Always have loved this song! "Leaning On The Everlasting Arms"

The Dangers of The Gospel of Accommodation - David Wilkerson

People don’t like to hear this, but we’re headed for perilous times—just a few years away from a collapse like the world has never known. When that happens, all who preached prosperity are going to disappear because the people will say, “Your gospel has failed me.” When that time comes, I want to grasp onto Jesus, and I want everyone I’ve preached to to have faith in the keeping power of Jesus Christ. I want them to know Him in His fullness. I want to know that I’ve done it in love, in grace, that they would know the difference between the holy and the profane.”

The Dangers of The Gospel of Accommodation

A sermon given by David Wilkerson at an Assemblies of God headquarters chapel service.

By David Wilkerson

I am not coming to you as a pastor but with a prophetic word. God so shook me recently with this message that I should bring it somewhere, sometime in Springfield. This morning the Lord, by His Spirit, spoke to my heart that this is the time. He has called me to be one of His watchmen, and I have wept over this and prayed that He will help me deliver the message in a spirit of love. This is not a chastisement but a warning for the Assemblies of God.

A New Gospel

Accommodate means to adapt, to make suitable and acceptable, to make convenient. A gospel of accommodation is creeping into the United States. It’s an American cultural invention to appease the lifestyle of luxury and pleasure. Primarily a Caucasian, suburban gospel, it’s also in our major cities and is sweeping the nation, influencing ministers of every denomination, and giving birth to megachurches with thousands who come to hear a nonconfronting message. It’s an adaptable gospel that is spoon-fed through humorous skits, drama, and short, nonabrasive sermonettes on how to cope—called a seeker-friendly or sinner-friendly gospel.

To begin with, those terms are unscriptural. The gospel of Jesus Christ has always been confronting—there is no such thing as a friendly gospel but a friendly grace.

This new gospel is being propagated by bright, young, talented ministers. They have come upon a formula which states you can go into any town or city; and if you have the right formula, within a short time you can raise a megachurch.

If you are a young man and have certain skills, you find those skills and a part of the city that would best suit you. You move into that area, poll it, and find out what the nonchurchgoers want:

“You don’t like choirs. Well, would you go to a church that didn’t have a choir?” Yes.

“You don’t like to wear suits. Would you go where it’s informal?” Yes.

Then you go to your computer and design a gospel that will not confront but will shoot out the desires and the needs of the people. After you have gathered a handful of people, you keep interviewing them to find out what they want; then you design your message to help people cope with their needs. The program you design is intended to make the church comfortable and friendly for all sinners who wish to attend.

This gospel is fast becoming the most prosperous and flourishing of all religious movements. Thousands attend these churches. The pastor is the CEO, and it becomes a business. They make no bones about it: They are following Madison Avenue tactics and can make a success of it. Their formula for quick church growth is cleverly packaged and is being sold especially to young ministers—those who want to be a part of the big boys and what’s happening on a fast track. They want it to happen quickly.

Paul’s Warning

Paul warned of the coming of another gospel and another Jesus (2 Corinthians 11:4). He warned the church that it’s really not another gospel but a perversion of the true gospel of Jesus Christ. If you hear any other gospel, he said, let that preacher be accursed. In other words, no matter how pleasant, how pious, or how sincere, if the message is not the death of sin through the cross of Jesus Christ, let it be accursed.

I tremble when I read in the Scriptures that in the last days Satan is going to come right into the church posing as an angel of light. He’s going to take ministers who, at one time, had the touch of God, and he’s going to transform them into angels of light to become his tool of deception. That’s frightening. It causes me to fall on my face before God for such false, deceitful workers transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. No marvel, for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore, it’s no great thing if ministers also are transformed as the ministers of righteousness whose end shall be according to their works.

Paul said they are going to glory in the flesh, in their bigness, their numbers, their influence, and their contemporariness. They will boast they are contemporary, that there is a gospel that is out of style that doesn’t reach human need anymore. They will glory in the world’s acceptance. Jesus warned, “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves” (Matthew 7:15). The context of that warning was: “Straight is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth to life, and few there be that find it” (verse 14).

