Posted by: davidbowerkingwood | September 15, 2015

The Golden Door of Opportunity

How Exciting, it’s still Open!

The Feast of Trumpets has passed for 2015 and we’re still here on earth; all this says to me is the incredible opportunity to participate in the eternal assembly, the body of Christ, is still open to all who will enter the golden door of salvation by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

In the ages to come the great advantages of being a part of the church will become very clear to all. Why we have been so blessed is known only to God but we have been very greatly blessed by being a part of the church.

I have addressed this in my essay on “God’s Second Greatest Gift” and encourage you to review some the blessings that God is giving to those who become Christians in this age of grace; you can find it here: God’s Second Greatest Gift

I’m sure we all have friends and perhaps family members we hope will take advantage of this delay; perhaps God’s abundant grace can be extended to them as well.

2 For God says,

“At just the right time, I heard you.
    On the day of salvation, I helped you.”

Indeed, the “right time” is now. Today is the day of salvation.

2 Corinthians 6:2

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Posted by: davidbowerkingwood | September 14, 2015

Is there any hope for Salvation after the Rapture of the Church? Concluded

The Gospel Message after the Rapture

The Bible’s focus for the end times is on Israel so the Bible narrative really picks up after Israel signs the covenant agreement with the Antichrist. Starting in Revelation 4 the church is no longer mentioned and Israel has taken center stage.

While it is true God is increasing the pressure on the world we may see this, in effect, as the foxhole conversion scenario; the increasing pressure shows those left behind they are not up to the task of survival on their own.

It is likely the Rapture event itself will serve as a catalyst for many to believe in Jesus Christ as Savior. It is certainly going to produce chaos in the United States and to some lesser degree in other nations around the world.

The 144,000 Apostle Paul’s

In 1 Corinthians 15:8 the Apostle Paul writes, “And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.” I like to think of this in two ways, Paul may have been writing about the lateness of his arrival on the scene but I also like to think of him as a type of the 144,000 Jews who will evangelize the world during the Tribulation.

There will be 144,000 Jewish young men who are walking down the road, so to speak, when suddenly they are called by the Lord Jesus Christ into His service. I am convinced they will proceed with their ministries with the same enthusiasm we see in the Apostle Paul. Revelation 7

The Two Witnesses

In Revelation 11 the ministry of the two witnesses is described; they will be a thorn in the side of the world as they bear testimony to the Lord Jesus Christ. In verses 7 and following the narrative picks up:

7 When they complete their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the bottomless pit will declare war against them, and he will conquer them and kill them. 8 And their bodies will lie in the main street of Jerusalem, the city that is figuratively called “Sodom” and “Egypt,” the city where their Lord was crucified. 9 And for three and a half days, all peoples, tribes, languages, and nations will stare at their bodies. No one will be allowed to bury them. 10 All the people who belong to this world will gloat over them and give presents to each other to celebrate the death of the two prophets who had tormented them.

11 But after three and a half days, God breathed life into them, and they stood up! Terror struck all who were staring at them. 12 Then a loud voice from heaven called to the two prophets, “Come up here!” And they rose to heaven in a cloud as their enemies watched.”

For centuries there was no explanation for verse 9; it was thought to be impossible for something like that to happen, there was no way for “all peoples, tribes, languages, and nations will stare at their bodies.” Now we know it is not only possible but done every day with world-wide television coverage of events being broadcast to a variety of electronic devices.

Can you imagine the terror that is struck into the hearts and minds of the viewers as those two corpses they’ve been watching suddenly come back to life? How many of those viewers do you think will suddenly start reconsidering the testimony they heard from those two witnesses?

Angelic Proclamation of the Gospel

In Revelation 14:8 we read of the testimony of one of God’s angels:

“6 And I saw another angel flying through the sky, carrying the eternal Good News to proclaim to the people who belong to this world—to every nation, tribe, language, and people. 7 “Fear God,” he shouted. “Give glory to him. For the time has come when he will sit as judge. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and all the springs of water.”

Would that get your attention? I know it would certainly get mine! Please notice how widely this message is distributed, “to proclaim to the people who belong to this world—to every nation, tribe, language, and people.” I don’t think that leaves anyone out, do you?

Those three dramatic events, four if we count the Rapture, are certainly enough to fulfill God’s promise in Matthew 24:14 wouldn’t you agree? The results in conversions to Christ by this massive evangelistic effort will be “a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb.” (Revelation 7:9) That vast crowd will just be those who have died for their faith; in addition the entire mortal population at the beginning of the Millennial Kingdom of Christ will have been converted during this terrible period as well and will repopulate the world. Talk about a holocaust survivor!

