PROMISES

Jack Davis

“HAVING THEREFORE THESE PROMISES”
II Corinthians 7:1

GOD HATH SAID, “I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people … And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty” II Cor. 6:16.18.

As we think of these promises, are we experiencing His presence? Is He making progress in us, are we walking with Him? Are we knowing Him as our God? Do we sense being His people? Are we benefiting from the blessings of His Fatherhood? If not, WHY NOT?

Oh, yes, we can realize the reality of such promises, but how do we come into the enjoyment of such? Paul writes, “Let us cleanse our selves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” II Cor. 7:1.

We are invited to present ourselves before Him, and to submit to His Word and power for our entire cleansing. Christ “loved the church, and gave himself for it. That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word” Eph. 5:25-26. So we appropriate these promises by the obedience of faith. First, in recognizing His claim on our lives, then, claiming the fulfillment of His promises. The Father is entirely able to bring my heart and mind into perfect agreement with the life of His Son within me. PRAISE GOD!

Although God’s astounding promises are almost staggering to our faith. Rom. 4:19-21 – Abraham “being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara’s womb: He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.” God’s promises are so very stimulating to a purifying hope. I John 3:1-3 – “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.”

“For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us” – II Cor. 1:20. Our only capacity for things Spiritual must be measured by the promises of God. He never asks or expects any more of us then He has provided for. His grace never demands more then He has given.

Is God able to fulfill His promises? Can we say Amen to God’s Yea, and Yea to God’s Amen? By wholeheartedly submitting to His cleansing of our lives, we say a hearty Yea and Amen to His exceeding great and precious promises – thus they are made our own.

Hopelessness

“That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world” Eph 2:12.

Without Christ, without God, and without His promises, we are without hope. What good can man expect; to what shall such look ahead? Shall we eat and drink; for tomorrow we die? I Cor. 15:32. “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable” – I Cor. 15:19. Thank God, that is not all there is. If the only expected good is here and now during this earthly existence, if there is no hereafter, what shall we go after here? Does the scripture offer anything pleasant for those hopeless souls that are persuaded that there is nothing beyond their present life span? Praise God, His Word promises that it doesn’t all end with physical death.

I Peter 1:3, God is our Father, because He has begotten us, according to His abundant mercy, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Oh, yes, by faith we have become His hope-filled children, begotten to a lively (or living) hope. The only true hope is living hope. Living in this hope makes us lively or active believers – believers that know that their labor of love and work of faith is not in vain in the Lord. I Cor. 15:58.

Looking for (expecting the realization of) that blessed hope and glorious appearing, conditions us to experiencing His purifying us unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works – Titus 2:14.

TRIUMPH OVER OUR TRIALS

Anita Clark – Pastor, Carbondale, Kansas

“For all things are for your sakes that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound unto the glory of God.  For which cause we faint not, but though our outward man perish, our inward man is renewed day by day.” II Corinthians 4:15-16

Here the words, “faint not” mean, that we do not become “discouraged or spiritless or afraid.” (Amplified Version.) The trials of life are so hard sometimes, but God’s Word encourages us to walk on in victory knowing that God is in control, and is working out His divine plan in our lives. Ephesians 6:10 is a verse to remember when we are in trial, “Finally my brethren, be strong in the Lord and the power of His might.”

“Our outward man” is speaking of our natural body, or who we are naturally.  In Paul’s day, the persecution was so fierce against believers in Christ.  Many were slain in hideous ways.  We must realize that many are being put to death for the cause of Christ in our day in places around the world.  Statistics show that there are more believers being martyred for Christ since the early 1900’s than in the early church period.  Paul says, “though our outward man perish”  speaking of how temporary this natural life and body is.  But, “the inward man” is the new life of Christ, which came into our being when we received Christ as our Savior.

