Huiothesis

Who Would Be a Father?

2011-09-24T22:37:00.002-04:00

Behold the stereotypical modern American father -- flabby body planted firmly in the LazyBoy, nose buried in the newspaper; the sum total of his communication with his family consisting of an occasional grunt without not so much as a glance away from the sports page, showing signs of life only during the Super Bowl and the World Series. Intellectually, he is unaware of all that goes on around him. culturally, he is a barbarian. Socially, he is a couch potato. Morally, he is comatose. Others are rearing his children, and his glad to have it so.

"My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments; for length of days, and long life, and peace shall they add to thee." Proverbs 3:1-2

The words of the wise man are strange to us for they picture a godly father who actually talks to his children. Furthermore, his conversation is not frivolous; but serious, profound, pholosophical, peaceful, and life-giving. This wise father talks with his children of laws, of commandments , which will give them length of days, and long life, and peace with God and man. The words of this wise father are health and strength and knowlege to his children. Seems so strange.

Samuel Miller writes: "The man who becomes, by any means, instrumental in guiding a single youth to knowledge, virtue, piety, and true happiness, is a rich public benefactor; for the training of evry such youth is a precious blessing conferred on is generation....Not only are his contemporaries rendered much his debtors; but future generations also will have reason to rise up and call him blessed."

Such words sound strange to us today, when the manly art of theological and philosophical discussion has all but vanished, when the patriarchal duty of tenderly and wisely counselling the younger generation has passed. Perhaps it is time that we set aside the newspaper, turn off the tube, and gather the family around the dining room table and see if we can revive the old tradition of family conversation. After a little bit of practice, we might even be able to give a bit of good advice.

"Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding. For I give you good doctrine, forsake ye not my law. For I was my father's son, tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother. He taught me also and said unto me, Let ting heart retain my words: keep my commandments, and live. Get wisdom and understanding; forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth. Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee. Wisdomis the principal thing; therfore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding. Exalt her and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honor, when thou dost embrace her. She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee. Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; and the years of thy life shall be many." Proverbs 4:1-10

I think these are the issues that differentiate between a father and a sperm donor. No answers out loud please, which are you?

Shall We Again Reverence the Word of God?

2011-09-24T12:26:00.000-04:00

I was reading tonight and was struck by a powerful moment in the Scriptural record- I hardly know what words to use to describe it. However, I have a deep rooted conviction that in the brief passage I read is the key to an earth shattering and a church shaking move of God. As I read the passage something physical happened to me. I did not fall down on the floor, nor go into a trance; I did not shake, but I might (and I emphasize might) have had a vision, a vision of a day I long to see in the Body of Christ and for a moment, it took my breath away:

(Nehemiah 8:1 ff) - And all the people gathered as one man at the square which was in front of the Water Gate, and they asked Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses which the Lord had given to Israel." A large multitude - a gathering of over 40,000 persons -- assembled at the square in front of the Water Gate, a site near the rebuilt temple, and asked Ezra to bring out "the book of the law of Moses." He stepped forward before the people with the Scriptures in hand, mounted a wooden platform, and unrolled the scroll. And as he did with reverential awe, the people instinctively stood to their feet.........................they recognized the divine authorship and sovereign authority. They knew that what they would be hearing was not the idea of a man, but the VERY WORD OF GOD.

I will not add further commentary here for it is not required. Those who have ears to hear will hear and those whose ears are filled with wax will continue in their apathy. But I will retire to my bed tonight with a profound vision in my mind; of a mighty nation of saints who stand in breathless awe before the Word of God......

A Message to Fathers

2011-09-24T12:24:00.001-04:00

A long time ago, there was a pernicious fellow named Arius who troubled the church. He taught that our Lord Jesus Christ was not the eternal God, the Second Person of the Trinity, but rather a created being, not of the same essence with the Father. Arius wrote, "The Unbegun made the Son a beginning of things originated; and advanced Him as a Son to Himself by adoption." Needless to say, the foul heresy, if accepted by the church, would have destroyed Christianity.

The Council of Nicea met in 325 A.D. to resolve the challenges put forth by Arius. Over 100 leaders of the church gathered; some were followers of the hertic Arius, others held to the orthodox doctrine. Arius and his disciples were eloquent in their defense of their blasphemies - so eloquent that some of those who believed the orthodox doctrine were intimidated into silence. Who would defend the deity of Christ?

A relatively young man, small of stature and great in faith and intellect, was in attendance. Athanasius by name. Technically, he attended as a scribe, not as a leader of the church. When others were silent, Athanasius arose and delivered a powerful, irrefutable defense of the orthodox doctrine. This great champion of the faith won the day, and the Nicene Creed proclaimed, "We believe in one God the Father Almighty, Maker of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the only begotten of the Father, that is, of the essence of the Father, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father."

During this tremendous challenge to the faith Athanasius virtually stood alone. Others believed as he did, but none fought as he fought. At one point, a friend said to him, "Athanasius, the world is against you." This warrior replied, "So be it. Then Athansius is against the world!" Athanasius contra mundum --Athanasius against the world.

Athanasius seems strange to us today because he believed in something. He believed in something, and believed it to the point of personal inconvenience. He almost single-handedly defended the orthodox doctrine at Nicene. He boldly challenged the ambivalent Emperor Constantine, who wanted Arius re-instated to the church. Athanasius was falsely accused of sabotage, witchcraft, graft, murder, was attacked in his church several times, and was banished from the realm on at least five separate occasions. Athanasius no doubt could have lived a quiet, peaceful, comforatble life, except for one little problem - he believed something.

Athanasius believed something, and thus was willing to defend that which he believed. Athanasius believed something, and thus there was no thought given to his own personal comfort when that which he believed came under attack. Athanasius believed something, and that something was the Truth of God, and thus he received the grace to stand against the world in defense of God's Truth. Athanasius believed something, and that made a difference.

The 21st Century, no less than the fourth, has heresies which would supplant the Truth of God. Idols which would receive the worship which is due to God alone; pagan philosophies which would deform and destroy the people of God. In the 4th century one man prepared himself to stand for God, and the purity of the church's doctrine was preserved. Today there are innumerable abominations which would seek to capture the minds of God's people. And who will arise to defend God's Truth? Perhaps we will not have our names written n the history books as did Athanasius, but every father can stand before his family as God's representative, and proclaim and defend God's Truth. Perhaps our efforts will not influence the entire church, as did Athanasius, but our efforts can bless and prosper our family.

Perhaps we will not turn back the forces of darkness from every corner of the world, but we can say, "In this my house, God's Truth will be established, and honored, and praised. The blasphemies of the world will not breech the sanctity of my home. When pagan philosophies of our age seek to capture my family, I will stand against them, and by the grace of God, defeat them, and destroy them.

Athanasius went to the Council of Nicea as a scribe, and a helper. He left as the Champion of God's Truth. He was prepared, and his preparation was rewarded. Every father has a little flock to guard, and nurture, and cherish. Fathers must be prepared, must study God's Truth, because the enemy will seek to snatch the lambs from the the little flock. Little lambs can't fight this fight; they need a shepherd, a guardian, a champion, a warrior to protect them. They need someone to stand, if need be, against the world. Father contra mundum -- Father against the world!

Hurrumph....

2011-08-03T14:06:00.000-04:00

He then, for the lack of an adequate word, fell silent; trusting that the stillness would avail more than the incessant chatter; praying that the quiet would allow reason to pierce through the insanity - and this all failing at least he would not be a contributor to the cacophony of those who find the sound of their own voice pleasure enough to not require truth.

Sometimes if I shut up...........I can hear God

2011-08-02T07:55:00.000-04:00

(Images in my spirit from Psalm 42 offered without commentary, outline or application. Just some vivid images the Lord impressed upon my spirit as I was driving home from out of town yesterday.

David, son of Jesse, sat in the depths of the Cave of Adullum, afraid even to light a small fire to take the chill from his bones, lest some small wisp of smoke should escape the mouth of the cave and alert Saul's men of his whereabouts. He is a man on the run; on the run from the fury of a man driven mad by his lust for power. Even though David has been anointed as the next king over Israel - he is more like an animal being hunted by the hunters.

David knows the wilderness in which he hides better than any man for it is in these same arid tracts that he tended his father's sheep as a boy. He knows every shade tree and every cave where one can escape the scorching heat. He knows every stream and every watering hole for he has depended on that knowledge to care for Jesse's flocks. Many starlit nights have been whiled away playing his lyre lying on a sheepskin bed, looking at the heavens and writing praise songs to Yaweh. He has stood for hours before a juniper tree practicing with his sling until he could knock out a knot with deadly accuracy. He has attacked the same bush over and over again with his staff pretenting it to be a bear or a lion - practice which stood him in good stead when the sheep were threatened by the real thing - and once again will sustain him before a mighty giant.

But now.................now he is a hunted man, running for his life and daring not to stop for too long in one place lest the hounds catch his scent and the horsemen run him down. For a few moments the darkness of the cave hides him and he can rest. But as he sits in the hollow of the earth, gasping for breath, despair leaps upon him, "God why have you forgotten me?"

He thinks, "If I were to die here in this forsaken place no one would know. Perhaps a shepherd boy might one day find my bones in this anonymous grave. I am utterly alone."

Suddenly in the mouth of the cave, at the pool fed by a spring he hears, a sound. There, silouhetted by the blazing sun outside is a hart - a mighty deer. He himself is fleeing the hunter and dares only to stop for a moment to quench his raging thirst. As heaving chest cries out for air and a parched gullet screams for water this powerful beast is a ruler in the wilderness, and yet he is hunted and must flee the arrow that would strike him down. For a moment, their eyes meet and then in a flash the powerful hooves carry the beast away and David is alone again.

In the eerire calm that remains, young David realizes that even though he is utterly alone, God knows where he is, for their is no place a man can run that God is not already there. He realizes that God has orchestrated his training in this very wilderness to prepare him for this very moment. Every night spent in the desert, every blistering day in the heat; the stench of the lion's breath in his face as he is locked in mortal combat and the rumble of the earth beneath the feet of the bear - every stone flying toward its woody target; all of these have forged a man of iron, a warrior of superlative skill; a king who must first learn to rule himself before he can lead a nation.

David rises to his feet and moves to the water pool at the mouth of the great cavern - unaware that he will shelter here again as he trains his mighty men that will serve valiantly with him in battle. He drinks deeply from the pool and as he does he lifts his eyes and upon on the hillside alert for danger stands the mighty hart as David whispers words of profound understanding, "As the deer pants for the waterbrook so my soul longeth after thee. My soul thirsts for God, the living God......" Then rising to his feet with renewed strength and invigorated spirit he strides out into the blazing furnace of his affliction, knowing that God is crafting him for another day.

From my Father's mouth to my spirit to your heart, may the Lord bless you.

Michael Gantt

A Book Review - Famine in the Land by Steven J. Lawson

2011-06-28T00:15:00.002-04:00

I have a friend who is a voracious reader, capable of dissecting a book in minutes, digging out all of the salient truths (or lack thereof) with laser precision. The wonderful part is the fact that he often does book reviews, so that those of us of slower wit can decide whether a book is worth reading, and where whatever pitfalls there might be may lie. I read quite a bit, but don't so often remember to recommend a great read or to warn people off of junk.

I recently read, "Famine in the Land" by Steven J. Lawson (subtitled: A Passionate Call for Expository Preaching,) and I don't want to be remiss by enjoying as I have such a passionate and scholarly work; a challenging book which has renewed my own passion for being faithful to the Word of God in my own teaching and preaching, without sharing it with others.

