BOY, 5, TEACHES US HOW TO ADMINISTER GOD’S GRACE

Posted on by

Moment of grace ... Josiah Duncan says a blessing with the unnamed man. Picture: WSFA

Moment of grace … Josiah Duncan says a blessing with the unnamed man. Picture: WSFA Source: Supplied

A BOY of five brought the customers at a fast food restaurant to tears when he said grace with a homeless man he had just got dinner for.

Josiah Duncan’s act of kindness came after his mum, Ava Faulk, had taken him to eat at the Waffle House in Prattville, Alabama.

He saw the homeless man standing outside with his bike and was so troubled by his appearance he began asking his mum about him. When his mum explained the man had no home or food Josiah urged her to buy him dinner. She did just that.

“He came in and sat down, and nobody really waited on him,” Ms Faulk told local network WSFA 12. “So Josiah jumped up and asked him if he needed a menu because you can’t order without one.”

Proud mum ... Eva Faulk with her son Josiah. Picture: WSFA 12

Proud mum … Eva Faulk with her son Josiah. Picture: WSFA 12 Source: Supplied

The unidentified man was at first shy and ordered only a cheap hamburger but after Ms Faulk told him he could get anything he wanted he got the works.

Before the man began eating Josiah insisted on saying grace with him, bringing the other 11 diners in the restaurant to tears.

“The man cried. I cried. Everybody cried,” Ms Faulk said.

“You never know who the angel on Earth is, and when the opportunity comes you should never walk away from it,” she added. “Watching my son touch the 11 people in that Waffle House tonight will be forever one of the greatest accomplishments as a parent I’ll ever get to witness.

PRAYER & FASTING

Posted on by

Do you pray and fast? If you don’t, it is unlikely you will accomplish anything that has eternal significance. Listen to Marilyn Hickey tell you how prayer and fasting has transformed her life and thousands if not millions of other lives. Transformation that has eternal significance.

It is amazing the number of verses in the Bible that demonstrate God answers ALL believers prayers that originate in Him and end in Him.

“Whatever you ask in my name, I will do it that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” John 14:3

“If you ask anything in my name, I will do it.” John 14:14

“You did not choose me but I chose you  and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name He will give you.” John 15;16 

“Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive , and your joy will be complete.” John 16:24

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you.” Matthew 7:7, Luke 11:9

“For everyone who asks receives, and who seeks shall find, and to him who knocks it shall be opened.” Matthew 7:8

“And whatever you ask in prayer , you will receive if you have faith.” Matthew 21:22

“Whatever you ask in prayer , believe you have received it and it shall be yours.” Mark 11:24

“The desire of the righteous shall be granted.” Proverbs 10:24

God wants you to ASK. It demonstrates you have confidence in Him. Asking also portrays humility. Do you ask?

WORLDWIDE FLOOD (Genesis) AUTHENTICATED IN CLAY

Posted on by

Nippur-tablet

Fig. 3. The Nippur tablet (c. 2100 BC) translated by Hilprecht.

During the last decade of the nineteenth century, the University of Pennsylvania conducted a number of archaeological digs in the ancient Babylonian city of Nippur. Among the remains of the temple library, they found a tiny tablet fragment containing another account of the Flood.

It was translated by Hermann Hilprecht, an expert Assyriologist, and was found to agree with Genesis remarkably in its details. It speaks of a deluge that would destroy all life, and how God commanded the building of a great ship in which the builder, his family and animals were to be preserved.

The tablet could be dated quite precisely for a number of reasons, foremost of which is that the library in which it was found was known to be destroyed around 2100 BC, when the Elamites invaded Nippur. Hilprecht believed it was written sometime between 2137 and 2005 BC.

Also of significance is that the language of the Nippur tablet is quite different from that of most of the other tablets recovered alongside it. It is very close to biblical Hebrew, again indicating that the Genesis account was not derived from Babylonian myths. It also lacks the gross polytheism of the Gilgamesh account.

The account of a global flood, in which God judged the wickedness of man, must be one of the most ridiculed passages of the Bible. At the same time, it is attested to by some of our most ancient historic records, numerous documents and legends from all over the world, the fossil record, and many facts of geology.  We ignore it at our peril.

The Genesis account of THE FALL and NOAH’S FLOOD give us an explanation for a world full of death and suffering. Death and suffering were not there in the original creation, and with Christ’s resurrection, we know it will one day be done away with forever.

