Celebrate the Ten Commandments

The Feast of Shavuot is celebrated after eagerly counting 49 days from the second day of Passover. So, it has been seven weeks since Passover, and we commemorate the giving of the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai beginning the 50th day. Remember 50th day.

“On the 6th Sivan of the year 2448 from creation (1313 BCE), seven weeks after the Exodus, G-d revealed Himself on Mount Sinai. The entire people of Israel (600,000 heads of households and their families), as well as the souls of all future generations of Jews, heard G-d declare the first two of the Ten Commandmentsand witnessed G-d’s communication of the other eight through Moses. Following the revelation, Moses ascended the mountain for 40 days, to receive the remainder of the Torah from G-d.” —Chabad.org (click here)

And God spoke all these words, saying,
“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
“You shall have no other gods before me.
“You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.
“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.
“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
“You shall not murder.
“You shall not commit adultery.
“You shall not steal.
“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.”
Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.” Moses said to the people, “Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin.” The people stood far off, while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was.
—Exodus 20:1-11

The Christian Church celebrates this Feast as Pentecost, and marks its dates beginning with its Easter celebration counting forward fifty days.

“Pentecost, i. e., “fiftieth”, found only in the New Testament (Acts 2:1; 20:16; 1 Cor. 16:8). The festival so named is first spoken of in Ex. 23:16 as “the feast of harvest,” and again in Ex. 34:22 as “the day of the firstfruits” (Num. 28:26). From the sixteenth of the month of Nisan (the second day of the Passover), seven complete weeks, i. e., forty- nine days, were to be reckoned, and this feast was held on the fiftieth day. The manner in which it was to be kept is described in Lev. 23:15- 19; Num. 28:27- 29. Besides the sacrifices prescribed for the occasion, every one was to bring to the Lord his “tribute of a free- will offering” (Deut. 16:9- 11). The purpose of this feast was to commemorate the completion of the grain harvest. Its distinguishing feature was the offering of “two leavened loaves” made from the new corn of the completed harvest, which, with two lambs, were waved before the Lord as a thank offering.

“The day of Pentecost is noted in the Christian Church as the day on which the Spirit descended upon the apostles, and on which, under Peter’s preaching, so many thousands were converted in Jerusalem (Acts 2).” — Easton’s Bible Dictionary.

When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. — Acts 2:1-4

The Feast of Shavuot and Pentecost are one in the same. When G-d gave the Torah to His people on Mount Sinai, it foreshadowed the Giving of His Spirit in the Upper Room in Jerusalem about 1330 years later. On Mount Sinai, the Law was given to G-d’s Chosen. In Jerusalem, the Law was placed within G-d’s chosen. It has often struck me that we can cry out to our Father in Heaven, saying something like “Just tell me what You want me to do!” and walk away unable to do it. We need more. G-d knew it from the beginning, but He, in His wisdom, allowed us to discover our need. So now, G-d invests Himself in us, that we may live out His commandment, His Laws. G-d writes His Torah on our hearts.

U.S. Elections Results may be Dangerous for Christians Worldwide

I read Dr. Dobson’s article on “What’s at stake” [Please read it for yourself.] for the election when it was first published. I took a look at the article again yesterday evening, and it’s as relevant today as it was three months ago. I particularly enjoyed the way Dr. Dobson takes a look at the various turning points throughout America’s history that puts us all in the position of being “ruled” by a handful of . . . men. . . men who I see as liberal/socialist judges that aren’t even elected by the American people. The action the Supreme Court, and many Federal Courts is seriously unConstitutional.

And just as true is Dr. Dobson’s closing remark, “I’ll say it again. We can’t afford a mistake this time around. There is just too much at risk. Our great nation is in serious danger.“ While much can, and most likely will, happen between now and the election, I have grave concerns about any candidate that will be put on the ballet this November. At this time, it appears that Mr. Donald Trump and Madame Hillary Clinton will be the prime contenders. I suppose a vote for Mr. Trump could be considered a vote against Ms. Clinton. But will Mr. Trump act, even unknowingly, in G-d’s interest as did non-Jewish kings whose actions are recorded in the Bible? Will Mr. Trump actually be able thwart America’s slide toward oblivion? I am not hopeful. Has a modern Abraham cried out to G-d to search for enough True Christians to prevent destruction? Will G-d, not finding the required number of True and Genuine Believers, allow the Islamic State to further its invasion, intensify its destruction? Even now, borders are constantly being crossed, countries invaded, by those who would contribute to a slaughter of Christians given the opportunity.

