Can you trust the bible, is it the inspired word of God?

Can you trust the bible? Is it the inspired word of God?

There has been some things going on in some of the churches of today that I feel we need to talk about. I don’t like to talk about other churches, but when they are teaching things that are directly opposed to the word of God I feel that God wants me to bring it to your attention.

There are churches today who are encouraging their members to “rediscover” what the bible says. They are telling their members that they should have a renewed appreciation for the *symbolic and spiritual interpretation to better meet the needs of today’s loving society. *I want to share with you the dictionary’s definition of symbolism, it says, The artistic imitation or invention that is a method of revealing or suggesting immaterial, ideal, or otherwise intangible truth. There is no symbolic teaching in the Word of God. Such teachings or interpretations are directly opposed to the scriptures themselves.

This is a direct attack on all of us who believe that the bible is the inerrant, literal and inspired word of Almighty God. God says that he is the same yesterday, today and forever, and his word will stand forever. Look at what God says about his word in Revelation 22: 18-19 “For I testify unto every man that hearth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book; And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the tree of life, and out of the Holy City, and from the things which are written in this book.” The bible clearly declares, first and foremost, in 2nd Peter 1:20"knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.”

Satan can always quote scripture to his own advantage, and there has always been and will always be false teachers who themselves indulge in private interpretation of the scriptures. The apostle Peter says that any private interpretation of the scriptures is illegitimate.

The bible also tells us in 2nd Timothy 3:16 “all scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” There are no instructions in this scripture telling us that we are to resort to any symbolic or spiritual interpretation of the word of God in order to justify the sinful lifestyle of today’s society. Jesus Christ himself, plainly states in John 10:35 that the scripture cannot be broken. The bible does not contradict itself! There is only one power that can unlock the plain, straightforward and truthful interpretation of the scriptures. That is the power of our Almighty God alone, through his influence on the mind of us as individuals by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus Christ, who is the word of God, declared that when the Holy Spirit comes into the mind of an individual, it reveals all things. In John 14: 17 “ Even the spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him; but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.”

In John 16:7 Jesus, called the Holy Spirit the “Comforter.” The Holy Spirit is a revelatory spirit, the spirit of truth. The Holy Spirit is actually a portion of God’s own infinite mind embedded in the mind of a lost sinner who has repented of his sins and accepted Christ as his savior. Jesus declared that when the Holy Spirit is given by the father to a servant of God, it will guide him into all truth and will show him things to come.

God tells us that he will reveal things to us through his word, THE BIBLE, and if we continue in his word we will know the truth and the truth will set us free. Listen to the experience of the apostles as they walked with Jesus after his resurrection Their words were,Did not our hearts burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened the scriptures to us.
It is only the living Jesus Christ, the true head of his one true Church, who can open up the word of God to us by the power of God’s Holy Spirit. Not through anyone’s, or any churches private interpretation.

It takes dedicated study to grow in understanding what God wants you to know about his word. 2 Timothy 2:15 “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” Dividing what word? The bible, the infallible word of God.

Why do men insist on trying to interpret the bible? Here is the answer, the bible says that the scriptures are profitable for the purpose of reproving and correcting us. But man resents being reproved and corrected. How many people do you know that like to be corrected when they are in error or to be reproved for the wrong things they do? People do not like to be reproved or corrected. They like praise and flattery, but reproof and correction I can assure you, they do not like. That is why it is so hard for many people to understand the bible and to agree on what it says. The bible is God’s great spiritual mirror. It shows up every flaw in our thinking and reveals every spot on our character. It pictures us as we really are, as God sees us, not as we like to think we are. That is the plain and simple truth. Hebrews 4:12 reads, “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged 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.“ The bible my friends, is a powerful weapon that cuts both ways, opening up and laying bare the inner man. This is not a comfortable process and too often, men simply won’t subject themselves to what this scripture is saying, it makes them uncomfortable. Too often men have applied some different meanings to the scriptures that reprove and correct them. They pass right over those scriptures that correct and rebuke them. Instead they study to try and find some other interpretation of the scripture into which they can read a meaning that would justify their lifestyle.

Man begin many years ago to try and interpret the bible to say what they wanted it to say. That is the reason that God’s word has become so perverted, twisted and distorted. Today we have hundreds of interpretations of the bible. But you never hear of hundreds of interpretations of a biology textbook. Why do you think this is? Because biology textbooks do not rebuke and correct men.

