Sinners

           He who is alone with his sins is utterly alone.  It may be that Christians, not withstanding corporate worship, common prayer, and all their fellowship in service, may still be left to their loneliness.  The final breakthrough to fellowship does not occur because, though they have fellowship with one another as believers and as devout people, they do not have fellowship as the undevout, as sinners.  The pious fellowship permits no one to be a sinner.  So everyone must conceal his sin from himself and from their fellowship.  We dare not be sinners.  Many Christians are unthinkably horrified when a real sinner is suddenly discovered among the righteous.  So we remain alone with our sin, living in lies and hypocrisy.  The fact is that we are sinners! ~~ Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together

Hope

          Hope is only a virtue when the situation is hopeless. ~~ G. K. Chesterton

Our world

           Our world doesn't want to be reminded of Christ, because he forces us to choose. ~~ Mike Erre author Jesus of Suburbia

Intimacy

           Intimacy with Jesus is the context in which the deep longing in our hearts for more of Him is progressively satisfied. People who are born again do not automatically have a sense of the nearness of God. Effective ministry produces a satisfaction that comes through helping others and being useful in God's kingdom, but it is not the same as the satisfaction that comes from encountering God in our inner man. The Holy Spirit may give spiritual gifts to believers and release His power through us, but these things do not ultimately satisfy the desire in our hearts for more of God. ~~ Mike Bickle, International House of Prayer

Love as Christ did

           In his book The Four Loves, C. S. Lewis divides love into four categories based on the different Greek words for love.  “Affection” (storge) is fondness through familiarity, especially between family members or close friends.  “Friendship” (philia) is a strong bond existing between people who share a common interest or activity.  Romantic affection (eros) is love in the sense of “being in love.”  Charity (agape) is love that brings forth caring regardless of circumstance or personal flaws and describes God’s love.  The Greek word used in John 13:34-35 is agape – unconditional love.  Believers are to emulate this love as Christ did. ~~ Dennis Fisher

Mother Teresa

Nobel Prize winning recipient Mother Teresa was born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu on August 26, 1910 in Skopje Macedonia.

Life

           Life is not fair, but God is.

Restoration

           Apostle Peter spoke to an assembled crowd of Jewish people in Jerusalem shortly after the day of Pentecost.  “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.”  Notice that we have times, “times of refreshing.”  And then  it continues, “That He may send Jesus Christ, the Messiah, who was before appointed for you whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all thing which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the began.” (Act 3:19).

            Notice, “the times of restoration of all things.”  Peter outlines, very simply, God’s program for closing this age.  I believe that this is something of real and practical concern for all of us.  Note that this restoration must be initiated by a response by the people of God.  Peter says, “repent therefore,” turn back to God.  Then Peter declares that God will set in motion the process that will bring the Messiah back again.

            He goes on to say, “be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.”  So, we see that repentance leads to refreshing.  This is a principle that always works for God’s people.  If we are in need of times of refreshing, it will be set in motion by times of repentance.  To try and seek God’s refreshing without repentance is a waste of effort. ~~ Derek Prince, Israel and the Church:  Parallel Restoration

Deeply encouraged

           We know something special was happening when we saw Martin’s (not his real name) feet.  Normally he was a snappy dresser, but that day he wore blue flip-flops.

            “Big day today, Martin!” someone greeted him.

            “Yes! I have been waiting!”  He was walking on air.

            A few hours later, he stood waist-high in a pool in the middle of a crowd.

            Several months earlier, some coworker had though they could “beat it out of him.”  They sought to teach Martin a lesson for embracing Jesus.  But Martin wouldn’t budge.

            There he stood proudly, a new creation, on with Christ.  As Martin told his story, his voice remained steady until he recited some Bible verses he had grown to love.  Then the tears flowed.  When the pastor helped him under the water and back up again, the crowed cheered.

            Martin climbed out of the baptismal and sloshed across the patio, hugging people as he went, filled with joy over his public proclamation of faith in the Triune God.

            Several weeks later one of Martin’s coworkers called and feigned interest in Jesus.  When Martin met him, a group ambushed him.  And he didn’t fight back, through they broke his arm and injured his face.  Martin’s response?  He was deeply encouraged. ~~ This report came from Gloria Furman, who serves in Dubai.

            

What makes the difference?

           What makes the difference is not how many times you have been through the Bible, but how many times and how thoroughly the Bible has been through you. ~~ Gipsy Smith

Shut me up

           Give me a Bible and a candle and shut me up in a dungeon and I will tell you what the world is doing. ~~ Cecil Dichard

Spiritual stronghold

           Fear is the catalyst for deception to abound.  Deception is the adhesive that holds rebellion and rejection together.  Now that is something to be fearful about.

