Prayer Therapy For Cancer Patients

By Jim

The hand-in-hand incorporation
of faith healing and the medical
treatments prescribed by your doctor

    If you have this pamphlet in hand, it is likely that you or a loved one has been diagnosed with cancer.  Understandably, you are shaken.  Please be encouraged that there are many positive factors working on your behalf.  Today’s medical professionals are equipped with the latest innovations of medical science to enhance the potential for your recovery.  In addition, many concur that it’s advantageous to incorporate prayers of faith into your quest for health. 

  To assist you on your road to recovery Gold Coast Christian Church of Boca Raton has a Cancer Recovery Group (CRG) that meets weekly.  Its purpose is to offer Bible-based encouragement and prayer from a Christian perspective.  It is open to all, regardless of religious backgrounds; we don’t want anyone to go through cancer traumas alone.  The meetings feature such things as Scripture-based affirmations that instill hope and nullify negative thought patterns and emotions; testimonies about how faith enhances the healing process; and at the conclusion of each meeting personal prayer therapy is offered to those who desire it.  This pamphlet will acquaint you with some of the Christian Bible’s principles of healing that are the basis for CRG’s philosophy of ministry.  It will also give you suggestions about how to incorporate those truths along the various stages of your therapy.  Unless otherwise noted, all the texts cited are from the New American Standard Bible.

Broadminded Encouragement Hope’s Evidence

  It will be helpful for you to cultivate a broadminded position: Just as it is legitimate for physicians to practice medicine in efforts to help you, it is equally legitimate for you to practice faith to help yourself.  There is mounting evidence that prayer therapy is beneficial for those who’ve received a diagnosis of cancer.  Resources like the Internet abound with testimonials and studies that reinforce the value of faith in God and prayers of faith to accelerate healing. IE The Hallelujah Acres website http://www.hacres.com/home/home.asp is one of the better sites.  The hand-in-hand incorporation of modern medicine and faith healing is commonly called prayer therapy. 

Good Gifts

   The wonderful medical advances that have been made in recent years are not singularly the products of human genius.  God is merciful and every good and perfect gift comes from Him. (Ja. 1:17)  With or without the researchers’ cognitive awareness, they had help from Heaven.  God deftly guided them down the paths that led to the medical breakthroughs and technologies accredited to them.  Such are aspects of His loving hands of grace extended into the human equation.

  A signal of the Lord’s love for you is that He privileged you to reside in a nation where abundant health resources are readily available.  With that in mind, it would be good to ponder His willingness to minister to you through more direct modes.  It is His delight to be included in your therapy. 

The Reasonableness of Divine Healing

  The Bible presents us with a loving heavenly Father who is interested in every aspect of our lives.  He is concerned about our physical welfare because our bodies were created to glorify Him and to reflect His loving character.  The mystery of His grace prevents Him from abandoning us even when our afflictions might be partially due to less-than-healthy lifestyles.  When we call upon Him, He is faithful to answer us and the ideal is that He will heal us from all of our sicknesses. Psalm 103:2-3 Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: [3] Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases. 

  If you desire to position yourself to receive God’s assistance, it will behoove you to become thoroughly persuaded that it is reasonable to expect it.  After all, you were made in His image and were created to reflect His glory.  He certainly did not design you to retain sickness. To the contrary, He programmed your body in such a manner that it automatically attempts to heal itself whenever sickness strikes. Therefore, it is not unreasonable to anticipate that He will add boosts of supernatural energy when you ask Him to speed up the healing process that your body is already attempting to facilitate. 

Reality Is Not Finality

  The diagnosis is your harsh reality.  However, you are not obligated to accept it as though it is your finality.  Biblical faith speaks that God values you.  His reality is that you can serve Him more effectively and longer in health than you can in illness.  In addition, those who are exploring the prospects of cultivating a relationship with the Lord will be much more inclined to do so when His followers exemplify health rather than ill-health.  When you look good, God looks good.

  It could be said that the Lord has vested interests in your healing. God enjoys praise and positive reports about His faithfulness.  Such are far more apt to occur through your healing from cancer than through your sufferings from it.  The Lord has magnanimously broad shoulders.  He will not mind sharing your expressions of gratitude with the medical team whom He inspired to prescribe treatments that contributed to your recovery.

Two Aspects of Faith

 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. (Heb. 11:6) 

  Anyone who wants to please God must approach Him with two kinds of faith. The first is to believe that He is or that He does exist as the Scriptures proclaim. This form would include matters such as the virgin birth; the Divinity of Jesus; the fact of His atoning death and resurrection; and the reality of the revelation that God is our loving Heavenly Father.  

  The second aspect of faith is activated faith.  It is the primary form used in apprehending physical healing through prayer therapy.  Your faith will be activated through your choosing to believe that God will reward you as you diligently seek Him.  This type of faith could be defined as: The active, exhilarating confidence that both God and His Word are reliable. It carries the conviction that God will reward those who seek Him by granting them physical health as well as spiritual blessings.

  Spiritual blessings by no means exhaust the extent of the biblical blessings of God. For example; in 3 John 2 the Apostle John describes how he prayed for his constituents: Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers.

  It was his intense prayerful desire that the people under his care enjoy physical health to the same measure at which they were progressing spiritually within their souls.  It is inconceivable to think that the Apostle John would pray for things that were not God’s will.  He personally traveled with Jesus for three-and-a-half-years and served Him faithfully well into his nineties.  His life was dedicated to seeing the will of God brought forth in people’s lives.

Clearing The Decks

  There are several counterproductive things that can hinder healing if retained in your thinking.  Among such are notions that God is at fault for your condition; of self-blame; and of unforgiveness against others.

• God Blame – The notion that God puts sickness on people is totally inconsistent with the New Testament.  Testament means covenant.  The New Testament is about the New Covenant that went into effect by the sacrificial death and victorious resurrection of Jesus from the dead.  Jesus spent His earthly years ministering health and healing to those who were afflicted with every form of sickness. (Acts 10:38) As the sinless Son of God, He didn’t do anything that was not within God’s will.  After His ascension, He commissioned His disciples to duplicate His ministry. (Mk. 16:17-18, Jn 20:21) The Book of Acts is resplendent with examples of how they did so by healing the sick throughout the ancient world. 
• That same commission extends to present-day clergymen who truly want to emulate their Founder’s example.  When their parishioners fall ill, they are to be instructed to call their pastors to pray for them to be healed. - James 5:14-16 Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; [15] and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him. [16] Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. 
• The previously cited passage indicates some important things about the will of God in relation to healing.  The Apostle James believed that it was God’s will for the sick to be restored to health.  He admonished Christians to respond to illness by calling their spiritual leaders to pray for them to be healed.  This nullifies the notion that God inflicts people with maladies.  If not, all involved with any healing procedure would be resisting God’s will.  That includes spiritual leaders who pray for healing; Christians who solicit healing prayers from clergymen; healthcare professionals that use medicine and technology to restore health; and any Christian who employs any of the aforementioned in pursuit of restoration.
• Science has proven that the human body is programmed to resist sickness whenever it strikes.  It is God who designed your body to do so.  If your sickness were God’s will, it would be illogical for Him to design your body in a manner that would predispose it to routinely rebel against His will.  Healing is God’s will.  You have nothing to lose and potentially everything to gain by invoking His hand-in-hand participation with the medical team that is laboring on your behalf.
• Two more texts that nullify assertions that God targets people for catastrophic ills. - Psalm 31:8 And You have not given me over into the hand of the enemy; You have set my feet in a large place.
• Your enemy is cancer and the Lord has not handed you over to suffer in its grip.  His place for you is in the comforting path of health.
• Isaiah 54:15 “If anyone fiercely assails you it will not be from Me. Whoever assails you will fall because of you.” 
• God disavows responsibility for cancer’s fierce assault on your body.  From the Lord’s perspective, it is doomed to failure as your activated faith puts it to flight.
• Self-Blame - There is evidence that there are correlations between various forms of cancer and individual lifestyles.  Smoking, improper diet, overexposure to the sun, and inordinate stress can be contributing factors to the onset of the disease.  In situations where these things are pertinent to the lives of cancer patients, it is not unusual for them to secretly blame themselves for the malady.  If you fall into that category, there is good news for you.  God does not abandon us in the midst of our troubles even when we knowingly engaged in activities that were less than ideal health wise. 
• This is borne out in two passages from the Bible. - Psalm 91:15-16  “He will call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him. [16] “With a long life I will satisfy him       And let him see My salvation.”
• God honors those who turn to Him during troubles/sickness, even when such might be partially due to our own negligence.  The inferences are that God will deliver you and show you His salvation.  The Hebrew word for salvation can legitimately be translated as health and healing.  The end result is that you can receive His ultimate intention for you, a long and satisfying life.
• The other passage that can vanquish self-blame is equally encouraging. - 1 John 3:20-22  For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. [21] Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. [22] And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.
• God is greater than the condemnation that might dwell in your heart, fueling your self-blame.  Your heart’s confidence toward God can be energized.  It happens when you choose to believe that His willingness to forgive you and to overlook your sense of unworthiness is greater than the powers of condemnation.   That decision is activated faith that is pleasing to the Lord.  His response to your leap of faith is to supply whatever you request.  That includes vibrant health.
• Unforgiveness against others - Unforgiveness is a luxury that no one can afford.   It is among the most destructive hindrances to receiving God’s help when afflictions strike.  Forgiveness for those who have wronged us is a basic tenet of Christianity.  The Lord’s Prayer contains a line that reveals the reason for the necessity of forgiveness.  I will insert renderings from various translations to convey the implications. Matthew 6:12 And forgive us our debts/trespasses/sins, As we forgive our debtors/those who have trespassed/sinned against us.
• Your debtors are those with whom you have interpersonal relationships who have chosen to withhold the dignities owed to you.  It’s the dysfunctional parent who abused you; the spouse who was unfaithful; and the adult child who has no appreciation for the sacrifices that you made for them.  Business partners who were guilty of cheating you out of your livelihood also fall into the debtor category.  God requires that you respond to them in like manner that He has to you.  Just as He has forgiven you for your trespasses against Him, He wants you to forgive them for their trespasses against you.  That means that you tear-up their IOUs that are embedded in your memories and emotions.  It takes vital energy that could otherwise be utilized in healing your body to process habitual images of conflicts with your debtors. Tearing-up the IOUs through forgiveness from your heart will release those energies for productive work.  In addition, it helps insure that God will be in your corner. (Mk. 11:25-26)
• Forgiving those who have wronged you does not indicate that you condone their behavior.   It means that their offenses are no longer an obsessive factor in your thoughts of them.  Should the person in question continue with hurtful antics, you are not required to continually be their doormat.  Whenever possible it is advisable to limit your exposure to them.  If that is impractical, gently scold them for any future offenses and then let them know that they have your forgiveness. (Lk. 17:3-4)  Most emotional bullies don’t have the stamina to withstand consistent encounters of rebuke that are coupled with God-like offers of forgiveness.  

Painting Pretty Pictures

  Many people in Western societies tend to be highly visual.  As they speak, their words are often painting visualizations in sync with the topic within their minds.  Willfully employing this tendency can be immensely beneficial in your healing from cancer.  You can decorate the interior walls of your mental art gallery with pretty pictures of the way life will be when you are fully restored.  It is also helpful to adorn your inner gallery with the things that you want to happen during your various medical and spiritual treatments.  The positive thought pictures are to be held within your heart and mind until they become realities in your experience.  After your restoration, the especially meaningful ones can be left in your inner gallery as prompters for you to give continual praise to the Lord.

  Like all artists, you will need to prepare.  Paintbrushes, a paint pallet with a variety of colors, and a supply of canvas are the needed items.  For prayer therapy, the preparations are what you do before you pray.  Your paintbrushes are the words of your audible and silent prayers.  The colors on your paint pallet are comprised of many things. Healing verses from the Bible, the benevolent character of God, your authority as one who has faith in God and every type of medication and technology employed for your healing can all be considered as colors.  The canvas is your imagination.

• Preparation – It is what you spontaneously do throughout each day in preparation for prayer/painting sessions.  It is based upon principles found in Mark 11:23-24.  These verses reveal some pivotal things that are vital to activating faith.  You have authority as a believer in Jesus as your Lord.  He has all power and authority and your legacy, as His disciple is that you have inherited the same.  You can have the things that you speak and see by faith.  Here is the principle: The more you speak and see yourself being healed before you pray; the more likely it is that you will believe that its true when you pray.  The passage in Mark speaks of mountains being moved as they are commanded to do so.  Cancer and its symptoms are the mountains in your life.  Spontaneously command such to be removed throughout each day and envision them doing so.
• Mark 11:23-24 “Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him. [24] “Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you.”
• Praying For Yourself – Dip the paintbrushes of your prayers into Bible verses that speak of healing.  Stroke depictions of what those verses infer for you on the canvas of your imagination.  Here are some examples of verses/colors and accompanying brush strokes/prayers.
• Exodus 15:26 – I am the Lord, who heals you.  In this passage the Hebrew word used for heal is the contemporary Hebrew word for a medical physician.  The verse can legitimately be rendered I am the Lord, your doctor.  That is a delightful thing to create on the canvas of your mind.  Paint the Lord smiling upon you as He administers His healing touch during a house call to your home..
• Exodus 23:25 – I will take sickness away from you.  Visualize and pray a scene wherein the Lord is taking away cancer from a specific part of your body. Paint an accompanying picture that presents that part cancer free. 
• Proverbs 4:20-22 My words are life to all who find them and health to all their flesh. Paint/speak that a verse you have found is your delight. Depict yourself rejoicing over it like the grandest of treasures.  Envision every portion of your anatomy ruthlessly discarding cancerous tissue as you rejoice in the Word of the Lord.
• Psalms 107:20 He sent His word and healed them.  The supply of healing verses in God’s Word is practically inexhaustible.  As you search them out envision the search as an agent of healing.  Depict/verbalize a prayer that each word you read is sending bolts of God’s healing power into your immune system and into every affected organ. 
• Others Praying For You – Their words are colors on your pallet.  As they pray, dip your paintbrush/prayers of agreement into their prayers.  Paint the things of which they speak coming to pass on the canvas of your imagination.
• Doctor’s Office – Ask exactly what they anticipate each particular treatment/medication will do for you.  Listen carefully and takes notes if needed.  If it is radiation therapy, envision the rays as streams of heavenly fire burning cancer from the target area. With prescribed medications, paint visualizations of it doing what it is supposed to do between each dosage.
• When Fear Strikes – Anxious moments are inevitable.  Should fear come knocking, ignore its raps.  Take an inner stroll through your inner art gallery.  Linger in front of each of your works of art.  Praise God for the accomplishment of whatever is depicted in each painting.  The odds are that before your stroll is complete, the fear will give-up and retreat in failure.