Instead of acknowledging that the bible is the book of truth that does not lie, admitting that all are sinners and fall short of the Glory of God, repenting of their sin, and being legally justified by the blood of Jesus Christ, men seek to justify their own sinful ways by perverting the sacred and Holy Word Of God.

As Ihave said, I am not trying to put down any church however when they are teaching something that directly opposes the word of God, all of us who take the word of God literally need to be aware of the fact and be constantly aware that Satan is around us and would love for all of us to believe this false teaching. Why are they doing this? Do you have the answer? Possibly they want everyone to believe that only they can interpret the scriptures, so that the scriptures can be twisted to suit the will of many people today.

In closing let me share with you (from the NLT) 2nd Peter 3: 16 “speaking of these things in all of his letters. Some of his comments are hard to understand, and those who are ignorant and unstable have twisted his letters to mean something quite different, just as they do with other parts of Scripture. And this will result in their destruction. 17 I am warning you ahead of time, dear friends. Be on guard so that you will not be carried away by the errors of these wicked people and lose your own secure footing. 18 Rather, you must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. All glory to him, both now and forever! Amen.”

I urge you to study the bible and let it interpret itself on this question and any other questions you may have.

God is in Control

I would like to share with you the story of a man who drowned in a lake. When he was discovered the news spread out across the area like a wildfire. Eyewitnesses there at the lake told of the anxiety, tears and of the helpless disbelief on the faces of all of those present at the scene. When the man's wife, Sue appeared on the scene one of her close friends rushed up to her and said, “Oh Sue, he’s gone, Ted’s gone.”

Sue replied with calm assurance, quoting the words of Psalm 115:3 "But our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him." All of the anguish, the sudden loneliness that normally consumes and cripples those who survive did not invade Sue’s heart. Instead she leaned hard upon the Almighty God. As you think about the words of this psalm, does it seem strange to you? Does it seem unusual to refer to a tragic death as being God’s pleasure?

Psalms 116:15 says, "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints." This is a verse that many have a problem understanding. Matt 10:29 says, "Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them shall fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father."

Now honestly answer this question-- do you think God’s control over us is total, or just partial? Let’s look at his word and allow it to speak for itself on this subject.

Psalm 139:5 You hem me in - behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me.

Psalm 139:15-16 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

Isaiah 45:9 Woe to the one who quarrels with his Maker--- An earthenware vessel among the vessels of the earth! Will the clay say to the potter, "What are you doing"?

Isaiah 46: 9-10 Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.

Daniel 4:35 All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him: “What have you done?”

There are many more scriptures patiently repeated, in a dozen different ways so that the word of God makes its point. Whether you accept it or not, God calls the shots, God is in control of your life. God is either in full control or else he is not on the throne. It would be just as foolish to say that God is almost in control as it would be to say that Obama is almost President or that Suzana Martinez is almost Governor or that the surgeon’s gloves are almost sterile.

If you are trying hard to grasp all the deep things of this great truth, stop, you can’t.
Worrying your mind trying to understand all the things that make God who he is and why he does some of the things he does can drive you into a frenzy. It will push you over the edge of your mental capacity. Trust God and understand that the finite mind can never understand the depths of the infinite mind--- so don’t waste your time trying.

I used to worry about not knowing what to say to someone when asked a question about something that I did not know or understand. But I can tell you it was a wonderful day in my life when I realized that God did not expect me to know all things. I’m not afraid to acknowledge that I don’t understand the reasons things happen, but I accept the fact that God’s hand is in everything that happens.

If I could figure it all out and understand everything I would qualify as God’s adviser, but the scriptures make it very clear that God doesn’t need my puny advice.

All God wants from me and you is our unreserved love, total devotion, faith and trust; and not our unenlightened understanding of his ways.

Remember, his thoughts are higher than our thoughts, and his ways are higher than our ways. God knows what he is doing. One of the marks of spiritual maturity is in having the confidence that God knows everything about us and is in complete control of our lives. There will be times when we may not understand what’s happening however, remember our lives are planned by God. We cannot run or hide from God, he knows where we are and what we are doing. Psalm 139:1-3 says,”You have searched me, LORD, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?

Remember the story from the book of Luke about the Prodigal Son. He tried to run from God and look where he ended up. But God’s love for him brought him to his senses and he realized that nothing could separate him from the love of his Father. Reading from the book of Romans 8:35, 37-39 “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Regardless of whatever happens in your life---whether you understand it or not--- just trust God and have total confidence that he is in control and that nothing can separate us from his love.

