Restoration Ministries International Sharing the Hebraic Foundations of the Earliest Followers of Jesus Preparing Today's Followers of Jesus to Fulfill Their Part in His Kingdom
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February 2, 2012
Have You Gone to the High Places at Least Once?

Dear Friends,
Are you one of those who, when you find a good thing, tell others about it? That's how the two of us often feel. Can you picture the unrestrained joy in Andrew after his first encounter with Jesus? "The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, 'We have found the Messiah!'" (John 1:41). Israel had been waiting for centuries for Messiah's coming, and now Andrew had seen and talked with Him. And wouldn't you have delighted in being the angel who joyfully proclaimed to those humble shepherds that the Messiah had been born in Bethlehem (Luke 2:8-14)?

We're asking these questions with a purpose. Since the Spirit first inspired us to write our study guide, Going To The High Places, for Hannah Hurnard's book, Hinds' Feet On High Places, we've continued to hear the life-changing effect it's had on individuals and marriages. Yet this guide is one of the most underutilized works we have on our website. That's why we've written this Teaching E-mail: to encourage you with the good news about what the book and study guide can do for you. If you've never taken a pilgrimage to the "High Places" in your life journey in Lord Jesus, please don't let spring arrive this year without going through the lessons in Going to the High Places. The Holy Spirit may use this to transform your whole walk in Christ!

Please, prayerfully read this Teaching E-mail and see if it's not time for you to both understand and cooperate with the various means our Lord Jesus uses to help you become more like Him, and to instill and deepen His love in you. His love has absolutely NOTHING in common with human love. You can't develop it in your own strength, nor can you well it up through any human effort. But when Jesus instills it in you through His Spirit, His love carries with it a motivation that's incomprehensible to the world. Is it any wonder Paul's prayer for the Ephesian followers of Jesus was this:

"I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God" (Ephesians 3:16-19).
Or consider his simple exclamation, "For Christ’s love compels us..." (2 Corinthians 5:14).

How would you recognize if you’re missing the kind of love which only Jesus can instill in you? Here are some telltale indicators:

• Do your actions or responses habitually produce tension or apprehension in your spouse or others close to you? Then you lack the love of Jesus for one another.

• Does the process of how you make decisions together produce tension or apprehension in others? Then you lack the love of Jesus for one another.

• Do you bristle or shut off communication when certain topics are brought up? Then you lack the love of Jesus for one another.

If any of these are true of you, receive the Spirit’s conviction and repent! Our Lord is eager for you to experience His love and extend it to others. That’s His work of transformation in you.

Please, if you haven't "gone to the High Places" at least once, don't let this opportunity pass you by. In the difficult days still to come, it's only the love of Jesus that will get you through.
Mike & Sue

P.S.  We wanted to let you know we've added some new insights into our Bible Mis-translations page.

Also, if you've been keeping Mike in your prayers, we want to update you. After his prostate operation in December, cancerous cells were found in the biopsy. Further testing is needed; he has a follow-up appointment on March 2. He's also still waiting on a knee replacement from the VA. And, this week his doctor told him he may have a growth on his pituitary gland that is pushing into a sinus cavity. For several years he has suffered with headaches that have become progressively  more frequent and severe. He's scheduled for an MRI on February 27.

As all this news has been coming at us, it's been our Lord's timing that he has been reading Tortured for Christ, the book Richard Wurmbrand wrote shortly after being released from 14 years of torture and imprisonment because of his loving stand for Jesus. The grace Jesus gave Wurmbrand and other prisoners to not only endure the torture but also to love their torturers with the love of Jesus has emotionally undergirded Mike. Tortured for Christ, the attached Teaching E-mail, and our Going to the High Places study series all have the same theme: the empowered love of Jesus. This is what compels us during our own challenges as we continue to share with you, and support others around the world who are sharing these truths.
You can obtain your own free copy of Tortured for Christ by going to: <persecution.com>.

January 26, 2012
Presumption, False Expectation, and Prophetic Witchcraft

Dear Friends,
Many evenings we watch a half-hour show called "Storm Stories" produced by the Weather Channel. Each episode deals with a catastrophe involving a flood, hurricane, tornado, etc., and the response of individuals and families before, during and after their particular calamity. Not everyone in these stories survives the disaster. While most had done nothing directly to bring about their situation, some through their own presumption and false expectation were killed or injured.

In Lesson 32 of Discussing How to Restore the Early Church, we discuss the evil motivations of presumption and false expectation, which are frequently the root cause for many self-identified Christians to tolerate sin in their lives. This is especially true concerning knowing the will of our Lord and doing it. Too many go about each day never seeking the Spirit of Jesus to guide them (Proverbs 16:3). Failing to confirm can leave you in grave danger!

Let's look at an example of this. In one recent Storm Story a skier with a Master's degree in Avalanche Studies ended up getting killed needlessly. He and his two buddies had gone out into the back country to ski. Each time they climbed a hill, they'd exercise prudence as they'd been trained to do: they'd dig down into the snow to check its condition to determine if it was safe to ski there. On their last run, however, this fully trained man who definitely should have known better presumed the conditions were safe and failed to check the snow condition. That misjudgment cost him his life. Halfway down the slope he triggered an avalanche which swept over him, breaking his neck. Tragically, he left behind his wife, eight months pregnant with a son who would never meet his father.

"All men will hate you because of Me,
but he who stands firm to the end will be saved" (Mark 13:13).
"And do this, understanding the present time.
The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber,
because our salvation is nearer now than when we first trusted" (Romans 13:11).

Even as the apostle Paul strongly counseled errant believers in Corinth to "awake to righteousness and do not sin" (1 Corinthians 15:34), so today too many who call themselves followers of Jesus are forsaking their wholehearted devotion to Him as their Lord and following their own desires. They are being lulled into compromise with the world's ways and values, and in the name of "peace and brotherhood" giving way to false beliefs and syncretistic practices. Our Lord Jesus, however, has called His people out of the world and into Spirit-responsive holiness and obedience. This is a day by day walk of love-motivated persistence — a daily decision to choose righteousness (God's way) over self-gratification (man's way) no matter what circumstance you face. This steadfast choice to walk in Jesus's steps by His Spirit and do Father's will calls for a heart of repentance, willingly confessing to Him when you fall short through attitude or action, and gratefully receiving His cleansing and forgiveness (1John 1:9).

Keep in mind that as times get more evil, many who were once confident in their trust and fellowship with Him and had purposed to live righteously are now finding themselves giving way to presumption and false expectation. As a result they're finding ways to excuse themselves as they yield to more and more tolerated sin in their own lives and in their families.
• Those who give way to presumption view God's grace as a means to indulge a little sin here and there.
• Or, if they're going through difficult trials, they give way to false expectation. When God delays answering their prayers, their trust falters and they give way to doubt and unbelief. Some even blame God for letting them down.

Are you among the many who have consistently ignored the Older Testament, pretty much relegating it to "Jewish history"? Then you've been walking blind as to the unchanging nature of our God and the lessons He so vividly offers us today. Paul makes this unmistakably clear: "These things happened to [the Israelites] as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come" (1 Corinthians 10:11).