Note in verse 16, Paul says, “the inward man is renewed day by day.”  Isaiah 28:10 says, “For precept (a commandment or guiding principal, whatever God speaks unto man) must be upon precept, precept upon precept. line upon line, here a little and there a little.”  The “renewing day by day” is produced as we take in the Word of God day by day.. precept upon precept.”  It is so important to read and meditate daily upon the wonderful precepts of God’s Word, so that our new man grows up into Christ in all things. With maturity in Christ, we gain strength to withstand the tests of this life.  We are “renewed.” This word means, “to renovate” or “to restore to a former or better state.”  We find in the Scripture that we are not just restored to the former state of Adam, the first man, but much more. Our standing in Christ as a believer is as a redeemed child of God in His provision, already seated with Christ in the heavens.  We declared to be a NEW CREATION in Christ Jesus.  Yet, we are always  growing in Christ, as we continue to yield to His work in our lives daily,  Romans 12:2 says, “Be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

How healthy, spiritually is your inward man?  Are you renewing that part of you day by day?  Yielding to the Lord and Holy Spirit, reading and studying the Word of God, strengthening the new life within you.  If we do we will become grown up as a SON of the Living God.  Spiritual maturity is what the Lord Jesus expects, as we take in the Word of God.  Paul admonishes us to “Study to show thyself approved unto God a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth.”  (II Tim. 2:15).

II Corinthians 4:17 says, “For this light affliction, which is but for a moment worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.”  The tests and trials make us cry out for the Lord’s strength and help causing us to rely on Him alone. “The eternal weight of glory” is the reward for enduring the trials and tests and being a victor over all things that come our way.

Paul said in II Timothy 4:4-8 that he had “fought a good fight and finished his course,” and that there was “laid up for him a crown of righteousness, which the Lord the Righteous Judge will give him at that day.”  As we go through the rough times, believing the Lord and overcoming everything which is in our path, we too can lay hold of that great reward with the Lord. II Timothy 2:12 says, “If we suffer with Him, we shall reign with Him.”

Many of God’s people are being severely tried with illnesses, and others with very extreme trials of other sorts in the world today.  Despite all this, God is faithful and more than able to deliver us is trials and tests we are going through.  “Thanks be unto God which always causes us to triumph in Christ.” (II Cor. 2:14).

Notice that II Corinthians 4:18 says, “while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen.  For the things which are seem are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” So, what determines our gaining this “eternal weight of glory” with Christ Jesus?  The answer - do not look at the circumstances and trials of this life, but look beyond at the great reward for being faithful despite all the problems and tests.  How easy it is to get our eyes on the insurmountable circumstances! Satan wants us to put our eyes on our failure, or someone else’s failure.  When we look only to Jesus we are blessed and able to go on in victory.  A song says. “Put your eyes on the prize and your home in the skies, God is still on the throne.”  Hebrews 12:2 says, “Looking unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith...”.  Philippians 2:13 says, “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.” Our part is to let Him have His way in our lives.  “Thy will be done.”

Thirsty

O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary. Psalm 63:1-2

We have had some really hot days this summer. Sometimes the heat is so much that it seems to makes us constantly thirsty. Our bodies are designed to require certain amounts of water just to survive. To ensure that we do consume enough water, God designed us to have a reaction that we call “thirst.” It pushes us to find some water or other liquid to consume to keep our bodies hydrated.

We can, however, ignore that cue and avoid taking the necessary water for our bodies, and if we do that long enough, we will suffer the consequences. Dehydration is a very dangerous condition for our physical bodies. Choosing to consume liquids that are not water can actually leave us dehydrated as well. Not every liquid is satisfactory to fulfill the need our body has.

Isn’t it amazing that God has created us and this natural world such that we can learn valuable spiritual lessons from the natural things around us? Then, He uses these things in His Word to help us understand His plan for us.

Our spiritual life requires the water that we get only from God. We get it from His Word and from our time spent in His presence. David uses the natural thirst in a hot dry place to create a picture for us of our need for our God.

Our heart should be longing for God every day. The world that we traverse every day of our lives is a dry and thirsty land. People are seeking for something to satisfy that thirst, but just any drink will not do. We can drink the sweet tasting ideas and philosophies of the world, but will not find satisfaction for our thirst.

As God’s people, we should know where we will find the satisfying, thirst quenching drink that we need. Early, that is at an early time, we should be seeking our God. We will find Him in the Bible, and we will find Him as we spend time in His presence in prayer.

When we seek Him, He will be found. We will be satisfied. “I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.” Proverbs 8:17 God wants to be found. He wants to satisfy our thirst, and when we do seek Him, we will see His glory. God reveals Himself to those that seek Him. Those that are seeking to have their thirst quenched by the world, will not find God there and will miss out on His glory.