His warning was to beware of the wolves who are going to say it’s really not that narrow and straight—they are going to come posing as submissive sheep. Jesus put His finger on the cause: ambition—ambitious ravening wolves. In the Greek it means “starved for recognition and quick gratification, quick growth.”

Jesus left no doubt about His meaning. For example, He was addressing a struggling pastor who has worked for years and hasn’t seen the kind of growth he wants to see. A young man with an accommodating gospel moves into town and and within a very short time has a megachurch. People are flocking there because there is entertainment; it’s a gospel of fun. I’ve been in some of them. It’s the gospel of entertainment that has no conviction whatsoever. There is very little in their gospel that speaks to sinners of repentance, brokenness, and cross-bearing. A Christ is preached, Jesus’ name is mentioned, but Paul said their’s is another gospel, another Jesus.

Paul warned that if you are caught in this trap, if you want that hook of entertainment, that hook of sudden growth, this is the hook: The enemy will put in your path a teaching.

I have two preacher sons. One of them confessed to me, “Dad, I was that close to being sucked in because I fasted and prayed and didn’t see the growth I wanted to see, and I saw these others grow. That hook was there, and I almost bought it.”

That is something this Movement and every movement is going to have to look at and deal with: It is possible, through unholy ambition, to be transformed from a man of God, who has been seeking God and getting a word from heaven, to an unholy ambition and a tool of Satan. Let every pastor heed this warning: The moment you begin to consider the “competition,” seeds of accommodation will be planted in your heart. Suddenly, Satan will put in your path a wolf in sheep’s clothing—a man who will try to seduce you into ungodly ambition and achieving church growth at any cost. Yet the truth is, it could cost you your soul.

The Right Formula

If you find the right formula, according to the accommodation gospel, you can succeed in any field of endeavor.

An editorial in the New York Times (March 1, 1998) was entitled, How To Manufacture a Best-Seller. It told the story of John Baldwin, a 53-year-old carpenter and a would-be writer, who had struggled for years to make a living from writing. He determined to become famous and rich overnight by writing a best-selling medical thriller. He studied five or six best thrillers. After 7 years’ research he found 10 steps to producing a best-selling medical novel. He honed it with some Hollywood writers and agents, and here is the 10-step formula he used:

1. The hero is an expert.
2. The villain is an expert.
3. You must watch all the villain’s activities over his shoulder.
4. The hero has a team of experts behind him, working in various fields.
5. Two or more on the team must fall in love.
6. Two or more on the team must die.
7. The villain must turn his attention from his initial goal to the team.
8. The villain and the hero must live to do battle again in the sequel.
9. All deaths must proceed from the individual to the group.
10. If the story bogs down, just kill somebody.

John Baldwin had the formula but no story, so he read of research by John Marr who was studying the epidemiological causes of the 10 plagues, hoping to explain their causes scientifically. The two men formed a partnership, and using Baldwin’s 10–step formula, together wrote a 640 page manuscript called The Eleventh Plague. Harper Collins bought it for almost $2 million.

Baldwin, who has no passion for writing, said, “If I get the formula, I’m going to be a multimillionaire and famous.” Well, he’s going to make another $3 million on the movie rights, and he’s laughing all the way to the bank. His philosophy: “If you have the right formula, you can be a success at anything.”

You see, this is the gospel of accommodation—the formula. You get the formula, you get what people want, and you can be a success. I am here to tell you that a formula-based, accommodating gospel is contrary to everything in the Scriptures.

God’s Method

Certain men of God met at Antioch to send out men to preach the gospel and establish churches (Acts 13). Here is God’s method:

1. They ministered to the Lord and fasted. This was their planning session—worshiping, fasting, waiting on the Lord, and calling for direction from the Holy Ghost. They did not move until the Holy Ghost spoke. There were no formulas, no surveys, no door-to-door asking people what they wanted and then serving it to them.

2. They prayed—no strategizing, no network, and not one step until the Holy Ghost spoke His mind. Then and only then did they lay hands upon them, anoint them, and send them out in the power and demonstration of the Holy Ghost.

