TODAY'S QUOTE

“Doctors and druggists would not have

prospered on our family.  We never spent

so much as 50 [cents] for medical care or

medicine.  Our one and only Physician,

who was in us and around us, always 

cured us.  He was out of the world!”

- A.C. Valdez

In “Fire on Azusa Street

p.112

TODAY'S PROMISE

"As for me, I look to the LORD for help.

I wait confidently for God to save me,

and my God will certainly hear me."

(Micah 7:7 NLT)

TODAY'S QUOTE

"And when we give each other Christmas gifts in His name,

let us remember that He has given us the sun and the moon

and the stars, and the earth with its forests and mountains

and oceans - and all that lives and move upon them. He has

given us all green things and everything that blossoms and

bears fruit and all that we quarrel about and all that we have

misused - and to save us from our foolishness, from all our 

sins, He came down to earth and gave us Himself."

-Sigrid Undset

A FATHER'S LOVE

I just want to share an emotion, an insight that
I experienced again today.  That is the love of
a father for his kids.

Many, many years ago I was involved in a failed
marriage and the resulting breakup from it.  There was
the initial shock of coming home from work to find
an empty house and then "existing" in a daze for
about a week.  But the emotion that still stands out
in my mind the most - wether it was the same day or
the next I do not remember - was the realization that
the kids were not there needing my help.  My kids were
gone.  What was I going to do without my kids.  How
was I going to love them and provide for them.  It hurt
me deeply.

Yes, they had a good mother.  That was not the problem.
It was that need for a father to be able to share his love
with his children.

Thank God,
as the children grew up in another state and
began to get out on their own that relationship
has been reestablished.  We share a love for
each other even if they are grandparents now.

Down to the present.
Believe it or not, I am a lot older now than I
was then.  I even have "great grandchildren"
who have grown too big to want grandpa to
hold them and love them.

I have noticed the last few days that this old
man just aches sometimes to hold a loving little
child in my arms and love them.

Today as I was walking down to get the mail
God brought something to my mind.  That is
the way God is.  God truly wants to love us,
hold us, cuddle with us, just like an earthly
father would want to do.  The Scriptures point
that out many times.  But I will only share one
of them with you.

"See how very much out Father loves us,
for he calls us his children, and that is what
we are!  But the people who belong to this 
world don't recognize that we are God's
children because they don't know him."
(1 John 3:1 NLT)

Here the Apostle is writing to the Christians.
No, everybody is not God's child.  But He
wants them to be if we will just turn to Him.

REMEMBER.
God wants to be a Father to you and love you,
if you will let Him.

THAT IS WHAT CHRISTMAS
IS ALL ABOUT.

TODAY'S PROMISE

"And the one sitting on the throne said,

Look, I am making everything new!'  And

then he said to me, 'Write this down, for what

I tell you is trustworthy and true.' And he also

said, 'It is finished!  I am the Alpha and the 

Omega - the Beginning and the End.  To all who

are thirsty I will give freely from the springs of 

the water of life.  All who are victorious will

inherit all these blessings, and I will be their

God, and they will be my children."

(Revelation 21:5 - 7 NLT)

TODAY'S QUOTE

"It was standard procedure to call on the creator

of all things to help solve pressing problems -

no matter how trivial or tremendous."

-A.C. Valdez in

Fire on Azusa Street.

p.93

LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE

I know.  Those are icicles.  But icicles do not 

shine or spark by themselves.  Their light has

to come from somewhere else.

I was looking out a window of my "hide a way"

in the woods right after a heavy rain.  The trees

had water hanging all over them.  Then I noticed

the cedar tree closest to the window and it had

two beautiful small blue lights in it.  You know

what they were.  Two of the drops of water just

happened to be aligned correctly to act as a 

prism with the sun shinning on them. 

The beauty I was seeing was the sun shinning

through the drops of water.  But only, if in the

correct alignment with the sun.

Jesus Christ said:

"You are the light of the world -"  

(Matthew 5:14 NLT)

But how am I to shine when there is no light

in me?  I am like the icicle or the drop of water

or prism.  I have no light in myself.

"Jesus spoke to the people once more and said,

'I am the light of the world. ... "  

(John 8:12 NLT)

There is our clue.

When we submit ourselves to Jesus Christ 

and invite Him to come into our lives taking

over not only as Saviour, Lord and master -

then we have the light in us that the world 

needs to see.

