TRUE TRUTH AND WHAT IS TRUTH

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Truth exists whether or not anyone believes it.

“If there is no absolute beyond man’s ideas, then there is no final appeal to judge between individuals and groups whose moral judgments conflict. We are merely left with conflicting opinions.” —Francis Schaeffer

As one of the foremost evangelical thinkers of the twentieth century, Francis A. Schaeffer long pondered the fate of declining Western culture. Profoundly aware of the similarities modern culture shares with societies that came before, Schaeffer embarked on a journey to uncover the movements that gave rise to modern culture and resulted in the decline of the Christian worldview. 

Forty years later, his classic book How Should We Then Live? is as relevant today as it was when it was first published. Schaeffer argues that the erosion of society begins with a shift away from biblical truth.

Belief in evolution and its billions of years is the biggest stumbling block to believing in the Bible’s history and therefore its inerrancy. Fortunately, the discovery of DNA and more recently the fact there is no junk DNA makes it impossible to believe that life began without an intelligent designer. DNA contains all of the instructions needed for an organism to develop, survive and reproduce. DNA is complex coded information that requires a designer with intelligence beyond that known by man.

Nevertheless, of all truths in the universe, the most important is the truth of who Jesus is. After all, Truth is not merely an impersonal moral standard. It is a living Person who loved us so much He bears on His hands eternal scars because He rescued us.

“Very truly I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life” (John 6:47). The phrase “truly I tell you” appears 79 times in Scripture, 78 times spoken by Jesus. He is the Truth, and He tells the truth. We can fully trust everything He says. His promises are written in blood.

Truth exists whether or not anyone believes it.

‘You are a king, then!’ said Pilate. Jesus answered, ‘You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.’ ‘What is truth?’ retorted Pilate” (John 18:37-38a).

What is truth? It is reality. When Pilate said of Jesus, “I find no basis for a charge against him” (John 18:38b), he affirmed what he believed and what was indeed true: Jesus was innocent.

Truth claims are exclusive. Jesus didn’t say He was a truth, but “the truth” (John 14:6). If someone says Jesus isn’t the primary truth, then either he’s wrong or Jesus is.

If we grasp this truth, we’ll undergo the ultimate paradigm shift: without Christ, any sacrifice we make is worthless. We are miserable without Jesus. Nothing we have can satisfy us. And even if it did, we couldn’t hold on to it.

When we hear Jesus tell us to take up our crosses and follow Him and say we should lose our lives for His sake, we’re tempted to think, “Then I will never be happy.” But in fact, Jesus is saying our short-term sacrifices for Him are a means to an end, and that end is true and abundant life: “Whoever loses their life for my sake will find it” (Matthew 10:39).

Important but hard truths

Scripture is full of disheartening diagnoses, including that “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure” (Jeremiah 17:9). But the Great Physician must tell us this hard truth so we can say, “Create in me a clean heart, O God” (Psalm 51:10).

The Physician also promises, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees” (Ezekiel 36:26-27).

When we commit our lives to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ then God the Father sends the third person of the Trinity to indwell our Spirit and enable us to live the Christian life. He produces the Fruit of the Spirit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience faithfulness, goodness, gentleness, kindness, and self-control. The Holy Spirit also provides the gifts of the Spirit: 1. Word of wisdom, 2. Word of knowledge, 3. Gift of faith, 4. Gift of healing, 5. Working of miracles, 6. Prophecy, 7. Distinguishing between spirits, 8. Speaking in tongues, 9. Interpreting tongues.

We need to learn from what Jesus said in the garden of Gethsemane when He was faced with His greatest trial.

“My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” Matthew 26:39

Every day we need to pray likewise to our Heavenly Father “not as I will but as you will” so that we do not grieve the Holy Spirit and quench His work in our lives.

“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” Ephesians 4:30

“Do not quench the Spirit.” 1 Thessalonians 5:19

Adapted from an article The Truth About Truth  MARCH 2, 2023 by BY RANDY ALCORN

JESUS REIGNS ON EARTH FOR 1000 YEARS

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After reading the Scriptures below, can anyone who claims to trust in Scripture honestly doubt that the Jewish people have a divine right to the Promised Land?

