The Encourager Newsletter - Vol.4 Issue 7 - March 26, 2010 - This Same Jesus... -Who is Jesus?

This Same Jesus…

A trusted doctor was writing it all down with the precision of a medical scholar. The smartest people have not all lived in our day. The beloved physician was known for getting it right and filling in more detail than most writers. His practice of the healing art required him to carefully observe the smallest details and slightest evidences of health and disease. That's one reason why the gospel account by his name, Luke, is liked by so many people. In writing the book of The Acts of the Apostles (some say it would be more accurate to call it The Acts of the Holy Spirit), Dr. Luke gets right into his reporting.

As the story opens, He says that Jesus rose from the dead and was with the apostles forty days, explaining things to them. He instructed them to wait in Jerusalem until they were baptized by the Holy Spirit and endued with power from on high for carrying out the work He left for them to do. Jesus was not standing at a nice podium and the apostles were not sitting in nice padded pews in a nice stone building housing a nice organ.

They were standing on a well-known rugged mountain ridge in east Jerusalem with three peaks running from north to south. The highest peak was 2,683 ft. and it took its name from the olive groves that covered its slopes. It was known as the Mount of Olives or Mount Olivet. For centuries workers had gathered olives from those trees and pressed the precious oil from them to be used for healing and cooking and light.

The Garden of Gethsemane was a beautiful place among the trees where oil was pressed out of the harvested olives. Jesus loved to visit there with his disciples. In our story today, He was again on the Mount of Olives with his disciples, now known as Apostles since they had witnessed his resurrection from the dead. They had also witnessed his fulfilling of many Jewish prophecies.

As they were standing there listening to Jesus' instructions about waiting in Jerusalem until the coming of the Holy Spirit upon them, Jesus suddenly began to rise upward from the place where he was standing. That must have stunned them beyond measure. He continued to slowly rise up and up and up and grew smaller and smaller as a cloud came over him and he disappeared from their sight.

They had not noticed two other men standing with them—strangers—suddenly there among them. These two strange men had a message for the Apostles: Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven (Acts 1:11). It would take several pages to review what this same Jesus did in eternity past since all things were made by Him and without him was not anything made that was made (John 1:3). And how much space to examine what He is going to do in the future? The photos posted on the internet by NASA are vast and record some of Jesus' work of the past.

Much of God's work looks so ordinary and the people who do His work look so ordinary. That should encourage every one of us ordinary people to serve the Lord with a cheerful heart, doing whatever God puts in our hands to do. Jesus was God in the flesh but he must have looked so ordinary that he didn't look out of place until he opened his mouth or until he healed a paralytic or raised someone from the dead. Did he look out of the ordinary when he lay exhausted and asleep in the back of the boat and the storm threatened to drown them all? Didn't he look so ordinary that his disciples were scared out of their wits?

The idea that God, Himself would impregnate a teenage girl He had made and through her enter Himself into the human race as one of us is far above my head. I cannot take it in. And He did such a good job of it that He looked just like one of us. He did not come to be "one of the good-ole boys" but that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. All of us brethren who have cast our lot with Him. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. (Romans 8:29) Can you take that in?

In carrying this out there is a time line. It is illustrated by Abraham's descendants who had to spend 400 years in Egypt multiplying before God could give them the land He promised Abraham. The other thing that had to take place was God's running account of the wickedness of the Amorites, the people who occupied the land that the Jews were about to possess. But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full. (Genesis 15:16)

Jesus was born to die for the sins of the world. He also came to rule and reign over the earth from the throne of His father David in the city of Jerusalem. But another part of God's program is going on. The seventieth week of Daniel must first take place (Daniel 9:23-27). This is referred to as the time of Jacob's Trouble and The Great Tribulation. This is yet to come and it looks like it cannot be far away.

We are between the 69^th Week of Daniel and the 70^th Week of Daniel. A week equals seven years. I invite you to hear this week's message: Can Our Iniquity Be Far from Full? by Pastor Charles Garrison of Calvary Memorial Church. The audio of that has been posted and you can access it by clicking the link above (47 minutes). There is also a video if you have a program installed to enable you to catch the stream. Very timely! The apostles were told that Jesus would be gone for a while but would return. When Jesus was born, wise men came from the east seeking Him. Wise men still seek Him. Foolish people ignore Him and make excuses for their unconcern.

And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began (Acts 3:20-21)

…he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead (Acts 17:30-31).

This same Jesus is your only hope of eternal life in heaven. If you do not know Him, get on your knees and bow your head before Him. Ask Him to come into your heart as your Lord and Savior because you intend to live for Him the rest of your life. Ω

Who Is Jesus?—Barbara Carr

The Jews sent priests and Levites to inspect John when he was baptizing in the Jordan River. They asked him: "Who are you?" He said that he was not the Christ or the expected Elijah. The major intellects of Israel had been waiting for centuries from the time of Moses for the promised one to come. The common people had absorbed bits and pieces of this expectation and passed it along to their children who passed it along to their children.

