FIRE WITHIN

He lived. He died. He arose. He returned. And then He left to go back to His home. But that wasn’t  the end of Jesus Christ. Oh no. He sent His Spirit whirling down on a Godly blast of air to fill and merge with the spirits of all who would believe Him, accept Him as their Lord and Savior.

We are vessels that hold this magnificent gift. This is incomprehensible to many people. No one–NO ONE–can grasp this concept until it “happens” to them. I’ve heard it said people in such a state should be locked away until they have “come down from the mountain.” Perhaps it’s true.  I’ll always remember giving my first speech at  college after I accepted my Lord. All I remember of the speech is I began it with a peanut as my attention-getter. When I finished–dead silence–for what seemed like an hour. Oh, oh. Does that mean an F for me? Maybe he’ll let me get by with a D? The teacher seemed speechless. When he began to speak, it was softly.

“Thank you for sharing your experience. I’m sure everyone in this room appreciated it.”

Then the students began to clap, and did they clap. I was astounded. (Oh, me of little faith in myself). I was the last speaker and several students came over to tell me how much they liked the speech. One guy said, “You didn’t know I needed that. I’ve been so depressed I was thinking about killing myself. Now I’m not going  to do it.”  I urged him to seek counseling with one of the college counselors, hopefully a committed Christian. He said he would. Other students told me how uplifted they felt. Others told me I was brave to make such a speech.

“It wasn’t my bravery. It was the assurance of the Holy Spirit within me, guiding me and telling me what  to say.”

Our guide, counselor, comforter, teacher. We’re never again alone. We always have the most precious fire that burns within. And soon He’s coming back and the world will see Him again!

God Knows Where You Are–A True Story

GOD KNOWS WHERE YOU ARE – True Story

By Ken Gaub, Yakima, Washington

Do you believe that God not only loves you, but also knows where you are and what you’re doing every minute of the day? I certainly do after an amazing experience I had several years ago.

At the time I was driving on I-75 near Dayton, Ohio, with my wife and children. We turned off the highway for a rest and refreshment stop. My wife Barbara and children went into the restaurant. I suddenly felt the need to stretch my legs, so waved them on ahead saying I’d join them later. I bought a soft drink, and as I walked toward a Dairy Queen, feelings of self-pity enshrouded my mind. I loved the Lord and my ministry, but I felt drained, burdened. My cup was empty.

Suddenly the impatient ringing of a telephone nearby jarred me out of my doldrums. It was coming from a phone booth at a service station on the corner. Wasn’t anyone going to answer the phone? Noise from the traffic flowing through the busy intersection must have drowned out the sound because the service station attendant continued looking after his customers, oblivious to the incessant ringing.

“Why doesn’t somebody answer that phone?” I muttered. I began reasoning. It may be important. What if it’s an emergency? Curiosity overcame my indifference. I stepped inside the booth and picked up the phone. “Hello,” I said casually and took a big sip of my drink.

The operator said: “Long distance call for Ken Gaub.”

My eyes widened, and I almost choked on a chunk of ice. Swallowing hard, I said, “You’re crazy!” Then realizing I couldn’t speak to an operator like that, I added, “This can’t be! I was walking down the road, not bothering anyone, and the phone was ringing…”

“Is Ken Gaub there?” the operator interrupted, “I have a long distance call for him.”

It took a moment to gain control of my babbling, but I finally replied, “Yes, he is here.” Searching for a possible explanation, I wondered if I could possibly be on Candid Camera! Still shaken, perplexed, I asked, “How in the world did you reach me here? I was walking down the road, the pay phone started ringing, and I just answered it on chance. You can’t mean me.”

“Well,” the operator asked, “is Mr. Gaub there or isn’t he?”

“Yes, I am Ken Gaub,” I said, finally convinced by the tone of her voice that the call was real. Then I heard another voice say, “Yes, that’s him, operator. That’s Ken Gaub.”

I listened dumbfounded to a strange voice identify herself. “I’m Millie from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. You don’t know me, Mr Gaub, but I’m desperate. Please help me.”

“What can I do for you?”

