern of Jehovah Witnesses: send out women to bother people at the gates of the city while the men cower in fretful worry in their ivory towers. It is also a pattern of some Muslims. It annoys me. When Jehovah Witnesses & Muslims must resort to shoving "fine young ladies" into public to defend God's name, it has already become obvious: they do not know God. These women know less than the men, because at least the men tend to discuss the writings in a rational way (I mean mere human reasoning, not the full reason of the Wisdom of God, but better human reasoning than human impulse for that is a sure road to hell.) So, as I think about it, probably, the lady was just doing what she was told to do by the bishop, boss, or whatever the head honchos of the Watchtower Society told them to to. So, perhaps in this way, she was doing the best she could. My apologies for any offense ma'am. I hope that one day you too will find peace in the Lord Jesus Christ)

ON THE OTHER HAND:
The friend I spoke with is so near to the kingdom I could hear it in his voice. God loves that man. The Lord Jesus heard him as he expressed a desire to "save" me. Praise God! The dude who held a Watchtower certified Bible cares about my eternal salvation enough to study the Scriptures with me. Praise the Lord. He apparently has better things to do with his time. He was kind enough to give me a business card. If it is God's will, we will meet, as the man said he wanted to. He was not ashamed to talk to me in broad daylight, which indicates that he is actually more bold than the women & more bold than nicodemus.

Two notes:
A. The title which rightfully due to Jesus as "the Firstborn over all creation" does NOT mean he is the first "created" being. There is a semantic trick that the devil plays on those who buy into this sort of pharisaical thinking ... namely: firstborn implies an actual "birth." This is to do what muslims call "associating" things with God. Jesus does not just say "I will associate with God" because he feels like & vaunts himself over all creation in a proud & arrogant way (actually, that is what satan did & tries to get us to do: to be "buddy-buddy" with God on our own terms). Nor does the Church "associate" Jesus with God, as in loose associations, i.e. a symptom of psychosis & other nervous disorders. No, that would be an impotent form of idolatry in reality, though it could also appear "as a from of godliness."

B. Jesus is the Firstborn over all creation. What this does mean is that He is the Heir. I.e. in hebrew & other cultures which practices primogeniture (primo = first; geniture = born) inheritance, the firstborn inherits the blessing & right to rule. This is how English Kings are typically selected, for instances. HOWEVER, in order to display His Mercy, God appointed Jacob as the firstborn heir of Isaac. Esau was physically stronger & physically exitted his mother's body first. However, what mattered in the end was: 1. God's decree which was revealed to his mother Rebekah before the two were born and 2. Jacob's faith-filled struggle to find favor with God & man in his actual day-to-day life. The reality of Jacob's faith was displayed in that he wrestled with God & was "wounded" walking with a permanent limp the rest of his life. ==> What do we see, struggle is NEVER evidence of a lack of faith, but may indeed be the greatest evidence of faith. For faith which is seen, is NOT faith. Faith is ALWAYS future oriented.

I. ==> ETERNITY WILL BE AN EVER INCREASING ENJOYMENT OF THE PRESENCE & LOVE OF GOD THROUGH OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, RISEN & REIGNING FOR THOSE WHO BELIEVE.

II. ==> ETERNITY WILL BE AN EVER-AGONIZING TORMENT FOR THOSE WHO ARE CONTENT WITH THE ABSENCE OF GOD IN THIS LIFE.

III. HOW THEN DOES RECONCILIATION COME?

POINT I. ABOVE IMPLIES THAT DAILY DIFFICULTY IS ULTIMATELY SOURCED IN THE REALITY OF HUMAN SIN & THE RELENTLESS PURSUIT OF GOD'S GRACE

(WHICH SOME HAVE DESCRIBED AS A "DANCE,"
BUT IS MORE APTLY DESCRIBED AS -WRESTLING- SINCE WE MUST NOT ONLY PLEASE GOD, BUT HAVE OUR OWN SELVES & THE EVIL WITHIN CONQUERED! SOME WOULD SAY THAT THIS SOUNDS AWEFULLY ORTHODOX, THEY ARE CORRECT. BUT GOING TO A BUILDING WITH INCENSE, BELLS, WHISTLES, PAINTINGS, STATUES, SECURITY SYSTEMS, ETC. WILL NOT -INHERENTLY- GET YOU CLOSER TO GOD. TALK TO THE PEOPLE THERE ... LIKE A JANITOR.)