Steven J. Lawson is the founding pastor of Grace Fellowship Baptist Church in Mobile, Alabama. He is author of numerous books and commentaries, and serves as a guests lecturer in expository preaching at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, The Master's Seminary, and the Expositor's Institute at Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California.

In this small book, Lawson has packed a powerful outline of teaching into a very streamlined and well documented (structurally) format. He begins in his introduction with a quote from Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones: "The most urgent need in the Christian Church today is true preaching, and as it is the greatest need in the Church, it is the greatest need in the world also."

Lawson states his case in the first chapter with these words: "Influenced by corporate mergers, towering skyscrapers, and expanding economies, bigger is perceived as better, and nowhere is this "Wall Street" mentality more evident that in the church. Sad to say, pressure to produce bottom-line results has led many ministries to sacrifice the centrality of biblical preaching on the altar of man-centered pragmatism."

From this platform, Lawson launches into what truly lives up to his sub-title; a passionate call for expository preaching. He first defines it by way of J.I. Packer in "God Has Spoken:" The true idea of preaching is that the preacher should become a mouthpiece for his text, opening it up and applying it as a word from God to his hearers, talking only in order that the text itself may speak and be heard."

The outline of the book is powerful in its simplicity. After defining what expository preaching is he instructs us from the patterns provided by four different sources.

1. Feast or Famine?: The Priority of Biblical Preaching - in this section he shows that the early church established a paradigm for biblical preaching early on (modeling what they had seen in Jesus). The first inkling of church life is found in Acts 2:42 where the people steadfastly attended to the apostle's doctrine.

2. The Need of the Hour: The Power of Biblical Preaching - in this section Lawson does a careful analysis of the preaching of Jonah. It is a masterful analysis of the work of Jonah in that Assyrian City and the response of God to His own Word.

3. Bring the Book!: The Pattern of Biblical Preaching - Ezra is the focus of the third bit of analysis (and its also my favorite.) As Lawson, dramatic fashion, brings to life the ministry of the Word through Ezra from the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. This is powerful stuff, presented in a very clear format.

4. No Higher Calling: The Passion of Biblical Preaching - perhaps one of the most enthralling portions of Lawson's work is in this segment; for in it he examines the preaching ministry through the very clear instructions of Paul to young Timothy.

Throughout Famine in the Land, Steven J. Lawson also refers numerous times to the opinions of some of the great minds of church history; Luther, Moody, Spurgeon, Calvin, and many others.

I would recommend this book to anyone because it is interesting and valuable reading.
I highly recommend this book to any preacher or teacher because it will challenge you again to be faithful to the high calling of "preaching the Word."
I urgently recommend this book to young preachers who have not yet honed their skills, nor have discovered the "method" of preaching they consider to be their own. This book will be of immense help.

Michael K. Gantt
Brattlebor, VT
June 28, 2011

Precious Memories - June 18, 2011

2011-06-24T19:54:00.001-04:00

My mom died last week at the age of 81. She had been failing in health for some months, almost 2 years actually, but significantly in recent days. We had had a number of very direct conversations (you that know me can understand this), regarding her end of life wishes. She had been very clear that she did not, under any circumstances, want her length of life extended when the quality of life was gone. We had talked about a number of specific circumstances and had settled upon a very clear cut course of action - no extraordinary means were to be taken to extend her life. When her body was ready to die, I was not to allow anyone to interfere. I was clear and settled and ready to carry out her decisions.

On the 8th of June I received a 6:30 a.m. phone call informing me that my mother was suffering from "significant respriatory distress"; the doctor was on the way in and wanted me to meet him at the nursing home. I arrived within minutes to find that significant might have been an understatement. My mother was in severe respriatory distress and it was clear that she was dying.

Calling me aside, the Doctor and I discussed options. When he was done I said to him, "Make her comfortable and do not interfere in any other manner." I understood what that meant and was fully prepared to make that decision on my Mom's behalf. As we were talking I turned to look at my Mom and something powerful happened. Our eyes met and I could see that she knew she was dying and that I was going to do nothing to interfere. I was going to let her die. I am also aware that to not be able to breathe is one of the most terrifying circumstances a person can experience. When I looked into my Mom's eyes, she was looking directly at me and there was a look of terror that I am inadequate to describe. It was momentary, and then the medicines began to take effect and she was able to lie back and rest. Her breathing relaxed and as she did, the life began to slowly ebb out of her and within an hour, she was gone.

My Mom - Martha Joyce Gantt around 1936

However, for me - that terrified look that was in her eyes was frozen in my mind. It was like that instant we shared was seared into my consciousness and devastating beyond words. I spent nearly a week absolutely unable to close my eyes, because each time I did all I could see was my Mom struggling to breathe and knowing I would not intervene. Even though I knew I had made the right decision, the compassionate decision, the decision my Mom wanted - it was like a knife that pierced through every fiber of my being.

My family thought all week that I was "down" and "grief-stricken" because of my Mom's passing. I wasn't - I was horrified and guilt ridden because of that image that remained of those last moments. It was a like a moment frozen in time, that just wouldn't go away. I was so concerned as the day of her Memorial service approached that I would not be able to honor my mother properly because I would be devoured by that image - and I so wanted to present a service that would honor this great woman. I prayed, I cried out to God, "I cannot do this unless you help me not see that look of terror in her eyes."

Last night, my wife urged me up off of the couch to go out to the storage shed where much of my mom's "stuff" has been stored. We are going through that difficult time of sorting, separating; what should be given to who, what should be sold, what should be given away or thrown away." I didn't want to go, but I did any way. As we were getting readly to leave, I spied yet another photo album that I had not looked through that was filled with photos of one of the cousin's wedding. I remember thinking, I should just throw it away or mail it back to my cousin. I flipped through the empty pages in the back and a flash of color - sepia - caught my eye. To my amazement as I looked more slowly I found a tiny little photo that was obviously quite old. It was in fact a photo of my mother at around age 7 - as I looked closer I realized what a beautiful young girl she was and how much one of my granddaughters looks like her Nana. In an instant, the Lord gave me a precious image to replace that look of terror that was seared into my consciousness.

Today, I sought to honor my mother, by telling the truth. A lot who know her little realize the childhood she had, and the familly curses she overcame with the help of God to become the caring and nurturing mother and grandmother she was. She was a woman of intense inner beauty and strength of character and it was only made obvious by the telling of her story.

I am so grateful to God who in His tenderness said to me last night, "Here, son, is a picture to replace the one that has been haunting you all week. My gift to you." Thank you Father for your goodness to me - and to my Mom.

Lunch Box Faith

2011-06-21T00:10:00.000-04:00

Once, as Jesus was teaching a large number of people in the wilderness (it was recorded as 5,000 but since counts in that age would usually only be of the able bodied men, it was probably many, many more), His disciples realized that they were long past the time to eat and as the crowds had followed Jesus out from the towns and villages and had not brought victuals with them; it was time to stop teaching and send the people away to eat.

Instead of sending them away, Jesus used the opportunity to teach the disciples a very important lesson. He said to them simply, "You give them something to eat."

"What!" they cried, "We have nothing even for ourselves and the people are many, we do not have food to give them."

"What DO you have?" asked Jesus. He didn't want to know what they didn't have, but only what they actually had in their possession at the time.

Lesson #1 - you can't do ANYTHING with what you don't have. Yet, most of us are predominately consumed by what we DON'T have. We don't have enough money, we don't have enough resources; we don't have enough volunteers and on and on with what we DON'T have. Jesus piercing question was, "What DO you have?"

"We have only the lunch of a little boy (the only bright one in the bunch actually brought his lunch). He has two fish and five biscuits."

"Bring him to me," commanded Jesus. The little boy gladly offered his little morsels of food and Jesus took it from him and gave thanks for it.

Lesson #2 - Be thankful for what you DO have instead of complaining about what you DON'T have. We so often loose the joy of what is in our hand; we cannot see what is there because we are so concerned about what is not there. Jesus took what the little boy had instead of what the great big disciples didn't have and and He was thankful for it.

After He gave thanks, He instructed the disciples to begin to distribute the two fish and five biscuits to the 5000+ people. How silly they must have felt; and muttering under their breath they began to distribute the little lunch to the multitudes. How amazed they must have been when that little bit just continued. There really are no words to describe it except to say "it continued until they were all fed!"

Lesson #3 - Forget about what you DON'T have, take what you DO have and give THANKS for it; and then begin to give it away. As the disciples released their little bit they realized that a little is an awful lot, when Jesus is involved.

Now, to point. You all know this story and I must be silly to try to tell it to you yet AGAIN. But on Sunday night, I was relaying to our evening prayer group about how the financial situation for the Deaf Ministries International (and in particular the Immanuel Christian School for the Deaf) in Kenya is very dire. The school is currently receiving about 40% of what it requires for an operating budget. I talked with one of their board members tonight and they are looking at a $16,000 USD shortfall EACH MONTH in the days ahead. I don't know yet, exactly how this will impact the school at Ringa, but it can't be good.

I explained to our prayer group that the Kenya Development fund currently has about $200 in the bank and I was unsure as to how we were going to help. With tsunamis and earthquakes in Japan and tornados in the midwest, charitable giving has all but shifted to these dramatic and heart wrenching emergencies, and the children in Ringa and other places like them are all but forgotten, again; lost in the shadow of the spectacular.

Lunch Money

I told the group that I was asking God for a revelation as to how I might raise funds to help bolster up the struggling finances of the school and the Deaf churches in Kenya. As I was sharing a lady in our church who has asked to remain anonymous came to the front of the church and handed me this $20 bill and said, "Here is my seed." She continued, "The Lord told me to give this to you and then to pray that it would be multiplied into TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS!"

Now, if you knew this lady - you would understand that she is not given to such fanatical outburst. I mean you can hardly get her to the front of the church where people can see her at all. She is not given to "outburst" of faith confession - and even admitted that she would not have suggested such a thing had she not received such a strong prompting from the Holy Spirit. She was literally shaking as she handed me the $20.00 bill.

It was as I was thinking, "Wow! Twenty whole dollars - that's hardly LUNCH MONEY," that the Holy Spirit reminded me of the feeding of the five thousand. That dear lady gave me the equivalent of lunch money and then said, "Let the LORD multiply it.

I am not going now to print up glossy posters and send out mailings with this great story and ask people to "match" her $20.00. That would be ME trying to multiply the loaves and fishes. Instead, I have taken what I DO HAVE and given it to Jesus. I have GIVEN THANKS FOR IT, and put it in His mighty hands to see what HE will do with it. I just wanted you to know, so that when I start talking like a mad-man about the "Lunch Money Miracle," you'll understand.

Medicines have been set free!

2011-05-17T12:52:00.000-04:00

AFTER ALMOST FOUR MONTHS OF BEING HELD HOSTAGE, MEDICINES HAVE BEEN RELEASED!

Delivery to Kiserian was announced at 3:09 a.m. on Sunday-May 15

Members of the Immanuel Deaf Church in Kiserian applaud and cheer at MARS Hospital

In February of this year a ship carrying a container of medicines valued in the millions of dollars landed in the Port of Mombassa, Kenya. From that time until today those medicines have been literally held hostage by various government officials and port companies as they have tried to extract fees in the thousands of dollars that we should not have had to pay. At times the frustration level was very high, and it looked as if those medicines might be lost. Each week brought a promise of release and each week brought disappointment as another road block would be thrown up in our path, which always included another set of fees.

