this am (7.26), having painted for nearly 60 hours, awoke to God's alarmclock. a bright, cheerful tweeting came into the window from one of my feathered friends. i was struck by the fact that i had awoken in like manner many such times before in my life...but rarely in the last seven and a half years. i recall the verse at the end of I john..and we know that we are of God and the whole world lieth in wickedness. i believe the greek is more explicit literally rendering it 'lieth in the wicked one' or satan. the picture seems to be on someone being rocked to sleep. i thot of the many 'happy' (literally 'based upon what is happening') mornings when i was either a. on the straight, easy, broad way, unknowingly, to hell...my fiend rocking me gently with pleasantnesses to be experienced and partaken of along that awful hellish way of b. a total wretch..self-righteous, pharisaical, judgmental, i-thank-Thee-i-am-not-like-other-men type of 'christian'...an open shame to God and an ongoing advertisement against Him...and so my fiend was rocking me gently, wanting me to stay just the way i was. but something happened and i first realized something was up as it dawned on me that God was giving me a thrashing for stealing His $ (tithe) since that time i have experienced a lot of spiritual warfare from when i open the eyes (sometimes before).
lately i have been kicked around a good bit by my fiend and God, He's growing me(!), has left me alone to fight him alone with nothing but the rAma. but there was an epiphany! (appearance of Jesus!) God sweetly stole in for a brief embrace and a peck on my cheek on friday...and i am still AWASH in His beauty. i was standing at WAPP (warminster planned parenthood) with the forehead bowed forward against the poster of the ripped up baby i carry to advertise what happens there..praying. i was just crying out for God to forgive me my many sins, to crush and break my heart and give me a mourning over my sin and bless me with a perpetually broken spirit over the monstrosity i am apart from Him...and subtly...He was there. it had been a long time since our last sweet communion but, yes..unmistakably He was there. hear words are useless to describe Him, but He is like no other. we are all surrounded by vanity. those of us who are more unfortunate still trust in the solidity of the emptiness offered us by other people...although He is gone, i long for home..to be 'enwraptured' in His eternal embrace. all my puss-filled sin gone forever..like Him.
had another good experience later friday. it was something like being at nazareth the day when Jesus, the local boy, morphed from pinup child wonder to deadly, hated enemy in the space of an hour. all He did was, using scripture, hold a mirror up to the hometown folk so they could see themselves as they were in reality as opposed to how they liked to view themselves. was at a house painting and came across an old larry norman cd and put it on. first time through i was mildly irritated. was focused on painting and did not clearly hear what he was singing and saying. when i analyzed why it was that i was thus disposed it was because norman was titilating me. he showed flashes that promised ENTERTAINMENT but then repeatedly pulled back. i noticed that the crowd turned from a thunderous enthusiastic welcome to ...well, not to say too much, let's say less than enthusiastic. later that night decided to play it again and listen closely. my eyes were beginning to see. then this am when i had to do a brief paint played it a third and left blessed. he said and did everything to diminish a. his ROCK STAR image b. entertaiment and speak truth to them, and me, about ourselves. oh may God make me willing to suffer like he did, and Jesus did, for telling people what they need to hear rather than what they want to hear.
this am (6.27) was impressed to go to a church to hunt down someone. he wasn't there but serendipidously met a man who had come to the house years ago as a chaplain for my friend doug who lived with me. he is now the associate pastor at this church. i was early, not knowing the opening bell time, and so we had a bit of a chance to talk. he shared that he was to preach this am and that the message was dealing with what had just happened. two weeks earlier the pastor and church secretary were discovered to be involved with each other..so his message was to deal with the fallout.
he preached on how people in the church had had all different kinds of responses to what had happened and that they were starting to get angry at how others were reacting. he went to job 2.11 where jobs three friends made an appointment together to come to sympathize with job and comfort him. coming to him they did not recognize him and raised their voices and wept..tore their robe..threw dust over their heads toward the sky..sat down on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights with no one speaking a word to him for they saw that his pain was very great. he then referenced james 1.19..my beloved brethren..everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger. this was a commendable start for job's friends to just be present with and listen to him. but then chapters 4-37 reveal that they started to do what we can all tend to do and start to act as judges and give advice. (4.7,8.4,15.5,22.5) job's response was negative (6.14,12.3). then he turned to job 42.7-8 and noted God's response..twice He said 'you have not spoken of Me what is right'. this i had never 'seen' before. it was interesting to me that the wrong noted was against God. i had thought their sin was in talking the way they did to job. the Lord touched my heart as the pastor encouraged the church to give one another space to wrestle with God..to listen until each listener understands what the wrestler is thinking. he stated that at such a time as this satan would like to divide them and to resist the temptation to anger and gossip.
in a totally different area, i am wondering how to respond to a person who does not fulfill the role they are supposed to play. when you talk to the person and they 'don't see it', what do you do? what do you do when you find you have recurring thots of hatred toward such a person?
i'm also wondering about the difficulty of interacting with a person who from your point of view a. does not please you, b. can do little or nothing for you and c. may place very heavy demands upon you..
God is showing me the vast difference between what is going on in the realm of the spirit and the masks put on for the outside physical/social world. Lord, may You totally rip of my veneer and let me be on the outside what i AM on the inside.
sat down to have time with the Lord yesterday and the word 'devotions' came to mind. this was always used in my youth for a time of reading the Bible and prayer. was moved to look it up in webster. from latin devoveO = de (a prefix ,in this case, which augments) + voveO (set apart or dedicate to). so in a sense these times are a devotion to God. Lord, would You make every second a devotion to You.
thinking of the word 'habit' because it is so important to establish good habits and discourage bad habits in a child (i was allowed to grow as a weed, and not cultivated by my dear parents, in this area.. to incalculable loss for God). latin habitUs from habeO = to have, hold. it is the state of anything implying some continuence or permanence. but what is the true source? well i have to have something to do with it but, especially in the area of good habits, is it just me living out my determinations or is it more. today during the message i came across Jesus' words, 'the words that i say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works'. john 14.10
yesterday i was meditating on psalm 22 and came upon v.20..'deliver my soul from the sword; my darling (only life) from the power of the dog'. 'darling', what could this mean. web says DARLING from the saxon deorling = deor (dear) + ling (primarily denotes likeness). primary sense of deor is scarce, rare or close/narrow (dearth) if something is darling it bears a high price in comparison with the usual price. it is of a great value..high value in estimation. keil says of darling..each of us have only one soul of which there is no second to lose and therefore our soul is the dearest, most precious thing. so psalm 22 being messianic looking prophetically ahead to the life of Jesus some 900-1000 years beforehand seems to be saying that Jesus was really suffering on the cross emotionally due to being completely alone. abused physically and emotionally by those around, abandoned by God the Father as all the accumulated sins of each of us were placed on (?) or in (?) Him, attacked by satan and his demonic horde...completely alone, abandoned, attacked, weakened and utterly vulnerable..for me.
my mind also went to using 'darling' in talking to someone and came away with the idea that this should only be used, in my case, with a God-chosen helpmeet. in genesis 2.18 God said 'it is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a HELPER SUITABLE for him'. the margin reads 'corresponding to' for 'suitable'. the idea is of two pieces which perfectly fit together and are made only for each other. they are absolutely unique (the only one). such a person, God-made for me as a unique person would truly be my darling (deor -precious beyond price + ling- a likeness.
this am i did not get too far from bed before the verse (in the king james) 'OCCUPY'til I come'. i searched it down in luke 19.13 (in the new american standard) 'and he called ten of his slaves and gave them ten minas and said to them, DO BUSINESS with this until i come back. i was nourished by the commentator. the parable of the talents speaks about the gifts God has given to each of us. they differ (5 to some, 3 and 1) for the giftedness each of us has is different. here though the mina is in view. in that world it was of much less value than a talent. and only one is given to each of the servants. this, he says, speaks of the Bible. we can all hold it, read it, study it and use it, or not as we wish, to advance God's kingdom. oh burn into my heart a desire mentioned in II timothy 2.15 to 'BE DILIGENT to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth'.
john calvin born 500 years ago..'luther's starting-point was the..principle of justifying faith; while calvin's..lay in the general cosmological principle of the sovereignty of God..hence lutheranism restricted itself to an exclusively ecclesiastical and theological character, while calvinism put its impress in and outside the Church upon every department of human life...calvin's doctrine of 'vocation' follows from the fact that every person, great and small, lives 'in the divine presence'. God's sovereign purposes govern the simplest occupation. He attends to everyone's work. this yielded the protestant work ethic. huge benefits flow from a cultural shift in which all work is done earnestly and honestly with an eye to God. (kuyper to americans)..in the rise of your university education.. in the decentralized..character of your local governments..in your championship of free speech and in your unlimited regard for freedom of conscience; in all this.. it is demonstrable that you owe this to calvinism and to calvinism alone..calvin's views of marriage generally seem more modern than nedieval. he argued that prospective marriage partners should spend time together to gauge compatibility and that marriages should not be arranged against the wishes of the prospective partners: if they do not love each other, it is a desecration of marriage and actually is no marraiage at all. for the most important bond is that they both want it. nor was it wrong that men in the choice of a wife take into account their beauty..although sex before marriage was wrong, life was complicated and it was foolish for men to insist that women they marry be virginal..believers are simultaneously justified and sinful..calvin saw lots of things go wrong but tried to turn from the ? why? to what for?..