POINT II. ABOVE IMPIES THAT DAILY COMFORT & A LIFE OF EASE IS -NEVER- AN INDICATION OF FAVOR.

BOTTOM LINE: ALL WHO -CALL- ON THE NAME OF THE LORD & CRY OUT TO THE LORD JESUS FOR SALVATION WILL GET EXACTLY WHAT THEY ASK FOR: SALVATION,HOPE, ETERNAL LIFE, PEACE, JOY, RIGHTEOUSNESS & ALL OTHER GOOD FRUIT THAT START FROM A GOOD SPRING. A SPRING SOURCED IN THE TRUE & LIVING LORD, NOT MERE TEXTUAL ANALYSIS.

Ministry Epistle on Muslim Outreach: MEMO (Written by an elder brother in the ministry. Available for all who wish to be trained & learn by them.)

I suppose in talking about Jesus to anyone, we have to find where Jesus would make a difference in their life.

To a self-rightous person or someone who feels he can be righteous, or someone like a Muslim who feels that God continues to be gracious no matter what except that you have no other God than Allah, we may have to use law to show him that NOT everything that happens is God's will, and that his desires (coveting) represents another God.

That is why I mentioned Surah 9:111 (saved by killing) and 9:5 (do all manner of war to force prayers), & 8:39 (until all the world gives in to Islam). This indeed embaresses them. I am presently working this on 2 lay Muslims and one Imam. They want to run away, but eventually they will have to look at it. We are sinners, & lawless.

A former missionary said Dr. Miller said:

They apparently think that if they get rid of all unbelievers then they will have a perfect society. This former missionary indicated that we point out to them, it has never worked. We have only one hope - Jesus Christ. To describe Jesus more in terms of Luke 24:44-48 is wiser than to start by saying HE is God or Son of God. This directs us away from the real problem (sin) and the solution (Christ & how HE fullfilled the law & the Prophets) as witnessed. A Muslim will right away object and argue if we start saying Jesus God or Son of God. Law had to be done & sin paid for. (Romans 3:19-23, 26-31). Christ was appointed by God to do it for us & so fulfill the prophetic & legal witness. This is no mere opinion. (Isaiah 41:21-24; Deuteronomy 18:21-22; 19:15; 13:1-3; Jeremiah 28:7-8).

Another source of tracts might be (as least for this title: "For my Muslim friend"

Friends of Muslims
P.O. Box 6585
Wyomissing, PA 19610

FriendsofMuslims@hotmail.com (OR??)
Friends_of_Muslims@hotmail.com

internet resource: www.answering-Islam.org

Sincerly in Christ,
Erland Nord
===
editted by Mert Hershberger

Islam will fall for these simple reasons:

1. It is false.
2. Muhammed died & sinned.
3. The Qur'an does not satisfy.
4. It does not make anyone holy.
5. There is no certainty of eternal life.
6. It is a political-military system that pretends to have God's favor.
7. It denies the only hope anyone has: Jesus' death on the cross & resurrection 3 days later.
8. It is ignorant of God's character: God desires to redeem & reconcile peoples to Himself through face-to-face encounter.
9. The qibla (direction of worship/prostration) is towards an empty black stone building.
10. It results in death environmentally, socially, and personally.
11. It's laws are a moral step down from the life & teachings of Jesus Christ.

If any of the above can be shown to be entirely false (from Islamic sources & with solid historical evidence), please email me @
mertaka@everybody.org

Ultimate reason Islam will fall:

Jesus is alive! Christ is Victor!! God is Holy Love!!!