Paul lived his whole religious life on religious formulas, and he said they didn’t work. He gave up on formulas and said, “I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2). Paul boasted unashamedly, “We preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness” (1 Corinthians 1:23). He was saying, “Gentlemen (he was talking to his peers), they want us to accommodate. The Jews are looking for signs in our gospel. The Greeks want the wisdom. They want to know how to cope, but I’m not compromising. There’s only one message. Our gospel has been and will be the Cross and its demands as well as its victories. As for me, I’m determined to preach nothing among you but Christ and Him crucified.”

What the Gospel of Accommodation Does (1)

I see three things in the gospel of accommodation:

1. It is the accommodation of man’s love for pleasure.

“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers…of pleasures more than lovers of God” (2 Timothy 3:1–4). The Greek for pleasure is “sensuous, lustful, voluptuous, exciting, gratifying, sensual pleasure.” If you move toward this gospel of accommodation, you are going to have to accommodate the people’s lust because they are not going to give up their love for excitement. They’ve made gods of sports, pleasure, and lust. Unless that is confronted by the gospel of Jesus Christ, unless there is a truth that comes forth, you have to accommodate this lust that is in the American lifestyle.

I was shocked by an article in the New York Times.1 Philip Wogaman, President Clinton’s pastor, said, “Sexual misconduct does not automatically render a leader immoral. Morality should also be judged by indicators like courage, concern for the poor, fostering world peace, running the economy responsibly, and furthering racial equality. Heterosexuality and homosexuality are merely cultural expressions.” In other words, Mr. Clinton has been told that he has enough good indicators to overrule another that would be immoral in his life.

God said that men who preach doctrines like these resist the truth; they are men of corrupt minds counterfeiting the faith.

In disbelief I watched a televised Sunday night service of a seeker-friendly church—seeker-friendly by its own admission. To a packed church where thousands attend, the pastor said, “This is fun night, a David Letterman night.” The youth pastor came out and did his monologue as David Letterman. Then they showed 10 of the most boring things teenagers do during preaching. Three of the 10 were throwing spitballs, yawning, and picking their noses. The crowd went crazy. After the service, the pastor brazenly announced, “We’re not here to offend people, but to make church comfortable for everyone.” I wept.

I ask you, how long do you think that audience would stay in church if the pastor was gripped by the Holy Ghost, convicted for “entertaining” people toward hell, and suddenly preached a message entitled, “Be sure your sins will find you out”? How long would people keep coming back if a gospel of holy living and separation from the world was preached? Two things would happen: (1) Those who are misguided, hungry, and didn’t know any better would weep and run to the altar. (2) Those who are judiciously blinded by their pleasures in madness would flee from the church and never come again. The church doors would close.

I keep this foremost in my mind and before my eyes, because every minister of the gospel one day has to face it when he stands before the Lord. He will say, “Son of man, I made thee a watchman. You were to hear the words of My mouth and give them warnings from Me. You were to tell the wicked, ‘Thou shalt surely die.’ And you gave them no warning nor spoke to warn the wicked to turn from their wicked ways to save their lives. These same wicked men died in their sins, but their blood I’ll require at your hands.”

What the Gospel of Accommodation Does (2)

2. This gospel of accommodation accommodates all man’s aversion to self-denial.

The gospel of Jesus Christ is one of self-denial. Jesus said, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me” (Matthew 16:24). Self-denial is not something you give. It’s someone you give up—the giving up of yourself, giving up everything you are. It’s a living sacrifice to the Lord Jesus Christ to present your body a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. God has every right to say to His church, “If you expect to give Me your body, your resurrected body, all through eternity, I have every right—it’s only reasonable of Me and your reasonable service—to ask your body why you’re here on earth. I want every part of you. I want you to be spiritually minded. I want to possess you.”

The gospel we preach must bring people under the total possession of the Lord Jesus Christ. Otherwise, it’s a gospel of accommodation.

The seeker-friendly gospel accommodates the body. The human body belongs to Him. What we see in America is a neognosticism where you take your physical body on one side and do as you please as long as your spirit is right with God. This is coming even out of the White House, this dividing of personality. No, we are one personality, and it all belongs to Jesus Christ. This neognosticism is destroying the faith of many throughout the nation.