She began weeping. Finally she regained control and continued., “I was about to commit suicide, had just finished writing a note, when I began to pray and tell God I really didn’t want to do this. Then I suddenly remembered seeing you on television and thought if I could just talk to you, you could help me. I knew that was impossible because I didn’t know how to reach you. I didn’t know anyone who could help me find you. Then some numbers came to mind, and I scribbled them down.”

At this point she began weeping again, and I prayed silently for wisdom to help her. She continued, “I looked at the numbers and thought, wouldn’t it be wonderful if I had a miracle from God, and He has given me Ken’s phone number? I decided to try calling it. I can’t believe I’m talking to you. Are you in your office in California?”

I replied, “Lady, I don’t have an office in California. My office is in Yakima, Washington.”

A little surprised, she asked, “Oh really, then where are you?”

“Don’t you know?” I responded. “You made the call.”

She explained, “But, I don’t even know what area I’m calling. I just dialed the number that I had on this paper.”

“Ma’am, you won’t believe this, but I’m in a phone booth in Dayton, Ohio!”

“Really?” she exclaimed. “Well, what are you doing there?”

I kidded her gently, “Well, I’m answering the phone. It was ringing as I walked by, so I answered it.”

Knowing this encounter could only have been arranged by God, I began to counsel the woman. As she told me of her despair and frustration, the presence of the Holy Spirit flooded the phone booth giving me words of wisdom beyond my ability. In a matter of moments, she prayed the sinner’s prayer and met the One who could lead her out of her situation into a new life.

I walked away from the telephone booth with an electrifying sense of our heavenly Father’s concern for each of His children. What were the astronomical odds of this happening? With all the millions of phones and innumerable combinations of numbers, only an all-knowing God could have caused that woman to call that number in that phone booth at that moment in time.

Forgetting my drink and nearly bursting with exhilaration, I headed back to my family, wondering if they would believe my story. Maybe I better not tell this I thought, but I couldn’t contain it. “Barb, you won’t believe this! God knows where I am!”

God also knows where you are. Place yourself in His hands, concentrate on knowing His will for your life, and He will never forsake or forget you.

Ken
________________________________________________

Who Knew?

 

 

How the internet started…

In ancient Israel , it came to pass that a trader by the name of Abraham Com did take unto himself a young wife by the name of Dot.  And Dot Com was a comely woman, broad of shoulder and long of leg. Indeed, she was often called Amazon Dot Com. And she said unto Abraham, her husband, “Why dost thou travel so far from town to town with thy goods when thou canst trade without ever leaving thy tent?”

 

And Abraham did look at her as though she were several saddle bags short of a camel load, but simply said, “How, dear?”

 

And Dot replied, “I will place drums in all the towns and drums in between to send messages saying what you have for sale, and they will reply telling you who hath the best price. And the sale can be made on the drums and delivery made by Uriah’s Pony Stable (UPS).”

 

Abraham thought long and decided he would let Dot have her way with the drums. And the drums rang out and were an immediate success. Abraham sold all the goods he had at the top price, without ever having to move from his tent.

 

To prevent neighboring countries from overhearing what the drums were saying, Dot devised a system that only she and the drummers knew. It was known as Must Send Drum Over Sound (MSDOS), and she also developed a language to transmit ideas and pictures – Hebrew To The People (HTTP).

 

And the young men did take to Dot Com’s trading as doth the greedy horsefly take to camel dung. They were called Nomadic Ecclesiastical Rich Dominican Sybarites, or NERDS. And lo, the land was so feverish with joy at the new riches and the deafening sound of drums that no one noticed that the real riches were going to that enterprising drum dealer, Brother William of Gates, who bought off every drum maker in the land. And indeed did insist on drums to be made that would work only with Brother Gates’ drumheads and drumsticks.

 

And Dot did say, “Oh, Abraham, what we have started is being taken over by others.”

 

And Abraham looked out over the Bay of Ezekiel , or eBay as it came to be known. He said, “We need a name that reflects what we are.”

 

And Dot replied, “Young Ambitious Hebrew Owner Operators.” “YAHOO,” said Abraham. And because it was Dot’s idea, they named it YAHOO Dot Com.