Do you want to experience God’s power and glory in your life? There is no magic formula. It is not restricted to certain “super spiritual” people. God is seeking those that will worship Him is spirit and in truth. Study your Bible. Don’t just read a little here and there. Take time to study and meditate on what is there. Ask (pray) the Holy Spirit to reveal God to you through His Word. I can’t begin to express to you the amazing things that God will reveal about Himself as you seek earnestly and diligently for Him.

Do not allow yourself to get spiritually dehydrated. It is a dangerous condition. You will become faint and you will become susceptible to the attacks of the enemy.

Gordon Crook

TO KNOW JESUS                    

Gary Giddings, Pastor

Church of the Full Gospel 

Sand Lake, Michigan  

Proverbs 3:5-6 - “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.”

We are on a spiritual journey and we need God’s help every day. When we put our TRUST in Jesus and not in ourselves or others, we learn to ACKNOWLEDGE Him in all that we do. “In all thy ways” means the course of your life, and what you do in life. How do we know what we should do? Don’t follow the crowd because the crowd is often wrong!

We ACKNOWLEDGE God through Jesus our Savior. The important part of the word ACKNOWLEDGE is the word KNOW. We KNOW God through Jesus our Savior. Jesus is THE WAY, THE TRUTH, and THE LIFE. Once we know that Jesus is the answer to everything, there is no reason to look anywhere else. We are in a spiritual battle and so we may be tempted to look around. The enemy of our soul wants to get us to focus on someone or something else than Jesus.

God’s promise is that HE WILL DIRECT US. He will make our way RIGHT and PROSPEROUS (especially in the spiritual sense). We will prosper and be in health even as our SOUL prospers. As God DIRECTS, our way will become STRAIGHT and EVEN. Don’t let your feelings or other people’s feelings confuse you or distract you.

There is a saying from ancient Greek philosophy, “Know thyself.” There is SOME wisdom in that because you shouldn’t mindlessly go through life. But what can we really know about ourself? Benjamin Franklin, in his Poor Richard’s Almanack, observed the great difficulty of knowing one’s self: “There are three Things extremely hard, Steel, a Diamond, and to know one’s self.”

The Bible tells us that “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” Then the Bible gives us the answer: “I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings” (Jeremiah 17:9-10).

We are learning to trust Jesus with our heart, for He cleans us, makes us right and sets us straight! We are learning about Jesus in a personal way, not just to know about Him. Even the demons believe that Jesus exists and they tremble. They know the power of Jesus is greater than their power. But we are called into an intimate relationship of knowing and enjoying the presence of the Lord. This is our peace, comfort and satisfaction!

Philippians 3:7-10a - “But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: That I may know him …

From the Strong’s Concordance, KNOW means “be aware of; be resolved; be sure, understand.” Every day, as we commune and interact with Jesus, we are getting to know Him more and more.

We talk about our life here on earth as a journey of faith and trust in our Lord Jesus Christ. The word JOURNEY, according to Webster’s Dictionary, comes from the Latin for “a daily portion.” We receive our daily portion of Jesus as we acknowledge Him and follow Him.

Another word akin to journey is JOURNAL. According to the 1828 Webster’s Dictionary, a JOURNAL is: 1. A diary; an account of daily transactions and events.” Some people find it helpful to write a private account of their thoughts and feelings about the events of the day. Writing about our successes and failures, the good and the bad things of the day can be real helpful. There was a time in my life when things were very stressful and chaotic and it was very helpful to put down in words what I was going through. Many of my entries turned out to be prayers to God, both asking for help and also thanking Him for His help.

Another definition for JOURNAL (1828 Webster) is: 3. In navigation, a daily report of the ships course and distance, the wind, the weather, and other occurrences. Our journey of faith can be likened to a ship making a trip across a great body of water. We trust the Lord to guide us and to calm the storms in our lives. When we look back at what the Lord has done for us, we can thank and praise Him for His hand upon us.

Philippians 3:10-14 - “That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death; If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”

In contrast to those who are “Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Tim. 3:7), we can KNOW more about Jesus day by day. The Apostle Paul kept reaching out for more of Jesus and so can we! We can experience Jesus’ resurrection power as we lift our heart to Him. We may experience the rejection of others who have rejected Jesus, but this too is part of our fellowship with Him. Don’t stop but keep pressing on!