ENDINGS TO BOOKS ..orthodoxy by chesterton..there was some one thing that was too great for God to show us when He walked upon our earth and i have sometimes fancied that it was His mirth.
crime and punishment by dostoevsky..but here beginsa new account, the account of a man's gradual renewal, the account of his gradual regeneration, his gradual transition from one worlld to another, his acquaintance with new, unknown reality.
middlemarch by george elliot..for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts; and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been, is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life and rest in unvisited tombs.
the great gatsby by f. scott fitzgerald..gatsby believed in the green light, the orgiastic future that year by tear recedes before us. it eluded us then, but that's no matter - tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther...and one fine morning - so we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.
the hobbit by j.r.r.tolkien..you are a very fine person, mr. baggins and i am very fond of you; but you are only quite a little fellow in a wide world after all! thank goodness! said bilbo laughing and handed him the tobacco jar.
the adventures of huckleberry finn by mark twain..but i reckon i got to light out for the territory ahead of the rest, because aunt sally she's going to adopt me and sivilize me and i can't stan it. i been there before.
mere christianity by c.s.lewis.. look for yourself and you will find in the long run only hatred, loneliness, despair, rage, ruin, and decay. but look for Christ and you will fing Him and with Him everything else thrown in.
the rise of the wyrm lord by wayne thomas batson..adventures are funny things. they offer dark, uncertain times, forks in the road and choices between comfort and peril. and in such times, heroes can be made or undone.
peace like a river by leif enger..is there a single person on whom i can press belief? no sir. all i can do is say, here's how it went. here's what i saw. i've been there and am going back. make of it what you will.
mam's bank account by kathryn forbes.. five times i said wonderingly. five times. and ll you went through raising us- it was good, mama said. how can you say that? why, i can remember times, mama- it was good, mama repeated firmly. all of it.
band of brothers by stephen e. ambrose..grandpa, were you a hero in the war? no, i answered, but i served in a company of heroes.
d-day june 6. 1944 by ambrose..to think of the lives that were given for that principle..paying a terrible price on this beach alone, on that one day, 2,0000 casualties. but they did it that the world would be free. it just shows what free men will do rather than be slaves.
darwin's black box by michawl j. vehe..that life was designed by an intelligence is a shock to us in the twentieth century who have gotten used to thinking of life as the result of simple natural laws. but other centuries have had their shocks..we will endure the opening of darwin's black box.
up from liberalism by william f. buckley jr...obedient to God, subservient to the wisdom of my ancestors; never to the authority of political truths arrived at the voting booth. that is a program of sors, is it not? it is certainly program enough to keep conservatives busy, and liberals at bay. and the nation free.
being the body by charles colson and ellen vaughn..if faith is at war with fear, if catastrophe can turn from death to resurrection, if hope can triumph over despair...if ther was ever a time for the church, it is now. go light your candle!
the gospel and personal evangelism by mark dever..we do not fail in our evangelism if we faithfully tell the gospel to someone who is not subsequently converted; we fail only if we do ont faithfully tell the gospel at all.
God and the astronomers by robert jastrow.. he (the scientist) has scaled the mountains of ignorance; he is about to conquer the highest peak; as he pulls himself over the final rock, he is greeted by a band of theologians who have been sitting there for centuries.
the next christendom by philip jenkins..and whether we look backward or forward in history, we can see that time and again, christianity demonstrates a breathtaking ability to transform weakness into strength.
amusing ourselves to death by neil postman..for in the end, he (aldous huxley) was trying to tell us that what afflicted the people in brave new world was not that they were laughing instead of thinking, but that they did not know what they were laughing about and why they had stopped thinking.
the God i love by joni eareckson tada..there are more important things in life than walking.
the last battle by c.s.lewis..all their adventures in narnia had only been the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning chapter one of the great story, which no one on earth had read: which goes on forever: in which every chapter is better than the one before.
judges..in those days ther was no king in israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
job..after this job lived 144 years and saw his children and grandchildren for four generations. so job died, old and full of days.
proverbs..charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. give her the reward whe has earned and let her woks bring her praise at the city gate.
ecclesiastes..let us hear the conclusion of the wole matter: fear God and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. for God whall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil.
matthew..go ye therefore and disciple all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. amen.
john..Jesus did many other things as well. if every one of them were written down, i suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.
jude..now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling and to present youfaultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God, our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. amen.
revelation..He who testifies to these things says, yet I am coming soon. amen. come, Lord Jesus. the grace of the Lord Jesus be with God's people. amen.
have a good week. love, dad
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Sunday, July 19, 2009
7.19.09 MAY YOU LIVE FOREVER!
went to new life community church on green st. today. a missionary, paul klawitter, from dijon,france spoke. he asked who was the greatest apostle. paul, peter, john were named. he pointed out that Jesus is called an apostle in hebrews 3.1. he talked about peter's message where he said that Jesus 'went about doing God' in acts10.38. he also talked a bit about the way Jesus spoke...not connecting all the dots but speaking in such a way that questions were created in the hearers' minds. he said this was the model that they were seeking to follow to share the gospel. he talked of a group who went to the city and asked how they could help the city and that the result had been that they have had opportunity to witness for Christ in this way.
this week i have been sleep-walking spiritually. not totally sure what is going on. i think of much that i have read (and experienced) in the spiritual man by watchman nee. he keeps talking about 'the work of the cross' in a believer's life. when i want something and that desire is denied, that may be the work of the cross. when i want something and i deny that, that may be the work of the cross. even when i want something that is totally legitimate in the realm of normal, God-created desires and i deny myself that, that may be the work of the cross. nee says that often we think we are following God when we are really following our own pleasure. i think most of what i experienced at leidy church was of that nature...kind of pre-kindergarten spirituality. but when God calls one to do something they have not the least bit of interest in doing what happens? with me, in most cases i totally avoided doing things of this nature or i did them haltingly and with great inner struggle and soon 'ran out of gas' and quit. the reason was that I was not getting anything out of it. God needs i's not I's. He wants us to do x for Him and not for ourselves. i can look like a million bucks, i can wow people with my personality, the natural giftedness God has given me in different areas and be totally unspiritual in God's sight even when i am doing good things in good ways for myself and not for God...and God cannot bless such.
when God took on flesh He (Christ) never did what He wanted but only what God the Father wanted in such a way that God the father was looked favorably upon. much, if not all of my life, is a conscious or unconscious desire to be looked upon as i want to be looked upon by those i want to impress. often in the Gospels Jesus did amazing things (ie. raise the dead) but it is always recorded that men glorified God that such things could be done by men! think of the time when the man called Jesus good and Jesus (who was the only good human being who will ever exist) immediately said 'why do you call me good? no one is good but God alone".