When John baptized Jesus and he began to do miraculous things and the people loved to hear him preach. They began to ask each other: "Who is Jesus?" One day he asked his disciples about this rumor: "He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." (Mat 16:15-16)

Jesus' commented to Peter's answer: "…Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. (Matthew 16:17)

Several weeks ago our pastor asked the question: "Who do you believe Jesus is?" The question caught us off guard because we didn't know exactly what he expected. The audience didn't respond. His next statement was, "You mean no one here knows who Jesus is? In that case, we are in sad shape." Then several people answered and he continued with the sermon.

Who is Jesus? He is our Lord and Savior, the One who gave His life's blood that we might be saved. Let's go to the scripture. First, Jesus is God the Son—one of the Trinity. When He was baptized by John the Baptist, the heavens opened and the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove descended upon Him. A voice from heaven (the Father) testified: This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." (Matthew 3:16-17)

Who is Jesus? Next, He is the Savior of everyone in the world who will accept Him as Savior and Lord. In the beginning, Adam and Eve chose to sin. They discovered they were naked and the Lord made them aprons of skins. It took the blood of an animal to cover their sin. In the Old Testament this ritual was performed repeatedly. This practice continued until Jesus, the perfect sacrifice, died on the cross to atone for our sins, once and for all. Jesus Christ was the only one who could satisfy Gods' requirements for a sacrifice/savior, because he knew no sin.

"For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." (2Corinthians 5:21) Locke said this: "For God hath made him subject to suffering and death, the punishment and consequence of sin, as if he had been a sinner, though he were guilty of no sin."

Who is Jesus? Last, He is our High Priest. In the Old Testament a priest interceded between God and men. He would offer an animal sacrifice to atone for their sins. Jesus' death on the cross and His resurrection took away the need for this sacrifice. Today, Christ is our intercessor. Today, He stands before God saying, "Father forgive them for their sins. Look at them through my blood and see them as washed clean and white as snow."

"Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin." (Hebrews 4:14-15)

"Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens;" (Hebrews 7:25-26)

Who do you believe Jesus is? We've looked at a few of the Biblical characteristics of Jesus Christ. Do they line up with your understanding? All of us who have a personal relationship with Jesus may find it hard to put into words our feelings and beliefs on short notice. Someone has said that Jesus is who He claimed to be or else He is a lunatic or a liar. He can't be merely a "good man" because He claimed to be God in the flesh and if He is a liar He is not a good man. Let's ask the Lord to reveal Himself to us so we can give a good response to his question. Peter's answer was "the son of the living God." This is who Jesus is! King of King and Lord of Lords! Does that make you want to shout? Go ahead! No one is listening but your Savior. Ω

The Encourager Newsletter - Vol. 4 Issue 6 - March 19, 2010 - What is the End Time? - Warming Your Coffee

What is the End Time?

The Bible begins: In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth (Genesis 1:1). For all of us mortals that is the opening scene of our understanding of God and all that He made. This is our basic assumption and everything else is relative to this. It assumes that the writer, Moses, got it right. There is a time line that runs through the Bible and this is the beginning of the time line.

The end of the time line is expressed in several places in the Bible, most often quoted is Revelation 10:5-6: And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven, (6) And swore by him that liveth forever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer: (Revelation 10:5-6).

The end time does not mean that all time ceases to exist but that God is going to move quickly toward establishing His kingdom upon the earth. It is the end of the “times of the gentiles” and the end of “Jacob’s trouble” and the end of “the great tribulation.” There will be no delay of time. It is time to unfold all the things that must happen. See also: (Rev. 1:3), (Rev.10:6), (Rev.11:18), (Rev.12:12), (Rev. 12:14), (Rev. 14:15), (Rev. 22:10). It is an answer to the prayers of God’s people who have prayed: “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done in earth as in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). And it is an answer to the prayers of the martyred saints (Rev.6:9-10).

The phrase “no more” occurs 235 times in the Bible and indicates a ceasing of activity or condition. This is a list of 235 “end times” of many activities. If the Bible keeps track of so many things that ceased to be or ceased to function, why should we think it strange that there is one very big ‘NO MORE” or end time that wraps everything up? It is offensive to the “thinkers” of the world that God would have the audacity to sit in judgment upon them and bring all their plans and accumulated accomplishments to a grinding halt.

In our study today, time will continue another thousand years after this primary “end time” but the end of time has reached a “no more” point for bringing the world system to a halt and taking charge of the earth. Handel's oratorio, Messiah included a favorite passage: “The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ and He shall reign forever and ever!” He’s quoting (Rev. 11:15) word-for-word.

No wonder the Bible is shoved aside by millions of people who know this book is exclusive and not simply one opinion among many opinions. The Bible claims to be right and the other views to be wrong. That’s why it is so hated. It is offensive to think that there is an end time and that all along there has been a time line in place by which God Almighty scheduled His program step by step to the very end. But if you believe the Bible then that’s what you believe. And if you do not know these things, isn’t it time you set aside a half-hour a day to get into your Bible and see what it says? The Bible is more than a paper weight.