We are learning that this life isn’t about us, but about Jesus our Savior, our Friend and our Bridegroom. The more that we know and experience the love of Jesus, the more we want to live for Jesus. More of Jesus means that the world, the flesh and the devil has less and less pull and influence upon us.

Psalm 32:8-9 - “I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye. Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee.” 

We were not made like the animals who don’t understand intimate fellowship with the Lord. But we were made to KNOW and to ENJOY a relationship of love with Jesus our Savior. We will come to “know the way more perfectly” as we let Him instruct, teach and guide us in all our ways.

A dear older saint from our Sand Lake meeting gave a testimony years ago that made an impression on me. She said that someone asked her if she would like to be 18 years old again. She replied that she wouldn’t because when she was 18 she didn’t know Jesus like she did at the present time. All those years of following Jesus was very precious to her because she grew and learned to appreciate Him more and more. May this be our testimony as well: TO KNOW JESUS is better than anything else!

The Goodness of God

Gladys Crook

Knowest thou not, O Man, that the goodness and forbearance of God leadeth thee to repentance? Surely the goodness of the Lord brings us to repentance and that is when we see our need of a Saviour. We read in the 107th Psalm, verse 9, that “he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.” How wonderful to be filled with the goodness of God!

After relating how the Lord had delivered the children of Israel out of their troubles, and saved them out of their distresses, the Psalmist declares in verses 8, 15, 21 and 31 of Psalm 107: “Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!” The last verse declares that they who are wise will observe these things, and even they shall understand the lovingkindness of the Lord.

We are told in Psalm 33:5 that the whole earth is full of the goodness of the Lord. We see so much every day that surely doesn’t seem like the goodness of God, but we still believe His Word and know that the earth is full of His goodness. In Psalm 31:19 we read, Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men!” We that know and trust the Lord find that He does have much goodness laid up for us, and we receive of His bounty.

In the 27th Psalm, verse 13, David says, “I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.” It does keep one from fainting to just believe what the Word declares.

It is also a part of the nine-fold gift of the Spirit: Love, Joy, Peace, Longsuffering, Gentleness, Goodness, Faith, Meekness and Temperance. Gal. 5:22-23.

Everyone knows and can quote the 23rd Psalm, and it ends with “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” Amen.

SCARS

(Part 1)

By Dr. Victoria Moots

Have you ever had a scar? Not long after birth we begin to accumulate scars, not just physical but emotional scars, what they mean to us and why scars are necessary. You may wonder why scars are necessary and why God couldn’t make wounds heal without scars. Wouldn’t that be nice? But scars are a necessary part of the wound healing process. You may also wonder, “Why were there scars in Jesus body? Why wasn’t his body healed completely when he was raised from the dead?

We are going to see why. Scars are part of the natural healing progress and appear in all sizes: long, short, wide and narrow and they all tell a story. They tell a story of something that happened in the past, whether it was an injury or a surgery. They have a meaning to us. Bodies are identified by scars, tattoos and other markings that are found. As a doctor I can find out on physical exam what kind of surgeries you have had, even if you have forgotten. I see a scar and I ask “What was this from?” Sometimes as they are telling me, they become a little bit emotional because of the circumstances associated with the scar.

Scars are important physically and spiritually. Jesus was identified after His resurrection and will be identified in the future by His scars. In John 20:19-29, we read the account of when Jesus appeared to His disciples behind closed doors. He showed them His hands and His side and they believed. But one of the disciples, Thomas, who wasn’t there, stated that he would not believe unless he saw for himself and was able to put his finger into the print of the nails and thrust his hand into His side into of the nails and thrust his hand into the wound in His side. We all know where the scar came from in His side – it was where the soldier thrust the spear into his heart to be sure He was dead. (I am going to talk a little more about what that scar meant later).

Thomas had to see the physical evidence that Jesus was raised from the dead, so Jesus did appear to Thomas and invite him to examine those scars. And he believed. In Zech. 13:6 it says, “And one shall say unto him, What are those wounds in thine hands?” then he shall answer, “Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.” Jesus scars were His identification. Then in Zech. 12:10 it says and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced.”

As I said before scars are a reminder of a previous injury or surgery. They tell a story and can be a testimony of healing. Scars are not evidence of crucifixion because you must be alive to make scars. Anyone else other than Jesus that was crucified did not have scars because they all died. Scars show healing, not just injury. Jesus scars were evidence of His resurrection and His healing.