Forgiveness, Love and Peace

The bible tells us that if we forgive men their trespasses, our heavenly Father will forgive us our trespasses. But if we do not forgive others their trespasses , neither will our Father who is in heaven forgive us our trespasses.

God is telling us to be merciful to others as he is merciful to us.

Be kind to others, give to the less fortunate, help your neighbor in need. God will bless you for it. The more you show love and reach out to others the greater blessings you will see in your life. God loves a loyal servant carrying out his commandments. God says be ye doers of the word, not hearers only.

God tells us to not judge others and we will not be judged; do not condemn others and God will not condemn you; forgive and God will forgive you.

The word of God tells us in Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned, and have come short of the Glory of God“. By confessing our sins to God we have been forgiven and by our faith in Jesus Christ, have received salvation.

In Romans 6:23 the word of God tells us, “for the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord“. Confess your sins to God and he will forgive you of your sinful ways and cleanse you from all unrighteousness. If God forgives us; should not we be willing to forgive others?

If we do not have forgiveness and compassion in our hearts as God does, if we allow hatred and strife into our lives it can destroy us. God calls hatred and strife sin. But if we love one another, the word of God tells us that this love will cover our sins. The bible says, God is love - and if we have love in our hearts we dwell in God and God dwells in us.

Above all else we need to love one another because love comes from God. If we have the love of God in our hearts, and show that love to others we can know that we are new creatures in Christ Jesus, having our hearts and minds renewed by the power of God’s Holy Spirit. We are not capable of truly showing God’s love to others if we do not have Christ dwelling in our life.

If God loved us so much that he left his home in Glory to come to this earth as a human being in the person of Jesus Christ, for the sole purpose of dying on the cross for our sins, surely we can love one another. If we live our lives in the manner that God desires us to, we can truly know the love of Christ, which passes all knowledge and we will be filled with all the fullness of God.

If we want true peace in our lives we must have forgiveness and love in our hearts, true peace is not possible without it.

I am sure there have been things that have happened in all our lives that may have hurt us. If we dwell on these things without forgiveness we will never have peace in our lives.

If you want total peace in your life, surrender yourself totally to Jesus Christ. Jesus, the one who took your sins upon his body, suffered and died on the cross at Calvary, who was buried and then rose from the dead, proving that we can all have victory in Christ Jesus. Listen and believe what Jesus is telling you.

John 14:27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you, not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

PHIL 4:7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

My prayer for you today is that you find perfect peace in Christ Jesus. Amen.

The following is an e-mail that Ginger wrote to a friend of hers from church. This friend suggested we post it as a postscript to my message;
I didn't think to tell you that my brother Darrell passed away Sunday evening about 8 PM. I had spoken with his wife, Wanda earlier in the day and she told me the nurse had told her she didn't expect him to last through the night. It's a sad situation as he and Wanda, are raising two of the grandchildren. It's fortunate that one of the childrn is a teenager and the other is around 12 years old. Darrell and I had issues all our lives and were estranged most of our adult lives. We had been communicating for the last couple of years. He had 4 children by his first wife who became schizophrenic and that issue along with his temper didn't help the children. His oldest son committed suicide several years ago. He was estranged from his two daughters. Hence John's message. John said when he began to think about all the families that have these issues he felt led to do this message about forgiveness, love and peace.

I don't plan to go for the memorial and his wife understands. She and I communicated all during the time he was in hospice. During that time period when I had called she asked him if he wanted to talk to me. By that time he wasn't talking but knew everything. When he would call me he would do all the talking and I couldn't get a word in. Occasionally I would call him and tell him up front that I was paying for the call so I get to talk. This was hard to speak to someone who can't answer back, especially Darrell. When Wanda tried to take the phone back from his hand she told me he wouldn't release it to her. So I finally began telling him some of the memories that John and I had talked about that morning of when Darrell and I were kids. Then I talked to him about the song, The Old Gospel Ship, that John's Mom loved and we sang at her funeral, I then sang it to him as well as another old gospel song we grew up with. Since I don't sing well and was ad-libbing somewhat that was interesting. Wanda told me that during that period the tears began to come into his eyes. When I had finished that I told him I had to go and she said he surrendered the phone. He would have been 77 years old in March. I am sorry he is gone but glad that their ordeal has ended. I feel he has gone on to his reward and Wanda agrees with me. I'm just so sad that his daughters chose to not be a part of his final years regardless of their issues.