Some time ago I shared The Rev. David Wilkerson’s warning to America. In his conclusion, he suggested preparing a food supply for the times of disaster he believed will come to America. It can’t hurt have a well-stocked pantry for the use of our family and to help other Genuine Christians in the Church.

The Men of Sodom were Wicked

Lot settled among the cities of the valley and moved his tent as far as Sodom. Now the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the Lord. Genesis 13:12

USA-GA-Atlanta-RandySanford1 — Atlanta, Photo by Randy Sanford

Cities, in my thinking, are just plain wrong. Abraham choose to settle in the land of Canaan, while Lot choose to settle near the city of Sodom. Eventually, Lot moved right into the city. A N D look what happened to him. A N D look what the Lord did to the city.

Nope. Humans were made for gardens, wide open spaces, even the vast deserts. Out in Death Valley, there is a military post, Fort Irwin, which has become important for troops preparing to depart for the Middle East. When I trained there many years ago there was a landing field called Bicycle Lake. Every year it flooded and became an actual lake, though very shallow. And just after the rain came the brine shrimp. They hatched. They lived. They reproduced. Then as water soon receded, they died. Wild flowers followed. The damp sand activated seeds that immediately sprouted. The plants grew and bloomed. The flowers dropped seeds. Eventually the flowers dried and fertilized the area beneath them, where the seeds remained until the next rain. Who’d have thought of such an incredible garden in the desert. There just isn’t anywhere on Earth that those who have eyes to see can call a “G-d forsaken” place. Unless it’s a city. A city like Sodom.

There’s nothing to argue about when you say that there are such beautiful buildings. When you travel to London, the sites include St. Paul’s, the Tower of London, Big Ben. When in 1962 the London Bridge was falling down, it was taken to Lake Havasu City, Arizona, for tourist trade. The thing that the cities have in common, including their beautiful buildings, is that they’re all creations of mankind. When we get too many man-made things in one place, I think we suppress the G-d-made wonders. When we forget G-d, we separate ourselves and fall err to pride and all the related sins.

Sure, there are some gardens in cities. New York’s Central Park comes to mind. I’ve not been there. I don’t have any desire to go there. I’ve heard about the bad things that happen there. I don’t have any desire to experience it. I’d rather spend a day on the lake, with the wind behind the sail, the sun warming my head. I’d rather look at the trees along the shore and the hills that surround the lake. I’d rather anchor near an island and enjoy the quiet, the peace, surrounded by things that G-d made.

There’s an exception, of course. Jerusalem. G-d had it in His mind long before it was settled. And G-d was part of the initial settling of Jerusalem. It’s rich in history, memories of past times, some good and some bad, seem to ooze from the stones of the Via Dela Rosa. And the Western Wall of the Temple is sacred. There’s a small road leading down out of the city. Old Roman stones are still seen here and there. Walking along the road, one can hear among the trees and rocks the whispering of its story; day after day for two thousand years the story has been told over and over.

. . .two of them [Apostles] were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?” And they stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” And he said to them, “What things?” And they said to him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.” And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.
So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, but they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.” So he went in to stay with them. When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread. Luke 24:13-35.

Perhaps the problem with modern cities is that the sacred is not there, never was. And even most of the ancient cities that remain have lost too much of the sacredness that G-d seems not to be there.

If. . .

if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.
(1 Peter 2:3)

Charles Spurgeon, in Morning and Evening, wrote:

“If:—then, this is not a matter to be taken for granted concerning every one of the human race.

“If:—then there is a possibility and a probability that some may not have tasted that the Lord is gracious.

“If:—then this is not a general but a special mercy; and it is needful to enquire whether we know the grace of God by inward experience. There is no spiritual favour which may not be a matter for heart-searching.”

