Write What You Know, If You Dare

Write what you know. How often have you heard that? How often has it frustrated you?

"I can't write about a black man unless I'm black."

"I can't write about a woman unless I'm a woman."

"I can't write about flying an airplane unless I'm a pilot."

"I can't write about a gay man or a lesbian because I'm not one."

"I can't write about an historic incident until I research it fully and completely."

How much research do you think Leonardo da Vinci did before he painted The Last Supper? Of course he knew the story, from the Bible.

But there are no physical descriptions of that scene or those individuals anywhere in any credible book.

Da Vinci knew The Last Supper. He knew it as well as if not better than any biblical source written decades after the fact. He knew it in his heart. Not in his head, which would have cautioned him against attempting anything so out of his experience, but in his heart. He had lived the emotions he represented and those emotions are the only truth in that masterful painting.

So you've never experienced the discrimination a black woman or gay man might have felt? Have you ever been attacked for who you are? Have you ever been denied what you believed was rightfully yours? Have you ever felt your personhood and humanity under attack?

No? Think back to your childhood. Think back to the emotions of childhood, to the bullies in the schoolyard, to the adults who criticized you.

Do more than think back. Relive and re-experience those emotions. You have lived some of those same emotions you feel you dare not describe in someone else.

Accept the dare. Step up to the challenge. You owe it to yourself to at least try. For if any character -- however far removed from your life and lifestyle --comes to you and demands that his or her story be told through you, then you can only trust that all you need lies within you.

Of course, research may be required. Remember, though, that unless you are writing a dry recitation of history, it's the emotions that will touch your readers, that will affect them, that will move them to deeper places within themselves. And we all -- whether we're black, white, green or purple -- draw from the same pool of emotions.

If you can give yourself permission to tap into that pool within you, you will always write what you know. For all you need to know lies within you.

Now. At this moment.

Write what you know -- what you know in your deepest heart. Write your fire. Write your truth.

The only knowledge that's unique to you is the knowledge of your heart, the wisdom of your soul, the force of your passion. Write from those places that no one else can and you will touch readers in ways that no one else can.

Go ahead and write what you know...if you dare.

Mark David Gerson has taught writing as a creative and spiritual pursuit for more than 15 years in the U.S. and Canada. Author of the The Voice of the Muse: Answering the Call to Write (from which this article is adapted) and the award-winning novel, The MoonQuest: A True Fantasy, Mark David has also created The Voice of the Muse Companion, a 2-CD set of guided meditations for writers. For more information on Mark David or to subscribe to his free newsletter, visit http://markdavidgerson.com For additional writing tools, tips and inspiration, visit his blog: http://thevoiceofyourmuse.com

(c) Copyright - Mark David Gerson. All Rights Reserved.

Let's Restore the Word of Christ

"What? Trying to spread the gospel message without quoting from the New Testament? Impossible!" That may be your first reaction, but just think about it. Scholars tell us that the first New Testament book, either Galatians or First Thessalonians, was written in about 50 CE, nearly 20 years after that glorious Pentecost when Christ crucified was first proclaimed as the only possible remedy for sinners. The last New Testament books, probably the letters of John or Revelation, were likely written in the 90s, close to three generations after the Resurrection.
The New Testament as a unit was probably unavailable until the mid-second century. And yet Christianity experienced some of its most dynamic growth during this period when its Bible consisted only of the Old Testament.

How did those earliest Christians do it? The Book of Acts is clear: The apostles said, "We cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard" (4:20). It wasn't long before they were told, "you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching" (5:28). The early Christians "preached the word wherever they went" (8:4). They "turned the world upside down" (Acts 17:6 ASV). They were convinced that "faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ" (Rom. 10:17).

What is this "word of Christ"? At the time Paul wrote Romans it could not have been the written Word, because such did not exist. It had to be the spoken Word, translated to each human heart through the life-experience of a living, breathing Christian.

It is this oral Word of God that we must restore to modern Christianity. Not that we should throw away our New Testaments--far from it! Let's read more and feed more. But let's also seed more and lead more. Speaking for Jesus in our world, to our FRAN (Friends, Relatives, Acquaintances, and Neighbors) is the key to a revival of dynamic evangelism. Let's commit ourselves to sow continually; that God may bless abundantly; and then let's reap unceasingly.

* * *

Copyright 2006 Steve Singleton

Steve Singleton has written and edited several books and numerous articles. He has been an editor, reporter, and public relations consultant. He has taught college-level Greek, Bible, and religious studies courses and has taught seminars in 11 states and the Caribbean

Go to his DeeperStudy.com for Bible study resources, no matter what your level of expertise. Explore "The Shallows," plumb "The Depths," or use the well-organized "Study Links" for original sources in English translation. Check out the DeeperStudy Bookstore for great e-books, free books, and great discounts. Subscribe to his free "DeeperStudy Newsletter" or "DeeperStudy Blog"

Obeying God and Hearing His Voice

A friend of mine told me he once asked a godly lady how she became so powerful with God. She replied, "Have you ever been in a restaurant or some other public place and felt God leading you to go talk to some stranger there?" He said yes. She asked, "Did you do it?"