God has appointed times in between the beginning and the ending. We can learn much from looking up such phrases as: “in the time appointed” and “the appointed time” and “the fullness of time.” For example, the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world came not just any time but on God’s schedule: But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, (5) To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons (Galatians 4:4-5).

Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming; but my people know not the judgment of the LORD. (Jeremiah 8:7)

Please permit me to violate established evolutionary and political orthodoxy and say that it is not possible for men to destroy the earth or the people of the earth with nuclear weapons nor with man-made global warming. It is possible to kill a lot of people and burn up a lot of real estate and to mismanage farms and swamps and forests, but there is a limit to what God permits men to destroy. The devil is the great destroyer. In Rev. 11:18

The Word speaks of “them which destroy the earth,” to destroy in the sense of corrupting the earth, or diverting God’s purpose and order. Not in the sense of doing away with the earth or the people of the earth.

The reason there is a limit to man’s power is that there is a God Almighty Creator who made the universe and within that vast domain is God’s pet project we call “earth.” God’s word says He … hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; (Acts 17:26). God is perfectly capable of managing what He has created and capable of seeing it through to His appointed end, thank you.

God put man in charge of some things. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. (28) And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth (Genesis 1:27-28).

The earth is peculiarly designed and peculiarly located to carry out God’s program of creating and redeeming a host of creatures called man and woman. Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world (Acts 15:18).

The current furor over the theory of man-made global warming has a very good feature: it announces to the whole world that a global warming is coming that will melt the ice caps. It is wrong in one crucial point: it will not be of man’s making but of God’s doing. I find nowhere in Scripture that God made the earth and man in such a way that the final say of the earth’s survival is in the hands of frail, wicked men. Issues 4 and 5 of The Encourager Newsletter have focused on part of God’s end time program that is just around the corner.

Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture (Psalm 100:3). That is a square pill for the atheist and the agnostic to swallow. Ω

Warming Your Coffee—Barbara Carr

I recently heard a pastor tell this story. “I love coffee. I go to Starbucks and all the restaurants famous for good coffee and order a cup. In few minutes the waitress comes by and says, “Can I warm that for you?” I always say, “Yes, please.” The reason I always say yes is because no matter what I do to keep the coffee hot it gets cold. I wrap my hands around the cup, I hold the menu up to keep the fan from blowing on it, I do everything I can think of and it still gets cold.”

John writes in Revelation 3:15 about the church of Laodicea. “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.” Coffee is good either hot or cold, but tepid coffee is terrible! The Lord wants us to be hot or cold; not lukewarm. Our Christian life is like this. We are all fired up and before you know it we are lukewarm, or cold as ice. What causes this? It must be the lack of something.

Could it be the lack of searching the Scriptures? Two men were on the road to Emmaus after Jesus’ death on the cross. He walked with them, ate with them and opened the scriptures to them and then He was gone. After He was gone they realized it was Jesus. “And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?” (Luke 24:32)

This comment tells us of the deep pleasure, the warm glow and intense love they felt in their hearts as He talked to them. Studying the Word of God will warm our hearts as we read what Jesus did for us and that His love is ongoing. Before the foundation of the world, God ordained that Jesus would suffer for our sins. God has big plans for your life! Do we yet understand that?

Could it be the lack of prayer? “And when he had sent them away, he departed into a mountain to pray” (Mark 6:46). There are many references of Jesus praying. If Jesus needed to pray, do we not need to pray? Unless we are better than Jesus Christ we need to pray. Mark 6 tells us the story of Jesus on the mountain praying and the disciples on the Sea of Galilee in a really bad storm. They were surrounded by wind, waves and blackness, but Jesus walked on the water and saved them.

This could have been us. Jesus has gone to the Father and we are on earth surrounded by the storms of life. We need to stay close to God in prayer in order to survive. Our lives can grow cold so quickly without the times alone in prayer.

Could it be the lack of Church attendance/Christian fellowship? “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching” (Hebrews 10:25).

Dan told me a story of man who had been out of church for some time. The pastor had talked with him several times, but he continued to miss church. The pastor went again to his house for a visit. The man opened the door and invited him in, knowing what the pastor was going to talk about. They sat in front of the fire place with a cup of coffee and talked about several things.

As they talked the pastor took the fire poker and pulled a small coal of fire out on the hearth. It was still burning, but as it lay there alone it grew dim and just smoked a little. Finally, the fire went out of the coal completely. When the pastor got to the door to leave, the man said “You have made your point, pastor. I’ll be in church Sunday.” We need each other for spiritual warmth.

Could it be a lack of thankfulness and praise? “Sing unto the LORD with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto our God:” (Psalm 147:7)

In prayer we often just go over some of our many blessings and give thanks for them. In so doing, we realize it is impossible to list them all. But we need to work daily at thanking God because so often we take these blessings for granted. We are told to sing with thanksgiving and praise. Our God is an awesome God and we are to praise Him and worship Him. In so doing we will feel “Our hearts burn within us.”

