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A COMPLETE CHRISTIAN FAMILY MAGAZINEVolume 3 Issue 10 October 2012

Jesus answered, “You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth.

Everyone who is the truth hears My voice’’ Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?” John 18:37-38 (NASB)

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“Now, therefore you are no longer strangers and foreigners but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.”

Ephesisans 2:19.

Dear readers,

Have you ever realised that being a christian you are someone special?. The Bible says that you have been purchased with the precious blood of Christ and as a child of God, you are joint heirs with Christ Jesus. God has created each one of us with a special plan and purpose. And as children of God, we are partakers in His Kingdom. The word of God says that we are accountable before our Master for all that He has given us. And the Bible says unto whom much is given much shall be required. So as a believer you have the incredible resurrection power of Christ living in you which can lead you through all situations of life.

As you read through this issue of Truth Alive you will find many words of encouragement. You will get a glimpse of the life of Mother Teresa, how an ordinary woman could contribute much to the world. The sacrificial life of Mother Teresa and the sisters are always inspiring and challenging to us. You will also get highlights about a leader’s job to preach the Word. You will comprehend the fact that we are saved and justified by faith in what Jesus has done for us and not by works. In the Gospel, righteousness does not come through works, because mankind is ungodly before God. No good work helps man to reach God and to be favoured by Him. This issue will also provide you with some insights into the new age movements. This will help you to discern the truth of the Gospel and to discard false teachings which deny that Jesus is the Son of God.

We pray that your will enjoy reading this issue of Truth Alive. May it help you to grow stronger in you relationship with Jesus. May you be strengthened to play your part for the advancement of God’s Kingdom.

3October 2012

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5Digging DeeperDr. Alexander Kurian

9

Launa Stan19

Pastor. Mike Harrison

7

The opinions of the advertisers and contributors are not necessarily those of the magazine or Sathyam Publications.

Send us your feedback on the magazine at: truthalive@truthintl.org

We would love to hear from you!

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Write to us! Have you been blessed by an article in Truth Alive? What more would you like to see on the pages? Share your experience with us. We would love to hear from you. Mail us at truthalive@ truthintl.org or post your letter to Truth Alive Sathyam Publications Thottabhagom P.O. Thiruvalla-689541, Kerala.

Dr. David H Mills

Contents

11

A Leader's Job: “Preach the Word”

“Be still, and know that I am God.” – Psalm 46:10.

New Age Movement

Albert Daniel

Comfort Zone

Rev. Barney Kinard21 What is Scaffolding?

Let us do something beautiful for God.4

Roadmap to God's will; The language of the Bible

4 October 2012

ew people living today will forget one week in the summer of 1997. At the beginning of that Fweek Diana, Princess of Wales,

died in Paris; a few days later Mother Teresa died in Calcutta. The lives of these two women were totally different, yet one thing united them – their extraordinary sensitivity to the most vulnerable and lonely of outcasts.

Agnes Bojaschinu was born in 1910 in Skopje, where her Albanian parents were grocers. A thoughtful girl, she was impressed by letters written to her parish from Jesuit priests in Calcutta. Determined to follow their example, she left Yugoslavia for Dublin to be trained as a Loreto missionary nun. She was only 17. In 1931, now called Sister Teresa, she took her religious vows and began a teaching career in India. For twenty years she taught geography at St Mary's High School, Calcutta, a smart oasis in a city of appalling squalor.

Sister Teresa always encouraged her middle-class pupils to help the poor. But by 1946 she felt called to do something more-to leave her comfortable convent to live in poverty, alongside the beggars and the dying. With papal permission she left the Loreto nuns in 1948 and, after basic medical training, took a room in the

slums. She was joined by some former pupils and, in 1950, she and twelve young novices became the first sisters of a new congregation, the Missionaries of Charity.

Two years later the city authorities gave Mother Teresa a disused building where she took the dying destitutes from off the streets. (This hospice was later filmed by the English journalist, Malcolm Mugge-ridge; this film introduced Mother Teresa to a world-wide audience.) The congregation grew very quickly with hundreds of educated young women courage-

ously embracing strict poverty and discipline. Mother Teresa had bought her white and blue sari for just 4 ru-pees (..5.60 today).

The sisters only posses two sets of clothes, a pair of sandals and a crucifix. They sleep in dormitories, eat simply and travel by foot. They spend several hours in prayer and for the rest of the day attend to the sick, comfort the dying, rescue abandoned babies, each orphans, nurse lepers or visit poor families.

In 1963 Mother Teresa founded the Missionary Brothers of Charity to work in partnership with her sisters. She then founded the Sisters of the

Let us do something beautiful for God.

The worst disease of all is to be unwanted,

uncared for and unloved.There are poor people every-

where, but the real poverty is that no one wants

them.

MOTHER TERESA

Courtesy:Christians Who changed the World

Word and the Brothers of the Word as two contemplative congregations. In 1969 her attention turned to lay people, and her International Asso-ciation of Co-Workers was founded. Mother Teresa became a well-known figure, addressing world leaders and receiving humanitarian awards, including the Nobel Peace Prize. She was praised by the Pope, admired by Princess Diana, and loved by the poor and her thousands of Sisters, Brothers and co-workers. She described her life as 'trying to do God's will with a smile'. When she died the world mourned.

October 2012 5

continued in page 8...

Dr. David H Mills

A Leader's Job: “Preach the Word”(The preacher) stands in Christ's stead; his message is the Word of God; around are immo-“rtal souls; the Savior unseen, is beside him; the

Holy Spirit broods over the congregation; angels gaze upon the scene, and heaven and hell await the issue. What associations and what vast responsibility.” Matthew Simpson in Lectures on Preaching

The job of every leader is to communicate the vision and purpose of the organization to their follo-wers. People under a leader must hear from the leader regarding what to do, how to do it, and why to do it. The leader gives them this direction from his public and private communication to them. Without this, the company or school, the business or venture will die. How much more is this true of the church of Jesus Christ! We need our preachers to point the way as never before!

Sadly, many today think that preaching is outdated and needs to be replaced with more effective forms of ministry. I do not deny there are other parts of ministry that yield abundant fruit and lift the church to great heights, like the small group ministry that multiplies or the mentoring of upcoming leaders. But what about preaching? Is its usefulness over, as some educators suggest? One description of modern day preachers said, “They are a bland composite of a person who is congenial, an ever ready to help boy scout, the darling of the old ladies and as sufficiently reserved with the young ones, as a father image for the young people and a companion to lonely men; as a glad-hander at teas and civic club conventions.” (Kyle Haselden). This friendly man may be liked but his influence will not spark transformation nor uproot the dominion of evil and cause the movement of God's kingdom to transpire. Just being nice will not change our country. He must preach the word with conviction and power!

