(September 6, 2010)
Prayer & Medication
It's Labor Day. Isn't it interesting how nobody works on labor day! We had an average weekend of ministry. It wasn't too bad but we've definately had better. Sometimes the spiritual opposition is thick. However, one great thing happened on Sunday morning. After the service Charlie Brandes brother accepted Christ into his life.
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This coming weekend we have the Vandenberg Family ministering to us. It begins with a Men's Breakfast on Saturday. They will be leading us in worship as well as bringing the word. Please be in prayer for these special services.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is Family Week at Prayer House. That means we are not having any midweek services - which, hopefully, will give your family extra time together.
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Devotional!
A Refuge Nation
I thought it might be quite interesting to see America’s role in the last days. The fact is, most prophecy teachers cannot find much of what they would consider a reference to the United States in the Bible. While that may be true, it is might be possible to see what America is. We are in the last days and our nation is only 200 years old. In the greater picture of world history we are relatively insignificant. I was on an airplane flying from London to Entebee, Africa once. I began to talk to the girl seated beside me. She was from London. She expressed an interest in visiting America one day. I had been in Boston just a few days prior to this flight so I said to her, “You would probably really like the Boston area, there is so much history there.” She looked at me and said, “You think you have history in your country? We have church buildings that are centuries older than your entire nation.”
So in the big picture America may only be a little blip on the screen of world history. We are probably a lot more self-important than we really are. However, the modern-day missions methodology did come from America. Obviously the idea of missions did not originate in America. Paul had many missions trips in the Bible. But if we were to look at our history we would find a missionary to the American Indians, David Brainerd, who wrote a diary of his ministry amongst the Indians titled, “The Diary of David Brainerd.” His diary has gone on to inspire some of our greatest Christian leaders. Jonathan Edwards (Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God) was greatly inspired by this diary. Johathan Edwards was one of the key figures in the last Great Awakening in 1857. In fact, David Brainerd was engaged to be married to Edwards daughter when he died at the age of 28.
William Carey decided to go into missions as a result of reading this diary. He started the whole Moravian missionary movement which gave birth to the modern day missions movement we know today. So America has done some significant things as far as the gospel is concerned. However, is it possible that we are not mentioned in Scripture because we aren’t quite as important as we think we are? History does not necessarily revolve around America. We only think we are the center of everything. While it’s true that America has done much to spread the gospel around the world there might be even a greater significance than that for us.
This is why I also don’t put a lot of interest into end-time prophecies that are based on what is happening in America. Did you know that when Communism took over China, which forced the church to go underground, many Christians were persecuted and killed. Most Chinese Christians fully believed that they were just months away from the return of Christ. They related their struggles as Christians to the very last days. The same is true of Romania. It’s quite interesting how when any church faces persecution they believe that they are just moments away from the return of Christ. That just shows us how we tend to think everything revolves around us.
The truer measure of the end times is that of what’s happening in Israel. History does revolve around Israel. Isn’t it interesting that all of these very large Arab nations are not simply concerned with a Palestinian state but also the annihilation of Israel? They are flat out calling for the eradication of all Jews. This really should not surprise us. The heart of spiritual conflict has always been the complete destruction of God’s people on earth. If Satan were able to actually kill all of God’s people then this earth would become his dwelling place. God would no longer have a witness on earth. If you want to know how close we are to the very last days – watch Israel.
=====================================
Medication: A Merry Heart
Athletes Speak!
This is why "Sports Scholarship" is an oxymoron . . .
"You guys pair up in groups of three, then line up in a
circle."
- Bill Peterson, a Florida State football coach
"That's so when I forget how to spell my name, I can still
find my clothes."
- Stu Grimson, Chicago Blackhawks left wing, explaining why
he keeps a color photo of himself above his locker
"You guys line up alphabetically by height."
- Bill Peterson, a Florida State football coach
"I play football. I'm not trying to be a professor. The
tests don't seem to make sense to me, measuring your brain
on stuff I haven't been through in school."
- Clemson recruit Ray Forsythe, who was ineligible as a
freshman because of academic requirements
"I know the Virginia players are smart because you need a
1500 SAT to get in. I have to drop bread crumbs to get our
players to and from class."
- George Raveling, Washington State basketball coach
"Why would anyone expect him to come out smarter? He went to
prison for three years, not Princeton."
- Boxing promoter Dan Duva on Mike Tyson hooking up again
with promoter Don King
"I can't really remember the names of the clubs that we went
to."
- Shaquille O'Neal on whether he had visited the Parthenon
during his visit to Greece
"The ballparks have gotten too crowded. That's why nobody
goes to see the game anymore."
- Yogi Berra
"I'm going to graduate on time, no matter how long it
takes."
- Senior basketball player at the University of Pittsburgh
"Nobody in football should be called a genius. A genius is a
guy like Norman Einstein."