Good Hands

  Medical science working hand-in-hand with faith in the Lord has great potential.  Your opting for prayer therapy puts you into better hands than Allstate’s.  This pamphlet has merely presented a thumbnail sketch of what prayer therapy entails.  Gold Coast Christian Church of Boca Raton’s Bible based Cancer Recovery Group offers encouragement and prayer from a Christian perspective.  It is open to all, regardless of religious backgrounds.  The group meets weekly and has teams of competent people to minister to you and to offer encouragement.  The recovery group and any personal prayer therapy sessions are offered on a free-will offering basis.  We have no set fees for such services.  I serve as the pastor and we have an abundance of healing related articles and books available.  Healing prayer is offered for seekers at all of our services. 

For service hours and Cancer Recovery Groups times and locations call 1-561-218-5630. Or go to this website and click the Cancer Recovery link: http://www.Thoughtfromjim.com

Valley of Decision

  I will close with a text that revolutionized my life and can do the same for yours.  It remarkably reveals that God has delegated the responsibility to choose the type of life that we desire to us.  This is His invitation to you: - Deut. 30:19 “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life (health) and death, the blessing (healing) and the curse (sicknesses). So choose life in order that you may live.”

  It is my prayer that you will choose life and blessing, healing and health.  Your decision to activate your faith by engaging in prayer therapy could be the first step in validating your decision.

Busybodies & Overseers

By Jim

  The Epistles of the New Testament abound with admonitions against immoral and unethical misbehavior.  The ones we commonly hear about are those pertaining to such things as sexual improprieties, lying, obscene and profane language and so forth.  There is another that is rarely mentioned, but is just as abhorrent for professing Christians.  It is the practice of being a busybody, one who pries into the personal affairs of others.  The Apostle Peter listed such people in the same lot as murders and thieves (1 Pet. 4:15). 

  The cited exhortation implies those who persist in attempting to function as uninvited overseers in the affairs of others will suffer.  Throughout my Christian life, I’ve seen believers suffer the consequences of meddling.  Nosy parents who incessantly attempt to adjust the lifestyles and childrearing strategies of adult children don’t experience harmonious family visits.  Individuals who condescendingly interrogate co-workers about their habits and political opinions are not sought out for lunchtime chats.  Whole sectors of the Church have alienated would be prospects for evangelism by publicizing pushes for legislation that would compel the unconverted to act and think like the converted.  Breached relationships plague fellowships where high-minded clergymen attempt to direct and exhort lesser souls about decisions and practices that are matters of personal conscience.

  My wife Prudence has a saying exemplifying how her character reflects the inherent wisdom implied by her name.  Unsolicited advice is apt to be interpreted as criticism.   For most people, commentaries and intrusions about personal matters are insults to one’s sense of identity and dignity.  Many skillfully sidestep encounters with those who don’t recognize the perimeters of matters that are non-of-their-business.

  As a general rule, the propriety of initiating recommendations about people’s affairs diminishes according to the recipient’s distance from one’s immediate spheres of authority.

• A spouse has the right to speak to their spouse’s behavior in matters pertinent to marriage vows, childrearing, family finances, substance use and so on.  In instances where vocations and avocations don’t violate any of the preceding, any uncalled for lectures prove ineffectual and disruptive. 
• It is legitimate for a parent to inquire about the friends, habits and spending of their children.  The older a child gets, the more necessary it becomes to use discretion with such inquiries.  It is not unusual for the children of control freak parents to rebel against their parent’s values when reaching adulthood. We raised four daughters who esteem the Lord’s presence and are productive citizens.  By faith, after the girls reached their mid-teens we began to loosen the apron strings.  We chose to believe godly values were well instilled within them.  We let them make their own decisions about such things as dress, entertainment and whom they would date.  When less than ideal situations surfaced, we offered single admonitions.  Subsequently, we simply prayed the child would correct things via their own volition in compliance with the biddings of the Holy Spirit.  Of course, our resolve was tested, but we found God inevitably faithful.  After our daughters’ prospective spouses passed the initial livelihood quizzes when asking for their hands in marriage, we didn’t pry further.  To this day, we have never instigated conversations about incomes, lifestyles nor disciplining children.  Our position is that of a support team and we offer suggestions on the issues of life only when specifically asked.  By God’s grace, our sons-in-law have labeled my wife mother-in-love and all seem to treasure time with me.
• The workplace can be treacherous for believers who are too nosy about co-worker’s salaries, feelings about the company’s policies and off-work pursuits.  It is not uncommon for good-intentioned, uninvited counsel from Christians to be turned against them as a weapon to discredit their reputations and chances for advancement.
• Some spiritual leaders are ensnared by an exaggerated sense of necessity to be intimately involved in every aspect of the lives of those within their churches.  The consequences have offended and wounded sheep and ruined ministries.  It is best to limit assumptions about area’s of people’s accountability solely to matters pertinent to spiritual/church functions and a particular group’s understandings of acceptable conduct in relation to the world.  The Bible delegates the responsibility for most things beyond those realms to individuals and immediate family authority figures.  How people spend their money, give offerings, discipline their kids, keep house, utilize leisure time, and vocational choices fall within the sacred grounds of personal conscience.  The exception would be troublesome areas that individuals might submit for discipleship guidance.   In all of such, suggestions should be presented as meek-spirited entreaties as opposed to holier-than-thou mandates.  The primary objective in discipleship is twofold: The event of liberating those under one’s tutelage to enjoy the blessings that faith in Christ can provide and the honor of unencumbered pursuit of their spiritual callings.

  Every Christian would do well to keep this passage from the New Living Translation in mind - 1 Thes. 4:11 This should be your ambition: to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we commanded you before.

BLESS THE CHOSEN

By Jim

The blessings that await those who honor Israel and the Jews

Dreams, Visions, And Audible Voices: Salvation Is Of The Jews

John 4:22   You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. 

I was born almost three months premature on November 23, 1942.  My mother was at death’s door due to toxemia, and the doctor had told her that he feared that I had perished.  Just as the doctors decided to take me by Caesarean section, my mother gave birth naturally.  To the surprise of all, we both survived. 

I was two years old when my mother first read accounts of the Nazis’ torturous reign over the Jews of Europe.  Like most Bible-believing Christians she was horrified to learn that Germans from Catholic and Lutheran backgrounds could treat the Lord’s ethnic kinsmen in such a barbarous manner.  One night she had a dream in which the Lord revealed to her that our family was to identify with the plight of the Jewish people.

Destiny’s Imprint

In the dream it was winter and my parents and I had been incarcerated in a Nazi death camp.  The commander of the camp had just been notified that the Allied Forces were en route to liberate the camp.  He needed a ploy to avoid the discovery of the camp’s purpose.  Therefore, he made an attempt to reduce the prison population quickly and get them as far as possible from the vicinity.  He announced over the pubic address system that all that could walk out of the gates before sundown were free to leave.  However, no one would be allowed to assist the infirmed or even to carry his or her own children. Those who were left behind would go to the gas chambers and ovens.  I was unable to walk as my feet and hands were frostbitten.  My parents stood on freedom’s side of the gate and gently coaxed me to hurry as I attempted to crawl after them.  Their voices turned frantic as I stopped and struggled to grasp a crust of bread that one of the prisoners had inadvertently dropped.  Their pleas were of no avail.  The sun went down and the gates closed uniting my fate with those who had been left behind.

The image of my starved efforts to bring the bread to my mouth with frozen little fingers was forever imprinted in my mother’s heart.  As I grew to maturity, she would intermittently mention the dream to me.  Then she would remind me that we were a Christian family and therefore were spiritually related to the Jews through our adoption into God’s covenant with His chosen people.

Early in 1948 I was five years old.  One morning when my mother got me out of bed, I told her of a scary dream that I had during the night.  I described how I had seen people fighting in a walled city.  She asked me what the people looked like.  My immature response was that some of the soldiers were the color of Indians and wore red and white handkerchiefs on their heads.  She then told me that she thought I had seen the Jews and the Arabs as they fought for Jerusalem.  One day several months later she reminded me of my dream and told me that the Jews had won the battle and that God had again given the Jews their homeland.

Angelic Watcher

At age twenty-four, by almost anyone’s standards I was a success.  I was a manufacture’s representative for the foremost shoe company in America.  My income was high and I led my division in every sales contest.  I had a loving wife and three beautiful daughters.  A fourth daughter was to come 10 years later.  I was a yuppie on the move and I was oblivious to the concept that my success might be the fruit of the prayers of my family.  I had long since lost all interest in Christianity and was by no means overtly spiritual-minded.  I had concluded that church attendance and a fun-filled life were mutually exclusive.
On July 18, 1967 I was on a business trip to Tennessee.  That night I began to wonder just how Israel was able to defeat it’s Muslim neighbors in the Six-Day War.  Remembering the aforementioned dreams and the Bible stories from my youth, the conviction that God had a special relationship with the Jewish people was awakened within me.  I therefore suspected that they might have had angelic assistance.  Suddenly, I became drawn to the Gideon-placed Bible in my hotel room.  I picked it up and began to search for answers concerning the Jews’ success in battle.  After reading for a while I began to have this strange sensation that the Bible knew me and was reading me.  I also felt that there was an invisible Divine Person in the room watching me.  I went to light a cigarette, and as I brushed my cheek I felt a tear.  This shocked me, for I felt no emotion and had no conscious awareness that I needed God in my life.  Nonetheless, in response to the curious tear, I found myself desiring to kneel and pray for the first time in years.  When my knees hit the floor, the fountains of the deep broke forth.  I began to wail from the depths of my spirit.  Then, I heard myself crying out to God telling Him that I needed Him and that if He wanted me, I was His man.

Covert Prayers Answered

When I arrived home, I promptly told my wife about my experience.  I authoritatively announced that we would be taking the children to church on Sunday.  She began to laugh and cry simultaneously.  She then explained that she, my parents, and a local pastor had been agreeing in prayer concerning my spiritual condition.  That week my parents had read Isaiah 45:13 in their morning devotions.  It says; “I have raised him up in righteousness, And I will direct all his ways; He shall build My city And let My exiles go free, Not for price nor reward,” Says the LORD of hosts.  By faith, they had inserted my name and claimed that I would seek the Lord’s destiny for my life.  This particular passage refers to the administration of Cyrus, the great Persian king who was a guardian, liberator, and friend of the Jewish people.  I can say with an assurance, for me, salvation is of the Jews (Jn. 4:22).  It was God who supernaturally placed an interest in them in my heart through visions of the night.  It was this God-inspired interest in them that led me to the Word of God and brought me back to His throne of grace.

By 1978 I was pastoring a flourishing church in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.  At the end of the year we had more money in our coffers than we needed.  So, I made the decision to visit the local Jewish Federation and make a contribution toward helping the Jews who were immigrating to Israel from Eastern Europe.  On the way home an audible voice spoke to me in my car.  It spoke only one word; “Cyrus”.  The sounding of that name caused my spirit to be flooded with a revelation.  God was commissioning me to teach Christians to pray for the restoration of Israel and the peace of Jerusalem.  I was to motivate believers to respect and show gratitude toward the Jewish people.  It was my responsibility to play a part in defusing the Christian anti-Semitism that had been injected within the Church over the past 2,000 years.  I was to inspire the church by proclaiming that God had special blessings in store for those who would cultivate a loving heart toward Israel and the Jewish people.
 
In 1979 our church presented its first “For Israel With Love” program.  This was a musical variety show designed to show our gratitude to the Jews for the contributions that they had made to us through religion and the arts and sciences.  Thirty Jews attended our initial presentation.  The following year seven hundred came.  The next year, forty-three hundred were in attendance.  The following year we had a matinee with three thousand and an evening show with standing room only.  Covert attempts to convert those in attendance were the farthest thoughts from our minds.  We simply wanted to show honor to those whom honor was due.  Our reward came when hundreds offered favorable comments and wrote us unsolicited notes of thanks.  Many expressed that they had felt physiological sensations of a warm presence during our presentation.  One lady showed an usher the concentration camp identification tattoo on her arm.  She hugged him as she cried that it was the first time that she had felt the sensation of love since she had left the death camp at age five.

Section 3 - The Plight Of The Jews

Genesis 31:36,38-42 Then Jacob was angry and rebuked Laban, and Jacob answered and said to Laban: “What is my trespass?  What is my sin, that you have so hotly pursued me?  [38] These twenty years I have been with you; your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried their young, and I have not eaten the rams of your flock.  [39] That which was torn by beasts I did not bring to you; I bore the loss of it.  You required it from my hand, whether stolen by day or stolen by night.  [40] There I was! In the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night, and my sleep departed from my eyes.  [41] Thus I have been in your house twenty years; I served you fourteen years for your two daughters, and six years for your flock, and you have changed my wages ten times.  [42] Unless the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. God has seen my affliction and the labor of my hands, and rebuked you last night.” 
 
Jacob’s experience with Laban has been repeated thousands of times with Jews in Gentile nations. Though they have been instrumental in blessing employers and societies, the wages or terms for them to be accepted have been changed countless times.  Without question the Jews have been persecuted more extensively and for a longer duration than any other single ethnic group. Interestingly, it might be said that Christians have reaped what they have sown in this regard.  The Christian History Institute cites that forty million Christians have been martyred post the crucifixion of Jesus. 

The Old Testament records that the Egyptians enslaved the Jews for 450 years.  The Babylonians did so for 70 years and the Persians for 84 years.  That totals 604 years.  This is far longer than the indignities that the Afro-Americans have suffered in our own nation.  In addition the Jews have undergone excessive persecution, prejudice and job discrimination in every nation that they have inhabited since the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Their properties and fortunes have been confiscated.  Their homes and synagogues have been torched and their families brutalized.  In the majority of cases these politically/religiously motivated injustices culminated with their expulsion from those nations.  Time after time, they were forced to wander as refugees into other nations only to undergo a similar plight.

Yet, in every nation and culture they have consistently been a blessing.  The God of Abraham has always faithfully empowered them to be creative and innovative in the midst of adverse circumstances.  They have never failed to bless their persecutors through their God given abilities in the sciences, medicine, the arts, and business.  A candid examination would reveal that wherever there have been advances in any society, graced with a Jewish presence, the key figures responsible have, more often than not, been Jewish.  The Nobel Prize has been awarded to at least 139 Jews.  It is likely that the number of Jewish recipients exceeds that of any other single ethnic group.

It is often said that the most important commodity that one can possess is his health.  We have the Jews to thank for many of the advances that have been made in the field of health.  Their lead in medical innovations is disproportionate to those of any other ethnicity.  Here are just a few of their accomplishments: Vitamins; the concept of a balanced diet for health; the Schick test for diphtheria; scratch test for allergies; the first doctor of pediatrics; the Salk polio vaccine; the March of Dimes; the antibiotic streptomycin; the drug Salvarsan to cure syphilis; appendicitis surgery and pioneering the study of human psychology.  In addition, America’s system of public school nursing, city playgrounds and public bath facilities to promote health were launched by the efforts of Jewish citizens.  Surely we can make it through life without Jewish help, but not in health!