Preaching is a God-given task that men down the centuries have been given as a means to bring change

to their world. Moses, Samuel, the prophets, Jesus Him-self, and His apostles all used this calling with great effectiveness. Not one of them took the job lightly but realized it carried with it the weight of eternal decisions. This is why apostle Paul urged his upcoming replacement, Timothy, to “preach the Word” (2 Tim 4:2). This counsel is timeless, for it comes to the present day as authoritative as it was in the first century. After all, just two verses prior to this exhortation was the statement, “All scripture is inspired by God and is profitable”, yes, “profitable” or beneficial, to expose sin (rebuke), provide a path for healing and restoration (correction), and a lifestyle of obedience (training in righteousness), in short, it transforms lives not just informs the listeners! One of the upmost scholars on preaching, Haddon Robinson, commented, “A power comes through the preached word that even the written word cannot replace.”Every spiritual leader can attest to the truth of that statement when they have participated in meetings where God's Word changed the direction of their church or their individual lives by a single sermon preached!

What type of preaching gets the job done? That is a big question, bigger than one article in a magazine. But let me start the journey with you in how the apostles would answer that question. “Preach the Word.” What is the “Word”? It is the 66 books of the Bible. Each author had been given their message from God. That message had a specific point it was making. We must respect what the author meant to say. That is called “authorial intent” in theological circles. What it means is we declare and preach the message that the author intended in his book. So Moses had a point in Genesis, Exodus, etc. and we must find that point by hard and diligent study (see 2 Tim 2:15 to affirm the apostles hard work in doing the same).

The author's intent is all important. We cannot make the Bible say what it never originally did not say or

October 20126

EzraMeaning: Help

Author: Jewish tradition ascribes the authorship of the entire book to Ezra.

Date of Writing: 538-457 B.C.

Purpose:

1. To record the first national regathering of Israel after the first dispersion among the Gentiles

2. To Show the problems connected with the new revival of religion conforming to the law of Moses

Key Verse: 1:3-7:10

Key People: Zerubbabel, Cyrus, Darius, Arta-xerxes, Ezra.

Brief Summary

*The return of the Jews from all 13 tribes of Israel

* The rebuilding of the temple

*The difficulties that faced the nation in respect to separation from the heathen world living around Palastine

Outline

1.The Decree of Cyrus to build the temple in Jerusalem (Chr. 1)

2. The return of Jews under Zerubbabel (Chr.2-3)

3. The construction of the Temple begun under the leadership of Zerubbabel (Chr.3)

4. The return and the Revival of the People under Ezra (7-10)

K n o w Y o u r B i b l e

October 2012 7

Dr. Alexander Kurian

Digging DeeperTHE GOSPEL OF GOD Romans 4 (Exposition)

he Illustration of Righteousness Through Faith: Abraham(4:1-25)T

Outline of Ch.4:

1. Abraham's Faith was Apart from Works (4:1-8)

2. Abraham's Faith was Apart from Circumcision (4:9-12)

3. Abraham's Faith was Apart from the Law (4:13-15)

4. Abraham's Faith was in God and God alone (4:16-25)

Abraham's Faith Was Apart From Works (4:1-8)

Righteousness through faith is not a new doctrine. It was an integral part of the Old Testament revelation. Paul's doctrine of justification by faith is in absolute harmony with the teaching of the Old Testament. There is no discord between Moses and Paul. Paul uses Abraham as proof. Chapter 4 answers the question raised in the last verse of chapter 3: “Do we then nullify the Law through faith? May it never be! On the contrary, we establish the Law”.

The father of the faithful was justified by faith.The entire fourth chapter of Romans is devoted to Abraham whom Paul uses as an illustration of the central biblical truth that man is justified by faith – become right with God-only by faith and faith alone.

4:1-3:What did Abraham find by his own natural effort or by his religious works? The word “flesh” here stands for the whole natural man. If Abraham was considered righteous before God through his good works, he could truly boast. But there was no basis for

boasting at all, because Abraham stood in the right before God by believing, not by doing (Genesis 15:6). It was not his good works, but his confident trust in God that was credited to his account. God made Abraham a supernatural promise; something which Abraham could never attain or achieve by himself. Abraham believed it and that belief was set down to his account for justification.

Abraham is taken as a case study here for justification by faith alone (even in the Old Testament). Abraham was the progenitor of the Jewish people and the father of the Jewish nation, and hence his example is crucial to Paul's argument.

4:4-5: If salvation was based on works, then God would merely be repaying the person who works for his salvation, just as an employer gives a worker wages for his work. In this case salvation will just be a repayment of what God owes that person. But in the Gospel, righteousness does not come through works, because mankind is ungodly before God (no standard of acceptable piety). No good work helps man to reach God and to be favored by Him. The right and acceptable standing before God (righteousness) comes only by believing what God has declared and not by working. God's justification reaches men when they believe God and His Word.

4:6-8:Paul cites David's experience as another great example in the Old Testament of righteousness by faith. David is referring to his own case when he had none but only evil works to show. David enjoyed God's sentence of acquittal, pronounced on the sinner when he believed God. Paul's quotation of Psalm 32:1-2 clarifies and explains Genesis 15:6 (Abraham's experience). David's forgiveness and the resultant righteousness were not based on his works.

continued in page 12..

October 20128

meant. What did the author intend? Answering the question of the authors intent leads me closer to what he meant even though I may never truly know the exact meaning he had in mind. If this was possible, there would not be disagreements about the meaning among scholars today. So we see that even with as hard as we work at this, there is still the reality of human error. Let this make us more humble, teachable, diligent, and careful as we preach this Word.

The other side of this process is that the Bible itself is a revelation from God and must be revealed to us by illumination as well. The Holy Spirit uncovers the message to our minds and applies that message to our hearts and lives. Jesus' promise was, “He (the Holy Spirit) will teach you(plural) all things”(John 14:26). While we wrestle to understand the author's original intention we also find the reality of the meaning as the Holy Spirit makes it clear and certain to us. While there are areas of truth we may disagree on, there are many areas of truth we all agree on. They are called the primary truths as opposed to the secondary, or the essential versus the non-essential. On essential truths we preach with unity boldly and without reservation. But on the non-essential truths we go about that with greater latitude and reasonableness of spirit.

Both sides of preaching (bold or cautious, primary or secondary truth)are part of the whole in the simple command to “preach the word.” Both sides fulfill a needed missing component from our lives in the church. We need the bold sure declarations and the

careful human opinions to shape our approach as we preach this Word. Sometimes we unerringly point to the truth while other times admit we are not sure what God meant or what the author meant as we teach. This does not ruin our faith but, rather, it deepens it as we mature. We recognize that there are parts of what we know and preach that are huge foundational stones on which to build, while there are still areas of truth we do not fully understand.

The preacher is a man with weaknesses and frailties yet he declares the truths of God's Word. This is a powerful combination. Weakness yet strength, limited insight yet sure that God is true, we know and yet we have much to still learn. We are bold and humble, reckless and cautious all at the same time. While we preach a Christ that will never fail, we admit we are mere men and can fail at any time. In this spirit let us “preach the word”!