The end of this era is certain and inevitable; the Lord Jesus Christ will return at the Second Advent and bring the Times of the Gentiles to a close.

20 He who is the faithful witness to all these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon!”

Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!

21 May the grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s holy people.

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Posted by: davidbowerkingwood | September 4, 2015

Is there any hope for Salvation after the Rapture of the Church?

What about those who are Left Behind?

I got a comment from a dear brother in Christ in Kenya who expressed concern about the lost who have missed the church age and were left behind after the Rapture of the church. I promised this brother to write in some detail on what opportunities might exist after the rapture to receive Christ as Savior.

There is some seriously good news in that regard; there will be many opportunities to receive Christ as Savior after the church is gone but with some big changes. The church has been particularly blessed by God’s grace in that those who receive Christ during the church age are being indwelt by the Holy Spirit who will be in them for all of time and eternity and, in addition, we have a special relationship to the Lord Jesus Christ.

After the church is removed by the Rapture, the church age will be closed and although the Holy Spirit will be with believers the Holy Spirit will not indwell believers as He has done during the church age.

Being with but not in believers was the pattern in the Old Testament and great miracles were performed in the power of the Holy Spirit by God’s anointed in those times. After the church age is closed, that same pattern will be resumed until the Second Advent of our Lord which will bring the seven years of the Tribulation and the Times of the Gentiles to a close.

One point I would like to make is the Rapture of the church is not the starting point for the Tribulation. While the Bible does not specify the amount of time between the Rapture and the beginning of the Tribulation, I believe it could be several years; the starting point for the Tribulation will be the signing of a covenant between Israel and the Antichrist.

God’s Promises and the Rapture

In his comment the subscriber wrote, “we are assured that God is not ready to see anyone missing his kingdom and by now not all people in this world have known God or have been preached to.” I believe in the first reference he is referring to the verse in 2 Peter 3:8-9 where it is written:

“8 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”

This might suggest the Lord will not return until everyone is saved but we know from other sections of Scripture that will never happen. If we look at the verse in context we will see that section is written to “those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours: 2 Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.” 1 Peter 1:1-2

In other words Peter is talking to Christians and in Chapter 3:8-9 he is saying, in effect, that all those who have been called to membership in the church will come to repentance before the rapture takes place.

The second reference seems to be that section in Matthew 24:14 where it is written: “14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.“

This, I believe, is a reference to the evangelization that will take place during the Tribulation and is the subject we will cover next.

In the next blog we shall cover the evangelization explosion after the Rapture.

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Posted by: davidbowerkingwood | August 26, 2015

Will the Church Age End on September 14, 2015?

The Promises of September, 2015

Several weeks ago I started getting questions about this coming September; much is being written about this month in the light of Bible prophecy and the end times. There seems to be a growing belief this September may be the one for which we’ve been waiting; that there will be significant changes that will affect all of us and most especially the removal of the church from the earth by the Rapture.

The fact of the matter is only the Lord knows for sure what will happen. There seems to be enough evidence accumulating to encourage those of us who eagerly anticipate the return of the Lord that His return just might take place next month. While I hope that is the case I will hasten to say I do not know if that will happen or not. Why do I feel encouraged you may ask; let’s examine some reasons why.

The Feasts and Prophecy, a Short History

The Bible tells us of God’s establishment of a series of feast days that were highly prophetic in their significance. There were three spring feasts, one summer feast and three fall feasts established in the Bible.

All of these feasts were prophetic in nature and referred to the person and the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. While being established in the Old Testament their prophetic fulfillment is revealed in the New Testament; the spring and summer feasts were fulfilled at the time of the First Advent of the Lord Jesus Christ while the fulfillment of the last three fall feasts awaits the events surrounding the Second Advent of our Lord and are yet future.

The Spring and Summer Feasts Fulfilled

At the time of our Lord’s First Advent He fulfilled the prophecies associated with the spring and summer feasts.

Passover, fulfilled at the crucifixion of our Lord on April 3, AD 33

Unleavened Bread, fulfilled by the life and death of our Lord on April 4, AD33

First Fruits, fulfilled by the resurrection of our Lord on April 5, AD 33

Pentecost, the Lord sends the Holy Spirit to indwell Christians on May 25, AD 33

These dates are based on the work of Dr.Harold Hoehner in his book, “Chronological Aspects of the Life of Christ.”