RE: August 31, 2005

Someone who does not know me & only recently met my wife urged me to quit the ministry of sharing the need to pray because of my lack of insurance & benefits. I have insurance, thank you very much. My Boss has my life insured for centuries, even eternity. As far as benefits, let's just say that my retirement plan is beyond imagination!! The friend also urged me to seek deliverance ... from the very thing [a need for sleep] which God has used repeatedly to keep me dependant upon & resting in His grace.

It was not an easy moment, but God has provided a means for strength in times of immense opposition & discouragement. As the dishes were washed, our Father & i had a heart to heart. While our hosts were away, the house was cleaned up, cleaner than when we had come. A tree was freed of some pests. During our time there, the driveway was freed of weeds. The yard/garden was cleaned of some thistles. The old oven was out & a new oven was in & working, in answer to prayer!! The fridge was also taken out & a new one brought in. The frige had been a puzzle for the moving team to bring in, but the Lord gave us wisdom how to bring it in.

That evening I took my wife to a hotel since we had to leave to make room for the family & their plans. At the hotel, we asked for the lowest priced room: 1 bed, 1 night, non-smoking. They couldn't meet the request with non-smoking (a must for a good night's sleep), so they took $20-30 off of a hotel-room that had a hot-tub that was $20 more than a regular room.

Apparently, there were few hotel rooms available: 100,000 people were going to be crowded into a stadium this coming weekend. The desk clerk told me that they could take in few comforts with them: no food, water, umbrellas, etc. Instead they would have to pay top dollar for basic things we usually take for granted in the outside world. The fellow at the desk said that it was all because of 9/11, "But, if we have to have these things for security, it is worth it." He grinned, "But they are gonna feel they like they are in hell."

Why, what is the reason for all this, I had asked, "What is the game?"

"No mercy."

I have a better game: Happy are those who are merciful, for they will receive mercy!! So when he said that that was how those folks were going to feel, I burst out, "I am so glad I'm going to heaven instead!!" The odd thing about all this is that the people are choosing to go there. They are not being persecuted & forced to suffer. They are not going to hear good news, but to watch a bunch of guys beat up on each other.

This weekend is a time called, "Escapade." My wife "Lydia" has noted as I took her too & from work each day & evening: The girls hardly wear any clothes & they all dress "like a bunch of cheap girls." The streets are lined with folks until late at night. For many, it is a time when they can break free from parents, from restraint, from authority, and rebel. Some 130+ years ago, the University of Michigan was founded on a basis of free-thinking (i.e. not tethered by any authority, most especially not the Bible.)

Now, there are lots of thistles in the area, literally. There are witch gatherings regularly. There are security hastles. There are morality problems. There are wealth problems in this state. There are wars & rumors of wars. etc. Hmmm ... Is there a connection between these things?

In the midst of all this, as I visited my wife at work, a fellow offered me a candy in exchange for $ on the way into get a bite to eat with my wife. I cheerfully said, "I don't have any cash," because I don't carry any as a general rule. He looked at me, as though he wanted what I have, and gave me some candy anyways. I tried to refuse, but he would not let me. So I took it, gave the treat to my wife & used the restroom while she waited on other customers. There, I found 2 small copper coins, picked them up & knew just who to give them to. I washed my hands, went out, & my "Lydia" had a snack ready for me. Off I headed. The Lord provided another gift to return to the man, exactly the same kind as he had given me. I reached in my pocket & was able to return to the man not only a candy stick, but also $0.12. (Surely, the apostle's are worth more than a penny each! But if you asked them for their 2 cents worth, I'm sure they would have overflowed with words about Jesus & His goodness to us.)

That evening, I was able to get 2 Azaleas for us for around $1.50 total + some for others!! But God's grace, my "Lydia" had the money for this month's food, we had $ for rent, & a pleasant evening. As I walked with the Lord in the cool of the evening, I saw 3 little stinkers leaving the area.

What a blessing!

It was indeed a refreshing day!! Today is the day of the Lord's salvation.