Father, I thank You for giving us an inerrant guide and unfailing witness to lead us throughout life until we meet You one day. I also thank You for making us so dependent that without You we are nothing, we learn nothing and can do nothing of eternal significance. Allow us to grow and mature, to be bold and gentle in how we teach this amazing Book You have given us. May we faithfully preach Your message and what You want to say and stay away from preaching our own thoughts. May we let Your point be made.For the glory of your Son, and in His name we ask it. Amen.

continued from page 5A Leader's Job: “Preach the Word”

October 2012 9

Pastor. Mike Harrison

“Be still, and know that I am God.” – Psalm 46:10.everal years ago I acquired a book by A.W, Tozer entitled, God Tells the Man Who Cares. The book is a hand-picked compilation of magazine S

articles Tozer wrote over the course of his ministry, published after his passing. With much fear and

trembling…and blessing, I am re-reading it at this time. The following excerpt I share, believing that it will speak deeply to the hearts of any that read it, as it already has my own.

OUR FATHERS had much to say about stillness, and by stillness they meant the absence of motion or the absence of noise or both.

They felt that they must be still for at least a part of the day, or that day would be wasted. God can be known in the tumult of the world if His providence has for the time placed us there, but He is known best in the silence. So they held, and so the Sacred Scriptures declare. Inward assurance comes out of the stillness. We must be still to know.

There has hardly been another time in the history of the world when stillness was needed more than it is today, and there has surely not been another time when there was so little of it or when it was so hard to find.

Christ is every man's contemporary. His presence and His power are offered to us in this time of mad activity and mechanical noises as certainly as to fishermen on the quiet lake of Galilee or to shepherds on the plains of Judea. The only condition is that we get still enough to hear His voice and that we believe and heed what we hear.

Some things can be learned in the din of modern life. Amid the noises we may become engineers or scientists or architects. In the humdrum we may learn how to fly a jet plane or to manage a department store. We may win an athletic contest, conduct an orchestra, earn a degree or get ourselves elected to public office. We do these things by accepting civilization at its face value and getting adjusted to it. Thus we become children of the twentieth century and our psychology takes its complexion from the times. We move as gracefully as we are able through the complicated steps

of the dance of circumstance, the noise actually aiding our motion or, not knowing where we are headed, we march with the multitude to booming music that keeps us in step and adds a bit of pleasure to the effort.

These things men can do and are doing. But when we begin to doubt the validity of a philosophy built on physical science and to question the soundness of a civilization that produced the H-bomb, and especially when we begin to grope after God if perchance we may find Him, something strange and wonderful happens. As we draw nearer to the ancient Source of our being, we find that we are no longer learned or ignorant, modern or old-fashioned, crude or cultured, white or colored; in that awesome Presence we are just men. Artificial distinctions fade away. Thousands of years of education disappear in a moment and we stand again where Adam and Eve stood after the Fall, where Cain stood, and Abel, outside the Garden, frightened and undone and fugitive from the terror of the broken law.

There before the judgment seat which suddenly becomes as a reality to the trembling sinner as if it were the very last judgment itself, no modern religious techniques avail; none of the carefully thought out methods work. The civilized man surrounded by his lately invented and noisy gadgets passes back in his

heart through the centuries of “Progress” and becomes again a terrified, whimpering human thing desperately in need of a Saviour.

Because this is true, any evangelism which by appeal to common interests and chatter about current event seeks to establish a common ground where the sinner can feel at home is as false as the altars of Baal ever were. Every effort to smooth out the road for men and to take away the guilt and the embarrassment is worse than wasted; it is evil and dangerous to the souls of men.

One of the most popular current errors, and the one out of which springs most of the noisy, blustering religious activity being carried on in evangelical circles these days, is the notion that as times change the church must change with them. Christians must adapt their

continued in page 10.

October 201210

methods by the demands of the people. If they want ten-minute sermons, give them ten-minute sermons. If they want truth in capsule form, give it to them. If they want pictures, give them plenty of pictures. If they like stories, tell them stories. If they prefer to absorb their religious instruction through the drama, go along with them and give them what they want.

“The message is the same, only the method changes,” says the advocates of compromise

“Whom the gods would destroy they first make

made,” the old Greeks said, and they were wiser than they knew. That mentality which mistakes Sodom for Jerusalem and Hollywood for the Holy City is too gravely astray to be explained otherwise than as a judicial madness visited upon professed Christians for

affronts committed against the Spirit of God. “Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be

healed” (Isa. 6:9, 10).

But, some earnest persons reason, since there is no stillness in this mechanized world we must learn to get along without it. We cannot hope to bring back the still

waters and the quiet pastures where David once led his sheep. This rat race of civilization is too noisy for us to hear this still, small Voice, so we must learn to hear God speak in the earthquake and the storm. And if modern evangelism is geared to the tumult and the agitation of the times, why should anyone complain? Does it not represent an honest effort to be all things to all men that by any means some should be saved?

The answer is that the soul of man does not change fundamentally, no matter how external conditions may change. The aborigine in his hut, the college professor in his study, the truck driver in the bedlam of the city traffic have all the same basic need: to be rid of their sins, to obtain eternal life and to be brought into communion with God. Civilized noises and activities are surface phenomena, a temporary rash on the epidermis of the human race. To attribute sound values to them and then to try to bring religion into harmony with them is to commit a moral blunder so huge as to stagger the imagination, and one for which we shall surely be paying long after this frenetic extravaganza we call civilization has ended in tragedy and ever-lasting grief.

What certain religious teachers fail to understand is that true Christian experience takes place in the human spirit, far in and beneath the changing surface of things. It is only the surface that responds to noise and

continued from page 9

“Be still, and know that I am God.” – Psalm 46:10.

continued in page 24..

October 2012 11

Albert Daniel

New Age Movement

What is the new age movement?

Ø It is an umbrella movement embracing a wide range of beliefs and practices

ØThey collect different ideas from different religions, cultures and philosophies, to

bring all together in one united whole

It is a mix of ideas

1) Social -Traditional superstitions and delusions

2) Spiritual - Uses many religious words from the Bible without understanding the

light of the truth through spiritual discernment

3) Theological - Religious philosophy of any faith, liturgy

4) Philosophical - Intellectual movement of human thoughts according to the level of

conscience

5) Political - Human rights and socio-economic concerns

Ø Self improvement programs

Ø World peace, natural health, holistic health

Ø Care for the environment

Ø One-World government or global socialism

6) Pantheistic - Belief that God is in all things and therefore, all things are divine – a part of

God. Some say we are all God. Some do not believe that humanity is cut off from

God because of sin. They teach that humanity itself is God.

“But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden

His face from you, So that He will not hear. ”

Ø Since the new age movement does not acknowledge sin or sinfulness, it eliminates

the need of a redeemer for humanity

ØAll of the ideas sound great to a natural man or even to a mainstream Christian

(carnal-minded Christian) believer with a lack of spiritual discernment and

knowledge in the Bible

ØAt first sight, some of the new age ideas seem to be identical to the Christian way of

teaching. But on further investigation, it seems their ideas were developed through

philosophy and is confusing and far from the Christian faith.