Ginger says this leaves her the last leaf on her family's tree.

Christmas Every Day

Pastor John wishes to share these thoughts - "Christmas Every Day"

The Phillips translation of John 1:1 - 5 “At the beginning God expressed himself. That personal expression, that word, was with God and was God, and he existed with God from the beginning. All creation took place through him, and none took place without him. In him appeared life and this life was the light of mankind. That light still shines in the darkness, and the darkness has never put it out“. John 1:14 “So the word of God became a human being and lived among us. We saw his splendor as of a fathers only son, full of grace and truth“.

I read the story of a man who was in the crowd of people at a busy shopping mall and he made the statement “ I’m glad that Christmas comes only once a year. It leaves my pocketbook pretty thin”. Folks, if all that Christmas means to you is a seasonal shopping spree, it is going to leave only a bitter taste in your mouth. Now to be sure, there is a sweet sentimental feeling about a candlelight service on Christmas Eve, and getting together with our loved ones on Christmas Day. But then what happens? Suddenly the long awaited holiday is over and the joy of celebrating Christmas is gone and then that feeling of a let down sets in. Another Christmas has come and gone. Does this mean that like the ornaments on the Christmas tree the Christmas story too is to be packed away until next year?

To those who have grasped the true meaning of Christmas know that it is not a mere date on the calendar. It is a glorious truth which retains its importance throughout the year.

What is the everlasting truth which the Christmas story brings into focus? The apostle John, the writer of the fourth gospel captures it and is led to tell the story in a strange way. John says nothing about the angels or the shepherds , about the manger or the star over Bethlehem. But John grasps the permanent meaning of the event that happened in Bethlehem over two thousand years ago, what the birth of the Christ child has meant throughout the centuries and what it means to us as Christians today. The almighty God who by his word made heaven and earth expressed himself, made himself known to man, by taking on the flesh and blood of a human. The eternal word became a human being. This is the continuing mystery and wonder of Christmas.

A scientist once said, " The best way to send an idea is to wrap it up in a person". This is exactly what God did on the first Christmas. And so the word of God became a human being and dwelt among us.

The baby born to a young Jewish girl two thousand years ago is none other than “God of God, Light of Light, and God of every God“. When Christ was nailed to a Roman cross on a Judean hill, it was God in action to reconcile an estranged world to himself. And when he rose from the dead, it was God bringing eternal life to mortal men. Man’s life is now linked with God’s life. Jesus Christ, in his infinite love, became a mortal man so that we may become as he is.

It is easy to lose this perspective which shows the difference between the Christian Gospel and all the other forms of religion. The miracle of baby Jesus being born in a stable has its share of wonderment at Christmas time, but all too often during the rest of the year Jesus is put away just like the ornaments on the Christmas tree.

The Christian message must never lose sight of its ultimate goal, and that is the establishment of a personal relationship between human beings and the God who sent us the greatest gift this world has ever known, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. For this reason the “ Jesus, our Immanuel” of whom we sing at Christmas must be the Jesus who brings God into our life everyday.

Just as all children need the warm reassuring touch of their mother’s loving hand that is how the Baby born in Bethlehem brings God to us. God is an awe inspiring word of comfort and encouragement to us as Christians. But the word sometimes only represents a fuzzy idea, something or somebody far away. But now the word has become flesh. God put on the physical human nature, becoming a living and saving presence to us. He is now more than a word. He is Immanuel, God with us.

When Christmas stops being a seasonal thing with people and becomes a living experience, it will produce changed lives; more sensitive, more unselfish and sympathetic, more patient and loving.

The word that became flesh for us becomes flesh in us as he uses us to establish contact with other people. Christ himself walks in our steps, looks through our eyes, thinks in our thoughts, speaks through our words, and loves through our hearts. Through us the Kingdom of God becomes real to the lives of men and God becomes real to them.

Lets celebrate Christmas every day of the year.