However, at 3:09 a.m. this past Sunday morning my phone jingled that a message had come in - I was delighted to read that the container had indeed safely been transported from Mombassa to Kiserian (just outside of Nairobi and at arrived at 10:00 a.m. (Kenyan time). The Immanuel Deaf Church was just beginning services, but happily delayed the beginning of services to unload the container which had to be returned to Mombassa. Many hands make light work and as the people applauded and cheered, many hands took hold and unloaded to container and stored the materials in the nearby MARS Hospital.

Medicines are being stored at the Mars Hospital in Kiserian awaiting distribution to rural clinics and hospitals.

By the time we got to the end of matters in Mombassa the government and storage facilities tried to extract almost 1,000,000 Kenya Shillings in fees and taxes. (This is almost $12,000.00) As it was, I sent a Western Union wire money transfer just before leaving on a trip for North Carolina last week of just under $2,000 USD which provided for lodging, travel fees, etc. for those working to release the container and transport it back to Nairobi area. To date, I have paid out just about $5,000 in expenses and fees since the end of February.
The last $1,800 had to be paid quickly so it was provided by a loan to our Kenya Development Fund - We need to recover this funds to repay this. If you can help in any way, please send us a check (KENYA DEVELOPMENT FUND, 30 Canal Street, Brattleboro, VT 05301) or click on the PayPal link on this page where you can send a donation via PayPal or Credit Card.

Worshippers from Immanuel Deaf Church form a human chain to carry the medicines from the truck into the hospital

We remain committed to the people of Kenya and in particular, the Deaf of Kenya who work with so few resources. We are blessed that these Medicines will be distributed all over the country. They are planning Medical Clinics in rural areas where doctors and nurses will be able to travel to areas where there is little or no medical care. And, the children and staff of Immanuel Christian School for the Deaf will also be able to receive more adequate medical care.

We also need to thank Dr. David Bruenning and his staff at International Child Fund for providing these medicines and for remaining patient with us as we fought to get them to their destination. There generosity is incalculable. We must also thank the many donors who have provided assistance with many gifts, large and small to enable us to complete this project thus far.

There are a couple of ways you can still help, because our work is not done:

Pray: Pray for the continued security of these medicines as the distribution process continues.

Give: The needs continue in poverty stricken areas, especially among the Deaf. We need a new van, these medicines will not last forever, the Deaf School needs new equipment. The needs continue, so we ask that your generosity continues as well.

Speak: Tell others about our work with the Deaf School and Deaf Churches in Kenya. You can be our spokesman. You can share this link on your social networking, or email it to friends. You can provide opportunities for me (Michael Gantt) to speak to your church or community organization about the Immanuel Christian School for the Deaf and Immanuel Deaf Churches of Kenya.

There is a link on every page of this blog where you can easily give to support our work. If you don't want to give that way, send us a check to:

KENYA DEVELOPMENT FUND

30 Canal Street

Brattleboro, Vermont 05301

Positively Tolerant

2011-03-21T00:22:00.000-04:00

   At some time in our fairly recent past if you asked someone for the definition of the word "tolerance" you would have been given a definition that states: the position of recognizing and respecting the beliefs and practices of others without necessarily agreeing or sympathizing with those believes. "Everyone has a right to his own opinion." You might be surprised that the world in which live now calls this definition "negative tolerance."

   There is now a new definition which the postmodern world calls "positive tolerance". Positive tolerance says that every single individual's values, lifestyles, beliefs, and claims to truth are equally valid. So, if a person claims that any individual's values or beliefs are superior to another or more correct than another's - that is hierarchy and constitutes bigotry. Thus a bigot is any person who believes in moral hierarchy (that there is a lifestyle, belief, etc. that is greater than another's).

   Under this new "positive tolerance" if say, you or I state that the claims of Christ are superior to those of Mohammed or Buddha - we are bigoted. Traditional tolerance was simply the right to hold to one's belief system and practice it while being respected and treated fairly. However, "positive tolerance" demands that I celebrate and approve all belief systems and declare them to be equally as valid as my own. The most quoted verse from the bible is no longer John 3:16; it is now Matthew 7:1, "Judge not lest ye be judged." Christians are frequently accused of being judgmental the moment they dare to make a moral judgment. (Moral standards are now equated with being judgmental which is equated with being intolerant.)

Under positive tolerance justice is impossible. In order to establish justice, one must make a moral judgment on right and wrong. But "positive tolerance" does not allow one to make moral judgments. It actually forbids any such thing. The irony here is that the more open-minded one becomes (not making moral judgments), the more close-hearted you become (don't care about justice for people). The end result of positive tolerance is moral and intellectual intimidation or bullying to get you to no longer hold to moral standards or pursue objective truth.

The sad commentary on all of this is that we are not only seeing the effects of positive tolerance in the world; it is becoming increasingly comfortable within the church as we become less and less protective of the standards of morality and holiness set forth in the Holy Scriptures and more and more tolerant of lifestyles and practices clearly forbidden in the word of God.

I for one, believe that God holds his ministers to a high and holy standard of lifestyle and behavior, that He favors those who do not do violence to the sacred Word of God, and that God still values integrity, discipline, obedience, and holiness among His people. To some within the Body of Christ this is bigotry and judgmental.

I trust you will be "tolerant" of me.

Good

2011-03-18T00:12:00.000-04:00

   The book of Romans says, "all things work together for good to them that love God and are called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28) This is a true word from the Word of God and God's Word never changes, never wavers, never doesn't mean what it says. I believe that. I really do; and I will always believe it. Its just that some days I have to remind myself that I may not always be able to discern the good that God intends to work in any given circumstances.

   There is a sea/rail container sitting in the Port of Mombassa, Kenya containing approximately $25 million dollars worth of medicines. It has food supplements, anti-malarial drugs, diabetes treatments, blood pressure control medicines. It was donated through the International Children's Fund and holds as many as 400,000 individual treatments. It is also being held hostage by a bevy of bureaucrats and government agencies who are trying to collect as many bogus fees and taxes as they can before releasing it.

   In the meantime, a little girl at the Immanuel Christian School for the Deaf died this week because of the lack of adequate medical treatment. Over and over again this pattern repeats itself in a culture of corruption which persists throughout the region. Pleas go out all over the world for help. "Help us! Help us! Our children are dying!" Yet, when help comes it is bled dry by one crooked official after another as greed and corruption continue to reward each other. This is the second tragic death at the school in the last year or so that could have been averted with relative ease, except that nothing is ever easy in this part of the world.

   Work will continue on Tuesday to gain the release of the container full of medicines that could possibly have saved the life of a little girl. The agencies appointed to look our for her interests are focused upon lining their own pockets while she lay in a rural clinic; inadequately staffed and under supplied, dying. In the meantime, the grieving at Immanuel continues this week before her burial on Monday.

   I am not angry tonight. I was. I was angry at the whole situation. I am sad. I have been profoundly sad ever since an international telephone call informed me of the unnecessary death of an innocent child. I am sad because I am helpless to do anything about it, and if another child gets sick tomorrow - I will be just as helpless then as now. I have a profound sense of failure, searching for some answer that will tell me what we could have done differently.

   What I can do is to continue to pray. I am praying and have contacted friends all over the world to join me in pray to overcome this situation - to release those medicines. I can continue to work advocating for those who are powerless and to speak for those who have no voice to speak for themselves. As for the "good" that God is working or will work in this circumstance; I'll have to leave that up to Him. However, I want you to know that God will do a good work in this circumstance. Joseph told his brothers, "What you meant for evil, God meant for good." Generations were preserved because of the "evil" that Joseph's brothers intended. I believe that generations of Deaf children will be blessed by God out of this "evil."

   In the meantime, would you pray for the family of this dear little girl? I don't even know her name, but her anonymity only underscores the needs we are trying to address. God knows her by name, and marks her passing with us. Right now, in the shadow of this terrible moment for her family, our problems in Nairobi seem to pale; for the moment. Yet, we must renew our efforts with faith and purpose so that more will not die while simple solutions lie within reach.

May the peace of God that passes all understanding guard your hearts and mind.

Good News, Bad News

2011-03-12T11:54:00.000-05:00

   Don't you just hate it when someone starts a conversation by saying, "I have good news and I have bad news. Which would you like first?"

   Well, I have good news and bad news. Which would you like first? Let's go with the good news:

   After arriving in the Port of Mombassa almost a month ago, it would appear that within a few days the container of medicines donated to the Immanuel Christian School for the Deaf and the Immanuel Deaf Churches of Kenya will be released this coming week. It been a very difficult ordeal for Wesley Agengo and Josephat Mulango who have been shuffled from agency to agency for a month now, while the government of Kenya has these valuable medicines hostage, trying to collect taxes that we do not owe.
   I talked to Wesley on Friday morning and he informs me that he has been assured that the container will be released sometime during the next week. This container was donated by the International Children's Fund and contains approximately $25 million worth of medicines and food supplements, vital to the care an ongoing well being of our children and their families. That's the GOOD NEWS.

   In anticipation of the costs of transporting the medicines after we took possession of them, distributing them to the various clinics and hospitals in rural areas, I was able to send Josephat $2,500 (that would be approximately 215,000 KES) last month to cover those costs. I just received an accounting from Josephat which reveals that the delays and efforts to secure the release of this container has been approximately 174,000 KES to date or a little over $2,000 USD.
   This means of course that even though our container will be released without being charged taxes - the government has managed to force the expenditure of an amount almost equal to 1/2 of the taxes that would have been charged in the first place. That's the BAD NEWS.

   The Word of God which is true and infallible declares: "My God shall supply all of your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:19) The Living Word of God which stands truthful above anything that claims to be truth declares "No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue that shall against thee in judgement thou shalt condemn." (Isaiah 54:17) The unchangeable, inalterable, infallible Word of Almighty God declares, "Do not become weary in well doing for in due season you shall reap, if you faint not." (Galatians 6:9). This is the BETTER NEWS!

   Many of you have given, and prayed, and stood with us through this difficult battle. Would you stand with me for a bit longer?

1. CONTINUE TO PRAY for the release of this container. Continue to pray that the enemy wold suffer utter and obvious defeat in his efforts to rob the poor of this valuable medical care.

2. SPREAD THE WORD to others who may not be aware of our efforts to minister to the Deaf of Kenya. At this point, these children are utterly dependent upon the faithfulness of God's people in caring for their needs. So many have utilized the incredible power of social networking such as FaceBook to spread the word to their circle of influence.

3. IF YOU CAN GIVE (even in the smallest amounts) please do so, for now I need to send additional funds to Wesley and Josephat to replace the funds which have been depleted by this ordeal with the Government of Kenya. You can do so in one of several ways:

   A. At several locations on this page you can click the link to donate through PayPal. You can use your PayPal account if you have one, or use a credit card otherwise. Please, as I always request, DO NOT charge funds to your credit card that will incur debt that you cannot pay in order to do this. I HATE DEBT, and I despise making promises in God's Name that He is neither required, nor likely to keep. Christians should give because they are motivated by compassion - not because they expect to be rewarded! Unlike many ministries I will NOT guarantee that God will make you rich or absolve your debt by donating to this cause. I do believe that God rewards our faithfulness, but I do not believe it is my right or responsibility to guarantee any reward in the Lord's Name.

   B. You can also send a check made payable to:

ACF KENYA DEVELOPMENT FUND

30 Canal Street

Brattleboro, Vermont 05301

This is a special fund authorized by Agape Christian Fellowship to collect and disperse funds for this and other projects concerning our ministries in East Africa. I bless God for the faithfulness of so many. We are so close to victory, let's don't faint now.