“He is the LORD our God; his judgments are in all the earth. He remembers his covenant forever, the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations, the covenant that he made with Abraham, his sworn promise to Isaac, which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute, to Israel as an everlasting covenant, saying, “To you, I will give the land of Canaan as your portion for an inheritance.” Psalms 105:7-11

“He is the Lord our God; his judgments are in all the earth. Remember his covenant forever, the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations, the covenant that he made with Abraham, his sworn promise to Isaac, which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute, to Israel as an everlasting covenant, saying, “To you, I will give the land of Canaan, as your portion for an inheritance.” 1 Chronicles 16:14-18

Could Scripture somehow be any clearer in conveying this truth? We can be assured that our God is a God that keeps his promises and is faithful to his word. Even at this point, the nation of Israel has only been partially restored.

The descendants of Abraham, through Isaac and then Jacob, now both dwell in and control some of the Promised Land. The majority of the land is yet to fall under Jewish control. Furthermore, the Jews are experiencing occupation by those worshipping a false god on the Temple Mount. The land promise in the Abrahamic Covenant has not been completed. If those things that are either directly promised by God or originate from those promises have not yet occurred, then we must conclude that they will in the future.

Isaiah prophesied God’s desire for His chosen city.

“For Zion’s sake, I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake, I will not be quiet, until her righteousness goes forth as brightness and her salvation as a burning torch. The nations shall see your righteousness, and all the kings your glory, and you shall be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will give. You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God. You shall no more be termed Forsaken, and your land shall no more be termed Desolate, but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her” Isaiah 62:1-4

“The city will be surrounded by open country and for the housing of all the tribes of Israel… and the name of the city from that day shall be: THE LORD IS THERE.” Ezekiel 48:15–19,35

She is to have twelve gates, three on each side, each named after a tribe of Israel (Ezekiel 48:30–34). “Your gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day or night, that men may bring to you the wealth of the Gentiles, and their kings in procession.” Isaiah 60:11

The temple is located outside the city, in the northern section of the sacred land given to the priests and it alone is bigger than the current city of Jerusalem. The millennial Jerusalem sits on the highest plateau and has two rivers flowing out of its east and west sides.

We find incredible detail (8 chapters) of the new temple in Ezekiel 40-48. The numerous details provided on Ezekiel’s temple require that they be taken seriously. The exact measurements and detail-by-detail instruction are nothing like portions of Scripture that are to be understood symbolically. The narrative is reminiscent of that provided for the Tabernacle (Exodus 25–30), and Solomon’s temple (1 Kings 6–8), actual physical structures. No respecter of Scripture would deny that the Shekinah departed an actual temple (Ezekiel 10:18–19; 11:22–23). We should pay the same amount of respect and believe that its return is also to a physical temple (Ezekiel.43:1–5). Ezekiel was told by the angel: “look with your eyes, and hear with your ears, and set your heart upon all that I shall show you, for you were brought here in order that I might show it to you. Declare all that you see to the house of Israel.” Ezekiel 40:4

The whole area around Zion will reflect the glory of the LORD, and nations will stream to Jerusalem to worship Jesus in this magnificent temple.

Jesus maintains a memorial to the Battle of Armageddon which was the climax at the end of the previous age and His return to earth with the glorified Saints.

“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when the city shall be rebuilt for the Lord from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate. And the measuring line shall go out farther, straight to the hill Gareb, and shall then turn to Goah. The whole valley of the dead bodies and the ashes, and all the fields as far as the brook Kidron, to the corner of the Horse Gate toward the east, shall be sacred to the Lord. It shall not be plucked up or overthrown anymore forever.” Jeremiah 31:38-40

WHO’S BEHIND THE WEATHER? OUR CREATOR GOD

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If you ask most people what controls the wind, most people would probably answer it has to do with the relationship between the earth and the sun, temperature, and pressure imbalances. Few people think of God having control over the wind’s cause or its lack thereof.

Yet Revelation 7:1-3 says: “Then I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds so they did not blow on the earth or the sea, or even on any tree. And I saw another angel coming up from the east, carrying the seal of the living God. And he shouted to those four angels, who had been given the power to harm land and sea, ‘Wait! Don’t harm the land or the sea or the trees until we have placed the seal of God on the foreheads of his servants.’”

In this text, the Bible says God employs his angels to restrain the winds to accomplish a specific purpose. The wind belongs to God. The winds are under his control and subordinate to his will. It’s not so much what’s behind the winds and storms; it’s who.