Let's look at one of those warnings. At the end of their 40-year sojourn through the Sinai, the generation of Israelites who hadn't fallen in the desert finally crossed the Jordan River to enter the Promised Land. Throughout their long journey they had sought the Lord to confirm His direction for them. But that obedience gave way to presumption. (You can read the account in Joshua 9:3-16.) A delegation from nearby Gibeon, terrified by Israel's overwhelming defeat of Ai and Bethel through the power of their God, approached Joshua pretending to be from a land far away. Trusting in their own evaluation made by appearances (the men's clothing was dusty and ragged, their bread moldy and dry) the Israelites sinned by acting presumptuously: they failed to inquire of the Lord. The ruse of the Gibeonites succeeded, and the Israelites made a treaty with them—disobeying God's command to wipe out the inhabitants of the land.

Our Lord is not short on calling His people to stand firm in their obedient trust! Temptations and "ruses" lay all around His own; counterfeits, lies and schemes into which the fearful and self-focused can readily give way. This is why Paul warns the Corinthians, who lived in a society as decadent as our own, to not give in to compromise or their old sinful ways: "Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong" (1Corinthians 16:13). Father has anointed those in Christ to stand firm in obedient trust, in all things seeking His will because of our love for Him and for those He puts in our path. We are to be the aroma of Christ, untainted by the stench of any sin we would give way to that would move us away from Him.

Our pilgrimage to salvation culminates at the Judgment Throne. With each passing day that moment draws closer. We need to grow in patient endurance so that we can encourage each other DAILY. Otherwise we may become hardened by caving in to sin's deceitfulness (Hebrews 3:13). So beware the Gibeonite ruse: God won't necessarily work the same way He did earlier when you faced a particular circumstance or need. Don't confine Him to a "box of expectation" in which you feel only the answer you're asking for will do!

You must seek His will each time, because His plan and response may encompass purposes you can't perceive. Remember, His will is revealed "step by step", which is far enough for faith to see. One of the most important realizations many come to is that our Lord didn't change your situation but gave you the grace to go through the trial. Isn't this the understanding of the poem "Footprints in the Sand"?

We've made available David Wilkerson's teaching letter of 11/28/1994, "Corrupt Christians." If you're finding your trust slipping, your soul growing too weary to press on, or you're tolerating and excusing personal sin, this teaching may be the catalyst the Spirit uses to return you to that responsive love Lord Jesus is waiting for.

A warning:
• Stop being anxious about future outcomes!
• Avoid wearying yourself with concerns about what present situations may lead to!
• The future is our Lord's domain!
• TODAY is the only day He is giving you His daily grace!

In other words, don't give a foothold to fear and worry about the future; only our God knows what that holds. Don't let your love for Him or your obedient trust be hindered by fretting over the relationships you might lose if you live true to Jesus. And beware of false prophets in the media who speculate about the future. Authentic biblical prophecy does not conjecture about verses, trying to make them fit some possible event in the future. For instance, recent "prophetic conjecturing" has proclaimed that the planets will align in 2012 and worldwide flooding will occur, therefore fulfilling certain verses that supposedly substantiate their conjecture.

When Father wants to warn you about an upcoming catastrophe, He will speak through those He has called to prophesy (see Amos 3:6,7). The timing for the prophetic person to speak that prophecy is in His hands as well. These two elements comprise a prophetic warning: God's message and His command to the prophet when to speak. If someone claims to have a prophecy for you, you need to ask, "Did God tell you this?", and, "Did He tell you to share it with me, and share it now?" And in the scriptural pattern, you need to test what is said to determine if it truly is of God (1Thessalonians 5:19-21; 1John 4:1). God's responsibility is to reveal; yours is to confirm. Too many today don't confirm supposed prophecies; they end up in trouble, and blame God.

An old axiom guides those who've truly walked in the prophetic: Don't prophesy on prophecy. Every prophecy God has written in His Word has or will come true. AFTER they've taken place, you can claim their fulfillment. For example, over 300 prophecies in the Older Testament foretell the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and the details of His life. AFTER He became incarnate, it was permissible to cite these prophecies as being fulfilled, something in fact many of the Newer Testament writers do.

False prophets put words into God's mouth by conjecturing about passages in the Bible, confidently predicting a future event that God never told them. This is "prophetic witchcraft", exercised readily by Jeremiah's adversaries (see Jeremiah 14:14). Witchcraft tries to deceive by exercising control or manipulating outcomes outside of the will of God (see Matthew 24:24). The men Jeremiah disputed tried to gain official influence and favor by prophesying through divination, false visions, and the delusions of their own minds. Prophetic witchcraft is fed by people who are beset by presumption and false expectation! Having departed from authentic trust in Jesus and a righteous way of life approved by God, those who are addicted to conjecture give way to deceiving spirits and the doctrines of demons (1 Timothy 4:1).

We have entered a period in which we're seeing this sorry promise being carried out within the apostate church: "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables" (2 Timothy 4:3,4). Once the clear teaching of Scripture is set aside in order to placate man's deceived rationale, any fable or delusion will satisfy the sinful desire. Especially during stressful times, prophetic witchcraft gives people a false sense of confidence about the future, much like the demonic delusions of Ouija boards, astrology and horoscopes.

Those who have turned aside from the Bible as God's only written revelation and refuted Jesus as the only way to be reconciled with the Father are open game for prophetic witchcraft. False prophets claim they know in advance how and when a particular biblical prophecy will be fulfilled; thus they receive acclaim and fortune for a while (see Matthew 7:15). Much of the current wave of prophetic witchcraft was fanned into flame by Hal Lindsey in the 1970s and 80s, who conjectured about when and how end time scenarios would play out. These prophesies boxed in the ways in which God (and world leaders) would supposedly work, planting interpretations into Scripture that can't be defended. But multitudes of books were sold and Christian speaking circuit venues were filled.

Please, read the attachment and ascertain if you haven't slipped into what Wilkerson calls a "Corrupt Christian." Especially focus on his last page in which he pinpoints how to respond if you've lost your trusting devotion to Jesus and given up waiting on Father to intervene in your life.

We encourage you to turn your heart to your Father right at this moment, proclaiming your hope in His wondrous loving power on your behalf: "To Him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy—to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen" (Jude 1:24,25).

Mike & Sue

P.S. We want to thank those of you who've responded to the Spirit to pray for and financially help our beloved sister and fellow worker, Patrice Marshall, in Cleveland. If you live outside the US, you can use the Donation button on our website and make a gift through PayPal. We'll be sure that Patrice receives it!

January 18, 2012

Dear Friends,
We haven't attached anything to this e-mail but we do want to share with you some important burdens on our hearts as this year gets started. We realize how easy it is for any of us to get caught up in our daily routine and by evening evaluate that day by what we accomplished or what we let slip. That's why we want to remind you that it takes persistent personal determination and the mutual support of others who are with you on your journey to your salvation to daily prompt you about our Lord's goals and purposes for each day. We believe the writer to the Hebrews had this same point in mind when he urged, "See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, untrusting heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called “Today,” so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin" (Hebrews 3:13).

What is sin's deceitfulness? It can certainly encompass a variety of unrighteous outworkings, but perhaps among the worst is that you go through your day unaware of and oblivious to the purpose and goal of our Lord Jesus for each encounter you have that day. None of them are "accidental" from His perspective!