These are a few things in our lives that we need to maintain or increase in order to keep our fellowship with the Lord hot and not cold. Our pastor says there is no such thing as straddling the fence. He is right. The coffee is either hot or cold and so are we. Ω

The Encourager Newsletter - Vol.4 Issue 5 - March 12, 2010 - ....Global Warming is Coming! - My Shepherd

The Bible Says Global Warming IS Coming! Part II

If want a computer copy, go to encourager@biblewalking.com. In the subject line type subscribe. Please include your name.

Is God's Day of Global warming "just preaching?" Back in the 1940's a pastor was really pouring it on, expounding a Bible story when suddenly, without missing a beat he said: "Ladies, I must warn you that somebody back there in the vestibule is going through your coats and purses." He told them one time and kept on preaching. Nobody moved or looked around. After the benediction as the congregation was filing out through the back doors, suddenly one of the ladies exclaimed: "Pastor, our coats and purses are gone!" He said, "Ladies, I told you plain as day that somebody was going through your coats and purses." To which one of them replied, "Yes, I know you did. But we thought you were just preaching."

One of our biggest challenges is sorting through all of today's information to find the things that matter (Proverbs 14:12). So far, at every funeral we've attended the corpse was somebody else. Conclusion: dying is for other people. The world knows about Noah's flood and the burning of Sodom and Gomorrah but that was all those people back there in the distant past. We do not want to deal with God's coming judgment upon the earth. Lucy in Peanuts said: "I don't want any downs. I just want ups!" Let's face it my friends…judgment on the earth is coming.

Sometimes when I read a verse of scripture to somebody, they say: "Well…that's your opinion but I've got my own ideas on that." Straight out of the Bible and he thinks it's my opinion! When a generation of people has been taught—bone deep—that the earth came out of a big bang and everything of order came out of the chaos on its own, we have lost our compass and North Star. We are in more danger than the Titanic the night it sank in 1912. It's hard to think things through when our corrupt self is the greatest authority we know.

It's a stretch to believe that God would actually judge the world (Psalm 75:8) and send a global burning (Rev.14:9-11) and boils(Rev. 16:28)and earthquakes (Rev. 16:18) and armies gathering for Armageddon (Rev.14:17-20) and other catastrophes (Rev.6:8) that will kill over half the world's population in 42 months. It would help to slowly read Revelation chapters 8-18 and take it all in. Mark your Bible.

We are moving rapidly toward a one-world government—a revival of the old Roman Empire, which never really died (see the European Union). It will eventually be made up of ten effective political regions (there are currently 27). Out of the ten will arise a leader who will mold them into a powerful world government. It does not appear that the United States will be a part of the ten nations but we may assume that the United States will remain the sole support of Israel which will be there and enter into a treaty with these nations. We are going to see more American power and might shift to the European Union. We have lost our will to be "American." We have quit making things and are willingly shipping those jobs overseas.

During the first 3 ½ years of the Tribulation period, the powerful leader who rises out of the ten nations of the revived Roman Empire will be a deal maker and assume his exalted place as the wonderful ruler of the world. Hitler was cheered and accepted in his early days. When we speak of a world government, we do not mean that every village on earth will be included. But the main arteries of political power that really count will be part of that structure. If you look at the map of the old Roman Empire, you will see that it covered the territory around the Mediterranean Sea but not the whole world. Yet, it is conceded that the Roman Empire ruled the world.

In the coming seven years of tribulation, everything will be geared toward a world of peace and prosperity—without God. I repeat: It will be a revived Roman Empire which never really died but became dormant. For good background I recommend the two DVD's Rome: Power and Glory. Three TV Documentary episodes on each disc. (See Netflix)

The best picture of what is coming is to study Nebuchadnezzar's dream of the huge image in Daniel 2:19-45. The Bible only speaks of four great world kingdoms: Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and the Roman Empire. In Daniel 2, Nebuchadnezzar's big image stands upon two iron legs, which are the Roman Empire—a thousand years of strong, ruthless power. Its power controlled the nations around the Mediterranean Sea. The feet of the image in Daniel 2 are a mixture of iron and clay. The great power of Rome (iron) is mixed with the fickle will of the masses and it is therefore weak in its feet.

It is at this point that a great stone is hurled onto the feet of the image and smashes the feet and the whole image into fine powder and the powder is blown away by the wind. Then the stone that smote the image on the feet of iron and clay will become a great mountain that will fill the whole earth. That stone is Christ. He will destroy and replace the last great world kingdom and impose a kingdom of righteousness upon the earth for one thousand years. That's the summary.

