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TO COMPARE?

 

My title is a bit unusual today because I feel a little unusual myself; as I am sure many people feel this way during their lifetime. None of us are invincible, even Jesus went through some heart wrenching times, in the garden, on the cross, when He wept over the death of Lazarus. Yet in the end He was victorious because He had the Father with Him and was faithful to Him. We, too, can be victorious in any crisis if we stay the course and keep our hearts and minds focused on Him. He will help us through. He will never allow anything to touch us that we can't handle. All we need is a little bit of faith as little as a tiny mustard seed.

 

Have you ever contemplated how the Lord helps us to strengthen our faith? Why He doesn't intervene at every crisis we might experience just because we think He should? Because these are the times we draw closer to Him, these are the times we think more of Him, these are the times we cry to Him, and these are the times we pray. In other words we are in fellowship with Him. Let us not think that Jesus enjoys it when we suffer, He doesn't let us go through trials just for the sake of fellowship, no, He allows it because these experiences help us grow in faith. I think we can all agree that we do draw closer to God when adversity strikes. If you were a golfer and were 'on' your game, do you think you would seek an instructor as quickly as you would if you were off your game? No, of course not. The point here is, we can actually be joyful and at peace in adversity when it occurs if we turn to Him in prayer or just talk to Him. He is always ready and eager to listen to us any time of the day or night; and we don't get connected to a machine giving us instructions or options. Think about it, there is no one or anything to which we can turn and get the assurance that things will work out and we'll be okay. As a member of God's family we have the security of knowing we will always have the Father at our side; Amen. I assume you notice I am not referring to any Scriptural verses today; however, my thoughts and words are flowing from my experiences in life and reading God's Word.  Have faith, trust that He who gave His life for us will never leave nor forsake us. Reading and contemplating those words have helped me so many times and is certainly helping me feel a whole lot better right now. The smile and contentment I feel now was not there at the beginning of this article.

 

Sometimes we allow ourselves to be 'down' for some reason, loss of a job, sickness, death, etc., and we feel we are being persecuted, even to the point of being singled out for persecution. We begin to look around and ask, "why me?" Look at John or Mary or whoever, everything seems to be going okay for them. They appear to be happy, no problems with which to cope, no load to carry. One is to conclude they are most fortunate among us all, but are they really? Do we know their circumstances? Look at the world situation; do we really know what's going on? Do we have all the details? I have to laugh at polls, they ask questions that have a purpose (their own agenda), about things that most people are unaware of and then they tell us: 'the polls (authoritatively) tell us this % or that % tells us this or that about whatever. If these people knew the facts they would probably render a different opinion. My point is for us to not compare ourselves to others for the express purpose of trying to support a negative or depressed attitude. As you well know it doesn't help, quite the contrary it usually worsens matters. When we are afflicted in any way, it is we who must meet the challenge, it is we as individuals who must stay the course and the most effective way for us to do that is to turn to God in prayer and TRUST that He hears us and is concerned. We will prevail, we will win in the end, and as a matter of fact we are winners already in Him. 

 

Life is but a vapor in time, but eternity is timeless. Isn't it wonderful to know that when we depart from this world we will be in Heaven with the Lord for eternity? This is why we are here and why we were born; this is why Jesus sacrificed Himself on the cross. This is the thought upon which we should meditate daily.

 

I remain your friend and servant, Nick                                      Number 21

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 Hi Everyone:

 

Several people have suggested that I should include more of how Jesus has impacted my life in my letters to you all. I agree and will try to do so in the future; in fact I'll begin right now.

 

One of my weaknesses has been to judge people, the reason being my strong conviction of what I read in the Bible. I am not thinking about a judgment I might pass on a person who cut me off while driving and I would think and perhaps say he was an idiot or stupid. I am not thinking of judging another person for his lifestyle, as that would be an opinion that would be predicated on how I see things in life. I am striving to be more sensitive to another's way of life but that takes time and practice.