Seeds

2011-03-05T17:11:00.000-05:00

From the depths of eternity a Word is spoken, a seed is planted and life springs forth,

the universe begins it celestial spin

the sun establishes its track across the sky

the moon is set in its orbit

Palm Trees and oaks spring from the ground and the fruit tree blossoms

birds begin to build their nests in their branches

fish swim in great schools across the newly formed oceans and seas

the roar of the lion is heard and the thunder of the hooves of the great beasts shake the earth

The Father of Life has spoken and a galaxy is born and filled with beauty and animation

He bends to the earth and from the dust He has created he forms a body and calls him Adam – man. In the quietness of the garden God breathes into that body the “breath of life” and

as he does eyes flutter, lungs expand, muscles contract – and God says, “It is good.”

From Adam's side the Lord of Life removes a rib and from it He forms a partner, a completer for Adam who will be called Eve, because she will be the mother of the race. They stand there in the Garden together as God says to them – all that you see is yours to inhabit, to populate, and to rule over. Everything here is for you to enjoy and to inhabit – every plant, every tree, every fruit – EXCEPT THIS ONE PROHIBITION.

There is one tree from which you must not partake - “The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil”. You must not partake of this tree because the result of doing so will bring death. I do not want death for you, I did not create you to know death, but to live in eternal communion with me. I created you to live as a co-Regent with me on the earth. As long as you obey this one commandment – you shall never die.

The FATHER OF LIFE has spoken.

From his hiding place in the branches of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil comes another voice, who wants to plant another seed, a different seed, a “contrary” seed.

“Hath God said?” hisses the FATHER OF LIES. Is there any prohibition set out before you? It would seem that God is trying to limit you, to stifle your creative potential. He is surely most jealous of you and fearful that you might become as powerful as He is.

“You shall surely not die......” It is simply that God has knowledge He wants to keep for Himself – There is a power in the fruit of this tree that God does not want you to know. For in this there is knowledge of fearful and wonderful things, there are experiences contained here like no other.

All of these other trees? Boring, Drab, Adventureless – God is trying to keep you down on the farm because there are things out there that are there for the taking -

Look at the fruit – isn't it beautiful, so appealing?

Smell its aroma – its so appetizing, so delicious

Touch it, don't you feel wiser, more intellectual already?

Taste it – it will make you as a god. Give it to your husband......you don't want to keep this to yourself do you?

THE FATHER OF LIES has spoken.

Isn't it interesting that in Genesis 3 WORDS are the seeds that were planted in the Garden -

First God speaks and from His words flow all of life – everything that is came from His words.

Then another WORD is spoken. It is a different word, an opposing word – I have called it a “contrary word.” - and from this word flowed death.

In Genesis 3, God said that there would be enmity between the seed (offspring) of woman and the seed of the serpent – and the seed of the woman would crush the head of the serpent and the serpent would bruise the heel of her seed. We know that “seed” of the woman was preserved through the generations of man until it came to fruition in a stable in Bethlehem. We know that this “seed” of a woman crushed the head of the serpent in His act of dying upon the Cross of Calvary.

We also know – that in The Gospel of John, chapter One – that seed is called the “living Word.” In the beginning (that's what we've been talking about), before the Garden and in the Garden, was the Word. “And the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made In him(the Word) was life; and the life was the light of men.” (John 1:1-4).

In his temptation in the Wilderness – there was a confrontation again, between the serpent and the seed, and in that encounter the Seed says to the Serpent, “Man shall not live by Bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”

What we want you to see today is that not only is there enmity between the Son of God (the seed of woman) and the Serpent (Satan) – but that this confrontation also set up an enmity between the WORD of God (whom we have called the Father of Life) and the WORD of the Serpent (whom we have called the Father of Lies.

John 8:44 – “You are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father you will do, He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of lies.”

So that when God spoke in the Garden of enmity – there was also established an “enmity” between the Word of God and the word of the Serpent. We can see it so clearly in the seduction of Eve – there is a Word that brings life and there is a word that brings death.

God's Word says, “be fruitful and multiply, replenish the earth”

The contrary word replies, “zero population growth, abort your babies, genocide”

God's Word says, “take no thought for tomorrow, what you will eat or drink or wear,”

The contrary word says, “things, you must have things – take care of #1 – get more stuff, make more money.

God's Word says, when you commit a sin, confess your sin to me, repent, and I will forgive you

The contrary word says, “there is no such things a sin, that is a concept made up by grumpy old men who want to control you......whatever feels good, whatever is fun......whatever YOU want to do – do it.”

Matthew 13:24 – ff. The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and his way.”

God has given us a “good” seed here in his Word, but an enemy has come (one with enmity for the seed of woman) and has and is sowing a “contrary” word into men's lives.

He is saying, “you shall surely NOT die.”

He is saying, “God's word is not true, it is not dependable, it is not a true word.”

The question we want to answer today:

What “seed” has been planted in you? Is it a good seed? Is it a Life-giving Seed? Spoken by the Father of Life.

Or is it a “contrary” word – spoken to you in the hiss of the Father of Lies?

Is this word bringing LIFE to you, to your children, to your marriage? Or, is it the bearer of

death and destruction?

What seeds are you planting today?

Don't Faint, Don't Quit

2011-02-26T08:03:00.000-05:00

The scriptures declare: "Do not become weary in well doing, for in due season you shall reap - if you faint not."

It is about 6:00 a.m. as I begin this post and I'm just sitting down for a cup of coffee and I am weary. We were donated a container of medicines from the International Children's Fund. Over twenty-five million dollars worth of medicines to be distributed to rural clinics and hospitals throughout Kenya. ICF agreed to ship the container to Nairobi if we could manage the rather daunting task of allocating and distributing the medicines to the various agencies who would then utilize it to prescribe and treat many, many (400,000 treatments) people who so desperately need medical care.

The medicines have been in the Port of Mombassa for over a week and it looks now like they will be shipped up to Nairobi on Monday, but not until our guys have spent more than half of the money I sent them for distribution costs, just trying to get the stupid thing out of the port. It seems like every time you turn around there is another hand extended for payment; 40,000 ksh here, 70,000 ksh there, and pretty soon we will be broke again - and still need to distribute the meds.

I have been working in East Africa for over 20 years now, and I understand that nothing comes easy in this part of the world - except trouble. I am sitting here thinking how exhausted Wes Agengo and Josephat Mulango (who is himself sick because of diabetes) must be - and how frustrated. Josephat himself can benefit from the medicines in that box - and yet, the battle rages.

I am reminded, again, that we are in a warfare for the lives and souls of men that will not end until the Prince of Peace Himself comes. I am reminded that as much as I love the people of Kenya and want to see their lives made just a little bit easier, the devil hates them and wants to kill them. As much I want to lift up the heads of the students and staff at Immanuel Christian School for the Deaf, the devil wants to beat them down again and again.
   God said to Ezekiel, "I sought for a man to stand in the gap for them...........and I found none." How many times has the Lord sought for a man to stand in the gap for someone who cannot stand for themselves, or to speak for one who cannot speak for himself; to defend someone who cannot defend himself - and found no man to stand or speak for them; because he became weary and fainted in the midst of the fight.

   This morning, I received yet another email recounting the difficulties they are having trying to secure this container so they can actually begin the work. Wes and Josephat have been in Mombassa for one full week simply trying to gain possession of what is already theirs. Josephat is sick and Wesley is tired and frustrated. For some "life" is locked up inside that container that sits on the docks in Mombassa while greedy men fight for every penny they can grab or con or steal - and I suddenly was overwhelmed with weariness.

   I have just gotten out of bed and if feels like the weight of a nation is on my shoulders. (I know its not - its just feels like it.) Then the Lord spoke to my heart and simply said, "Don't faint, don't quit, stand in the gap for them." So I guess I am asking for prayer for my own weariness in this matter (because I won't quit and I won't faint), and for a RELEASE of these meds. Its like they are bound by some unseen FORCE in Mombassa and we need a powerful release from their bonds. Jesus came to set the captive free and it would seem that our medicines are being held captive by the powers of Hell. Jesus said that whatever we "loose" on earth would be loosed in Heaven - so in the Name of Jesus, I loose that container from the Port of Mombassa and release it to the people of Kenya who need it so badly.

Getting there.....

2011-02-23T15:18:00.000-05:00

   Our guys notified me yesterday that they had arrived in Mombassa (Port City) to secure the release of the container of medicines that were donated for use by the Immanuel Christian School for the Deaf and the Immanuel Deaf Churches of Kenya. I am on pins and needles until those meds have been secured and distributed. I so wish I could be there to put my hands on that container and "in the Name of Jesus" to declare it to be free. However, I suddenly realized a few moments ago that this prayer can best be prayed from our place of authority in Christ where, according to Ephesians 2:6-7, he has "raised us up together, and made us to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: that in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ. Jesus."

So my prayer this afternoon has been: "Lord Jesus, be kind to us in this matter and grant to us that these life saving medicines will be released, distributed, and prescribed to the health and welfare of these precious children. I am not praying from earth to heaven, but rather from that 'heavenly place' toward Mombassa, Kenya and declaring the hand of God to be manifest in this hour regarding these medicines. In the Mighty Name of Jesus, who sits here beside me in Heavenly Places, AMEN."

   Once the medicines have been released and safely secured, I will turn my attention to the daunting, but entirely possible (because in Him all things are possible), challenge of securing reliable transportation for the school. In order to do this, we are going to have to raise approximately $20,000. I am wondering if there are those of my brothers and sisters who would first join me at that "heavenly place" to release a vehicle for this use, and secondly who would enlist the prayer and support of others in their circles of influence?

   This is not a frivolous request as the need for safe, reliable, transportation is an absolutely essential part of the ongoing care of these children. We are trusting in Him to hear our heart's cry in this matter. Will you join with us in praying directly from the throne room in this matter? Thank you so much.

ACF Kenya Development Fund Established

2011-02-14T18:56:00.002-05:00

HELP US GO VIRAL - TELL YOUR FRIENDS ABOUT THE ACF KENYA DEVELOPMENT FUND

   My church recently granted me permission to open a new account under our 501(c)3 umbrella to receive and disperse funds to the various projects we are promoting in Kenya. The ACF Kenya Development Fund has been established to further the development of aid and economic stability projects for the Immanuel Christian School for the Deaf and the Immanuel Deaf Churches of Kenya. Any donations made will be deposited directly into the fund's account and now, we have the ability to accept PayPal and Credit Card donations on line.
   You will notice on each page of our web site (www.2michaels.com) a "Dontate" button which will take donors directly to a page where they can send funds directly to our account. We can then direct those funds toward any project that is currently operating. If you do not have a PayPal account there is a feature where you can use your credit card to make an online donation. Please allow me to emphasize: This is for your convenience. Please DO NOT incur additional indebtedness by using your credit card to make donations you cannot afford. All donations are fully tax deductible.
   On our site, there are several pages which describe various projects in which we are investing at any given time. Right now, a container full of medicines is on the ground in Kenya, somewhere between Mombassa and Nairobi. I am literally holding my breath and praying without ceasing until I hear that the container has been safely delivered to our site in the town of Kesarian from which the meds will be distributed. We are so grateful for the many individuals who contributed the $2,500 it will costs us to receive and distribute these meds throughout the country to various hospitals and clinics.

This is the type of van we are currently hoping to purchase or have donated.

The MAJOR project we are focusing on for 2011 is the purchase of a van for the school. Please see the page found at http://www.2michaels.com/p/van.html. On this page you will find a justification for this project. It is very important. We expect that the cost of purchase and delivery to be around $25,000. If you can contribute - that would be wonderful; if you would pray - this would be vital. There is one thing everyone can do and that is to spread the word. I will be posting these paragraphs on my Facebook Page - I would ask all of my FB friends to help this project go "viral" by sharing it with folks on your friends list, and sharing it by means of any of the various social media outlets you may be involved in. We also have a website at www.immanuelhope.com to which you may navigate and see photos of the children and get more information regarding the school. The other thing you can do is to arrange opportunities for me to present the needs of the school at your church or civic organization.