Young Daniel says to Nebuchadnezzar: …there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days (Daniel 2:28). The Book of Revelation picks up the threads of Daniel and expands them. If we want to understand the future for our day, we will have to study Daniel and Revelation together, plus other prophetic writings, but Daniel and Revelation are the two main books. The Bible does not stop with a bare-bones summary in Daniel. We go to the Book of Revelation and the summary in Daniel is blown up like a mini-map that fills the page. From Revelation we learn that during the last 3 ½ years the political deals will sour and the judgments of God will be so severe that the anti-Christ's hold on political power will fail. Some believe that the greatest number of conversions to Christ the world has ever seen will occur during this time but it will take place among those who have never been convicted of sin and defiantly rejected the gospel of Christ. We have this stern warning:

…because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. (11) And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: (12) That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. (2Thessalonians 2:10-12)

During that seven-year period will be the fulfillment of the prophecies of Daniel, Job, Isaiah, Haggai, Joel, Jesus, Paul, Peter, Enoch, Jude, Revelation and others. Revelation speaks of an enormous global "warming" coming in the end time, but it will be God-made and not man-made. Ω

My Shepherd—Barbara Carr

In his book, A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23, Phillip Keller begins by saying, "The Lord! But who is the Lord? What is His character? Does He have adequate credentials to be my Shepherd—my manager—my owner? And if He does—how do I come under His control? In what way do I become the object of His concern and diligent care?" Jesus said, as if to answer his question:

I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. 15) As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16) And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. 17) Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. 18) No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father." (John 10:14-18)

Jesus tell us He is the Good Shepherd and that He knows His people. "The word 'know' here is used in the sense of affectionate regard or love. It implies such a knowledge of their wants, their dangers, and their characters, as to result in a deep interest in their welfare." (Barnes)

We really are like sheep. Sheep are naughty, disobedient and show little intelligence. Does that describe you? It surely does describe me. Knowing this He still loves us. He is interested in us—in our wellbeing. As a shepherd He is there to protect and help us.

We sheep often wander off in disobedience. Sometimes we become entangled in the world, but the shepherd does not give up on us.

What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? 5) And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6) And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost. 7) I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance. (Luke 15:4-7)

For years I struggled with guilt over past sins. Sins I knew God had forgiven, but I had a hard time forgiving myself. I would lose confidence in my witness for the Lord. With much counseling by Dan, prayer and Bible study I am beating this problem. Like Paul I haven't arrived, but I'm reaching for the goal. He is my Shepherd.

Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand. (Psa 37:24)

Am known of mine (John 10:14). Just like the sheep depend on the shepherd, we must accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior and love Him. We must know His voice and follow His leading. We must be friends with Him. You know, when we accept Jesus as our Savior, He comes along side us. We can talk to Him. Our grandson was once asked why he wasn't singing. He answered, "I'm singing in my head." We can talk inside or we can talk aloud, but we do need to talk to Him. It doesn't have to be a big problem. It can be something that the two of us can laugh about. We need to know Jesus intimately.

Sheep love the shepherd enough to follow His set of guidelines. Sheep obey their loving shepherd and He leads them. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2) He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. 3) He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.5) Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. 6) Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. (Psalm 23:1-6). Ω

The Encourager Newsletter - Vol.4 Issue 4 - March 5, 2010 - The Bible Says Global Warming IS Coming - The Real Thing

The Bible Says Global Warming IS Coming! Part I

(Because of the amount of scriptures used there was not room to print all the verses. The references are hyperlinked so computers and blogspot can access the verse texts. If you are reading a paper copy and you want a computer copy, go to www.encourager@biblewalking.com. In the subject line type subscribe. Please include your name.

We are hearing a lot about global warming. Truth is, the earth is always warming or cooling. The real mean (average) temperature of the earth has never been compiled. The current warming is in the northern hemisphere so it is not global. After studying this for three years I have concluded that if we will send our wallets and our freedoms to the politicians of the world they will "fix" a problem that does not exist. Over 17,000 scientists now disagree with the claims. See http://www.petitionproject.org/ But there is an awesome global warming coming.

The encouragement in this article is for you to be ready to leave this world in the twinkling of an eye and to encourage you to miss what is coming here on this earth. We are living in the very end of the end-time period leading up to the seven years of God's judgment of the earth called The Great Tribulation. The church of true believers making up the body of Christ will soon be called out of the world (1Corinthians 15:51-52; 1Thessalonians 4:14-18). Then the bad news. To get this message today, you will need to sit down with your Bible and work some. Look up the passages in your Bible.

In Revelation 16:8-12 as the fourth, fifth and sixth angels pour out their vials (bowls) there will come forth an enormous amount of heat. It will be a global warming that has never been on the earth before. The destruction from that heat will be awesome! But even this burning is not the ultimate heat that will one day envelope the earth. This short article can only present a highlight of that time with some background and references for those who want to study further. Jesus predicted signs in the sun (Luke 21:25).

Three vials/bowls have already been poured out (Rev.16:2-4): The first one brings about a noisome and grievous sore upon those who had willingly taken the mark of the Beast. It parallels the scene of God's judgments upon Egypt through Moses (Exodus 9:8-12) (Ex.10:21-22) See also: (Deuteronomy 28:15) (Deut. 28:27)(Deut. 28:35). All these things were not carried out against Israel at one time. The northern ten tribes were invaded and carried off by the Assyrians. After many years the remaining two tribes of Judah were carried off by Babylon. The final scattering was carried out by the Romans in A.D. 70 and the effect remains to this day. To imagine that the God of Heaven is a figment of the imagination is a big mistake. The 2^nd and 3^rd vials/bowls transform the earth's oceans and then the rivers into blood. Over half of the world's population will die during the seven-year tribulation period (Rev. 6:8) (Rev. 9:18).