God seems to be taking me through a desert way where He wants to train me to only do what He wants, do it whether i feel like it or not, do it in such a way that somehow people experience God not Me. as i trudge wearily through the hot dust He keeps leading me back to the A of His abc's for me -the 7 daily habits He wants me to do. i just cannot (read that WILL NOT) do them in a consistent habitual way. i have struggled mightily to (read that WILL NOT) do them and have fallen way behind. the quiet, gentle message that comes to me through my misery is, 'steve, he who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much...and without faith it is impossible to please God...' He is cutting away 'outs' i take to avoid obeying Him like TV and cd player. in spirit i know this is good and rejoice but my flesh screams out against its privation.
the same with people. nee says, after a fashion, take no thought of how you are received by people. accept how you are received or not received as God's appointment and care nothing for it and just focus on doing what He would do. i am not following that advice at all right now. cut off from all my friendly acquaintances at leidy church God seems to be using this period as an apt opportunity to test me. do i really care at all about other people or do i 'care' for them so that, or only as, they care for me? i'm thinking that i relate much on the basis of the latter motivation. Jesus was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. am i better than He? but in this crucible as God is trying to bring this part of my flesh to an end so that i may be like Jesus, it hurts. the cross definitely has an opportunity to work here. the question..will i deny myself, pick it up daily and love those who don't love me. i think it's best described as indifferent love. love that loves no matter how it is treated...doesn't really care how its treated...just is focused on doing good for the so and so. so i guess i have a good bit more heat to endure as He seeks to make this change.
am a bit disconsolate in the aftermath of reading c.t. studd last week. God used him in a mighty way. i want to be used by God in a mighty way or is it rather that i want to use God in a mighty way so that i can appear to be used by God in a mighty way...i'm not sure which it is. studd recounts the turning point in his life..'that very day i met with the book, the christian's secret of a happy life. in it was stated that this blessing is exactly what God gives to everyone who is ready and willing to receive it. i found that the reason why i had not received it was just this, that i had not made room for it and i found, as i sat there alone thinking, that i had been keeping back from God what belonged to Him. i found that i had been bought with the price of the precious blood of the Lord Jesus, and that i had kept back myself from Him and had not wholly yielded. as soon as i found this out, i went down on my knees and gave myself up to God in the words of (the) hymn..take my life and let it be, consecrated, Lord, to me. i found tha next step was to have simple, childlike faith, to believe that what i had committed to God, He was also willing to take and keep. i knew i had committed my soul to His keeping and He was able to keep that; how much more then was He able to keep me and what belonged to me in this world? i realized that my life was to be one of simple, childlike faith, and that my part was to trusst, not to do. i was to trust in Him and He would work in me to do His good pleasure. from that time my life has been different and He has given me that peasce that passeth understanding and that joy which is unspeakable.' why i don't just go and do likewise i don't fully know? i keep vainly hanging onto the ultimate control over my life, which is an allusion anyway, unwilling to trust all to God. oh God help me commit myself totally to Your keeping.
hope you have a good week. love, dad
this week i have been sleep-walking spiritually. not totally sure what is going on. i think of much that i have read (and experienced) in the spiritual man by watchman nee. he keeps talking about 'the work of the cross' in a believer's life. when i want something and that desire is denied, that may be the work of the cross. when i want something and i deny that, that may be the work of the cross. even when i want something that is totally legitimate in the realm of normal, God-created desires and i deny myself that, that may be the work of the cross. nee says that often we think we are following God when we are really following our own pleasure. i think most of what i experienced at leidy church was of that nature...kind of pre-kindergarten spirituality. but when God calls one to do something they have not the least bit of interest in doing what happens? with me, in most cases i totally avoided doing things of this nature or i did them haltingly and with great inner struggle and soon 'ran out of gas' and quit. the reason was that I was not getting anything out of it. God needs i's not I's. He wants us to do x for Him and not for ourselves. i can look like a million bucks, i can wow people with my personality, the natural giftedness God has given me in different areas and be totally unspiritual in God's sight even when i am doing good things in good ways for myself and not for God...and God cannot bless such.
when God took on flesh He (Christ) never did what He wanted but only what God the Father wanted in such a way that God the father was looked favorably upon. much, if not all of my life, is a conscious or unconscious desire to be looked upon as i want to be looked upon by those i want to impress. often in the Gospels Jesus did amazing things (ie. raise the dead) but it is always recorded that men glorified God that such things could be done by men! think of the time when the man called Jesus good and Jesus (who was the only good human being who will ever exist) immediately said 'why do you call me good? no one is good but God alone".
God seems to be taking me through a desert way where He wants to train me to only do what He wants, do it whether i feel like it or not, do it in such a way that somehow people experience God not Me. as i trudge wearily through the hot dust He keeps leading me back to the A of His abc's for me -the 7 daily habits He wants me to do. i just cannot (read that WILL NOT) do them in a consistent habitual way. i have struggled mightily to (read that WILL NOT) do them and have fallen way behind. the quiet, gentle message that comes to me through my misery is, 'steve, he who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much...and without faith it is impossible to please God...' He is cutting away 'outs' i take to avoid obeying Him like TV and cd player. in spirit i know this is good and rejoice but my flesh screams out against its privation.
the same with people. nee says, after a fashion, take no thought of how you are received by people. accept how you are received or not received as God's appointment and care nothing for it and just focus on doing what He would do. i am not following that advice at all right now. cut off from all my friendly acquaintances at leidy church God seems to be using this period as an apt opportunity to test me. do i really care at all about other people or do i 'care' for them so that, or only as, they care for me? i'm thinking that i relate much on the basis of the latter motivation. Jesus was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. am i better than He? but in this crucible as God is trying to bring this part of my flesh to an end so that i may be like Jesus, it hurts. the cross definitely has an opportunity to work here. the question..will i deny myself, pick it up daily and love those who don't love me. i think it's best described as indifferent love. love that loves no matter how it is treated...doesn't really care how its treated...just is focused on doing good for the so and so. so i guess i have a good bit more heat to endure as He seeks to make this change.
am a bit disconsolate in the aftermath of reading c.t. studd last week. God used him in a mighty way. i want to be used by God in a mighty way or is it rather that i want to use God in a mighty way so that i can appear to be used by God in a mighty way...i'm not sure which it is. studd recounts the turning point in his life..'that very day i met with the book, the christian's secret of a happy life. in it was stated that this blessing is exactly what God gives to everyone who is ready and willing to receive it. i found that the reason why i had not received it was just this, that i had not made room for it and i found, as i sat there alone thinking, that i had been keeping back from God what belonged to Him. i found that i had been bought with the price of the precious blood of the Lord Jesus, and that i had kept back myself from Him and had not wholly yielded. as soon as i found this out, i went down on my knees and gave myself up to God in the words of (the) hymn..take my life and let it be, consecrated, Lord, to me. i found tha next step was to have simple, childlike faith, to believe that what i had committed to God, He was also willing to take and keep. i knew i had committed my soul to His keeping and He was able to keep that; how much more then was He able to keep me and what belonged to me in this world? i realized that my life was to be one of simple, childlike faith, and that my part was to trusst, not to do. i was to trust in Him and He would work in me to do His good pleasure. from that time my life has been different and He has given me that peasce that passeth understanding and that joy which is unspeakable.' why i don't just go and do likewise i don't fully know? i keep vainly hanging onto the ultimate control over my life, which is an allusion anyway, unwilling to trust all to God. oh God help me commit myself totally to Your keeping.
hope you have a good week. love, dad
Saturday, July 18, 2009
7.18.09 ARE THERE ANY FREE MEN LEFT TO FIGHT? IF SO IMPEACHMENT MUST BEGIN IMMEDIATELY
dear representative roher,
what you have written is the closest to impeachment i have seen. i don't know what goes on since i don't read news but i have long felt that the president and those who have voted with him need to be impeached immediately. this opinion, the local press here, has not allowed to see the light of day. you write a great letter but alas, i fear, only words. it does not go far enough. we are now a people who are in bondage for we have forsaken obedience to the truth of the God of the Bible. 'you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.' (john 8.32) impeachment is not demanded so far as i have see by anyone, and if demanded it would not be fully adequate because most americans who refuse God's truth are doomed to slavery. the outward circumstances we are passing through are a divine adjustment to match our enslaved-to-sin-and-self inner hearts. enslaved on the inside always leads to enslaved on the outside. sincerely, stephen paine
An Open Letter to the President- July 3, 2009
Dear Friends,
In just another day, we will all observe Independence Day. Yet, like you, we all realize that our freedoms have never been so threatened both from within and without. We wonder what actions we should take. We wonder what happens if we wait too long? I know we all wish for some clarion call from some leader with a response commensurate to the challenges we are seeing. A recent news analysis from Rachel Maddow (MSNBC News) of a major policy speech made by our President in May prompted me to write this open letter to the President as my next step. As you watch this news clip, you will likely find that the President’s attitude toward the Rule of Law and the Constitution is even more alarming than what he is proposing. I hope that this video and my letter will further develop your thinking as we celebrate Independence Day. While I stop short of suggesting a specific collective action that American citizens can take, I believe that history lays out the pattern. Please watch this video, and then read my “Open Letter to the President.”