We have some scriptural truths for you to post on your refrigerator, bathroom mirror or wherever, as daily reminders:

• My goal for each and every day is to be resolute to see my Father glorified, His Kingdom extended, and the love of Jesus reflected to others in whatever opportunities He presents me.

• The Spirit of Christ within me makes this goal possible IF I ask Him to help me see people from His perspective; His love in and through me enables me to lay my life down for others.

• I must be conscious each day of the ways the Spirit of our Lord is changing my character to increasingly conform to His through searching His Word and applying it, through my encounters with others, and/or through any situation I find myself in.

• I am determined to raise no resistance to my Lord's desire to develop in me His love and concern for others, whether through His Spirit at work in me or through input and correction by others who follow Jesus with me.

• Each day I will remind those who press on with me in following Jesus of these goals. TODAY is the day to encourage each other. I may not have tomorrow.

If you inscribe these pursuits in your heart and let them guide you each day, you'll be choosing a way of life that has your Father's attention and favor. Watch what He can do in and through and around you to advance His Kingdom!
And please heed this word of encouragement:
Don't be hindered by your past sins and mistakes. Satan, as well as people around you who don't follow Jesus, will try to beat you down by reminding you of your past. If you've confessed your past sins and turned from them, your Father doesn't remember them. He has forgiven you and cleansed you, and sees you both as you are today and what you can be in the future through your ongoing obedient trust. Press forward on your pilgrimage to your salvation, by His Spirit growing more and more in the character Jesus. Don't keep looking back! Living with past regret is like slogging through quicksand; it will pull you down into fruitlessness. (Psalms 103:10,11; Hebrews 8:12; Luke 9:62; Philippians 3:14)

Throughout the first and second letters of Peter is threaded this effectual understanding of Father's purpose for having chosen you to follow His Son. Ponder these verses in light of our Lord speaking to you through them:

"You have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by His blood... who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time...
for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 
Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; rest your hope fully on the grace that is to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed.
Since you call on a Father who judges each man’s work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear... 
You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light" (1 Peter 1:2,5,9,13,17; 2:9).

There are some essential biblical truths here to help you keep pressing onward to that glorious goal: • God chose you, you didn't choose Him. • The Spirit in you is sanctifying you to become more like Jesus so that you'll readily live with Him as Lord of your life. • As you press on in obedient trust, Father will guard your faith no matter what you face. • You are still on a pilgrimage to your salvation; earth is not your home. • Be prepared to harness your thoughts so that you don't give way to temptation. Thoughts precede actions, so align yours with the Spirit! • Your works, whether righteous or disobedient, will be judged by Father. Out of reverent fear of His holiness and power, live as a stranger to the world's ways and values. • You're called as one who is owned by Him to declare His praises through both worship and personal testimony. • He has called you out of the darkness of sin's ways; don't give way to compromise that rationalizes sin in your life.

You've probably heard a lot about "Tebowing" in the news lately. Tim Tebow, the young quarterback for the Denver Broncos, refuses to hide his faith whether on the field or off. Both teammates and opponents attest to the fact that he lives what he speaks. Through one man's stand for Jesus, Tim has become known throughout the sports world and beyond—admired by some, hated by others. How many folks know about your relationship with Jesus? Are you willing to face the mockery Tebow faces for standing for Someone he loves and serves (1Peter 4:14-16)? Put another way, are you a "closet Christian," or one whose light is like a city on a hill, seen by all (Matthew 5:14-16; 10:32,33)?

"Free the Captives!"

In our December 26, 2011 e-mail we wrote:
"We're working on a new project that will require a whole new technical capability to be effective. There's a particular reason for this new assignment from our Lord. Our hearts have been deeply affected by the accounts our friend Patrice has shared about her crime-ridden, inner-city neighborhood in Cleveland. Also, our friend Matt volunteers in a youth detention center and we're burdened to help him be more effective in his ministry. Please pray for us as we research and try to learn new software programs to bring this new work about!"

In 1994, upon our arrival back from Israel, our Father directed us to "Free the captives!" It has taken these years to unwrap our understanding as to the extent of His command. This past month or so I (Mike) have discovered that our Lord has rekindled a burden I've carried since boyhood, a heart concern I inherited from my Mom and her father: I am compelled to help those who are being discriminated against, despised, or hobbled in any way that robs them of the dignity God wants them to experience. We discuss this issue in our December 2000 Newsletter, To Act Justly and to Love Mercy. When Jesus speaks of seeking out lost sheep (Luke 15:4), that describes our hearts!

We've often said that "our ministry was born" at a black church in Birmingham, Alabama, as we saw our Lord move mightily to bring spiritual freedom during a weekend seminar we conducted there. In the late 90s we shared the Hebraic foundations in the Watts area of Los Angeles with some whose hearts also yearned for the disenfranchised to be lifted in the love and power of Jesus. In 2000 we delivered the Hebraic foundations to Indian reservations throughout the west, and addressed a gathering of First Nations in Calgary, Canada. We long for those who have been beaten down and robbed of dignity to experience the spiritual and emotional freedom Jesus promises those who are in Him.

We're currently learning how to visually illustrate the Hebraic foundations to reach the inner cities, the impoverished, Native Americans on reservations, the incarcerated and any others who are locked in a cycle of hopeless despair. Some of these arenas have been touched by "Christian charity" over the years. But few have been impacted by the love which only someone filled with the love of Jesus can demonstrate—the love that hugs a leper!

We live in the second most crime-ridden area of Colorado Springs. Murders, drug deals, house break-ins and other violent crimes are a frequent occurrence within a few blocks of our home. But we know that our Lord brought us to this neighborhood for several important purposes. One that stands out to us as we walk to the library, the pharmacy, or Walmart is that the hardened people we pass on the sidewalks and in the stores deserve to be greeted with the love of Jesus. They are made in God's image and loved by Him! Over the years it's meant a lot to us to encounter individuals who once regarded us with suspicion now looking forward to greeting us. Some have even introduced themselves! And with some we've had the privilege to share the ONE we love above all others, Jesus.

Most of our ministry now takes place through the Internet. That venue can entice you into becoming insular and unconcerned for the people around you. We generally don't drive unless we have to, so our Lord Jesus has used our walking to keep us intermingling with the people in our neighborhood, souls He died for. Through our living here, He has kept alive in us His burden for all people to experience the freedom only He can give. That impels us to find creative ways to reach them. (By the way, please continue to pray that the VA would schedule Mike's knee replacement soon, or that Father would use some means of His choosing to correct the problem. Walks can be painful experiences since he never knows when his knee will lock up.)

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.
Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
Martin Luther King, Jr.

On Martin Luther King's birthday commemoration two days ago, the Holy Spirit gave me (Mike) a prophetic word concerning how He intends to use Patrice and her sister, Rhonda, in Cleveland's inner city. The Civil Rights Movement was needed because it was time to stand up to oppression. But as essential as the Movement was, it was mostly based on human effort. Thus it didn't end discrimination nor did it free the spirits and souls of people. Decades later many have come to understand that true freedom can't be achieved through human effort alone. Now they are more receptive to hear about the freedom only the forgiveness and power of Jesus can bring. Possibly this is the intent of Paul's observation, "the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual" (1 Corinthians 15:46). After I related this message with Patrice, she cried. When Rhonda heard this word she broke into tears of hope and joy too. Earlier that very morning Patrice and Rhonda had been praying together, and what I shared is what the Spirit had already told them. That confirmation brought grateful praise to God from all of us for His wonderful mercy!