In the area of religion they gave us: The Scriptures; the concept of One Almighty Loving Heavenly Father God; the covenant promises of the blessings of prosperity, healing and peaceful lives; our prophets and apostles, and most of all, our eternal Savior.  We owe the Jewish people a tremendous debt of love and respect for all the contributions that they have made to our spiritual, financial, and physical well-being. 
Section 4 - Historical And Spiritual DNA Prevents Jews From Converting To Christianity

God has two covenant people, the Church, and the Jews.  The Christian Church is presently incomplete in fulfilling its description as the true Zion or Israel of God.  Jesus, when speaking to the Jews, said that He had sheep that were not of their fold, John 10:16.  The implications are that He has one flock, but two folds.  There is the Jewish fold and the Gentile fold.  He will ultimately draw them together into one flock for His glory.  Individuals who are permitted to come into His flock must come to God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.  However, His timing and manner of wooing us to the Cross is different for the two respective folds.

Historically, God blesses the Gentiles through the Jews.  They gave us our Savior and the revelation of His Lordship through the preaching of Jewish apostles and prophets.  These men penned the Bible that directs us to the path of repentance, faith, and salvation.  Non-Jewish converts often testify as to how they met the Lord through the witness of the Scriptures, evangelistic preaching, or another believer’s testimony.  This is rarely the case with Jews.  Most of them will not read the New Testament and are seldom impressed by a Gentile’s testimony of Salvation.  The thought of exposure to Christian evangelistic preaching is abominable. In the isolated instances wherein their hearts are opened by the Holy Spirit to receive the testimony of others, it is most often that of a Messianic Jew.  For most of them, only the testimony of a fellow Jew would have the remote potential to be deemed as credible.  Normally when a Jew finds Christ it is commonly reported that he has experienced a direct, personal, spiritual encounter with Jesus while alone.

Why is it that Jews reject the evangelistic efforts of Gentiles that use the truths of Salvation based upon the Scriptures written by Jews?  They find it difficult to comprehend the messages as credible because the Lord has historically often used the Gentiles as instruments to judge them for their disobedience.  In biblical times they were judged at the hand of the Egyptians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, and Romans.  During more recent history it was the Czarist Russians and Nazi Germans.  It is interesting to note that the truth of Jesus’ warning that we are justified or condemned by our words is born-out by the persecutions of the Jews at the hands of the Romans, Russians and Germans.  They chose Barabbas to be released and opted that their own Messiah would be crucified in his place.  In addition they said, “His blood be on us and on our children” and “We have no king but Caesar”  (Matt. 27:15-26, Mk. 15:6-15, Lk. 23:1-25, Jn. 19:15).  This was a self-inflicted curse.  Barabbas was a murderer and political agitator.  In 70AD the Romans destroyed Herod’s Temple and lined the streets of Jerusalem with crucified Jews.  The Russian word Czar is derived from the word Caesar.  The Czars instigated the Pogroms that mercilessly wiped out hundreds of the Jewish inhabitants of Russia   Adolph Hitler based Mien Kampf on a book entitled, The Decline of the West by Oswald Spengler.  One of its themes was that the world needs another Caesar.  Hitler gathered his SS men from the murderers and political prisoners in German prisons.

It should also be noted that what goes around comes around.  The Bible says that whoever curses the Jews will be cursed in return (Gen 12;3).  The Roman Empire collapsed.  The Czarist rule of Russia was ruthlessly ended by Bolsheviks/Communists who had been inspired by the writings of Marx and Engels who were both Jewish.  The Communist leader Stalin butchered millions of Russians.  The two World Wars coupled with pro-abortion policies have put the German nationality in danger of extinction.  In a sense, they are threatened with the eradication that they intended for the Jews.  In an attempt to counter-act this, the German government pays those who have children “kinder-gilt”.  It is a benefit awarded only to Germans who have children.

Many contemporary evangelicals find it difficult to understand the Jew’s aversion to the Christian faith and the Name of Jesus.  They are often mystified as to why their syrupy expressions of Jesus’ love are met with a cold shoulder and in some instances mocking hostility.  I believe that there are two reasons for this.  One is the historical ignorant inhumanity of those who called themselves Christians toward the Jews.  The other is the timing of God’s plan for a mass in gathering of the Jewish people prior to the Second Advent of the Lord.

Most Gentile Christians are oblivious to the negative imprint that the Church has made in the name of Christ on the collective Jewish psyche over the past two millennia.  Historically, Christians have demonstrated anything but the love of God to the Jews.  Under the banner of the Church and our love for Jesus we have either actively participated in or ignorantly allowed the persecution of the Jews in nearly every nation that calls itself Christian.  Our unscriptural, anti-Semitic theology has paved the way for habitual expressions of animosity, social degradation, and forced baptisms.  The histories of Christian nations reflect the shameful appropriation of children, unjust persecutions, torture and exiles of their Jewish citizens.  For centuries-misguided Gentile Christians chose the Holidays of Christmas and Easter as occasions to perpetrate barbarous crimes against the Jews who lived among them.  Because of this, one could say, that it is as though there is something in most every Jew’s historical and spiritual DNA structure that interprets the Cross to be a symbol of disaster.  When they are confronted with the Gospel, especially through a Gentile, there is often something that is alerted within them which says; “Danger, danger, fight or flee”.  This phenomenon could be compared to the ability of various species within creation to adapt to their environments.  If there is a poisonous plant indigenous to an area, the wild life adapts and over time learns to avoid it.  Once the adaptation is secure an alarm imprint within their DNA causes all future generations to have an aversion to that which their ancestors found toxic.

The following is a brief overview of what has caused the negative imprint in the Jewish mind that hinders them from embracing Christianity.

The First Century - There was a war between the Jews and Rome.  At that time there were well over 50,000 Jewish Christians in Jerusalem.  When the Romans assaulted the Holy City the Christians interpreted it as a fulfillment of Christ’s prophecy of Matthew 24:15-17. “Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand),  [16] then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. [17] Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house…“As a result they refused to defend their homeland and fled to the city of Pella that is in modern day Jordan.  With Israel’s fighting forces diminished by the exodus of Messianic believers Jerusalem was captured, 600,000 Jews were butchered, 115,000 were exported as slaves and the temple was burnt to the ground.  This particular Roman siege took more lives than all the bombings of Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and Tokyo combined.

The Second Century - A Jewish leader named Bar Kokohba led a revolt against Rome.  He was defeated in 135 AD and the emperor Hadrian vindictively decided to wipe out the name and memory of Israel.  Therefore he renamed Israel after their age-old enemies the Philistines.  He called the area Syria et Philistia.  Up until that time it had always been known as Israel or Judea the home of the Jews. The word Palestine is a corruption of the word Philistine.  Every believer with Bible knowledge should understand that God delivered the land of Israel from the Philistines and gave it to the Jewish descendants of Isaac.  During the years in which the world maps of Christian nations labeled Israel as Palestine it was a subtle insult to the Jewish people.
Contemporary Christians must not be confused by the present day arguments over the land of Israel being divided up to accommodate the Palestinians.  The land of Israel is God’s land and He gave it to the Jewish people as an everlasting possession.  The Scriptures describe a region in the Middle-East that God mandates as belonging solely to the Jews.  It stretches eastward from the Mediterranean Sea to the Euphrates River and south to the river of Egypt (Gen. 15:8).  God’s original allotment for the twelve tribes of Israel takes in all of the Sinai, Judea, Samaria, and large portions of present-day Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria.  Strictly speaking, calling this area Palestine is unjustified because historically there is no such thing as Palestine or a true Palestinian.  In 1946 the Arab historian Professor Hitti testified that there is absolutely no mention of a Palestine anywhere in Arab history.  In 1977 the PLO leader Zuhair Mohsen stated that the Palestinian people did not exist and that they all belonged to the Arab people.  He further stated that the establishment of a Palestinian state was just a name to continue their struggle against Israel in the cause of Arab unity.  Emir Feisal of Syria signed an agreement with the Jews on January 3, 1919 wherein he renounced all claims to the area known as Palestine.  He said that it should be the territory of the Jews.  Between 1933-35, 164,000 Jewish immigrants from Europe paid absentee Arab landowners $20,000,000 for a rocky, sandy and swampy area that we today call Israel.  With God inspired skill they created it into a green, productive land for the first time in hundreds of years.  In 1937, it was the intent of the Arabs to secure a big Arab state outside of Judea, leaving little Israel for the Jews.  Their slogan then was “Arabia for the Arabs and Judea for the Jews”.  The Christian community worldwide should insist that they adhere to that slogan.  The Jews have a three-fold right to their land; God gave it to them; they repurchased it from the Arabs; they have paid for it with their blood since the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948.

The Fourth through the Sixth Century - St. John Chrysotom, St. Gregory of Nyssa, Hilary of Poiters, and many other noted church leaders preached that synagogues were the caverns of brigands and the repair of wild beasts.  Jews were denounced in hundreds of sermons as greedy, lustful, inveterate murderers who were possessed by the devil.  Jews were forbidden to serve in any public offices and marriage to one was considered an adulterous union punishable by death.

The Twelfth and Thirteenth Century - In England all Jews and their properties were considered the property of the king.  When a wealthy Jew in Bristol refused to pay exorbitant taxes his punishment was to have a tooth extracted for each day he withheld payment.  Between 1262-79 AD there were 1,780 Jews executed in London alone.  King Edward I ordered every living Jew to be out of his realm by All Saints Day of 1290.  The Catholic Church incited thousands of its members to make crusades to the Holy Land to liberate it from the hands of Islamic and Jewish infidels.  In England, France and Germany civilians demonstrated their support for the troops by rioting against the Jews at home.  They torched homes and synagogues and thousands were killed.  For instance, when Richard the Lion-Hearted left England it is estimated that Londoners slaughtered 1,500 English Jews.  On their way to Jerusalem the crusaders raped and pillaged their way through the Jewish communities of the Middle East.  Their justification for killing thousands and impaling infants on their lances was that they were of the hateful race that had killed Jesus.  In reality the Jews were not solely responsible for the death of our Savior.  It was actually the Romans who crucified Him due to pressure from the religious sect of the Pharisees.  They, in turn were being motivated by satanic influences that were permitted to fulfill the pre-determined plan of God.
 
The Fourteenth Century - The Black Death plague hit Europe and the Jews were wrongfully blamed.  In Spain Jews were coerced through torture to confess to poisoning wells with a concoction made of lizards, frogs, spiders, human hearts, and the sacred hosts.  The story spread like wild fire throughout Christendom.  In Switzerland, Germany, France, Belgium, Poland and Austria the pattern for sending thousands of Jews to be burned at the stake were the same.  First came the accusations, then trials, torture, forced confessions, and then the flames.  The “Christians” of Europe were so blinded by hundreds of years of anti-Semitic propaganda that they were unable to deduce that Jews were also dying from the Black Death.  The church was too ignorant to perceive that if Jews had indeed poisoned public drinking water that they would have been poisoning members of their own race, as they had to draw from the same wells.
 
The Fifteenth and Seventeenth Century - The Catholic church in Spain and Portugal had vicious Inquisitions.  Jews and Marranos  (Jews who had converted to Christianity but were suspected of practicing Judaism) were tortured and killed by the thousands.  Those who refused baptism died, their properties were confiscated and their kidnapped children were raised as Christians in homes throughout Europe.  Under the leadership of Martin Luther came the reformation and the Protestant church.  Luther began his ministry with high hopes that the Jews would follow him into his new church.  When they did not he became enraged and began to preach and publish scurrilous sermons accusing them of being doomed to hell as anti-Christ devils who were guilty of ritualistic murders.  In his last sermon before his death he called for their expulsion from Germanic provinces.

1648-58 AD - This decade was perhaps the bloodiest in Jewish history until the Holocaust.  Czarist Cossacks incited by the Eastern Orthodox Church blitzed through 700 Jewish communities of the Ukraine and Poland.  It is estimated that at least 500,000 Jews died.  Historians report that victims were flayed alive and left to the agony of a lingering death.  Infants were slit like fish before their mother’s eyes.  Pregnant women were ripped open and then sown back again with live cats thrust into their bowels.

The Nineteenth and Twentieth Century - Czarist pogroms or purgings of Jews from Russian cities caused thousands to flee to other nations as synagogues and homes were plundered and burned.

1939-45 AD - 6,000,000 European Jews perished in the Holocaust.  Hitler appealed to German Christians, whose minds had already been polluted by hundreds of years of anti-Semitic theology, when he wrote in Mein Kampf: “I believe that I am today acting in accordance with the will of the Almighty Creator: by defending myself against the Jews I am fighting for the work of the Lord.”
After the war it was inconvenient for the European nations to have Jews wandering about as displaced persons.  Therefore, the Allied Forces returned scores of thousands to the very camps from which they had been liberated.  In reality, only the nationality and motives of their captors had changed.  The Nazis had killed them.  The United Nations would not allow them to live as free human beings.  Tragically, the Jews were not actually completely liberated from the concentration camps of Europe and Cyprus until 1947.

The victorious Allied Forces discovered the Nazi’s cache of gold bullion bars.  Much of it had been cast from the fortunes and dental work of Jews who had perished in the work camps.  Conscience would dictate that these resources rightfully belonged to the survivors of the Holocaust.  It could have been a tremendous asset to help resettle European Jews in new homes and vocations.  It would have gone a long way in helping establish the State of Israel as a homeland for Jewish people.  However, the Allied Forces shamefully opted to give $44,000,000 worth of it to the industrialists of the nations that had sided with Germany during the war in order to help them rebuild their businesses.

An Important Question

Is there any hint in the Scriptures that there was a potential for something like the Holocaust to occur?  I think there is.  I do not believe that God orchestrates any form of anti-Semitic acts.  I do believe that there is Scriptural evidence that what man intends for evil God turns around for good.  In Jeremiah 16:15-18 it says that fishermen and hunters would pursue the Jewish people to get them back to their own land.  The fishermen could be the Zionist beginning with Theodore Herzl who entreated the Jews of Europe to return to Israel.  The hunters could be the Nazis who relentlessly hunted them down.  Without question, had it not been for the population growth within Israel spawned by those two movements, Israel would not have the strength to thwart the intents of Islamics today (Rom. 8:28).