Dear Mr. President, I write to you as one elected official to another on behalf of average American citizens. We listen to your words and measure them carefully. With hope, we watch your actions. We then look to history and compare the events of our day with the events of yesterday. We look to our Founders and read carefully their intellectual discourses and their moral debate. They ultimately concluded that the actions of the king were best described as tyranny, because they could not be honestly described any other way. Having come to such a serious and reasoned conclusion, their path was charted—unknown as to its outcome—but certain as to its demand upon them. Mr. President, we are doing what Americans have done before. Many of your words, at face value, inspire and offer some level of hope. This is why many Americans cast their vote for you. Yet, now that you are in office, your actions are inspiring fear and distrust. At nearly every level, Americans, regardless of political party, are being forced to walk down the same road our Founders were forced to walk – questioning, analyzing, and looking deep within their souls. The similarities between the past and the present are amazing. If you desire to test the American people’s resolve and challenge their patience, you are accomplishing your goal. You know what is happening within the hearts and minds of the average American. That is why state legislatures are offering and passing resolutions, re-affirming the 10th Amendment and state sovereignty issue. That is why the Tea Party movement is growing by the day and is attended by rich and poor alike. That is why you and Congress are hearing from the American public in record numbers on an increasing range of major issues including the bail-out, the stimulus plan, “cap and tax”, and government intrusion into health care.Your speech sounds sensitive to the economic and emotional needs so heavy on our people. Yet, your continued references to being guided by the “Rule of Law” (our Founders knew this meant God’s Higher Law and the Highest Law of the Land – the Constitution) are hollow and disingenuous. Your recent speech in front of the original Constitution of the United States of America in the National Archives makes it all so clear that your words mean nothing. Your agenda and you yourself appear to be that “rule of law” – effectively setting aside all Constitutional constraints. It’s unfortunate that I must be so direct, but you are leaving the American people with very few options. Mr. President, it is clear by your speech and actions that your oath to the Constitution is not binding to you and, therefore, is a broken oath. On many fronts, so much of significance has happened in such a short time. You (and the Congress) are overriding state sovereignty and encouraging the states into unsustainable programs through Stimulus Funds: this will force them to beg you and the elite in Washington for help when the funding runs out. Your policies are destroying the wealth of hard-working Americans by plunging this nation into inescapable debt to our enemies and by justifying the disastrous printing of trillions in fiat money. What you and the Federal Reserve do not destroy immediately by exploding our debt, will be completely devoured by the ensuing hyper-inflation. What an insidious way for you and Congress to spend what you do not have by robbing it from every hard-working American who has responsibly worked and saved! You have violated historic contract law by choosing who wins and who loses, while Chrysler and General Motors is eviscerated and turned into ‘Government Motors’. You have thumbed your nose at the ‘Balance of Power’, so carefully conceived and implemented by our Founders, by appointing unaccountable “Czars” to function as your direct emissaries over fundamental areas of public policy, thereby blatantly by-passing the checks and balances of Congressional oversight. You pursue special interest agendas motivated by the faddish science of “Global Warming” or “Climate Change”, or whatever it will be called next. In the ‘cap and tax’ plan, you justify the biggest tax assault on the American people ever conceived. Yet, you boldly assure the American people that it will cost them nothing, since only the “polluters” will pay. But, in the process you will destroy thousands of truly sustainable jobs (in exchange for temporary “green” jobs – like insulating buildings and re-caulking windows). Bringing America to its knees in financial dependence, in energy dependence, and a gutted manufacturing sector is sadly what’s happening. It appears that in reality, the “Change” you promised is just your personal change—clearly not what the American people so desperately hoped for. So Mr. President, these things that I and the American people have come to observe and conclude are bringing this nation to a point closer each day that resembles the circumstances that forced the hearts, the minds and then the hands of our Founders. As we quickly approach the remembering of Independence Day – July 4, 2009, please remember that as you make your choices, so must we. May you and all the American people reread the Declaration of Independence – very carefully. Identify the principles they clearly stated and then apply them to today. Feel the intensity of the letter sent to the King. Understand the careful steps they undertook to make the moral case for freedom and independence in the context of the history of mankind. Note in particular the foundational precepts woven into paragraph two, written as much for the benefit of Americans yet unknown and unborn as it was a message to King George. As the President who holds the highest elected position in both honor and responsibility in this Republic, place yourself in the position of the King, look in the mirror, and then look across this great land at the faces of our great people and listen to their pleas. The King didn’t know for sure all that Declaration Letter would mean for him, but I am certain that he knew he had ignited the will and passion of a freedom-loving people for which only time would prove the outcome.So it is today. Now, we have the Constitution against which to compare the words and actions of those in public office. The people, Mr. President, are awaking. They are realigning their priorities, purifying their motivations, and galvanizing their wills. Their freedom and their families are what they love and, thankfully, what they will defend. As to what comes next, I cannot say. I do know that another Declaration Letter is not necessary since this country already belongs to us. Our freedom and this republic are already ours. It is the return of freedom they demand. It is nothing less than the adherence to the Constitution and to the oath we have both taken that they demand. We, continuing to carefully note and compare as our Founders did, are also coming to serious and reasoned conclusions. Our path is charted – unknown perhaps as to its ultimate outcome – but certain as to its demand upon us. From all those who love their Freedom,State Representative Sam RohrerDistrict 128 – Berks County
what you have written is the closest to impeachment i have seen. i don't know what goes on since i don't read news but i have long felt that the president and those who have voted with him need to be impeached immediately. this opinion, the local press here, has not allowed to see the light of day. you write a great letter but alas, i fear, only words. it does not go far enough. we are now a people who are in bondage for we have forsaken obedience to the truth of the God of the Bible. 'you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.' (john 8.32) impeachment is not demanded so far as i have see by anyone, and if demanded it would not be fully adequate because most americans who refuse God's truth are doomed to slavery. the outward circumstances we are passing through are a divine adjustment to match our enslaved-to-sin-and-self inner hearts. enslaved on the inside always leads to enslaved on the outside. sincerely, stephen paine
An Open Letter to the President- July 3, 2009
Dear Friends,
In just another day, we will all observe Independence Day. Yet, like you, we all realize that our freedoms have never been so threatened both from within and without. We wonder what actions we should take. We wonder what happens if we wait too long? I know we all wish for some clarion call from some leader with a response commensurate to the challenges we are seeing. A recent news analysis from Rachel Maddow (MSNBC News) of a major policy speech made by our President in May prompted me to write this open letter to the President as my next step. As you watch this news clip, you will likely find that the President’s attitude toward the Rule of Law and the Constitution is even more alarming than what he is proposing. I hope that this video and my letter will further develop your thinking as we celebrate Independence Day. While I stop short of suggesting a specific collective action that American citizens can take, I believe that history lays out the pattern. Please watch this video, and then read my “Open Letter to the President.”