He was silent as he thought of opportunities missed. She said, "Well, there you have it."

The life of a disciple is lived with regular knots in the pit of your stomach. Perhaps there are some great disciples out there who are never in fear that what they think is the voice of God inside is really just some inner impulse that will lead them to great embarrassment. I don't know any disciples like that, though. The great disciples I know set the fear aside, live with the knot in the pit of their stomach, and risk embarrassment.

These disciples talk to people, including strangers, that they feel led to talk to. They say that strange thing that they feel God leading them to say. They do that unusual thing that they feel God leading them to do.

I remember one night in Germany feeling led to talk to a man I was walking past on the sidewalk. I didn't know what to say, but I remembered years earlier that an evangelist (Danny Duvall) had said thatstraightforward is best. Just tell them that you want to talk to them about Jesus.

So I stopped this man with the question, in German, "Do you know Jesus?" His answer was amazing. "How could I possibly know Jesus? He's been dead for two thousand years."

I had one of the most interesting talks I've ever had with that man. I don't know what impact it had on him, but it led to one of the more interesting nights of my life. He invited me to talk to him more at the bar he was walking to. I went home to tell my wife I was taking him up on the invitation, and then I went to the bar.

When I got there, the German man wasn't there, but an old friend from the military was. I got to spend an hour talking to him about life and about the Lord. After that hour, another man came in talking about God. Yes, talking about God in a bar. He was very strange, and he had strange ideas about God. I talked to him until he let down and began talking a lot more reasonably, and he began admitting he knew he needed to give his life to God. It was a very, very unusual conversation.

Amazingly enough, it didn't end there. The owner of the local "house of ill repute" (that was legal in Germany then, and it may still be) came in. The bartender refused to serve him and said he always came in to start fights with Americans. I asked him in German why he hated Americans, and he was surprised I spoke German. He said he was still mad about world war II, even though he had to have been a child during the war. I was able to preach the Gospel even to him, though he was very resistant to it.

Afterwards, I drove the strange man that had talked about God to his room on base. The military had sent him over for just one week, and so I never saw him again, but I know our conversation made an impact on his life. He had been drinking a bit in the bar, even though I hadn't been, and he really opened up on the way to his room.

I've missed my share of opportunities by not listening to that quiet inner voice, but I didn't miss that one. It's been more than twenty years since that happened, but the stories from that night still inspire me and others not to let God's whisperings go by unheeded.

Make your own memories. You can't be a disciple without regularly feeling the gnawing fear that comes when God asks you to do something outside your comfort zone. The choice between obeying your fear and obeying God can be the one difference between being a great man or woman of Godand being just another person who left no impact on this world.

The Rest of the Old, Old Story: honest and historic Christianity. Is your faith working? Is it transforming you and those around you? Get in the mainstream of God's power by walking in the footsteps of the most powerful churches in history

Also see Paul Pavao's blog on Radical Christianity

In the Eyes of the Future

What do you see in the eyes of the elderly? Do you see the past, the future, or nothing important? Do you see the pain of a long and hard life, or do you see a loved one in pain of living too long?Do you see hope in those eyes of love, or confusion? Do you see someone asking for help, when years earlier they asked no one?
Do you see weakness, when once there was strength? Do you see sadness, when once there was joy? Do you see yourself in years to come?

As a child at school, I once told a friend, as we looked down the road; Our future is down there, we couldn't see it yesterday, but now its clear, and I'm afraid. John 21:18 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not.

There are many that ridicule the word of God and those that deliver it. They only look at the physical view and not into the intent of the message. We cannot ignore what God has given us, our birth, life, old age and yes even our death. For death into life is His promise. We see, sometimes only the beginning and the end, but we forget all that is and what will be. For Jesus said; Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
That is the same with us, we must all die so that life can be renewed.

Death comes to all, but in the mean time, do we ignore the helplessness of our elderly? Can we look into those eyes of yearning and say; No more. Can we see them suffer and wonder alone and say; Your time is over and now its my time? Can we forget all that they have sacrificed for us, all the pain, suffering, work, care and especially, forsaking all their pleasure and comfort for our sakes?

How hard hearted can a generation be, how can they overlook the tears and whimpers of their mothers and fathers?

Think of it this way, You say that you believe in God and Jesus, thats great, but what if they overlooked all the tears of loneliness, and feelings of brokenness that you feel? The worst thing that you can experience, is a broken heart, and I've seen many elderly with broken hearts. Hearts torn apart because they feel that their own children have left them and no longer care. That they no longer matter or are of any use.

I know this feeling and without God and my family, I would have been a man most miserable. My heart breaks when I see these people. We reach out to them, taking care of them, as they have taken care of us. All children of God have a mother and father, even when their own are gone to meet Jesus. Every nursing home is full of mothers and fathers, waiting for a kind word, a hug, a kiss, a card or letter from someone, that will show them love.