Isa 59:2

12 October 2012

Cross Word - “Women” of the Bible

Answers on page 20

Across

1. Jesus was born in this city.

2. The Lord appeared to Saul on his way to this city.

3. Peter raised Tabitha of this place from death.

Down

4. Paul stayed here two years in house arrest, preaching the Gospel to everyone who came to him

5. At this place, Paul preached Christ to philosophers such as Epicureans and Stoicks

6. Joseph took the child and his mother and departed to this country.

Up

7. The mount from where Christ ascended, is from this city, on a Sabbath day's Journey.

5

1

2

3

4

6

7

Abraham was justified by faith, David was justified by faith, and every believer whether in the Old Testament times or in the New Testament times has been justified only by faith. A sinner's faith in the promises of God is graciously accepted by God and counted for him as righteousness.

“Faith is never the basis or the reason for justi-fication, but only the channel through which God works His redeeming grace. Faith is simply a con-victed heart reaching out to receive God's free and unmerited gift of salvation” (John MacArthur, Romans 1-8, 238).

Every religion in the world is founded on salvation by works. By trying to appease the wrath of the deity through good works, man tries through religion and rituals to gain the approval of God. But the Gospel of Jesus Christ is based on God's work on behalf of man. God Himself, in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ has paid the debt for man's sin on the cross of Calvary. And when a repentant sinner turns to Christ and casts

himself on God's grace and mercy for the forgiveness of his sins and accepts by faith the Lord's atoning sacrifice for sin in his behalf, his sins are forgiven and he is declared righteous before God apart from any human merit or work.

“….being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus” (Roman 3:24).

“And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to Him as righteousness” (Romans 4:3).

continued from page 7...Digging Deeper

There was a man suffering from a dreaded skin-disease. When he saw Jesus, he threw himself down and begged him, 'Sir, if you want to, you can make me clean!' Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him. 'I do want to', he answered, 'Be clean!' At once the disease left the man.

Luke 5:12-13

October 2012 13

Thought of the Month

HE DAY dawned gray and cheerless, and rain poured down as Abraham Lincoln was driven through the muddy streets of T

Springfield to the railroad station. The sidewalks were lined with people who had gathered in the wet chill of the morning to see him pass. At the station many of his old friends waited to say goodbye. Soldiers lined the passageway; and as he went through the waiting room to the platform, he was greeted with cheers.

This was to have been a happy day for him, a day of triumph.

But those close enough to shake his hand and wish him well in Washington saw that he was not happy. He looked tired and distraught; and there were many who wondered that morning why he was alone, why his family was not with him.

Slowly the President-Elect mounted the steps to the observation platform. Today he was saying farewell to the past, and to the place and the people he had known so long and so well. He was going to a new life, to heavy new responsibilities. The country was on edge, the nation divided, hatreds were flaring and passions running high. He was aware of the problems and difficulties ahead, and of the great trust placed in him by the people; and he was determined to serve the nation honestly and well in the high office to which he had been called.

He turned and faced the people who had come in the rain and cold to see him off-his neighbors and friends, his fellow townsmen. He stood for a long moment gazing into their faces, as though to carry their memory forever in his mind. He didn't know when he would return to Springfield, or whether he would ever return. He owed these people much; and he was filled with a deep sense of gratitude toward them at this moment of parting.

But there was bitterness, too, in the parting. For his family was supposed to be with him on the Presidential train. Mary and the children should have been standing here right now, beside him on the platform. But she had chosen just this day for a quarrel, for one of her screaming, hysterical tantrums. He had been forced to leave her behind, and to say good-bye alone to these good friends.

When he spoke it was in sadness, and in great humility. He bade the citizens of Springfield farewell, acknowledged the great task ahead, and asked them all to pray for his success. His cheeks were wet with rain. He looked tired and worn. But his voice was warm with affection, his words were eloquent with sincerity and faith.

My friends: No one, not in my situation, can appreciate my feeling of sadness at this parting. To this place, and the kindness of these people, I owe everything. Here I have lived a quarter of a century, and have passed from a young to an old man. Here my children have been born, and one is buried. I now leave, not knowing when or whether ever I may return, with a task before me greater than that which rested upon Washington. Without the assistance of that Divine Being who ever attended him, I cannot succeed. With that assistance I cannot fail. Trusting in Him who can go with me, and remain with you, and be everywhere for good-let us confidently hope that all will yet be well. To His care commending you, as I hope in your prayers you will commend me, I bid you an affectionate farewell.

Lincoln's farewell address at Springfield, Illinois, on February 11, 1861, was brief-less than two hundred words. It was considered of no great importance at the time, had no special political significance, and newspapers gave it little space. It was just a man's affectionate good-bye to his home town, a simple farewell to his neighbors and friends, the people among whom he had lived and worked for twenty-five years.

But it was something else, something the people of Springfield clearly sensed as they stood listening in the rain that morning, something that stayed with them like a comforting beacon through the dark years that followed. It was a great man's instinctive prayer for guidance and help, a humble but eloquent expression of faith that few who heard ever forgot.

It is this expression of complete faith and trust, this firm belief that with God's help he could not fail, which sets Lincoln's words at Springfield apart . . . and gives them the unmistakable quality of inspiration, radiant and enduring.

WITHOUT DIVINE ASSISTANCE I CANNOT SUCCEED; WITH IT I CANNOT FAIL- Abraham Lincoln

Courtesy: Light from many Lamps

14 October 2012

15October 2012

John Stanek

DO YOU GIVE YOUR FIRST FRUITS DAILY TO GOD? hen the Israelites were in the desert after

they departed from Egypt, God comm-

anded them through Moses to always Wgive to the priests the first fruits of their crops and their

herds once they were settled in the promised land.

They also were required to dedicate their first born

sons to God. Each of these were considered special and

were to be set apart from the rest of the crops, herds and

family as holy. God told the Israelites, “Bring the best

of the first fruits of your soil to the house of the Lord

your God.” (Exodus 23:19). They were not to bring

unripe or rotten food, but the best of the best of the first

crops of the year. Also, the first born animals, that were

without spot or blemish, were to be brought to be

sacrificed. No sick, deformed or defective animal was

acceptable to God as a sacrifice. To obey God in these

ways was the way to honor God by acknowledging that

He was the One who really provided all of the best that

they had harvested. Proverbs 3:9 says, “Honor the

Lord with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your

crops…”

The first born male was also considered a special

gift from God and was to be dedicated to the Lord. He

was expected to carry on the family name and lead and

care for the family after his father’s death. All of these

requirements looked forward to the day when Jesus,

the first born from the dead, would become the first

fruit of those who are resurrected through belief in His

name. I Corinthians 15:20 states, “ Christ has indeed

been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who

have fallen asleep. “ But what about today? Are we to

give of our first fruits? And if so, Why; since we are no

longer primarily an agrarian society,

what are we to give to God as our first fruits? Well, I believe we are still to give God the first fruits of our time, talents and money. Since we are not restricted in when we can gather the fruits of our time and since we now are indwelt with the Holy Spirit, it seems to me that we should give the first minutes or hours of every day, the ones immediately after we awake, to the Lord in times of prayer and praise and the reading of His word. We should see this as a holy time to be set apart for our Beloved, spending this time entirely on and for Him, in order to please Him and to receive His blessings and instructions for the day. When we do this, as Proverbs 3:10 says, …” then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine”; in other words, your work and your spiritual life will benefit from this as well. God makes it so much easier for us to bring in the first fruits than he did the Israelites. Why then are we so remiss in meeting this requirement? If it is ignorance, then I suggest you begin today to take God the first fruits of your life; those blessings of time, talents and benefits that He has supplied you with. You should be diligent in setting aside your tithe from each pay check you receive and not wait to see if you have anything to give the Lord after you have spent your money, time and talent on other things.