Dear Mr. President, I write to you as one elected official to another on behalf of average American citizens. We listen to your words and measure them carefully. With hope, we watch your actions. We then look to history and compare the events of our day with the events of yesterday. We look to our Founders and read carefully their intellectual discourses and their moral debate. They ultimately concluded that the actions of the king were best described as tyranny, because they could not be honestly described any other way. Having come to such a serious and reasoned conclusion, their path was charted—unknown as to its outcome—but certain as to its demand upon them. Mr. President, we are doing what Americans have done before. Many of your words, at face value, inspire and offer some level of hope. This is why many Americans cast their vote for you. Yet, now that you are in office, your actions are inspiring fear and distrust. At nearly every level, Americans, regardless of political party, are being forced to walk down the same road our Founders were forced to walk – questioning, analyzing, and looking deep within their souls. The similarities between the past and the present are amazing. If you desire to test the American people’s resolve and challenge their patience, you are accomplishing your goal. You know what is happening within the hearts and minds of the average American. That is why state legislatures are offering and passing resolutions, re-affirming the 10th Amendment and state sovereignty issue. That is why the Tea Party movement is growing by the day and is attended by rich and poor alike. That is why you and Congress are hearing from the American public in record numbers on an increasing range of major issues including the bail-out, the stimulus plan, “cap and tax”, and government intrusion into health care.Your speech sounds sensitive to the economic and emotional needs so heavy on our people. Yet, your continued references to being guided by the “Rule of Law” (our Founders knew this meant God’s Higher Law and the Highest Law of the Land – the Constitution) are hollow and disingenuous. Your recent speech in front of the original Constitution of the United States of America in the National Archives makes it all so clear that your words mean nothing. Your agenda and you yourself appear to be that “rule of law” – effectively setting aside all Constitutional constraints. It’s unfortunate that I must be so direct, but you are leaving the American people with very few options. Mr. President, it is clear by your speech and actions that your oath to the Constitution is not binding to you and, therefore, is a broken oath. On many fronts, so much of significance has happened in such a short time. You (and the Congress) are overriding state sovereignty and encouraging the states into unsustainable programs through Stimulus Funds: this will force them to beg you and the elite in Washington for help when the funding runs out. Your policies are destroying the wealth of hard-working Americans by plunging this nation into inescapable debt to our enemies and by justifying the disastrous printing of trillions in fiat money. What you and the Federal Reserve do not destroy immediately by exploding our debt, will be completely devoured by the ensuing hyper-inflation. What an insidious way for you and Congress to spend what you do not have by robbing it from every hard-working American who has responsibly worked and saved! You have violated historic contract law by choosing who wins and who loses, while Chrysler and General Motors is eviscerated and turned into ‘Government Motors’. You have thumbed your nose at the ‘Balance of Power’, so carefully conceived and implemented by our Founders, by appointing unaccountable “Czars” to function as your direct emissaries over fundamental areas of public policy, thereby blatantly by-passing the checks and balances of Congressional oversight. You pursue special interest agendas motivated by the faddish science of “Global Warming” or “Climate Change”, or whatever it will be called next. In the ‘cap and tax’ plan, you justify the biggest tax assault on the American people ever conceived. Yet, you boldly assure the American people that it will cost them nothing, since only the “polluters” will pay. But, in the process you will destroy thousands of truly sustainable jobs (in exchange for temporary “green” jobs – like insulating buildings and re-caulking windows). Bringing America to its knees in financial dependence, in energy dependence, and a gutted manufacturing sector is sadly what’s happening. It appears that in reality, the “Change” you promised is just your personal change—clearly not what the American people so desperately hoped for. So Mr. President, these things that I and the American people have come to observe and conclude are bringing this nation to a point closer each day that resembles the circumstances that forced the hearts, the minds and then the hands of our Founders. As we quickly approach the remembering of Independence Day – July 4, 2009, please remember that as you make your choices, so must we. May you and all the American people reread the Declaration of Independence – very carefully. Identify the principles they clearly stated and then apply them to today. Feel the intensity of the letter sent to the King. Understand the careful steps they undertook to make the moral case for freedom and independence in the context of the history of mankind. Note in particular the foundational precepts woven into paragraph two, written as much for the benefit of Americans yet unknown and unborn as it was a message to King George. As the President who holds the highest elected position in both honor and responsibility in this Republic, place yourself in the position of the King, look in the mirror, and then look across this great land at the faces of our great people and listen to their pleas. The King didn’t know for sure all that Declaration Letter would mean for him, but I am certain that he knew he had ignited the will and passion of a freedom-loving people for which only time would prove the outcome.So it is today. Now, we have the Constitution against which to compare the words and actions of those in public office. The people, Mr. President, are awaking. They are realigning their priorities, purifying their motivations, and galvanizing their wills. Their freedom and their families are what they love and, thankfully, what they will defend. As to what comes next, I cannot say. I do know that another Declaration Letter is not necessary since this country already belongs to us. Our freedom and this republic are already ours. It is the return of freedom they demand. It is nothing less than the adherence to the Constitution and to the oath we have both taken that they demand. We, continuing to carefully note and compare as our Founders did, are also coming to serious and reasoned conclusions. Our path is charted – unknown perhaps as to its ultimate outcome – but certain as to its demand upon us. From all those who love their Freedom,State Representative Sam RohrerDistrict 128 – Berks County
Monday, July 13, 2009
7.12.09 THANK YOU FOR PRAYING FOR DEARBORN'S ARAB FESTIVAL
you know i'm a person of few words :) but i wanted to share praises over dearborn. (i'm really going to try to keep this brief )
1. vision of spiritual need/opportunity was off the charts there for everyone. please continue to pray this for me!
2. rest in the finished work of Christ. i floated through everything except for almost losing my temper with the chief of security and a spot of spiritual static the last night we were there when i became I, instead of i, for a bit.
3. love of Jesus in my heart. saw plenty of demonstration of this within our group and by our group, praise God for the opportunity to share His love.
4.open doors. many more than i could recount for myself and a multitude for the group. lazaro (the one in our group that God lead me to witness with at the festival) and i kept getting kicked out of different places to where the Lord wanted us and thus, a full block away from the festival, we ended up shared the gospel with thousands of people. lazaro brought a large banner (~4' x6') which i was privileged to hold. God enabled us to interact with a number of people, pass out a large amount of literature but the banner attracted awe-inspiring attention. we saw real spiritual hunger in so many eyes!!! what a blessed place to be...where the Lord puts you! it felt like looking down and seeing the 53 large, squirming fish in the net after all night fishing for none...and that was just the first afternoon/evening at the festival! the whole trip was worthwhile just seeing the response and sensing God's spirit sowing seed in many precious hearts.
5.boldness of speech. YES, everywhere. in one yemenese restaurant i just followed another guy in the group, ed from the washington d.c. area, around as he shared the gospel with everyone there! God gave great liberty in speech but i was just a servant-boy learning as much as i could from the others.
6. clarity in proclamation. many there were longtime workers with muslim people. the first two days we had tremendous apologetical training. check out sam shamoun (i think i spelled it right). he is tremendous. straight from the Bible and the koran to confute what islam teaches about christianity and itself! i had been praying for insight and although many others debated i was led away from this to share a simple gospel...'you remember the innocent little lamb whose throat had to be slit for the sin of the one bringing it in old testament times. you love Jesus. you believe He is a prophet of God. but i believe He IS GOD who came to earth as a man for one purpose and that was to die for your sin and mine!!! ( this of course is abbreviated a bit but not by much. there was a lot of action, chaos at times etc. so i just shared briefly as i could the essentials of the good news!) then they would start arguing and i would say with a smile, i know you and i believe differently. i really appreciate the opportunity you gave me to share what i believe about Jesus with you. i encourage you, if you ever become burdened by your sin and long to be clean and forgiven and know you have eternal life ..i encourage you to just call out to Jesus. He sees you and He will reveal Himself to You. He will cleanse and forgive you and give you Himself!...praise God for His good news. nobody refused me when i asked if i could share the good news of Jesus. it was awesome. how good God was in response to prayer!
7. stand in Christ's victory. THE WHOLE BLESSED TIME, HALLELUJAH!!!!
8. open hearts. oh may eternity show that God opened the heart of many of these precious people. oh Jesus lead them to count the cost and come to You.
9. Jesus dvd's one little girl became my assistant! she kept coming back on her bike asking for more and then taking them to more friends and relatives. please pray that the thousands we gave out will find their way to countless people.
10. hunger and thirst for righteousness. one story..no two of many. God leads me to call out a greeting to a single man leaving the festival. God leads rabia over to where i am holding a banner proclaiming the Gospel. when we begin talking i think he is muslim..then i think he is maybe not muslim but definitely infected by works-righteousness..we talk intensely back and forth for quite a while and finally we are able to understand each other..i realize he is a babe in Christ who does not yet speak clearly!! we then have a long 'discipleship discussion' with the result that rabia went away realizing he must find a Bible believing fellowship and not continue 'out there' on his own. 7 months from his eyes being opened with life and he is encouraging me from the Word as intensely as i him..what a blessing! precious fellowship!! i gave him the address and phone # of a local church, the arab christian fellowship in dearborn. many decisions for Christ in the group..the most striking is when one man from our group, moses who is from egypt (i'm not kiddin!), is led to go up to a particular man among many in line for the ferris wheel. they talk. the man prays right in line to trust Christ. later he tells moses that he was intending to get on the ferris wheel and jump from the top.