 

I sent a letter out recently that dealt with various religions or cults and I am sure I offended some of my readers. I pray that you try to understand where it is that I am coming from. I am coming from the Bible and want to convey the truth and the only place I know I can rely on for the revelation of truth is the Bible. I know I could be accused of being legalistic, God knows I have heard that word used many times over the years by people who, because they did not believe in what was being said, claimed that person or group of persons were legalistic. By the way, my definition of the word legalism is to believe absolutely in an absolute truth. Webster's dictionary defines legalism as close adherence or conformity to the law; the observance of the strict letter of the law rather than its spirit. We all know that the law referred to in the Bible would be the Ten Commandments; this is not what I'm referring to; I'm referring to the words of Jesus which I will always accept as being the, 'law' I follow, literally. Remember Jesus came to fulfill the law.

 

Webster's dictionary defines Religion as….'conformity to Biblical precepts', (hooray for Webster) and it defines precepts as…'an authoritative command….written mandate.' A true religion or cult, therefore, would be one that adheres strictly to the Bible. I don't know of any religion or cult that achieves this. If you do, please inform me and remove my ignorance. I believe Webster's definition is correct and it hasn't changed that I know of. Therefore, we should be able to define Christianity as a religion, but I have a problem with that. By saying Christianity is a religion we include it in the mold all kinds of religions, religions that are not following the precepts of the Bible in its entirety. The Bible itself says if you add to or take away from the words of this book you will lose your part from the tree of life, Revelation 22:18, 19. Deuteronomy 4:2, Proverbs 30:5, 6, Deuteronomy 12:32, etc. support this fact. My underlying concern is to help; help others to find the literal truth of God's Word. There is no question that I will offend someone and I am truly regretful, however I will not compromise the full Word of God under any circumstances.

 

Let's explore an area that, hopefully, will effectively communicate my concern. Whenever society, at large, accepts as a 'lifestyle', or 'way of life', or morality, or violence or any type of behavior (as long as it doesn't touch me), then a problem exists that I believe needs to be resolved. Otherwise, when innocent minds experience this abhorrent behavior as acceptable, then they feel they have the same rights as anyone else and will do the same thing. After all, 'everybody is doing it, so it's okay,' right? I'm sorry but it is WRONG.

 

Many years ago I heard the following statement from Roger Hull, then president of MONY, 'beware of the seedlings contained in the seed.' Without doing a study I believe I can safely assume that all problems began in a very small way, perhaps even innocently. Today we accept one thing, tomorrow it's another, and then we stand back and ask ourselves what happened? I can tell you what happened, what should have been done or said wasn't. It's that simple.

 

When Jesus was speaking to the high priests and the Jews one day He told them that the reason they didn't know Him was because they didn't know God; they had no relationship with Him. If that statement didn't cut across the grain, I don't know what would. Here He was talking to some of the religious leaders of the world, the high priests, and He told them point blank they were phonies in that they never knew God. You know what? It was the TRUTH. I remember my Mother and Father giving Bunny and I a salvation message and I told them to, not only shut up, but to never again mention the name of their Jesus Christ in my house. I told them I have my own Jesus Christ, after all I was born and raised in a religious family and was an exceptionally religious person at that. Mass, confession, said the rosary every single day for 10 straight years, lived in the fear of the church (not God), tried to live the good life and all that. What a sad commentary for me, I had my 'Jesus.' I can only thank God today that my Mother did not listen to me and kept praying and preaching. And then the miracle of salvation came in Whittier, Calif. and then I truly had my Jesus. Praise His name and patience with me who was lost in confusion.