The new boys dorm has been completed, but as yet is not fully furnished.

The other project that is important is the furnishing of a boys dorm. They have a building but now furniture. The boys are currently sleeping on blankets spread out over a cement floor. It is very important that we are able to get beds constructed and mattresses on them. We are expecting this project to cost around $2,500. Pictured here is the new dorm - but it has no furnishings.

Over the past three years we have been able to purchase two additional acres of land which is now cultivated and growing food for the school as well as producing income in the local markets.

Corn is being grown along with other vegetables on the new property.

Our other successful project has been the establishment of an egg/poultry production program which is providing nutritious food for the staff and children, as well as income from the local markets as well.

One of the boys tends to the chickens

Eggs being produced by the school.

Five years ago, the Immanuel Christian School for the Deaf was dead in the water. The children were hungry and living in squalid conditions. Economic projects had been hijacked by an unscrupulous man, and the school had to be closed. Look at what has happened in just five years because of the faithfulness of the staff under the direction of Headmaster Wesley Agengo, the undergirding of Deaf Ministries International who have guided them in steady development, and scores of donors from all over the world who have pitched in to help. God bless you all.

In addition to online donations, checks may be mailed as follows:

ACF Kenya Development Fund

c/o Agape Christian Fellowship

30 Canal Street

Brattleboro, VT 05301

The Steps of the Righteous

2011-02-04T00:50:00.001-05:00

(Some thoughts have been brewing in my heart all day and at this late hour sitting by the warmth of my wood stove, in the comfort of my beautiful home I will try to give my thoughts a voice. I do not seek to establish a theological position or start a doctrinal debate. I just wanted to let my heart speak. If this is challenging or helpful to anyone, I am grateful. If not, you always have the liberty of a delete button.)

What if Joseph when confronted with the reality of the moment, tied behind a camel being dragged off into slavery had given up hope? What if he had abandoned his integrity for the charms of Potipher's wife, or given in to despair in the hole of a prison? He could not know it at the time but every indignity, every importunity, every humiliation was bringing ever closer to that for which God had created him - and yet at each point of the way he could have turned the tide of his own destiny. For if he had wavered at any point along the journey - there would have been no food in Egypt and no deliverer in Pharaoh's palace when the head of the line of Judah had come facing starvation.

What if Daniel had not refused to defile himself at the table of the King; or, if Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah had bent before Nebuchadnezzar's image on the plain? Nebuchadnezzar had changed their names, but what if he had been successful in altering their core? Daniel at the mouth of a lion's den, the three Hebrews facing the blazing hot furnace, and Esther trembling before the throne of the King - each brought to their respective moment in history; how would history's narrative be written if even one had buckled and sought his own rescue out of the circumstance to which God had providentially guided them?

How would it be for the royal line of the seed of Jesse if Goliath's roar had been able to shake the resolve of young David? What should have happened if he had said, "This is no task for me. I am to young, too small, to ill equipped to face such a powerful enemy"? Or, if David had trusted in the armor of Saul rather than the arm of the Lord would he have prevailed in battle, and if he had not would the course of history have been altered?

Suppose that when imprisoned, Paul and Silas would have wept instead of bursting into song; or what would church history record if Peter and John had bent when threatened by the Sanhedrin? If Stephen when faced with an angry mob gathering stones had recanted and denied Jesus, would our hymns bear such a sweet melody? Would our message ring out if Paul had not finished the race, nor had passed the baton of faith on to Timothy?

Down through history the martyrs voice is heard; Polycarp, William Tyndale, Jim Elliot, Nate Saint to name a few. Can you hear faithful song of generations of missionaries who have laid down everything that the gospel might make its steady march around the world? What if these had loved their lives and abandoned their cause? What type of banner might we unfurl over the household of faith in this generation?

Our history is filled with stories of faithful men and women who have through pain, isolation, sickness, suffering, and abandonment, kept the faith. They have left hearth and kin, abandoned romance, relinquished personal fortune, and died; buried in the dirt of lands the many cannot even name. Their faith was one of honor and duty, obedience and faithfulness to task. Their grasp of grace did not release them from responsibility, but bound them by the law of love and gratitude to fulfill the grand commission of Christ. They have lived lives of personal discipline so that entire cultures might be freed from the shackles of their enslavement to sin. They have used their liberty in Christ to bind themselves to a task so great that it overshadows any thought of fame or fortune, living out their lives in the very shadow of death unblinking and unflinching in the face of personal terror. These were neither slaves nor hirelings, but sons and co-heirs with Christ who not for one moment entertained the thought of "What's in it for me?"

The champions upon which I meditate this night have sought neither comfort nor reward; they have used every blessing of God to reach others, and they did not consider comfort, convenience, or gain as a benefit for fulfilling the call of God upon their lives. They pastor in mud huts in the south of Sudan and in the torrential rains of the Amazon, they are driven into the inner city to do battle with the squalor formed by the denizens of urban America; demons called Heroin and Crack and Hooch.

These are the voices that beckon me to a deeper walk and a higher calling. I no longer have an ear for that voice that calls me to health, wealth, and happiness. I turn cold at the suggestion that all God wants is for me to be happy and blessed. I am left nauseous by the incessant drone of radio and television preachers who stand in luxurious platforms with their big hair and Brooks Brothers suits telling me that my best me is yet to be found and my best days are still ahead. I no longer want a faith that pays me to follow Jesus - I want one that COST ME to follow Jesus. There are plenty of things that offer themselves as worth living for; I want something that is worth DYING for.

Here is what I think. I think we are at a place in history at which point Jesus is going to allow us to choose whether we want to cash in or sell out; whether we prefer to be happy or hunger to be holy. I don't think the "mark of the beast" will come from a government or a political power - it's going to come from an apostate religion that has abandoned the Word of God for the philosophies of demons, from a false religion that would be served by Christ rather than to serve Him. It is a mark that will leap upon men because they are not capable of rightly dividing the Word of Truth, who have accepted the lie that all faiths are equal, and that all religions serve the same God.

Joseph HAD to go to Egypt that he might fulfill his calling. All along the way, there were clear opportunities to abandon the steps the Lord God had ordered for him. You and I may also have to go to our own "egypt" and the journey may begin very soon. Will I go with a sense of the purpose of God or will go weeping and looking for a way of escape?

Daniel HAD to go to Babylon, as did is three friends that we know as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, in order to serve God in that place fulfilling that grand purpose for which they were formed. There may be a captivity in store for you and I. Will I go or will I fight to stay? Will I bow when the image is raised up on the plain of my life or will I stand in the face of the fire? There will always be some preacher that will tell you that God will deliver you from the den of Lions or the fiery furnace, but you and I have no such promise. Even the three Hebrews confessed that God was able, but He may not, there was an "if" in their confession. Will I still stand, confident that Jesus will be in the furnace of affliction. He may be there to deliver me out of it or He may be there to escort me home to heaven?

David had to face Goliath and Peter his cross. David lived and Peter died; both were victorious. Paul had to face the executioner's sword and Nate Saint had to land that plane on a sand bar in Equador. They HAD to because something had gripped their lives that was greater than their lives. The grace of God did not remove the danger from their lives, but it was the grace of God that allowed them to stand and not buckle in the face of that danger. The grace of God freed them from their sin, but it did not set them free from the majestic destiny for which they were formed. They were not bowed low by trouble but rose up upon the flames of adversity to greatness in the Kingdom of God, and I believe in some way it is these to whom Jesus referred when He said, "he who saves his life will lose it, but he who is willing to lose his life for my sake will find it." If I am willing to exist in the mediocrity of the blessed my life will blend into the great mass of humanity and history of those who gained freedom by the grace and goodness of God and availed that grace to their comfort and safety or, I can abandon all of the things that the great grace of God might bring in favor of a life totally spent and spilled out at the feet of the Master and be counted with the great cloud of witnesses now surrounding......perhaps to give testimony to the decision we are about to make.

Does God's Word Forbid The Judging of Others?

2011-01-29T13:34:00.000-05:00

I am an avid "facebooker." I not only enjoy connecting with old friends and making new ones. I also enjoy a group of "friends" with I am able to engage in spirited debate on a wide range of matters. I have watched several threads recently in which folks have cried "judgment, judgment", especially when error, heresy, and false teaching have been confronted. We are warned that no Christian should ever judge because the Bible says, "Judge not, lest you be judged." Of course, this is the cry of the heretic - "Don't Judge me." It is also the cry of defense from most sinners, "Don't judge me." And of course there are always a host of those who run to the defense of both saying we should not judge. However, I hope you will understand that such a position will not hold up under the light of the Holy Scriptures. I have tried here to outline the scriptural position on judgment within the Body of Christ.

Jesus said: "Judge not, that you be not judged" (Matthew 7:1).

Does this mean we are never to judge? Certainly not, for Jesus also said: "Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment" (John 7:24).

We are commanded to exercise righteous judgment. We are forbidden to judge when we are not qualified to do so. If we look at scripture in its entirety - we will clearly see that there are circumstances in which we are FORBIDDEN to judge; and then, there are circumstances in which we are clearly COMMANDED to judge.

We may not judge according to appearance (John 7:24). This means that we may not judge on the basis of insufficient, superficial information. Outward appearance is often deceptive. "Some men's sins are clearly evident, preceding them to judgment, but those of some men follow later. Likewise, the good works of some are clearly evident, and those that are otherwise cannot be hidden" (1 Timothy 5:24,25). Righteous judgment must be based on conclusive evidence. We may not judge on the basis of appearance, personal opinions or unsubstantiated suspicions.

Jesus said: "Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the same measure you use, it will be measured back to you. And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove the speck out of your eye'; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck out of your brother's eye" (Matthew 7:1-5).

If we condemn someone for something we do ourselves, we bring condemnation upon ourselves. "Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things. And do you think this, O man, you who judge those practicing such things, and doing the same, that you will escape the judgment of God?" (Romans 2:1-3). "Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful. Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you" (Luke 6:36-38).

We may not judge in matters of opinion. "Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things. For one believes he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables. Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has received him. Who are you to judge another's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand" (Romans 14:1-4). "But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written: 'As I live, says the Lord, Every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to God.' So then each of us shall give account of himself to God. Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother's way" (Romans 14:10-13).

We may not judge with insufficient knowledge. Paul wrote: "But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by a human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. For I know nothing against myself, yet I am not justified by this; but He who judges me is the Lord. Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts; and then each one's praise will come from God" (1 Corinthians 4:3-5).

We may not take God's place in judgment: "Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another?" (James 4:11,12).

We may not condemn the guiltless by neglecting mercy: "But if you had known what this means, 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless" (Matthew 12:7).

We must keep these warnings carefully in mind. At the same time "Judge not, that you be not judged" is often the wailing cry of false teachers and hardened sinners who misapply the verse to ward off censure for their evil deeds. We should not be intimidated by such people, for Jesus has commanded us to judge with righteous judgment (John 7:24).

"He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the just, both of them alike are an abomination to the LORD" (Proverbs 17:15)."And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them" (Ephesians 5:11).

"Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment" (John 7:24). This is reminiscent of Leviticus 19:15. "You shall do no injustice in judgment. You shall not be partial to the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty. But in righteousness you shall judge your neighbor."

There is a place for righteous judgment. When Christians persist in sin, they are to be judged by their fellow Christians, as Paul explained to the Corinthians: "I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. Yet I certainly did not mean the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner -- not even to eat with such a person. For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? But those who are outside God judges. Therefore 'put away from yourselves that wicked person'" (1 Corinthians 5:9-13).

