Wed, Sep 28th - 1:17PM

When I Feel I’m about to Be Crushed

"I am leaving you with a gift – peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give isn’t like the peace the world gives. So don’t be troubled or afraid."

Wed, Sep 28th - 12:36PM

When I Need the Courage to Face It

This priceless treasure we hold, so to speak, in common earthenware – to show that the splendid power of it belongs to God and not to us. We are hard-pressed on all sides, but we are never frustrated; we are puzzled, but never in despair. We are persecuted, but are never deserted: we may be knocked down but we are never knocked out! Every day we experience something of the death of Jesus, so that we may also show the power of the life of Jesus in these bodies of ours. Yes, we who are living are always being exposed to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may be plainly seen in our mortal lives. We are always facing physical death, so that you may know spiritual life. Our faith is like that mentioned in the scripture: I believed and therefore did I speak.

Mon, Sep 26th - 1:07AM

Prayer is power

Prayer is power.  It’s supernatural firepower that wages war in the invisible realm – the reality that’s beyond this temporary world we live in.  William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army, said, “Pray as if everything depended upon your prayer.”  The eighteenth-century English author William Law said, “There is nothing that makes us love a [person] so much as praying for him.”  And the Word of God says: “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so God can heal you.  When a believing person prays, great things happen”  (James 5:16 NCV).  This same verse in another version reads, “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much” (NKJV).

That’s an odd word, fervent – one that’s not found in the vocabulary of most people today.  What does it mean to pray fervently?  Webster defines fervent as “marked by great intensity of feeling.”  That pretty much sums up how Jesus Freaks are called to pray.  Jesus had harsh words for the spiritual leaders of His day because they prayed long, repetitious, passionless prayers that didn’t spring from the heart.  Instead, they said their prayers for show, to let everyone know how “holy” they were.  At the same time, Jesus had kind words for a poor man who cried out in despair, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner!”

     So don’t worry about praying long or elaborate prayers.  Just let your prayers flow from your heart.  God will fill in the gaps!  Here’s what Jesus had to say on the subject of prayer:

     “And now about prayer.  When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on the street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them.  I assure you, that is all the reward they will ever get.  But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father secretly.  Then your Father, who knows all secrets, will reward you.

     When you pray, don’t babble on and on as people of other religions do.  They think their prayers are answered only be repeating their words again and again.  Don’t be like them, because your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask Him!

     Pray like this:

     Our Father in heaven,

     May your name be honored.

     May your Kingdom come soon.

     May your will be done here on earth,

     Just as it is in heaven.

     Give us our food for today,

     And forgive us our sins,

     Just as we have forgiven those who

     Have sinned against us.

     And don’t let us yield to temptation,

     But deliver us from the evil one.”

                        -Matthew 6:5-13 NLT

     What a simple teaching on prayer.  Find a quiet place, and talk with God like you were talking with a friend.  Tell Him how you honor and thank Him.  Seek His help in doing what He wants you to do.  Talk about how you have wronged Him (He already knows), and ask His help in forgiving those who have wronged you.  Ask Him for all you need to make it through the day.  Let Him know your propensity for doing the wrong thing, and seek His help to do what is right.

     Psalm 62 says, “Pour out your heart to Him.”  God wants us to let it all out, tell Him exactly what we are thinking and feeling.  Religious prayers – those with a lot of religious clichés and phrases – are of very little value when it feels like your insides are being pulled out.  You need to talk with your Father in your own words, for no one else can convey what you are feeling or going through.  You will not offend God, and you cannot surprise Him!  He already knows you better even than you know yourself.  And He really wants to listen and help you.  Prayer – the real kind that Jesus teaches – is one of the greatest privileges we have.

Sun, Sep 25th - 9:17PM

Message of Love

Thu, Sep 22nd - 8:03PM

Strengthened By Angels

Ivan Moiseyev
18 years old
U.S.S.R.
1970

Although he had never been there before, Private Ivan “Vanya” Moiseyev knew what awaited him at the Major’s office. The Communists were endlessly calling him to headquarters for talks, trying to “re-educate” him, to talk him out of his faith in God.