 

Abraham’s cousin, Joshua, being the young Gregarious Energetic Educated Kid (GEEK) that he was, soon started using Dot’s drums to locate things around the countryside. It soon became known as God’s Own Official Guide to Locating Everything (GOOGLE). That is how it all began. And that’s the truth.

One Woman’s Prayer

   Here is a different maybe far out prayer that hit me this morning. Help me. I’m only one speck. I am desperate to stop the spiritual attack on our nation. I believe we must target this man.  If you aren’t struck at 3 am everyday to wake up, be thankful.

This sounds hate filled but it’s not.  Beth Moore calls it tattling to GOD. Psalms are full of what men ask the Living GOD to do with those who hate Israel, seek ruin for ‘the beautiful land’ and for help for themselves. The Palestinians, Islam and all these groups led by the demonic forces trying to wipe out Jews for CENTURIES don’t want the land to worship on, they want to defile it and bring it to utter destruction because GOD calls it His land over and over, and simply because Jewish feet have touched it, just as they’ve done in Gaza and anywhere else Israel has tried to reach concessions. You may not agree with this so just ignore it. Otherwise, cry out with your own brand, to stop one of the most evil men on earth, called The Puppet Master, whose stated goal is to take down the last place of Freedom, prosperity and a chance at success for a common man, the country with a constitution he hates,  like no other country before or now, inspired by some of the most Godly men in history = the United States of America..

  I’m asking The Mighty GOD to strike George Soros with an affliction that sends him crawling to his bed, drives him on his back with such an illness his high-powered doctors are at a loss to help him. While he is on his back, cause total confusion with all his minions who do his bidding. This sounds archaic but it is how this man operates and revels in it. Cause wicked people operating the machine in Spain that will count our votes to catch the swine flu and fall out – put people working on it with good hearts who will hear the Holy Spirit’s directions and follow. Romans 8:28 tells us this is possible, call it out to JESUS.

Back to the evil man, Soros. While he is on his back, let the ghost of Christmas past invade and terrify his mind every night. He must realize there is a GOD in Israel, and he must have a broken and repentant heart and confess to GOD all the corruption he has done to his own tribe in WWII. He must see the flames of hell he’s headed for and beg for forgiveness and salvation sincerely, just like the poor and lowly people he’s crushed, he has to repent and see he is just dust like the rest of us.  He must beg Jesus for the Robes of Righteousness he lacks and that his name be written in the Lamb’s book of LIFE just like anyone else.  

And if the Most High GOD chooses to bring him back ~ he must, just as King Nebuchadnezzar happily did after being taken from the field, chained to a tree stump ….. humble himself in front of the world and proclaim all of Daniel 4:34-37.

Sandra G.

Prayers From the Distant Past

English: Deuteronomy 8:18, Thou shalt remember the Lord thy God, 1901 Bible card published by the Providence Lithograph Company (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“Loving Shepherd of Thy sheep,

Keep thy lamb, in safety keep;

Nothing can Thy power withstand;

None can pluck me from Thy hand.

Loving Shepherd, ever near,

Teach thy lamb Thy voice to hear;

Suffer not my steps to stray

From the straight and narrow way.”

Orientis Partibus, (Ch. 23; JS55)

Evening Hymn

“Now the day is over,

Night is drawing nigh;

Shadows of the evening

Steal across the sky.

Through the long night watches

May Thine angels spread

Their white wings above me,

Watching round my bed.”

Eudoria (Hymn 178)

Lord God, in Jesus Name I pray that Christians everywhere remember to thank You before they pray,  remain humble, and always give you the glory for all that we have and all that we are. Amen

“Little” Sins

English: Solomon and the Plan for the Temple, as in 1 Kings 6, illustration from a Bible card published by the Providence Lithograph Company (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

As God said through Hosea, “When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot me.” (Hosea 13:6)

How can a person survive prosperity?  Scripture says, do not be haughty!  Don’t think for a moment that you had anything to do with your accumulation.