God is going to judge the world (Acts 17:30-31). Late night TV comedians will have no standing to stay God's hand. No political party will be able to delay His destructive power. The churches that have made peace with the devil and denied the Bible will be the first to taste God's displeasure (1Peter 4:17). Isaiah warned about this day in referring to it briefly: (Isaiah 24:4-6). He talked about the sun shining sevenfold (Isaiah 30:26).

God has been warning the human race about this for many centuries. God is love and more than love. He is a God of truth and love and mercy and justice. Eventually His mercy was exhausted and then came Noah's flood (Gen.6:13), the confusion of languages and scattering of the human race (Gen.11:1-9), the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen.19:24-25), and the destruction of Jerusalem after Jesus' final warning that they were left desolate (Luke 13:34-35). God gave them another 40 years of grace after Jesus' crucifixion. Titus the Roman general came and leveled the city during Jewish Passover resulting in the slaughter of a million Jews trapped in the city. The Arch of Titus in Rome commemorates this event.

God promised not to destroy the earth again with water (Gen.9:13-17). The next world-wide destruction will be by fire (2Peter 3:10). There is a primary and secondary fulfillment of that promise. This is the case with many prophecies. The first is (Revelation 16:8-12). The final is (2Peter 3:10-13).

Peter warned of the day of ultimate destruction of the earth by fire. Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished. (7) But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men (2Peter 3:6-7).

Malachi warned of a future day of fire. For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch (Malachi 4:1).

Henry Morris writes this comment in his study Bible concerning Rev. 16:8-12: "The heat will aggravate their sores even more. The temperatures will likely melt the polar ice caps, causing a rapid rise in sea level which will inundate and destroy most of the great and wicked cities of the world, situated as they are almost at sea level.

The MacArthur, Jr. Study Bible comments on Rev. 16:8-12): With no fresh water to drink, earth's inhabitants will face extreme heat. The scorching heat will melt the polar ice caps,… inundating many of the world's major cities and producing further catatrophic loss of life. The resulting disruption of ocean transportation will make it difficult to distribute the dwindling resources of food and water. Amos 9:5-6 uses wording that may relate to this. Ω

The Real Thing—Barbara Carr

In 1969 Coca Cola changed its advertising slogan to: "It's the Real Thing." The upbeat musical ads saturated TV and radio audiences at a cost of millions of dollars. The public loved it! Underneath, people love the idea of real things.

Last summer I attended a Women's Conference in Chattanooga with a group of women from our church. Their theme was "Be Still—Get Real Makeover." Since then I have thought more about what "get real" means. One dictionary says: Genuine and original not artificial or synthetic.

Does "get real" include your dreams and imaginations? For reasons known only to God, He made us with a capacity to dream and imagine. In other words, a "not--real" world. It turns out to be a wonderful place to incubate and create ideas—powerful ideas. But it's a world removed from reality and can be used for good or for evil. God-given imagination gave us the electric light bulb and most of the inventions we use every day. But it has also given us war and tragedy.

And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. (6) And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. (Genesis 6:5-6)

Do you have a problem separating your dream/imagination world from your world of reality? We may dream or imagine just how we want something to be and when it doesn't turn out that way we are disappointed. God has a plan for each of our lives; a plan that the majority of us do not follow. We pray about our dream/plan, but do we wait for God's answer? If God doesn't show us a sign, we may decide our plan must be God's plan and do our own thing.

Georgia, my sister, has a new job as Post Master at Stevenson, AL. She now has to cross the Tennessee River and drive up and down the mountain regardless of the weather. Already this year a sudden snow storm covered the side of the mountain and she had to hitch a ride home with the Highway Patrol and leave her car crossways on the icy mountain road. She didn't think I wanted her to get the job. Never mind that I drove up and down that same mountain for twenty-two years. I told her I would pray for the Lord's will to be done. I couldn't help but smile when I heard she had the job. I guess I just kept thinking that my will would be God's will. He answers prayer according to His plan. I had to get real.

At the Women's Conference I mentioned, the word "Real" was used as an acronym:

R - Resist the temptation to be something you are not. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (James 4:7) Submit means to yield, to accept someone else's authority. We are not going to be able to resist the devil in our own strength. There are evil influences all around us tempting us on every hand. God supplies His grace in our time of need and His strength is our mainstay.

E – Expect the process to be a difficult one. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. (Isaiah 43:2)

This promise was given to Israel when God delivered them in the past, but it is also a great spiritual promise to all of God's children in all times. Have you ever thought you were in way over your head? That you couldn't touch bottom? In this verse we have the assurance that God will go through any experience with us. He is always with us.