The Twenty-first Century - In America and Europe anti-Semitism flourishes through the efforts of the Klue Klux Klan, neo-Nazi and Aryan purist groups.  They label Jews as Christ-killers who manipulate the world’s economy for their greed.  More often than not they use the Gospel of John and other New Testament passages as their proof texts.  Using isolated texts like John 9:22, 19:38 they punctuate that the true Christians were apprehensive of reprisals from “the Jews.”  They fail to discern that the authors of the texts were themselves Jews who were referring solely to the Jewish clergy and political leaders who had rejected Christ.  These anti-Semitic groups also erroneously assert that the Jews, the Hebrews, and the Israelites are separate, distinctive people groups.  They try to persuade their adherents that Christians are the true Hebrews, that the church, independent of future ingathering of Jews,  is the sole true Israel of God and that Jews are despicable enemies of God.  The Apostle Paul certainly had an excellent understanding of the terms Jews, Israelites, and Hebrews.  He claimed to be all three.  Though he was born of the tribe of Benjamin he proclaimed before all that he was a Hebrew of Hebrews, an Israelite and a Jew (Rom. 11:1, Philip.  3:5, Acts 21:39).  Simply stated the words Jew and Jewish refer to religion and culture; Hebrew and Hebrews refer to a language and a genealogy which can be traced back to Abraham and Isaac; and Israelites are those born to citizens of Israel or within Israel’s borders. 

With this horrendous history how can we Gentiles expect to win Jews for Christ?  The truth is that it is unlikely that most Gentile believers will be primary participants in the process through any means beyond intercession and the support of Messianic Jewish ministries that are effective in reaching their kinsmen.  In most circumstances, it is a privilege that the Lord has reserved for Himself.  He will bring the Jews into His flock, in His own time through a global sovereign move of the Holy Spirit on Jewish hearts.  When this happens it is unlikely that there will be a hosts of  Gentile missionaries who can claim the credit.  We can pray for that day and soften their hearts through acts of gratitude and kindness.  However, it is doubtful that our preaching will be a common factor in the conversion of the majority of Jews.  The Lord will meet them in Divine visitations as He did with Jacob and the Apostle Paul.  He will begin to take them aside individually to reveal Himself to them as their Messiah.  These private encounters will be much like that of Joseph when he made his identity known to his brothers in Egypt.  As the Messiah’s identity is made known to their spirits they will look on Him whom they pierced and mourn.  Jesus will comfort them by telling them that even though they ignorantly meant it for evil, that God meant it for good.  In a relatively short time millions of Jews will pass under the rod and into the bond of the New Covenant. 

Ezekiel 20:33-37 “As I live,” says the Lord GOD, “surely with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, and with fury poured out, I will rule over you.  [34] I will bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you are scattered, with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, and with fury poured out.  [35] And I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there I will plead My case with you face to face.  [36] Just as I pleaded My case with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will plead My case with you,” says the Lord GOD.  [37] “I will make you pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant;

The Jews, as the natural branches of the olive tree will be grafted in among Gentiles who are the wild olive branches.  Their initial rejection of the Gospel brought us salvation.  Their acceptance will usher in life from the dead or the resurrection of all deceased believers from their graves and the Second Coming of the Lord to planet earth. 
Romans 11:11-12, 15, 23-29 I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall?  Certainly not! But through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles.  [12] Now if their fall is riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more their fullness! [15] For if their being cast away is the reconciling of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?  [23] And they also, if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.  [24] For if you were cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, who are natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?  [25] For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.  [26] And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “The Deliverer will come out of Zion,  And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob;[27] For this is My covenant with them, When I take away their sins.”[28] Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers.  [29] For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. 

One might ask; “How can we right the wrongs and help prepare the Jews among us for their coming personal encounter with their Messiah?  Here are some suggestions.
1) You can pray that God will soon send a sovereign move of His Holy Spirit on Jews in every nation.
2) You can cultivate friendships with Jews in your locale.  As you do so make sure that you treat them respectfully without the ulterior motive of converting them.  They are a discerning people and they will be alerted to and offended by insincerity.  You will find them fascinating people whom will enrich your life in countless ways when you befriend them for who they are as individuals.
3) Invite a Rabbi into your church during the various Jewish holidays.  The roots of our worship, covenants, and service to God come from their traditions.  You will gain wonderful insights into the Christian faith as you come to understand more about the faith of your spiritual ancestors.
4) Consider making benevolent gifts from your church to ministries that are actively engaged in helping immigrants settle in Israel.  We have sent them away empty-handed as they were exiled from Christian nations far too many times through the centuries.  Numerous gifts now from the Christian community will let them know that the Lord has a new generation in the household of faith.
Section 5 - Blessings Await Those Who Bless The Jews

Genesis 12:3 “I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the               families of the earth shall be blessed.”

God’s Spirit has a revelation that He wants to impart to every Christian who desires passage into God’s spiritual and material blessings.  It is making the decision to cultivate a love for the nation of Israel and Jewish people everywhere.  This is a secret passport that for the most part has been neglected by the Church throughout the centuries.  Actually, though God in His mercy has blessed us, we have ignorantly refused this vital truth through our misdirected anti-Semitic theology.  The Holy Spirit is now compelling us to repent.

We must come to understand that the Lord never intended that there be ongoing enmity between Christians and Jews.  One of the primary reasons for Jesus’ death on the cross was to break down the wall of enmity between us and reconcile us together to create one new man from the two.  As we allow the Lord to cleanse the anti-Semitism from our hearts we qualify to mature and become the completed dwelling place of God in the Spirit.  This is the clear teaching of the following passage from the book of Ephesians.

Ephes.2:11-22:   Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh–who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands–  [12] that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope  and without God in the world.  [13] But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.  [14] For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation,  [15] having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace,  [16] and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.  [17] And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near.  [18] For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.  [19] Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,  [20] having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone,  [21] in whom the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord,  [22] in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

Please note the words two, both and together.  They refer to the Gentiles who were afar off from, and the Jews who were near to, the covenants of God.  It is through the blood of Jesus that we both have access through the Holy Spirit into the fullness of the Father’s blessings.  We are to be joined together as the habitation of God.

If we repent of our ignorant neglect of this vital truth the Scriptures give ample precedents that the Father’s blessings of prosperity, physical healing and household salvation will surely follow.  Psa 122:6-9 implies that as we love Israel and pray for her, prosperity will be our reward.  When the Jewish elders of Jesus’ day wanted Him to come and heal a Gentile centurion’s servant they knew that they would have to give Him a good reason.  When Jesus heard that the man loved the Jewish people and had built them a synagogue, He sent the Spirit of Faith for healing to the man’s home and healed the servant (Luke 7:2-10).  The first occurrence of the Holy Spirit being poured out on Gentiles to bring salvation and the baptism in the Holy Spirit to an entire neighborhood was prompted by the righteous acts of one Gentile man toward the Jewish people.  The angel of the Lord clearly told Cornelius that his gifts to the Jews had come before God as a memorial of his kindness.  As a result God graced all of his friends and relatives with the gift of eternal life, Act 10:1-5, 24, 34-48.

Part of our commission as the people of God is to provoke the Jews, the natural descendants of Abraham, to jealousy, Romans 10:19, 11:11.  We are to provoke them as they see the covenant blessings that belong to them coming upon us.  It must be stated that few Jews are in any way envious of Christians.  On the whole, Jews are a creative, industrious people who are well known for their scientific achievements, educational innovations, and business acumen.  Unfortunately this is not the case with many Christians.  Though, Jesus has promised us the abundant life, far too few are actually demonstrating it to the world.  Jews may often hear Christians say, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”, Philip.  4:13. With this boast a discerning Jew might inquire; “Just what have you done through Christ that is more notable than what we have accomplished without Him”?

The Church that sees the end-time harvest of the Jews will need to cultivate apprehending faith that bears evidence that God’s blessings reside on its Gentile membership.  Miraculous signs and wonders must become commonplace among us.  The Jewish disciples who attracted 3,000 to the Lord on the Day of Pentecost were prophesying about the glorious works that God would do among His chosen people.  Clever sermons will not convince the Jewish people of the Lordship of Christ.  They will not be moved to investigate His Messiahship unless they see objective proof that He is alive and performing miraculous healings.  The visible evidence of the Holy Spirit’s anointing on our lives will prepare them to accept their coming revelations that Jesus is indeed Jewish and their King.

Faith’s Response:

Father, I ask forgiveness for any degree of prejudice and anti-Semitism that I have held in my heart.  Lord, I thank you for all the blessings that you have afforded me through the many contributions which your chosen people have made to enhance my life.  Lord Jesus, the Jews are your kinsmen in the flesh and I embrace them as my brothers in the Spirit.  I praise you for allowing me to see the full restoration of Israel in my lifetime.  Lord.  I ask you to begin Your move on Jewish hearts.  Send your Holy Spirit to visit them with revelations of their Messiah.

Sources

The historical data contained in this book was derived from research of the following:
The Long Way Home, 1997 HBO documentary.
The Last Word On The Middle East, Derek Prince, Chosen Books Pub.
The Anguish Of The Jews, Edward H. Flannery, Macmillan Pub.
The Jewish Connection, M. Hirsh Goldberg, Bantam Books.  Pub.
Israel America’s Key To Survival, Mike Evans, Logos International Pub.
The Christian History Institute’s website http://www.gospelcom.net/chi/

All Scripture references are quoted from the New King James Version.

The Awesome Breadths Of God’s Blessings

By Jim

Blessings focused on upgrades
in life circumstances outnumber
spiritual blessings Two-to-One

  For the first 25 years of my Christian experience, I was trapped in a system that was basically nonspecific about the particulars of the blessings of God.  Sure, they spoke of salvation’s peace with God, the assurance of the presence of Christ within and the delights of eternity in heaven.  Beyond that, blessings were spoken of in a generic sense with no inklings about just what could be anticipated by the faithful.  The inference was that a blessed condition would simply enhance one’s spiritual life with increased confidence that one is a God-pleaser; prayers are heard; an overall sense of spiritual wellbeing and so forth.  That all changed when I defied my denomination’s taboos and received the baptism in the Holy Spirit.  The Bible became my guide for identifying the blessings of God that eclipsed the heights, depths and breadths of anything I’d previously imagined.

  As I searched the Scriptures new dimensions of spiritual blessings were illuminated.  Learning about the authority inherent with sitting in heavenly places with Christ was a precious pearl.  Greater prayer expectations for seeing loved ones saved and wounded relationships restored was like found treasure.  Best of all, I was translated from an intellectually based, anti-feelings Christianity into a mindset that recognizes and welcomes spiritually induced feelings of love nudges from Father God.  The good news is God’s blessings aren’t limited to overtly spiritual realms.  They extend into every aspect of life. 

  God actually encourages us to believe for His manifold blessings in tangible physical and material vistas as well spiritual realms.  In God’s economy, healing and health, financial abundance and success in overcoming life’s challenges are waiting for all who will activate faith’s disciplines.  Such entails knowing and persistently claming every needed blessing until consistent victories becomes routine.  Faith is a muscle that is strengthened by knowledge coupled with experience.  Once success is a given in a certain area, life has a way of pitching new challenges to us.  There aren’t any eventualities of life that aren’t covered by the Word’s redemptive promises of blessings.  All the promises of God’s blessings of both Testaments are yes and amen for those who are in Christ. (2 Cor 1:20)

  To assist you in discovering the scope of potentials for upgrades in life’s circumstances, I’ve explored the words bless, blessed and blessing(s) throughout the Bible.  I restricted my study to those found as attributable to the direct involvement of God.  To my amazement, and likely to yours, I found that the focus on physical and material blessings outnumber those focused on spiritual blessings 2-to-1.   WOW!!!  Dead tradition can’t conceive such a thing, but God surely has.   

 My goal is for you to look up each cited reference of the study. In the hope that you’ll be intrigued to do so, I’m providing some contextual verses from the list with comments.

They Never Told Me

• Though Isaac solely inherited all that God gave his father Abraham, the Lord blessed him with far more. - Genesis 24:1 Now Abraham was old, well advanced in age; and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things. 24:34-36 So he said, “I am Abraham’s servant. [35] The Lord has blessed my master greatly, and he has become great; and He has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male and female servants, and camels and donkeys. [36] And Sarah my master’s wife bore a son to my master when she was old; and to him he has given all that he has. 26:1-3 There was a famine in the land, besides the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines, in Gerar. [2] Then the Lord appeared to him and said: “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land of which I shall tell you. [3] Dwell in this land, and I will be with you and bless you; for to you and your descendants I give all these lands, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father.  26:12-13 Then Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year a hundredfold; and the Lord blessed him. [13] The man began to prosper, and continued prospering until he became very prosperous; [14] for he had possessions of flocks and possessions of herds and a great number of servants. So the Philistines envied him.
• Ambitions to be blessed are legal. After God had already made Jacob extravagantly wealthy, he would not let God go until He blessed him again. - Genesis 31:3-4 Then the Lord said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers and to your family, and I will be with you.” [4] So Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field, to his flock, 31:11-12 Then the Angel of God spoke to me in a dream, saying, ‘Jacob.’ And I said, ‘Here I am.’ [12] And He said, ‘Lift your eyes now and see, all the rams which leap on the flocks are streaked, speckled, and gray-spotted; for I have seen all that Laban is doing to you. 30:41-43 And it came to pass, whenever the stronger livestock conceived, that Jacob placed the rods before the eyes of the livestock in the gutters, that they might conceive among the rods. [42] But when the flocks were feeble, he did not put them in; so the feebler were Laban’s and the stronger Jacob’s. [43] Thus the man became exceedingly prosperous, and had large flocks, female and male servants, and camels and donkeys. 32:24-26 Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day. [25] Now when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the socket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob’s hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him. [26] And He said, “Let Me go, for the day breaks.” But he said, “I will not let You go unless You bless me!”
• God will insure the nutritional value of what you eat and drink and will eliminate sicknesses from your family. - Exodus 23:25 So you shall serve the Lord your God, and He will bless your bread and your water. And I will take sickness away from the midst of you.
• Even when God humbles His own, His supernatural provisions are still available. - Deut. 8:2-5 And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. [3] So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord. [4] Your garments did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years. [5] You should know in your heart that as a man chastens his son, so the Lord your God chastens you.
• Your efforts to raise righteous children wont go unrewarded. - Isaiah 65:23 They shall not labor in vain, Nor bring forth children for trouble; For they shall be the descendants of the blessed of the Lord, And their offspring with them.
  Rejoice in your studies of how blessings focused on specific tangible, material benefits outnumber those focused on spiritual qualities and experiences two-to-one.