11. unity. there was much sweet fellowship. God blessed us on friday with a Holy Spirit time of worship in a public park near the festival grounds and saturday and sunday mornings with beseeching prayer meetings. lazaro's banner, with the 10 commandments and the statement 'condemned by the law' on the bottom on one side and the dominant (beautiful!) cross with it's narrow door and the wide road leading to the flames of hell in the lower corner with appropriate scripture on the other caused a bit of a row in the group (i take it) and widespread rapt attention outside the group. several people in the group had made comments that there were some people upset by it (no reason being given) and i just said 'oh'. saturday night several from the group came up and said that they thought it would be a good idea not to display it (no reason given) and hand out literature instead. i simply said that was not the way God was leading me but encouraged them to follow His leading for them...and that was the only indication whatsoever of even a ripple in our unity as a group. it never came up again, thank God.
12. logistics and organization..'somehow we got there' and God helped us would sum up this area.. God kept my mouth shut and it was cool to see how He made up for what sometimes seemed a bit chaotic.
13. God gave us a good audience at the mosque. many seeds were planted in the men with whom we interacted.
14. law enforcement. we were denied free speech rights to pass out our literature in the festival area. george saieg, the leader of the group, brought a lawsuit against the city of dearborn and sought an emegency restraining order to enable us to do so. this was denied. we were given a free booth (normally $500) at the far end of the festival grounds and restricted to giving literature well beyond the barriers that marked the end of the festival area. we had some difficulties with security (fortunately in our case God put His hook in my rebellious nose and led lazaro and i to very green pastures He had prepared for us). the case is still in progress with the hope that free speech rights will return for next year's festival.
15. safety. i had successfully avoided flying in planes, other than the small ones on mission in canada, to this point. not a qualm for which i thank God. as we took off for dearborn i was meditating through romans 3 at the time and as the wheels left the ground i was saying verse 10 -for whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved. thrilling tie in with the purpose of taking that plane and nothing but peace. the whole trip God's peace surrounded us.
16. follow ups. just got denny barger's newsletter in which he reports 20 decisions so may we pray for these, but i'm thinking also of many more people whose eyes said 'God is speaking to me right now'. please pray for these dear people that God's people would cultivate and water the seed planted.
17. muslim evangelism by the Church around the world. just saw an old movie about st. francis of assisi who won the heart of the muslim chief as a friend by his love. you and i can be the answer to this prayer request by showing the same love and consideration for each muslim we meet and seeking them out to share the Gospel. check out islamicfinder.org to find muslims you may not know yet who live near you.
18. abundant fruit. may God give us all a continual prayer, vision and actions for the soon to be one quarter of the world's population who are of the muslim belief. Jesus' love through us can woo them, Jesus' truth through us can set them free.
thank you so much for any God-inspired prayer you have raised and may continue to raise as God leads for dearborn. God will bless you for your part in what He did and is continuing to do there and...who knows where by now!
1. vision of spiritual need/opportunity was off the charts there for everyone. please continue to pray this for me!
2. rest in the finished work of Christ. i floated through everything except for almost losing my temper with the chief of security and a spot of spiritual static the last night we were there when i became I, instead of i, for a bit.
3. love of Jesus in my heart. saw plenty of demonstration of this within our group and by our group, praise God for the opportunity to share His love.
4.open doors. many more than i could recount for myself and a multitude for the group. lazaro (the one in our group that God lead me to witness with at the festival) and i kept getting kicked out of different places to where the Lord wanted us and thus, a full block away from the festival, we ended up shared the gospel with thousands of people. lazaro brought a large banner (~4' x6') which i was privileged to hold. God enabled us to interact with a number of people, pass out a large amount of literature but the banner attracted awe-inspiring attention. we saw real spiritual hunger in so many eyes!!! what a blessed place to be...where the Lord puts you! it felt like looking down and seeing the 53 large, squirming fish in the net after all night fishing for none...and that was just the first afternoon/evening at the festival! the whole trip was worthwhile just seeing the response and sensing God's spirit sowing seed in many precious hearts.
5.boldness of speech. YES, everywhere. in one yemenese restaurant i just followed another guy in the group, ed from the washington d.c. area, around as he shared the gospel with everyone there! God gave great liberty in speech but i was just a servant-boy learning as much as i could from the others.
6. clarity in proclamation. many there were longtime workers with muslim people. the first two days we had tremendous apologetical training. check out sam shamoun (i think i spelled it right). he is tremendous. straight from the Bible and the koran to confute what islam teaches about christianity and itself! i had been praying for insight and although many others debated i was led away from this to share a simple gospel...'you remember the innocent little lamb whose throat had to be slit for the sin of the one bringing it in old testament times. you love Jesus. you believe He is a prophet of God. but i believe He IS GOD who came to earth as a man for one purpose and that was to die for your sin and mine!!! ( this of course is abbreviated a bit but not by much. there was a lot of action, chaos at times etc. so i just shared briefly as i could the essentials of the good news!) then they would start arguing and i would say with a smile, i know you and i believe differently. i really appreciate the opportunity you gave me to share what i believe about Jesus with you. i encourage you, if you ever become burdened by your sin and long to be clean and forgiven and know you have eternal life ..i encourage you to just call out to Jesus. He sees you and He will reveal Himself to You. He will cleanse and forgive you and give you Himself!...praise God for His good news. nobody refused me when i asked if i could share the good news of Jesus. it was awesome. how good God was in response to prayer!
7. stand in Christ's victory. THE WHOLE BLESSED TIME, HALLELUJAH!!!!
8. open hearts. oh may eternity show that God opened the heart of many of these precious people. oh Jesus lead them to count the cost and come to You.
9. Jesus dvd's one little girl became my assistant! she kept coming back on her bike asking for more and then taking them to more friends and relatives. please pray that the thousands we gave out will find their way to countless people.
10. hunger and thirst for righteousness. one story..no two of many. God leads me to call out a greeting to a single man leaving the festival. God leads rabia over to where i am holding a banner proclaiming the Gospel. when we begin talking i think he is muslim..then i think he is maybe not muslim but definitely infected by works-righteousness..we talk intensely back and forth for quite a while and finally we are able to understand each other..i realize he is a babe in Christ who does not yet speak clearly!! we then have a long 'discipleship discussion' with the result that rabia went away realizing he must find a Bible believing fellowship and not continue 'out there' on his own. 7 months from his eyes being opened with life and he is encouraging me from the Word as intensely as i him..what a blessing! precious fellowship!! i gave him the address and phone # of a local church, the arab christian fellowship in dearborn. many decisions for Christ in the group..the most striking is when one man from our group, moses who is from egypt (i'm not kiddin!), is led to go up to a particular man among many in line for the ferris wheel. they talk. the man prays right in line to trust Christ. later he tells moses that he was intending to get on the ferris wheel and jump from the top.
11. unity. there was much sweet fellowship. God blessed us on friday with a Holy Spirit time of worship in a public park near the festival grounds and saturday and sunday mornings with beseeching prayer meetings. lazaro's banner, with the 10 commandments and the statement 'condemned by the law' on the bottom on one side and the dominant (beautiful!) cross with it's narrow door and the wide road leading to the flames of hell in the lower corner with appropriate scripture on the other caused a bit of a row in the group (i take it) and widespread rapt attention outside the group. several people in the group had made comments that there were some people upset by it (no reason being given) and i just said 'oh'. saturday night several from the group came up and said that they thought it would be a good idea not to display it (no reason given) and hand out literature instead. i simply said that was not the way God was leading me but encouraged them to follow His leading for them...and that was the only indication whatsoever of even a ripple in our unity as a group. it never came up again, thank God.
12. logistics and organization..'somehow we got there' and God helped us would sum up this area.. God kept my mouth shut and it was cool to see how He made up for what sometimes seemed a bit chaotic.
13. God gave us a good audience at the mosque. many seeds were planted in the men with whom we interacted.
14. law enforcement. we were denied free speech rights to pass out our literature in the festival area. george saieg, the leader of the group, brought a lawsuit against the city of dearborn and sought an emegency restraining order to enable us to do so. this was denied. we were given a free booth (normally $500) at the far end of the festival grounds and restricted to giving literature well beyond the barriers that marked the end of the festival area. we had some difficulties with security (fortunately in our case God put His hook in my rebellious nose and led lazaro and i to very green pastures He had prepared for us). the case is still in progress with the hope that free speech rights will return for next year's festival.
15. safety. i had successfully avoided flying in planes, other than the small ones on mission in canada, to this point. not a qualm for which i thank God. as we took off for dearborn i was meditating through romans 3 at the time and as the wheels left the ground i was saying verse 10 -for whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved. thrilling tie in with the purpose of taking that plane and nothing but peace. the whole trip God's peace surrounded us.