Extracted from an article by Dominic Statham, Genesis Authenticated in Clay refer http://www.creation.com

Christianity – a religion of RESURRECTION

Posted on by

Jesus on Cross

 

EASTER is the time when we remember our Saviour’s resurrection which makes our own resurrection sure.

“JESUS answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”          John 2:19

Jesus knew He was going to die in Jerusalem, but He also knew he was going to be raised from the dead. He knew the Messianic Psalms were about Him:

“For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.”          Psalm 16:10         (Prophesy is proof the Bible is God’s Word)

Jesus knew nothing could separate Him from the Father’s love and we have been given the same promise in Romans 8: 38-39. And we have been given the same promise of resurrection Jesus was given.

” Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection from the dead? But if there is no resurrection from the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is in vain and your faith also vain ……………………….. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.”   But now Christ is risen from the dead and has become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.       1 Corinthians 15: 12 -20

“For this we say to you by the Word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with a voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will arise first.”           1 Thessalonians 4: 15-16

Paul says to comfort one another with these words and so we should, what a wonderful God we serve.

 

JESUS CHRIST believed the Bible (Scripture) infallible.

Posted on by

picture of open bible

There is considerable debate these days concerning the inerrancy (infallibility) of Scripture. The authority of God’s Word is the main issue. But, if one yields to the authority of Jesus Christ, he must, in turn, yield to Christ’s view of the Scripture itself. Anyone and everyone who claims to be a Christian (a believer under the authority of Christ) must hold to the same view He did! What was it?

  1. He knew the Scriptures thoroughly, even to words and verb tenses. He obviously had either memorized vast portions or knew it instinctively: John 7:15.
  2. He believed every word of Scripture. All the prophecies concerning Himself were fulfilled, and He believed beforehand they would be.
  3. He believed the Old Testament was historical fact. This is very clear, even though from the Creation (cf. Genesis 2:24 and Matthew 19:4, 5) onward, much of what He believed has long been under fire by critics, as being mere fiction. Some examples of historical facts:
  4. He believed the books were written by the men whose names they bear:
    • Moses wrote the Pentateuch (Torah): Matthew 19:7, 8; Mark 7:10, 12:26 (‘Book of Moses’—the Torah); Luke 5:14; 16:29,31; 24:27, 44 (‘Christ’s Canon’); John 1:17; 5:45, 46; 7:19; (‘The Law [Torah] was given by Moses; Grace and Truth came by Jesus Christ.’)
    • Isaiah wrote ‘both’ Isaiah’s: Mark 7:6–13; John 12:37–41 [Ed. note: Liberals claim that Isaiah 40-66 was composed after the fall of Jerusalem by another writer they call ‘Deutero-Isaiah’. The only real ‘reason’ for their claim is that a straightforward dating would mean that predictive prophecy was possible, and liberals have decreeda priori that knowledge of the future is impossible (like miracles in general). Thus these portions must have been written after the events. However, there is nothing in the text itself to hint of a different author. See The Unity of Isaiah. In fact, even the Dead Sea Isaiah Scroll was a seamless unity. But as Dr Livingston said, since Jesus affirmed the unity of Isaiah, the deutero-Isaiah theory is just not an option for anyone calling himself a follower of Christ.]
    • Jonah wrote Jonah: Matthew 12:39–41
    • Daniel wrote Daniel: Matthew 24:15
  5. He believed the Old Testament was spoken by God Himself, or written by the Holy Spirit’s inspiration, even though the pen was held by men: Matthew 19:4, 5; 22:31, 32, 43; Mark 12:26; Luke 20:37.
  6. He believed Scripture was more powerful than His miracles: Luke 16:29, 31.
  7. He actually quoted it in overthrowing Satan! The O.T. Scriptures were the arbiter in every dispute: Matthew 4; Luke 16:29, 31.
  8. He quoted Scripture as the basis for his own teaching. His ethics were the same as what we find already written in Scripture: Matthew 7:12; 19:18, 19; 22:40; Mark 7:9, 13;10:19; 12:24, 29–31; Luke 18:20.
  9. He warned against replacing it with something else, or adding or subtracting from it. The Jewish leaders in His day had added to it with their Oral Traditions: Matthew 5:17;15:1–9; 22:29; (cf. 5:43, 44); Mark. 7:1–12.

    Destroying faith in the Bible as God’s Word has opened the door today to a ‘new’ Tradition.