When Christians come in conflict, some wise man should be found to judge between his brethren: "Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unrighteous, and not before the saints? Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more, things that pertain to this life? If then you have judgments concerning things pertaining to this life, do you appoint those who are least esteemed by the church to judge? I say this to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you, not even one, who will be able to judge between his brethren?" (1 Corinthians 6:1-5).

We may not reserve judgment when faced with clear manifestations of evil. Jesus reprimanded the church at Thyatira: "Nevertheless I have a few things against you, because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and beguile My servants to commit sexual immorality and to eat things sacrificed to idols" (Revelation 2:20). What if false teaching on divorce and remarriage leads God's people to commit sexual immorality? Will God hold us guiltless if we allow such to be taught, and if we fellowship people Jesus says are committing adultery? (Matthew 5:31,32; 19:9; Mark 10:11,12; Luke 16:18).

Many commands of God require the exercise of righteous judgment.

"But we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly and not according to the tradition which he received from us" (2 Thessalonians 3:6).

"And if anyone does not obey our word in this epistle, note that person and do not keep company with him, that he may be ashamed. Yet do not count him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother" (2 Thessalonians 3:14,15).

"Teach and exhort these things. If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness, he is proud, knowing nothing, but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words, from which come envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions, useless wrangling of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. From such withdraw yourself" (2 Timothy 6:2b-5).

"Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them. For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple" (Romans 16:17,18).

All these commands require the careful exercise of righteousness judgment. Do not be deceived by smooth words and flattering speech. Beware of wolves who come to you with a sheep's skin.

We must be careful not to make unqualified judgments. But we must judge appropriately when commanded to do so. "Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment" (John 7:24).

Do not run to the defense of a willful, habitual sinner and protect them for righteous judgment for in doing so you may condemn them. Rather warn them, as Ezekiel was commanded in Ezekiel 33: 8 - 9: When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.

I Like the Old Definition of Repentance

2011-01-26T00:42:00.003-05:00

Repentance that renews precious fellowship with our incomparably wonderful God ultimately furthers our joy. Just as we cannot enter into true repentance without sorrow for our guilt, we cannot emerge from true repentance without joy for our release from shame. - Bryan Chapell

I have been enjoying for some days now a careful study of the book of Nehemiah. As a matter of course, I will begin preaching this Sunday a brief series from the book. In its context, it is glorious narrative of God's redemptive and restorative desires for all of us. When we look at the book in its historical context we see a cast of luminaries of Biblical history involved in the climax that is described in this great book of history. Names like Jeremiah and Ezekiel - who prophesied the captivity of Israel beginning with the invasion of Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, even though many of the "happy prophets" of the day branded them as gloomy Gusses and doomsday crackpots.

Daniel and his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, Ezekiel, and Esther were all carted off to far away lands and became part of the storyline that would be the eventual restoration of the nation. Included in this remarkable historical timeline would also be names like Ezra, Zechariah, and Zerubbabel, among others.

I am not a little bit bothered that the issue of repentance from sin seems to be rather hastily minimized in this hyper-grace generation. Repentance is the pathway to the joy of the Lord in Nehemiah's day. As the people of God heard the reading of the Law of Moses, their hearts were overcome with grief because of the tremendous cost of sin upon the nation. Their hearts were grieved by sin, their own sin as well as the sin of their fathers and that grief spurred them to action, to a change. They began to return to the principles of the Law which had been laid down to Moses and as they did, and only then did the cry go out in chapter 8 that they should no longer grieve, but now celebrate because the joy of the Lord belonged to them.

We are told today that repentance is simply and only a change in the way one thinks. In other words, there is nothing wrong with our behaviors, the problem is in the way we think. I would suggest, and ask you to consider if repentance, true Godly repentance is only a matter of changing the way one thinks about things, or does true repentance result in a change in my actions as well? This is not law. This is not legalism - this is common sense.

We certainly have changed the way we think. As a result, the home is in ruin, divorce is "normal" in the body of Christ, our children are leaving the church by the multiplied thousands, fathers are no longer the spiritual leader in the home, acceptance of "alternative life style" is openly accepted if not promoted and so-called christian leaders are living abhorrent and licentious life-styles as they fleece the flock, robbing widows and weak minded men of valuable resources to support their own opulence - and one dare not expose or censure one of these lest they be accused of division and hatefulness. All in the name of the Grace of God. This is not the Grace of God - this is the putrid flesh of the Old Man of Sin justifying its rebellion and self-absorption under the guise of enlightened spiritual living.

God calls us to come out and be separate and then gives us the grace to do so. He commands that we strive toward His holiness (though because of our flesh we can never fully attain it in this life), and then gives us the grace to so strive - and the twin gifts of confession and repentance to sustain us and restore us when we fall short of that holiness.

When one teaches (as I was recently instructed) that we no longer must repent of sin, but simply "change our thinking" about sin, and God, and grace - we rob men of the shortest and most blessed route back to true fellowship with God. The honest confession (agreement with God) of my sin, and genuine repentance of that failure of the flesh, turning away from my sin an toward God leads to "joy unspeakable and full of glory." The prodigal came home, practicing his words all the way, "Father I have sinned against you an against Heaven." He didn't just change his mind - he changed his address, he changed his direction, he changed his posture before his father and was forgiven and received with great joy.

I once talked with a man who had abandoned his wife and children to run off with a younger woman. I had appealed to him on numerous occasions that he needed to come back hom, ask his wife's forgiveness, and be restored to his family and to God. He refused to hear me over and over again. Some time later he called me on the phone, remorseful for his sin and sorrowful about his situation. He said he had repented of his sin. I said to him, "You have not repented." I went on to ask him where he was and who was with him. He named the name of the young lady with whom he had been living. She was sitting across the room in their apartment. I suggested to him that when he had truly repented he would put her in the car and take her home to her parents and he would return to his family and seek to be restored to them. This action alone would constitute true repentance.

Many are praying for revival in our land. If we do not remember from whence we are fallen and repent from our sin we will see no revival. Revival will not come upon us in a wave of laugher but in a flood of tears. Revival will not come to us spiritual drunkenness or shaking or falling down on the ground in a trance. These things are not revival and they will not bring revival. If anything, such illusions of grand spirituality in the midst the reality of spiritual famine will lull us to sleep even further, to live in the fantasy that all of our meetings, and shoutings, and growling, gold dust and prophetic frenzy indicates the presence of God, while are homes are in disorder, our marriages are on the garbage heap, our children are drifting farther and farther away and the world is becoming less and less interested in our message. It may in fact indicate the exact opposite. It may be that the presence of God has departed and we are left with the frenetic energy of the flesh trying to recreate the power that has long since departed.

What Speech Would He Give?

2011-01-21T00:02:00.000-05:00

This week America celebrated the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., without a doubt an American icon, who died at age 39, the victim of an assassin's bullet in Memphis, Tennessee. He had warned African Americans that he might not live to see his great dream come to pass. In fact in one of his famous speeches, "I Have Been to the Mountaintop" he said, "Well, I don't know what will happen now; we've got some difficult days ahead. But it really doesn't matter with me now, because I've been to the mountaintop. And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life - longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over, and I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people will get to the Promised Land. And so I'm happy tonight; I'm not worried about anything; I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord."

These words were spoken on April 3, 1968 - he died the next night on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. In his 39 years he left a mark on American society that is unlike any other and millions of African-Americans are his beneficiaries and all Americans have realized the benefits of his courageous battle for civil rights. King steadfastly stood for non-violence, and in fact traveled to Memphis on that fateful day to attempt to turn aside a violent stripe that had arisen in the civil rights movements.

In his famous, "I Have a Dream" speech delivered in Washington, D.C. on August 28, 1963 King said,

"I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.' I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today. I have a dream that one day down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification - one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together."

What magnificent words, and yet greater dreams. King was a champion of the African American and is rightly reckoned as a man who rightly mirrors the words of Jesus who said, "Greater love hath no man than this that he lay down his life for his friends." Martin Luther King Jr. laid down his life for that "dream."

Because we celebrate the birthday of Martin Luther King almost exactly one week before we mark the anniversary of the enactment of the landmark Supreme Court Decision Roe v. Wade which legalized abortion, establishing the rights of a woman as greater than the rights of her unborn child; I have been forced to wonder what Martin Luther King Jr. would have had to say about Roe v. Wade? I wonder what speech he might give on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on January 23, 2011 had he lived to witness the slaughter of almost 50 million unborn children? (It is important to note that statistically 64% of all abortions performed in America are performed on Black and Hispanic women.)

I wonder if Dr. King's "dream" included the systematic murder of approximately 450,000 African American children every year? I wonder if his dream included such men as Hermit Gosnell who was arrested in Philadelphia and indicted on eight counts of murder, which included seven newborn infants, who were born alive and viable, but murdered with a pair of scissors shoved into the base of their skull severing the spinal cord. Who knows how many hundreds of babies were murdered in his clinic as he "performed as many abortions as he could over a thirty year period" making millions of dollars?

Martin Luther King had a dream of an America that would allow Kermit Gosnell, himself an African American, to grow up to become a doctor, but I suspect it was so he could heal, not so he could enrich himself over the bodies of murdered black babies. The Associate Press says that "he catered to minorities, immigrants and poor women was charged with eight counts of murder in the deaths of a patient and seven babies who were born alive and then killed with scissors..."

This of all things surely to Martin Luther King would not be a dream, but a nightmare. In the USA today, every month; more African Americans are killed by abortions than were killed by all other causes since the Civil War! They have the largest percentage of abortions by race in the USA...

I highlight abortion among African Americans ONLY because of the proximity of the date of the anniversary of Roe V. Wade to Dr. King's birthday. Surely this is national blight that affects all races. Abortions have caused more deaths [going on 50 million] in the USA than all the wars, plus all the disasters both natural and man made; including all the hurricanes, fires, volcanoes, tornadoes, floods, and such occurrences.

As we approach Sanctity of Life Sunday I want to call upon all men who love life to renew our commitment to overturning this wickedness and restoring a sense of sanity to our once great nation. We are surely inviting the wrath of God upon our own lives and the lives of our children if we continue in the madness of abortion. It simply may be too late, but I keep thinking of Nineveh, that wicked city that repented suddenly and turned to God in sack cloth and ashes to be spared. May God grant us repentant hearts as well and may He grant us the same mercy as shown to Nineveh.

The Blood of Millions Cries Out

2011-01-20T00:42:00.000-05:00

They told us in 1972 that abortions would be performed in few and rare cases, usually to spare the life of a mother. Then there was "abortion on demand," or what I would all abortion for convenience - clearly placing the importunity of the mother ahead of the life of the unborn child. Abortions became more common place and less distasteful to the public appetite, but still early in fetal development. From that place we moved to what is euphemistically called, "late term abortion," in which a child could be ripped from its mother's womb in the last stages of pregnancy, the tiny body literally ripped apart inside its mother's uterus. It is now clear that abortion has become the preferred method of birth control and very, very big business.

We may have thought that things could get no more vile when we were introduced to "partial birth abortion." It is really no abortion at all since the child is allowed to almost, but not completely, exit the birth canal before a sharp instrument like scissors pierce the child's neck, severing the spinal cord and causing death.