What the Gospel of Accommodation Does (3)

3. There is an accommodation of man’s offense to the gospel.

The Scriptures state, “Behold, I lay in Zion a stumblingstone and rock of offense.” Paul spoke of the offense of the Cross. This is the heart of God’s anger. We’re not called to the Cross but to go through the Cross—to experience the same thing Jesus did, not only coming to the Cross but dying and going into the grave with Jesus Christ and then being raised from the dead to a newness of life.

It’s cruel, pastor, to lead sinners to the Cross, tell them they are forgiven by faith, and then allow them to go back to their habits and lusts of the flesh, unchanged and still in the devil’s shackles. If the preaching of grace doesn’t have as its goal the producing of a walk of righteousness, then it’s another gospel, another Jesus.

I listened in horror to a man, who attended one of the largest seeker-friendly churches, being interviewed by CBS. He said, “I come to this church because I’m comfortable. I’m never made to feel uneasy. I bring my Jewish friends and my business friends, and I know nothing will ever be said that will offend them. The best part of it is, the whole thing only lasts an hour.”

Take it from me: You can get your big church and be one of the big boys, but it’s going to cost you your soul if you preach with a focus only on earthly things, rather than on the things of God.

I’ve lived in New York City 35 years. We have 103 nationalities from all walks of life—from the poorest to the richest. Probably 300 or more from the United Nations live there. But I look over a congregation (so does my dear friend, Jim Cymbala, in Brooklyn) and see men who have just walked in from the porno shops and are wild animals. I see a businessman friend who was CEO of a multimillion–dollar company, but he started snorting coke, lost everything, and is now a bum on the street. He sits in the congregation. A little 14-year-old girl with AIDS is up on 8th Avenue performing lewd acts before dirty old men. She comes to church and keeps saying, “Pastor Dave, I’ve got to get out. I’ve got to get help.”

I’m not about to put up a silly skit and preach a 15-minute message on how to cope to a multitude of people who are dying and going to hell. I tremble at the thought.

People don’t like to hear this, but we’re headed for perilous times—just a few years away from a collapse like the world has never known. When that happens, all who preached prosperity are going to disappear because the people will say, “Your gospel has failed me.” When that time comes, I want to grasp onto Jesus, and I want everyone I’ve preached to to have faith in the keeping power of Jesus Christ. I want them to know Him in His fullness. I want to know that I’ve done it in love, in grace, that they would know the difference between the holy and the profane.

May God, in Jesus’ name, spare the Assemblies of God forever. If I have ever given a prophetic message in my lifetime that God intended for a purpose, it is now.

Many are being deceived. If they are not awakened, what I warn you about will happen.

I pray that God will keep the Assemblies of God in its original purposes. In New York City, He has proved that the people come to hear a straight gospel, and thousands will come where the Word of God is being preached without compromise and yet with grace. May the young men who are discouraged in the Movement not try for a shortcut but be broken and on their faces before the Lord.

May we get our eyes off growth and onto a new revelation of who Jesus is.

Preaching So As To Convert Nobody - Charles G. Finney

Articles in THE INDEPENDENT of NEW YORK

PREACHING SO AS TO CONVERT NOBODY.

BY PRESIDENT CHARLES. G. FINNEY.

THE INDEPENDENT.

NEW YORK, SEPTEMBER 7, 1871

The design of this article is to propound several rules by a steady conformity to any one of which a man may preach so as not to convert anybody. It is generally conceded at the present day that the Holy Spirit converts souls to Christ by means of truth adapted to that end. It follows that a selfish preacher will not skillfully adapt means to convert souls to Christ, for this is not his end.

Rule 1st. Let your supreme motive be to secure your own popularity; then, of course, your preaching will be adapted to that end, and not to convert souls to Christ.

2d. Aim at pleasing, rather than at converting your hearers.

3d. Aim at securing for yourself the reputation of a beautiful writer.

4th. Let your sermons be written with a high degree of literary finish.

5th. Let them be short, occupying in the reading not to exceed from twenty to thirty minutes.