Tangible Material Blessings

1) Gen 1:28
2) Gen 9:1
3) Gen. 12:2
4) Gen 14:9
5) Gen 17:16
6) Gen 17:20
7) Gen 18:18
Gen 22:17
9) Gen 24:31
10) Gen 24:35
11) Gen 25:23
12) Gen 26:3
13) Gen 26:4
14) Gen 26:12
15) Gen 26:13
16) Gen 26:24
17) Gen 28:3
18) Gen. 28:14
19) Gen 30:27
20) Gen 30:30
21) Gen 33:11
22) Gen 35:9
23) Gen 35:11
24) Gen. 35:12
25) Gen 39:5
26) Gen 48:3-4
27) Gen 48:16
28) Gen 48:21
29) Gen 49:25
30) Ex 23:25
31) Lev 25:21
32) Deut 1:11
33) Deut 2:7
34) Deut 7:13
35) Deut 7:14
36) Deut. 8:3
37) Deut 8:4
38) Duet 8:7
39) Deut 8:8
40) Deut 8:9
41) Deut 8:10
42) Deut 8:12
43) Deut 8:13
44) Deut 8:14
45) Deut 8:15
46) Deut 8:16
47) Deut 8:18
48) Deut 12:7
49) Deut 12:10
50) Deut 12:15
51) Deut 14:24
52) Deut 14:29
53) Deut 15:4
54) Deut 15:6
55) Deut 15:10
56) Deut 15:18
57) Deut 16:15
58) Deut 16:17
59) Deut 23:20
60) Deut 24:19
61) Deut 26:15
62) Deut 28:2-3
63) Deut 28:5
64) Deut 28:6
65) Deut 28:7
66) Deut 28:8-11
67) Deut 28:12-13
68) Deut 30:16
69) Deut 30:19-20
70) Deut 33:6
71) Deut 33:7
72) Deut 33:13
73) Deut 33:14
74) Deut 33:15
75) Deut 33:16
76) Deut 33:17
77) Deut 33:20
78) Deut 33:21
79) Deut 33:22
80) Deut 33:23
81) Deut 33:24
82) Deut 33:25
83) Deut 33:26
84) Deut 33:27
85) Deut 33:28
86) Deut 33:29
87) Josh 17:14
88) Josh 24:10
89) Jud 13:24*
90) Ruth 4:14
91)  1 Sam 2:20
92) 1 Sam 25:27
93) 2 Sam 7:29
94) 2 Sam 18:28
95) 1 Kgs 1:47
96) 1 Kgs 1:48
97) 1 Kgs 10:9
98) 1 Chron 4:10
99) 1 Chron 13:14
100) 1 Chron 17:27
101) 1 Chron 26:4-5
102) 2 Chron 31:10
103) Job 1:10
104) Job 42:12-13
105) Psa 5:12
106) Psa 18:46-47
107) Psa 21:3
108) Psa 21:4
109) Psa 21:5
110) Psa 21:7
111) Psa 21:8
112) Psa 21:9
113) Psa 37:22
114)  Psa 41:1
115) Psa 41:2
116) Psa 67:6
117) Psa 68:19
118) Psa 89:15-23
119) Psa 94:12-13
120) Psa 106:3-23
121)  Psa 112:1-3
122) Psa 128:1-6
123) Psa 132:15
124) Psa 147:13-20
125) Prov 5:18
126) Prov 10:22
127) Isa 65:23*
128) Ezek 34:25-31
129) Dan 3:28
130) Zech 6:13
131) Mal 3:10
132) Mal 3:11
133) Mal 3:12
134) Matt 5:5
135) Matt 14:19
136) Lk 1:45
137) Lk 1:48
138) Acts 20:35
139) Heb 6:7
140) Heb. 6:14
141) Rev 5:12
142) Rev 20:6
143) Rev 22:14
               
Spiritual Blessings

1) Gen 5:2
2) Gen 24:7
3) Gen 24:27
4) Gen 24:48
5) Gen 25:11
6) Gen 32:26-30
7) Ex 32:29
Ex 39:43
9) Lev 9:23
10) Deut 33:8
11) Num 6:23-26
12) Ruth 2:4
13) Ruth 3:10
14) 1 Sam 15:13
15) 1 Sam 25:33
16) Psa 1:1-4
17) Psa 3:8
18) Psa 24:5-8*
19) Psa 29:11
20) Psa 32:1-2
21) Psa 45:2
22) Psa 65:4
23) Psa 84:4-5
24) Psa 89:15-23*
25) Psa 106:3-23
26) Psa 133:1-3
27) Prov. 8:32
28) Prov. 8:34
29) Isa 44:3
30) Matt 5:3
31) Matt 5:4
32) Matt 5:6
33) Matt 5:7
34) Matt 5:8
35) Matt 5:9
36) Matt 5:10
37) Matt 13:6
38) Matt. 16:17
39) Matt 23:29
40) Matt 24:46
41) Matt 25:34
42) Mk 14:22
43) Lk 6:20
44) Lk 6:21
45) Lk 6:22
46) Lk 6:28
47) Lk 7:23
48) Lk 10:23
49) Lk 11:28
50) Lk 12:37
51) Lk 12:43
52) Lk 13:35
53) Lk 14:14
54) Jn 20:29
55) Acts 3:26
56) Rom 4:7
57) Rom 4:8
58) Rom 15:29
59) 2 Cor 1:3
60) Gal 3:8
61) Gal 3:9
62) Gal 3:14
63) Eph 1:3
64) Ja 1:12
65) Ja 1:25
66) 1 Pet 1:3
67) 1 Pet 3:9
68) Rev 1:3
69) Rev 7:12
70) Rev 14:13
71)  Rev 16:15
72) Rev 19:9
73) Rev 22:7
74) Rev 22:14

Silencing the Voice of Satan

By Jim

  Every Christian has heard Satan’s voice though he’s not prone to identify himself when speaking.  As a master ventriloquist, he subtly disguises his misdirecting and condemning whispers.  Such are projected to sound as though generated by accumulations of wisdom from within the human mind rather than from his scheming lips. He’s out to ruin interpersonal relationships and to stymie anything that brings pleasure to God and rewards the productive efforts of man.  He blurs years of harmonious interactions between friends, families and fellow Christians by inciting distorted magnifications about isolated offensive events. The Slanderer is his name and division is his game.  Above all things, he wants to separate people from the concept of God loving them and caring about their lives. This article is an elementary introduction about learning to recognize Satan’s voice and how to silence it.  To fully grasp the intentions of the points presented, it would be best to read it with a Bible at hand.

Dilemma

   Believers are often set at odds with one another by 2 conflicting opinions.  One reduces the potentials for satanic influences to hinder believers from remote to nonexistent.  The premise is the atoning work of Christ at Calvary and through the Resurrection completely annihilated the Devil’s capacities.  The other emphasizes Satan by crediting him for spawning most every unpleasant event that comes down the pike. 

  The matter of the Devil’s defeat is complex with both views having strengths and weaknesses.  The Cross did obliterate Satan’s power to hinder the Man, Christ Jesus.  As the Firstborn Son of God, Jesus thoroughly pummeled the Neighborhood Bully proving it can be done by those who follow in His footsteps as children of God.  As our Elder Brother He says, “I whipped him and now it’s your turn through faith in my name.”  Therefore, no believer can afford to consider Satan’s defeat an automatic given in every life situation.  In many instances the Lord’s victory must be activated by employing the various spiritual weaponry of the Faith. 

  On one hand, the Devil is the culprit initiating much of the mayhem afflicting people’s lives.  On the other, any presentation of the depths and breadths of the Evil One’s empowerments suggesting near equality with the Almighty’s is sorely amiss.  The Devil prefers to cast his voice from the shadows as though he didn’t exist, but if exposed will make the best out of the circumstances.  Incessant preoccupation with the Enemy’s shenanigans gives him something he relishes; the center of attention.  The Usurper delights in getting the focus off of extolling God’s glories and onto clamor about his.  Constantly speaking about him doing this and that can play right into his hands.  It comes-off as sounding bizarre and rather cultish to believers who are unfamiliar with his tactics and to the unconverted.  Nonetheless, for in-house-use, Bible savvy believers need to communicate basic understandings about the wiles of the Devil.

The Hinderer

   From Acts through Revelations the Devil is referred to by his various names 40 times.  Those books deal with the life of the Church after the Atonement. Such strongly infers that though defeated by Christ, the Evil One continues as an opponent.   Years after His victory on the Cross, Jesus told the Apostle Paul that Satan still had power/authority. (Acts 26:18)  Further on in his ministry, Paul communicated the same to the Church at Colosse. (Col 1:13) He told the Ephesians they were in a wrestling match with satanic powers and encouraged the saints in Rome about how God would shortly put the Enemy under their feet. (Eph 6:11-12, Rom 16:20)   On 3 occasions the Apostle spoke about Satan hindering him from doing what he believed to be God’s will. (1 Thes 2:18, Rom 1:13, 15:22-23)  It shouldn’t be any surprise for any of us to discover the Devil trying to hinder our godly plans and pursuits.    
Ear Level

  The Bible reveals that every believer is in a war.  That fact is not altered by anyone’s ministry flavor preferences.  Nobody gets a free-pass as the enemy is out to harass and defeat all. (1 Pet 5:8-9)  Christians that feel called to worship, evangelism, faith confessions, mercy ministries etc are no less exposed to skirmishes with spirits of wickedness than are spiritual warfare enthusiasts.  Contrary to the beliefs of some, claiming Satan has no authority and ignoring the possibility that he’s the author of many of the perplexing circumstances confronting them does not make him go away. We’re all in a boxing match with Satan who swings at us from high places. (Eph 6:10-13)  I could go into an explanation about the location of those high places, but won’t.  Suffice it to say, the height at which they begin is at ear level.  A major battlefront is for the thoughts and imaginations of our minds. (2 Cor 10:4-5)   At times, his attacks are similar to that of a boxer and at other times that of a mutant interrogator. 

Ringside

  As a boxer the Devil voices combinations of jabs followed by attempted knockout swings.  The jabs are his nearly audible voice from the unseen realm; words assimilated from people that are unwittingly venting his innuendos; and the Devil’s take on whatever visible results have been achieved by our efforts at projects meaningful to us.  Such inevitably feature discouraging distortions.  The intentions of his knockout swings are the epitome of malicious cleverness.  It’s to provoke his opponents to become his turncoat partners in accusing God’s people. (Rev 12:9)  He is happy for God’s people to effectively multiply his efforts by devouring one another with hurtful accusations based on the deceptions he’s whispered in their ears.  I’ll use his most recent assaults on me as an illustration.    

  The voice jabs: Jim, wake-up.  You’re a washed up old man that nobody wants and has nothing of worth to contribute.  Your Eph 4:11-16 vision of creating a church atmosphere that transforms Christians from ministry spectators into ministry participants during services is an unrealistic antiquated dream.  The proof you’re wasting everybody’s time is the minuscule size of your fellowship.  Come now, if your desires were truly of God, why aren’t the masses flocking to your door?

  Satan’s attempted knockout swings were designed to incite me to defensively formulate the following inner judgments: The majority of present-day Christians have little interests in seeing the Body activated to walk in the fullness of the stature of Christ.  Most prefer convenience and religious entertainment that leaves public ministry in the hands of paid professionals.  Churchgoers expect slick pros to create and maintain prepackaged, user-friendly ministry outlets.  Few are willing to plow through to discover the unique and innovative realties of their particular callings.  They consider the biblical injunctions for believers to exercise spiritual gifts and to strive to make their callings and elections sure mere space filler passages.  (1 Cor 14:26, 1 Pet 4:10, 2 Pet 1:10)  

  The consequences were wearisome when I didn’t instantly recognize and begin to silence Satan’s voice at first hearing.  My success at doing so was hit-and-miss on some days and more on target on others.  On the successful occasions, I was quick to use my repertoire of testimonial comebacks to counter his punches.  I correctly rationalized that pioneers routinely have harder won, smaller successes than the settlers who later blacktop the trails their predecessors blazed.  A good counter was the level of provision God has miraculously granted me in spite of the appearances of an insignificant support base.  My blows glorifying God about 4 decades of ongoing harmonious relationships with hundreds of saints stunned the Evil One with embarrassment.  I had a great defense against his knockout punch’s intended results of partnering with him to accuse the brethren.  It was to speak of how God always has a faithful remnant.  Regardless of the seeming accuracy of the Devil’s denigrating assessments of the Body, the Lord has 7,000 plus that have not bent their knees to apathy. (1 Kgs 19:18, Rom 11:1-5) 

Mutant Interrogator

  Jesus is the pattern Son and Satan interrogated Him in the wilderness temptation. It’s highly improbable that the Devil initially announced his presence by personally appearing to Jesus.  Most likely, his suggestive questionings entered the Lord’s mind via His ears.  He didn’t disclose his identity until the final round of grilling.  Each of us intermittently finds ourselves undergoing similar interrogations.  Such include questions, suggestions and supposedly plausible, even biblical reasons for why we should respond in a manner that complies with the Devil’s wishes.  His prominent objective is to plant innuendos undermining God’s faithfulness. Later, we’ll touch upon the importance of answering Satan with the Word of God.  Meanwhile, here’s the rundown on the content of the Mutant Interrogator’s questions and suggestions to Jesus and what we might hear correspondingly proposed to us.

• Matt 4:2-4 – Identity challenged – Jesus, if you are the Son of God….: (a) Mr. Goody Christian, if you’re truly born from above, why do you behave as you do?  (b) If you’re really anointed by God, why doesn’t your ministry feature the signs, wonders and financial rewards so many others enjoy.
• Matt 4:5-7 - Provocation to take foolish risks – OK Jesus, go-ahead and jump….:  (a) Saint, God gave you a great car. That yellow light is less than 20% into its cycle before turning red; jump on the accelerator, you’ll make it through safely.  (b) You’re strong in the Lord and He wouldn’t allow you to get hooked on drugs again.  One hit for old-times sake with your buddies won’t hurt you.  (c) It’s written that the merciful will be blessed with mercy.  Have you noticed that Delilah the receptionist looks like a little friendless lost sheep?  Surely, God and your wife would applaud your showing another smidgen of mercy by inviting her to lunch for the second time this week.
• Matt 4:8-10 – Compromising to expedite rewards – Jesus, the fast-track to your destiny is a slight shift in your allegiances….: (a) Businessman, God wants you to have a profitable year.  Your profit margins would be considerably enhanced if you would pay more employees with under-the-table-cash.   The government is giving your hard-earned tax $s to corrupt Wall Street profiteers.  Why not bless yourself before they can use your funds to bailout crooks?  (b) The Lord knows you and your girlfriend truly love one another and plan to marry in His timing.  Since He’s aware of the sincerity of your commitments, certainly He loves you enough to overlook your premarital fulfillments of your God-given sexual desires.