It was lunchtime. The sun was shining brightly in the blue sky and the snow was glistening. As Moiseyev walked along the snowy sidewalk, he praised God for this time alone, time to sing and pray.

The morning was so bright, at first Moiseyev didn’t notice, suddenly, it caught his eye. A bright star had began to fall from heaven. Like a comet, it came closer and became bigger and bigger.

He looked up to see an angel above him, bright and powerful. Moiseyev’s heart was filled with joy – and fear.

The angel did not descend all the way to earth, but hovered about two hundred yards above the ground. He walked in the air above Moiseyev as though walking along the same road. Then the angel spoke:

“Ivan, go. Don’t be afraid. I am with you.”

Ivan couldn’t speak, but his joy was like fire within him. Somehow he made it to Major Gidenko’s office and knocked quietly on the door.

Major Gidenko, head of the Political Directive Committee, looked up as the young soldier entered. Ivan Moiseyev had been interrogated again and again by many others and had never backed away from his faith. Still, Gidenko was certain he could solve this problem.

“Moiseyev, you don’t look like a poor pupil to me. Why are you not learning the correct answers?” he asked.

“Sometimes there is a difference between the correct answers and the true ones,” Ivan answered. “Sometimes God does not permit me to give ‘correct’ answers.”

“So, God talks to you? Who is this God of yours?” As soon as he had asked the question, Gidenko regretted it. Ivan leaned forward in his chair, his face glowing with joy at the opportunity to share his faith.

“Sir He is the One who created all the universe. He greatly loves man, and sent His Son....”

Gidenko interrupted. “Yes, yes, I know the Christian teaching. But what has that got to do with being a soldier? Do you disagree with the teaching of the glorious Red army?”

“No, sir.”

“But you do not accept the principles of scientific atheism upon which is based our entire Soviet state and the military power of the army?”

“I cannot accept what I know to be untrue. Everything else I can gladly accept.”

“Moiseyev, no one can prove the existence of God. Even priests and pastors agree on that.”

“Sir, they may speak about not being able to prove God, but there is no question about knowing Him. He is with me now, in this room. Before I came here, He sent an angel to encourage me.”

Gidenko stared intently at Ivan. At last he spoke wearily, “I am sorry, Moiseyev, that you will not be reasonable. Your persistence will do nothing for you except bring discomfort. However, through the years I have found that men like you often come to their senses with a little discipline.

“I am ordering you to stand in the street tonight after taps are played. You will stand there until you are willing to reconsider this nonsense about talking Gods and angels.

“Since the temperature is likely to be thirteen degrees below zero, for your sake, I hope you quickly agree to behave sensibly. Tomorrow we shall make a plan together for your political re-education. You are dismissed.”

Gidenko expected Moiseyev to hesitate, to reconsider. Instead, he squared his shoulders and walked quietly to the door.

“Private Moiseyev!”

When the soldier turned around, Gidenko noticed he was a little pale. Then he had understood the order!

“You will obey my instructions in summer uniform. That is all.”

That night, as the bugle sounded, Ivan made his way down the stairs of the barracks and into the snowy street. He recoiled from the icy blast of wind that burned his ears and made his eyes water. His thin, summer uniform was no help in the bitter cold. He glanced at his watch. It was one minute after ten o’clock.

Tonight, he would have a long time to pray! But for the first time since he had been in the Soviet army, prayer did not come easily. He was worried. Could he stand out here all night? What if he froze to death? Would they let him freeze to death? What if he got so cold he gave in to their demands?

The “what ifs” flooded his mind and left it spinning. He knew he had to think of something else. Then he remembered the angel who had visited him that morning. The angel had said, “Do not be afraid, I am with you!” Suddenly he realized the angel’s words had been for tonight! Although he could no longer see him, Moiseyev knew the angel was still there with him. He began to pray fervently.