In his commentary on Revelation, William Barclay, the renowned Scottish Bible scholar, says that the Old Testament often pictures the winds as God’s agents employed in his acts of judgment. Here are a few of Barclay’s examples:

“Zechariah has the picture of the chariots of the winds, which go forth from standing before the Lord of all the earth (Zechariah 6:1-5). Nahum speaks of the Lord who has his way in the whirlwind and the storm (Nahum 1:3) … The winds are God’s chariots (Jeremiah 4:13). God comes with his chariots like a whirlwind (Isaiah 66:15). [Chariots were utilized for warfare and judgment on one’s enemies.] The wind is the breath of God (Job 37:9, 10). The wind rends the mountains (I Kings 19:11) and withers the grass (Isaiah 40:7, 24) and dries up the stream, the river, and the sea (Nahum 1:4; Psalm 18:15). God’s day [Judgment Day] would be the day of the whirlwind (Amos 1:14). The whirlwind of the Lord goes forth in its fury and falls on the head of the wicked (Jeremiah 23:19; 30:23). The wind of the Lord…will come from the wilderness and destroy the fertility of the land (Hosea 13:15). God will send his four winds upon Elam and scatter the people (Jeremiah 49:36).”

Other passages of Scripture provide a window for looking inside God’s pilothouse, not only for the winds but the weather in general. God can use the weather to either bless or punish. Job 37:11-13 reads: “He loads the clouds with moisture, and they flash with his lightning. The clouds churn about at his direction. They do whatever he commands throughout the earth. He makes these things happen either to punish people or to show his unfailing love.”

Perhaps one of the strongest passages which present the way God uses climate conditions to display his sovereignty is in Haggai.

“You hoped for rich harvests, but they were poor. And when you brought your harvest home, I blew it away. Why? Because my house lies in ruins, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, while all of you are busy building your own fine houses. It’s because of you that the heavens withhold the dew and the earth produces no crops. I have called for a drought on your fields and hills — a drought to wither the grain and grapes and olive trees and all your other crops, a drought to starve you and your livestock and to ruin everything you have worked so hard to get.” Haggai 1:9-11

In God’s economy, angels are also associated with affecting weather patterns. Angels have a ministry concerning the earth. They are linked to winds, fires, storms, and pestilence (Psalm 103:20; 104:4; I Chronicles 21:15, 16, 27). Throughout the book of Revelation, they are connected with fire, hail, blood, a plague of locusts, and the poison of scorpions. At certain times in history, God authorizes and directs them to use their tremendous powers to affect meteorological conditions.

The Bible knows nothing of secondary causes. Barclay concludes: Since Adam and Eve, who were initially placed in a perfect environment, rebelled against God and fell into sin, this universe, this planet, has been negatively impacted.

We live in a fallen world. Nature itself is broken like humanity and doesn’t work correctly, and it can’t until the redemption of humankind is complete (Romans 8:19). Therefore, natural disasters are often simply the result of an ailing earth in convulsion.

Nevertheless, when a nation or nations operate grievously in sin, ignore God, reject his ways, and despise Christ and His people with increasing intensity, it shouldn’t surprise us if he intervenes and sends catastrophic natural calamities to get people’s attention. These extraordinary misfortunes mercifully remind us of who is in control. They are warnings with redemptive messages to be reconciled with our Maker.

In their book, God’s Answer for America, Darrel and Cindy Deville rightly state these environmental conditions are referenced as “global warming” or “climate change.” But the Deville’s point to a more likely cause, arguing: “No matter what they call it, these things are all part of the birthing pains and natural disasters that will increase as Jesus prophesied (Matthew 24:7; Mark 13:8; Luke 21:11, 25-26).

These are not ‘global warming’ (or ‘climate change’), but they are part of God’s ‘global warnings’ as signs for these last days. These will continue to increase and shift as the return of Christ gets closer to birth a new age, his millennial reign. We also believe things will be happening and shifting in the days ahead that will cause scientists to be baffled.

Politicians claim we all need to work together to ‘battle climate change,’ but there is nothing they can do to stop it. Like a woman in labor, the contractions will become more frequent and more intense the closer the new birth gets. So, this is not about ‘climate change.’ But the earth is instead preparing for a ‘kingdom change’ – the coming glorious kingdom and reign of Christ on earth (Revelation 11:15)

THE ORIGIN OF VALENTINE’S DAY

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What is The Origin Of Valentine’s Day?