Your EFT (Eternal Faith & Trust)

Pastor John writes; Recently we heard from an old friend of ours from California, who one Sunday several years ago was visiting in our English speaking church service in Alamos, Mexico. We learned he was a recent convert after being an atheist most of his adult life. During the service he requested prayer as he was in severe pain having suffered an injury to his hip & leg while working out at his gym in California. At that time he was prayed for with the laying on of hands. He received a complete healing evidenced shortly after the prayers were prayed. It was a miracle and he has never ceased giving God the glory for his healing. Shortly after he returned home to California we received an e-mail from him with his testimony he was sharing with everyone he knew. He is an incredible gentleman who is now 94 years old and in good health. In his recent e-mail he was sharing with us his love of God and how he still depends on his EFT to get him through any health problems that occur.

I wish to share with you my response to his precious reaffirming of his EFT in God.

Good to hear from you and know that you still have that EFT. It is never wrong to ask questions of GOD. Just remember that he is always in control, and always keep your EFT. If GOD does not heal us supernaturally from our infirmities we can rest assured that he has provided intelligent people like doctors and scientists to help with our healing. But we do need to always remember to look to the throne of GOD from where all healing flows through the precious blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who bore our iniquities and our infirmities upon his body when he died on the cross, I, like you, do not take prescription drugs unless it is absolutely necessary, I trust almighty GOD to keep my body well and healthy as he promised to do if we are obedient to his word and place our total faith and trust in him. When you pray to God for anything just be sure that it is scriptural and believe that it has taken place even before you ask him in prayer.
When you go to God in prayer just remember what Jesus said in Mark 11:24 " Therefore I say unto you , what things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye will receive them, and ye shall have them". Also we need to remember what Jesus told us about prayer in John 16:23 -- After Jesus has ascended back to heaven to be with the Father--- And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say to you, whatever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. So we come to the Father in the name of JESUS to ask for what we need.

Keep up the faith and trust in God, he will never fail you.

Seven Last Words

During this Easter season I would like to share my thoughts with you about the time that Jesus was on the cross. I want you to think about the final seven statements Jesus made before he died. In the bible the number seven refers to completion. Christ's work here on earth was finished.

The first statement Jesus made was recorded in Luke 23:34 "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." Notice there was absolutely no bitterness expressed in Jesus words. There were only words of a forgiving spirit. When Jesus said forgive them, he was speaking of Jews and Gentiles alike.

Luke 23:43 Records the second statement, "Today thou shalt be with me in paradise." This statement was directed to the thief on the cross. Here the word "today" goes with the words, "you will be with me." This indicates the thief would immediately be received into heaven, not as other scriptures reference being asleep in the Lord until the resurrection. Read here what
2nd Corinthians 5:6 & 8 says, Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, while we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord. We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

In John 19:26 the third statement Jesus uttered, "Woman, behold thy son!" To address Mary as "woman" may sound harsh to our ears today, but it was a title of courtesy and respect in that time and culture. The bible says Mary was blessed of women, but she was still a sinner and needed a savior the same as all of us. Mary said herself in Luke 1:27 "And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior."

Mark 15:34 records the fourth statement Jesus made, it was; "My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?" A Holy God hates sin but loves the sinner. 2nd Corinthians 5:21 tells us that Christ who was sinless became sin in order to pay sin's penalty for us. Galatians 3:13 tells us that Christ was made a curse for us and God turned completely away from him.

In John 19:28 the fifth statement was; " I Thirst." In John 7:37 Jesus says to all of us; "In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink." Revelation 21:6 "And he said unto me, it is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely." To thirst here in these scriptures is to painfully feel the want of or to eagerly long for those things by which the soul is refreshed, supported and strengthened.

In John 19:30 the sixth statement was when Jesus said; "Finished." Here in John 17:4 is a shout of victory; "I have glorified thee on the earth; I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do."

In Luke 23:46 the seventh and final words Jesus said was; "Father into thy hands I commend my spirit."

Psalm 31:5 Into thine hand I commit my spirit; thou hast redeemed me, O Lord, God of truth.
To "commend" is to entrust for safekeeping, to deposit, to trust and believe in God's word just as the apostles did in Acts 14:23 And when they had ordained elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed.
Acts 20:32 And now brethern, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them who are sanctified.

I want to urge all of you to read and think about these last words spoken by our Lord and Savior as he hung on the cross dying for all of us. Study the scriptures and listen as they speak to you personally.

Mission work

This is one of those lonesome roads that we would take to a countryside village. The beauty of God's creation never fails to stir my heart.

Always be ready to answer God's call, Acts 9:6 Lord, what will thou have me to do?