  From the variety of the examples given, you likely recollect occasions when similar temptations were whispered to prompt you into harm’s path.  Wisdom dictates that you remember one of the Devil’s titles is the Father of Lies.  Everything he says is a lie and/or is designed to draw you into a deception. (Jn 8:44)

Silencing the Voice

  Settle on the truth that though Satan insatiably tries to get you to listen to his distractions, he can be overcome and silenced.  The young men under the Apostle John’s oversight cast aside his words and so can you. (1 Jn 2:13-14)  To do so you must learn to recognize when it’s him speaking.  It will nearly always be the opposite of the Philippians 4:8 positive symphony of things about which believers are to think.  Satan’s voice is subtle, but it can be distinguished from the voice of God coming from one’s spirit into one’s mind.  Conversely, the Slanderer’s voice initially softly registers in the ear in a nearly audible fashion and then filters into the mind.  From there, it seeks receptivity within the heart/spirit. 

  That which I’ve just stated doesn’t conflict with Jesus’ saying evil thoughts originate within the human heart. (Matt 15:19)  The Lord was speaking to people that had not yet experienced salvation’s transformation of the heart/spirit.  The born-again experience purifies the human heart and promotes it to an undefiled, blameless condition. (1 Thes 5:23, 1 Jn 3:8-10)  Only persistent compliance with the Devil’s agenda can subsequently pollute it.

  The Devil attacks the mind and therefore an essential armament to protect it is the helmet of salvation.  Each of us is responsible to construct our own helmets.  We do so by making the decision to cultivate strong hope in God’s deliverance through applications of His Word and our testimonies of His faithfulness. (Eph 6:17, 1 Thes 5:8)   Whenever conditions permit, I prefer to speak the Word and my faith confessions out loud.  Doing so seems to intensify my confidence that I’m dealing with a real, but invisible enemy that will be put to flight by my words.

  The moment you hear the unwelcome babblings, begin to rebuke the suggestions with correlating counter passages from the Word of God.  Pound-down the spokesman by testifying about how the Blood of the Lamb has brought you victory in the past. (Rev 12:11-12) You can also draw upon the hope-filled prophetic words you’ve received that defy what Satan is spewing. (1 Tim 1:18)  If the voice persists, use it as a signal to begin thinking on whatsoever things are lovely, of a good report and so on in relation to the person or matter of concern. (Philip 4:8)  Intersperse thanksgiving to God about any historical redemptive qualities relating to the person and/or situation.    

  The strategy I’ve outlined wears the Enemy down and he soon slithers away.  Yes, as he did with Jesus, so he does with us and comes back for another round on subsequent occasions. (Lk 4:13)  However, by using the principles I’ve described, I’ve enjoyed months without hearing a peep out of the Evil One.  PTL

Passion For The Beloved’s Appearing

By Jim

Distinctions between the Lord’s
abiding presence in His Church
and His Coming for His Church

  Eschatology has not been a major emphasis of my ministry.  Nonetheless, when I’ve touched on the topic, I’ve always spoken of the 2nd Coming of the Lord Jesus with reverential caution.  Dogmatism about some of its aspects and timing is unfruitful.  However, all believers should cultivate a love-driven eagerness for the Groom’s return for His Bride.  The Scriptures indicate that the Church will enjoy various stages of glory as precursors to the Lord’s personal manifest appearance from the heavens.  Those phases of ever increasing strength and faith will promote the Body of Christ to a prominent role in every arena of human endeavor.  As good as life might become, it’s no substitute for the Master’s personal return to this planet.  The Blessed Hope of His Appearing should hold a preeminent place in our hearts. (1 Tim 4:8)

Stage  #1

  This phase was activated on the Day of Pentecost via the Holy Spirit.  It will not be completed until the Body of Christ is flowing in the greater works Jesus promised.  Every generation of believers post Pentecost has had the opportunity to mature into the fullness of all of the implications of the corporate Body being the habitation of the Father and of the Son through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  The generation that first matures to that extent will be spectacular.

  A primary objective for Christians is to do all we can to facilitate the Body growing into an effectual interconnectedness with the Head of the Body who is Christ. (Eph 4:11-13) The Lord has expectations of a glorious inheritance coming to Him as the Body functions at full-throttle in His gifts and callings. (Eph 1:16-20)  The depths of His love, grace and wonder working power that were restricted to Israel during His earthly sojourn will be available in every corner of the world.  Throughout the centuries premature claims about the imminence of the 2nd Advent have proved embarrassing. That grand event will not happen until the global community has witnessed us doing the things that He did during His ministry.  Such demonstrations will draw unprecedented numbers of people into salvation. 

Stage #2
  For the aforementioned to become fully functional, we need to cry out for times of refreshing to fall upon the Church from the presence of the Lord. (Acts 3:19-21)  These intermittent periods restore spiritual truths that have been lost to the Church.  An example would be the refreshing known as the Pentecostal Revival that began in the early 1900s.  It restored the Baptism in the Holy Spirit and the exercise of His gifts that had been counted as nonexistent by disconcerting sectors of Christendom.   

  Aside from the restoration of needed spiritual emphasis, refreshings bring other innovations for the betterment of mankind.  Such span from technological, scientific and medical advances on through to intriguing creativity in the arts and business.  Before the Return of the Lord, the Body of Christ will be noted for its leadership in those areas.  

Stage #3
  The Body moving in glorious spiritual power and having a global leadership role will provoke the evil to jealousy.  They will rebelliously welcome the rule of the Antichrist’s government.  An unprecedented worldwide persecution of the saints will ensue.  Some complain that God would not permit His people to undergo great tribulations.  To do so is to turn a blind eye to the barbarous persecutions of believers that have occurred in many nations throughout history.  The Antichrist’s genocide campaign will be drastically different in that Christians will be hounded in every nation simultaneously. 

  The Bible conveys that the Man of Sin and his cohorts will triumph for a season. Their cruel reign will continue until a particular critical mass/tipping point incites the Father to send forth Jesus from heaven to intervene on behalf of the saints. (Dan 7:21-27)  The Scriptures don’t provide definitive reasons for why the Father would permit the faithful to undergo global traumas.  The previously mentioned blessings of worldwide acclaim for supernatural powers and notoriety in secular fields might spawn complacency among believers about the need for the Groom’s onsite presence.  The Lord is willing to enable His church to demonstrate the grandeurs of His Kingdom.  But, obviously He is unwilling to do so at the expense of our losing enthusiasm for His Appearing.  Perhaps the trials the Body will taste prior to the Lord’s 2nd Advent are designed to get our priorities back on target.  Mass persecutions could possibly serve as deterrents to insure that we don’t fall into deception.  It is a mistake to think Jesus’ presence in His Church and His powers flowing through us are one and the same as the Blessed Hope of His Glorious Appearing. Here are some passages and comments that support that supposition:

• The fellowships of the Early Church era functioned in miraculous giftings that eclipse all exemplified to date by the contemporary Body of Christ.  Yet, Paul didn’t want them to swallow the concept that the full manifestation of the Lord’s Coming had already happened.  Apparently, the churches under his oversight were getting letters and prophetic words espousing that the full extent of the Lord’s return pertains solely to His presence activated through the Church and that no other Coming should be anticipated.  He assured them that such was not the case.  His rebuttal was to point out that the momentous Appearing of the Lord would not take place until after the Antichrist is identified and has begun to manifest his rule.  He encouragingly conveyed that subsequently the Lord would descend from the heavens with all of the faithful who had died.  They will unite with all living believers who are caught up to meet them in the air. (1 Thes 4:13-18; 2 Thes 2:1-12)
• Unquestionably, the Body will accomplish marvelous things through Christ’s spiritual presence and glory abiding within.  But, the 2nd Coming of the Man Christ Jesus from heaven must be anticipated with passionate eagerness.  He is now in heaven sitting at the right hand of God the Father.  His physical appearance in the heavens and descending with His own for His own is the Blessed Hope.  The Scriptures teach we have been saved to wait for God’s Son from heaven.  That would be a false hope, if the fullness of His presence and glory were restricted to His inhabiting the Body of Christ.  We are commissioned to corporately become all we can be via His presence in us through the Holy Spirit.  That will happen as we follow His commands with the joyful expectation that He will come forth from heaven at the appointed time in the body of His Resurrection and will demonstrate with finality that He is the King of all of the rulers of the earth.  At that juncture mighty angels will accompany Him.  The entire Body of Christ comprised of all who have remained alive and all who have died will standby to witness His and the war angels’ retributions on all who previously troubled them.  Every man has natural inclinations to come to the defense of his family.  We can expect no less from the Groom on behalf of the Bride. (1 Thes 1:9-10; 1 Pet 3:22; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Tim 6:14-15; 2 Thes 1:5-10)
• Many hold views that downplay the concepts of the catching up of the saints to forever be with the Lord, the Millennial Reign of Christ and so forth.  For them, the presence of Christ in His Church equips us to overcome all challenges whether ecological, political, spiritual, or, even the Antichrist himself.   They espouse that we have full Kingdom powers now and it’s solely our responsibility to usher in the fullness of the Lord’s dominion over this planet.  There are some interesting questions that such might do well to ponder.  A primary sign that the Kingdom is at hand is for its citizens to perform signs and wonders. (Matt 12:28; Lk 10:9: Rom 15:17-19)  How prevalent are such in your experience and fellowship?  The resurrection of the dead is a basic doctrine of the Christian faith. (Heb 6:1-3)  Millions of saints have died in enthusiastic expectations of the resurrection wherein their spirits from heaven and their bodies in the grave will be reunited in glorified form.  The Apostle Paul looked forward to that event and encouraged believers to edify one another with exhortations about it during tough times.  Were those people deceived?  If not, just when and how do you foresee their hopes being fulfilled?  Just when will they and we get our glorified bodies?  God designed mankind to possess spirits, souls and bodies. At physical death, the spirits of those born from above are instantly with the Lord in heaven.  However, they are in an incomplete state until they are rejoined to their physical bodies in glorified form.  Are we to believe that the brave and faithful of the past are consigned to live without glorious resurrected bodies like that of Christ while endless generations of the saints on earth enjoy the rewards of the Kingdom in spirit, soul and body? I think not. (1 Cor 15:12-20)
• At some point in the future, the spirits of those martyred by the Son of Perdition will reside under Gods altar in the heavens crying out for vengeance on those who shed their blood.  Are we prudent to espouse a theology that has no place for their cries to be answered?   Perish the thought. (Rev 6:9-11) 

Conclusion

  The Body of Christ is destined for greatness. All that has been accomplished in the past will pale in comparison to the miraculous feats and marvelous contributions that the Body has for every point of human pain and endeavors.  Before His personal return the global community will have every opportunity to taste and see that the Lord is good through the graces inherent in His glorious Church. All that being wonderfully true, the preeminent joy of the Bride of Christ is to passionately long for the descent of her Groom from heaven.

Aggressive Agreement Outposts

By Jim

Persistent prayers of agreement
with others heightens potentials
for optimum results  

  There are indications that our nation is on the brink of some testing times.  Budding signs of a recession, $4.00 per gallon gas, foreclosures on 2 million homes and the number of saints feeling excessive financial stresses all point to this reality.  It’s time for militaristic disciplines in various forms of faith confessions and prayers.  It’s time to establish Aggressive Agreement Outposts.  To be effectual, such demand sincere desires for change and commitments to biblical principles.  The AAO concept is simple.  It’s systematic aggressive agreement with those whom you know about specific prayer objectives wherein synchronized faith confessions and prophetic/visionary proclamations are employed.  Such will reap bountiful harvest in instances wherein solitary prayers are slow at being answered.  You’ll have to forgive me ahead-of-time for sounding like a boot camp drill sergeant.  Our focus is finances, but the strategy is equally applicable for any arena of life needing transformation.

  All know about the Scriptures that state that God will answer requests wherein 2-3 believers “agree” in prayer. (Matt. 18:19)  It goes far beyond a stranger randomly grabbing your hand at church and asking that you come into agreement with them about some urgent matter.   If your interests in and commitments to whatever was agreed upon tend to wane the moment the person releases your hand, nothing remotely akin to biblical agreement in prayer has been enacted. 

  The word “agree” actually means to “harmonize”, to “symphonize” in prayer.  Like an orchestra, it infers synchronized participations with other players in regard to the respective instrumentations that each has in a particular score.  This takes knowing the score and familiarity with the various parts that each section is to play.  It requires that each band member have an unfailing commitment to practice coming into harmony until a successful symphony is applauded.  A good depiction is to envision each participant as part of a boxer’s body as he battles an opponent.  The blows are confessions and prophetic visions of the stages to victory.  One jabs with a left, another swings a crushing right cross and another is responsible for a finishing left uppercut.  The missing ingredient for many, who’ve been praying about their financial circumstances, could easily be the harmonizing factor.  When believers beyond one’s immediate family come into sync about one another’s needs, it exemplifies the commandment of Jesus that we’re to love one another. 

The Concept

Establish weekly Aggressive Agreement Outpost prayer meetings for harmonizing confessions about finances and vocational matters.  Homes and offices are viable meeting places and evenings and early morning meeting times are options.  The only off-limits periods are those conflicting with productive church services.

1) The provisions that all long for will come, if all concerned are pro-the-vision.  The Aggressive Agreement Outpost vision is weekly 1-hour prayer sessions at various locales throughout the region from which a fellowship draws constituents.

2)  Everybody is busy and most have jobs and children with demanding schedules.  Therefore, there are a number of essential factors that can’t be disregarded.
a) Everyone comes prepared with a brief prayer that they regularly pray about their own situations.  Such should be visionary in nature that by faith portrays how things will be when ideal conditions are achieved.  It’s about making faith declarations about promotions and specific levels of finances and windfalls etc.
b) Supernatural windfalls should be a heavy favorite, as the goal is the intervention of God in ways defying human limitations.  God has all we need and is willing to create anything that is not on hand.
c) No marathons, unless the Holy Spirit literally incites such.  The model is for the meetings to last only 1 hour, beginning at an exact time and ending precisely 1 hour later.  The host should be in prayer as participants enter. The door should be unlocked with another party answering gate calls etc so all can enter the home with minimal fanfare. No waiting for people to arrive.  Typical Charismatic adaptations of Caribbean punctuality spell disaster.
d) Each participant enters the room praying.  Any who are inspired with a succinct positive confession/visionary prophetic agreement that meshes/harmonizes/flows with another’s initial confession are welcome to chime in. From there, they should launch into their own faith visions/confessions.
e) No preliminary explanations of dire circumstances are allowed. Commiserating about the various particulars eats into valuable prayer time.  The fact of attendance at the meetings says all that needs to be said.
f) No preaching prayers to impress others of one’s knowledge of intercession, faith etc.  Each person is to pray as they do when alone.
g) Generic bless and help so and so prayers are unwelcome.  Specifics are required about exactly what God is expected to do.  The agreements pertain to specific objectives that are aggressively desired.