For this we have to go back to the Roman Empire, February 14, 269AD, when citizens were forced to worship the Roman gods, and “deified” emperors, by placing a pinch of incense on a burning fire before their statues.

Those who refused worship of the Roman gods were considered “politically incorrect” or “unpatriotic” enemies of the state and killed. Emperor Decian’s persecution specifically targeted Christians with legislation forcing them to deny their consciences or die.

During the first three centuries of Christianity, there were ten major persecutions in which the government threw Christians to the lions, boiled them alive, had their tongues cut out, and worse.

Roman soldiers would break into church meetings, catacombs, and homes, confiscating and destroying Christian writings, bibles, and church records. Because so many records were destroyed, details of Saint Valentine’s life are scant. Though several individuals may have had that name, it appears Saint Valentine was either a priest in Rome or a bishop in Terni, central Italy.

What little is known is mostly known from the works of Eusebius of Caesarea, compiled around 362 AD, and the Martyrologium Hieronymianum (Martyrology of Jerome), compiled around A.D. 460-544. Saint Valentine is mentioned in Legenda Sanctorum by Jacobus de Voragine in 1260 and in the 1493 Nuremberg Chronicle.

In the 3rd century, it was against the law to be married as a Roman soldier. Saint Valentine risked the Emperor’s wrath by standing up for traditional marriage and secretly marrying soldiers to their young brides. When Emperor Claudius also demanded that Christians deny their consciences and worship pagan idols, Saint Valentine refused.

He was arrested and dragged before the Prefect of Rome, who condemned him to die. While awaiting execution, his jailer, Asterius, asked Saint Valentine to pray for his blind daughter. When she miraculously regained her sight, the jailer converted and was baptized, along with many others.

This resulted in Saint Valentine being beaten with clubs and stones, and when that failed to kill him, he was beheaded outside the Flaminian Gate on FEBRUARY 14, 269AD. Asterius, the jailer, and all the others who got converted were also put to death. Jesus said (Acts 1:8), “You shall be my witnesses.” The Greek word for “witness” is “martyr”. Many 3rd century people knew they would be martyred soon as they converted, and many were the same hour.

Right before Saint Valentine was executed, he wrote a note to the jailer’s daughter, signing it, “from your Valentine.”

In a “note” from Jesus He said (John 15:13), “Greater love has no man than this than a man lay down his life for his friends.” And Paul wrote (Romans 5:7-8): “Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person… But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.”

Jesus and Paul’s mandate, how it happened in history, and how it can today – read it in Jim’s book Christian Manifesto (Vol. 1) at:www.JimsBookstore.com

Jim McCotter is well aware that tribulation – persecution of Christians will escalate in the last days before Jesus returns. Those that will not take the Mark of the Beast will be martyred as the early Christians were. At the opening of the sixth seal (Revelation 6:9) John was shown the souls of the martyrs they had not been raised with bodies at that point in time. The good news is that shortly, after the blast of the trumpet at the seventh seal John sees the raised saints with bodies standing before the throne with palm branches in their hands praising God the Father and Jesus.

“ When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth? Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.” Revelation 6:9–10

“After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.” Revelation 7:9-12

KENYA HOUSE CHURCH MOVEMENT

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For four years now, I have been partly funding the Kenya House Church Movement taking one missionary trip a month to rural towns to establish house churches.

In April 2022, I visited Migori, Kenya to meet 21 House Church leaders and put on a three-day training meeting in a tin shed. We had a diesel-powered generator and WiFi and were able to have a Zoom Meeting with Creation Ministries International.

In this picture Pastor Charles Otieno Owino is on the far left and it is obvious where I am. Note there are many young men leading the house churches. Ongoing training is important for the group and I have been able to hold at least one Zoom Meeting.

I am now in my 87th year on this planet and God has me narrowing my ministry focus on Jesus’ soon-coming Millennial Kingdom. I have advised Charles that I will no longer be financially supporting KHC Mission Trips and he was of cause disappointed. Nevertheless, he is aware that God is in total control of His planet and all that goes on it so he knows that God can raise up whosoever just as he did me to take this ministry forward.

I did commit to putting this post up so that my followers can pray for KHC and if they feel led, take on the task of supporting the movement with funds. If you are interested can I suggest you go take a look at some of the Kenya House Church Mission Trips that I have put up on this website. The last one was on December 17th, 2022 Kenya HouseChurch Mission Trip to Uriri.