“The friend told me, ‘You wouldn’t

believe it if you saw it.  He sold everything!

He is happily living a much simpler life

and sharing with everyone why he

has done it.”

- K.P. Yohannan

In

Living in the Light of Eternity

p.26

GOD KNOWS BEST

This is one of those things that hurts to share

on one hand.  Then on the other, happy to tell

you about how God can work for us.

About forty three years ago I was of course much

younger and single.  Now a single life does not appeal

to me at all and I had fallen in love with a young lady.

Lets just say that this lady and I were in two different

leagues.  There were too many differences and obstacles.

But, you know that does not stop love.

So, having faith in God and believing that nothing

is impossible with God, she became the object of much

pray and trusting God to work out the impossible.  Yes,

it was sorta a one sided affair.  I loved her and she was

just simply a friend.  

In time I came to realize that this was not going to

work.  So I went to God in pray offering her up to

Him and "trying" to release my interest in her.  It

was perhaps the most difficult thing I ever did it 

my life.  I can still remember the hurt to this day.

However,

we still live in the same area and are still friends.

But after watching her go through several marriages

I see now that I would have been hurt really, really

bad.  And further, because of her goals and outlook

on life, she would have been an obstacle to my 

relationship to God and living for him.

Further.

Shortly after this - perhaps a year - God brought

another lady into my life.  Not only did he bring

us together but clearly indicated to me that she was

to be my wife.

After over forty years of marriage I can truly say

that God gave me one of the best wives on the 

face of the earth.  Praise God.

GOD KNOWS BEST.

"And we know that God causes everything to work

together for the good of those who love God and 

are called according to his purpose for them."

(Romans 8:28 NLT)

TODAY'S PROMISE

"And this hope will not lead to disappointment.

For we know how dearly God loves us, because

he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts

with his love."

(Romans 5:5 NLT)

TRUE CONTENTMENT

What a great day.

Today just happens to be "Thanksgiving Day".

It is cold and rainy.  But by the Grace of God, we 

live in a comfortable house and though we are old

and have lived longer than most people, still able to

get around without a lot of pain and discomfort.

God gave me a good nights sleep last night.  Then

my wonderful wife prepared us a delicious breakfast.

After a great meal like that a good nap is required by

this old man.

When I awoke from a real good nap it was quite and

peaceful.  Very comfortable laying there in the recliner.

Now it just does not get any better than that for an old

man who is tired of all the drama of life.

Reaching over for my Bible I turned to the book of 

Philippians on purpose.  You see, the book of 

Philippians is one of the most inspiring and encouraging

books to read in the Bible.  After reading only a few verses

the Apostle Paul said, "... in my imprisonment..."  WOW!

It was real easy for me to lay there and feel content with

life.  But Paul was in prison in chains when he wrote

that extremely encouraging book.

What is the difference between the Apostle Paul and us?

We have to face the fact that most of us live our lives for

ourselves.  Our every thought and action is about getting or

being what we want for ourselves.  I know, we want things

for other people, our children, friends etc.  But it is still

about us and our desires.

But the Apostle Paul's life was totally and completely

given over to Jesus Christ.  In one place Paul tells us

that he "... takes very thought into captivity for Christ."

That is way Paul was able to be content - even when 

in chains in prison.  He was able near the close of his

epistle to the Philippians say;

"Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned

how to be content with what ever I have.  I know

how to live on almost nothing or with everything.

I have learned the secret of living in every situation,

whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with 

plenty or little.  For I can do everything through

Christ, who gives me strength."  

(Philippians 4:10 - 13 NLT)

TODAY'S QUOTE

I AM UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Some of us do not have all the "carry through" we would

like.  How many incomplete projects do you have sitting

around?  Or things that you want to do - some day?

And, even worse, a concern about finishing life it's self

and being ready to stand before God at the end of our 

earthly life.

There is one of the truths of the Scriptures that is a real

comfort to myself.

"And I am certain that God, who began the good work

within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished

on the day when Christ Jesus returns."

(Philippians 1:6 NLT)

What is the good work that God began?

Very few people over all have God working in them at all.

They are living and working for themselves rejecting 

what God wants to do for them.