For the past several months I had been putting off making a trip to Sierra Vista, Az. and then on to Nogales, Mexico. This past week I convinced myself that I should get this trip out of the way.

On Tuesday morning the 9th I left Albuquerque Sunport on Southwest Airlines and flew to Los Angeles and then back to Tucson. (Strange flight pattern - no, when you fly free you take whatever gets you there.) In Tucson I rented a car and drove to Sierra Vista, AZ. There I spent the night and the next morning with the help of a friend we made the trip to Nogales, Mexico to deliver a van to one of our Mexican pastors who had ridden the bus up from Alamos, Mexico where Ginger and I had served as missonaries for 11 years. This aged van (1996) was donated to our work in Mx and it had been a faithful friend for all those Mexico years. It allowed us to ferry special education students to school each day and provide transportation to folks wanting to attend church as well as delivering food boxes for 11 years to our needy families in Alamos.

A Mexican pastor Matias is a very dear friend of ours and one of the most dedicated workers for the Lord that I have ever known. This man is one of the men whom you may remember us referring to as the "Lazarus Brothers" He is one of those workers who has truly denied himself, taken up his cross and followed Jesus wherever he leads. The van was truly needed for his ministry work there in Mexico. Many small mountain villages which have no church receive the message of Jesus Christ from this dedicated man of God. It was truly a blessing to get to see him and enjoy fellowship with him although it was only for a short time. When I think of this man who has forsaken all the comforts of life as we know them and totally dedicates his life, body, soul and Spirit to serving the Lord it makes me wonder how many of us would be willing to do the same for our Lord and Savior. Let's pray that the van continues to serve our Lord for many more years.

There are many pastors in Mexico who love and serve our Lord in just the same way as Hermano (brother) Matias and everyone of them should be very precious to us. I would ask all of you to please lift them up in prayer each and every day.

The Stanley Union Church is very generous in their financial support of our Mexico mission work. I would like to say a big thank you to the church for allowing Ginger and I the time to visit with our Mexican pastors two or three times a year as it is wonderful to visit with them and see first hand the work that God is doing through these wonderful God fearing men.

Please remember them in your prayers.

Glorifying God

As I was talkng to the Lord in prayer this morning I felt lead to post this note. There are times when we get so busy with our own daily schedules that we forget to give sufficient time to worshiping God.

We all need to remember that Isaiah 43:7 reminds us that we were created for God's glory. Psalms 86:12 says that we are to glorify his name forevermore.

In Matt 5:14 God says, that we as individuals and the church, are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hidden. Matt 5:16 says, we are to let our light so shine before men, that they may see our good works, and glorify our father, who is in heaven.

In 1 Thes 5:19 we are commanded by God to not quench the Spirit. If we go through our life quenching the Holy Spirit we will never be lead to glorify God in the way that he desires. Since we were created for God's glory and to be used for his will, the bible tells us in 1st Cor 6: 20, we are to glorify God in our body and in our spirit which belong to God. We were bought with a price, the precious blood of Jesus Christ that flowed from the Cross at Calvary. We are not our own, we belong to God. So let us all forget about ourselves, put Jesus first, and glorify God in everything we do.

Be Honest With God

I was just thinking this morning that some folks seem to be afraid to be honest with God about their feelings. We should never be afraid to be honest with God.

When Abraham was an old man, he laughed at the absurdity of God's promise to give him and his wife, Sarah a child, and to make him the father of many nations. Jacob wrestled with the Lord over the uncertainty of what lay ahead for his life and he accused God of being unfair. David openly expressed his despair and helplessness in circumstances beyond his contrrol.

When God seemed to be ignoring these men, they told him about it. When they thought they had an argument with God they expressed it. By being honest with God about their feelings they learned they could trust God in the dark valleys of their doubts.

Sometimes when we are having trouble and doubts with our faith in Christ it helps to break our journey with him down into small steps. In Matthew 6:34 Jesus encourages us not to worry about tomorrow since today has enough of it's own problems. In the weakness of our turbulent and unsteady emotions, we may need to settle for smaller steps. We need to seek the wisdom of the moment that the word of God gives us from James 1:5 "If you need wisdom, if you want to know what God wants you to do, ask him, and he will gladly tell you. He will not resent your asking". (NLT)

Always be aware of the ever present assurance of the one who says to us in Hebrew 13:5 "I will never fail you. I will never forsake you". (NLT)

I wish you Peace and Blessings in Christ Jesus, Pastor John