You can communicate directly with Charles Otieno Owino, email address: otienochris@yahoo.com. Home address: Isibana Rd, Kenya. He banks with Diamond Trust Bank Kenya. I have sent funds using Western Union and he collects the funds at W.U. Migori.

You may have noticed that I put a Donations icon on the Home Page of this website solely to support the KHC Movement. I will maintain this icon as I will continue to post reports on the KHC Mission Trips as long as I am able.

JESUS TOLD US TO WATCH FOR THE END TIMES SIGNS HE AND THE PROPHETS HAVE GIVEN US

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One thing is certain Jesus tells us to be watchful concerning the end times. In the New Testament, Jesus, Paul, Peter, and John all refer to the discipline of “watching or being “watchful”. In fact, they refer to it twenty-three times! It is a key way we prepare for the Last Days by watching.

“Watch you therefore: for you do not know when the master of the house comes, in the evening, at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: Lest coming suddenly he finds you sleeping. And I say to you and to you all, Watch.” Mark 13:35-37

The Greek word translated “watch” carries the meaning of being alert and staying awake to watch for the events that the Bible indicates will happen prior to Jesus’ return.

Jesus told us the Parable of the Ten Virgins as an indicator of what the church will be like on His return. Sadly, all ten waiting for the bridegroom (Jesus) were asleep, and even worse half of them did not have oil for their lamps. When they returned with oil, Jesus said to them ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you’. Jesus tells us here that prior to His return the church will be asleep and up to half of the people in our churches are not born again. This is the case today with apostasy in the church rife: most of the denominational churches have compromised with the world on gay marriage and homosexuality.

Jesus finishes the parable with: “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour”. What are we watching for? All the signs He has given us so that we know that time is short and we need to complete the great commission. If we aren’t thinking about Jesus’ return on a regular basis, then we won’t notice events in our world that could indicate the end is approaching. We do not know the day nor the hour but we can observe all the chronological signs he has given us and be prepared for the coming tribulation, even great tribulation.

God has raised up many end times ministries and one recent one is Last Days Overcomers http://www.lastdaysovercomer.org where you can download the must-read book: 10 SIGNS – The Last Days Have Already Begun.

MAKING A NEW YEARS RESOLUTION

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God used the prophet Isaiah to encourage the Children of Israel after they lived in exile for many years. The people no longer believed they had a successful future. Negative thinking patterns kept them trapped. The message delivered by the prophet offered a new way forward for the Children of Israel, and it will do the same for you.

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland” Isaiah 43:18–19

Forget the Former Things

Success always begins with the decision to forget the former things. We cannot move into the future with God if we are still looking in the rearview mirror. You may have tried to step out in faith and your dreams didn’t work out. Maybe your business failed or the ministry didn’t get off the ground. Perhaps you’ve tried to lose weight but have failed many times.

“Former things” have the power to keep us stuck if we’re not careful. God wants us to understand that despite our past failures, He still has a plan for our future. He has given us the Holy Spirit as our counsellor, teacher, and comforter.

“You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact, the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him... If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.“ Romans 8:9,11

The Holy Spirit is the one who produces the fruit of the Spirit in our lives; love, joy, peace, patience, faithfulness, goodness, gentleness, kindness, and self-control,

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, self-control.” Galatians 5:22

We must walk by the Spirit

“I say then, walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is against the Spirit, and the Spirit desires what is against the flesh; these are opposed to each other so that you don’t do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.“ Galatians 5:16-18

As well, He is the one that provides the gifts of the Spirit for ministry, all nine of them.

“A demonstration of the Spirit is given to each person to produce what is beneficial: to one is given a message of wisdom through the Spirit, to another, a message of knowledge by the same Spirit, to another, faith by the same Spirit, to another, gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another, the performing of miracles, to another, prophecy, to another, distinguishing between spirits, to another, different kinds of languages, to another, interpretation of languages.
But one and the same Spirit is active in all these, distributing to each person as He wills.” 1 Corinthians 12:4-10

The path to achieving our goals starts with the decision to forget the former things and concentrate on asking God the Father for guidance. Nothing happens without prayer. Jesus made it possible for us to pray to our Heavenly Father. We pray to our Heavenly Father in Jesus’ name and He will ensure the Holy Spirit guides our steps. Note all three persons of the Trinity should be involved in our lives.