6th. Let your style be flowery, ornate, and quite above the comprehension of the common people.

Highway to Zion

"The Amplified"
Psalms 84:1-12 "How lovely are your tabernacles, O Lord of hosts! My soul yearns, yes, even pines and is homesick for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out and sing for joy to the living God. Yes, the sparrow has found a house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young - even your alters, O Lord of hosts, my king and my God. Blessed are those who dwell in your house and your presence; they will be singing your praises all the day long. Selah. Blessed is the man whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion. Passing through the Valley of Weeping, they make it a place of springs; the early rain also fills the pools with blessings. They go from strength to strength increasing in victorious power; each of them appears before God in Zion…For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.

Beginning here with this word of scripture I believe that it paints a picture of someone that not only realizes the important of the very presence of God but is in the very moment of desperation for it. May we become more aware of what the Lord Jesus Christ has in store for us today. This passage of scripture so beautifully displays a longing for the Lord. My soul yearns, yes, even pines and is homesick for the courts of the Lord. Have you ever been homesick? Where you miss the smell of home, the atmosphere or perhaps the fellowship of being with your family.  "My heart and my flesh cry out and sing for joy to the living God" There is a correct posture that we should have in following after the Lord. A hunger should manifest in the affect that we long for the presence of God. How could we ever direct our attention another way after the Lord of hosts embraces us? "Blessed is the man whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion." Has it been decided in your heart that you alone without Christ have any ability to perform or achieve anything that is worthy or pleasing to God? This is a crucial step. Christ must be the strength of our life. Our complete resolve is in Him. He is the strength of my life. In fact the psalmist David boasts about this in Psalms 27:1 The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? Is your heart the highway to Zion. Think of a highway as this. A road of few stops, less distraction. No time for interruption. A highway is not such as a service road where there are many options & turns that you face before you. Once on a highway you are meant to reach destination quicker. Many of us go through life driving on the service road. Always looking for options and at any moment could get distracted and veer off another way. No a highway has few turns. It is a straight path. You go from strength to strength increasing in victorious power. Your heart is the highway to Zion when you are content with being a doorkeeper in the house of God than to dwell at ease in the tent of wickedness. Lord give us resolve. Lord help us choose the paths that lead to your courts. How we need your presence & long to be in your courts.

Our Jewel..

Today marks 3 years since my grandmother Jewel M. Helm passed away. I was there in the room when she drew her last breath. The presence of The Lord was very real that morning. We miss you sweet lady. Can't wait to join you in the sweet bye & bye. In honor of my grandmother I am reposting a poem that she wrote...

A Million Years From Now

By Jewel Helm 

(My Grandmother) Aug,1925 - Nov, 2010

A million years from now I won’t be sorry

That I accepted Jesus long ago

For I’ll be singing with the sainted billions

The ones with blood washed garments white as snow

I know that I will be there on that morning

For Satan cannot triumph over me

But with my sword and shield I’ll keep on traveling

Oh pilgrim won’t you come and go with me

A million years from now I’ll look back smiling

At all the heartache here below

For it is worth it all to be with Jesus

For I’ll be on that hallelujah shore

Oh what a glad rejoicing on that morning

When before His blessed face I stand

There’ll be no foolish heartaches there or mourning

No temptations in that distant land

Where do you turn?

There are some things that you face in life that will forever change you or bring to light who you are and force you to recognize your inabilities. The way you think, the way you believe, the way you trust, the way you love others perhaps. All of these things are affected during times like these. This I have found to be true. Memorial pivotal moments in life that help shape you. The circumstances of life can leave you grasping to hold on to something that is firm. In moments like these you learn what is solid in your life, also you learn who you can trust and what you can stand on when everything else tends to cave in around you. It will also bring you compassion for others so you can somewhat identify with others pain. Sometimes without the pain of death we may would never value life. Without the struggle of defeat we can never learn the true meaning or emotion of victory. Whatever we face on this side of life however should not keep us captive. When you have an eternal perspective you are not held by the temporal concerns of this life. Yes the ups and downs of this world effect you but should not hold you captive. Matthew 10:28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. 