In his commentary, Matthew Henry wrote:

“All true believers are a holy priesthood; sacred to God, serviceable to others, endowed with heavenly gifts and graces. But the most spiritual sacrifices of the best in prayer and praise are not acceptable, except through Jesus Christ.”

True Believers. These are the ones whose names are written in the Book of Life. These are the ones who receive the Mark of G-d upon them. These are the ones who will die rather than receive the Mark of the Beast.

Pastor J. Glyn Owen, in a sermon, spoke on John’s epistle and the characteristics of a what he called the “Genuine Christain.” These are:

1. Obedience;
2. Love for the Children of G-d;
3. Belief/faith. (Belief in the Oneness of the Father and The Son.)

“Whats it all about Alfie,” Barbara Streisand once sung, “Is it just for the moment we live?”

As “Genuine Christians” we live in this moment in time, and we also live in an eternal moment with Y’shuaJesus. We must, like the Israelis in the desert (Joshua 24:14.15), declare:

But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD!

So not going to read the news before bed

I am SO not going to read the news in the evening again. I read an article about the President of the United States sending letters to all schools encouraging school administration to allow students to freely choose which bathroom they want to use.

The Profound Unfairness of the Baltimore Riots - The Daily Banter — Baltimore Riots – The Daily Banter

So, anyway, I had a couple dreams during the night. In one I dreamt that somebody shot the Angel G-d assigned to maintain order upon Earth. I saw people in the streets laughing and rejoicing that the restraints were lifted. Cars came to a stop in the middle of the streets and people got out and started rioting. It was happening all over the world.

And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them. Romans 1:28-32

The dream was not a nightmare; there was no fear that I felt. I only experienced sadness. Not even shock. Just sadness. It’s been nearly eight years since I felt in the Spirit that G-d was beginning to gather His own. An Ingathering. A Spiritual gathering of people who would praise and worship and pray, linked together in the Spirit. And in Revelation an Angel of G-d travels the Earth marking the People of G-d. This comes before the antichrist calls for all people to be marked with the mark of the beast. There is a division happening. Over the past eight years so much has happened. Preachers and Christians are coming out of the woodwork, declaring their allegiance to ideas never before associated with Bible-believing people. They are in the physical Christian church but are not Christian in their belief. Now they begin to articulate a false view in public. There truly is a falling away of Biblical Christian viewpoint, of True Christian belief. And those espousing non-Christian ways remain in the shambles of the Physical Church, taking it over, making it their own. A coup.

It’s as if for the past six-thousand years the Spirit of G-d has maintained a certain order on Earth. An order that limited chaos. Limited evil. Not totally supressing it, but limiting how far it could go. But now. . . evil is beginning to take center stage. Evil is consuming the people of Earth. There seems no limit to what people will do, what people will support others doing. The Earth dances at the edge of decadence, ready to take the plunge, ignoring the Dante’s sign warning: “Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.”

But for those who marked by G-d, whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, we are taught by the Apostle Paul that:

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised— who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written,
“For your sake we are being killed all the day long;
we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8: 31-39

More Dreams & Treasures

Early, one morning about six months ago, my dreams came in several stages or developments. In the first segment, i am wearing field gear and am on a train. The train is on a large track, almost like it were a model railroad. Going too fast around a final curve before a station, the last car, which is an open gondola car with two people in it, nearly tips over forward. The two people are not injured but we are all concerned about the incident. The train’s operator and seemingly our leader is not bothered at all.

Next, I am getting my remaining gear and going through the train. Another person is with me. It is apparent we are getting ready to leave. There are two boxes I’m picking up. These boxes are similar to other boxes in another dream from the previous night.

I don’t know if it is me in this next segment or not, but the two people who were in the gondola that nearly overturned are captive in the desert. They are able to subdue their captures, and destroy their bodies with acid and the remains soak into the sand. They flee by day, though hide when satellites are overhead. They come to a village and hide there gathering stuff to equip a vehicle.

From there, the two set out by vehicle to the coast where they trade the vehicle for a boat. They outfit the boat and sail away.

There is something about the two boxes. There is something about the way I wrapped my rifle’s sling around my left forearm. I recall doing this sort of carry once before. Only once before. And I remember once, long ago, wanting a box to collect up my various remnants, left overs, of a life I’d been living.