The cries to the Father are many in these days of age; Psa 71:9, Cast me not off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength faileth.

Cast me not off in the time of old age. Each Christian should learn this verse and keep it to heart. For if Christ doesn't come before your time of age occurs we will all call upon the Lord for lost love and compassion, for strength to see, hear and understand.

The greatest promise for all of us is that Jesus will never leave us nor forsake us. He may not give us back our sight, our strength, our hearing but He will give us hope in these latter years.

Isa 46:4 And even to your old age I am he; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you.

Isa 41:4 Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am he. From the beginning to the last generation, God is there.

He never changes as generations do, as children do and as attitudes do. Is there something that you must change in these last days, is there something that is missing from your life, have you forsaken those that have, and still do, love you no matter what? Are those eyes that you look into, show you your future? ars.

Psa 71:9 -
Cast: Psa_71:18, Psa_92:13-15; Isa_46:4; 2Ti_1:12, 2Ti_4:18 Isa 46:4 -
even to your: Isa_41:4, Isa_43:13, Isa_43:25; Psa_92:14, Psa_102:26, Psa_102:27; Mal_2:16, Mal_3:6; Rom_11:29; Heb_1:12, Heb_13:8; Jam_1:17
even to hoar: Psa_48:14, Psa_71:18

Temple of Spirit & Truth Ministries
A.R. Smith Ministries
http://www.ourchurch.com/member/a/arsmithsermons/

The Cry

"I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD. Blessed is that man that maketh the LORD his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies."-Psalm 40:1-4
April 4, 1968 shots rang onto a balcony in Memphis, Tennessee.

A voice cried out to God before a nation of people preaching the message of love and unity.

A voice that the enemies of God mocked, a voice that even his own people rejected a voice that was silenced by men but a cry that came before God was heard.

Those shots may have rang but a man that had seen the mountain top, a man that had a dream, a man that if he had of sneezed he wouldn't have been there to see blacks and whites go to school together, the man whose cry was heard.
Took his last breath and according to Jesse Jackson Dr. Martin Luther King. Jr.'s last words were to musician Ben Branch he said in the meeting tonight make sure you play precious Lord take my hand.

Today, in the midst of Christian persecution, in the midst of the sanctity of marriage between a male and a female being destroyed, in a time where fornication is normal, abortion acceptable, and killing one another is expected. I cry out to God for a nation of believers precious Lord take my hand.

"Unto thee will I cry, O LORD my rock; be not silent to me: lest, if thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit. Hear the voice of my supplications, when I cry unto thee, when I lift up my hands toward thy holy oracle. Draw me not away with the wicked, and with the workers of iniquity, which speak peace to their neighbors, but mischief is in their hearts. Give them according to their deeds, and according to the wickedness of their endeavors: give them after the work of their hands; render to them their desert. Because they regard not the works of the LORD, nor the operation of his hands, he shall destroy them, and not build them up. Blessed be the LORD, because he hath heard the voice of my supplications. The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him. The LORD is their strength, and he is the saving strength of his anointed. Save thy people, and bless thine inheritance: feed them also, and lift them up for ever."-Psalms 28

1500 the birth of a new nation would begin as men were hunted like animals and sold like cattle. Men, women and children who were once from many different tribes and lands formed a new nation of people that would become known as Negro, colored, African American, or Black.

Through much persecution this nation of people would travel through the middle passage across the Atlantic Ocean 15% would die on the voyage. Sleeping in casket size man holes, chained to one another hand and foot, while the stench of blood and death filled their nose as they only could dream that God will hear their prayers and act.
An estimated 4 million would die on the journey so today the world may know the power of God to take people who were once considered 3/5 of a human being and use them to preach his word.

People such as Isabella Baumfree who had five owners and would eventually run away to her freedom and tell a nation of people Ain't I a woman.

She would go on to fight for abolitionist rights, and women's equality, she would preach the word wherever she could, she had to abandon her four children but she cried out for the freedom of a nation saying Ain't I a woman.
Isabella Baumfree would soon have her freedom bought for $20.00 and would change her name to Sojourner Truth and would soon tell the world "The Spirit Calls me and I must go."

I get on my knees just as Christ did in the garden of Gethsemane and cry until blood sweats from my veins because a nation of non believers distance themselves from God and a nation of believers are to cowardice to tell the world they need a savior. But I seek a day when we can follow our savior who said he is the way, truth, and the life. I seek him because I know the Spirit calls me and I must go and not only me but you also.

Today in the midst of a time were children are no longer a responsibility but are safe surrendered. In a time when social acceptance is more important than education. In a time when we are being told that all men evolved from monkeys and billboards are going up across the world saying there probably is no god so stop worrying I get on my knees with revival in mind.