Voices

           Jesus said, “I give you a new command: Love each other.  You must love each other as I have loved you.  All people will know that you are my followers if you love each other” (John 13:34, NCV).

            We all have heard of someone making a comment that a person is hearing voices of course meaning they are mentally deranged.  It is one thing to know the truth, and another thing to speak the truth, but it is quite another to believe in it and live it.  Today many people in the Christian community just voice an opinion.  Some voice platitudes of thought.  Some voices say that we are to accept a watered down version of love.  A love that has limitations.  They tell us of a love in which biblical truth must bend because of the times. 

            According to this gospel, no personal changes are necessary when one decides to follow Jesus.  No repentance, no forgiveness, no commitment, no legitimate changes are needed for we don’t want to keep them from our church rolls.  We want to be acceptable by all.

            Let us not be the obstacle to a person buying Gods whole game plan for their life.  There is a voice in the midst of these voices that says what is free has a cost and what has a cost frees you – the “shame of the cross.”  So what, that the Christ centered gospel sounds rather strange or something from one who is deranged, it certainly is out of the norm as far as the present day political/religious philosophy is propagated.  To me this does sound rather strange as I listen to what is coming from the celebs of our time.  Yet I am to buy into this, which is not logical.  I don’t think so, not on my watch.

Lovingkindness

           “Your God is merciful, kind, gracious, anxious to forgive, full of lovingkindness, slow to anger” (see Exodus 34:6; Deuteronomy 4:31; Jonah 4:2; Joel 2:13; Romans 2:4).

            Throughout the Bible we hear these wonderful words spoken by many of God’s servants.  These words about God’s loving kindness are recited again and again by such men as Moses, Jonah, David, the prophets and the apostle Paul. ~~ David Wilkerson, The Lovingkindness of the Lord

From the play -- "Gospel"

Day By Day

From the play – “Gospel”

Day by Day, Day by Day

Day by Day, Day by Day

Day by Day, Day by Day

Oh, Dear Lord three things I pray –

To see thee more clearly,

Love thee more dearly,

Follow thee more nearly.

Day by Day, Day by Day.

Watching

           Whether the whole world is watching or no one at all, whether the “Name” gets us liberated or gets us killed, we must keep living and speaking the truth with love.

Love Never Fails

1 Corinthians 13;1-13

            Poet Archibald MacLeish says that “love, like light, grows dearer towards the dark.”  This is what he calls the “late, last wisdom of the afternoon.”  The same is true of our love for one another; it can indeed grow dearer as we age.  I have seen it myself in two elderly friends.

            Married for over 50 years, they are still very much in love.  One is dying of pancreatic cancer; the other is dying of Parkinson’s disease.  Last week I saw Barbara lean over Claude’s bed, kiss him, and whisper, “I love you.”  Claude replied, “You’re beautiful.”

            I thought of couples who have given up on their marriages, who are unwilling to endure through better or worse, sickness or health, poverty or wealth, and I am saddened for them.  They will miss the kind of love my friends enjoy in their latter years.

            I have watched Claude and Barbara over the years, and I know that deep faith in God, lifelong commitment, loyalty and self-denying love are the dominant themes of their marriage.  They have taught me that true love never gives up, it “never fails.”  Theirs is the “late, last wisdom of the afternoon,” and it will continue to the end.  May we express that same unfailing love to those who love us. ~~ David Roper

Tour guide

Kunt Hammerling thank you for the great time at the BONHOEFFER-HOUSE.  We enjoyed the time you spent with us and the insights regarding Dietrich Bonhoeffer life.  The Dietrich Bonhoeffer's story has changed my life.  Thank God for men like Dietrich.