  10. He will judge all men in the last day, as Messiah and King, on the basis of His infallible Word committed to writing by fallible men, guided by the infallible Holy Spirit:Matthew 25:31; John 5:22, 27; 12:48; Romans 2:16.
  11. He made provision for the New Testament (B’rit Hadashah) by sending the Holy Spirit. We must note that He Himself never wrote one word of Scripture although He is the Word of God Himself (the living Torah in flesh and blood, see John, chapter 1). He committed the task of all writing of the Word of God to fallible men—guided by the infallible Holy Spirit. The apostles’ words had the same authority as Christ’s: Matthew 10:14, 15; Luke 10:16; John 13:20; 14:22; 15:26, 27;16:12–14.
  12. He not only was not jealous of the attention men paid to the Bible (denounced as ‘bibliolatry’ by some), He reviled them for their ignorance of it: Matthew 22:29; Mark 12:24.
  13. Nor did Jesus worship Scripture. He honored it—even though written by men.

The above leaves no room but to conclude that our Lord Jesus Christ considered the canon of Scripture as God’s Word, written by the hand of men.

Although some religious leaders profess to accept Scripture as ‘God’s Word,’ their low view of ‘inspiration’ belies the fact. They believe and teach that Scripture is, to a very significant degree, man’s word. Many of their statements are in essential disagreement with those of Jesus Christ. From the evidence of their books, we conclude that some Christian leaders are opposite to Christ in His regard for the authority, the inspiration, and the inerrancy of Scripture.

And now, the most important point.

Jesus Christ was subject to Scripture

Jesus obeyed the Word of God, not man. He was subject to it.

In all the details of His acts of redemption, Jesus was subject to Scripture as God’s Word. He obeyed it. It was His authority, the rule by which He lived. He came to do God’s will, not His own, and not man’s. Note how all of His life He did things because they were written—as if God had directly commanded. He fulfilled Old Testament prophecies (300) about Himself. The passages are found all over the Old Testament. We cite here only a very few quoted in the New Testament: Matthew 11:10; 26:24, 53–56;Mark 9:12, 13; Luke 4:17–21; 18:31–33; 22:37; 24:44–47.

He Himself is the Word of God. All the words from His lips were the Word of God. (John 3:34). If He had desired, He could have written a new set of rules and they would have been the Word of God. But, He did not. He followed without question the Bible already penned by men.

We need to do the same. May all who read this adopt Jesus’ attitude and become subject both to Him as Living Word (living Torah) and to the Bible as the infallible, written Word of God.

http://www.creation.com: article by Dr David Livingston – Jesus Christ on the infallibility of Scripture

THE GOSPEL: If not from GOD from whom?

Posted on by

 

 

Jesus on Cross

 

I believe we can boldly assert that no man of all the myriads that have ever lived – let him be as wise as Solomon, the very best as Job, could have possibly invented from his own “thoughts” the GOSPEL.

Paul says as much in Galatians 1:11 “For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man’s gospel.”

It was absolutely impossible for such a plan of salvation ever to be devised by man’s thoughts. It is utterly at variance with those thoughts. It is infinitely to intricate in all its marvelous adaptations to all the involved problems that have to be met , so that no careless, thoughtless one could ever have conceived it. He would cease to be careless. But that eliminates most of us, for indeed aren’t most of us careless? But could a proud man, let him be ever so thoughtful and intelligent, have invented it? I don’t think so, for it humbles him to nothing , telling him that he is ungodly and without strength and only as in heart confessing this can he be saved. He would have to cease being proud in order to have conceived it, to have been its author.

There only remains the poor is spirit, the confessed sinner. Could such have invented the idea that the Creator of all, glorious in holiness, that so high, so Holy a One should  give up His dearest Treasure to bear the sins of one like himself, so conscious as he is of his unworthiness? Would it be likely a humble mind to invent such a plan? He would cease to be humble to have invented it. In fact how blasphemously proud would such a person be!

Then I would suggest, it is proved that since no man – careless or thoughtful, proud or humble, bad or good – could have conceived it, it must have been a divine revelation, the result of God’s thoughts and not man’s.

“For My thoughts are not as your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, declared the Lord.”

 

Jesus will rule the Nations

Posted on by

As we approach Christmas, this beautiful rendition by Pentatonix is a wonderful reminder of who JESUS is and what He has done and is still to do.