Today is the day where we become the bride of Christ and not just people who say they believe. Today is the day when we are Christ mouthpiece and not just the silent majority. Today is the day where the church stands up and represents the truth and all those who are oppose to the vision let God do the separating. Tradition must die and the Spirit of Christ must live. For I know that the old nature died on the cross and he resurrected a new man. I look to the hills from whence cometh my help and I see my redemption draweth nigh.

Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast. I will cry unto God most high; unto God that performeth all things for me. He shall send from heaven, and save me from the reproach of him that would swallow me up. Selah. God shall send forth his mercy and his truth. My soul is among lions: and I lie even among them that are set on fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword. Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; let thy glory be above all the earth.-Psalms 57:1-5

September 1957 nine black children were blocked from entering a school in Little Rock, Arkansas because men refused to believe that we are all created in the image of the most high God. On September 12, 1957 the council of church women called for a citywide prayer service and people gathered before the throne of the most high God and began to cry.

"Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer. From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy. I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever: I will trust in the covert of thy wings. Selah."-Psalm 61:1-4
God heard the cries of those women because on September 24, 1957 President Eisenhower ordered the 101st Airborne Division of the United States Army to not sneak the children in the school but march them right through the front door. The guards would remain there the entire school year because God heard a cry.

Today in the midst of chaos when the world has turned its back on God. When prisons are the only answer for an incorrigible individuals. When children disobey parents and are becoming mothers and fathers as young as 12. When the stench of filth pours through movies such as Brokeback Mountain and the Davinci Code. When men claim to be Jesus Christ and lead a whole army of people to commit suicide in his name. I don't fret over evil doers I simply pray.
I pray for the coming of the Lord. I pray for the coming of Jesus Christ. I pray for the hope of this world. America is guilty before an almighty God and our president says change must come but I say the change is not in economics, foreign policy, war strategies, or healthcare. The change is not in blacks being allowed to control the white house. The change is in you because the change is repentance and returning back to the ways of the Lord. As M.C. Hammer would say we got to pray just to make it today.

"The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry. The face of the LORD is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles. The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all."-Psalm 34:15-19

Today we must cry for a nation who has considered the wages of sin as their only option. We must cry for a nation that calls evil good. We must cry for a nation whose leaders seek to please satan and have no intention on following the pathways of God. We must pray for a president who considers compromising the gospel in order to satisfy a nation that believes in many gods. We must pray for our preachers who have left God for money. We must pray for our church that refuses to offend a brother or sister but accommodates their sin. What kind of nation and people have we become before God? Does anyone take the bible seriously anymore? Does anybody consider that the bible is more than just words but it is the word of God given to men? We must pray for men and women who preach the word of God to make a name for themselves. Where are the people that worship Christ? Where are the people who stand in fear before an Almighty God? Where are the true believers?

"And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellow servants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled."-Revelation 6:9-11

The Great Invitation is a collection of poetry that will inspire your soul. The desire mankind has is to live forever in peace, perfect health, and comfort. Fortunately God has extended his invitation of eternal life to all of mankind. It is our job to accept this gift and pass on the word to a friend. This book is available for purchase as a paperback and an e-book at http://sites.google.com/site/thegreatinvitation/ and I can be contacted by e-mail at servantjones4310@hotmail.com

Christians Need To Watch This Video

Jesus Elected President of The World!

Fox news said it a year or so ago: Jesus Christ to be honorary King of Poland.

So what do you think about that? Has Poland as a nation come to Christ? Is there a wave of revival sweeping the land? Is it proper to lift up Jesus to celebrity status in a nation? If Poland were your nation, would you be sad or happy right now?

Strange. America used to think of itself as a Christian nation. Has there ever been a movement toward making Jesus King here? Would Jesus Himself approve? What would it mean to be honorary King? A bit like the royal set-up in England? Good to have around, but not really calling the shots?

One major group opposes the move: Are you ready? The Roman Catholic system felt that the state should not get mixed up with religion and ought to stick to making secular laws.

Indeed. And if Christ is already Lord of Poland, how could that group assert itself as the spiritual leader of that land? As for not wanting to mix church and state, I think that has been Rome's way since Constantine. I suggest she only opposes it now because the State seems to be getting away from her grasp.

Jesus the King of Poland. I must say I was a bit delighted about it all. But why stop there? God does not. There was an election held in Heaven several thousand years back, and His Son was voted in as Presider over the entire world. He won by only one Vote, but that was the only Vote cast.

We hope that soon He will come to take His place. We are in such sad shape. May your holiday thoughts turn to the One born to be Wonderful Counselor, Prince of Peace, Everlasting Father, Mighty God... and President of the World.

http://chosunhouse.com is a website I put together a few months back to get the word out to believers that they need to pray for North Korea. I have created over 200 blogs and the site features a live news feed, lists of resources, picture essays, and ways to respond to the overwhelming need in North Korea. Let's love Chosun together! Contact me any time at diakonos5@yahoo.com

And who am I? A man found of God over 50 years ago, called to the ministry, serving the Lord as needed in my world. Married, member of a local church in the Chicago area, with full time work in public education. I love to write Scriptural works. Who are you? Would love to fellowship with believers who respond.