I’m reminded of another dream some time ago. In it I approached a river I would need to cross to continue following the path on which I walked. As I was trying to figure out how to keep my backpack from getting wet, a woman came to me. She explained how to wrap my pack in plastic and said it would keep it dry.

This morning very early I dreamed that I was in a house that seemed to spring leaks all over. Water dripped from the ceiling, from pipes overhead, from the windows. Water was drenching boxes that were open. And the contents were being ruined.

It seems to me that in these dreams there are two different ways of looking at things that I have. First there are things that we use, daily, for which we must care. These are cooking utensils, bedding, and tools that we use in our trade. They are also gifts that we carry to give to people we meet along the way. The backpack I carried, that I was shown how to care for in order to cross the river, and the gear that I was collecting, and the boxes that would protect it, fall into this type of treasure.

These are treasures, however, in which we must not trust. For as the Lord spoke through Jeremiah (49:4):

Why do you boast of your valleys,
O faithless daughter,
who trusted in her treasures, saying,
Who will come against me.

The other treasures, like the ones in the dream that are getting ruined in the water leaking from seemingly everywhere in the house, are not ones kept and maintained for everyday use. These are the treasure in which I’ve put too much trust.

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.—Matthew 6:19

There are things that the L-rd teaches me through dreams. There is the overview of the dream itself, and there is the various pieces of which the dreams are made. Sometimes it takes several different dreams with the same overall viewpoint to make sense. And then there’s the individual pieces, like the pieces of a giant puzzle, fitting together later on, when other pieces are put together.

My mother often said, “The L-rd works in mysterious ways.” May He work constantly in your lives, to bring you into His Peace and into the pure fellowship of His other children.

The Nine Principles

Do not think dishonestly
The Way is in Training
Become acquainted with with every act
Know the Ways of all professions
Distinguish between gain and loss in worldly matters
Develop intuitive judgment and understanding for everything
Perceive those things that connot be seen
Pay attention even to little things
Do nothing that is of no use

—Musachi Miyamoto, 1645

Mustache Minamoto, according to Wikipedia, was a swordsman in the 17th Century that epitomizes the legend of the lone samurai, and taught “the principle that all technique is simply a method of cutting down one’s opponent.”

Question: How do these principles hold up in light of Judaeo Christian Scripture?

I’d love to hear your answers.

Salvation is on its way. . .

[ I began this note New Year’s Day. I added pieces to it on and off for a week or so before dropping it. Now I’ve come back to it. I share it now with you. Perhaps it’s a good time to do so. ] The New Year is barely underway, yet things are as CRAZY as ever. Happy New Year! [ belated, now. ]

Since I began this post on New Year’s Day, things haven’t changed much globally, though. There’s still the talk of a small financial hiccup that could lead to a major melt down of economies all over the world—or not. Your guess is as good as anyone’s guess. And people actually get paid to guess about these things. They don’t have to be right in their predictions. They just spout them off and move on to the next impending crisis meant to worry us.

I’d earlier written that the outlook for the new year is much the same as the events reported throughout the world as we closed out last year. Namely, refugees flooding into “safe-haven” countries, the ever-expanding Islamic State, terrorism, freak storms and other threats to our safety, and violence against and by law enforcement personnel. Oh, and of course we’ll see even more coverage on the American political scene. [ Here it is April, and that’s still accurate. ]

The common denominator in all events reported is that we need solutions to all that is going on in the world. The conclusions we are to reach is that the state of the world isn’t good, but there are people offering solutions that are good. It’s all about saving the world. It’s about salvation. Seriously!

What does salvation mean to us? What is the opposite of salvation? I’ve thought about these questions in the past. They return to me as I reread what we call the “transfiguration” of Y’shuaJesus, Matthew 17:1-13.

Salvation, according to Easton’s Bible Dictionary, means: “. . .the deliverance of the Israelites from the Egyptians (Ex. 14:13), and of deliverance generally from evil or danger. In the New Testament it is specially used with reference to the great deliverance from the guilt and the pollution of sin wrought out by Jesus Christ, “the great salvation,” (Heb. 2:3).