The Fall Feasts Await Fulfillment

What is of particular interest is the spring and summer feasts were fulfilled on the exact day of the feast; one may make the reasonable assumption the fall feasts will also be fulfilled on the exact day of the feast.

Should that be the case, the fall feasts this year would occur in September and begin on the following dates. May I remind you the Hebrew day begins at sundown.

The Feast of Trumpets, (Rosh Hashana) on September 14

The Feast of Atonement, (Yom Kippur) on  September 23

The Feast of Tabernacles, (Sukkot) on September 28

An interesting note to me is the Feast of Tabernacles is the only feast clearly mentioned as occurring during the Millennial reign of Christ as it signifies the presence of Christ with His people. Other feasts may or may not be observed and have been the topics of considerable discussion, especially Passover.

“16 Then the survivors from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord Almighty, and to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles.” Zechariah 14:16

The Feasts and the Four Blood Moons

Blood MoonThe Blood Moon

In Joel 2:30-31 and quoted by Peter in Acts 2:19-20 it is written:

30 I will show wonders in the heavens
    and on the earth,
    blood and fire and billows of smoke.
31 The sun will be turned to darkness
    and the moon to blood

The appearance of four blood moons is called a Lunar Tetrad and while that is an exceptional occurrence, what is of particular interest is how these last three and the coming fourth will occur on Jewish feast days.

The first blood moon in this series occurred on April 15, 2014, Passover

The second blood moon in the series occurred on October 8, 2014, the Feast of Tabernacles

The third blood moon occurred on April 4, 2015, Passover

The fourth and final blood moon of this series is expected to occur on September 28, 2015, the Feast of Tabernacles.

 While none of this is conclusive it is, nevertheless, an interesting part of the total picture adding weight to the argument for the special nature of this particular September.

Israel is the Focus of Everything in the End Times

We are promised in the Bible that Israel will become the focus for the world’s attention as we approach the final days. In Zechariah 12:1-3 it is written:

“1 A prophecy: The word of the Lord concerning Israel. The Lord, who stretches out the heavens, who lays the foundation of the earth, and who forms the human spirit within a person, declares: 2 “I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling. Judah will be besieged as well as Jerusalem. 3 On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves.”

This prophecy will be fulfilled during the Tribulation but even today we can see how Jerusalem is a center of attention and controversy.

The Feast of Trumpets, September 14, 2015

The church age was created on the Feast of Pentecost; will the church age be closed on the Feast of Trumpets? Only the Lord knows the time of His return for the Church but it would seem that this is the best option for this year. If one considers the precision with which the spring and summer feasts were fulfilled at the First Advent then this becomes a very plausible date for the rapture of the church.

Remember the church is a combination of both Jews and Gentiles, a special group called out of humanity by God’s grace to serve in a special manner. Participation as a member of the church started on Pentecost, May 25, AD 33 and may close on the Feast of Trumpets, September 14, 2015; only God knows for sure. One thing we can know is we are living in exciting times!

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Posted by: davidbowerkingwood | August 17, 2015

I Wish One of our Guardian Angels Would Carry a Diaper Bag! A Big Step of Faith

Bible Study at Berachah

“12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12

“Open the Word of God to ………”

When Bob Thieme got up to teach he opened every Bible study with the verse above and would then add “open the Word of God to whichever book and verse would start the study on that occasion.

We were never to forget that Bible study was the way God spoke to us and was the tool God used to shape our lives for His service. At that time Berachah had a practice of giving a small hardback copy of the King James Version of the Bible with the Scofield Study Notes to each family that joined the church.

One of my memories of Bible study at Berachah was the rustling sound of many hundreds of pages being turned all over the church as Bob would read from the Bible, we all had the same version of the Bible; I’ve never heard that sound again since those days, it was a precious sound.

A Bit More History

While I was working as a paid soloist at St. Paul’s Methodist Church my wife was attending Berachah Church and getting some intense Bible teachings. On Sundays, after church, my wife would tell me about all of the great teaching she was getting at Berachah and I longed to share in that experience with her.

Fortunately, Bob Thieme was absolutely devoted to teaching the Bible and taught every night of the week except for Saturday and Sunday nights. As I recall, he taught at Rice University on Monday night, the University of Houston on Tuesday night and the remaining nights of the work week he taught at Berachah.