The Sabbath and Jesus

In a detailed study of the Sabbath, one cannot but study the words and actions of the Son of God. Our faith teaches us that Jesus, Who is God, instituted the Sabbath. Surely His attitude toward it matters. In the first three Gospels is told the story of how the disciples of Jesus satisfied their hunger one Sabbath:

Matthew 12:1-8, Mark 2:23-28, Luke 6:1-5 [using the Matthew account]. "At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. And His disciples were hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath. Then He said to them, Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: how he entered the house of God and ate the showbread which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are blameless? But I say to you that in this place there is One greater than the temple. But if you had known what this means, I desire mercy and not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath."

a. Here Jesus does not abolish the Sabbath, but attempts to abolish wrong thinking about it. He lets His people know that there are good reasons for not keeping the letter of the law, and that God is interested in the heart of man, and his motivations for doing things. He does much the same thing in the sermon on the mount for other commands of God. It is not only murder, but the hatred that brings the murder, that is against the law. It is not only the adultery, but the lust that leads to the adultery that is expressly forbidden of God. Here, it is not the slavish obedience to a Day, but a desire to honor the Lord, that is most concerning Jesus.

But having said all that, the law still stands. Murder, adultery, Sabbath-breaking are three ways to be outside the will of God.

b. Instead of hinting that the Sabbath is about to fade away, He declares that He is Lord over it!

c. In the Mark account of the same story, Jesus makes another startling statement:

Mark 2:27. "And He said to them, The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath."

a. That throws an entirely different light on things. So far we have seen a holy God demanding a holy day. Now we understand that all of that demanding is because He wants to give us- and not just the Jews, but all mankind!- a gift. A day lived in holiness before God with the saints of God can only bring a man greater appreciation of God and love for life. It is not meant to be a chore, this Sabbath-keeping, but a piece of Heaven on earth!

b. Jesus suggests here that common sense and mercy combined are more important than ritual observances. The Pharisees would deny the disciples a meal in the name of keeping the Sabbath! They would deny David a piece of bread because it was holy! They would accuse priests, whose very job is to be active on the Sabbath, of Sabbath-breaking! Jesus says that He makes rules for people, not against them.

c. Man came before the Sabbath, or Israel, came. Jesus came before all. Man, Sabbath, the people of God, all are important. But Jesus is more important than all.

The next encounter Jesus has on a Sabbath is likewise recorded in the Synoptic Gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke. It is the story of the man whose withered hand was healed on that day.

Matthew 12:9-12, Mark 3:2-6, Luke 6:6-11 [using the Matthew account]. "Now when He...went into their synagogues... there was a man who had a withered hand. And they asked Him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath? that they might accuse Him. Then he said to them, What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out? Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep? Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath."

Mark adds the counter-question of Jesus: "... Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?" and that Jesus was "grieved by the hardness of their hearts." He also notes how Jesus' life was suddenly at risk because of His Sabbath interpretation.

Slowly, slowly, Jesus' full picture of Sabbath emerges. Once more the heart is unveiled, and the Spirit of Christ is set up before the evil hearts of men. But far from abolishing the Sabbath command, Jesus shares with His people the heart of the command. Their violent reaction to His teaching shows us that these men had caught the letter of the law which kills; Jesus was showing them what the law was for.

It is fair to add here as we trek with Jesus through the many Sabbath upheavals of His ministry, that Jesus lived and died a Jew. The followers surrounding Him are Jewish. The Old Covenant will not officially die until Jesus is nailed to His cross. Let no one feel at this stage of the report that my readers, especially Gentiles, are being led to an unavoidable conclusion. Nevertheless, the facts of the case so far do point to a very holy day having been in existence for over 4,000 years, being observed by God's special people every week, and that that day is not the first day of the week, but the seventh.

Let us keep examining Jesus' life and work, and see if there is even a clue that something ought to be changing in this custom.

http://chosunhouse.com is a website I put together a few months back to get the word out to believers that they need to pray for North Korea. Just about every day I'm writing a blog featuring some news, a book, or a story of North Korea. There's a live news feed on the site, lists of resources, picture essays, and ways to respond to the overwhelming need in North Korea. Let's love Chosun together!

And who am I? A man found of God over 50 years ago, called to the ministry, serving the Lord as needed in my world. Married, member of a local church in the Chicago area, with full time work in public education. Who are you? Would love to fellowship with believers who respond on my site.

For North Korea - Think Not of Death!

In the North Korea of not too many years ago, and perhaps yet today, that nation was training up to 140 suicide bomber pilots "to plunge into key South Korean targets if war breaks out on the divided peninsula...the new unit appears to be fashioned after the Japanese kamikaze pilots of World war II." The quote is out of Thomas Belke's Juche.