- Football commentator and former player Joe Theisman
Prayer & Medication
It's Labor Day. Isn't it interesting how nobody works on labor day! We had an average weekend of ministry. It wasn't too bad but we've definately had better. Sometimes the spiritual opposition is thick. However, one great thing happened on Sunday morning. After the service Charlie Brandes brother accepted Christ into his life.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This coming weekend we have the Vandenberg Family ministering to us. It begins with a Men's Breakfast on Saturday. They will be leading us in worship as well as bringing the word. Please be in prayer for these special services.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is Family Week at Prayer House. That means we are not having any midweek services - which, hopefully, will give your family extra time together.
====================================
Devotional!
A Refuge Nation
I thought it might be quite interesting to see America’s role in the last days. The fact is, most prophecy teachers cannot find much of what they would consider a reference to the United States in the Bible. While that may be true, it is might be possible to see what America is. We are in the last days and our nation is only 200 years old. In the greater picture of world history we are relatively insignificant. I was on an airplane flying from London to Entebee, Africa once. I began to talk to the girl seated beside me. She was from London. She expressed an interest in visiting America one day. I had been in Boston just a few days prior to this flight so I said to her, “You would probably really like the Boston area, there is so much history there.” She looked at me and said, “You think you have history in your country? We have church buildings that are centuries older than your entire nation.”
So in the big picture America may only be a little blip on the screen of world history. We are probably a lot more self-important than we really are. However, the modern-day missions methodology did come from America. Obviously the idea of missions did not originate in America. Paul had many missions trips in the Bible. But if we were to look at our history we would find a missionary to the American Indians, David Brainerd, who wrote a diary of his ministry amongst the Indians titled, “The Diary of David Brainerd.” His diary has gone on to inspire some of our greatest Christian leaders. Jonathan Edwards (Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God) was greatly inspired by this diary. Johathan Edwards was one of the key figures in the last Great Awakening in 1857. In fact, David Brainerd was engaged to be married to Edwards daughter when he died at the age of 28.
William Carey decided to go into missions as a result of reading this diary. He started the whole Moravian missionary movement which gave birth to the modern day missions movement we know today. So America has done some significant things as far as the gospel is concerned. However, is it possible that we are not mentioned in Scripture because we aren’t quite as important as we think we are? History does not necessarily revolve around America. We only think we are the center of everything. While it’s true that America has done much to spread the gospel around the world there might be even a greater significance than that for us.
This is why I also don’t put a lot of interest into end-time prophecies that are based on what is happening in America. Did you know that when Communism took over China, which forced the church to go underground, many Christians were persecuted and killed. Most Chinese Christians fully believed that they were just months away from the return of Christ. They related their struggles as Christians to the very last days. The same is true of Romania. It’s quite interesting how when any church faces persecution they believe that they are just moments away from the return of Christ. That just shows us how we tend to think everything revolves around us.
The truer measure of the end times is that of what’s happening in Israel. History does revolve around Israel. Isn’t it interesting that all of these very large Arab nations are not simply concerned with a Palestinian state but also the annihilation of Israel? They are flat out calling for the eradication of all Jews. This really should not surprise us. The heart of spiritual conflict has always been the complete destruction of God’s people on earth. If Satan were able to actually kill all of God’s people then this earth would become his dwelling place. God would no longer have a witness on earth. If you want to know how close we are to the very last days – watch Israel.
=====================================
Medication: A Merry Heart
Athletes Speak!
This is why "Sports Scholarship" is an oxymoron . . .
"You guys pair up in groups of three, then line up in a
circle."
- Bill Peterson, a Florida State football coach
"That's so when I forget how to spell my name, I can still
find my clothes."
- Stu Grimson, Chicago Blackhawks left wing, explaining why
he keeps a color photo of himself above his locker
"You guys line up alphabetically by height."
- Bill Peterson, a Florida State football coach
"I play football. I'm not trying to be a professor. The
tests don't seem to make sense to me, measuring your brain
on stuff I haven't been through in school."
- Clemson recruit Ray Forsythe, who was ineligible as a
freshman because of academic requirements
"I know the Virginia players are smart because you need a
1500 SAT to get in. I have to drop bread crumbs to get our
players to and from class."
- George Raveling, Washington State basketball coach
"Why would anyone expect him to come out smarter? He went to
prison for three years, not Princeton."
- Boxing promoter Dan Duva on Mike Tyson hooking up again
with promoter Don King
"I can't really remember the names of the clubs that we went
to."
- Shaquille O'Neal on whether he had visited the Parthenon
during his visit to Greece
"The ballparks have gotten too crowded. That's why nobody
goes to see the game anymore."
- Yogi Berra
"I'm going to graduate on time, no matter how long it
takes."
- Senior basketball player at the University of Pittsburgh
"Nobody in football should be called a genius. A genius is a
guy like Norman Einstein."
- Football commentator and former player Joe Theisman