It was twelve-thirty when he was distracted from his prayers by the crunching of snow. Bundled in their overcoats, hats, and boots, three officers were slowly making their way toward him.

“Private Moiseyev, have you changed your mind yet? Are you ready to come in and get warm?”

“No, comrade officers. As much as I want to come in and go to bed, I cannot. I will never agree to remain silent about God.”

Even in the dim light Moiseyev could see the officers were amazed and confused. How could he stand such cold?

“Do you plan to stand out here all night long?”

“I don’t’ see how anything else is possible, and God is helping me.” Ivan checked his hands – they were cold, but not too cold. He could still move his toes easily. It was a miracle! He looked at the officers and could see that even in their coats they were already shaking from the cold. They were stamping their feet and slapping their hands, impatient to return to their heated barracks.

“You’ll feel differently in another hour,” the senior officer mumbled as they quickly turned away.

Ivan continued to pray for all the believers he knew. He sang Christmas carols. He prayed for every officer he knew and knew of. He cried out to God on behalf of the men in his barracks. But gradually his mind seemed to be floating somewhere outside of his head. AS much as he tried, prayer eluded him.

Ivan was dozing on his feet when, at three o’clock, the senior officer on duty woke him and let him return to the barracks.

For the next twelve nights, Ivan continued to stand in the street outside his barracks. Miraculously, he did not freeze, nor did he beg for mercy. Ivan continued to speak about his faith to his comrades and officers. He sang about the glory of Jesus Christ in his barracks, though this was strictly prohibited. To those who threatened him, he replied, “A lark threatened with death for singing would still continue to sing. She cannot renounce her nature. Neither can we Christians.”

Soldiers around him were converted, impressed by his ardent faith.

His commanders continued to interrogate him, trying to get him to deny Jesus. They put him in refrigerated cells. They clothed him in a special rubber suit, into which they pumped air until his chest was so compressed he scarcely could breathe.

At the age of 20, Ivan knew that the Communists would kill him. On July 11, 1972, he wrote to his parents, “You will not see me anymore.” He then described a vision of angels and heaven which God had sent to strengthen him for the last trial.

A few days later, his body was returned to his family. It showed that he had been stabbed six times around the heart. He had wounds on his head and around the mouth. There were signs of beatings on the whole body. Then he had been drown.

Colonel Malsin, his commander, said, “Moiseyev died with difficulty. He fought with death, but he died as a Christian.”

The father of this Christian hero writes to us, “May it be that this living flower which gave the fragrance of its youth on the cross should be an example for all faithful youth. May they love Christ as our son has loved Him.”

Letter from Vanya to his parents – Written June 15, 1972

“My dear parents, the Lord has showed the way to me…and I have decided to follow it…I will now have more severe and bigger battles than I have had till now. But I do not fear them. He goes before me. Do not grieve for me, my dear parents. It is because I love Jesus more than myself. I listen to Him., though my body does fear somewhat or does not wish to go through everything. I do this because I do not value my life as much as I value Him. And I will not await my own will, but I will follow as the Lord leads. He says, Go, and I go.

“Do not become grieved if this is your son’s last letter. Because I myself, when I see and hear visions, hear how angels speak and see, I am even amazed and cannot believe that Vanya, your son, talks with angels. He, Vanya, has also had sins and failings, but through sufferings the Lord has wiped them away. And he does not live as he wishes himself, but as the Lord wishes.”

We continue to shout our praise even when we’re hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we’re never left feeling short-changed. Quite the contrary – we can’t round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!

Paul the Apostle
Martyred in Rome, 65 AD
(Romans 5:3-5 The Message)

Wed, Sep 21st - 10:49PM

        "Listen, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves.  So be as smart
 as snakes and innocent as doves.  Be careful of people, because they will
arrest you and take you to court and whip you in their synagogues.  Because
of me you will be taken to stand before governors and kings, and you will tell
them and the non-Jewish people about me.  When you are arrested, don't worry
about what to say or how to say it.  At that time you will be given the things
to say.  It will not really be you speaking but the Spirit of your Father
speaking through you.