Anyone reading who remembers the kamikaze of Japan's invading force? World War II? Pearl Harbor? I bring back a bitter memory not to suggest any ongoing hostility in Japan, but to paint a picture of commitment every Christian ought to know. These suicide warriors patterned their lives after the old samurai warrior spirit, embodied in these orders to 1940's Japanese military men:

"A sublime sense of self-sacrifice must guide you throughout life and death. Think not of death as you push through with every ounce of your effort, fulfilling your duties. Make it your joy to do everything with all your spiritual and physical strength. Fear not to die for the cause of everlasting justice. Do not stay alive in dishonor. Do not die in such a way as to leave a bad name behind you."

Must be hard to defeat an enemy like that. What if we, soldiers of Christ, were that kind of enemy? What if an army of believers would simply rise up and preach Christ in, say, North Korea, as the apostles did in the dangerous terrain of their time? They died. They were beaten. Imprisoned. Made to suffer loss. But somehow they considered that the norm. And the church arose and prospered and eventually won over the hearts of the known world.

What do we consider "the norm"? The cross? Or the Western way of life? Deeper into Christ should be our prayer daily, for our own spiritual good and the good of those who so need us.

http://chosunhouse.com is a website I put together a few months back to get the word out to believers that they need to pray for North Korea. Just about every day I'm writing a blog featuring some news, a book, or a story of North Korea. There's a live news feed on the site, lists of resources, picture essays, and ways to respond to the overwhelming need in North Korea. Let's love Chosun together!

And who am I? A man found of God over 50 years ago, called to the ministry, serving the Lord as needed in my world. Married, member of a local church in the Chicago area, with full time work in public education. Who are you? Would love to fellowship with believers who respond on my site.

The Deity of Jesus Christ - Peter and John

Peter and John were often in each other's company. They also shared the same ideas about their Saviour.

I Peter 1:10-11, The Spirit of the Prophets. Do I need to prove to my readers that it was Jahweh, the Covenant God of Israel, who sent and spoke through the prophets? No? Good. But there is a piece of information that we are not given until the Apostle Peter shares it with us in his letter; listen carefully: "Of (your) salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently...searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify..." But wait. There's more to the mystery. Peter continues (II Peter 1:21) "For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." Yahweh, Christ, Holy Ghost. One.

I John 5:7, Simply One. That's right, John, keep it simple for us. " For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one." With a statement like this, we want to say with the disciples, "Now speakest Thou plainly, and speakest no proverb..." (John 16:29) These three are one. Not to be understood. To be believed!

I John 5:20, True God. John, in typical zest for this topic, ends his first epistle thus:(5:20) "And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know Him that is true, and we are in Him that is true, even in His Son Jesus Christ. THIS is the true God, and eternal life." Jesus, the true one, is the true God.

Revelation 1:8, God of the visions. At the beginning of the feverish activity of this book, John sees one that he claims is like "the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and His eyes were as a flame of fire; and His feet like unto fine brass...and His voice as the sound of many waters." Later Jesus identifies Himself more clearly by stating, "I am He that liveth and was dead." (1:18)

But others in the line of prophets have seen similar men. They did not call them Jesus, but we always assumed they were God. For example, Daniel's "ancient of days." (Daniel 7:9) "...the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool..." Then there's Daniel's "certain man," found in 10:5-6 "...and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz; His body also was like the beryl, and His face as the appearance of lightning, and His eyes as lamps of fire, and His arms and His feet like in color to polished brass, and the voice of His words like the voice of a multitude."The same Divine Being .

Revelation 5:13, Equally Praised. You will notice a praise service going on. "And every creature which is in Heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. Same equation here. We can't stretch so far as to say that there are two separate entities here, both receiving these adulations. Neither can we deny the dual character of the One God. Marvelous mystery!

Revelation 22:13, Alpha and Omega . We can do no better than to end with these famous words from Jesus. Or are they from the Father? Even the "red-letter-makers" of my King James Bible get confused on this one! Clearly it is Jesus calling Himself "Alpha and Omega" in the first chapter of the book, verses 8 and 11. By the time we get to chapter 21, and the same words are spoken, the editor shies away from his red letters when he comes to verse 6. Here the context speaks of God, the God who shall "wipe away all tears", and "make all things new", and "give to him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely." This One says "I will be his God, and he shall be my son," to that same thirsty one. But no red letters! I ask you, Who is the "Alpha and Omega"? All you have to do to find out is go to chapter 22, where , in the brightest of red letters , in verse 13, following a verse that says "Behold I come quickly," is the statement, I am Alpha and Omega..."

The inconsistency is understandable, but hardly justifiable. This God of the New Jerusalem is none other than Jesus Himself! And if every word that was ever spoken by this God known as Jesus were to be colored red, would not the entire set of Holy Scriptures have to be of this hue? The Book is "God-breathed", is it not? To be God-breathed means to be Jesus-breathed. I think you've probably got the point by now!