R. B. Thieme Jr.R. B. Thieme Jr. (Bob)

The challenge for the congregation was Bob’s practice of teaching a different book of the Bible each of those nights at Berachah. If you regularly missed one of those nights you were missing an entire book of the Bible and that was an intolerable thought.

Bob was a tireless workhorse of a teacher and inspired us to try and attend every Bible class he taught. By God’s grace, the Holy Spirit had filled us with a deep desire to learn the word so we were both willing to pay the price required.

The Big Step of Faith

Remember, at this time I was still a full time student at the University of Houston and working almost full time to support my family. Now in addition we had chosen to immerse ourselves in the study of the Bible and had little time for anything else.

As with most students our finances were always in a precarious balance but the Lord had blessed us and by His grace we were making ends meet. The money I earned as a paid soloist was an important part of our family’s income although only a part as my major job was as an audio high fidelity salesman at Audio Center on Westheimer in Houston.

Going to Berachah was a thrill as we were learning so much about what the Bible had to offer. Before Berachah neither of us had a clue about the riches to be found in the pages of the Bible; going to Berachah and listening to Bob open the word of God was like going from darkness to light, what an amazing and life changing experience that truly changed us forever.

Our desire to study together on Sundays was getting greater and greater the more we learned; it finally reached a point where we felt we had to step out in faith. I was to quit my job at St. Paul’s and we would go together to Berachah on Sunday mornings and it would free up my Wednesday nights as well for Bible class.

The money from my soloist job appeared to be vital to keeping our budget intact but we grew to believe the word of God was more important than our budget so I resigned as soloist at St. Paul’s.

I still don’t know how God worked out the details but our budget did not fall apart and we didn’t have to declare bankruptcy. Finally we were both able to attend Berachah together on Sunday mornings as well as most weeknights.

What followed was an amazing time of growth in the Lord, our experience at Berachah shaped the balance of our lives.

Which Brings us to the Title Plea for Angelic Assistance

Being as enthusiastic as we were about Bible study we always sat on the second or third row right in front of Bob; we didn’t want to miss a thing!

At this particular service Bob was teaching on the doctrine of the guardian angel and by this time our second son, Keith had been born and we were on occasion carrying two boys along with their associated diaper bags, two Bibles and two notebooks, and my wife had her purse as usual.

Now remember, we were on the second or third row right in front of Bob when my wife leaned over to me and said, “I wish one of our guardian angels would carry a diaper bag.” Maybe it was the general state of our exhaustion but for some reason her comment caused us both to laugh, fortunately we were able to muffle our laughter but our bodies were shaking as we struggled to retain some semblance of composure.

While Bob was used to seeing us in that general location he did glance down as he noticed our struggles. After the class we apologized to Bob and tried to explain what had happened but if he saw the humor in the situation he didn’t let on. Needless to say neither of us has forgotten that episode and it is a rather pleasant reminder of a wonderful time in our lives.

Having been so greatly blessed by that journey of Biblical discovery I still long to share that wonder with others and hope others may discover the joys of Bible study.

Bob was a graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary and inspired me to attend; unfortunately financial reverses stopped my early efforts to attend but by God’s grace I was able to go back after I retired from the home building business and finally graduated in 2009.

God’s way is a wonderful adventure and I invite all to share in it. For more on Bible study I encourage you to visit https://rdavidbower.com/2013/09/27/gods-second-greatest-gift-by-david-bower/

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Posted by: davidbowerkingwood | August 14, 2015

A Special Occasion!

This is My 200th Blog

It is so typically human to give special recognition to what seem to be special events so I’m falling into the pattern by observing the 200th edition of my blog as a special event. I would like to thank my readers who have joined me in this journey and hope they have found the experience of some benefit. My plan is to publish part 2 of “I Wish One of our Guardian Angels Would Carry a Diaper Bag! A Big Step of Faith” next week.

How Did This Happen?

In June of 2011 I was reflecting on a fact that caused me feelings of sadness; I knew almost nothing about what either of my grandfathers or even my father thought about any of the deeper matters of life.

We had never had a talk about their Biblical beliefs or what they thought about life and living; I had no idea what they thought. Now it was far too late as they had been dead for many years; I thought that was sad.

I decided that would not happen to my children and my grandchildren; although there hardly ever seemed to be a good time to discuss such things with either my children or my grandchildren I determined to find a way to leave them a record of what I thought about life and Christianity.