Now let’s look at the physical process of wound healing and scar formation to better understand their spiritual meaning. In the physical this is a very complex process but I’m going to try to simplify it a little. It is actually called “regeneration,” which means “replacement of destroyed tissue with new tissue.”

Doesn’t God do this spiritually for us also? The scripture says that if any man be in Christ he is a new creature (creation); old things are passed away and all things are become new. So when He regenerates us (the new birth), he replaces the old destroyed tissue with new tissue. He doesn’t just patch up our old sinful life. He gave us a new life, a resurrection life; we are born again. It means the regeneration of our lives by taking away the old and replacing  it with the new.

One of the purposes of scars in our lives is to create a new thing that is pleasing unto God. Fibrosis is the formation of connective tissue that we call scar tissue. That is what we see on the outside as evidence of healing, but there is something going on in the inside at the same time. Tissue injury, as accident or surgery, causes bleeding which starts inflammatory events into motion. It happens spiritually and emotionally also. Sometimes we get angry and we become inflamed, but God used that inflammation for it is a necessary part of the wound in healing, (in the natural and the spiritual).

Special cells called mast cells and macro phages release inflammatory chemicals which cause the capillaries (small blood vessels) to dilate (open up) and become permeable (for leaky). This white cells and plasma which is rich in clotting proteins and antibodies to seep into the injured areas. This happens very quickly and forms a clot to stop the bleeding and hold the wound edges together, sealing it off from bacteria. Then the outer part of the clot hardens and forms a scab. That’s nature’s “Band-Aid” that helps protect the wound. Dead calls and other debris in the wound are eaten up by the macrophages (like Pac-man).

In the spiritual sense the Holy Spirit cleans up our emotional wounds in much the same way doing a hidden inner work to rid us of the harmful debris that Satan and the world throw at us to destroy us. This is taking place underneath, below the scab, not on the outside. People sometimes try to add insult to injury by things they say and the things they do to us but on the inside the Holy Spirit is working in us to cleanse and heal us.

While the inflammatory process of wound healing is going on, the first phase of tissue repair, called organization begins. God is well organized. He does all things decently and in order, according to His plan for our lives, according to His schedule. Sometimes we get a little impatient and start picking at the scab.
We say, “Ok, I want to see if there is any new skin under there.” So we pull the scab off and the process of healing takes longer. We do the same thing spiritually, but God  is patient. He continues to work with us, and the process of healing goes on.  Sometimes we get a little infection in there because we have “messed with it” and the scar may be a little bigger. But God works all things together for our good. The bigger the scar, the bigger the testimony can be, even when we mess things up God continues to work on the inside.

Next, granulation tissue forms containing new blood vessels (capillaries) and fibroblasts which grow into the wound to bridge the gap where tissue has been split apart. The fibroblasts are somewhat elastic and actually pull the edges of the wound together. How does this apply to us spiritually? In the same manner God is working in us to help pull our broken lives and hearts back together, like the fibroblasts. As we continue to cling to Him that helps the healing process. The macrophages (Pac-man cells) begin to dissolve the old blood clot, which was necessary in the first place to stop the bleeding. Every part of the hearing process is necessary. We can’t leave any of the steps out. Everything that God does in your life to help you heal from emotional scars in necessary, even the inflammatory phase when you get angry with God. But God used that inflammation for healing.

At the same time the outer layer of skin (epithelium) begins to regenerate growing under the scab. Collagen fibers are aid down, and granulation tissue forms a fibrous patch which we call a scar. That is the permanent part of the healing process that stays there to hold the wound edges together. The scab needs to stay on till it begins to loosen around the edges and fall off. We need to leave our hands off physically and spiritually while God is doing the healing. The Holy Spirit is not only working in us but in the other people, the ones who have hurt or injured us in some way, healing the inflammation.

We have all seen signs of inflammation, a little swelling and redness around the wound that is usually gone in a few days and does not indicate infection. If it is getting worse, then it could mean infection. In the natural body, doctors usually sew the wound edges together to speed up healing and decrease the amount of scar tissue needed to seal the wound, but there will always be a scar. When we have been offended, when we have been hurt, we need to go to the Lord, the Great physician. He can decrease the amount of the emotional scar we have if we turn it over to the Lord early. He can heal us if we turn it over to Him late too, but we will have a bigger scar.
To be continued next issue – Part 2.