The "the good work" that is being spoken of here is;

the work that God does in a person who has submitted

to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.  When we submit to 

Jesus Christ and invite him in to run our lives He

places in us His Holy Spirit.  Then, we have two

natures in us.  One of course is the natural nature

that is in very person alive.  The other is the nature

of God Himself, or the Holy Spirit.

It is this nature, the nature God has put in us that

causes us to be "Born Again" as is it is often called.

And God will continue to give us life through that 

new nature until Jesus Christ returns to this earth to

to rule and reign over his creation.

The Apostle Paul who was the writer of the above

Scripture also said it another way about this good

work that God has started in a "TRUE" Christian.

"He will keep you strong to the end so that you

will be free from all blame on the day when

our Lord Jesus Christ returns."

(1 Corinthians 1:8 NLT)

You and I both know that life is not easy.  We

have our "up's" (mountain tops") and our "downs"

(valleys) in this life.  God has it that way on purpose,

 to help us grow into what He is trying to make us

into.

I like the way Kathryn Kuhlman said it;

"Christian character isn't made on the

mountain top.  It's made in the valley."

One more thought about God completing

His work in me.  Speaking of the Lord Jesus

Christ the writer of the Hebrews stated;

"Therefore he is able, once and forever,

to save those who come to God through

him.  He lives forever to intercede with

God on their behalf." 

(Hebrews 7:25 NLT)

Did you catch that?

Those of us who come to God through

Jesus Christ, Jesus himself will be 

interceding to God the father for us forever.

Let me close with part of a children's song

the Hemphills wrote. Yes, I know it is childish, 

but so true.

"He's still working on me

To make me what I need to be

It took him just a week to make the moon and stars

The sun and the earth and Jupiter and Mars

How loving and patient He must be

'Cause He's still working' on me."

TODAY'S PROMISE

"Love the LORD, all you godly ones!

For the LORD protects those who are

loyal to him, but he harshly punishes

the arrogant.

So be strong and courageous

all you who put your hope in the

 LORD!"

(Psalms 31:23.24 NLT)

THE DAY OF JESUS CHRIST

THE DAY OF JESUS CHRIST.

This is a day that is mentioned through out the Holy Bible.

It is expressed in a number of different ways; "The day of

the Lord",  "The day of Christ," "The day of Jesus Christ,"

etc.  And theologians like to spite hairs over this to try and

prove their favorite doctrine.

Perhaps my favorite Scripture regarding this event is:

"BEHOLD, HE iS COMING WITH THE CLOUDS,

and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced

Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over

Him.  So it is to be.  AMEN."

(Revelation 1:7 NASB)

I just love it.  EVERY eye will see Him.  That is you and

I.  It is every man, woman and child that ever lived will

see Jesus Christ when he returns.  Even those who crucified 

Him.

You say you don't believe that stuff.  That does not 

matter, you will see it yourself.  That is why all the

tribes of the earth will mourn.  They did not believe

in Him.  They have rejected Him.  They have wanted

nothing to do with God and His Son Jesus Christ.

But like it or not, they will see Him.

So, the real question is, am I ready for that day?

Let me give you one of the best descriptions of that

day in the Bible.  It is a long description, but this is

what you and I are going to see.  

"And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse,

and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and

in righteousness He judges and wages war.  His eyes

are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems;

and He has a name written on Him which no one knows

except Himself.  He is clothed with a robe dipped in

blood, and His name is called The Word off God.  And

the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, 

white and clean, were following Him on white horses.

From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it 

He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them

with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of 

the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty.  And on His

robe and on His thigh He has a name written, 'KING

OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS'".  

(Revelation 19:11 - 16 NASB). 

Now the question is, 

are you ready for that day?

If you have not gotten into a personal

relationship with Jesus Christ, then you

will be one of those who "mourn" because

of what is coming on them.

TODAY'S QUOTE

“People should love being alone with

the Word of God and nothing else -

just them, the Holy Spirit and the 

Word of God.”

- Francis Chan

ARE YOU A SAINT?

ARE YOU A SAINT?

You can be.

That question would make most of us flat out laugh -

including myself.  We know only to well what we are

made of.  We know those thoughts and desires that 

go through our mind.  They are anything but holy.

To say nothing of our life and actions.

All of us have memories of past actions that we would

give almost anything to be able either redo, or erase

from out minds.

Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary defines "saint"

as:

"1. A holy or godly person; esp, one regenerated

and sanctified or undergoing sanctification."

And what is "sanctified";

"Free of sin; set apart to sacred duty or use."

Well, that left us all out - didn't it?

CONSIDER:

"To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi,

including the overseers and deacons: Grace to you

and peace from God our Father and the Lord

Jesus Christ.

(Philippians 1:1,2 NASB)

What does that have to do with me?

Notice  it says "saints", plural.  The Church at Philippi

had numerous "saints".   Not just some old person

"canonized" by some religious authority.

"To the church of God which is at Corinth,

to those who have been sanctified in Christ

Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every

place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,

their Lord and ours:"  

(1 Corinthians 1:2 NASB)

There is our clue as to what a saint is.

When a person turns to Jesus Christ accepting

him as Lord and Savior, God forgives our sins,

cleanses us with the shed blood of Jesus and

sets us apart for himself.

That is what "sanctified" is.  Cleansed and set

apart for Jesus Christ.  That of course is from

calling on his mighty name.  And then his Holy

Spirit can come into us making us a new person.

And that new person is a "saint" according to

God Himself.

How ever.  Most people who "profess" to know

or live for God are only doing it in their own

power or mind.  They have not truly turned

them selves over to God and simply live a 

fleshly life like anyone else.

"They profess to know God, but by their deeds

they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient

and worthless for any good deed."  

(Titus 1:16 NASB). 

You can be a "saint" if you will let Jesus Christ

make you one.

TODAY'S PROMISE

"Then Jesus said to the disciples, 'Have faith in God.

I tell you the truth, you can say to this Mountain, 'May

you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,' and it will

happen.  But you must really believe it will happen

and have no doubt in your heart.  I tell you, you can

pray for anything, and if you believe that you've

received it, it will be yours.  But when you are praying,

first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against,

so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins,

too.'"

(Mark11:22- 25  NLT)

FINDING TRUE PEACE

Peace.  We all want peace.  Even those who want to 

kill us want peace - their way.  The longer the world 

goes, the less peace there is going to be.

There will be no world peace until Jesus Christ returns

to this world.  He is the "prince of peace."  But, in the 

meantime what do we do for peace?

Like nearly every thing else, there are those who offer

us a false peace.  You know, stand on your head until

you faint.  Or, work yourself into a frenzy so you forget

about your problems, etc. etc.

But first we must recognize where peace, real inner 

peace comes from.

"Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the
 Lord Jesus Christ."

(Philippians 1:2 NASB)

True peace only comes from God.

Jesus Christ the Son of the living God, the very

creator of the heavens and the earth, said while

he was here on earth:

"Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you;

not as the world gives do I give to you.  Do not let

your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful."

(John 14:27 NASB)

This peace he gives to his true disciples.  It is an 

inner peace he gives to us that the world cannot 

take away. 

It comes because ;

"... we have peace with God throughout our Lord 

Jesus Christ,"

(Romans 5:1 NASB)

When we turn our lives over to Jesus Christ and
submit our self to him;

"... the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension,"

(Philippians 4:7 NASB)

becomes ours.

TODAY'S QUOTE

"He demonstrated that one can trust

the God of the Bible for every need,

whether temporal or spiritual."  

- Brother Bakht Singh of India

p.24.

WHEN LESS IS MORE

It seems that everybody is wanting to be rich
or richer.  However over many years I have
noticed there seems to be very few really happy
rich people.  They put on a big smile in public,
then go home and commit suicide.  All their
money did not satisfy them.

Jesus Christ tells us of a rich man who had more
than he could use.  He decided to build bigger barns
to store all his "goodies" in:

"But God said to him, 'You fool!  This very night
your soul is required of you; and now who will
own what you have prepared?'  So is the man
who stores up treasure for himself, and is not 
rich toward God."
(Luke 12: 20,21 NASB)

Jesus tells us of another rich man:

"Now there was a rich man, and he habitually
dressed in purple and fine linen, joyously living
in splendor every day. --- ... and the rich man
also died and was buried.  In Hades he lifted
up his eyes, being in torment, "
(Luke 16:19,22,23 NASB)

O.K.  so you get rich for yourself and have more
"goodies" that other people.  But that is only for a
few short years here on earth.  What are going to
do when your body dies and the real you goes out
into the forever.  Would it not have been far better
to have just a little material goods but be rich
toward God.