We're especially burdened that the cycle of boys and girls growing up without a father come to an end. We're grieved that fornicating children are bearing children, a situation that breaks God's heart. The welfare system today only encourages this deadly cycle, and without the power of God it will only continue. God's people need to focus on the demonic enslavement of the men who have been held captive to strongholds and toxic memories for generations. It's through the men that we can end this vicious cycle and fulfill God's Word spoken to Zachariah, apperceiving His prophecy to Malachi: "And he [John] will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord” (Luke 1:17). So much emphasis within religious circles is placed on helping women and children, but with an underlying contempt for the men. This fragmented approach isn't how our Lord would minister! He is looking to restore households headed by Spirit-led men—whole families who can then reach out to others in need.

Our Lord has called Patrice, now in her 50s, to remain single to serve Him in such a time as this. Assisted by her sister Rhonda, they are providing us with the life stories of their relatives and others who live in the inner city. On her own street she regularly sees young men openly toting guns. Just this past week her prayers were interrupted by nearby gunfire! The boarded-up vacant buildings near her house are used by men who grab girls off the street and rape them. Crime and lawlessness surround her. Yet still she and Rhonda reach out to young and old alike to teach them the Hebraic foundations of the Lord they love and trust.

Last week a dear friend of ours provided Patrice with a laptop so she can record these life stories for us to use. Her own father's testimony has been used by our Lord to bring about amazing healing that's rippling throughout her family! The laptop will also facilitate her production of materials she can use with others, whether individuals, schools or community opportunities. Patrice has previously held positions of responsibility and influence in her area, and has the respect of many for both her faith and her integrity. Laid off from her job a few years ago, she's been caring for her invalid mother. At the same time she's been making repairs herself to their home due to a house fire set by a disgruntled relative.

In order for her to interact with our materials, Patrice must have Internet access. At the same time, she needs help with daily living expenses. During our 34 years of ministry, only once before have we asked those whom we've helped to help someone else. Our Lord has put in our hearts to ask those of you who are blessed by what we've shared for the financial help Patrice needs. Our heart's desire is that you help her so she can help us reach those of whom our Lord speaks: "'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me'" (see Matthew 25:34-40).

Please pray about this. If the Holy Spirit prompts you to help, consider sending her monthly support, though a one-time gift would help too. The Spirit knows her needs, and He knows what to prompt each person to give to meet that need.
You can send your gift directly to her:
Patrice Marshall
1673 East 82nd Street
Cleveland, Ohio  44103

And, please remember to pray for her and Rhonda as you pray for the two of us. Thank you!
Mike & Sue

January 10, 2012

Dear Friends,
Our next Teaching E-mail, 59. Jesus Is Calling You To Lead, is available for download. In this lesson we reflect on hindrances many face that keep them from diligently obeying our Lord's command to lead others to Him and to disciple them through actively involving themselves in their lives. Too many of our Father's children don't perceive WHY He has put them in their particular neighborhood, workplace or school. As you'll see, the biblical way of leading isn't based on ecclesiastical position, but on a way of life in Christ that can be reproduced in the lives of others.

“Hear, O My people, and I will warn you —
if you would but listen to Me...!” (Psalms 81:8).

Prior to his homegoing to Lord Jesus last year, David Wilkerson spent decades expressing prophetic warning to this land through his Pulpit Series Newsletters. While some of the disasters God spoke through him have already transpired, the worst is yet to happen! The Bible makes clear that our loving and long-suffering Father has a delay time between His prophetic warnings and His season of chastisement so that people might repent and change their ways. (See, for example, the Book of Jeremiah.) Presently God has been warning His people for some time. Please, don't be presumptuous and wait until the chastisement actually takes place to repent and live a life pleasing to Him. As with ancient Judah and Jerusalem, presuming on a relationship with Him that's in name only is a pathway to destruction!

During Mike's many years of counseling clergy, he discovered just how many of these men despised David Wilkerson and his forthright prophecies. They feared his confrontation of lukewarmness and people-pleasing leaders, so they tossed out the messenger along with his messages. Think about that...

If you've haven't been on Wilkerson's mailing list in the past, you can read his warnings by going to:
<http://www.worldchallenge.org/en/pulpit_series_newsletters>. On this page go to the right under the "Search Filter." We recommend clicking on the year starting in 1992. Let the Spirit of Christ guide you to the warnings He wants you to read, asking Him for confirmation and revelation of how He would have you respond.

“Whom shall I send? And who will go for Us?”
And [we] said, “Here [we are]. Send [us]!”  Isaiah 6:8

Almost 18 years ago our Father entrusted to us a prophetic ministry—to make known the Hebraic foundations He is restoring to the Gentiles as He returns the Jewish people to Israel as He promised. If you're not accustomed to a prophetic voice, we want to take a moment to help you understand what makes prophecy different from most pulpit teaching which focuses on imparting biblical information.

When Father recruits someone His Spirit has gifted with prophecy to deliver a word from Him, it is with the intent that His people would respond and take action. This is the scriptural pattern—to hear with the intent to follow through. Through a prophetic word you’re either being told to act so that you may fulfill His particular purpose, or you’re being warned to stop a sinful action. To hear a word that has been tested and confirmed and do nothing about it leaves you sinning against our Lord.

In general, the prophetic ministry is twofold. When people consistently ignore or violate His commands, God sends a prophet to point the way back. The message the prophet is given is intended to be like a stop sign. The message apprises people of what God wants them to stop doing, and often discloses the drastic consequences if they fail to heed His warning. Like parents who love their children and correct them when they're doing wrong, our Father warns His people about the painful repercussions they'll experience if they continue to willfully sin against Him.
The other side of prophecy is to strengthen, encourage and comfort (1 Corinthians 14:3) those who are doing Father’s will. God often sends a prophetic voice when those who are carrying out His will are facing adversity because of their obedient trust. This was the situation when Ezra returned to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple (Ezra 5:1,2; 6:14).

• When God’s people fear Him in holy awe and keep His Word out of loving trust, a prophet is an encouragement to them. (See Malachi 3:16,17, for example.)
• When God's people don’t fear Him and consistently violate His Word, they fear the prophet and try to discredit or destroy him. (See Jeremiah 26:7,8.)

As we’ve mentioned in previous teachings, all prophecy should be tested and confirmed: “Do not put out the Spirit’s fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good” (1 Thessalonians 5:19-21). The source of all true prophecy is the Spirit of Jesus (Revelation 19:10), and His Spirit within His followers will confirm a prophetic word and guide them into what they should do in response.

A Personal Note:
We're delighted when people who encounter what we’ve been given to share test it with the Spirit of Christ to see if it conforms to His Word! Because they're trusting the Spirit of Christ to make it plain, they then go forth bearing fruit to our Father's glory. The two of us sense our Father’s deep mercy as He's revealing His desire for His children to live in Covenant union with Him through the Hebraic foundations. In 1 Thessalonians 2:8,11-13 the apostle Paul wonderfully captures our own heart motives as we share these truths, and as those who read or hear them follow through to KNOW whether they are from God.