Our prayers must be for God’s will to be done in our lives not our will, Then and only then can you do all things through Him who gives you strength.

“I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13 ESV

Perceive What God Is Doing

We must learn how to perceive where God is taking us. You may not see the full manifestation of your purpose right now, but if you are being led by the Holy Spirit He will cause circumstances to spring up, which offer clues to guide you forward. It could be that a door unexpectedly opens. Or perhaps a door closes that you thought would stay open.

It’s not our place to know every detail about the future, but if we are in prayer the Holy Spirit will reveal the next step in the journey. In some cases, God has already given us instructions and is waiting for us to make the next move. You must know that God is actively working in your life. If you stop dwelling on the past you can perceive the Holy Spirit’s next step forward.

Trust That God Will Make a Way

It’s important to trust that God is making a way into the unknown places that we can’t handle on our own. If we have a dream that could happen without any assistance from God, then the dream did not come from God. The prospect of walking into our destiny should feel slightly overwhelming, or perhaps even impossible, without help from above. If we limit our future to what we can handle on our own, we will not step into the deeper things that God is doing.

It’s easy to focus on the unknown variables that make us feel unqualified, but that’s why we are in partnership with God. He will make a way in the wilderness where there is no clear path and provide streams in the wasteland when there are no resources. Don’t give your limitations the power to stop you from moving forward with God’s plans.

Make sure that you have at least one good Holy Spirit empowered mentor preferably more than one. A regular weekly connection at least by phone with two others is valuable. If you are in business, organizations like the International Christian Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) are helpful. Their websites are http://www.iccc.net and http://www.transformedworkinglife.net

BEAUTY AS FOOD FOR THE SOUL

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“Beauty as food for the soul” comes from C.S. Lewis. The theme of beauty remained a central thread throughout Lewis’s life.

In fact, Jack (C.S. Lewis’s self-chosen childhood nickname) described himself as a beauty hunter. He spent his life seeking to find that place where all the beauty came from and of course he found it, our magnificent creator God. And that pursuit nurtured his work. Beauty, for Lewis, began in the simple beauty of the landscape and transposed itself into the literature Lewis came to love and master.

The more you study Lewis and his writing, the more you find a man of simple yet robust tastes. A man who took the time to imbibe the simplicity of the beauty around him. It was no frivolous pursuit. Beauty, as it turned out, was food for the soul.

  

Lewis enjoyed the habit of walking the garden before breakfast in order to drink in “the beauty of the morning, thanking God for the weather, the roses, the song of the birds, and anything else he could find to enjoy.”

His brother, Warren Lewis noted:

“Jack’s mind was developing and flowering on lines as unpolitical as can be imagined. His letters of the time are full of landscape and romance: they record his discovery of George MacDonald—a turning point in his life—and his first and characteristic delight in Chaucer, Scott, Malory, the Brontës, William Morris, Coleridge, de Quincey, Spenser, Swinburne, Keats.”

When was the last time you took a walk only to pick out the beauties surrounding you, thanking God for them? If you’re anything like me, it’s been too long.

You don’t have to be a literary giant, a great philosopher, or a mystic to understand and appreciate beauty. You just have to be willing to take a walk and, as Tolstoy says, look around you.

“In the name of God, stop a moment, cease your work, look around you.” Leo Tolstoy

WHAT WILL BE YOUR LEGACY?

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I just heard Jodi Benson give her testimony and it challenged me. She said she lives one day at a time because this really is all that we have. She is so right each of us needs to live this way being accountable to God for each day.

Legendary in the USA, “Little Mermaid” star Jodi Benson said she tries to find a way to serve others each and every day, explaining her hopes for the legacy she plans to leave behind for her family. “I would like God to be able to look at me and say, ‘You loved well and you served well,'” Benson told CBN’s Faithwire at the red carpet premiere of “The Wingfeather Saga.” “My daily prayer … is to be light, salt, and love every single day when we wake up.” She said she ponders how she can love and serve someone each and every day. “That’s all I’ve got — I’ve only got today,” Benson said. “And I want to be my best today.” As for “The Wingfeather Saga,” a new animated show from Angel Studios, Benson said she’s elated to be voicing the character Nia, and to be working with fellow Christians on the project. Watch what she had to say it is inspirational, encouraging, and at the same time challenging.

“I will say to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” Psalms 91:2