        "Brothers will give their own brothers to be killed, and fathers will
give their own children to be killed.  Children will fight against their own
parents and have them put to death.  All people will hate you because you
follow me, but those people who keep their faith until the end will be saved.
When you are treated badly in one city, run to another city.  I tell you the
truth, you will not finish going through all the cities of Israel before the
Son of Man comes.

        "A student is not better than his teacher, and a servant is not better
than his master.  A student should be satisfied to become like his teacher;
a servant should be satisified to become like his master.  If the head of the
family is called Beelzebul, then the other members of the family will be called
worse names!

        "So don't be afraid of those people, because everything that is hidden
will be shown.  Everything that is secret will be made known.  I tell you these
things in the dark, but I want you to tell them in the light.  What you hear
whispered in your ear you should shout from the housetops.  Don't be afraid of
people, who can kill the body but cannot kill the soul.  The only one you
should fear is the one who can destroy the soul and the body in hell.  Two
sparrows cost only a penny, but not even one of them can die without your
Father's knowing it.  God even knows how many hairs are on your head.  So
don't be afraid.  You are worth much more than many sparrows.

        "All those who stand before others and say they believe in me, I
will say before my Father in heaven that they belong to me.  But all who
stand before others and say they do not believe in me, I will say before
my Father in heaven that they do not belong to me.

        "Don't think that I came to bring peace to the earth.  I did not come
to bring peace, but a sword.  I have come so that 'a son would be against his
father, a daughter will be against her mother, a daughter-in-law will be
against her mother-in-law.  A person's enemies will be members of his own
family.'

        "Those who love their father or mother more than they love me are
are not worthy to be my followers.  Those who love their son or daughter
more than they love me are not worthy to be my followers.  Whoever is not
willing to carry the cross and follow me is not worthy of me.  Those who
try to hold on to their lives will give up true life.  Those who give up
their lives for me will hold on to true life.  Whoever accepts you also
accepts me, and whoever accepts me also accepts the One who sent me.  Whoever
meets a prophet and accepts him will receive the reward of a prophet.  And
whoever accepts a good person because that person is good will receive the
reward of a good person.  Those who give one of these little ones a cup
of cold water because they are my followers will truly get their reward."

Matthew 10:16-42

Tue, Sep 20th - 2:37PM

Samwise & Frodo

Dear Mr. Sam,

You're not alone whatsoever.  When it comes to the flesh, we are weak weak
weak weak weak weak weak weak weak weak weak weak creatures.  There's no
doubt about it.  I don't even stand a REMOTE chance battling the enemy who
won't HESITATE for an INSTANT to bring to bare any and all perversion or
diversion of God's plan and standard for sex, and everything regarding the
opposite sex, including right down to how we men VIEW and REGARD women.
This is an area that we simply cannot be TOO careful with.  God Himself
looks through my eyeballs at whatever I'm looking at and simultaneously
views my heart and sees my attitude and disposition of how I'm viewing
whomever I'm viewing.

I can try to mock Him and say, "oh it's platonic, I just like her as a
friend" and He whispers, louder than Foo Fighter's concert, "Yeah son, tell
me another fine story!"

satan knows he cannot get us to offend God almighty in certain areas.  satan
knows that we are Christ's very own, covered in His blood the ONE and ONLY
sin remover in the entire UNIVERSE.

HOWEVER, if satan can get us to lust, look at a woman incorrectly, picture
her in some inappropriate situation - BOOM - the assault is under way.
don't EVER underestimate satan's resolve to get you to view God's beautiful
creations that are called women inappropriately, or as objects or as things
to be manipulated in your mind, heart, body, soul or imagination.

satan KNOWS he cannot get me to use drugs again, because I am marked as
Christ's very own - plus I have the vivid, painful, nagging, PERMANENT scars
of having been a full-blown drug addict and alcoholic and the reminder LIVES
in my broken, beat-up, bruised, torn and demolished body I inhabit the rest
of my days on earth.  HOWEVER, satan KNOWS that he can EASILY get me to
start looking at, lusting for, picturing scenerios, and even TASTING the
touch of just about any woman in the entire world.  satan is NO dummy by ANY
stretch of the imagination.  In fact, if my gut feeling is correct, he's an
absolute GENIUS at trying to get us to live in unforgiven sin.  trust me Mr.
Sam.  satan is DETERMINED to get us to live in that sin forever and ever.
he'll stop at NOTHING.