At some point in their lives they too might begin to wonder what I had thought and I wanted to leave them a way to find out should they ever want to know. I could at least do my part to fill the void I felt when I thought of my father and grandfathers.

A Written Record

 I had discussed my concerns with my wife on more than one occasion and she had started suggesting I write them down in a blog. Initially I rejected that idea as I never thought of myself as a writer but as time passed and no other alternative seemed feasible I decided to give it a try, I would write a blog.

I picked out Word Press, followed their instructions for creating a blog and now have published number 200. It turns out I enjoy writing the blog, if I err it’s on the side of being long-winded; my wife is always telling me to shorten my blogs and I keep trying but with limited success.

An Unexpected Development

As often happens with writers the question of topic can come up as the writer searches for something on which to write. I had subtitled my blog, “Life from a Christian Perspective” so I knew I generally wanted to limit my blog to the Christian lifestyle.

While I started writing my blog in 2011, I discovered and joined Global Media Outreach as an online missionary in 2012. This work included receiving and responding to letters from Christians and seekers all over the world and I began to notice a pattern in the letters I was getting from them.

Regardless of where they lived the challenges to the Christian life they were facing were all very similar; the same temptations faced by Eve were being repeated again and again, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life continues to plague humanity all over the world.

I would then become motivated to write on a particular problem area and would set my thoughts down in a new blog. Then there was a development that I hadn’t really expected; as additional letters would come in I would answer by adapting the blog I had written on the subject of concern to each inquirers particular situation.

This seems to be working well and fills my days with a lot of productive activity which I find rewarding. I had wondered what I would do with myself after I retired, now I know.

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Posted by: davidbowerkingwood | August 11, 2015

In Memory of Kevan

The loss of a beloved family member changes one forever.

Adele Bower's avatarLetters From Adele

Kevan memorial blog 8-11-15

August 11, 1985 was a long time ago….I realize that…..in fact, a few friends have reminded me of that fact.

But the lives of our entire family changed that day….and forever.

Our handsome, wonderful, Christian son, Kevan, went home to the Lord in heaven on that day.

David and I want to recognize such a day with this tribute to Kevan.

“There’s a land that is fairer than day,

And by faith we can see it afar;

For the Father waits over the way

To prepare us a dwelling place there.

In the sweet by and by,

We shall meet on that beautiful shore;

In the sweet by and by,

We shall meet on that beautiful shore.”

(Written by Sanford F. Bennett)

‘Til He Shouts!

1 Thessalonians 4:16

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Posted by: davidbowerkingwood | August 6, 2015

I Wish One of our Guardian Angels Would Carry a Diaper Bag!

Events Leading up to this Plea for Angelic Assistance

During my last year of active service in the United States Navy I was transferred to what was called, “floating land duty.” This simply meant that although I was assigned to a ship we came back to port every day and on most evenings I could leave the ship if I wanted to except when I had duty and had to remain on the ship.

This kind of duty meant my beloved wife could join me so we rented a very small apartment, which had once been part of a front porch, and we set up housekeeping there in Norfolk, Virginia on Sturgis Street just off of E. Ocean View Avenue on the coast of Chesapeake Bay.

Adele on Porch on SturgisOur apartment is the enclosed area on the corner.

The owners of the house and front porch, which included our tiny apartment, were named Paul and Eunice Blanchard, a precious couple who attended Bayview Baptist Church.

For a short time after my wife joined me in Norfolk we did not have a car so the Blanchard’s agreed to take us to church in their car provided we attended Bayview Baptist Church. Considering the circumstances that was an easy decision.

The Short Timer

In the Navy, a sailor who is reaching the end of his enlistment is referred to as a short timer, meaning he has only a short time left to serve. As a short timer my wife and I were already thinking about going home to Texas.

It did not take long for us to develop a sincere appreciation for the ministry at Bayview Baptist Church, the pastor, Brother Burkes, was a powerful preacher and taught the Bible with clarity and conviction.

While there we met a young man who asked us, when he learned we were from  Houston, if we knew of Berachah Church and we answered in the negative. He told us when we got back to Houston we should be sure to visit there as it was a remarkable church.

Before too long we had purchased our first car, a 1954 Volkswagen which cost us $1,800.00 and change. This was a new car and was beginning to develop a good reputation as reliable transportation.

Texas License Plates Rev.Texas License Plates at Last!