2) Here are the tough perimeters:
a) Worship is something we highly value.  But, the perception that it must be the preliminary for each meaningful encounter with God is an exaggeration.  Praise God all you like while traveling to the meeting site, but after arrival there shouldn’t be any formal worship per se.  The only forms of praise permitted are praise confessions about how desires that have not yet materialized are already in hand by faith.
b) Fellowship around food and conversation is wonderful. But, that’s not the purpose of these sessions and there are other contexts for facilitating routine fellowship.
c) The optimum way to hinder busy people from attendance is for some to habitually hang around and chat.  Ending at 8:30 means all hug goodnight and leave for home at 8:30.
d) To minimize clean up for hosts, all should bring their own cups and beverages.
e) It’s unnecessary for couples to both attend.  They can take turns minding the kids at home.     
 
 Paint Visionary Masterpieces

  Many people in Western societies tend to be highly visual.  As they speak, their words are often describing visualizations of topical paintings that hang on the canvasses of their imaginations.  Willfully employing this tendency can be immensely beneficial in revolutionizing your finances and career. You can decorate the interior walls of your mental art gallery with prophetic pictures of the way life will be when you are flowing in the abundance that facilitates the God inspired life-style that you desire.  It is also helpful to adorn your inner gallery with the things that you want to happen in the stages that will lead to the fulfillment of the ideal circumstances.

  Aggressive Agreement Outpost prayer meetings are strolls through inner art galleries wherein each artist describes his/her paintings.   The goal is for harmonizing participants to spontaneously paint faith confession visualizations that compliment whatever others envision as the answers to their prayers.  These depictions will be added to each artist’s gallery to create a glorious montage of their expectations.  Such should always be based on principles relating to blessings, promotions and prosperity as found in God’s Word.   Each member should build new halls in their mental art galleries to house the montages framing the masterpieces of the Master’s will for prosperity in their prayer partners’ lives.  During devotional times when home alone each hall is to be visited.  Every spiritual painting is to be described in faith declarations until it materializes in the natural realm.  Faith works by love.  Many will be astounded by what God will do when His Body acts like a real body by unifying in symphonic support of one another.

  The response to the Aggressive Agreement Outposts concept from members of our fellowship and beyond has been awesome.  Hopefully, you will decide to establish an AAO to optimize your potentials for answered prayers.  If so, please notify me about your successes.

Needed - A Kind & Gentle Response To Abortion

By Jim

  In his letter to the Christians of Galatia the Apostle Paul expressed alarm.  He feared that though they had begun their walk of faith in the Spirit, they had drifted into dependence on the strength of the flesh in their attempts to exemplify righteousness (Gal. 3:1-3).  If he was with us today, he might express similar alarm in relation to the pro-life movement. I believe that there is overwhelming evidence that many of my pro-life companions that began their quest to save the innocent in the power of the Spirit are now attempting to do so with the arm of flesh.  Christians in every sector of the globe angrily scream, “baby-murderers”, at those that perform or receive abortions.  Hospital workers that are assigned to assist in any way are often detestably berated as accomplices. Unquestionably, purposely taking the life of any infant is a grievous offense but it does not justify our inflammatory name-calling.  Over the past 30 years this tactic has proved counterproductive in portraying to the world what it means to be a Christian.

Dysfunctional idiom

  I believe that the word “Christian” has undergone an unfortunate idiomatic transformation. Within significant segments of America’s Christian and non-Christian populations, it has become a dysfunctional idiom no longer understood in a manner consistent with its original definition.  The word, “Christian”, is formed by adding the suffix “ian” to the name of our Savior. Christ is an anglicized form of the Greek word Christos, which, in turn, is a form of the Hebrew word for the Messiah, the Anointed One of God. The suffix “ian” is attached to the word Christ to denote “being of or belonging to Christ.” Biblically and historically, it has been commonly understood that a Christian is a person who has personally put their faith in Christ as their Savior. When an institution or activity is labeled as Christian, it should invoke mental images that are extensions of the spiritual nature and purposes of Christ as He is portrayed in the Bible. As the word is heard in conversations, the spiritual concepts universally recognized as the attributes of Jesus and His followers should automatically come to mind: love, mercy, meekness, humility, kindness, forgiveness, peace, turning the other cheek, tolerance, and so on. Today when the word “Christian” is heard, it tends to invoke images within many that are in direct opposition to the concepts that are inherent with God’s grace. The word has become polluted to the extent that, in some circles, it signals rigid intolerance, anger, hostile confrontation, assertive pride, and even hatred. Sadly, it now carries political connotations that overshadow the precious spiritual values that the word once conveyed.

Inserting religion into the mix may be unwise 

  Those that label abortionists as “baby-killers” commonly base their stand on biblical texts condemning murder and the shedding of innocent blood.  I do not think that it is wise for anyone to attempt to use Bible quotations as a primary defense for the lives of the unborn.  My reasoning is based upon the criteria for establishing that a concept represents a biblical truth.  A viable doctrine will have at least three texts that explicitly support it  (2 Cor 13:1).   This is not the case with the concept that abortionists can be labeled as murderers, as there are too many other nullifying scriptures.  Even though common logic coupled with the general spirit and intent of the Bible would indicate that those that purposely take an infant’s life are guilty of homicide, it is not explicitly specified in the scriptures.  We cannot hope to stay in the Spirit as we express our pro-life concerns if we insist on using terms and methods that do not have biblical support. 

  The Bible does not specifically address abortion, though it was a common practice in ancient times. Their methods were cruelly inhumane.  An unwanted child that did not succumb to primitive abortion procedures would be abandoned in a desolate area to perish by the elements and beasts.  Nonetheless, there are no New Testament references that indicate that Christians initiated public prayer protest, much less heated confrontations, against these practices (Matt. 6:5-6).  Jesus warned us that as His disciples we are not to exercise prayer in a manner that is specifically intended to draw public attention to our piety.  The results of our disobedience have been devastating.  Perhaps, the Spirit led the first group that silently prayed at the entrance of an abortion clinic.  Unquestionably, the masses that subsequently imitated them have not maintained that same flow.  Unobtrusive silent prayer escalated into angry confrontations that misrepresent the meek Christ-like spirit that Christians are to portray.

Abortion not an issue in the Old Testament

  Surprisingly, under the Old Covenant abortion was not an issue.  God’s prescribed punishment for pre-marital promiscuity and marital infidelity was that the offenders be stoned to death (Deut. 22:20-22).  If the woman happened to be with child, it meant certain death for the unborn.  A blow to the head could kill the mother instantly, and the infant would expire from suffocation due to the lack of blood flow from its mother.  If the stoning took longer, some of the rocks that were thrown might directly strike the woman’s abdominal area.  It is horrid to imagine, but in such instances the infant would likely experience considerable pain while in the pangs of death.  The culture of that day did not hold those who enforced this law as culpable of murder.  Most Christians would shudder at the thought of labeling the Author of this law as an indirect accomplice to murder. 

  The biblical reference that called for the promiscuous to be stoned is not the only one that implied the potential to end the lives of infants.  God commanded the Israelites to kill every living soul that was part of the Promised Land’s aboriginal population (Deut. 20:16). This would explicitly imply that expectant mothers and infants would be put to the sword.  A third text is found in one of the prophetical books. The inhabitants of Samaria, Israel’s Northern kingdom, were warned that if they did not repent: “… people will be killed by the invading army, her babies dashed to death against the ground, her pregnant women ripped open with a sword.”  (Hosea 13:16 LB)  These references confirm the reality that God’s ways are not our ways  (Isa. 55:9).  Hopefully, none of us would be so bold as to charge Him with wrongdoing.  With all of the aforementioned references in mind, it might caution those of us in the pro-life movement to be hesitant about calling abortionists, murderers.  If we encountered a women’s rights advocate that had Bible savvy, our biblical arguments might be nullified in short order.

I do not pretend to have a satisfying answer for how our Loving Heavenly Father could condone, much less orchestrate, taking the lives of unborn infants and babes in arms in ancient times.  The Bible indicates that what occurred under the Old Covenant is to serve as a metaphor to help us understand how to flow in New Covenant righteousness (Heb. 10:1, 1 Cor. 15:34, 2 Cor. 3:9).  It could be that God’s austere commandments to rid Israel of rebellious people is meant to be an indication of how we are to eradicate sin from our lives as we pursue personal holiness (Heb. 12:14).

Not everyone accepts the Bible as authoritative

  What many sincere Christians fail to understand is that the unconverted do not regard the Bible or our understandings of God’s will as authoritative directives for their lives.  Without transformed hearts, they do not have the capacity to take the quoting of Bible texts any more seriously than we would a Muslim’s quotations of the Islamic Koran.  For this reason it may be more productive if Christians would peacefully approach pro-abortion advocates on the basis of the moral and ethical values that are supported by the Scriptures rather than actual biblical quotations.  We have ample data based on secular observations to argue the traumatic consequences of abortion.  Here are some examples.  Early term babies can feel the pain of abortive procedures.  Women who have had abortions do tend to have increased instances of depression and reproductive disorders.  Most hold repressed guilt within their souls that drifts into their consciousness during times of physical sickness and traumatic experiences like the death of wanted child. They are also at much higher risks of developing various forms of cancer in the reproductive organs and breast.  In addition, the courts award punitive settlements against motorists who recklessly cause the termination of wanted pregnancies.  If it is wrong to take an infant’s life through a reckless driving accident, why is it not equally immoral to take that infant’s life through an intentional medical procedure?

  If these factors are gently presented, they can appeal to the consciences and self-interests of those that give and seek abortions.  Once they recognize that we are sensible and have a genuine interest in them, they may become convinced to alter their attitudes about taking the life of an unborn person.  If we endeavor to stay in the Spirit, we can depend upon the Holy Spirit to inspire us with the appropriate words to convince those who oppose themselves.  2 Tim. 2:25 with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth.

God Troubles

By Jim

What became of the concept of habitual sin having consequences?

   The Lord periodically visits His Church with times of refreshing and restoration. (Acts 3:19-21)  During such visitations truths and practices that have been lost to the Body are revealed and take center-stage bringing tremendous blessings.  The past 6 decades have been blessed with around a dozen periods of restoration.  Examples of such are the Jesus Revival of the ‘60s; the Charismatic Renewal of the ‘70s; and the Father’s Blessing Movement of the ‘90s.  Characteristically, through the applications of the rediscovered truths/practices, notable healings, miracles, deliverances from destructive habit patterns and transformations of life circumstance become common place.  For a while it can seem as though the Body has latched onto a truth that is the universal remedy for all ills.  Usually such presumptions are soon proven unfounded.  About the time the ink dries on a new movement’s denominational charter, the power begins to dissipate. The signs and wonders that once flourished still happen, but with rarer frequency.  God’s people are again compelled to seek His face about what is amiss.

  Surely, the Body of Christ is now in a seeking mode.  Many want to know why the Church is not walking in power equal to that of First Century.  Heaven’s doors are pounded for explanations about the numbers of God’s choicest servants going through circumstances belying the concept of believers as joint heirs with Christ.   I’m of the opinion that the Lord is about to send the answer through a new visitation.  The truth it will emphasize is the necessity for Lord’s Church and its individual members to walk in the fear of the Lord.  The New Testament reveals that signs and wonders and exhibitions of the fear of God are not conflicting.  Such go hand in hand.  The converted and the unconverted can experience miraculous healing and the comfort of the Holy Spirit simultaneously with the fear of the Lord.  (Acts 2:43, 5:5, 10-16, 9:31, 19:17)

  Some conjecture the concept of fearing the Lord and the concepts of God’s love and grace mutually exclusive and that somehow God’s reputation needs their defense.  They speak of the fear of God as though reverential caution/piety was its sole biblical manifestation.  The Greek words used for “fear” inevitably debunk such speculations.  The root word is “phobos”.  In its various forms it conveys, panicked fright, fleeing in fright, terror, extreme fear and so forth.  Every legitimate child of God is subject to His disciplines.  Understanding the potential for such to be rattling encounters should serve as a deterrent to willful sin. (Heb 10:29-31)

  A family can have a father that is kind and loving and slow to deal out punishments.  Yet, when Mom threatens, you just wait until your father gets home; it upgrades a disobedient child’s apprehensions.  The presence of a father at home changes the atmosphere in regard to behavior.  So it should be with Christians.  If we truly believe God the Father is present everywhere-all-of-the-time, we should monitor our behavior to avoid His corrective sessions. 

God’s Chastenings

  Most believers are aware that God disciplines His children in like manner to that given to His First Born Son, Jesus.  We too are required to humble ourselves by obediently taking paths that aren’t particularly desirable. (Heb 2:10-11, 5:8, 12:5-6)  Such is important, but is not the topic of this article.  We’ll be examining sin-related chastenings.  Admittedly, the topic is complicated and is subject to misunderstanding from those failing to grasp the spirit and intents of that which is stated.  My purpose is the prevention of sin-driven chastenings.  It’s also my hope to assist those under such disciplines in recognizing what is in process and to bring righteous closure.  All that is stated will be best understood by looking up the Bible references cited.

  Labeling every sickness, mishap and struggle experienced by God’s people as His dealings is a tragic error.  Such misrepresents the character of Father God and the provisions of the New Covenant purchased by the Blood of the Lamb.  Conversely, it’s just as problematic to presume it’s impossible for negative happenings to be the consequences of behaviors and attitudes that are inconsistent with scriptural mandates.

  Christians tend to fall into one of 2 extremes whenever they observe others encountering stubborn problems.   Some are of the opinion that adversities signal hidden sins and others fault the Devil for targeting believers.  More often than not, I think the latter is the accurate diagnosis.  However, the New Testament persuades me that persistent un-confessed sins can spawn various types of trials more frequently than some imagine.  In such instances, people don’t have a devil problem per se; they’ve got a God problem.  

  Such a statement could spark objections from most anyone who has overgrazed on this generation’s heavy emphasis on grace and mercy.  They perceive God as a doting Father who continually lavishes His richest blessings on people regardless of past and present sins.  I give a hearty Yea and Amen to that when speaking of the yet unconverted whom the Father is drawing into salvation by faith in Christ.  God’s goodness is designed to bring sinners to repentance. (Rom 2:4)  Even so, it’s another matter when speaking of those who’ve walked with the Lord for years.  The Scriptures, and personal experiences/observations indicate that God expects advancement in experiential righteousness and holiness within those who’ve embraced the Cross. Those refusing advancement choose the Lord’s chastening/disciplines by default. (Heb 12:1-17)  God’s children cannot behave as though there are no consequences for sin. (1 Cor 10:1-13)  

Forever the Same

  Believers are correct to remind one another that God does not change and Jesus remains the same yesterday, today and forever. (Mal 3:6, Heb 13:8) The difficulty is many assume such pertains solely to God’s goodness overruling any eventualities for His severity. (Rom 11:22)  Inherent with the Godhead’s changelessness is the truth that He distinguishes the legitimacy of His children by disciplining the disobedient.  There’s ample evidence that un-confessed sins and/or sinful rebellion still carry penalties.  It’s the number of God’s people that continually struggle with mystifying hardships that defy the provisions of the New Covenant.  Obstacles to health, prosperity and relational harmony linger way too long.  Situations that should disappear with reasonable attentiveness to intimate fellowship with the Lord, the Word, prayer, and faith confessions don’t budge. 