Simply put, salvation is an action that directly benefits us. It is an action of G-d through Y’shuaJesus toward us. The Name Jesus comes to us from the Hebrew name Y’shua. It literally means L-rd Saves. As John Parson puts it, it is “understood in light of G-d’s redemptive power and saving acts.”

But to a very secular world, salvation means something different. Science offers salvation when it gives us solutions to “help” us make our lives “better.” We have financial experts who offer the salvation of wealth, and the management of wealth. We have the medical establishment that includes the pharmaceutics industry that offers the salvation of health and healthy living. We have an automobile industry that offers the salvation of better and safer cars. We have military and law enforcement that offer us the salvation of protection, safety. And we have politicians that offer their own brand of salvation in creating laws to govern our lives, to make our lives “better.”

it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. 1 John 2:18

The Biblical opposite of Salvation is the antichrist. Antichrist, according to Easton’s Bible Dictionary, refers to “against Christ, or an opposition Christ, a rival Christ. The word is used only by the Apostle John. Referring to false teachers, he says (1 John 2:18, 22; 4:3; 2 John 1:7), “Even now are there many antichrists.”

(1) This name has been applied to the “little horn” of the “king of fierce countenance” (Dan. 7:24, 25; 8:23- 25).
(2) It has been applied also to the “false Christs” spoken of by our Lord (Matt. 24:5, 23, 24).
(3) To the “man of sin” described by Paul (2 Thess. 2:3, 4, 8- 10).
(4) And to the “beast from the sea” (Rev. 13:1; 17:1- 18)”

So. . .

So, here we are and in the Northern Hemisphere we’re looking at summer coming. Well, here in the American State of Georgia that is very true. But just a couple weeks ago, snow and storms made their way through some northern states. It’s been five months since New Year’s Day. The Dow is climbing again after dropping severely. Nobody even notices anymore. The price of silver dropped, and now rises. Gold is following that pattern, too. Even the price of oil, which dropped so low folks were thinking it would cause a crash, has begun to rise just enough that it’s not a big topic. Yet still voices of doom cry that the economy is going to fail, that riots overwhelm the resources in cities, and martial law will be declared. And on and on and on. . .

Salvation. Buy this. Do this. Prepare for this. Worry about this. . . and that. . . and a whole lot of other things. It’s enough to make a person. . . CRAZY.

But not that’s not all. Rumors abound about political candidates for the highest office in America, the presidency. Controversy surrounds the death of a conservative Supreme Court Justice, Justice Antonin Scalia, who’d served since his appointment by President Reagan in 1986. We’ve got people attacking the right of Christians to conduct their business affairs according to Christian values. For two-hundred years America has stood for freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom to bear arms, freedom from unlawful search and seizure. Today these freedoms are being attacked. Not from foreign enemies, but from within our own borders, by people who are native-born citizens. We’re either being led to believe that the world is ending, or the world is ending.

It’s enough to drive a person. . . CRAZY!

What’s a person to do?

O keep my soul, and deliver me:
let me not be ashamed; for I put my trust in thee.
Let integrity and uprightness preserve me;
for I wait on thee. Psalm 25:20,21

Too simple?

It seems to me that the secular world wants it to be complicated to match the CRAZINESS of the world. The secular world is still filled with chaos. We still need to persevere in our preparations for any event, any disaster, that might come our way. We must be wise. We must be gentle. We need to be reminded occasionally that we need not worry. He who called us to Him, He who offers true salvation, will come. It will be in His time. It will be in His way. Like Gandolf in the Lord of the Rings, our Lord Y’shuaJesus will not be late; He will not be early; He will always be right on time. His time. His way. His truth.

I am rereading Romans. I came to chapter five and really didn’t like what I read. But there it is. We will experience tribulation. We will. Not only that but we will glory in tribulations. Wow. Okay. We’ll glory in tribulation. Ouch. But it has its reward.

Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also:knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. Romans 5:1-5

Our L-rd Y’shuaJesus is our salvation. And that’s the only thing that’s not CRAZY!

Preaching and . . .

. . . keeping it simple is like writing a well-crafted letter—it takes time. It takes time to say things clearly, concisely, cutting to the very core of the lesson. It takes research. Above all it takes prayer.