 

Please understand that I don't care what anyone calls it, if it doesn't conform to God's word, it's wrong. Allow me, if you will, another example; suppose a person is born and raised by two religious people (I don't care what religion) and these people train this person to be a good person, a church goer, and they take him to services every week with a Bible in their hands, or perhaps without a Bible.  After awhile he begins to notice they never use the Bible in services and the preacher is talking about worldly things. Then one day he opens the Bible and discovers many things that he has been taught are not to be found in the Bible, as well as contradictions and unnecessary religious duties. He might be involved in one of the religions whose central theological axiom is, AS MAN IS, GOD ONCE WAS, AND AS GOD IS, MAN MAY BECOME. He can't find this in the Bible. What is he to do? To whom should he seek for advice? Chances are he'll revert to what he's been taught. If, however, he finds the true God, does he stay where he is when he finds many contradictions in the way he was raised as compared to what he now sees? He does notice many similarities but also many discrepancies. Would you stay in confusion when Jesus died to set you free?  Some believe that anyone that believes in Jesus is saved. I don't believe it's as simple as that. My reason is and I will go to my death with it, is that if you don't have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, then you are lost. To me a personal relationship with Jesus is evidenced by following His precepts and no one else's. I pray you can understand the difference between the Jesus of religions and the Jesus of the Bible; there is a huge difference.

 

I was just going to send this article out the way it is until I read an interesting item in the newspaper today. It has to do with religious rules and our salvation. Colorado Springs Bishop Michael Sheridan wrote a pastoral letter that said Catholics who vote contrary to church teachings "jeopardize their salvation." In a telephone interview, the bishop said: "I'm not making a political statement. I'm making a statement about church teaching." You can judge that statement as you like, as for me, I am glad that I cannot jeopardize nor lose my salvation, because of my personal relationship with Jesus and what He has said about salvation: "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life." John 3:16.

 

I remain your friend and servant, Nick                                                        Number 20

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SERVICE OR SERVUS (ME)

 

 

When John F. Kennedy made the statement, "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what can you do for your country", it was probably the most profound statement of, not only his presidency, but of his life. This philosophical statement is actually the very basis of a great country. America is the envy of the world because of the great people who lived before us, and who unselfishly gave to this country. Let us not forget we are a blessed country, founded on the very principles taken from the Bible. Amen to that. Wouldn't it be wonderful if each person in this country who calls it their country would develop that same pioneering spirit of those who preceded us. Can you imagine what it would be like if we could stop and reverse the ME attitude of this period; Utopia.

 

The concept of service is the very basis of the mindset that we, as members of God's family, need to consider as the reason we are in the family in the first place; the very reason for Jesus' sacrifice on the cross. Jesus was serving. He was serving the Father's will and our salvation. That is what I call service with a capital S. In the book of Ephesians, chapter 2:10, we read, "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." What Paul was saying is:

1)      God made each of us to His liking.

2)      We are saved through Jesus.

3)      We are saved for good works, i.e., to serve others, i.e., to serve God.

4)      All this was planned before the beginning of time.

5)      And that we do it, i.e., to serve Him and not servUS(me)

 

I believe that many Christians believe that Jesus sacrificed Himself on the cross (see John 3:16) just for the benefit of our being saved through His shed blood. I also believe that many Christians believe, that as Christians, we should be living the good life and walk the good walk. If this premise is true, and I say if, then we need to revisit Ephesians 2:10, which is telling us that we were created and saved for a life of good deeds to others. When we serve others, we are actually serving God. I remember reading Jesus saying, 'when you did it to that someone you were actually doing it to me.' At this point, I want to clarify some possible confusion about good works and salvation. Good works, all the works in the world have nothing to do with salvation; you can't buy, pay or earn your way into Heaven. Ephesians 2:8, 9 ( and more ) says, "For it is by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; NOT by WORKS, that no one should boast." In other words you were saved FOR good works and not by good works.

 

Why should we be concerned to do good works if we are already saved? I believe the Bible tells us there are two very good reasons: service to God and for good works unto Him. In Jeremiah 1:5, we read, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations." This applies to each of us, we may not be prophets, but we may be ministers, engineers, doctors, janitors, etc; but we have been chosen to serve Him. 2^nd Timothy 1:9 says, "who has saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity." There are many, many verses telling us to serve God in some way. I must confess to you that I have not lived to my responsibility and calling all these years, but this is what is so wonderful about our compassionate and loving God in that He understands and is very patient with us. He is always ready to help. He always gives us the time we need. He allows us to stumble, to fall, to frustrate ourselves and then He says, "welcome."