16. follow ups. just got denny barger's newsletter in which he reports 20 decisions so may we pray for these, but i'm thinking also of many more people whose eyes said 'God is speaking to me right now'. please pray for these dear people that God's people would cultivate and water the seed planted.
17. muslim evangelism by the Church around the world. just saw an old movie about st. francis of assisi who won the heart of the muslim chief as a friend by his love. you and i can be the answer to this prayer request by showing the same love and consideration for each muslim we meet and seeking them out to share the Gospel. check out islamicfinder.org to find muslims you may not know yet who live near you.
18. abundant fruit. may God give us all a continual prayer, vision and actions for the soon to be one quarter of the world's population who are of the muslim belief. Jesus' love through us can woo them, Jesus' truth through us can set them free.
thank you so much for any God-inspired prayer you have raised and may continue to raise as God leads for dearborn. God will bless you for your part in what He did and is continuing to do there and...who knows where by now!
Sunday, July 12, 2009
7.12.09 MAY YOU LIVE FOREVER!
well i survived the pushing and just barely got everything done friday evening, came home and collapsed. not sure why. am continuing to sense alot of spiritual static, lowgrade opposition (sometimes upgraded to intense - which i experienced much of thursday) and a growing sense of how tinny i really am.
...oh another interesting thing happened this week. had broken the cd player so bought another bottom of the line model at walmart. noticed it was a bit smaller box than normal. got it home, out and playing and this very inferior sound came out. shut it off and decided to return it and look in care and share for one. had a growing sense that this was not good. finally cast a lot on the question 'should i get another cd player'? NO. that was a kind of blow. i don't know whether that means no more music but i assume that's what it means at least for the present. as is a growing inner phenomenon, in the flesh i'm not too happy but in the spirit i'm ok with it...kind of numb in a way. it is awesome to me how God deals with me...it's kind of like He is slowly strangling my self-will...that's the closest i can come to describing what is going on. He has been giving me a growing intense desire to study and memorize His word while at the same time i am experiencing a movement away from that...again words cannot come near describing the paradoxes. He seems to be showing me a video of myself which is helping me see that i am TOTALLY BANKRUPT.
this all seemed to set the stage for my collapse saturday. i had intended to put 8 hours in starting to paint the exterior of another house in souderton..(that brings to mind another miracle of God's provision this year. last year i traveled 3800 miles to earn just over 40k. this year i may actually be able to work an average of 20 hr a week and so far i have only traveled a little over 400 miles and am now averaging over 15 hour per week.)..but when saturday awakened i knew i would not be doing anything. spent saturday into sunday morning doing two things: i viewed 6 ray comfort videos on evangelism and read a book on c.t. studd by norman grubb. for the second week in a row i sensed i should be 'filling the tank' instead of searching for a church. pat, a good sister, when leaving leidy church had suggested that the Lord might have this time to equip me for what is coming and that i might find that He sequestered me off from the main stream of things for a time. at first i thot i needed to find a church family first, but have been experiencing a total desert experience in that area..and then the last two weeks casting lots has indicated no church. i'm beginning to sense that pat had a prophetic word for i am having alot come to me. i don't know what it all means but i sense it may be preparation for something to come.
the book on studd sitting within 3 feet of where i sleep for the last 22 years never called to me before. while waiting for a comfort video to rewind i reached over, picked it up, blew the dust off and didn't put it down until i had read it whole. i share below snippits most of which are direct quotes from the book.
are you willing to do anything for Jesus? this question asked by c.t.studd (from now on ct)'s wife to be fingered me good for i know there are still things i am not willing to do for Jesus. unless God changes my heart i will remain where i am. if He brings me to 'yes' anything is possible.
below are ct's love letters to priscilla stewart from ireland who he had recently met (she now in a distant city) in china...both missionaries in the china inland mission. 'but here i do say that after 8 days spent alone in prayer and fasting, i do believe thae Lord has shown me that your determination is wrong and will not stand and that you yourself will see this presently if the Lord has not shown you already..day after day passes and i only get more and more convinced about it and i cannot doubt it is of the Lord for you know somewhat of how i have spent the time since receiving your letter everything else has been laid aside, occupatio, sleep and food and i have sought His face and to know His will, and He has led me straight forward and day by day He speaks to me and gives me encouragement and emboldens me to ask definitely for you'. remarkable love-letters they are too, full of the consuming passion of his life, fuller by a long way of messages from the Bible and plans for spending their lives for Christ, than of her. she being a sensible woman, bound him over to burn hers, so only one has survived. two of his, written when he was recovering from a serious illness, run into 68 and 69 pages respectively of tiny writing! ..'it will be no easy life, no life of ease which i could offeryou, but one of toil and hardship; in fact, if i did not know you to be a woman of God, i would not dream of asking you. it is to be a fellowsoldier (they were contemporaries of general william booth who founded the salvation army and strongly agreed with him)
...oh another interesting thing happened this week. had broken the cd player so bought another bottom of the line model at walmart. noticed it was a bit smaller box than normal. got it home, out and playing and this very inferior sound came out. shut it off and decided to return it and look in care and share for one. had a growing sense that this was not good. finally cast a lot on the question 'should i get another cd player'? NO. that was a kind of blow. i don't know whether that means no more music but i assume that's what it means at least for the present. as is a growing inner phenomenon, in the flesh i'm not too happy but in the spirit i'm ok with it...kind of numb in a way. it is awesome to me how God deals with me...it's kind of like He is slowly strangling my self-will...that's the closest i can come to describing what is going on. He has been giving me a growing intense desire to study and memorize His word while at the same time i am experiencing a movement away from that...again words cannot come near describing the paradoxes. He seems to be showing me a video of myself which is helping me see that i am TOTALLY BANKRUPT.
this all seemed to set the stage for my collapse saturday. i had intended to put 8 hours in starting to paint the exterior of another house in souderton..(that brings to mind another miracle of God's provision this year. last year i traveled 3800 miles to earn just over 40k. this year i may actually be able to work an average of 20 hr a week and so far i have only traveled a little over 400 miles and am now averaging over 15 hour per week.)..but when saturday awakened i knew i would not be doing anything. spent saturday into sunday morning doing two things: i viewed 6 ray comfort videos on evangelism and read a book on c.t. studd by norman grubb. for the second week in a row i sensed i should be 'filling the tank' instead of searching for a church. pat, a good sister, when leaving leidy church had suggested that the Lord might have this time to equip me for what is coming and that i might find that He sequestered me off from the main stream of things for a time. at first i thot i needed to find a church family first, but have been experiencing a total desert experience in that area..and then the last two weeks casting lots has indicated no church. i'm beginning to sense that pat had a prophetic word for i am having alot come to me. i don't know what it all means but i sense it may be preparation for something to come.
the book on studd sitting within 3 feet of where i sleep for the last 22 years never called to me before. while waiting for a comfort video to rewind i reached over, picked it up, blew the dust off and didn't put it down until i had read it whole. i share below snippits most of which are direct quotes from the book.
are you willing to do anything for Jesus? this question asked by c.t.studd (from now on ct)'s wife to be fingered me good for i know there are still things i am not willing to do for Jesus. unless God changes my heart i will remain where i am. if He brings me to 'yes' anything is possible.
below are ct's love letters to priscilla stewart from ireland who he had recently met (she now in a distant city) in china...both missionaries in the china inland mission. 'but here i do say that after 8 days spent alone in prayer and fasting, i do believe thae Lord has shown me that your determination is wrong and will not stand and that you yourself will see this presently if the Lord has not shown you already..day after day passes and i only get more and more convinced about it and i cannot doubt it is of the Lord for you know somewhat of how i have spent the time since receiving your letter everything else has been laid aside, occupatio, sleep and food and i have sought His face and to know His will, and He has led me straight forward and day by day He speaks to me and gives me encouragement and emboldens me to ask definitely for you'. remarkable love-letters they are too, full of the consuming passion of his life, fuller by a long way of messages from the Bible and plans for spending their lives for Christ, than of her. she being a sensible woman, bound him over to burn hers, so only one has survived. two of his, written when he was recovering from a serious illness, run into 68 and 69 pages respectively of tiny writing! ..'it will be no easy life, no life of ease which i could offeryou, but one of toil and hardship; in fact, if i did not know you to be a woman of God, i would not dream of asking you. it is to be a fellowsoldier (they were contemporaries of general william booth who founded the salvation army and strongly agreed with him)
Sunday, July 5, 2009
7.5.09 MAY YOU LIVE FOREVER!
chaotic week feeling pushed on a job painting the interior of a house that the people want to get into resulting in two 16+ hour days and many hours to 'stay ahead of the hounds'. nice couple, but intense like me! through this though God has brought the ytd weekly hour average above 14. if i have many more such weeks He will have caught me up.