Will we look up, look around, & see the goodness of our God?

The more I read/hear/study/reflect upon the gospels, the more I am convinced that Jesus is not really trusted by many who would swear by their baptism otherwise:

In the final analysis, I believe in Jesus & therefore urge others to do the same.

1. Jesus was "homeless": Jesus had no regular place to sleep & dragged his followers along. From the time of his birth in Bethlehem to when he was buried in a borrowed tomb ... Jesus lived a transient life. Whenever he had an opportunity to settle down, he refused it ... to go to other villages. Jesus left His Father's house so that we might dwell with and in Him forever.

2. Jesus was "not rational": called at times a glutton, a crazy man because he didn't eat regularly, & a lawbreaker because he ate handpicked grain as he walked down the road on the sabbath: he ate the wrong thing at the wrong time with the wrong people. Jesus went crazy for us so that we might receive the wisdom of God.

3. Jesus was not "healthy.": he ate with dirty hands, he touched people with contagious diseases, he touched dead bodies, he was touched by women with menstrual flow, and used spit & dirt as part of the healing process. Jesus was regarded as a Physician who could not heal himself.

4. Jesus was "immoral": he was called a friend of sinners because of his willingness to accept party invitations from any & everybody, he permitted women of ill-repute to wash his feet with their hair, to talk with him alone, to receive forgiveness from him; he also invited taxcollectors to follow him, respected foreign oppressors, and helped hypocrites get right through friendly conversations. Jesus was indeed made sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of God.

5. Jesus was "moody": he threw a temper-tantrum in the holiest building in the nation, he later cried aloud when he entered the same city though he was treated at the moment like royalty. Oddly, when Jesus was suffering humiliation & torture, he told onlookers to weep for themselves. Jesus was cursed so that we might be blessed.

6. Jesus was killed: he was killed as a traitor to the state, as a religious heretic, as an evil man in every way, even one of those who died with him cursed him; his death was a public spectacle, his last will and testament for his family was spoken on the cross & only written years after it had been put into effect, his burial was hasty, and his body wasn't in the tomb 3 days later. According to Jesus His death would lay the foundation, His Life of Love the final Light.

The question I am faced with then each day then is this:
Will I follow Jesus or not?

If I choose to accept the Lord's invitation each day, the steps along the path become crystal golden stones in the city streets.

How precious, how peaceful, how plentous, how purposeful!

The key is to praise & pray in times of pain & pleasure. Faith is indeed the victory.

Peace,
Mert

Simple:
The Lord alone gives access to life, liberty, & love.
The Holy Spirit gives healing, happiness, & hope only through Jesus.
Our Father gives freedom, fulfillment, & faith only in Him.

Story:
I remember one friendship with a son of a high gov't official in Cambodia. The first time we met, his first question was exactly this:

Why should I be a Christian?
He counted the costs pretty clearly & proceded to ask his parents if they would let him follow Jesus. They did not object & so he began to study even more seriously.

It all began when I just sat next to him at the beginning of a school year & chatted with a fellow sitting alone on a step as he waited outside the cafeteria.

Let us remember to "go outside the camp" as schools start, both on campus & elsewhere.

Peace,
Mert


<><
This was prompted by a friend's note.

Erland Nord <jeahovenord@hotmail.com> wrote the following:

DOES IT MATTER IF WE PUT OUR TRUST IN JESUS CHRIST AND RECEIVE HIM AS OUR SAVIOUR ?

TO BE SURE: We have eternal life. John 3:14-17, 18; Romans 6:23
1. We become children of God in relationship. John 1:12, 13
2. We have the Holy Spirit through Jesus Christ. Acts 2:38; 10:43, 44
3. We have peace with God, develop character, and the Holy Spirit pours out love into our hearts. Romans 5:1-5; Galatians 5:22-26; II Timothy 1:7
4. We have Jesus Christ to live for. Philipians 1:21
5. We have His ministry to do as He directs. Matthew 28:18-20