In a way, I'm at an ENORMOUS advantage over married folks and even people
with girlfriends.  I have THE LORD and THE LORD ***ALONE*** - there are
those times I wish for a woman so severely that I can't even move.  I am at
times so struck with a physical loneliness that I cannot even begin to
describe how desolate it feels...BUT...the great news is that God comes
along EVERY SINGLE time I feel that way and cradles me and gives me an
incomprable hug and reassures me that I don't even have to worry one SECOND
about finding a woman or a wife or a lover or a soul mate, because I am HIS.
All the love I want and long for is SECURE and I will have it FOR ETERNITY
in Him.

I hate the dating game.  I won't date.  I won't go on a date.  I won't get
into that flirting stuff.  I won't let sexual sparks fly with a woman.  I am
instead, nailed to a cross with Jesus and my sinful self is as dead as a
doornail.  I'm not going to give satan one ounce of satisfaction or victory
over my flesh.  he has already ruined my body using my VERY OWN hands with
cigarettes, alcohol, and just about every drug you can name, PLUS the fact
that I've had sexual relations with a fair number of women outside God's
union of marriage.

Adultry is a very extremely GRAVE offense.  You don't even want to come into
the most remote orbit of it.  Steer clear.  It is a snare that RUINS the
lives of anyone who dares even flirt with the idea of it.

I am facing an amazing new life and future which may very well translate
into me never having a significant other or girlfriend or wife or anything.
Instead I have the GREATEST love in the UNIVERSE for ever and ever and ever
to NO end.

I'm not trading the later for a temporary sinful pleasure and end up apart
from sweet sweet God, in a pit that burn with no relief for all eternity.

There's no tipping that scale for me, and satan has been trying DESPERATELY.
Especially since my baptism late last month.  There have been some
opportunities, and new beautiful faces in my path and on my horizons and
I've got my eyes SEALED SHUT for Jesus.  He alone is all I will open my eyes
for.

This means war!

We are AT WAR!

Put on your armor of God, and each and every article of it!  BELT, SHOES,
HELMET, BREASTPLATE, SHIELD, AND SWORD each and every single day Mr. Sam.
Don't you DARE go out or leave your bedroom in the morning WITHOUT it.

If you neglect to prayerfully put on God's armor, you can COUNT on satan
penetrating you in one way or another.  Don't forget to put it all on and
LEAVE it on Mr. Sam.  You can bet your last penny satan has you in his
high-powered rifle's scope 25 hours a day.  he's just waiting for your to
take off your armor so he can get in a shot and it may very well be the
fatal shot.

I'm not messing around with that devil.  No way.  he's working OVERTIME to
maim, ruin, disfigure and destroy my life and Christ Himself is kicking him
where it really hurts every time the dark prince threatens.

I ***BELONG*** on the cross.  My desires, my will, my lusts, my sin, my
everything is nailed to it.  I'm not coming down until my King Jesus comes
for me!

Christ is coming back for a SPOTLESS bride.  That bride is His church, and
that bride is YOU and ME  Mr. Sam!  I'm not leaving you behind!  I've got
Sting, my elven blade ready to come get you if you become ensnared!

Mr. Frodo

Mon, Sep 19th - 4:10PM

Sun, Sep 18th - 1:44AM

Matthew 11:12

From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.  (Matthew 11:12)

     I wonder how many of us have actually had this conversation with God:  "Abba, Father, Dad, would You purposefully put me in danger?"  I think a lot of us haven't asked God that question because we went ahead and answered it for Him.  Of course He wouldn't do that.  We're His children.  We're family.  He wouldn't purposefully endanger us, not even to accomplish a higher or nobler purpose.  Or would He?  Maybe you should stop and ask Him.  His answer might surprise you.  It certainly surprised John the Baptist.