on the church front it is a desert. i feel like a little orphan waif alone in the howling wilderness. this aloneness is exascerpated by following a path that not many seem to follow. they may be out there somewhere hidden in house churches somewhere...
this week have been corrected on the pronunciation of the leader of U2 (long vowel sounds capitalized). first sitting at a bar the other day with a friend from bonO to bOnO and today with some other friends from bOnO back to bonO. so from now on when i have occasion to talk about him i'll try to tread with appropriately tentative step.
got together with someone dear to me friday and, for old times sake had a race, of sorts, up the steep sides of the jersey side of the delaware water gap. by the time she had to stop for some water we had covered about 80% of the vertical distance and the elapsed time was at 21:22. my off the charts goal for reaching the appalachian trail at the top had been 20 minutes so i was pretty pleased. our total elapsed time was probably around 27. we had a great time arguing and doing some hard hiking. thank You Lord for a lazy day to just spend time with someone special.
have been drawn to 'make poverty personal' by ash barker this week. he talks about leviticus 25 and the concept of the jubilee year where all debts are forgiven and uses this as the basis for touting bono's call for debt forgiveness of the poor nations by the wealthy nations. but the passage speaks on an individual basis not a national one. for instance v25f 'if a fellow countryman of yours becomes so poor he has to sell part of his property, then his nearest kinsman is to come and buy back what his relative has sold. or in case a man has no kinsman, but so recovers his means as to find sufficient for its redemption, then he shall calculate the years since its sale and refund the balance to the man to whom he sold it and so return to his property. but if he has not found sufficient means to get it back for himself, then what he has sold shall remanin in the hands of its purchaser until the year of jubilee; but at the jubilee it shall revert, that he may return to his property...v35f..now in case a countryman of yours becomes poor and his means with regard to you falter, then you are to sustain him, like a stranger or a soufourner, that he may live with you. do not take usurious interest from him, but revere your God, that your countryman may live with you. you shall not give him your silver at interest, nor your food for gain. I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of egypt to give you the land of canaan and to be your God and if a countryman of yours becomes so poor with regard to you that he sells himself to you, you shall not subject him to a slave's service. he shall be with you as a hired man, as if he were a sojourner, he shall serve with you until the year of jubilee'. as i am actually looking at the chapter it kind of overwhelms me, kind of in the way that the plural pronouns in the Lord's prayer (ie. give us this day our daily bread) overwhelm me. i have so far to go to get to Your mindset. i have been raised to think that i am to be responsible for providing a living for myself and family. i live in a world of individuals that are increasingly moving toward the concept that others are ultimately responsible to care for them! yet i read of a world in the Bible where every person is to live in such a way that he sees himself as not only responsible to care for himself but to also be ready to care for others who come to a place where they do not have the wherewithal for food and clothing and covering from the weather. maybe i could help one person through a short time of difficulty but could i actually function according to God's heart in the world of leviticus 25? one more instance where God's law does not evoke a sure-i-can-do-this response but a the-only-way-i-could-do-this-is-with-Your-help response. i think i have heard that the nation of israel never actually practiced the jubilee and i can see why for what God says to us if taken on a i-must-live-this-out basis always seems to be well beyond what is possible apart from God (ie. i have never prayed without ceasing). this does spur me to try and see if it is accurate that this never happened. wow, what a high standard.
another thot-provoking quote 'we must be clear here about joining Jesus' community. Jesus preached, delivered, healed and gave the message of the kingdom. Jesus' central concern was not socializing people into his church but proclaiming the reign of God and seeing its authority heal and restore the most vulnerable . 'repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near' (matt. 4.17) there are 114 reference to 'God's reign' in matthew, mark and luke alone, but 'church' is only mentioned 4 times (all in matthew and 3 in chapter 18 relating to resolving conflict). if we are to join Jesus, we must be prepared 'to strive first for the kingdom of God and His righteousness' above all other agendas. proclaiming the reign of God was Jesus' purpose, a foundation for everything else and it must be ours too if we are to be faithful to Christ...'
hope you have a good week. love, dad
on the church front it is a desert. i feel like a little orphan waif alone in the howling wilderness. this aloneness is exascerpated by following a path that not many seem to follow. they may be out there somewhere hidden in house churches somewhere...
this week have been corrected on the pronunciation of the leader of U2 (long vowel sounds capitalized). first sitting at a bar the other day with a friend from bonO to bOnO and today with some other friends from bOnO back to bonO. so from now on when i have occasion to talk about him i'll try to tread with appropriately tentative step.
got together with someone dear to me friday and, for old times sake had a race, of sorts, up the steep sides of the jersey side of the delaware water gap. by the time she had to stop for some water we had covered about 80% of the vertical distance and the elapsed time was at 21:22. my off the charts goal for reaching the appalachian trail at the top had been 20 minutes so i was pretty pleased. our total elapsed time was probably around 27. we had a great time arguing and doing some hard hiking. thank You Lord for a lazy day to just spend time with someone special.
have been drawn to 'make poverty personal' by ash barker this week. he talks about leviticus 25 and the concept of the jubilee year where all debts are forgiven and uses this as the basis for touting bono's call for debt forgiveness of the poor nations by the wealthy nations. but the passage speaks on an individual basis not a national one. for instance v25f 'if a fellow countryman of yours becomes so poor he has to sell part of his property, then his nearest kinsman is to come and buy back what his relative has sold. or in case a man has no kinsman, but so recovers his means as to find sufficient for its redemption, then he shall calculate the years since its sale and refund the balance to the man to whom he sold it and so return to his property. but if he has not found sufficient means to get it back for himself, then what he has sold shall remanin in the hands of its purchaser until the year of jubilee; but at the jubilee it shall revert, that he may return to his property...v35f..now in case a countryman of yours becomes poor and his means with regard to you falter, then you are to sustain him, like a stranger or a soufourner, that he may live with you. do not take usurious interest from him, but revere your God, that your countryman may live with you. you shall not give him your silver at interest, nor your food for gain. I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of egypt to give you the land of canaan and to be your God and if a countryman of yours becomes so poor with regard to you that he sells himself to you, you shall not subject him to a slave's service. he shall be with you as a hired man, as if he were a sojourner, he shall serve with you until the year of jubilee'. as i am actually looking at the chapter it kind of overwhelms me, kind of in the way that the plural pronouns in the Lord's prayer (ie. give us this day our daily bread) overwhelm me. i have so far to go to get to Your mindset. i have been raised to think that i am to be responsible for providing a living for myself and family. i live in a world of individuals that are increasingly moving toward the concept that others are ultimately responsible to care for them! yet i read of a world in the Bible where every person is to live in such a way that he sees himself as not only responsible to care for himself but to also be ready to care for others who come to a place where they do not have the wherewithal for food and clothing and covering from the weather. maybe i could help one person through a short time of difficulty but could i actually function according to God's heart in the world of leviticus 25? one more instance where God's law does not evoke a sure-i-can-do-this response but a the-only-way-i-could-do-this-is-with-Your-help response. i think i have heard that the nation of israel never actually practiced the jubilee and i can see why for what God says to us if taken on a i-must-live-this-out basis always seems to be well beyond what is possible apart from God (ie. i have never prayed without ceasing). this does spur me to try and see if it is accurate that this never happened. wow, what a high standard.
another thot-provoking quote 'we must be clear here about joining Jesus' community. Jesus preached, delivered, healed and gave the message of the kingdom. Jesus' central concern was not socializing people into his church but proclaiming the reign of God and seeing its authority heal and restore the most vulnerable . 'repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near' (matt. 4.17) there are 114 reference to 'God's reign' in matthew, mark and luke alone, but 'church' is only mentioned 4 times (all in matthew and 3 in chapter 18 relating to resolving conflict). if we are to join Jesus, we must be prepared 'to strive first for the kingdom of God and His righteousness' above all other agendas. proclaiming the reign of God was Jesus' purpose, a foundation for everything else and it must be ours too if we are to be faithful to Christ...'
hope you have a good week. love, dad
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