If you have not done this because you did not realize you needed to do this, or because of carelessness or because of just plain rebellion on your part, then I suggest that you go to Him, repent and truly seek to be His obedient son or daughter, ‘the apple of His eye’ and enjoy the benefits of holy communion with Him by giving your best to Him as He has given His best to you in the person of His Son.

16 October 2012

Question TimeQ: What is God like?

Ans: He is holy, righteous, loving, good, wise, all-knowing, eternal, unchanging, and independent of all His creation.

1. God is holy.

(a) The holiness of God is His most outstanding characteristic because it marks Him as quite different and distinct from all His creatures (Ps. 99:3; Isa. 40:25; Hos. 11:9).

(b) Each Person of the Godhead is said to be holy(John 14:26; 17:11; Acts 4:30).

(c) Holiness is the initial feature of God’s character with which men are confronted (Ps. 24:3; Isa. 6:3).

(d) He is majestic in holiness(Ex. 15:11); there is none holy like Him (1 Sam. 2:2).

(e) He desires that His spiritual children should share His holiness (Heb.12:10; 1 Pet. 1:15,16).

2. God is righteous.

(a) He is righteous, and His righteousness is always the same(John 17:25; Zeph. 3:5).

(b) He is just and righteous in all that He does (Isa. 30:18)- even in the bringing of calamity upon His people (Dan. 9:14)

(c) Righteousness and justice are at the foundation of His government (Ps. 97:2).

(d) He is the righteous Judge(Ps. 7:11), who always does right(Gen. 18:25), and who will judge the world with righteousness (Ps.96:13).

3. God is loving.

(a) Everything about God displays His love(Ps. 25:10): indeed He is love (1 John. 4:8,16).

(b) He has revealed Himself as a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness (Ex.34:6; Ps. 51:1; Joel 2:13; Jonah 4:2; Micah 7:18).

(c) His love is so great that it is said to extend to the heavens (Ps. 36:5).

(d) His love for His people cannot be brought to an end; where human love would end, His continues(Hos. 11:8-9).

4. God is good- by which we mean that He is in every

way all that He as God should be; He is absolutely perfect.

(a) He is good (2 Chron. 30:18; Ps. 86:5; 106:1; 118:1), and alone so (Mark 10:18)

(b) His goodness is seen in His creation(Gen. 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31; 1 Tim. 4:4)

5. God is wise.

(a) He is the source of wisdom (Dan. 2:22,23; Isa. 31:2; Job. 12:13); it belongs to Him (Dan. 2:20).

(b) His wisdom is seen in creation(Prov. 3:19, 20; Jer. 10:12 Ps. 104:24).

c) His wisdom is seen in the natural process of the earth (Isa. 28:23-26).

6. God Knows all things.

(a) No creature is hidden from His scrutiny (Heb. 4:13; Prov. 15:3; 5:21); He is acquainted with all our ways (Ps. 139:3).

(b) Everything lies naked and exposed to God (Heb.4:13).

(c) If hell and destruction are before the Lord, how much then are the hearts of men before Him (Prov. 15:11).

7. God is eternal.

(a) He is the eternal “I AM” (Ex. 3:14), the first and the last (Isa. 44:6).

(b) From everlasting He is God (Ps. 90:2), and He inhabits eternity (Isa. 57:15).

8. God is unchanging.

(a) He is unchangeable in His purpose and promises (He. 6:17) once He has spoken, He does what He has said (Num. 23:19)

9. God is independent of all His creation

(a) He made Himself known to Moses as “I AM WHO I AM”(Ex. 3:14).

(b) He is independent in all His qualities and abilities (Isa. 40:18-23).

17October 2012

Dr. C.V. Vadavana

Sathyam Mission Schoolhe moment you think of school, the picture that comes to our mind is of children T

neatly dressed in their school uniforms and saying goodbye to their parents as the school bus comes to pick them up at their doorstep. This is a privilege that is enjoyed only by a few especially those living in cities. For the simple village folks, this is a fairytale or, even if reality, could happen only in a far, far away land.

In most of the villages the children do not go to school. For sure everyone will be enrolled in the school but hardly anyone goes to school. As you read these lines, you might wonder why it is that child do not go to school or why the parents are not taking the initiative in sending them to school?

In villages, more children means more hands for work in the fields and home. These parents do not know the importance of education and can hardly understand the need for it. For them sending a child to school is waste of money and time. They may consider sending their sons to school but many village folks still prefer to keep their daughters at home and the reason is “she is to be given in marriage to some man and why bother to teach her to read and write.” And the other reason for not sending the girl child to school is “she is not going to get any job by studying and so why teach her and spend money on her. Instead of going to school, if she learns how to manage both household work and the work at the field, it will be easy finding a suitable groom for her by the time she is of marriageable age.”

If you go to many of the villages in North India, you will find villages where not even one person has cleared his tenth grade. These villages are economically very poor and you will find people who haven’t crossed the boundary of their village. They do

not know how or what a city or town looks like or cannot imagine that a person could talk over a phone. For them, the phone, computer and internet are still unimaginable concepts. When the ministers of our country are talking of a hi-tech city, it makes no sense to the common man in the village. What bothers him is his paddy field and his animals which he wants to give his children as their family property.

Why blame the parents for not sending the children to school or why blame the children for not going to school? Most of the schools do not have even the basic necessities like benches and tables. The children sit on the ground and write by bending towards the floor, and during the winter they have their classes outside under a tree! And what shocked me the most was the complacent attitude of the government because most of the schools have only two or three teachers and they are to manage 5 to 6 classes at a time which is impossible. In addition to that, these teachers have to maintain all the records and accounts resulting in not going to classes and not teaching students.

When I look at these children, I am always reminded that they are tomorrow’s citizen and are to be the pride

18 October 2012

of the nation. But if they are not disciplined and educated right from their childhood, they would, for sure, follow the path of their parents. I believe as Christians, followers of Jesus Christ, we have responsibility and obligation to our society and our country at large. The privileges and jobs that we enjoy today are because our parents strove to give us the best education possible and if we consider how our parents or grandparents were inspired to educate us, it is because of the output of missionaries in their lives. The missionaries who came to India have made us aware of the need for education, they established schools for us so that we could study and rise on the ladder of success. But not everyone in India has been privileged as we are. Many of the towns and villages in our country still do not have access to education. If we ourselves who claim to be children of the Almighty God cannot do it for our own people, who will do it?

