Dear Sister:What a breath of life to hear of you taking your stand there! Holland! That truly warms my heart. I am reminded of "The Hiding Place" and and what a light Corrie ten Boom's testimony has been to the world. You speak of letting our light shine, and truly that was done in Holland, and you are carrying it on! The ten Booms, and others of their countrymen I am sure, risked their lives for the Jews, and never had a moment's hesitation in standing up to the evil threatening their country and the whole of Europe. We are the salt of the earth, Jesus says, and if the salt loses its savor how shall it be salted? A city set on a hill cannot be hid, and yes, right on, we encourage you and stand with you in these days. "So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy comes in like a flood, the spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him."Isaiah 59:19 I am surprised but glad that you are still able to show the movie about the book of John there in the "hardly-Christian"school. Dinah posted on the same day you did about praying to keep ministering to the children. Surely our Lord will make a way because we know those children are dear to His heart. And what if this cost our lives? It is supposed to, amen? "Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God."I Cor 15:50a One well known Christian missionary said "If I had I a thousand heads, they would all be for Christ."
How true that the called are drawn to us and the others repelled. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 2 "Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savor of his knowledge by us in every place. For we are unto God a sweet savor of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish; To the one we are the savor of death unto death; and to other the savor of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things? For we are not as many which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ."
I was a child during World War II, and my parents took me to movies where I saw the war in the newsreels, but they did not take me to church. Consequently, I was very scared. I have never recovered from that early orientation to life, and it gives gravitas to my views, which is probably just as well because the reality of this world is that we are here to fight the devil. The USA has never been without war very long. Even in the decades after the Second World War we were always fighting and losing our boys, but never on our own soil. Life in the USA has basically been "the good life", and so many know only that; but they are in for a wake-up ....."Woe to the land shadowing with wings, which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia....."Isaiah 18:1. When the USA was sending missionaries to Europe these past few decades, they called it "the dark continent." Things may still be darker there, but we can't be far behind now if even a half step!
"I am with thee to deliver thee--Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.-- I will sing of thy power; yea, I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning: for thou hast been my defense and refuge in the day of my trouble.--Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Jeremiah 1:8, De 31:6, Psa 59:16, 32:7
Shalom,
Rachel
cloudsbenjamin@charter.netPS
Gielah: I have seen the movie about the life of John that you refer to.
I agree that it is very well done. They had it at the theatre last year after the Passion of the Christ. None of that this year though, but there is one playing called "The Kingdom of Heaven", which I hear is not in fact as it would sound! At least we are preaching through titles! I have missionary friends who show the Passion of Christ in Nepal. As you say, seeing those hungry faces which reflect the hungry hearts makes you want to the redeem the time for Christ, doesn't it? But the missionaries as far back at the middle of the last century were saying that the work of the church in the end time would be "prayer." If they were on the field and they said that, they must have known. They could see the demon power gathering over the nations, and they knew the work would be doing business with the devil, overcoming these principalities and powers in the heavenlies, "casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ: 2 Cor 10:5. At any point in which we must go underground and leave the forum for proclaiming the Gospel that we might have had, it's all right -- our work -- our real timely work can still be done. A very timely recent post here on Doves pointed us to the many scriptures that admonish us to "pray" in this hour.
It is said there are three groups of people: 1) those who make things happen 2) those who watch things happen and 3) those who don't know what in the world is happening For certain the Christian appointed to the rapture is in the group making things happen right to the moment we go up. We are admonished to "watch" of course, but also to "pray." As in World War II, as in other wars, as in all things in the course of history since Jesus ascended, empowered us with His Spirit and entrusted things to us, IT IS THE PRAYERS OF THE CHRISTIANS THAT MAKE THINGS HAPPEN -- THE HAND IN EFFECT THAT TURNS THE WORLD -- BECAUSE THAT IS THE WAY YHVH ORDAINED IT.
No, we will NOT BEND THE KNEE to anyone but YHVH, the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph, who is Yeshuah our Savior and Soon-coming King, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords for His is the Kingdom the power and the glory forever. Under His banner and in His Matchless and Worthy Name we go.
"Like a mighty army, moves the church of God,
Brothers, we are treading
Where the saints have trod;
We are not divided,
All one body we,
One in hope and doctrine,
One in charity,
Onward Christian soldiers,
Marching as to war,
With the cross of Jesus,
Going on before."
Stay in touch,
Maranatha,
Rachel