This second reason is rather interesting. Some of us are going to receive rewards from Him in Heaven. 2^nd Corinthians 3:8 says, "Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his labor." Personally, I plan to spend the rest of my time on this earth serving God in some way. I am glad I have time left to do it. If what I am presently doing is the way for me, fine, I am very happy serving the Lord this way. I pray that much fruit will come as a result of my sowing and watering.

 

    To summarize this article, I would like to think that each of us would read and study God's Word to discover for ourselves what this wonderful world of God's love is all about and pray that we will discover the opportunities while we have time to serve Him. As Paul stated in Romans 12:6, "And since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let each exercise them accordingly…" Amen.

 

I remain your friend and servant, Nick                                     Number 19

 

Proverbs 16:20….. He who gives attention to the word shall find good; and blessed is he who trusts in the Lord.

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PROPHETIC FULFILLMENT

 

 

I have been looking for books on fulfilled prophecy and have not had much luck finding any. The other day I happen to look in the Bible index and lo and behold, I saw something I never saw before. There it was, all the prophecy info I wanted. And then it suddenly dawned on me to look at a book I've had for sometime and again there it was, all the info I ever wanted about the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. The Bible says that God does everything in His own time, and again, I have to agree with the Word of God. He revealed the sources to me when it was necessary.

 

The Old Testament was written over a period of 1000 years, its completion in 450 B.C[1] There are over 300 prophecies* in the Old Testament concerning Jesus Christ which have been fulfilled. If evidence 50% as accurate as this were found in the scientific community, it would be presented on the cover of Time Magazine as the most amazing discovery of the 21^st century. Since most will not put this article to study and the fact that these articles might be put under scrutiny, I have learned through the process of discovery a little research goes a long way in determining the truth. It is not my intention to cover every fulfilled prophecy, but I will discuss enough of them to at least convince us (hopefully) that what we accept as literal, is.

 

The following paragraph mentions a small number of the 300+ prophecies fulfilled. As I mentioned earlier, it's difficult to imagine, with such overwhelming evidence that the scriptures are viewed not only as accurate but supernatural as well and still some don't believe, (hardened hearts as Jesus says). Evidence That Needs a Verdict is the title of Josh McDowell's first book on this subject. I have Josh's new book titled, New Evidence That Needs A Verdict from which I have taken the liberty of using much of his material in addition to the Bible itself. My motto is, if it isn't in the Bible don't believe it. If you would like to have an invaluable book in your library I would suggest you buy Josh's book.

 

The first of a series of prophecies concerning the birth of Jesus begins with Genesis 3:15 and is fulfilled in Galatians 4:4 and Matthew 1:20. Isaiah 7:14 prophecy…"therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Emmanuel." Matthew 1:18,24,25 fulfillment…"She was found with child of the Holy Spirit…Then Joseph did not know her til she had brought forth her first born Son. And he called his name Jesus." Psalm 2:7 predicts the announcement of the Son and is fulfilled in Matthew 3:17 and other verses. Genesis 21:12 predicts the seed (Jesus) of Isaac and fulfilled in Luke 3:23, 34 and others. Numbers 24:17 also predicts the Messianic lineage and fulfilled in Luke 3:23, 34. Genesis 49:10 prediction is fulfilled in Luke 3:23, 33. Jeremiah 23:5 prediction is fulfilled in Luke 3:23, 31. Micah 5:2 prediction of the birthplace of Jesus (Bethlehem) fulfilled in Matthew 2:1. Psalm 72:10 prediction of the wise men taking gifts to Jesus fulfilled in Matthew 2:1,11. Jeremiah 31:15 prediction of fulfilled in Matthew 2:16. Micah 5:2 prediction also fulfilled in Colossians 1:17 and others. Psalm 110:1 prediction fulfilled in Matthew 22:43-45. Isaiah 7:14 prediction fulfilled in Matthew 1:23 and others. Deuteronomy 18:18 prediction fulfilled in Matthew 21:11. Psalm 110:4 prediction fulfilled in Hebrews 3:1. Isaiah 11:2 prediction is fulfilled in Matthew 3:16, 17. Psalm 69:9 prediction fulfilled in John 2:15, 16. Isaiah 40:3 prediction is fulfilled in Matthew 3:1, 2. Isaiah 35:5, 6 prediction is fulfilled in Matthew 9:35 and others. Psalm 78:2 prediction fulfilled in Matthew 13:34. Malachi 3:1 prediction is fulfilled in Matthew 21:12. Zechariah 9:9 prediction is fulfilled in Luke 19:35-37. Psalm 118:22 prediction fulfilled in 1^st Peter 2:7 Psalm 16:10 prediction fulfilled in Acts 2:31 and others. Psalm 68:18 prediction fulfilled in Acts 1:9. Psalm 110:1 prediction fulfilled in Hebrews 1:3.