  Most of the time ongoing sins are the issue.  There are occasions when believer’s lives are complicated by penalties for pre-salvation transgressions.  Such does not mean the past sins were not forgiven through redemption in Jesus’ name.  Why the penalties would remain in force years into salvation is not clearly defined.  Possibly the Lord injected that factor into the equation to serve as a notable deterrent about particular transgressions.  Regardless, sometimes it takes time to realize the connection between tough situations and longstanding sins.   

Wide Door

  The categories of those who go through chastening episodes are broad.  Fervent believers do so and so do those who’ve chosen worldly treks after childhood conversions.  Some of the latter might surmise the Lord has forgotten their former zeal.  He hasn’t and He has boundless methods for convincing prodigals that Father’s house is the best place for them.  The equation also contains those who’ve made marriage and legal vows citing God as a witness.  Within the mix are nominal Christians that show up for church services on Christmas and Easter, recite the creeds and take communion.  They might reason that all they’ve vowed and confessed were mere cultural formalities.  Without respect for such reasoning, the stormy winds of God troubles can begin to blow.  He’s never obligated Himself to disregard words spoken by whim by saints nor sinners.  He calls us into account for idle words.  It is by our words that we’re justified or condemned and the condemnations can be exacting. (Matt 12:36)  The penalties for some sins become evident in the here and now; others rush ahead and will be exposed and recompensed at the Judgment Seat of Christ. (2 Cor 5:10, 1 Tim 5:24)

  The Bible promises that everything that can be shaken will be until only that which is unshakeable remains. (Heb 12:25-29)  Two-thousand-years-ago the Apostle Peter stated it was time for judgment to begin at the House of God. (1 Pet 4:17)  It’s unwise to consign such to future individuals living on the brink of the Lord’s return.  Judgments have been tasted by believers in every generation subsequent to the writing of Peter’s epistle. Salvation guaranteeing eternity in heaven is free and instantaneous.  However, there are other aspects of salvation that must be worked-out with reverential caution. (Philip 2:12)  Among such are instructions about how God deals with His own.  Our loving God is committed to guiding us through experiences designed for our temporal and eternal welfare.  The good news is two-fold: Chastenings are intended to bring forth the peaceable fruits of righteous holiness.  When we nestle further into Him rather than wrestling against Him, we’re empowered to believe God will see us through all of life’s circumstances.   God problems can be solved via repentance toward God and by applying redemptive restitution when needed towards those whom we’ve wronged.

The Process

  There are various reasons for God troubles and for activations of His disciplines.  Especially with reaping what we’ve sown, the track of the penalties tends to fall within the perimeters of after like-kind.   In other instances sin’s consequences manifest as one or more of the curses/penalties found in Deut 28:14-68.  The process has stages.  First, the Holy Spirit patiently convicts us of sin and warns of potential reprisals.  Afterward the unrepentant find themselves in sorrowful situations.  Not heeding the initial sorrows incites progressive measures of severity.  The terminology for the process is taken from ancient shepherding principles. (Heb 12:10-13)  A shepherd would hook the leg of a sheep that habitually wandered with the crook of his rod and strain it with a twist.  If the beast ignored the discomfort with flippant no-pain-no-gain attitudes, he would fully dislocate the leg rendering it lame. There are many believers whose life circumstances reflect sin-related limps.   Significant numbers giving the appearance of wholeness have hidden limps they’re not apt to disclose until desperate enough to do so.  We’ll now cover some of the causes and symptoms of such limps.  If not pertinent to the lives of the reader, some comments will likely be useful in counseling others. 

God Mockers

  No one can continuously mock God and escape reprisals.  The practice entails gambling with the Lord’s grace and patience.  It’s to continually up the ante by sowing behaviors and attitudes that His Word and Spirit denote as putting one at risk of reaping corruption. (Gal 6:7-8)  The bet is that God’s grace will prevent Him from calling your hand.  King Herod was consumed by worms for the blasphemy of allowing people to perceive him as God’s equal. (Acts 12:21-23)  Ananias and Sapphira were struck dead for lying about a spiritual matter. (Acts 5:1-11)  Most of us have never witnessed the dynamics of those incidents.  Nonetheless, many of us have witnessed believer’s lives consumed by Russian roulette with substance abuse.  We have seen people suffer for violating the God-inspired principle of paying taxes to support civil governments.  Those who flagrantly disregard the Spirit’s whispers to comply with traffic laws get financially stretched by exorbitant fines and some come to physical harm. (Rom 13:1-7)  Disrespect for our physical bodies is a form of mocking God.  The Bible implies the Lord derives glory by the proper treatment of our bodies as His temples of the Holy Spirit.  Ignoring the need for balanced diets, adequate rest and exercise can pave the way for corrupting influences.  (1 Cor 6:19-20, 9:27, 1 Tim 4:7) 

Irreverence for the Eucharist

  Perhaps the most common and dangerous type of irreverence pertains to attitudes about the Lord’s Supper.  Jesus asked for Holy Communion to be observed often in remembrance of Him until He returns in glory.  Among other vital issues, frequent celebration of it keeps the sacrifice of the Cross central in our perspectives.  Those of numerous denominations endanger themselves by dismissing it as unimportant by neglecting it as an oft observed sacrament.  With Christians belonging to liturgical groups, it’s just the opposite.  There is no telling how many are weak, sickly and have died for approaching the Lord’s Table as a familiar token of religiosity. (1 Cor 11:24-34)  It’s foolish to assume God held the Early Church responsible for circumspect participation in communion and subsequently released 21rst Century Christians to be insensitive about the matter. (Heb 10:29)

Treacherous Infidelity

  The OT speaks of those who have adulterous affairs and those that divorce their first marriage partners as guilty of treachery. (Mal 2:13-16)  There is a NT carry over of the rebuke stating adulterers will be judged. (Heb 13:4)  Paul told the Corinthians that fornicators, adulterers and homosexuals sin against their own bodies. (1 Cor 6:17-20)  The implications are chilling when one considers the number of Christian men and women struck with cancerous growths in their reproductive organs.  It would be ungodly and unjust to assert that most cases of such are directly related to sexual misconduct.  However, in light of the Scriptures it would be equally wrong to presume there are never potentials for interconnectedness.  Of course, redemption through the Blood of Jesus grants forgiveness of all past sins.  Yet, apparently there are occasions wherein it takes time to nullify the temporal penalties, especially when such are already in progress at salvation.  For many the process of restoration and healing will be incomplete until they’ve attempted emotional restitution to those they grieved by apologizing and asking for forgiveness.

Teen Rebellion

   Rebellion against parental authority should not be taken lightly under the worldly pretext of kids-will-be-kids.  The first commandment with a promise is for children to honor their parents.  The rewards for doing so are long and productive lives. (Eph 6:1-3)  It’s not unusual for the children of Christian parents to mutate into godless heartbreakers during their mid-teens.  More than a few do so after exhibiting impressive spiritual fervency during their early years.  It’s not difficult to find examples of such floundering for purpose well into adulthood.  At times, success in life is withheld until adult prodigals apologize to and ask forgiveness from their parents for teen rebellions.  Asking for parental blessings on their lives often liberates the stymied to satisfying lives. 

Timid Stewardship of Spiritual Gifts

  Every Christian is endowed with one or more spiritual gifts.  As good stewards they’re to cultivate their callings. (1 Pet 4:10-11)  Our loving Lord Jesus does not tolerate timidity about utilizing the talents bestowed by the Holy Spirit.  He refers to Himself as austere demanding fruit from sectors where He’s hasn’t sown.  He labels those who hover in self-conscious cowardice as lazy and wicked. (Lk 19:2o-24)  There are believers who constantly struggle for vocational advancement.  I’ve observed that some that do so are hesitant to be bold with their spiritual gifts.  It would behoove many to question what they’ve accomplished as stewards of God’s spiritual gifts.  It could be that some who are hesitant to utilize the Holy Spirits gifts find that He is hesitant to bless the natural talents they hope to utilize vocationally.  (Lk 16:10-13)

Unforgiveness Issues

  Volumes have been written defining unforgiveness as a luxury none can afford.  Most believers are fully aware of the irrefutable evidence that those harboring resentments align themselves to taste God’s displeasure.  His standard is if we don’t forgive others for their offenses against us; He won’t forgive us of ours against Him. (Matt 6:9-15, Mk 11:22-25)   Both of the cited references are about prayer.  Interestingly, the Word reveals resentful interactions between marriage partners as hindrances to answered prayer.  God perceives couples as joint heirs of His grace for productive lives.  Those that seethe with unforgiveness are chastened.  The good lives they hope and pray for elude them. (1 Pet 3:1-13)    The remedy is well-known.  Forgive past offenses and stop snapping at one another with impatient scorn. 

What If?

  The Early Church had a very effective way of dealing with stubborn unrepentant members.  Such were ceremonially turned over to Satan and exposed to his cruelties that they might come to godly repentance.  The Bible mentions 3 individuals that experienced such.  One had persisted in an incestuous sexual relationship. (1 Cor 5:1-5)  The other 2, Hymenaeus and Alexander were charged with rejecting the voice of conscience in regard to ill-attitudes about Paul’s apostleship.  They undermined his ministry by speaking of him with antagonistic contempt. (1 Tim 1:19-20, 2 Tim 4:14-15)  In the OT Miriam and the sons of Korah underwent somewhat similar reprisals for questioning the authority of Moses. (Num 12:10:15, Num 16)

  I don’t know of many present-day fellowships that would venture risking lawsuits for attempting to enforce biblical principles.  The question is what if God hasn’t withdrawn His sovereign authority to enact the policy of turning the rebellious over to Satan?  Considering the Lord’s changelessness, I would doubt it.  It might be a relief if I’m wrong; but if I’m right, it carries serious implications.

  Contemporary Christian society has an abundance of ministry critics and church hoppers.  The hoppers leaving one church to join another often feel the necessity to offer commentaries to justify their decisions to change churches.  Most assessments are charitable and some most definitely aren’t.  A few don’t even have the courtesy to offer a loving farewell.  Carnality drives all too many to spiral into accusatory hostility when speaking of their former spiritual leaders and the church’s members.  Proverbs 17:13 should evoke concerns within vehement critics that once spoke of their former fellowships enthusiastically and testified of good fruits from attending.   Graceless chatter about any of God’s people is a dangerous occupation.  All should be careful about how they speak about the Lord’s anointed, lest God deliver them over to the destroyer. (Gen 20:7, Psa 105:14-15) 

  In the sex department, I know of an itinerant minister whose specialty is ministry to single adults.  He routinely asks for a show of hands from those who are sexually active.  He reports an 80% positive response.  What if the Lord hasn’t changed His mind about sexual intimacy being reserved for marriage?  What if He has maintained His right to execute vengeance upon unrepentant fornicators and chooses to turn some over to Satan? (1 Cor 6:13, 18, Heb 13:4)   I shudder at the thought of how many believers might be in that state. 

  When God purposely closes His umbrella of protection over an aspect of a wayward Christian’s life, they need it reopened ASAP.   The reopening mechanisms are godly repentance coupled with the fruit of changed behavior.  If indeed God does turn people over to Satan, it is with redemptive restoration in mind.  No matter how they got there, it’s always the Lord’s will to rescue people from the Devil’s grip. (2 Cor 2:4-11)

Conclusion

  Were it not for God’s mercy, many of us would be reaping heartaches from various fields where we’ve sown sinful seeds.  Salvation’s gracious package includes divine crop failures to prevent us from reaping all that we’ve knowingly and unknowingly sown.   How some bad seeds sown prior to salvation have consequences that don’t germinate till years later is an enigma.  But, it does happen. For sure, frequently committed besetting sins risk penalties.  If this article has sparked suspicions that you might be experiencing sin-related chastening, don’t be alarmed.  Identifying the source of the resistance you’ve felt is a major step toward victory.  The next step is to ask the Lord to grace you with genuine godly sorrow about the habitual transgression. (2 Cor 7:9-11)  Then renounce it with the willingness to go to whomever needful to make amends.  Finally, choose to believe that the Lord has never abandoned you.  

  The presence of trouble does not equate to the absence of God from your life.   In the context of discipline, the godly opposition you’ve experienced denotes His intimate interests in you.  Since He’s been close enough to spank you, He’s close enough to embrace you and to start healing your wounds the moment you come to repentance.  God isn’t like condemning earthly fathers.  He doesn’t use isolated points of misbehavior as a motivation for indicting a child’s entire character and for withholding all demonstrations of approval.  Simultaneous to His rebukes about a constant sin; there are other areas of life about which He’ll comfort, affirm and bless you.  What a God!

A Gift For You

By Jim

I have a gift for those who have a keen interest in the Bible and the historical factors that framed Christianity.  Hopefully, this short piece will intrigue you enough to investigate the gift I’m offering.  Did you know that Jesus was trained as a rabbinical scholar?  I didn’t.  Like most, I assumed that He had a limited education and that His teaching style and insights were solely from revelations of the Spirit. My ignorance was dented by correspondence with my friend of 46 years, Dr. William Bean.  He heads the Centre for the Study of Biblical Research headquartered in Redlands, CA and in Israel.  Here are some gems from this month’s E-Lesson:

• There are NT passages like Jn 7:15 that lead us to believe that the Jews of the Galilee region were similar to uneducated rednecks.  Actually there was biased prejudice between the scholars of Judea and Galilee about which group was most prestigious in its level of scholastic acumen.  The verses that demean those of the Galilean region reflect those prejudices rather than their actual commitments to higher education.
• It was common for the conscientious Jews of Jesus’ day to keep at least one of 20 biblical scrolls in their homes.
• Children memorized the Torah through reciting it out loud while playing in the streets.  To interrupt one in the midst of such recitations was considered to deserve the death penalty.
• The Jews put a high value on educating their children. By age 5 children were to be ready for studies of the written Torah; at 10 the study of the oral Torah; at 15 were indoctrinated about rabbinical legal decisions; and at 18 formal educations ended with the exception of the most gifted who advanced their studies with well-read adults.  It is likely that Jesus was noted as gifted as people were accustomed to Him reading and speaking in His hometown synagogue.  
• The term carpenter had meaning beyond one who works with wood and stone. It was also an idiom for Torah Scholar.
• Jesus’ teaching style and use of parables and analogies from the Scriptures was akin to the seven rules for interpreting the Bible that was instituted by the Pharisee sage Hillel.

If you would like to be added to the rolls of those who are notified as each month’s E-Lesson is made available, email Dr. Bean and use my name as a reference.  Dr. William Bean, Centre for the Study of Biblical Research - drbean@csbr.net.