A – Allow God to use your present situation to mold you into the person He wants you to be. "But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy." (James 3:17)

L – Lay and leave your burden/problem at His feet. "The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit." (Psalm 34:18)

If we are willing to be humble before the Lord; if we are willing to come as a sinner and trust Him, the Lord will be near us. Sometimes we ladies feel like we need a new makeover—we have a bad hair day, etc. I think the Lord wants us to do the best with everything He has given us and that includes our physical appearance. BUT, the makeover we are in need of is God's molding us into the person He desires. "Get Real!" Let's not make ourselves believe, as we struggle along in life, that changes are not needed. As the song says, "He's still working on me."

Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth (Psalm 46:10). He tells us to be calm. We are living in a wicked world with many changes taking place. God is still in control and He is our rock in time of trouble. Ω

The Encourager Newsletter - Vol.4 Issue 3 - February 26, 2010 - Punchin' Up the Fire! - Train Trips

Punchin’ Up the Fire!

Our Medlock Hollow house was built before the Civil War and had bullet holes in the ceiling of the dining room. (If you’ve heard these stories 30 times, please be patient—some have not.) A small detachment of men stormed into the house looking for enemy soldiers and rather than stick their heads up through the attic manhole (a dangerous thing, indeed!), they just shot through the ceiling a few times and left. They had done their duty. My great grandfather built the house and lived there but he was hiding out in the field inside a big hollow shock of corn. But that’s not what this story is about.

The most expensive part of the house was a fine stone chimney and fireplace built at the end of the dining room; not field stones but quarried limestone. I have a piece of the stone at the corner of our house in a flower bed. I was born in that house and lived there for eight years but never saw anyone build a fire in the fireplace. I suppose the cracks between the stones made it dangerous after a hundred years.

My mother was a whiz at building a fire in the kitchen stove every morning at 4:00 o’clock (M-F), using dry wood kindling. I never heard her complain about it. The kitchen fire was always allowed to burn out at night and was seldom punched up. Daytime, just add split chestnut wood to the firebox and regulate the air draft to control the heat. On the right side was a water tank that provided hot water for washing dishes, and the oven made the best biscuits, cornbread, and fruit cobblers.

The living room and the one bedroom were heated with a JUNO cast iron coal heater. It could run you out of the house. My mother had swapped a mother hen and a dozen little biddies for the stove stored in a wood shed. The iron bowl that contained the coal fire had been overheated and cracked. She found another bowl and we were toasty warm. Coal is much hotter than wood and burns less fuel. We lived in the edge of the Wilder coal mines and bought a load of coal at $6.00 a ton. That’s a lot of heat but was then a lot of money.

At bedtime my mother (my father was usually away running a sawmill) would build up a pretty good fire, and then shovel coal on top of it and pat it down with a poker (iron rod). The whole thing was then covered with ashes and the fire was “banked.” The fire slowly simmered all night burning only the coal that touched the red coals. In the morning, the poker stirred up the whole thing and flames immediately shot up and crackled. The door was closed and it began to roar. The air vents had to be quickly reduced to prevent overheating. In a few minutes the room was toasty warm.

But one morning my mother was sick in bed in the corner of the room. My father was a better sawmill man than anything else. He stirred the banked coals and nothing happened. He dashed a little kerosene through the stove door and nothing happened except a grey mist came up. He closed the door and went to get some wood kindling. Suddenly the grey mist exploded and blew the door open. The flame went out about ten feet and over the foot of the bed where my mother was lying but nothing was set on fire. If she had been sitting up, it would have been bad. The stove fire was now burning and my subdued father knew a lot more about punchin’ up a coal fire.

My grandfather had only a fireplace - like the one we never used in our dining room. He was an expert at building and maintaining fire in the fireplace. The kitchen stove was woman’s work, but the fireplace was man’s work. He usually banked the wood fire in the fireplace at night by getting a fire going and then covering it with ashes. In the morning he raked off the ashes, stirred the coals and lay on fresh dry wood. In the back was a Sweet gum or Black gum log. The back stick would be covered with red smoldering coals like a red skin on the log. It slowly burned all week and set fire to the new smaller pieces of wood. It was about gone and was replaced every Saturday morning at which time the ashes were shoveled out, the hearth swept, and the whole weekly process began all over again. Two adult-size beds were in the living room. If they had company, they opened the back bedroom and warmed it from the fireplace. Even at zero temperature the sleepers kept warm only by the covers and their own body heat. They saved every scrap of cloth for making quilts.

One particular act my grandfather performed always fascinated me. If the wood was not quite dry enough for rapid burning, the fire became lazy and the heat would die down. At that time, the solution was not to add more wood, but to “chunk up” the fire with the poker. He would insert the poker into the sticks and turn them over and punch them, pushing them together, or whatever seemed to be needed. Showers of sparks would fly up the chimney like the fourth of July. It was not as simple as it looked. It was done vigorously like he was attacking it. Almost always it brought results. New flames would pour out of the same lazy, dull fire and the heat was immediate to the people sitting before the fire. Wood needs to dry without being rained on for ten months and then some newer wood can be added to keep it from burning too hot and burning up all the dry wood.