GTT (Gone to Texas)

Since I had been a student at Texas Christian University before entering Naval service; we returned to Fort Worth and lived there a little over a year before deciding to return to Houston. While in Fort Worth our first son was born.

On our return I entered the University of Houston to finish up my college and worked part time to help pay the bills. One of my jobs was bass soloist with a paid quartet at St. Paul’s Methodist Church on South Main.

From a musical perspective the job was a lot of fun; we would rehearse with the choir on Wednesday nights and serve as section leaders for our respective sections of the choir. The choir would sing at the second service and the quartet would sing at the first service; the challenge came in because the quartet would not even see the music they were to sing until the Sunday morning it was to be performed; we would go over the music once for interpretation and then perform it in the service. That required a pretty good sight reading ability which was an entertaining challenge at the time.

Berachah Enters the Scene

We had never forgotten the subject of Berachah church which had come up in Norfolk so when I started my job as soloist at St. Paul’s my wife started attending Berachah Church.

Since I had to be at St. Paul’s very early on Sunday mornings and we only had one car, I would drop my wife off at a drugstore about a block away from Berachah. At that time Berachah was meeting in a large WW II Quonset hut in downtown Houston.

I would leave her there with our older son, Kevan so she would have Kevan, his diaper bag, her Bible and her notebook plus her purse to carry while she waited for Berachah to unlock the doors to the church.

It so happened the pastor of Berachah, Colonel Bob Thieme, popularly known as Bob, also visited that same drugstore for coffee on Sunday mornings; when he would leave for the church, my wife would follow.

After the Sunday services were over I would come back by Berachah and pick up my family and listen to the glowing reports of the teaching at Berachah all the way home. It sounded wonderful and exciting to me as the Lord had given us both a hunger for His Word.

Next time, “A Big Step of Faith.”

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Posted by: davidbowerkingwood | July 28, 2015

An Ounce and a Pound

Fire Fighting Advice with a Broad Application!

Benjamin Franklin was a remarkable man in many respects; and although well known as a founding father of the United States of America, he also excelled in a variety of enterprises.

In 1736 Franklin, who at that time was the publisher of the colonies most popular newspaper, the Pennsylvania Gazette, organized Philadelphia’s first fire brigade and during this early effort created the slogan for fire fighters, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” As with many of Franklin’s slogans this one has developed a life of its own.

While this is excellent advice it is all too easily ignored and far too often we find ourselves looking for the pound of cure. The problem we find though is the pound of cure can sometimes multiply into huge weights that defy a simple solution.

As an online missionary for Global Media Outreach I get letters from all over the world where Christians have gotten themselves into serious problems because they decided to live life their way and not God’s way.

The Bible, God’s Ounce of Prevention

I believe all of us, as Christians, will acknowledge that God is omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, and loves His children with an unconditional love. When one who knows everything, past, present, and future advises us on how best to live our lives common sense dictates we carefully heed that advice. This is what God does for us in the Bible but we do not pay it the respect it deserves.

I rarely get letters asking what is the Biblical advice on a key life decision yet to be made but I get an uncounted number asking for help in resolving problems created by bad, unbiblical life decisions.

I must admit reading those letters does make me feel sad; how is it that we seem to always look for the world’s answers to our problems before we seek God’s answer. I can’t begin to imagine how God must feel; watching generation after generation of His children deliberately ignoring the perfect advice He offers to them in His word, the Bible.

Experience is the Best Teacher

Over the 82 years I have lived I too have made my share of mistakes and with the 20/20 vision of hindsight have discovered that truly God’s way is the best way. The mistakes I made were generally deliberate decisions to do things my way and not God’s way; I cannot claim ignorance of what God had advised in those situations, I knew but decided to live life my way.

These mistakes were sin on my part because they were decisions based on sight and not on faith. I’m always mindful of the definition of sin given in Romans 14:23b where it is written: “everything that is not of faith is sin.”

The Experience of Others is Generally Ignored

One of the sad facts of the human experience is the almost universal tendency to not learn from the experience of others. Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel was speaking of this when he penned the lines:

“What experience and history teach is this–that people and governments never have learned anything from history, or acted on principles deduced from it.”

Which has been paraphrased to read:

“The only thing we learn from history is that we learn nothing from history.”

This has certainly been the case in the area of Christian life and morality! In spite of the fact we have the written word from the creator of the universe we still think we know better; what incredible arrogance!