As I traveled to some of the Indian villages, my heart ached and I determined to do something for them. The more I traveled the more I became sensitive to the need of starting schools in the villages, not with profit motive but for serving the poor, downtrodden and the oppressed.

After the devastating earthquake hit Gandhidam, Gujarat, Sathyam Ministries saw the opportunity and need to take part in the rebuilding process. In partnership with Global Impact, the Sathyam Mission

School was opened in Gandhidam. Later on we felt an urgent and immediate need to develop a school in the village of Vijayanagara. In each of these schools, the children are taught not only to read and write, but also about the only true and Living God who can save them from eternal hell and give them joy and happiness and a promising future.

At Sathyam Ministries, we do not do these things because we have abundant resources, but because the love of God compels us. Our dream and prayer is a better India where everyone will be educated and call upon the name of the only one Lord who is Jesus Christ.

C.V. with the grade 1 students during their graduation ceremony at Gujarat school

To be continued…

My brethren, Christ will rei-gn, must reign. O what a grand, glorious destiny awaits us who are saved! I stand in the pre-

Eternity

sence of a scheme that I have neither power to comprehend nor to delineate. I tell you, when the end shall come, and God Almighty shall gather into His Kingdom the souls and bodies of men saved upon the earth, they will reach the pinnacle of eternal life in all its splendor! Happy, happy will be the day when you and I, by God's grace, stand in full proportion on the granite platform of an eternal, happy immortality.-Daggett

During the Crusades, a knight was taken captive by the Moslem Saladin. The knight begged for his life, claiming that he had a wife in England who loved him dearly. Saladin commented that she would soon forget him and marry another. On second thought, the cruel chieftain offered to set the man free if the lady in question would send her right hand as token of her love for this captive.

When word was sent to this lady in England, she immediately cut off her right hand and sent it to Saladin. The man was forthwith returned to England.

There is a statue of this faithful woman in one of the old cathedrals of England. She is attractive, but the statue shows her without the right hand.

Giving Her Right Hand

October 2012 19

Launa Stan

Comfort Zone live in a part of the country that sometimes gets snowfall in the winter. Last December, we got Ibucketfuls and I sent my three children out to play

in the white frigid stuff. It took ages for me to get them bundled up with scarves and hats and gloves on their hands, so they wouldn't be bitten by the frosty cold. I, on the other hand, stood by the window watching them throw snowballs, while sipping a hot cup of coffee. After all, I am an adult. Why should I get all cold and wet and play outside with the kids in the snowdrifts?

My middle daughter implored me to come outside and to teach them to build a snowman. I shuddered at the thought. Frankly, I was comfortable and I didn't want to leave the warmth of my kitchen to do such a silly, childish thing. After a few more whining pleas, I succumbed and piled on my coat and mittens. Pretty soon, I was having fun. I showed them how to roll the small snowballs into huge snowballs. Pretty soon, we had a full-fledged snowman that stood taller than them all. We then threw snow and ice at each other, while giggling and running through the back yard.

When I returned to the comfort of my house, I realized that God wanted to teach me a lesson about moving out of my comfort zone. When we leave the things that are familiar and easy, those are the times that we experience great joy and fulfillment. Spiritually speaking, leaving one's comfort zone might mean talking to a stranger about the Lord or leading a Bible study. It could mean taking a financial and physical risk

of going to another country to minister. Leaving your comfort zone could even be as simple as introducing yourself to the person next door and bringing them a meal.

Going outside to play with my children in the snow was not a huge sacrifice; it just meant I had to be uncomfortable for a time. By doing this, I made me-mories with my three that I would not have other-wise had. Moving out of the place where we feel safe to minister to another person could mean more than just making happy memories. You could be changing their life for all eternity. That seems a small price to pay, doesn't it? Think about it. What are your comfort zones? Try to step out of one of them today to serve someone. The rewards will be worth it!

Who Am I?I am originally from Cyprus. In the early days of the Church age, many people sold all what they had and brought the money to the apostles so that all believers had everything in common. I sold my property and gave the money to the apostles. They gave me a surname which means, “The son of Consolation.” Who am I? Barnabas, Acts 4:36-37

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October 201220

Cross Word Ans.

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Trainman Snatches Child From Death

An engineer on a locomotive going across the Western prairie day after day saw a little child come out in front of a cabin and wave to him; so he got in the habit of waving back to the little child, and it was the day’s joy to him to see this little one come out in front of the cabin door and wave to him while he answered back.

One day the train was belated, and it arrived at the dusk of the evening. As the engineer stood at his post, he saw by the headlight the little girl on the track, wondering why the train did not come, looking for the train, knowing nothing of her peril. A great horror seized the engineer. He reversed the engine. He gave it in charge of the other man, and then he climbed over the engine, and came down on the cow-catcher.

He said afterwards that it seemed as though it were going at lightning speed, faster and faster, through it was really slowing up. And with almost supernatural clutch he caught the child by the hair and lifted it up. When the train stopped, and the passengers gathered around to see what was the matter, there the old engineer lay, fainted dead away, the little child alive and in his swarthy arms- Talmage

venomous snakes to do just that.

Folk'n'fax- The Bible tells us that God will look after us, his children, today. It does not say that he will make us all millionaires. It does not say that he will give us everything we demand. But because he is so generous, he always gives more than we need, and certainly more than we deserve. Let's not look at what others have and grumble if we haven't got what they have. Let's be thankful for what we do have.

Fun'n'games- We give thanks for the food that is served up on our plates. Now let's walk into the kitchen, look inside the food cupboard and the fridge and give thanks for other foods and flavourings that go towards making our meals tasty. Maybe we have never thanked God for them before. Mum or Dad will explain what they are and what they do.

Praise'n'prayer- Let us thank our heavenly Father for looking after us, his children, so well. Now let's pray that we don't grumble about the food that is provided for us. Let's pray for those starving in the world who would love to have the food that we leave

on our plates.

‘Venom' is mentioned in the Bible eight times.

Venom verse-'Then the Lord sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died' (Numbers 21, verse 6).

Venomfax -Venom is a toxic secretion that may be used for killing or paralysing prey, or just used for defence. Most venoms only injure humans when introduced into the skin through a sting or a bite. Although quite a few creatures contain venom, very few are really dangerous to humans. The ones that are dangerous include certain snakes, some scorpions and a few spiders. Fortunately, none of these are found in Britain, except in a zoo. We do, however, have bees, wasps and jellyfish, and their venom if it gets inside us will bring tears to the eyes.