O soul, are you weary and troubled?
No light in the darkness you see?
There’s a light for a look at the Savior,
And life more abundant and free!

Refrain

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.

Through death into life everlasting
He passed, and we follow Him there;
Over us sin no more hath dominion—
For more than conquerors we are!

Refrain

His Word shall not fail you—He promised;
Believe Him, and all will be well:
Then go to a world that is dying,
His perfect salvation to tell!

Refrain

Words & Music: Hel­en H. Lem­mel, 1922

Remember...

Memories can be like time-machines for the soul. It's amazing that by jogging the memory we can feel such strong emotions, and revisit smells or taste. Sometimes being able to remember specific things about my childhood can be difficult at times. I often regret that I can't seem to remember more. These days now I would like to recall the special things that people or family have done in my life to admonish me as a child in hopes that I could too return the favor possibly or continue the same in my children or others. Some of the most fondest memories I do recall having as a child are those of sitting at the dinner table with the family at home discussing all sorts of things about life. Seeing my mom and dad interact with us or picking at one another which can readily be seen still today if you have the priveledge of knowing my parents. I have always known my mother to be one that wants unity in our home. I watched her contend for that no matter how difficult any of us made it, she still worked hard to achieve that. Sure as any family does, we were not void of contreversy or challenges. My father has always been a man who wanted us to push ourselves and set our minds to do something. If we were going to do it, then pursue it wholeheartily. As a boy I remember watching my parents take all the bills and put them on that same table that we would share meals together. One day came that those bills had surpassed the point of their natural ability to bear. I watched my Dad & Mom call upon the Lord to help them in a critical time in their lives and to be the source of provision for them. In prayer I heard my Dad  humble himself and openly acknowledge that they had overcommited, and made a mess of finances. I guess it sunk in that day for me that the burden of life had weighed heavy upon them. The Lord seemed to honor their prayer and vow that day. I watched over the next course of time as a young man my parents step out in faith and begin a business that the Lord muchly seemed to bless even to this day. This is a memory that years later has made a huge impact on my life and I will keep with me forever. I guess I learned that especially in times of desperation and critical moments for decisions, you need to call upon the Lord. You need to acknowledge your faults, and recognize your trespasses. How have you mis-stepped? Or went about in your own way without asking for the Lord's leading? These are ways that we should examine our hearts. The Bible says in James 1:5 "But if anyone is deficient in wisdom, he should ask God, who gives to all generously and without reprimand, and it will be given to him." Of course there is more conditions to receiving that wisdom as you read further in that chapter but this is a promise for believers. In Psalms 46:1 "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

Aspire to higher ground! - Spurgeon

Many saints are content to live like men in coal mines, who see not the sun. Tears mar their faces when they might anoint them with celestial oil. Satisfied I am not that many a believer pines in a dungeon when he might walk on the palace roof, and view the goodly land and Lebanon. Rouse thee, O believer, from thy low condition! Cast away thy sloth, thy lethargy, thy coldness, or whatever interferes with thy chaste and pure love to Christ. Make Him the source, the center, and the circumference of all thy soul's range of delight. Rest no longer satisfied with thy dwarfish attainments. Aspire to a higher, a nobler, a fuller life. Upward to heaven! Nearer to God! - Spurgeon

"I want to scale the utmost height,
And catch a gleam of glory bright;
But still I'll pray, till heaven I've found,
Lord, lead me on to higher ground!"

http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/h/i/highergr.htm

The Greatness of our Christ - T. Austin-Sparks

When you go to the seaside, you see three kinds of people. People who keep to the dry land, to the shore, and have a nice happy, little time building their sand castles and what not; very happy.

There is another kind to take off their shoes and go into the shallow and paddle. If peradventure, by accident a wave should catch them above the ankles or to the knees, well, that is enough; they are soon out and back on the dry land. They are not having any of that. Enjoying themselves in the shallow and they will not accept anything else.

There is a third kind who go right in and out into the deep, and soon began to realize that they are having to cope with forces that are more than human forces. The further out they go, the more their resources of strength and endurance are drained and taxed. If they get far enough out to the sea, it becomes necessary for them to draw upon sources that are not in themselves at all.