*     *     *     *

How Max Lucado can get our brains buzzing! The above is from one of his daily posts I receive.  My mind raced back to things in my life that drew me away from God. Yes, blessings of prosperity can dull your thinking about God.  And trials and tribulation can draw you away unless they are accepted as “lessons.”

We don’t have to search very far to find an example of great prosperity given by God, and  great falls from Grace: King David and his son, King Solomon.

God had blessed Solomon greatly because he was humble enough at the start of his life as king to ask for wisdom instead of riches.  God gave him the task of building the great temple which his father, David, had wished to build. David, because of adultery, was denied this privilege, although God forgave his sin because he was humble and repented.  He also took the loss of his first son with grace and understanding, once he realized that his sin alone had brought this great tragedy.  (II Samuel 11 and 12)

Solomon, on the other hand, came to grief with God late in his life. He let his many wives and concubines lead him away from God, allowing shrines to false gods to be placed in the “high places” by his wives. (I Kings 1-11)

“The Lord was very angry with Solomon, for his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. He had warned Solomon specifically about worshiping other gods, but Solomon did not listen to the Lord’s command. So now the Lord said to him,’Since you have not kept my covenant and have disobeyed my decrees, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your servants. . .’” (I Kings 11:v.9-11

*     *     *     *     *

“Solomon didn’t turn away from God all at once or in a brief moment. His spiritual coldness started with a minor departure from God’s laws. Over the years, that little sin grew until it resulted in Solomon’s downfall. A little sin can be the first step in turning away from God. It is not the sins we don’t know about but the sins we excuse that cause us the greatest trouble. We must never let any sin go unchallenged.”

From the notes on IKings in theLife Application Study Bible.

May we never ignore those “little” sins.

A Psalm for the Ages: A Call to Prayer

From one of God’s most articulate prayer warriors:

“In times of trouble, may the Lord answer your cry.

May the Name of the God of Jacob keep you  safe from all harm.

May He send you help from His sanctuary and strengthen you from Jerusalem.

May He remember all your gifts and look  favorably on your burnt offerings.

May He grant your heart’s desire and make all your plans succeed.

May we shout for joy when we hear of your victory and raise a victory banner in the Name of our God.

May the Lord answer all your prayers.

Now I know that the Lord rescues his anointed king. He will answer him from his holy heaven–and rescue him by his great power.

Some nations boast of their chariots and horses, but we boast in the Name of the Lord our God!

Those nations will fall down and collapse, but we will rise up and stand firm.

Give victory to our king, O Lord! Answer our cry for help.

Psalm 22 by King David

Some Sweet Prayers

I.

Gracious Spirit,  Dove Divine,

Let thy light within me shine;

All my guilty fears remove,

Fill me with thy Heavenly love.

Life and peace to me impart,

Seal salvation in my heart;

Dwell Thyself within my breast

And bestow eternal rest.

Culbach  (ch. 143: Hy 108)

II.

Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart;

Nought be all else to me save that Thou art.

Thou my best thought, by day or by night,

Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.

Be Thou my wisdom, and Thou my true word;

I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord,

Thou my great Father, I thy true son;

Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.

Slane  (Hy 103; JS 7)

C. S. Lewis: Praise for Christianity’s Finest Apologist

Brilliant teacher of English literature, don at Oxford University–
C. S. Lewis was on his way up. Then it happened. After it happened, he found he had no more hopes for advancement at Oxford. From believing in nothing, he was “overcome with joy” on a short ride in the sidecar of his brother’s motorcycle. He experienced Jesus Christ and became the preeminent Christian apologist, the number one defender of the Faith.

     From atheist to believer in Jesus Christ as his savior–all in one motorcycle ride one day–and C. S. Lewis became a pariah at Oxford University, no longer worthy to receive advancement. He fell from the world’s grace by receiving the grace of Christ. He had no explanation for the miraculous that came upon or into him. He may not even have called  this a miracle, since in some of his writings he states:

     “How likely is it that you or I will be present when a peace treaty is signed, when a great scientific discovery is made, when a dictator commits suicide? That we should see

 a miracle is even less likely.”