One other thing fascinates me to this day. In burning wood, it’s almost impossible to maintain a fire unless there are at least two pieces of wood. It’s that way in anybody’s stove in any nation of the world. If one of the sticks is smaller and burns out, the remaining stick will begin to go out or go into a smoldering state and produce mostly smoke or go out completely. I think it’s that way among Christians and is the reason God made us to function in families and for Christians to gather together in church services to be fed and to fellowship together. Please consider these four verses.

And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. (Hebrews 10:24-25) (See also Hebrews 3:12-13)

Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance; Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath showed me. (2Peter 1:13-14)

I’ve had people tell me many times: “I can worship God out in the woods or while I’m fishing.” God plainly told us to meet together as Christians because we need one another. That’s God’s idea, not Dan’s idea. People who talk like that have surely never tried to burn just one stick of wood. Our personal fire needs punchin’ up pretty often. Ω

Train Trips—Barbara Carr

Paul described the ideal senior widow to young pastor, Timothy. One does not necessarily become more saintly simply because of age, but it’s refreshing to find older people who have not soured on life from hard times. This verse is worth close study. There are people like this who follow hard after Jesus until their last breath.

“Well reported of for good works; if she have brought up children, if she have lodged strangers, if she have washed the saints' feet, if she have relieved the afflicted, if she have diligently followed every good work.” (1Timothy 5:10)

I grew up with a woman like that verse. Mama was not a perfect woman, but I believe she tried her best to rear Georgia and me to know and love the Lord. The pastors and evangelists were always welcome in her home. No foot washing, but she cooked delicious meals and they stayed overnight and sometimes for a week. She helped the neighbors in need of food or caring for their sick loved ones. She studied her Bible and prayed. She loved to discuss the Scriptures and did so until the Lord took her home. One of my most treasured memories I have of her was when she was about 27 years old.

When we moved from Chattanooga, Tennessee, we moved from a city with electricity, indoor plumbing and the convenience of city buses to Sand Mountain, Alabama and all the things it didn’t have. That was about 1942. Mama went from being able to run a block to a small grocery store to making a list of her needs for Daddy to get at Grandpa Goforth’s grocery store two miles away. Don’t forget we didn’t have a car. We went from an indoor plumbing to a #3 washtub and an outhouse. We went from electric lights to kerosene lamps. If either Mama or Daddy ever regretted that move, I never heard about it. They were happy to get home. They were thoroughbred mountaineers.

I think Mama did miss visiting her brother’s family and shopping downtown, because she made a plan for a trip to Chattanooga. We rode the train. A passenger train passed through Stevenson, Alabama several times a day. From where we lived Stevenson it was down the mountain by way of a gravel road and hair-pin curves, and then across the river by ferryboat.

Daddy had found a job driving a lumber truck which his employer let him drive home at night. Grandpa Goforth’s brother, Ben Goforth carried the mail from Stevenson to our Post Office at Fabius, Alabma which was about three miles from our house. Now, this was Mama’s plan. We would ride with Daddy out to the Post Office; there we would hitch a ride with Uncle Ben to Stevenson and once there, we would catch the train to Chattanooga.

Can you imagine the excitement of a little girl five years old getting in on this plan to ride a train? I must have been jumping up and down and talking and asking questions constantly. We did it!!

The train had a steam engine that belched great, noisy puffs of smoke and steam. Mama got our tickets and we boarded the train. A porter helped me up the steps and then offered his hand to Mama as she stepped up. We soon found a seat and we were off! Most of the other passengers were soldiers either returning home from the war (this was about 1943) or on their way back to the war after a furlough. They were all glad to see me, their having just left their families or heading home to their own little girls. Believe it or not, at first I was a little shy of all this attention, but I quickly got over it and talked to them.

We arrived at the Chattanooga Choo Choo, a big showy, classy station—it’s still a big showy, classy station today even when the trains are absent and no longer thronged by pressing crowds of people coming and going. There’s a nice restaurant there now and people can stay overnight in one of the Pullman cars parked in the station. But then, it looked really big to me. Mama didn’t seem to have a problem with it. We walked outside to a corner and caught a bus a few blocks to downtown.

Mama loved to window shop, so we walked up and down the streets and looked in all the windows. At that time downtown Chattanooga had department stores and shops of dresses and shoes. It was wonderful! Miller Brothers department store had a bargain basement, so we went there and bought a few things. Eating lunch at Woolworth’s lunch counter inside their five-and-dime store was a very special treat!

Then we caught a bus over to Mrs. Blanton’s house. She was mother-in-law to Uncle Johnny (mother’s brother). I guess Mama had written her that we were coming. Uncle Johnny and Aunt Mattie lived next door, but they were at work. Mrs. Blanton made us feel right at home and we had a great time. We spent the night at Mrs. Blanton’s house.

The next morning we reversed the whole wonderful process and arrived safely back on Sand Mountain. If we had stayed in Chattanooga—if we had not moved to Sand Mountain, I would have missed this great adventure. This is one of my wonderful, wonderful memories of Mama. She was in charge that day, took care of everything. Afterward, we made this trip many times and always had a great time. I miss her so, but it won’t be long until I see her again. Ω