Jesus is God.

http://chosunhouse.com is a website I put together a few months back to get the word out to believers that they need to pray for North Korea. I have created over 200 blogs and the site features a live news feed, lists of resources, picture essays, and ways to respond to the overwhelming need in North Korea. Let's love Chosen together! Contact me any time at diakonos5@yahoo.com

And who am I? A man found of God over 50 years ago, called to the ministry, serving the Lord as needed in my world. Married, member of a local church in the Chicago area, with full time work in public education. I love to write Scriptural works. Who are you? Would love to fellowship with believers who respond.

How Imminent Is The Return Of Christ?

The doctrine of Imminence is one that is sworn by these days. Suggest that you don't quite believe in it and you're out!

"Jesus could come at any time, today, this hour." That's the watchword of believers in this teaching. I know what the people who say this mean, but we must take objection to that statement as it stands. For, Heaven has a day circled on the Heavenly Calendar when Jesus must come. [Acts

17:31, "(God) has appointed a day in which He will judge the world by the Man Whom He

has ordained."]

That is to say, God knows when Jesus is coming. It is not a random day. It is clearly and definitely scheduled. Jesus cannot come at just "any" time, but only on the day He has appointed. The problem is not that there is uncertainty in Heaven, but that we are uncertain. The question then is, just how far is that uncertainty to extend?

When the disciples asked Jesus, "What shall be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?" (Matthew 24:3) why did Jesus even suggest a time frame? Why did He answer such a thing at all, if we are not to know something ? Why not say, as we hear commonly today, "Don't worry about it! It will all pan out. I'll come when I come."

That was not His approach. Jesus for all time laid out a clear description of a particular generation, a season, when He will come, so that those believers living in that generation will know it is time! All others of all time, not totally certain of what He was saying, since the time was not ready, have been commanded to watch, and be ready. Of course, the coming of Jesus at a man's death is reason enough for any person, any time, to be on guard against foolish behavior.

The importance of knowing a particular season is confirmed by our dear brother, the apostle Paul, in I Thessalonians 5. First he says to the ungodly (verse 2) that Jesus is coming as "a thief in the night." This is the concept that has been passed on to godly people as their own norm

for looking for Jesus to come! But moving even one more verse leads us to : "For when they say, 'Peace and Safety' then comes sudden destruction upon them..."Who are they and them? The world! The unbelievers! Verse 4 insists, "You are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief!"

That means we can and should know the general time of His coming, especially if we are living in the last generation. That generation is described further by Paul in II Thessalonians 2:3. In words that could not be more clear, Paul demands that that Day will not come unless there is a noticeable world-wide apostasy and the revealing of the man of sin .

Oh my! Jesus could come at any moment? Yes, in death. Yes, theoretically to those who walk in darkness and have not read the words of the apostles. But in fact? No! He must come when Paul says He must come, and that is after the great apostasy, and after antichrist.

The man or woman who is seeking God with all the heart about the coming of Jesus will see the plan unfold clearly and will indeed be watching when He comes. The ungodly "carnal" Christian, if there be such a thing, will be loudly proclaiming His love for a Jesus who might come just any time, and for him the coming will be a surprise, for that person has never dug deeply into God's Word to find the truth. I am saying that more light is

revealed to those who seek, and those who do not seek will be still in darkness and fulfill their own prophecies about how "we can never really know."

The only information that has been denied to us is the very day on the calendar and the very hour on the clock when Jesus will come. Let us be diligent though to comprehend with all the saints what are the times and seasons God has revealed to us.

http://chosunhouse.com is a website I put together a few months back to get the word out to believers that they need to pray for North Korea. Just about every day I'm writing a blog featuring some news, a book, or a story of North Korea. There's a live news feed on the site, lists of resources, picture essays, and ways to respond to the overwhelming need in North Korea. Let's love Chosun together!

And who am I? A man found of God over 50 years ago, called to the ministry, serving the Lord as needed in my world. Married, member of a local church in the Chicago area, with full time work in public education. Who are you? Would love to fellowship with believers who respond on my site.

Daring to Study The Sabbath

The Sabbath. Is it for me?

It is good to be free. I highly recommend it for all God's people. Free from sin. Free in conscience. Free from a denominational stance that demands a "proper" explanation of all things Scriptural. Though I serve one local church and attend another , I am not bound by either of those groups to pursue any man's agenda. I am free.

It is especially helpful to be un-attached in regards to the subject at hand. When one begins speaking of the Sabbath it is assumed that the speaker is headed to the Seventh-Day Adventists, or some cult. In less generous days, Mother Church would have sniffed out this heretic as a Judaizer, one bowing to the ways of Judaism and thus fit for severest of persecution. At the very least, a sincere seeker along this trail will be branded as a legalist for whom Christ's death is meaningless, since he is now seeking to place himself squarely under the law that cursed him.