Biblefax-In Numbers 21 we read that the Israelites were having a good old moan. They complained that there was no bread, they grumbled that there was no water, and they weren't happy with the food that God had provided for them. God had supplied every need for living that they had, but they still complained. They needed to be taught a lesson, and in came the

Venom Day

Courtesy: Ishmael’s Once a Week Family Time

21October 2012

Rev. Barney Kinard

What is Scaffolding?caffolding is a term that is used in the edu-cational field for a reading paradigm. Teachers use this term to cover how to teach reading to the S

children. “A set of training wheels on a bicycle is a classic example of scaffolding. It is adjustable and temporary, providing the young rider with the support he or she needs while learning to ride a two-wheeler. Without an aid of this sort, the complex tasks of learning to pedal, balance, and steer all at one time would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, for many youngsters. This scaffold-training wheels- allows the learners to accomplish a goal, riding a bicycle successfully, and then to happily pedal his or her way into the wider world.” ~Michael F. Graves, Bonnie Graves, and Sheldon Braaten, Scaffolded Reading Experiences for Inclusive Classes. However, the four principles have been applied to other disciplines, for our purposes, leadership training.

Here are the four scaffolding principles applied to leadership. Level One: I Do, You Watch

You recruit new volunteers for involvement and they watch you. This is kind of a chaperone role where little is required of the helper—just observing, or just being another person in the room.

Level Two: I Do, You Help

You gradually ask the volunteer to help you and you watch what they do. Working together to accomplish the task, taking on some level of responsibility to only help you, with crafts, help serve snacks, help with games or take attendance and handout supplies. You are clearly in charge and they would not assume any responsibility to be in charge of anything on this level. Eventually, they are willing to help and take more res-ponsibility with your help, eventually.

Level Three: You Do, I Help

Now the volunteer is doing what you did and your role shifts to help them. Your presence is required. You

don’t leave them alone. They take on some respo-nsibility. You ma-intain your rela-tionship, still wor-king with them. This is the level where you begin to delegate tasks

where they have to step up their involvement.

Level Four: You Do, I Watch

After some practice the volunteer is doing the work, you now watch and admire what they do as you trained them. This level still requires your leadership, but now they are partnering with you to share the ministry in some definite way. They are taking on some respon-sibility and becoming a trained leader.

Some Observations:

1. Recruit for level one: involvement and then try to move them up the levels over time.

2. Debriefing is a constant activity in every level. It is where the learning and relationship happens.

3. It is seldom that you can initially recruit for level four-it skips too many steps in the process.

4. These levels make a case for Master Teachers who use these levels for bringing new recruits into leadership.

5. At level three and four you feel the teamwork and partnership happen.

6. These levels start as indirect ways of recruiting, helping and training leaders. It is also slower, but better training.

22 October 2012

One kiloton(KT) is equivalent of 1,000 tons of T. N.T. One megaton (MT) is the equivalent of 1,00,000 tons of T.N.T. The first atomic bomb exploded in New Mexico was about 19 KT. The Bomb of Hiroshima was a 20KT bomb. The largest hydrogen bomb that has been exploded was a 100 MT bomb by the Russians in 1960s. The force of that bomb was so powerful that measured pressure pulses from this bomb went around the world two times. Though the 100 MT bomb was 5,000 times as powerful as the one on Hiroshima, scientists are discussing bombs of 10,000; 20,000, or even 1,000, 000 megatons.

How powerful is a 100 megaton bomb? All the gunpowder, T.N.T., dynamite and nitroglycerin made since the discovery of gunpowder are not equal to 100 megatons. To equal a 100-MT bomb, you would have to drop a 20 KT bomb(like the one on Japan) every day of the year for 13 years. All the explosives used on both sides in WW II were less than 3 megatons!

Meaning of One Kiloton

The Best Memory System

Forget the kindness that you do,As soon as you have done it;

Forget the praise that fills on you,The moment you have won it.

Forget the slander that you hear, Before you can repeat it;

Forget each slight, each spite, each sneer,Wherever you may meet it.

Remember every kindness done,To you, whate’er its measure;

Remember praise by others won,And pass it on with pleasure.

Remember every promise made,And keep it to the letter;

Remember those who lend you aid,And be a greatful debtor.

Remember all the happinessThat comes your way in living;Forget each worry and distress,

Be hopeful and forgiving.Remember good, remember truth,

Remember heaven’s above youAnd you will find through age and youth

True joy and hearts to love you! -Selected

September 2011Sathyam MinistriesWE CARE FOR BODY & SOUL

facebook.com/sathyam.india twitter.com/sathyam_india

www.sathyam.org

23October 2012

Do you know?

Courtesy : Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties

Was Melchizedek a historical person or mythical figure?

The account in Genesis 14:18-20 sounds like a straight forward historical episode, just as true as the rest of the chapter. It tells us that there was a priest-king of Salem (that is, Jerusalem, in all probability) named Melchizedek, who felt led to greet Abraham on his way back from the slaughter of the Mesopotamian invaders between Dan and Hobah (v.15) and to furnish him with provisions for his battle-weary fighting men. He also congratulated Abraham warmly for his heroic victory and bestowed a blessing on him in the name of “God Most High” ('El 'Ely'on) – a title never applied in Scripture to anyone else but Yahweh Himself. Obviously Melchizedek was a true believer, who had remained faithful to the worship of the one true God (just like Job and his four advisors in North Arabia; Jethro, Moses' Midianite father-in-law; and Balaam, the prophet of Yahweh from Pethor in the Euphrates Valley).

There was, however, one striking feature about the way Melchizedek was brought into this narrative: his parents are not mentioned, and there is no statement about his birth or death. The reason for this lack of information is made clear in Hebrews 7:3: “Without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, he abides a priest perpetually” (NASB). The context makes it clear that Melchizedek was brought on to the scene as a type of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus. In order to bring out this typical character of Melchizedek, the biblical record purposely omits all mention of his birth, parentage, or ancestors. This is not to say that he had no father or that he had never been born It was simply that his dramatic and sudden appearance was more clearly brought out by presenting him as God's spokesman to Abraham, serving as a type of the future Christ, bestowing the divine blessing on the people of God.

Melchizedek presented himself as a forerunner or type of the great High Priest, Jesus Christ, who would fulfill a priestly office far higher and more efficacious than that of Aaron and the Levites. This was taught

back in David's time by Psalm 110:4, addressed to the future Deliverer of Israel: “The LORD has sworn and will not change His mind, 'Thou art a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek” (NASB). Hebrews 7:1-2 points out the significant features in Melchizedek as a type of Christ:

1.Melchi-sedeq actually means “King of Righteo-usness.”

2. He was king of salem, which comes from the same root as salom, “peace.”

3. He is presented without mention of birth, paren-tage, or genealogy, as befitted a type of the Son of God, the eternal God, without beginning and without end, who became incarnate in Jesus of Nazareth.

4.As a Priest forever after the “order of Melchi-zedek” (Ps. 110:4), Christ would carry on a priest-hood that would completely supersede the priest-hood of Aaron, established under the law of Moses, and which would endure forever because of the imperishable life of the High Priest Himself (Heb. 7:22-24).

Despite the fanciful traditions maintained by some of the rabbis (appearing even as early as the Qumran sect-cf. the Melchizedek Fragment from Cave 11) to the effect that Melchizedek was some kind of angel or supernatural being, the data of Scripture itself points clearly to the historicity of this man as a king of Jerusalem back in the days of Abraham. The description of Melchizedek in Hebrews 7:3 as apator, ametor, agenealogetos (“without father, without mother, without genealogy”) cannot be intended to mean that Melchizedek never had any parents or any ancestral line, for Melchizedek was a type of Jesus Christ, of whom none of the three adjectives was literally true. Rather, this verse simply means that none of those items of information was included in the Genesis 14 account and that they were purposely omitted in order to lay the stress on the divine nature and imperishability of the Messiah, the Antitype.