The Grace Factor

The many letters of concerns about failure and bad choices I get very often specify concerns over God’s forgiveness of those transgressions.  Fortunately I have good news in that department which is all focused on the work of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. I often point out the reassurances forcefully presented in Romans 8:1-4 where it is written:

“8 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”

The promise to believers contained in those verses along with the promise contained in 1 John 1:9 provide the spiritual redemption which only God can provide. Unfortunately that may not provide closure as there may be earthly ramifications with which one must deal.

The Pound of Cure

It is possible that our mistakes may set in motion a series of reactions that can involve both society and government. Although we may be forgiven by God, there may yet be a price to pay to society or government which may require one or more pounds to resolve, if resolution is even possible.

This is why God cautions us against certain behavior; it can cause problems which may impact the balance of our lives on earth. God truly loves His children and wants the best for them; as a parent I can definitely relate to that. I too want my children and my grandchildren to make decisions that are good for them.

The Bible was not given to hamper our lives or impede our progress toward the fulfillment of our dreams but to enable us to realize the maximum of which we are capable! God’s way is truly the best way!

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Posted by: davidbowerkingwood | July 15, 2015

A Voice Crying in the Wilderness

A New Collection of Poems by Hanna Awwad

Book by Hanna Awwad

Hanna had told me the book was being written and published and has graciously sent me a copy. This is a book of poems from the heart of the action today; a collection of 50 poems about the people and events in the Middle East focused on Jerusalem.

Following is the Forward to the book.

“This collection of poems, “A Voice Crying in the Wilderness”, addresses the current wave of hatred in the light of the Bible and sheds light on terror incidents and victims.
Moreover, it is a journey to the Holy Land where you have a foretaste of its nature, environment, landscape and location being in the midst of nations, as in Ezekiel 5:5, which explains why Jesus centered His ministry in this country.
However, my assurance that my word will not be in vain is based on: Isaiah 55: 10-12, “For as the rain and snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and make it bud and flourish, so is my word that goes out of my mouth: it will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire, and achieve the purpose for which I am sent.”
When John the Baptist was asked, who he was (John 1), he answered by saying: “I am the Voice Crying in the Wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord”. John came to prepare the way for Jesus. He is not the light, but he came to witness for the light.
In this time marked with fear, wars, divisions, turmoil, fall of values, instability and radicalism highlighted in the barbaric crimes that are committed by ISIS, BOKO Haram and other terrorist organizations against innocents, and in particular against the Christians and Yazidis of Iraq. In a time as such, the grace of God poured in us through the power of the Holy Spirit inspires us to continue what John the Baptist had started by preparing the hearts of people to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, and also to witness for Jesus and the Gospel, for it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes (Roman 1:16).”

I asked Hanna if I could include one of the poems and he told me I could include the following poem from the book.

A MESSAGE SIGNED WITH BLOOD

In front of what happened on that bay,
what can I say?
no word can describe that horrible scene
of brutal slay,
no poem can express my passion
on that awful day,
no tear wipes my grief on seeing
a cut head on a tray.
In time of sword, no word uproots
this global decay,
that plays with lives of innocents,
as a doll made of clay.
It is the weevil of the world rotting
its bones from within.
It is a dagger in the side of humanity
sharper than a pin.
0, fellow Christian, when you were led
to death on shore,
in flesh you were sad, but in soul
you were joyful as before,
for you were on date with Jesus
who knocked on your door,
calling you to enter into His glory
to enjoy His odor-adore.
When you were given the option
either to convert or die,
you refused to convert when you said:
“on faith we will die”.
Your crimson blood, on the surface
of the sea, does cry,
calling us to lift up the name of Jesus
high in the sky.
A legend of martyrdom, a symbol
of sacrificial love,
a tune of faith, a song of peace
on the lips of a dove,
an icon of heroism, a great message
signed with blood:
‘for me to live is Christ
and to die is gain”, as Paul said.
Therefore, I decided to quit writing,
for it helps no more,
in front of what is happening
in this Third World War.

Hanna Awwad PhotoHanna Awwad

Published by
Taybeh Mission Church 2014 All rights reserved to the Author

Contacts
P.O Box 51340, Jerusalem 91513, Israel Phone: 02-289 9305
Cell: 0544 452 824, Jawwal: 0598 874 889 Email: abumahfuz2013@yahoo.com Website: http://www.hannaawwad.webs.com

Designed and Printed by
Emerezian Est. Tel. 02 2343420
Email: print@emerezian.com

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