May I quickly rid myself of these accusations and fears that may be in the minds of my readers. Those who know of my aversion to female leadership, something I picked up from a fellow from Tarsus, will be assured that I am not about to join a group which is in slavish servitude to the teachings of a self-styled prophetess, as the one who founded the Adventists. As to other groups, they may exist in Chicagoland, but I have never contacted them or been contacted by them. The Jews do enter favorably into this discussion, because Messianic, that is, Jesus-believing, Jews, do tend to stay with their own and keep the Sabbath as revealed in Scripture. But never have any of them suggested to me that Gentiles must join them in this practice. As to questions of the law, it will be my purpose in this study to deal carefully with that very matter.

No, this is a sincere desire of a still-growing believer to be and have all God is and has for His own. I have noted some inconsistencies in Christian teaching and practice when it comes to things we have considered "Jewish", and I have been forced to grapple with these issues, as one who feels called to teach the people of God the whole counsel of God. It seems to me that what the Hebrew calls a "repose" a "desisting from exertion", an "intermission" weekly for God's people must be a valuable gift, if indeed it still exists for us. If it is for me, I want it!

An examination of this sort should fall broadly into four categories, three basic questions. I trust that I will be able to keep the attitude of a questioner throughout, yet at the same time affirming without question that which God has specifically stated through an apostle or prophet, that is, in His Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Covenant.

First then would be to search those Scriptures from beginning to end looking for clues as to God's meaning in giving a Sabbath. Next , what of the testimony of Church History for the first three centuries? After that, Sunday observance was codified into Church Law, so I would examne those laws from Roman Catholic sources. Finally, and I believe most importantly,it is necessary to discover the present status of the law of God.

For, as one does research on this matter, it becomes clear early on that Sabbath vs. Sunday is not the issue. In the minds of many godly believers the issue is rather law vs. grace. The observance of a Sabbath, Jewish as it is, seems to fly in the face of an unmerited salvation. After all, was not the law of God "nailed to His cross"? This is the thorniest issue of all, and demands a close look at Scriptural principles.

May God answer these questions and give us grace to abide by His answers.

http://chosunhouse.com is a website I put together a few months back to get the word out to believers that they need to pray for North Korea. For one year I wrote a blog featuring news, book reviews, or a story of North Korea. There's a live news feed on the site, lists of resources, picture essays, and ways to respond to the overwhelming need in North Korea. Let's love Chosun together!

And who am I? A man found of God over 50 years ago, called to the ministry, serving the Lord as needed in my world. Married, member of a local church in the Chicago area, with full time work in public education. Who are you? Would love to fellowship with believers who respond on my site.

The North Korean Martyr Who Was Killed Twice!

North Korea's church history is rich with accounts of martyrs. We know this is information that the church of Christ treasures, and we pass it on to you.

We're studying Korean Church History and have gotten to the war years, "II" and Korean. It was during this time that young Christian teacher Sung Du died twice.

When the Japanese ruled Korea in the early part of the 20th century, this novice yielded to pressure and began to worship at the shrines set up by the invaders. What a disappointment he became to himself and his peers. Not unlike our own falling away under the pressures of materialism... but that's another story.

Sung Du repented. "I will die before denying the faith again!" he promised. He was given that very opportunity. Twice. He accepted it both times. One canceled out his denial, and the other... We will allow God to offer His own praises on that day, but isn't it wonderful that a man like Peter, who denied 3 times, was permitted to accept 3 times (John 21)?

Sung Du went to seminary to prepare for the ministry. Ordination followed. His first assignment was a church near Suyang-Ch'on. The Japanese were gone. But the Koreans, under Communism, turned out to be worse. He was arrested and sent to a mine as a slave laborer, a practice which continues to this "enlightened" age of our own in dark Chosun.

Brother Sung believed that the first day of the week is the Lord's Day and that work should not be done then. He refused! He was therefore beaten. This is the Communist response to any number of ills. They beat him so badly that it seemed he was dead. Since he was "dead", they threw the "corpse" into the river. Watching church members dived in when the Communists went away, and pulled his body out .

They took him back to the village to prepare him for burial. But - and I know you are way ahead of me- he was not dead! (Sounds like a Dae Joyoung episode, only this one is true!).

Months later he was again preaching, almost as strong a testimony as raised Lazarus. But the Communists arrested him again. This time they shot him. They wanted to be sure.

Of course we know the rest of the story. Sung Du woke up once more, in the arms of His Saviour, and he waits there for the rest of us to die for Jesus and join him there. Are we willing to die, even once?

(Some of preceding ideas from Hefley's By Their Blood.)

Thank God for the Korean believers!

http://chosunhouse.com is a website I put together a few months back to get the word out to believers that they need to pray for North Korea. Just about every day I'm writing a blog featuring some news, a book, or a story of North Korea. There's a live news feed on the site, lists of resources, picture essays, and ways to respond to the overwhelming need in North Korea. Let's love Chosun together!

And who am I? A man found of God over 50 years ago, called to the ministry, serving the Lord as needed in my world. Married, member of a local church in the Chicago area, with full time work in public education. Who are you? Would love to fellowship with believers who respond on my site.