Jesus is coming again and when He does it is to rule and reign. Do you know him as your Lord and Saviour? Do you know His Father as your heavenly Father? Do you have the Holy Spirit within you as your comforter, counselor and teacher producing the fruit of the spirit in your life – love, joy, peace, faithfulness, gentleness, kindness, goodness, patience and self control. If you do, you are truly living eternal now.

May you know His love, peace and joy this Christmas.

The Only Gateway to a Relationship with your Creator

Posted on by

Jesus on Cross

Belief in Jesus as Saviour is the only gateway to a relationship with God.

“Jesus  said to Thomas, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father but by me.” John 14:6.

This connection with Jesus (our Lord and Saviour) through faith brings forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and a friendship with God – surely the ultimate goal of every person.

Marijuana is widely regarded as a “gateway” drug, which leads some users to experiment with more serious drugs. In a similar way, every time we commit a “gateway” sin, our sin often leads us to engage in other types of sinful behaviour.

Sin becomes a gateway for the human soul to receive “the stuff of hell” rather than “the stuff of heaven” A sinful thought makes it easier to spend more time dwelling on unholy things. Sinful words make it easier to become even more unrighteous in the way we speak. And sinful deeds become a gateway to various types of sinful behaviour.

In that sense , we never really live a “neutral” spiritual life even for a moment. We are either “flowing down the river” of sinful desires, or we are flowing in the wellspring of God’s living water. And the most miserable people on the planet are those who know the Lord, and yet still pursue sins with premeditation. It feels like you are trying to go in two opposite directions. No wonder such behaviour produces deep agony and restlessness within the soul of a believer.

“1. Blessed is the man whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. 2. Blessed is the man to whom Jehovah does not charge iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile. 3. When I kept silence, my bones became old through my roaring all day long. 4. For by day and by night Your hand was heavy on me; my sap is turned into the drought of summer.” Psalm 32:1-4

In your life today, what is the direction of the spiritual flow?  Do you find yourself diving into those things which God forbids? Or are you enjoying what the Holy Spirit is producing in your heart as a child of God? Where do you find your joy? Is your soul flowing in the direction of sin, or in the direction of God’s will?  Most of us experience the power and flow of the Holy Spirit, as well as the reality of sinful desires. In fact, they are in conflict with each other (see Galatians 5:17). And yet, the victory is ours through Jesus. We are forgiven, and we are motivated by the Holy Spirit to do those things which please the Lord.

True and noble spirituality isn’t merely about what you did yesterday, or what you want to do tomorrow. It’s about the flow right now, in this moment. As we keep our hearts and lives open to the working of the Holy Spirit , our spiritual lives will flow in the direction of peace and righteousness in Christ.

No matter how you slice it. God’s way is the only gateway which leads to soul satisfaction and eternal life.

Extract from article by Pastor Dan Delzell, Why Every Sin is a ‘Gateway’ Sin in The Christian Post.

Upcoming Trip to Athens and Jerusalem.

Posted on by

ICCC Athens Conf

I am attending two important events in October and November. The first starts this week in Athens. It is the International Christian Chamber of Commerce Conference, “Possessing The Land – It’s Time”. I hope to post reports on this Conference next week.

Last year ICCC was forced to re-evaluate what God wanted of us when He took both the President and Vice President home unexpectedly.

ICCC is not alone among Christian organisations and churches that are being shaken like this at their very foundations.

I was part of a Leadership Conference in Cyprus in February when the new International Board shared with the ICCC Boards of the Nations their vision for the future. This has now been fine tuned and will be presented at the Athens Conference under the banner “POSSESSING THE LAND – IT’S TIME”. I am excited about what God will do at this conference and of course the opportunity to meet up with many good friends. Watch this space for the reports I will post as time permits.

Gathering in Jerusalem822-banner

The second meeting I am attending which is a very important one is the 822 Gathering in Jerusalem November 10th to 13th.

“At this kairos hour, the Lord is calling forth a remnant, a representation of the family of believers worldwide, to come together as one new man in Jerusalem. In the power of unity submitted fully to the leadership of the Holy Spirit, we will stand in the gap and decree that the hour has come for the bride of Christ to wake up and to make herself ready for her bridegroom”.

check out the website http://www.822call.org.

In between the two conferences I am joining a tour “The Hidden Treasures of Israel” sponsored by Kingdom Builders and the Australian friends of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem from Nov 2nd until Nov 10th. It also promises to be an exciting time.

I look forward to sharing with you insights into what God is doing at the “late hour”.