Do You Know Where You're Going?
Do You Know How to Lead Others There?

Richard Wurmbrand, founder of Voice of the Martyrs, regarded in a very hopeful light those who considered him their enemy because of Jesus. He wrote of this perspective in his book, Tortured for Christ:
"But looking at men like this—not as they are, but as they will be—I could also see in our persecutors a Saul of Tarsus—a future apostle Paul. And some have already become so. Many officers of the secret police to whom we witnessed became Christians and were happy to later suffer in prison for having found our Christ. Although we were whipped, as Paul was, in our jailers we saw the potential of the jailer in Philippi who became a convert. We dreamed that soon they would ask, 'What must I do to be saved?' In those who mocked the Christians who were tied to crosses and smeared with excrement, we saw the crowd of Golgotha who were soon to beat their breasts in fear of having sinned.
It was in prison that we found the hope of salvation for the communists. It was there that we developed a sense of responsibility toward them. It was in being tortured by them that we learned to love them. A great part of my family was murdered, and it was in my own house that their murderers were converted. It was also the most suitable place."

Most of us who follow Jesus in this country aren't being persecuted for our faith. Yet, we must learn the lesson our brothers and sisters have mastered who have been tortured for their trust in Him: to see those around us not as they are, but as they will be. This kind of understanding calls for your own full assurance of your eternal life in Christ as you press on to follow Him. And, as demonstrated by the faithful perseverance of those who are suffering for His Name, that you're willing to do whatever is necessary to help others join in that journey to the narrow gate.

Our Lord commanded, “Going [through life], make disciples...” (Matthew 28:18-20), wherever He plants you. He means for you to lead others by biblical instruction for application and by your own way of life through which you reproduce yourself in the ones you disciple (1 Corinthians 4:17). Everyone who follows Jesus is commanded to do this! And, in order to lead others you come alongside, you need to know with firm confidence:
• To Whom you belong.
• The absolute truth of His Word.
• What He commands you as your Lord.
And all of this is wrapped in an unflinching willingness to be inconvenienced by those you lead, because it's your way of life you're sharing with them—putting the Bible into action, not just speaking it at them!

You need to perceive every relationship you have with an unbeliever through the motive of Jesus—that that person may spend eternity with Him. He loved them so much that He sacrificed Himself for them. Can you have any less love for them?

“Going [through life], make disciples...” is a call for you to lead others, preparing them to then be able to disciple and lead others too.  The leading we are speaking of is YOU living and reproducing your trust-based way of life and helping them unpack and put into practice God's Word for themselves. By your godly and obedient way of life and your biblical instruction to help them encounter God and His ways, you reproduce yourself—the Christ in you—in the spiritual sons and daughters you disciple (1 Corinthians 4:17). Again, everyone who follows Jesus as Lord is commanded to do this!

Remember that the foundation of a relationship with our heavenly Father is repentance—turning from sin whenever you’re convicted by the Spirit, and turning to Him for forgiveness in Jesus with intention of making His commands your way of life. Staying repentant out of loving, obedient trust is the glue that binds this glorious relationship together right up until we are welcomed into heaven (1 John 1:7-9).

As our Lord’s representative, your leading is based on you being actively involved in the lives of others, role modeling and instructing them in His Word into a way of life that pleases our Lord. By this personal interaction, they can witness the character and motives of Jesus that His Spirit has worked in you. They’ll also see how the commands of God’s Word have become your way of life. And by not pretending you’re perfect and not trying to hide character flaws that still need sanctification into Christ’s likeness, you’re leading them into a pattern of turning to Jesus for the grace and power to become more like Him. This way of life, and the way of life it produces in others, is holy and pleasing to God!

No matter how popular a method it is today, discipleship is not teaching the Bible at others. Discipleship is far more than mere talk that treats God's Word as an academic subject. Use the Bible as a holy resource to understanding the nature and ways of God and as the foundation for your redeemed relationship with Father through Jesus. But NEVER use His Word as an end in itself to be read and then forgotten until the next time you pick it up (see James 1:21-25). When you lead in the way Jesus did and intends for His followers to, you fully involve yourself in their lives and lead them by your example, which you are basing on His applied Word. Your pilgrimage of Christ-like development through His Spirit is a powerful testimony to others to encourage and strengthen them in their own walk of obedient trust (2 Corinthians 3:17,18).

If you’re to lead in the way our Lord calls for in His Word, you need to intentionally represent His loving concern for the salvation of those around you by what you do and what you say. Lead them to Him as the living and active Son of God, sharing yourself with them and instructing them in His reality as you equip them to explore His Word and put it into practice. Both your words and your actions should reflect the scriptural Lord you know and trust personally, not a vague Someone you know about.

If every person who claims to belong to Jesus would love their unbelieving relationship(s) as themselves (Luke 10:27) and take them under their care by coming alongside them in holy example as His ambassadors of truth, this nation might truly become “one nation under God.”

May this Teaching E-mail catapult you to responsive, Spirit-empowered action on behalf of the King you love and serve!
Mike & Sue

P.S. We do want to thank those of you who pray and fast for us. Our need was readily apparent as a result of Mike's recent operation (Dec. 29) and the serious complications that followed. From a human standpoint, it's been a journey through the shadow of death. But from a spiritual point of view, Father intervened powerfully when things seemed to grow ever more grave. Thank you for bearing the burden with us. Please don't stop!

December 26, 2011

Dear Friends,
We've attached Teaching E-mail 58. Do You Dare Ask Yourself? for you to prayerfully discuss with those close to you in Jesus. In this lesson we discuss several important questions which every one who would be true to Jesus needs to ask themselves. Sadly, over the years we've found many who are trapped by a fearful reluctance to ask Father for His will to be revealed. And how few are willing to follow through when they receive His answer.

“Conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether [we] come and see you or only hear about you in [our] absence, [we] will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel” (Philippians 1:27).

Since we first began to minister full-time in 1983, a great deal of our effort has been expended trying to shake people out of spiritual lethargy. In a sense, we function like the catfish that fishermen put in a tank of mackerel. The catfish prod the mackerel to keep swimming because if they stop, they'll die. We can assure you that it isn't easy being "catfish"!

While we were administrating and teaching at a retreat center in eastern Connecticut (1983-93), the television news reported that two thousand satanists were moving into Connecticut to “take the state for Satan.” As small as it is, Connecticut for years had been #1 in per capita income in the nation. For those who recognized and understood spiritual warfare, the satanic underpinning was readily apparent. And, the efforts of a few believers to voice their concerns and to mount an effectual offensive proved fruitless.

Initially, satanism entered companies and businesses through the guise of personal growth seminars that incorporated eastern mysticism and meditation. The satanic control over these companies grew, and formerly pleasant work places became oppressive. Several financially sound companies ultimately filed for bankruptcy. The Wall Street Journal questioned the bankruptcy of one particular Connecticut company, especially the disappearance of $11 million of company assets at the hands of two “mysterious strangers”. Since Mike counseled church leaders and many congregations used our retreat center, we encouraged them to join with other believers in the affected companies to intercede against the demonic takeover. Creedal differences and clergy opposition, however, separated these individuals and rendered any efforts ineffective.