     There is a barbarian revolt taking place, and its command center is the kingdom of God.  Everywhere the kingdom of God advances, there is a violent engagement against a dark kingdom.  To be born of God is to be made a citizen in the kingdom of God, and the kingdom of God is at war.  Do not confuse this kingdom with Paradise.  Salvation is not reentry into a Paradise Lost; it is enlistment in the mission of God.

     Jesus is telling us in no uncertain terms that there is a battle raging...

.....

     ....Jesus calls us to a different way.  He tells us this is a battle of kingdoms.  He insists that if we are His followers, we must not live in a world defined only by the material.  We cannot limit our sights to what is flesh and blood.  We should know better than that.  To see form a kingdom perspective is to know that there is a conflict of invisible kingdoms and that people's lives are forever changed by what happens in the unseen.  We are called to be warriors of light in dark places.  We are mystical warriors who use weapons not of this world.

                                                                         - Erwin Raphael McManus The Barbarian Way

Sun, Sep 18th - 1:06AM

Christ suffered and died to create a band of crucified followers

Christ Suffered and Died...

To Create A Band of Crucified Followers

If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.
-Luke 9:23

Whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.
-Matthew 10:38

Christ died to create comrades on the Calvary road.  Calvary is the name of the hill where he was crucified.  He knew that the path of his life would take him there eventually.  In fact, "He set His face" to go there (Luke 9:51).  Nothing would hinder His mission to die.  He knew where and when it had to happen.  When someone warned him, on the way to Jerusalem, that He was in danger from King Herod, He scorned the idea that Herod could short-circuit God's plan.  "Go and tell that fox, 'Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I finish my course'" (Luke 13:32).  All was proceeding according to plan.  And when the end finally came and the mob arrested him the night before He died, He said to them, "All this has taken place that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled"  (Matthew 26:56).

In a sense, the Calvary road is where everyone meets Jesus.  It's true that He has already walked the road, and died, and risen, and now reigns in heaven until He comes again.  But when Christ meets a person today, it is always on the Calvary road - on the way to the cross.  Every time He meets someone on the Calvary road He says, "If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me" (Luke 9:23).  When Christ went to the cross, His aim was to call a great band of believers after Him.

The reason for this is not that Jesus must die again today, but that WE must.  When He bids us take up our cross, He means come and die.  The cross was a place of horrible execution.  It would have been unthinkable in Jesus' day to wear a cross as a piece of jewelry.  It would have been like wearing a miniature electric chair or lynching rope.  His words must have had a terrifying effect:  "Whoever does not take his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me"  (Matthew 10:38).

So today the words are sobering.  They mean at least that when I follow Jesus as my Savior and Lord, the old self-determining, self-absorbed me must be crucified.  I must every day reckon myself dead to sin and alive to God.  This is the path of life:  "Consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus"  (Romans 6:11).

But camaraderie on the Calvary road means more.  It means that Jesus died so that we would be willing to bear His reproach.  "Jesus...suffered outside the gate...Therefore let us go to Him outside the camp and bear the reproach He endured"  (Hebrews 13:12-13).  But not just reproach.  If necessary, martyrdom.  The Bible pictures some of Christ's followers this way:  "They have conquered [satan] by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death"  (Revelation 12:11).  So the Lamb of God shed His blood that we might defeat the devil by trusting His blood and shedding ours.  Jesus calls us onto the Calvary road.  It is a hard and good life.  Come.

-John Piper
The Passion of Jesus Christ

Fri, Sep 16th - 8:23AM

Joshua 1:9

Wed, Sep 14th - 11:57PM

Tue, Sep 13th - 9:38PM

Baptized!

Sunday August 8, 2005