There is a song that express it this way;

"Little is much when God is in it!
Labor not for wealth or fame;
There’s a crown, and you can win it,
If you go in Jesus’ name."

Now I understand why the Psalmist 
could say;

"Better is the little of the righteous

Than the abundance of many wicked."

(Psalms 37:16 NASB)

TODAY'S PROMISE

"Don't envy sinners,

but always continue to fear the LORD,

You will be rewarded for this;

 your hope will not be disappointed." 

(Proverbs 23:17,18 NLT)

READ AT YOUR OWN RISK

WARNING      
READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.

BECAUSE.

A.  The "Establishment" does not want you to know
these facts.  To know them will put you in
disfavor with the world system.

B.  You will be held accountable for these facts.
The time is coming that you will have to give
account for your use or misuse of them.

Fact No. 1

"It is certain that all men die one time.
And the Judgment Day comes after
death"

Fact No. 2

"everyone has sinned and is far away
from God's glory."

Fact No. 3

"The pay you get for sinning is death."
"And I saw a great white throne and
the One who was sitting on it.  The
earth and the sky ran away from His
face, but they could not find any place
to hide.  I saw dead people --- important
and unimportant.  They were standing
in front of the throne.  Books were opened.
And another book  -- the Book of Life --
was opened.  The dead were judged from 
the things which had been written in the
books, according to the way they had lived.
The ocean yielded the dead people who 
were in it.  Death and Hades yielded the
dead people who were in them.  Each 
person was judged by the way he had
lived.  Death and Hades were thrown
into the lake of fire.  (The second death
is the same thing as the lake of fire.) If
someone's name was not found in the 
Book of Life, he was thrown into the lake
of fire."

Fact No. 4

"but God's gift is eternal life in Christ Jesus,
our Lord."

Fact No. 5

"God loved the people of the world so much
that He gave up His only Son.  Every person
who commits himself to Jesus will not be 
destroyed.  Instead, that person will have
eternal life."

Fact No. 6.

"While we were still helpless and ungodly,
Christ died for us -- at exactly the right 
time.  It is rare when someone dies for another
person -- even for a good person.  However, 
some do dare to die for a good man.  But God
reassures us of His love for us in this way.
While we were still sinners, Christ died for
us."

Fact No. 7

"Jesus said to him, 'I am the way the truth
and the life!  The only way anyone can come
to the Father is through me!"

Fact No. 8

"If you confess with your mouth that 'Jesus
is Lord' and if you believe in your heart that
God raised Jesus from death, you will be saved.
To become right with God a person believes
with his heart.  Declaring it openly, that person
comes into salvation."

(Quotations taken from the Bible.)

WELL!

What are going to do about it?

TODAY'S QUOTE

“A half hour with God, limited to doing 

his will in His way, is worth more than

a million years doing the best in our

own self and energy.  All fleshly effort

will be tuned to ash and will not make

It into eternity.”

K.P. Yohannan

The Road to Reality

p.191

READ THE BOOK

After reading and studying the Bible many years
I have learned that there is a lot of misinformation
about it.  Even a large number of honest, truthful
people hold some wrong teachings about it.

The problem seems to be not the person, preacher
or teacher.  But the fact that they took somebody
else's word for something without checking it out.

READ THE BIBLE FOR YOURSELF. 

The Apostle Paul mentions such people when
he said;

"For some men, straying from these things,

have turned aside to fruitless discussion, 

wanting to be teachers of the Law, even though

they do not understand either what they are

saying or the matters about which they make

confident assertions."

(1Timothy 1:6,7 NASB)

Jesus Christ said it a different way;

"Let them alone; they are blind guides of the

blind.  And if a blind man guides a blind man,

both will fall into a pit."  

(Matthew 15:14 NASB)

READ THE BIBLE FOR YOURSELF.

If you will read the Bible for yourself you will not 

need to read all those other books about the Bible.

But you will have the straight truth for yourself.

Just a personal suggestion.

If possible use a version that uses the same

language that you do.  There is nothing especially

Holy about reading the Bible in some quaint odd

language that no one uses anymore.

I would further suggest that you do not read 

it in a hurry.  But take it slow and easy.  Let

it talk to you.   Ask God to reveal the things 

to you that He wants you to see and understand.