However, we discovered this week that the blood lust of our generation is not yet satisfied as a Philadelphia physician couldn't be bothered by all that work. He simply would induce labor, allowing the child to be fully birthed and with that tiny life in his hands, independently from its mother - he would shove a pair of scissors into the baby's neck, severing the spinal cord, snuffing out a completely viable life. (You can read the grisly story for yourself at this link:http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/01/19/philadelphia-abortion-doctor-charged-counts-murder/?test=latestnews.) The District Attorney indicated that Dr. Hermit Gosnell made millions of dollars over a 30 year period performing as many abortions as he could, targeting minorities, immigrants, and poor women. The charges files indicate that Gosnell "forced the live birth of viable babies in the sixth, seventh, and eighth month of pregnancy and then killed those babies by cutting into the back of their neck with scissors and severing their spinal cords."

While we are gratified that this villan has been arrested and charged with murder, this should vindicate the warning that pro-life advocates have proclaimed all along - Roe v. Wade was just the beginning. We have progressed from rare procedures strictly limited to wholesale murder of infants. Since Roe v. Wade over 42,000,000 children have been aborted. The blood lust of this generation is staggering.

This nation was staggered by the senseless murder of over 3000 on 9/11 but is generally unfazed by the senseless murder of 42 million innocents in (and now out of) the womb. We were horrified by the murders at Columbine High School in Colorado, but completely unmoved by the senseless murder of an entire generation by their own mothers with the assistance of "Planned Parenthood." and physicians, each of which have sworn an oath to "do not harm." It is amazing that we could call such an organization the name Planned Parenthood when it is entirely about the avoidance of the responsibilities of parenthood and has made billions of dollars to assist parents in terminating the lives of their children, even deceiving ill informed women about the carnage they were participating in.

Men and women fight to save the seas and protect seals and spotted owls, but won't lift a finger to protect the innocents of our land. Condors have greater value than our children and trees and bugs are held in higher esteem than the statesmen, scientist, teachers, humanitarians, diplomats, and creators that are sacrificed upon the altars of convenience.

We call it Pro-Choice; we call it "women's reproductive rights" when it is quite simply murder. Every judge who legalized abortion and every subsequent jurist who has failed to strike down this vile decision is a murderer. Every politician who has voted to allow a woman to choose her own rights over the life of her child has the blood of those 42 million children dripping from their hands. Every President who has not fought for the life of the innocents should be prosecuted as a murderer. Every physician and medical attendant who has actively performed abortions for financial gain should be charged with the same crime as Dr. Gosnell, for they are guilty of the same crime.

With a profound sense of outrage, America condemned the 9/11 hijackers as murderers and assassins. They killed thousands while the abortion clinics have murdered millions.

Last week Jared Loughner was charged with murder of a Federal Judge and 9 year old girl, several others as well as the attempted assassination of a member of Congress, as he should be. However, those who routinely perform or sanction the mass murder of millions of innocents should receive no less condemnation.

And what of you and I, if we silently stand by, offering no voice of dissent; can we escape accusation if we fail to raise our voices in defense of the defenseless. I will not have the blood of the innocents on my hands and I will not be guilty of keeping silent in the midst of a holocaust, for if I will not speak for them who will speak for me?

Be warned: A blood lust cannot be satisfied and it is nothing less than a blood lust that has gripped the heart of this nation. What else can explain the calculated extermination of an entire generation with absolutely no conscience. They have come for the children, they may come for you next. Our newly elected Governor of Vermont has openly put on the table of his administration "end of life" counseling and consideration for "right to die" legislation. I predict that the first step is to allow those who want to die to end their lives, but like abortion it will not end there. It will not take too many cycles before someone else will be making that decision for us. In some European nations those end of life decisions have already been removed from the patient and placed in the hands of physicians.

The Congress is attempting to move us to socialized medicine would be absolutely necessary in order to gain the power to determine which life is valuable and which life is becoming a burden on society. Will there be a panel that decides when you have lived beyond usefulness? Our government decries such suggestion as ridiculous. However, in 1972 they said the same thing about abortion on demand, late term abortion, and partial birth abortion - much less the carnage that took place in that clinic in Philadelphia which was revealed this week. And yet, here we are live births, viable children born into grungy clinics and in an instant their lives coldly and crudely terminated.

You think me harsh? Heed the Word of the Lord: Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom shall be a desolate wilderness, for the violence against the children of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land. (Joel 3:19)

Judgment will surely fall upon this land because of the sin of abortion and violence shall be our portion because of the violence of our hands. There is no hope but repentance. As a nation we must turn back to the God of Heaven as ancient Nineveh did to save themselves from destruction at the hand of God. . Men may rail and bellow at such a suggestion declaring that they no longer believe in God. However, believe in Him or not we will know His wrath as the blood of 42 million innocent children cry out to Him for vengeance. He will answer.

Absolutely

2011-01-18T23:18:00.002-05:00

One principle that today’s intellectuals most passionately disseminate is vulgar relativism. For them it is certain that there is no truth, only opinion: my opinion, your opinion. They abandon the defense of the intellect; those who surrender the domain of the intellect make straight the road to fascism. Totalitarianism is the will-to-power unchecked by any regard for truth. To surrender the claims of truth upon humans is to surrender Earth to thugs. Vulgar relativism is an invisible gas, odorless, deadly, that is now polluting every free society on earth. It is a gas that attacks the central nervous system of moral striving. “There is no such thing as truth,” they teach even the little ones. “Truth is bondage. Believe what seems right to you. There are many truths as there are (many) individuals. Follow your feelings. Do as you please. Get in touch with yourself.” Those who speak in this way prepare the jail of the twenty-first century. They do the work of tyrants.

Michael Novak

After participating in a rather spirited forum recently a man posed the following question to myself and several others. "Isn't it possible that we both can hold to absolute truths that are opposite each other?" I was incredulous at the question and wondered if the gentleman even understood the meaning of the words he used. He was suggesting that if I truly believe something to be true - then it becomes truth; my truth, devised by me, defended by me, and undergirding my life. The very concepts of "absolute" and "truth" seems to elude many people in our culture. A thing is not true because it has been established by some absolute authority - it is what I want it to be, and because I want it to be, this renders it absolute. "Truth" is broad and inclusive. It has a huge tent which has room for many, many ideas - even opposing ideas.

Consider this. Truth is not broad and inclusive. It is by its very nature narrow and exclusive. A thing is either true, or it is untrue - and if a thing is true, its opposite must be false; it cannot be simultaneously true. Jesus claims that He is the ONLY way to God. If this is true, then all claims to the contrary must be false. Jesus said, "No man comes to the Father, but by Me." Either this is a true statement or it is a lie. Jesus cannot be A way in the midst of many ways, because He claims to be the ONLY way.

Public-opinion research points to a deepening paradox in our society: the combination of commitment to religion with a deepening moral relativism. For example, while 91 percent of the American people consider religion very important in their lives, 63 percent reject the concept of absolutes. I think it may be true that many people, even mane "Christians," do not want absolutes in doctrine and ethics, simply because absolute truths and standards demand absolute acceptance and obedience.

The other comment that was made during our recent discussion referred to "education absent of worldview." I was stunned so much that I asked someone sitting next to me if I actually heard the comment correctly. Education absent of worldview suggests that our public school systems disseminate information absent from any specific worldview. Allow me to rebut that statement pretty succinctly - there is no such thing as education absent of worldview. There is no such thing because there is no such thing as a teacher without a worldview. We all view the world through a certain set of lenses and it would be impossible to teach anything absent of that worldview. This is precisely why we withdrew our children from the public school system when our oldest son (now 38) was in the third grade. We realized that our children were not being educated, they were being indoctrinated. Indoctrinated by a worldview that was diametrically opposed to the worldview that we hold. Indoctrinated by a worldview that did not honor God, did not honor the values of our heritage, did not account the Holy Scriptures as authoritative and holy; did not believe in absolute truth handed down by an omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent and Living God.

SOMEone is going to affect the worldview of our children. My wife determined that if this is true - it would be us, because it we are charged with this responsibility in the Holy Scriptures. SOMEone is going to determine how my children view the world, view God, view life, view ethics and morality. SOMEone is going to shape how they think, about life, morals, sexuality, truth, and integrity - I decided that SOMEone was going to be me. This is true because everyone has a worldview that impacts their thinking and actions.

A subtle infection has begun to impact the Body of Christ. It is a practical rejection of absolute truth. Oh, I say "I believe God," but I live as if His words, commandments, and guidance is optional. It has impacted marriage, life style choices, ethical decisions, morality, and every other area of the life of the church. As a result we are watching the disintegration of the Christian family on a par with the family that is outside of Christ. The divorce rate is the same in the church as it is in the world. Christians now are making life style choices (we call them "preferences" in a politically correct society) that are clearly in disobedience to God's Word without shame and without guilt - because we no longer hold to the absolute truth of God's Word. Choices that brought curses under the Old Covenant we falsely believe are now condoned under the New Covenant so that people live in sin and still expect God's blessings. Large segments of the church support the taking of innocent lives through the sin of abortion; condoning, even promoting the sin of homosexuality as an acceptable lifestyle. Charlatans, with REV. in front of their name are robbing people blind, falsifying miracles, proclaiming spurious prophecies for gain, living lives of gross immorality and debauchery in the full view of all - because we no longer believe that Jesus is coming with a sharp two-edged sword to judge the quick and the dead.

Those who are not so living are often afraid to speak. Afraid of prosecution, afraid of retribution, afraid of appearing to be judgmental. When one dares to speak up, he is branded a legalist, a pharisee, a perverter of the grace of God.

Believer, we must return to the God of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob. We must return to the God who flung the stars and planets across the heavens and blew into man the breath of life. We must return to the God who sent His only begotten Son into the world that all who would believe in Him would not perish but have everlasting life. We must return to the God who said, "I set before you blessings and curses, life and death - choose life."

We must begin to live.......................well, absolutely.

New Additions

2011-01-13T09:04:00.002-05:00

     Some years ago I "adopted" a small school for the Deaf in Kenya, EAST AFRICA. The children who attend this school are among the poorest of the poor and were it not for the Immanuel Christian School for the Deaf, would have little hope for the future beyond standing on the streets, begging.

     My goals have been simple - to advocate for these children so that they might have greater opportunities than they might have otherwise. They are neither stupid or "handicapped", but they do face challenges that are extraordinary compared to most of us. I have found them generally to be bright, creative, and eager to learn.

     Over the past few years I have championed a number of projects in the school, most of which are centered around economic stability and vocational training. Last year we were able to help them purchase some additional real estate which has been cultivated for growing food and providing income from marketing some of the produce. A second project has been in the development of a egg/poultry project which also is providing food, marketable goods, and valuable training for some of the students.

     Recently, we were blessed with the donation of a shipping container full of medicines valued at around $25,000,000.00. Through the generosity of the International Children's Fund there is a 20' container on a ship bound for the port of Mombassa and then to the rail yard in Nairobi. From there, these life saving commodities will be distributed to clinics and hospitals all over the country.

    There are so many needs such as additional dormitory space, furnishings for current housing, construction of new facilities and improvement of the old. There are a number of new economic development projects I am anxious to begin.

The MAJOR GOAL facing us in 2011 is to obtain reliable transportation for the school. Last year the school was hit with a major outbreak of malaria. Malaria is the number one killer worldwide as more people die from malaria than any other single disease. Every student and teacher was stricken. Sick teachers had to transport sick students 25 km every day to a local clinic for treatment. This had to be done via pubic transportation (which meant traveling with 2 or 3 students at a time). During this same time time, one of the beloved faculty members was lost to complications from malaria. Paul Anyango died because he could not get adequate treatment. Reliable transportation is not a luxury - it is a necessity. I am going to be trying to raise $25, 000 over the next few months, or God willing - to secure the donation of an appropriate vehicle which we can ship to Kenya.