A final word

            We have enough evidence before us to admit the conclusion that the self manifestation of Jesus in what He knew Himself to be, and in what He declared Himself to be, and in what He showed Himself to be, demonstrate that He who stands behind everything in the Gospels is a divine Person, who came to fulfill a unique vocation.  The teaching He gave, the deeds He wrought, the commands He gives, the authority He wields, the knowledge He possesses, the position in which He places Himself, assume this fact about Jesus at every point.  He is such a One we know God should be, and which we feel God would be in the sphere of human life and experience.  When, therefore, they asked Him whether He were the Christ, the Son of God, the Son of the Blessed (see Luke 22:70; Mark 14:61), He did not hesitate with the answer.  He knew that He was; and He said so. ~~ H. D. McDonald, Jesus Human and Divine

The Fuhrer

            The church has only one altar, the altar of the Almighty…before which all creatures must kneel.  Whoever seeks something other than this must keep away, he cannot join us in the house of God…The church has only one pulpit, and from that pulpit, faith in God will be preached, and no other faith, and no other will than the will of God, however well-intentioned. ~~ Dietrich Bonhoffer

Plotting against Adolf Hitler

Valkyrie

            In 1936, because of his anti-Nazi views, Bonhoeffer was no longer permitted to teach at the University of Berlin. Two years later, he was forbidden to live in Berlin.  In 1940, the German authorities forbade him to speak in public, and he had to report regularly to the police.  In 1943, began his arrest and life in Tegel military prison in Berlin.

            Dietrich Bonhoeffer who was connected with Valkyrie plotters, once said that if one was riding a bus that was about to go off the road because the bus driver was no longer capable of negotiating the bus.  Was it not the obligation of one of the passengers to dash to the front and take the steering wheel to try to keep it from going off the ledge into a deep ravine?  Of course, the reason of course would be to save lives.

Today in Berlin

Today in Berlin, Germany I am reading the new book by Eric Metaxas, “Bonhoeffer”.  In a short time I will be motoring over to the Dietrich Bonhoeffer House.

“Death reveals that the world is not as it should be but that it stands in need of redemption.  Christ alone is the conquering of death.” ~~ Dietrich Bonhoeffer

From nothing

             Here's what my humble searching has found true about growing as a Christian.  God created you from nothing and later paid his priceless blood for you when you followed Adam and got lost.  With an irresistible kindness, he nudged your love awake, fastened it to a leash of longing, and led you. ~~ A saying of the Desert Fathers

Today John and I are in Berlin, Germany.  Oh MY!!!!

Illumination

             That is what learning is. You suddenly understand something you've understood all your life, but in a new way. ~~ Doris Lessing

I am back in Belfast, Ireland and where do I sleep!

Distortion

            Deception is that I am too emotionally handicapped to ever be free.  It’s hopeless.  I’m hopeless.  After all what I have been through...

Wonderful time at the "New Wine Conference."

John are you there?

             No one can build a house from the top down; rather, you build the foundation first and then build upwards... the foundation means your neighbor whom you must win, and you ought to start from there.  For all the commandments of Christ, depend on this. ~~ A saying of the Desert Fathers

John I had a wonderful time in England but are you still waiting for me in Belfast?

Son

             You know it is love when your Father in heaven calls you His son.  That is so private and up close.  Awesome!

Challenge

             A challenge for us to heed from Daniel 8:15: “I, Daniel, was watching the vision and trying to understand it.”  God‘s response to Daniel was, “Gabriel, tell this man the meaning of the vision.”  This serves as a great encouragement; to know that when we ask, God will show Himself to us.  As we assume responsibility and intercede, let us remember to ask and seek the Lord for wisdom and decrement and for proactive strategies to help turn the tide.  This is one of the most exciting aspects of intercession: God is willing to let us in on supernatural matters!  Even in these troubling days, we can know the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16). ~~ David Kubal CEO of Intercessors for America http://www.ifaprayer.org

How we

             How we talk reveals how we live.  How we talk will determine how we live.  How we live will reveal how Christ-like we are.  How are you?

Information overload

             When you spend so much time examining the situation that you become burden and depress evaluate which of the three heavens your heart is.  Take just enough information to understand what you need to pray for and then arise into the chambers with God and share it with him.  Scoot over close to Jesus who sits at the right hand of the Father interceding for us.  

Appetite, I want more

Appetite

            God created a spiritual appetite in me and only He can satisfy this enormous appetite.

Faith

             Faith comes from knowing God personally, intimately, passionately, dearly and totally.  You cannot have faith in God beyond the level of your relationship with Him.  You may know about him, be familiar with scripture pertaining to Him, know principles concerning Him and have great understanding of Him but you can only know Him to the depth of your relational trust in Him.  The God of the word of life created in me a spiritual appetite beyond description that can only be satisfied by the Holy Spirit.

            “Let there be,” the word was spoken and the Holy Spirit put into being, nothing to something.  That is Faith nothing becomes substance, something, “through him all existence came into being, no existence came into being apart from him.  It was by him that life began to exist.”  I want to know the Eternal One, who spoke it, provokes me and continues to entice me with it. 

Carry on to you folks in the States