In one of the largest Baptist congregations in the state, a woman satanist became superintendent of the Sunday school. She’d been sent to “water down” the curriculum. If it hadn’t been for the spirit of discernment in one person, this satanist would have gotten away with her insidious assignment. How many other faith communities have been weakened and overcome by the devil because Christians are so lethargic and passive? And how many “Christians” have been duped into embracing satanically-inspired teachings that water down God's Word?

Often we two feel like the Jewish people in Nazi “labor camps” during World War II who struggled futilely to awaken others inside and outside the camp to its real function as a prison of death. During our struggle to rally Christians against the satanist incursion, a close friend was given this allegory from the Spirit concerning our efforts:

A Parable of War
(by Paul Knight, ca. 1986)

“We were sitting outside the village frustrated. We had been enlisted to defend and win the allegiance of the members of the village for the Crown. But there seemed to be so little response to the consistent goodness of the throne. We, the soldiers of the King, were growing tired, and apathy was around us like a dense fog.
It was then that we heard the blast of the horns warning us that they were advancing. The Enemy, whom we had grown to hate and despise, was advancing his troops close to the village.
We knew full well that the enemy and his workers were ruthless. They breathed the fire of hatred. As the others around us began to speak, we knew that the village we were caring for and seeking to win would be devastated. One of the female soldiers with us began to cry out in alarm for the innocent children who would be devoured in the jaws of wickedness and deprivation. Her voice cracked with fear and urgency, for she had been one of their prisoners. Her scars, emotional and physical, were still fresh.
Those around the woman, knowing that the King had prepared us with a power far beyond that of our enemy’s, stood in resolve to fight. We shouted to our fellow soldiers to stand and bear arms for the King, to defend the village and to fight against the advance of the army.
We sent messengers into the village, sounding warnings again and again that the enemy would take prisoners. We testified to the tactics of the enemy and to the promised care for those who follow the King. Some followed and took up arms with us. We resolved to defend to the end those left and to continue begging their enlistment under the King’s banner.
When we returned to our camp outside the village, we again tried to rally our fellow soldiers to stand and to prepare for battle. The enemy had landed and was advancing with greater strength. We could hear the hellish cries of those who were being taken and those who so joyously performed the enemy’s deeds of war. From the infants to the aged, we knew that they would be trampled and put in bondage. Untold horrors would be their fate. We again cried out to our fellow soldiers to stand and to fight.
A few of us ran to our fellow soldiers and with tear-filled eyes begged them to stand and to bear arms. But the fog had grown so thick, it seemed not only to block their vision but to silence our cries in their ears. They continued to rest and to talk.
One of our comrades was again explaining how to fight, how to use weapons. He was explaining the need to defend ourselves and the people of the village. With sweat on his brow and with great passion he began to lift our fellow soldiers up, urging them to stand. In panic he was running from person to person, propping them up, but they did not want to stand. In exhaustion, our comrade fell among them. We wept.
With greater determination we began to fight, still urging our fellow soldiers to stand. All around us the devastation, even of the King’s army, began to overwhelm us. Still we cried out to stand and to bear arms for the One Who cared for us. We shouted out the names of the villagers. With fading breath we called out, “Help us, please fight with us. The enemy is here!”

The "Parable of War" remains an accurate description of our ministry to this day. So few in Christendom are willing to question the manmade, biblically untrue teachings of their denominations or clergy systems. So many have been deceived into being more dedicated to their religious institution than to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. How great is the need for the organized clergy hierarchy to be eliminated, and biblical elders to be restored! And we'd love to still be alive to see the restoration of the biblical apostle, prophet, evangelist, and shepherd/teacher—the followers of Jesus He has appointed to equip and bring unity, and "to present every person complete in Jesus" (Ephesians 4:11-16).

For years we've been encouraging you to take your stand for the Jesus you love and serve among those you encounter. We've encouraged you to question your faith practices, and discern if any do not align with God's Word. We've encouraged you to look inside yourself to the Spirit of Jesus, the ONLY One Who can guide and empower you so that you can do Father's will. Yet so many are halfhearted, looking to drink deeply of the world's pleasures while trusting in their religious veneer to make them acceptable to Father. Please, don't let 2012 arrive with you personifying this category.

If you are purposing to live each day as our Lord's much-loved slave and friend, we rejoice in your obedient trust. It's not easy in this greedy, ME-based culture, and we know firsthand how lonely it can be. From all over the world we continue to hear from those who love our Lord with all their heart and soul but find themselves wondering if anyone else around them is dedicated to living in the Lordship of Jesus. You find yourself identifying with the souls under the altar who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. During their seemingly unending wait, they called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until You judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?” (Revelation 6:10). But how long-suffering He is in wanting none to be lost but all to repent! We must wait a little longer until the last responsive one runs to His fold...

Mike & Sue

P.S. We're working a new project that will require a whole new technical capability to be effective. There's a particular reason for this new assignment from our Lord. Our hearts have been deeply affected by the accounts our friend Patrice has shared about her crime-ridden, inner-city neighborhood in Cleveland. Also, our friend Matt volunteers in a youth detention center and we're burdened to help him be more effective in his ministry. Please pray for us as we research and try to learn new software programs to bring this new work about!

We'd also appreciate your prayers as Mike awaits two surgeries, one next week and a knee replacement in the near future. Also, his medical providers continue to believe he may have a tumor on his pituitary gland at the base of his brain, as he has many of the symptoms. He has a follow-up appointment at the VA Hospital in late Jan. Thank you for coming alongside us before our Father's throne of mercy!

December 14, 2011

Dear Friends,
Our next Teaching E-mail, 57. Our Father's Children Bear His Burden, is available. We encourage you to use this E-mail as a platform for discussion with those in the faith whom you'll talk with during the holidays. This lesson focuses on our Lord's command for His own to make disciples. We hardly encounter anyone today who is intentionally making disciples through a motive of loving and grateful obedience to their Lord. God is shaking everything that can be shaken, but most self-proclaimed Christians are more concerned with their own well-being than with the salvation of those they know. Contemporary discipleship seems to have borne little lasting fruit. That's because the methods currently employed in discipleship have nothing to do with our Lord's intent or methodology:

“All authority in heaven and on earth was given to Me. GOING therefore, disciple ALL THE NATIONS, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, TEACHING THEM TO OBSERVE all things that I COMMANDED you; and behold, I am WITH you all the days until the completion of the age” (Matthew 28:18-20, literal translation).

In the mid-1980s during a clergy breakfast at our retreat center in Connecticut, one of the men dejectedly complained, "I don't think God is in the business of salvations any longer!" He hadn't seen one new convert in his congregation for years. His entire flock was satisfied with just attending  services and enjoying social activities. What saddened my heart so much was that no one else sitting there that morning refuted his statement. Nor did anyone ask what changes they could make so that people would encounter Jesus as Savior and Lord in their congregations.