24 October 2012

Phone: 9447126182

1 tip to cheer you...

Realize that nothing is impossible

agitation. The deep-in part of the man lies in primeval silence waiting that quickening word that shall give it second birth. Because this far-in spirit of the man I separated from God the whole life is out of order; so the flesh and the imagination take over and direct the thinking, the willing and the doing of the individual man and the race of which he is a part. These create the dance macabre, the dance of death we know as society and in which as natural men we find ourselves. Popular Christianity parrots the language of New

Testament theology, but it accepts the world's opinion of itself and sedulously apes its ways (except for a few evil practices which even the world itself admits are wrong). Then Christ is offered as something added, a Friend Up There, a Guarantor against the time when the tumult and the shouting dies and we are called in from the playground and forced to go to sleep.

l give it second birth. Because this far-in spirit of the man I separated from God the whole life is out of order; so the flesh and the imagination take over and direct the thinking, the willing and the doing of the individual man and the race of which he is a part. These create the dance macabre, the dance of death we know as society and in which as natural men we find ourselves. Popular Christianity parrots the language of New

Testament theology, but it accepts the world's opinion of itself and sedulously apes its ways (except for a few evil practices which even the world itself admits are wrong). Then Christ is offered as something added, a

Friend Up There, a Guarantor against the time when the tumult and the shouting dies and we are called in from the playground and forced to go to sleep.

Be it remembered that the great essential facts have not changed. Men are still what they were and the Son of Man is forever who and what He was. He calls to the eternal in us. Deep calls unto deep and the call, if it is heard at all, is heard by that in us which is neither savage nor civilized, old nor young, Western nor Oriental, but simply human and once made in the image of God.

It is significant that the psalm in which the worlds

“Be still” occur is filled with noise and commotion. The earth shakes, the waters roar and are troubled, the mountains threaten to tumble into the midst of the sea, the nations rage, the kingdoms are moved and the sound o f war is heard throughout the land. Then a voice

is heard out of the silence saying. “Be still, and know

that I am God.”

So today we must listen till our inner ears hear the words of God. When the Voice is heard it will not be as the excited shouting of the nervous world; rather it will

be the reassuring call of One of whom it was said, “He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his

voice in the streets.”

It cannot be heard in the street, but it may be heard plainly enough in the heart. And that is all that matters at last.

continued from page 10“Be still, and know that I am God.” – Psalm 46:10.

25October 2012

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l“For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption:” Acts 13:36 KJV

Answer: John 6:38 refers to God's desire while Acts 13:36 refers to God's plan or purpose.

One way to determine which ”will” a verse is using is to consult the original languages of the Bible: Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic. There are two primary words for will in Greek, thelēma (θέληµα) and boulē (Βουλή). Thelēma refers to “what God wishes or desires to happen.” and boule refers to God's “counsel” or “purpose.” We cannot resist God's boulēma, as Paul points out in Romans 9:19, but we can resist his thelēma as Adam and Eve did in Genesis 3. Sometimes the Biblical writers accentuate the divine sovereignty by combining two or more of these equivalent words into a single expression (Romans 12:1; Ephesians 1:5, 11, and Hebrews 13:21). Therefore, the specific definition of God's will depends on the specific situation, verse and usage of the word.

In God we see the characteristics of desiring, or delighting in, certain things or people. Does God exert

his commanding will to force the resolution of his desires? Not always. Both the Old and New Testament demonstrate that God expects his people to do his will, but he gave us a free will to choose (Genesis 2:15-17) and we don't always do what God desires (Genesis 3).

The theme of God's will, His desire (Gk thelēma), is almost central to the teaching of Jesus as that of the kingdom of God. Many passages speak of “doing” God's will, what God desires or commands (Mark 3:35, Matthew 12:50, Luke 12:47, John 4:34, 6:38). I pray this study of the language will help you get a glimpse of God's heart instead of His authoritative hammer. Our loving God desires for His creation and His people to be redeemed (John 6:40). This is consistent with Jeremiah 29:11, he has plans for our welfare, not for evil. It draws me to sing with the Psalmist, “Teach me to do your will, for you are my God” Psalm 143:10 NIV.

I wish to do what God desires. Don't you? In order to do God's will, we must know Him and His desires. On my next post I will discuss the three most popular methods used to discern the will of God.

Share your perspective about the importance of enhancing our understanding of God and His will.

Roadmap to God's will; The language of the Bible

26 October 2012

Ines S. Franklin

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Roadmap to God's will; The language of the Bible

e all want to understand what the Bible teaches about God's will, but where do we begin? I think it's important to start W

with language, as understanding the will of God can be challenging unless we know what sort of will He has, and what the word “will” means.

Not comprehending language can lead to some embarrassing or misleading moments, and I know first-hand what that feels like. When I was sixteen years old my mother moved our family from a little town in the mountains of Puerto Rico to Hollywood, California. As I tried to become proficient in English, I often spoke it even though I was unsure what certain words meant. One day, a young man offered to buy me a DrPepper. I had heard other people make funny remarks about drinking this soda and, in an effort to sound cool, I repeated their line, “DrPepper makes me horny.” At this the young man stepped back in shock, “I can't believe you just said that!” He quickly walked away and left me standing in front of the tower of sodas wondering what I had said. I thought that “horny” referred to the horn-like sound one makes when sneezing because of breathing in pepper. (I know, it sounds silly now.) When I went home, I immediately looked up this word in the dictionary, and boy was I surprised!

You don't have to be a foreigner to be challenged by the English language. English contains homographs, words that share the same spelling. Some homographs are at least pronounced differently and give us a clue to their different meanings (for instance, he wound the bandage around the wound.) But more challenging are the words that have the same pronunciation and spelling, but have different meaning (tire = fatigue, tire = car wheel). The word will is this type of homograph.

Just as when I was learning English I made wrong assumptions about certain definitions, I've made the same mistake when reading the Bible. For instance,

when I started studying the topic of “God's will,” I assumed that “God's will” always meant God's divine plan, something that shall happen because God is all-powerful and directs it to happen. This gave me the impression that God is a supreme killjoy, bossy, in control of everything and ready to punish me at the slightest disobedience. There were plenty of people in my life like this and I did not want to follow a God that was like them. To my surprise, after a little bit of reading, I realized that sometimes the English word “will” means “counsel, plan, purpose, intention,” and sometimes it means “.” What a difference that makes!

More than sixty verses in the New Testament refer to God's “desire or wish that something would happen” when speaking of God's will and twelve refer to his “counsel, plan, purpose or intention.” It is not always easy to detect which definition of “will” is intended. Can you tell which “will” is being used in the following verses?

l“For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of Him that sent me.” John 6:38 KJV

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