There are a lot of Christians who are going to keep to the dry land and have a happy time, and they are not going to have anything that interferes with their happy pleasant Christian life. There are those who will just get into the shallow and have a little more, but as soon as things begin to get difficult, they debunk; they are back again, they are out of it. There are Christians who will plunge into the depths of the Lord and make discoveries of resources beyond their own "In Christ".

(An excerpt of "The Horizon Of Christ" by T. Austin-Sparks out of the chapter "The Greatness of our Christ"

Don't Put It Off

2 Peter 1 (The Message)

 ^1-2I, Simon Peter, am a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ. I write this to you whose experience with God is as life-changing as ours, all due to our God's straight dealing and the intervention of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Grace and peace to you many times over as you deepen in your experience with God and Jesus, our Master.
 ^3-4Everything that goes into a life of pleasing God has been miraculously given to us by getting to know, personally and intimately, the One who invited us to God. The best invitation we ever received! We were also given absolutely terrific promises to pass on to you—your tickets to participation in the life of God after you turned your back on a world corrupted by lust.  ^5-9So don't lose a minute in building on what you've been given, complementing your basic faith with good character, spiritual understanding, alert discipline, passionate patience, reverent wonder, warm friendliness, and generous love, each dimension fitting into and developing the others. With these qualities active and growing in your lives, no grass will grow under your feet, no day will pass without its reward as you mature in your experience of our Master Jesus. Without these qualities you can't see what's right before you, oblivious that your old sinful life has been wiped off the books.

The Sin of Mixing! - David Wilkerson

There is nothing in the New Testament quite as strong as the warnings of Paul against affinity with the world:

“Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people” (2 Corinthians 6:14-16 NKJV).

Preparing for the Coming Quake ~ John Helm

Preparing for the Coming Quake- John Helm

by John Helm on Monday, March 14, 2011 at 8:14am.

Suddenly a 9.0 earthquake followed by a Tsunami and literally in the matter of minutes the immediate lives of thousands in the country of Japan, as they knew it forever changed.

In the following days more quakes and aftershocks are predicted throughout the land of the rising sun. Paralleling the shaking ground and the rolling waves will be the ripple of economic woe that now haunts the World at large. Will the World’s third largest economy which was beginning to show a small hope of recovery from recession, lose its momentum? Counting the cost this earthquake could become the world’s most expensive ever estimated at possibly $200 billion. Cost to insurance companies in the USA alone could be over 35 billion. The additional impact on the World’s energy demand is of grave concern. What will the affect be for me and you and the rest of the World? Who knows?

Christian Leaders of the 18th Century - Practical Lessons

J.C. Ryle
They are lessons which are strongly impressed on my own mind. Thankful should I be if I could impress them on the minds of others!

1: In the first place, would we know the right instrumentality for doing good in the present day? Evil is about us and upon us on every side, evil from Romanism, evil from infidelity, evil from tractarianism, evil from neologianism, evil amidst the working classes, evil amidst the educated bodies. What is the true remedy for the disease? What is the weapon to be wielded if we would meet the foe? Can anything be done? Is there no hope?

Christmas – as Celebrated by the Presidents

by: David Barton

Even though Christmas did not become a national holiday until 1870, it has a centuries old history in America. Interestingly, in colonial America, the southern regions that were more directly linked to High-Church traditions (e.g., Anglicans, Catholics, Episcopalians) celebrated Christmas; but the northern regions especially linked to Low-Church traditions (e.g., Congregationalists, Baptists, Quakers) did not. Those Low-Church colonists associated the pomp and grandeur of Christmas celebrations directly with the autocratic leaders and monarchs in Europe that they so opposed.