“URIM AND THUMMIN”

The story is told of a young clergyman in the church of England who was greatly helped in his understanding of the Scriptures by frequent conversations with an uneducated cobbler, who was, nevertheless, well acquainted with the Word of God.

On one occasion when a friend of his, a young theologian, was visiting him, he mentioned this remarkable knowledge of the Bible which the cobbler possessed. The young theologian, in a spirit of pride, expressed a desire to meet him, saying he felt sure he could ask some questions which he would be quite unable to answer. Upon being introduced to the man in his little shop, the question was put, “Can you tell me what Urim and the Thummin were?”

The cobbler replied, “I don’t know exactly; I understand that the words apply to something that was on the breastplate of the high priest. I know the words mean “lights and Perfection,” and that through the Urim and Thummin the high priest was able to discern the mind of the Lord. But I find that I can get the mind of the Lord by just changing two letters. I take this blessed Book, and by ‘usin’ and thummin,’ I get the mind of the Lord that way.”

Selected

WHAT A FRIEND!!!

It has been said that the World today courtesy Globalization resembles a spider’s web. Well…the unique thing about the spider’s web is that you touch any part of it, the whole web starts vibrating in due course. So it’s hardly surprising that the Friendship day first “pioneered” and heralded by a small South American Country namely Paraguay on 20th July, 1958 would have its ramifications on the whole world what with UN Declaring in due course (on April 27th, 2011) that “World Friendship Day” would be observed on July 30th of every year. In India we celebrate it on every first Sunday of August.
Be that as it may, the immortal song “What a friend, we have in Jesus” was written by a faithful Christian Joseph Scriven long before (in 1856) the first Friendship day was observed globally. He who had experienced Lord’s inimitable friendly embrace (read great comfort- 2 Cor 1:3-4) in the midst of his own personal tragedies let his sentiments from deep within his heart flow copiously out in the form of that memorable song.
Let it be said that it takes a great act of selfless love to win over the heart of a person. Our Lord’s friendship credentials of portraying sacrificial love is best captured in this Scripture portion which reads thus…”For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son,…”- Rom 5:10.
Hey, we have heard that heroes’ are born to kill enemies. Indian Scriptures for instance abound with tales of donning of avatars’ by deities specifically for destroying evil men but how’s this for reversal of roles? Here we have the sinless, Holy one of Eternity donning “flesh and blood” specifically for dying for the “eternal spiritual welfare” (read salvation) of His enemies who wouldn’t hesitate to crucify Him! When the import of this sacrifice registers on any sane individual, his natural response would be of seeking friendship with such an individual who would go to any extent for ensuring the former’s welfare. I am no exception either. On October 16th, 1983 as the nuances of the Gospel were being explained to me, I sought and sealed my “Friendship pact” with the ONE who stooped (to what levels!- Phil 2:4-11) to conquer my heart.
There are no secrets hidden between friends. Do you have any pressing problems the details of which cannot be revealed to anyone of this World? Then do as Joseph Scriven, bring it in prayer before your most trustworthy friend…Jesus. Does God hide His plans from His friends? No way!!! “Friendship with God is reserved for those who reverence Him” declares the Psalmist. He goes on to add “With them alone he shares the secrets of his promises.” (Psalm 25:14 – TLB).
“The Bible was composed in such a way that as beginners mature, its meaning grows with them.” Meaning as our Friendship with our Lord grows deeper and deeper more and more treasures of it (secrets) become accessible to us, making us fall in greater love with Revealer of the same (Dan. 2:22)! Oh what a friend, we have in Jesus who besides comforting us at all times keeps also confiding the Heavenly matters with us, even as we grow in Him!!! Hallelujah!!
Yours in His service,
Suresh Manoharan
www.jandsministries.com
Hyderabad, India

Dear Ones’ in the Lord/ Sister Earlene Davis, 

Greetings! I want to place on record my appreciation for the wonderful, monthly magazine Ministry in the name of “Glorious Gospel” being carried out by you. I have been receiving it for the last 10 years and have been edified by its contents.
I was apprehensive about it’s continuation after Bro. Jack received his home call. But I am continuing to receive your edifying magazine and am blessed by it.
May the good Lord continue to use this magazine Ministry for His glory in the years to come.
Blessings,

Pastor Suresh Manoharan – Hyderabad-India