It's weighed heavy on our spirit that on our journey of 34 years of following Jesus we've met so few whose hearts are burdened to disciple others as our Lord calls for. Even now, most of the people who contact us want help to improve their own situation or deal with their problems. Only a few are interested in coming alongside others to help them live a life that pleases our Lord. Something is dead in Christendom today, and it must be breaking our Father's heart. So many who consider themselves "Christians" have become so satiated with complacency and worldly compromise that they've created their own 'god of greasy grace' — a deity devoid of righteous standards who doesn't require anything of them. Their self-designed god only wants them to be happy and to try to be "good", since after all, "everyone's going to heaven" (except "bad" people). Tragically, they'll meet this 'god' someday, somewhere outside heaven where they'll be apart from Jesus FOREVER!.

Paul took note of the violent and wicked lives of those around him and summed up the root cause: “There is no fear of God before their eyes” (Romans 3:18; also, Ecclesiastes 8:13). How rare it's become for anyone these days to walk in the holy and reverent fear of God that the Bible so often proclaims. Even if for this reason alone should we fear God as Jesus points out: "But I will show you Whom you should fear: Fear Him Who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear Him" (Luke 12:5). The fear that God will cast into hell forever the wicked and unrepentant should burden us with a deep concern for those who have not yet become our Father's children through union in Christ. Does it burden you???

Paul grieved time and again for his people, the Jews, who so stubbornly resisted intimacy with God: "But their minds are made dull, for to this day the same veil remains..." (2 Corinthians 3:14). This same veil of dull stupor covers the hearts and minds of a large part of Christendom in this nation. Today, the resistance to repentance is widespread among so many who consider themselves "Christian." When we first became followers of Jesus in the late 1970s, most of the Christians we met were wholehearted in their relationship with Jesus, and ready to repent if they became aware of something in them that violated God's Word. Today, people's hearts resist any input or change regarding God's role in their life; they're dull to evil because they enjoy it so much (see John 3:19,20).

You'll see in this Teaching E-mail that making disciples flows from the burden of love in our Father's heart—the salvation of all mankind. It is because of His grace and mercy that He made it possible for sinful mankind to be reconciled to Him in Christ. Jesus bore His Father's burden during His entire earthly stay, and it was that burden for souls He passed on to the disciples He made. They in turn passed on the Father's burden to their disciples. But somewhere along the centuries the Father's burden was lost as institutional religion substituted rituals and rules for intimacy with Father and His will. Multitudes are now traveling the broad road to hell because people who think they belong to Him care not one bit for Father's heart's desire. Can someone belong to Him—be indwelled by His Spirit — and not have His burden? Are you one of these?

As we were completing this e-mail we spied a proclamation in the November-December 2011 Mission Frontiers magazine: "Our job is to make disciples who can make disciples, not just to get people saved but to bring every person into a life transforming relationship with Jesus that is able to bring transformation to all.... We must proclaim a gospel where every aspect of life is submitted to the Lordship of Jesus." (emphasis added)

Our hearts are heavy that some on our mailing list may hear that terrible rebuke from Jesus: “Don't call Me, ‘Lord, Lord.’ You will not enter the kingdom of heaven, because you did not do the will of My Father. Your religious acts will count for nothing” (paraphrase of Matthew 7:21-23). Please take a close look at your life and ask yourself:
• "What is there in me that would evidence that I bear the Father's burden for the salvation of others?"
• "Do my conversations with others in the faith concern reaching the lost around me?"

If your answers point to self-absorption and disregard for the eternal state of others around you, ask Father to convict you by His Spirit so that your heart will break for the things that break His heart.
Mike & Sue
2 Corinthians 5:9-11

P.S. We want to let you know about a new page on our website: Bible Mis-translations.
Translators of the Bible have often been constrained by various rules imposed on them by those who ordered the translation to be done. And, translations have on occasion been influenced by denominational bias which also leads to distortion of various words or passages of Scripture. We go back to the original text and explain some of the errors we consider to be detrimental to your understanding of what God intended.

In light of the present darkness this nation is experiencing, we thought you might be blessed in reading two of David Wilkerson's teachings from 1994 and 1995:
God's Hidden Last-days Army! <http://www.worldchallenge.org/en/pulpit_series_newsletters?filter0=&filter1=6&filter2=1994>
The Church Isn't Ready for Revival! <http://www.worldchallenge.org/en/pulpit_series_newsletters?filter0=&filter1=2&filter2=1995>

December 1, 2011
Teaching Email 56. It's Time For The Righteous To Take A Stand (Part 2)

Dear Friends,
Teaching E-mail 56. It’s Time For The Righteous To Take A Stand (Part 2), is attached. In this teaching we cite a man of God you may have never heard of, George Whitefield. An 18th century contemporary of Jonathan Edwards, Whitefield's heart overflowed with loving dedication to his Lord and to God's Word. Determined that others might encounter Jesus as Lord through his preaching, he untiringly answered the call and lead multitudes to repentance. This man of humble beginnings was used by his mighty God to strengthen and further the Great Awakening that so profoundly impacted the society of that day.

As we were writing about George Whitefield we were keenly aware that so many often focus on what others did, but fail to examine why they did it.

During our years of ministry we've found
that when you take the time to understand
the motive of a person you admire,
you then find yourself influenced by
what inspired them to act so boldly.

What separates an opinionated person and a person who stands up for their convictions is this: the latter has such an emotional intensity and heart certainty in what they know to be true that they're willing to pay any cost to represent it—especially in matters of spiritual life. The opinionated we've encountered in Christendom over the years, however, are like shifting sand. While they may believe certain biblical truths to be valid, they hardly ever stand up to defend these before other people.

We've met scores in their own personally customized Christianity who have created a concept of a god they prefer to the One proclaimed in the Bible. But even many who believe what God's Word says are hindered by what others will think if they represent Jesus and His Word as absolute, inviolable truth. Because this culture tolerates everything except the Bible and its identification as the only revelation of God, professed believers who compromise with the world fear the disapproval of those who object. No matter what situation you face, fear of others will always be a snare (Proverbs 29:25) — and snares are designed to lure or tempt you to sin against God!

Holding tenaciously to your convictions will always cost you. Yet your willingness to suffer the consequences those convictions might trigger verifies how firmly convinced you are about the truth you hold. This is the heart stance of an authentic follower of Jesus, one that will frequently cause others to reject and even persecute you for representing Jesus as the only LORD. Out of loving mercy our Father makes sure you're warned ahead of time about these repercussions:
• "Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man" (Luke 6:22).
• "All men will hate you because of Me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved" (Mark 13:13).
• “We must through many tribulations to enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22).
• "In fact, EVERYONE who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted" (2 Timothy 3:12).

Perhaps you realize that you don't have a deep love for Lord Jesus and His Word that encompasses your heart and soul. It may be that you've spent too much time developing biblical opinions that indulge your mental reflexes rather than taking a stand on your convictions to express the depth of feeling in your heart for the One you purport to love. So many of today's sermons and Bible studies examine Scripture through an academic lens to be talked about and filed away in your brain's recesses. But Christ would have you devour His Word and apply it as His very infusion of life — a "love letter" from His Father of responsive, loving obedience that impels you to stand up for that Word.

In the coming Dark Days of Chastisement, don't let this sad commentary be said of you: "Since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the Word, he quickly falls away" (Matthew 13:21). Responsive and grateful "heart soil" produces deep convictions about both your relationship with Jesus as your Lord and the veracity of His Word. That's the telling evidence that you belong to Him! Why don't you prayerfully seek someone today with whom you can share your convictions, verifying their authenticity in your own life?