Massachusetts therefore passed an anti-Christmas law in 1659, and it was not until the 1830s and 1840s that Christmas celebrations became accepted in New England (although as late as 1870, a student missing school on Christmas Day in Boston public schools could be punished or expelled). But by the 1880s, Christmas celebrations were finally accepted across the country and began to appear at the Whit House. For example:

Silent Night

Silent night, holy night
All is calm, all is bright
Round yon Virgin Mother and Child
Holy Infant so tender and mild
Sleep in heavenly peace
Sleep in heavenly peace

Silent night, holy night!
Shepherds quake at the sight
Glories stream from heaven afar
Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia!
Christ, the Saviour is born
Christ, the Saviour is born

Silent night, holy night
Son of God, love's pure light
Radiant beams from Thy holy face
With the dawn of redeeming grace
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth "

'Twas The Night Before Jesus Came

'Twas the night before Jesus came
And all through the house
Not a creature was praying, not one in the house.
Their Bibles were lain on the shelf without care,
In hopes that Jesus would not come there.

The children were dressing to crawl into bed,
not once ever kneeling or bowing a head.
And Mom in her rocker with baby on her lap,
Was watching The Late Show while I took a nap.

When out of the East there arose such a clatter,
I sprang to my feet to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash!

When what to my wondering eyes should appear
But angels proclaiming that Jesus was here.
With a light like the sun sending forth a bright ray,
I knew in a moment that this must be The Day.

The light of His face made me cover my head;
It was Jesus! Returning just like he said.
And though I possessed worldly wisdom and wealth,
I cried when I saw Him in spite of myself.

In the Book of Life which He held in His hand
Was written the name of every saved man.
He spoke not a word as He searched for my name,
When He said "It's not here" my head hung in shame.

The people whose names had been written with love
He gathered to take to His Father above.
With those who were ready He rose without a sound
While all the rest were left standing around.

I fell to my knees, but it was too late;
I had waited too long and thus sealed my fate.
I stood and cried as they rose out of sight;
Oh, if only I had been ready tonight.

In the words of this poem the meaning is clear;
The coming of Jesus is drawing near.
There's only one life and when comes the last call,
We'll find that the Bible was true after all!

- by Dianne Frances Donenfeld.

To Me He's Become Everything

VERSE 1
Some have made Jesus, A game that they play
To others a song, That they sing
But since I met Jesus, I'm happy to say
To me He's become everything

CHORUS
To me He's become everything
He's everything that I need
The beginning the end
He's life's dearest friend
To me He's become everything

REPEAT CHORUS

MUSICAL INTERLUDE

VERSE 2
When I wake up each morning
He's right by my side
At night He's my last thought in mind
He's joy for each moment
He's hope that faith brings
To me He's become everything
CHORUS
To me He's become everything
He's everything that I need
The beginning the end
He's life's dearest friend
To me He's become everything

REPEAT CHORUS

TAG
He’s my future He’s my past
The first and the last
To me He’s become everything

O Come All Ye Faithful ~ Lyrics

O Come All Ye Faithful
Joyful and triumphant,
O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem.
Come and behold Him,
Born the King of Angels;
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.

O Sing, choirs of angels,
Sing in exultation,
Sing all that hear in heaven God's holy word.
Give to our Father glory in the Highest;
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.

All Hail! Lord, we greet Thee,
Born this happy morning,
O Jesus! for evermore be Thy name adored.
Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing;
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.

The First Noel

The first Noel the angels did say
Was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay;
In fields where they lay, keeping their sheep,
On a cold winter's night that was so deep:

refrain
Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel,
Born is the King of Israel.

They lookèd up and saw a star,
Shining in the east, beyond them far:
And to the earth it gave great light,
And so it continued both day and night:

And by the light of that same star,
Three Wise Men came from country far;
To seek for a King was their intent,
And to follow the star whersoever it went:

This star drew nigh to the north-west;
O'er Bethlehem it took its rest;
And there it did both stop and stay
Right over the place where Jesus lay:

Then entered in those Wise Men three,
Fell reverently upon their knee,
And offered there in his presence,
Their gold and myrrh and frankincense:

Then let us all with one accord
Sing praises to our heavenly Lord
That hath made heaven and earth of nought,
And with his blood mankind hath bought:

Joseph Considered

The Birth of Jesus Christ
Matthew 1:18-25
18Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 19And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 20But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:
23"Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel" (which means, God with us). 24When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, 25 but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.