On the other hand, there is Alan Redpath. During a lecture to students at a seminary, Pastor Redpath gazed deeply into the eyes of the gathered seminarians for what must have seemed a very long time. I’m sure they must have squirmed as his eyes roamed the room piercingly, seeing into hearts. Then he did the most amazing thing. He began to sing, “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.” And he continued until there were no dry eyes in among those gathered to hear him speak.

I wasn’t there. I read about it. I don’t recall what he preached. Whatever it was, it was overshadowed by the way he captured the hearts of the students, by the way he directed their hearts toward the Lord Y’shuaJesus.

It seems to me that in a church the congregation may hear many sermons and increase their knowledge about G-d greatly. At the same time, I wonder how many come to actually know Him. Evangelist Art Katz spoke about this to a church not too many years ago. He told the congregation that their pre-planned service was a shame. He didn’t mince words. He spoke as a Prophet hoping to elicit some response from the people, to shock them to opening their hearts to G-d. He wasn’t there to please the gathered, but to speak the truth of the Living Holy G-d of Israel.

He spoke, too, of devastation, the type of devastation experienced by Job, and the devastation of six million murdered Jews during World War II—the Holocaust. He said that we can be totally correct in our thinking, but totally unacceptable to G-d. He used the example of Job’s “friends” who spoke to him correctly, and were told they need to make sacrifice for their folly. Job, who was righteous and persecuted, came an astounding conclusion that honored G-d. (Job 42:5,6)

I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear:
but now mine eye seeth thee.
Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent
in dust and ashes.

It is good to know about G-d. Preaching can help us know about G-d. Great preaching is simple: through it we become like Job, abhor ourselves and repent in dust and ashes. We see G-d, not through our intellectual, edited way of thinking, but we experience Him as face to Face. We, like Job, say: “I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee.” (Job 42:2)

Persecution and Death to Christians

It didn’t end with the fall of Rome. It didn’t end with the decay of the coliseums.

PAKISTAN EASTER SUNDAY SUICIDE BOMBER TARGETS CHRISTIAN WOMEN AND CHIDREN

A suicide bomber killed at least 65 people mostly women and children, at a public park in the Pakistani city of Lahore on Resurrection Sunday. “More than 300 others were injured” police chief Haider Ashraf said. “The park was manned by police and private security guards. We are in a warlike situation and there is always a general threat but no specific threat alert was received for this place,” he added.

The blast occurred in the parking area of Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park, a few metres away from children’s swings in a busy residential area. Eyewitnesses said they saw body parts strewn across the parking lot once the dust had settled after the blast. “When the blast occurred, the flames were so high they reached above the trees and I saw bodies flying in the air,” said Hasan Imran, 30, a resident who had come to Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park for a walk. Media footage showed children and women standing in pools of blood outside the park, crying and screaming and rescue officials, police and bystanders carrying injured people. Dozens of women and children were seen being wheeled into hospitals, covered in blood. Many of the injured were transported to hospitals on taxis and auto-rickshaws due to a shortage of ambulances. Hundreds of citizens arrived outside hospitals to donate blood. Local television channels reported that many of the dead bodies were being kept in hospital wards as morgues were overcrowded.

The Taliban faction Jamaat-ul-Ahrar claimed responsibility for the deadly attack on Easter Sunday, saying it intentionally targeted Christians. “The target was Christians,” a spokesman for the faction, Ehsanullah Ehsan, said. “We want to send this message to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif that we have entered Lahore. He can do what he wants but he won’t be able to stop us … our suicide bombers will continue these attacks.” Islamist militants in Pakistan have attacked Christians often over the past decade.

“Many are in operation theatres now being treated and we fear that the death toll may climb considerably,” Salman Rafique, a health adviser for the Punjab provincial government, said.

“We were just here to have a nice evening and enjoy the weather,” Nasreen Bibi said at the Services Hospital, crying as she waited for doctors to update her on the condition of her two-year-old injured daughter. “What kind of people target little children in a park?” When the army was called in to control crowds outside the park some distraught, sobbing relatives clashed with police.

(From Renewal Ministries Fellowship)