     His thoughts on human reproduction where the father is concerned: ”The human father is merely an    instrument, a carrier, often an unwilling carrier, always simply the last in a long line of carriers–a line that stretches back far beyond his ancestors into prehuman and preorganic deserts of time, back to the creation of

matter itself. That line is in God’s hand. It is the instrument by which He normally creates a man. For He is the reality behind both Genius and Venus; no woman ever conceived a child, no mare a foal, without Him. But once, and for a special purpose, He dispensed with that long line which is His instrument:once His life-giving finger touched a woman without passing through the ages of interlocked events. Once the great glove of Nature was taken off His hand…He was creating not simply a man but the Man who was to be Himself: was creating Man anew: was beginning, at this divine and human point the New Creation of all things.”

     In speaking of the miracle of the walking on the water he says: ”…we see the relations of spirit and Nature   so altered that Nature can be made to do whatever spirit pleases. This new obedience of Nature is, of course, not to be separated even in thought from spirit’s own obedience to the Father of Spirits.” Such altering of Nature by any means other than through God, produces chaos.

     It is his view of the Incarnation where “the Son of God became a man to enable men to become sons of God” that Lewis is at his most powerful: “The Eternal Being, who knows everything and who created the whole universe, became not only a man but (before that) a baby, and before that a fetus inside a Woman’s body. If you want to get the hang of it, think how you would like to become a slug or a crab.”

     “The result of this was that you now had one man who really was what all men were intended to be: one man in whom created life, derived from His Mother, allowed itself to be completely and perfectly turned into the begotten life. The natural human creature in Him was taken up fully into the divine Son. Thus in one instance humanity had, so to speak, arrived: had passed into the life of Christ.”

     Thus we on earth were presented with a conundrum: natural man, which comes ”naturally” to all of us, therefore feels “normal,” becoming spiritual man? What has to happen to accomplish that transformation?

     Lewis explains it in this way: “…the whole difficulty for us is that the natural life has to be, in a sense, ‘killed.’” He presents a case of natural opposed to spiritual. We humans, left to our own devices, are so different from what we can become as spiritual beings here on earth, that we are polar opposites.

     “The natural life in each of us is something self-centered, something that wants to be petted and admired, to take advantage of other lives, to exploit the whole universe… Especially it wants to be left to itself: to keep well away from anything that might make it feel small. It is afraid of the light and air of the spiritual world…and in a

sense it is quite right. It knows that if the spiritual life gets hold of it, all its self-contentedness and self-will are going to be killed and it is ready to fight tooth and nail to avoid that.”

     To become a Christian involves a willing laying down of one’s natural life–a dying to self, ego, an emptying out–and then a taking into one’s self the supernatural essence of the Father/Son/and Holy Spirit. It is the “whole package,” the Gift given to all who truly seek It.

 

     Dear Mr. Lewis, these miracles are happening every day all around us. I feel certain you can see them happening to many of us as we read your God-given words. Although the miraculous is all around us, it never gets old, the fire still burns brightly, the call of the new Eden, loud and clear. It will be such a pleasure to meet you, sir. I am looking forward to it.                               Harvestworker’s Door

The Kilns, Lewis’ ancestral home

Where Did You Come From?

Where did you come from, Baby dear?

Out of the everywhere into here.

 

Where did you get your eyes so blue?

Out of the sky as I came through.

 

What makes the light in them sparkle and spin?

Some of the starry spikes left in.

 

Where did you get that little tear?

I found it waiting when I got here.

 

What makes your forehead so smooth and high?

A soft hand stroked it as I went by.

 

What makes your cheek like a warm white rose?

I saw something better than anyone knows.

 

Whence that three-corner’d smile of bliss?

Three angels gave me at once a kiss.

 

Where did you get this pearly ear?

God spoke, and it came out to hear.

 

Where did you get those arms and hands?

Love made itself into hooks and bands.

 

Feet, whence did you come, you darling things?

From the same box as the cherubs’ wings.

 

How did they all come just to be you?

God thought of me, and so I grew.

 

But how did you come to us, you dear?

God thought of you, and so I am here.

 

by George MacDonald