I have added several pages to this blog so that I can provide updates, news reports, and request emergency prayer to cover these precious ones in Kenya. I will also be adding a secure form where folks can donate to specific projects online. I will continue to add posts on a variety of subjects, but you will now find tabs at the top of the page which you can select to view various updates on the school.

Critical

2011-01-11T16:43:00.004-05:00

Ask any group of people, in almost any "Christian setting" this question: "What are the key issues facing the church in this generation?" Take a count of heads and you'll have a pretty good idea of how many different responses you'll get. I love it when people dialogue about these things because it shows how diverse we have truly become as opposed to that day when "they were all in one place, in one accord" so long ago.

After the Day of Pentecost in Acts chapter two we find the church functioning in a pretty simple "modus operandi." Acts 2:42 tells us they:

a. "continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine," which I take to mean that they had both a love and a hunger for the Word that was coming from God. It is called the "apostle's doctrine" because they did not yet have the full revelation of the New Covenant written down as we do today. They had the privilege of hearing it from the mouth of the apostles even as it was flowing from the throne of God. No wonder they "continued" in it.

b. "fellowship," which says to me that not only did the tongues of fire that lit upon each of them in that upper room drive them into the streets, it also welded them together in a Holy Ghost induced sense of "fellowship" that they were in the place where they needed to be together for meaningful fellowship in the Spirit of God as often as possible. They didn't just have an occasional church supper - they fellowshipped upon the anvil upon which Jesus was hammering out His church as well as in the fires of adversity and persecution.

c. "breaking of bread," means that they often "discerned the body of Christ" through the celebration of the Lord's Supper often - never getting too far beyond the message of the Cross, never losing sight of the awful price that was paid for their sins and the wonderful promises that were seen in that incredible spiritual rite.

d. "and in prayers:" Though listed last, prayer was certainly not the least of their priorities. The first miracle of Pentecost occurred as Peter and John made their way to the temple "at the hour of prayer." It would appear that they made prayer a vital part of their daily walk with Yeshua. They didn't attend pray sporadically or situationally - prayer was a regular, planned, strategic part of their lives together.

Is it any wonder their daily lives were marked by "signs and wonders done at the hands of the apostles" and that many, many thousands were coming to Christ as the Lord "added daily to the church such as should be saved. Ah yes, as difficult as it might have been as they faced the wrath of Rome and Religion - it really was pretty simple.

As much as believe that the four "elements" of early church life demonstrated in Acts 2 need to be an intricate part of church life today and if we could in fact "simplify" our corporate spiritual life, distilling it down to those four issues, (a love for God's Word, a love for the brethren, a daily cognizance of the gospel message, and our absolute need for dependence upon God) and little else- we must recognize that the passage of time has drawn the church far, far away from this pristine ideal.

I was in a luncheon meeting today with an old friend and a new friend. We were discussing issues of the church and I was asked this question (or maybe I engineered an opportunity to answer a question that really wasn't asked but that I wanted to answer anyway, I'm not sure). What are the major issues pressing the church today?

I have three. They may not be the same issues you would identify but they are I believe they are critical issues facing the Body of Christ. I have taught on these matters extensively both here in the U.S. and abroad. I'm just going to list mine and will happily invite any contrasting viewpoints.

1. The RESTORATION OF THE HOME as the spiritual center of the Kingdom. The church house is not that around which the Kingdom revolves. The HOME is the center of the Kingdom. It is the home which is the model of the Kingdom, it is the Christian HOME that reveals the Kingdom to a watching world - and it is the destruction of the HOME which has been the most successful strategy of the enemy of the Kingdom of God. At some unknown moment some unknown person or persons decided that if we built strong churches the result would be strong homes. The exact opposite has proven to be true. We live in the generation of the MegaChurch which has become the center of life for most believers (and even those of us who don't belong to MegaChurches) while the family has waned and weakened right before our eyes. The enemy realized what we did not - if the home is not strong, then the church cannot be strong.

It is in the HOME that children need to learn the principles of the Kingdom. As a nation we relinquished the responsibility for educating our children to the Public Education System and the result has been catastrophic. As Christians we have relinquished the primary responsibility of spiritual education to the church and the result has been equally catastrophic as generation after generation have abandoned the church for the world.

2. The RESTORATION of Fathers as the spiritual center of the HOME. As the family has disintegrated Fathers have either willingly or been forced to abdicate their role as the Priest of their home. We have turned the responsibility over the Pastor's and Bishops and the model of the Kingdom has been violated to an even greater degree. The scriptures are clear, Fathers are charged with the responsibility of teaching their children to honor God. Psalm 78:1-7 declares: "Give ear, O my people, to my law: incline your ears to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old: Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done. For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children: That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children: That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments:

While the church can assist by training the parents and providing resource and encouragement it is a SIN to completely entrust the spiritual upbringing of our children to any institution. Beyond being sinful it is ineffective as recent generations have proven. Dad's and Mom's are to be the primary source of spiritual life for their children. Until this condition is restored in the Body of Christ we can expect ton continue to lose more generations from the church.

3. The RE-ESTABLISHMENT of the personal responsibility of each believing individual to study the Word of God for himself and to be able to "rightly divide the Word of Truth" (2 Timothy 2;15). Men cannot live off of left-overs and previously eaten food. If the only spiritual nourishment you are taking is the Pastor's sermon on Sunday Morning and the Hourly Offering appeals from Christian TV, then you are starving to death spiritually.

It is the responsibility of the church to equip its people to read, study, divide, analyze, and implement the Living Word of God for themselves, coming to the place where they no longer require a teacher other than the Holy Spirit to nourish themselves spiritually. If this condition were to be realized, marital counseling would be a dead art among the members of the Body of Christ because husbands and wives would be able to sit down at the kitchen table with the Word of God and counsel themselves to a healthy marriage.

If this ideal was to be realized we would never again worry about some lying cult sneaking in and stealing saints from the body because each saint would be well armed with the Sword of the Spirit and well trained in how to effectively use it. They would be able to teach their children and their grandchildren the timeless truths of the scripture. And, the church could be about the business of pulling down spiritual strongholds and doing violence to the Kingdom of Hell because it would be released from the ministry of damage control.

Well, those are my three pressing issues. I am committed to teaching these principles wherever and whenever I get the chance. My question to you is this: Have you identified critical issues that face the church and will you commit to confronting and correcting those things, or will we just sigh, and go to church on Sunday?

Blessings.

Standing in the Gap

2011-01-10T00:26:00.002-05:00

So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him. Isaiah 59:19

And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none. Ezekiel 22:30

This post is specifically addressed to the faithful saints who have entered into our month long prayer covenant at Agape Christian Fellowship. It is an exhortation to press in to the covenant that we have made together and not become faint or falter.

Over the past few weeks we have begun to focus on "living in covenant". It is our proposed focus for the foreseeable future. Pastor Bryan challenged us last week to a month long covenant of prayer with the probing question: "What would happen if God's people would pray?" Many of you have signed on for the month. In addition to each one signing the covenant agreeing to pray for at least one hour a day concerning key kingdom issues, we have begun holding Sunday Evening Worship and Prayer services.

Those three Key Kingdom Issues are as follows:

1. We agree to pray together for God to move upon us with signs and wonders, that the signs and wonders would provide a platform for the preaching of the gospel in great power. (The early church prayed exactly this way in Acts 4: "And now Lord behold their threatenings, and grant unto your servants that with all boldness we may speak the Word of God, by stretching forth Your hand to heal that signs and wonders may be done in the Name of your Holy Child Jesus. And when they had thus prayed, the place where they were assembled was shaken, they were all filled with the Holy Ghost and spoke the Word of God with boldness.

2. We agree to pray together that spiritual strongholds of darkness would be broken in Brattleboro and the surrounding area that men, women, and children might be released from the powers of darkness and spiritual wickedness in high places, delivered to be free to hear and respond to the wooing of the Holy Spirit, to receive Christ and know forgiveness for their sins.

3. We agree to pray together that God's people would begin to walk in the birthright and blessings that are ours through the sacrificial death of Christ upon the Cross, His resurrection from the dead, and ascension to the throne. That we might walk worthy of the calling wherewith we have been called.

We have agreed that we will not spend these hours of prayer, or our Sunday night Prayer and Praise services focusing upon personal needs, but rather to focus on specific applications of the key kingdom issues outlined above. We are "seeking first the Kingdom of God" and expecting that those very real personal needs will be met by our Heavenly Father who "knows that we have need of these things."

Tonight as we met for the second of our monthly Worship and Prayer services, several things were striking to me: First, we are ALREADY seeing powerful answers to prayer as at least a couple of individuals tonight very clear answers to their specific prayers. The second thing that stood out remarkably is that we cannot pray in this way; hope to go to sleep and wake up in the morning and see the answers to our prayers. We must expect that those who pray will be thrust into the very heart of the battle. If we are going to pray for victory we must expect to be thrust into the warfare.

The third thing that struck me tonight is that what we have begun we must continue until the daybreak comes. As Pastor Bryan was preaching this morning regarding Jacob's wrestling with the Angel of the Lord, these thoughts began to crystalize in mind. As Jacob contended with the Lord throughout the night, refusing to relent until the Lord would bless him, so we who have begun this intercession must not relent until the blessing is won. The end of January may come, and our 'agreement' may pass - I do not believe we can simply say, "That was great, what should we do now?" We must press in and we must press on. God said through the prophet Isaiah in Chapter 59 of his prophecy, "I wondered that there was not intercessor." Again, in chapter 22 of Ezekiel the Lord said, "I sought for a man to stand in the gap for my people that I might not destroy them, and found none."

This is a call to endurance for those who have begun so well, for any man can begin a race, but the one who finishes receives the prize. We will see signs and wonders as we have prayed, but if we do we shall surely see the opposition of the evil one arise. With each victory will come a new challenge. In fact, as the Lord God of Heaven begins to move we will find the need to press in all the more in prayer. Which of us will faint when the enemy strikes back? Will we wilt under the heat of battle? Will we lose faith when the counter-assault begins? No, we must "stand, and having done all stand," clothed in the full armor of God and wield the Sword of the Spirit with faith and zeal.

At whatever time you have set aside to pray, whether it be in the early morning hours, mid-day, or late in the evening - pray from your place in Christ at the "heavenly places" (Ephesians 2, for we are seated with Him in heavenly places), pray with the authority that is afforded you as a condition of your birthright as a co-heir of Christ, and pray with diligence knowing that no war is ever won in a single battle, and few battles are won with a single engagement. The victory goes to the one who fights from a position of victory, and to the one who will not quit.

Prayer warriors! You have begun a good thing, but there is no victory in beginning for you must also finish. There is no victory in overcoming in an occasional skirmish - for we must not be content with anything less than victory in the battle. Men and women in the Brattleboro area are bound in chains of spiritual darkness and have no power to set themselves free - we must contend with faithfulness and courage and persistence until the powers of darkness are unseated, broken, and cast down. I do not believe a "month long prayer covenant" will get the job done. We must persevere in prayer until we see signs and wonders confirming the Word of God and providing a powerful platform for the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We must persist in warfare prayer until the spiritual chains of bondage and territorial spirits are discomfited and driven out by the power of the Holy Spirit and the authority of God's Word. We must wrestle with God as did Jacob until we are able to live in the birthright blessings that are ours as co-heirs with Christ.

You are being raised up in this hour as a standard against the evil tide that wants to overwhelm men chained in darkness - do not lay the banner down until the battle is won.

You are being raised up to stand in the gap before God on behalf of men, and women, and children to contend for them, to intercede for them, to pray in the nightwatch, until victory is in hand.

God Bless You.