 

There were 58 prophecies fulfilled in one day. There are 29 prophecies from the Old Testament which speak of the betrayal, trial, defeat and burial of our Lord Jesus Christ. They were spoken at various times by many different voices during the five centuries from 1000-500 B.C. Yet all of them were literally fulfilled in Jesus in one 24 hour period of time*. Psalm 41:9 prediction concerning Judas was fulfilled in Matthew 10:4. Zechariah 11:12 prediction concerning 30 pieces of silver fulfilled in Matthew 26:15. Zechariah 11:13 prediction of the silver thrown into the Temple was fulfilled in Matthew 27:5. Again Zechariah's 11:13 prediction of Potters field fulfilled in Matthew 27:7. Zechariah 13:7 fulfilled in Mark 14:50 (Disciples fled from Jesus). Psalm 35:11 fulfilled in Matthew 26:59, 60 regarding false testimony. Isaiah's 53:7 prediction of Jesus keeping quiet was fulfilled in Matthew 27:12. Isaiah's 53:5 prediction of Jesus being wounded and bruised for us fulfilled in Matthew 27:26. Isaiah's 50:6 prediction of Jesus being struck and spit upon fulfilled in Matthew 26:67. Psalm 22:7,8 predicted Jesus would be mocked, fulfilled in Matthew 27:29. Psalm 109:24, 25 predicted His fall under the weight of the cross fulfilled in John 19:17. Psalm 22:16 described the piercing of His hands and feet and fulfilled in Luke 23:33. Isaiah 53:12 predicted He would be crucified with 2 robbers and fulfilled in Matthew 27:38. Isaiah 53:12 predicted He would pray for His transgressors and fulfilled in Luke 23:34. Isaiah 53:3 predicted He would be despised and not believed and was fulfilled in John 7:5, 48. Psalm 69:4 said He would be hated without cause and fulfilled in John 15:25. Psalm 38:11 was fulfilled in Luke 23:49. Psalm 109: 25 fulfilled in Matthew 27:39. Psalm 22:17 predicted they would stare at Him and fulfilled in Luke 23:35. Psalm 22:18 said they would cast lots for His garments and fulfilled in John 19:23, 24. Psalm 69:21 predicted He would thirst and fulfilled in John 19:28. Psalm 69:21 said they would give Him vinegar to drink and was fulfilled in Matthew 27:34. Psalm 22:1 fulfilled in Matthew 27:46.  Psalm 31:5 predicted He would give up His Spirit and was fulfilled in Luke 23:46. Psalm 34:20 stated He would not have any broken bones and was fulfilled in John 19:33. Psalm 22:14 said He would be heart broken and He was in John 19:34. Zechariah 12:10 predicted they would pierce Him with a spear and was fulfilled in John 19:34. Amos 8:9 predicted darkness would fall upon the earth and it did in Matthew 27:45. Isaiah 53:9 said He would be buried in a rich man's tomb and He was in Matthew 27:57-60.

 

I pray you will find this article both encouraging and heart warming. I found it to be that, as well as challenging.

 

I remain your friend and servant, Nick                          Number 18

 

I just reviewed the above and am speechless; how hard can one's heart be?                   

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[1] New Evidence That Demands a Verdict and The Nrw Scofield Reference Bible