"Remember those earlier days after you had received the light,
you endured a hard struggle with sufferings"
(Hebrews 10:32,CJB).

This nation recently celebrated Thanksgiving. While you may have been caught up in all the feasting and cozy feelings of the day, did you pause to consider how the first Thanksgiving came about? We don't mean the presidential proclamation of 1863. We're referring to the Pilgrims themselves who were wholly committed to their Lord. What do you know about their convictions?

The Pilgrims were a 17th century group of English dissenters known as Separatists who fled persecution under Queen Elizabeth I and her successor, King James I. In her quest to firmly establish the Church of England as THE CHURCH, the queen purposed that all religious groups conform to Anglican ecclesiastical standards. The Separatists, however, were determined to worship God and follow His Word and their conscience, fully committing themselves to base their lives on the Bible. Most of the Separatists were without social or political standing, wielding little influence on those who lived by the world's ways and church establishment rules (see 1 Corinthians 1:26 for a parallel).

Taking a stand for Jesus according to the way His Spirit would work in and through you will never find popular acceptance, as the Separatists could testify. But this rejection came as no surprise to them, for God's Word had prepared them in the way He intends it to speak to us today:
"And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through His own blood. Let us, then, go to Him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace He bore. For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come" (Hebrews 13:12-14).

The Bible is filled with examples of those who DID take a stand for their God. Our own experience as His followers as well bears witness to this unassailable truth: When you stand up for Him or His Word, He will stand with you. You may come to a point in which everyone around you belittles you or forsakes you because of your convictions for Christ. You may feel like the doors of heaven are closed to your prayers because you're seemingly standing alone. But your Father has taken notice of your steadfast trust, and He WILL ACT! Let's revisit that first Thanksgiving. Do you know who Squanto is? Do you know how God prepared this Native American beforehand in His sovereignty to be able to speak English and to serve through many trials himself as God's agent to help the struggling Pilgrims? To learn more about Squanto, go to <http://www.workersforjesus.com/f25-14.htm>.

Again, the remarkable story behind today's Thanksgiving celebration began with a called-out group of people whose dedication to their God far outweighed their fear of persecution. They took a stand for Him and His Word, and suffered greatly for it. And because their hearts were so devoted to Him in their stand for His great Name, our Lord delivered them. In light of this conviction that takes a stand for God and His Word, let's consider the upcoming Christmas holiday. You may be tempted to get caught up in warm, sentimental feelings as people get together around a twinkling tree or laden table (never mind the worldly chase after material gratification!). But we encourage you, take the time this year to fully grasp the purpose Jesus left the glory of His Father's side in order to become a man experiencing the weaknesses and temptations common to all of us humans. When you can appreciate His loving, self-sacrificial motives and the depth of your own sinful depravity, that realization may revolutionize how you LIVE FOR HIM, the One Who was born to DIE FOR YOU.

Prayerfully consider this:
The Bible indisputably affirms Jesus Christ as both Savior and Lord (2 Peter 3:2,18). But too many confine their Christianity to His role as the One Who saves, disregarding the Bible's call to live with Him as Lord of their lives. Jesus accomplished His prophetic purpose and call as Savior on the cross two thousand years ago. That work is finished. You appropriate His once-for-all-time redemption by trusting in His shed blood to pay the penalty your sins require. The role of Jesus as your Lord is evidenced as you serve Him as His beloved slave and friend. You enact this wondrous relationship by representing His mind and heart in actions that reflect His interests and perspective each day to those you interact with. The primary interest of our heavenly Father is the salvation of all mankind. And in this light, He calls you to bear His heart burden on behalf of those you care about and people you encounter as you go about each day's responsibilities.

The Spirit may have been trying to raise you up to take a stand for our Lord Jesus among those you already know or regularly encounter. Yet you've been placated into complacent passivity for so long that you're numb to their need for salvation. We urge you, confess your sin and repent!!! Cry out to our Lord to give you His heart for the souls He saw and loved as He hung on the cross! If His concern for the salvation of others is being overridden by your worldly concerns, then be assured you're either ignoring His Spirit or are not even indwelled by Him (see Romans 8:9). His Spirit in you would burden you with the burden of His heart. Please, don't deceive yourself because you attend services and find yourself content and comforted among a throng of others who are equally duped in their self-satisfaction. Conviction, like faith, is ALWAYS seen in the action it produces (James 2:17-26).

Pressing on with loving conviction,
Mike & Sue

November 25, 2011
Teaching Email 55. It's Time For The Righteous To Take A Stand (Part 1)

Dear Friends,
Every person who has ever followed Jesus as LORD of their life needed to respond to the Holy Spirit's conviction to detest their sins. When you turned from your sins in repentance and gratefully trusted in Jesus to save you from the penalty of God's just wrath, He also opened the way to be your LORD — to love and serve Him all the days of your life as His beloved slave and friend and brother or sister. Being sealed by His Spirit is such a glorious and personal relationship of covenant union as part of the family of Christ. Yet Father doesn't intend that you keep this relationship hidden away. He receives glory when you take a stand for His Son so that others can recognize His Lordship in and through you!

In Teaching E-mail 55. It’s Time For The Righteous To Take A Stand (Part 1) and the one to follow, we discuss the nature of taking a stand for our Lord. Jesus followers who have taken a stand in the past have changed nations and altered history! This process begins as you align your identification in Jesus according to His distinction between those who belong to Him in Spirit and those who don't; that is, recognizing how different are those who live repentantly in Him and those who don't. You either belong to the world, which is ruled by the prince of darkness, or you belong to the King of light!

How you respond to and interact especially with unrepentant relatives and friends can emotionally wear you out through misguided loyalty to those who aren't of the family of Jesus! He does intend that His love and power shine through you in your relationship with them. But in the fraility of your humanity, you can't squander the intensity of emotional support your brothers and sisters in Christ need from you on those whom Satan may be using to eat away at your emotional capacity.

We encounter many followers of Jesus whom Father is disciplining because of their compromise; their spiritual cowardice among unrepentant relatives and close friends results in apprehension and infighting in their own household. They allow their biblical goals and values to be belittled, and their spouses and children are left feeling exposed and vulnerable. Is this happening to you?

Please prayerfully use these this e-mail and the next to learn how to take a stand for Jesus as light in the darkness. Don't let your own faith walk get watered down out of fear of being disloyal to those who have yet to know Jesus as Lord.
Mike & Sue

November 8, 2011
Jesus Is LORD; Is He Yours?

Dear Friends,
We've attached Teaching Email 54. Isn’t It Time That Jesus BE Your Lord? If you've become a grateful, joyful slave of our Lord Jesus the way Paul and his fellow-workers identified themselves to the Colossians, you'll find this teaching an encouragement. But perhaps you're waffling, choosing to serve yourself first according to your own will and plans, using a veneer of religious participation to make you look acceptable to others and feel good about yourself. We hope you have the humility and courage to prayerfully go through this Teaching Email and cry out to Jesus for His intervention.

You may have left the Nicolaitan religious system (over 20 million have fled in recent years, hungering for a closer walk of obedient trust in Jesus as LORD), but perhaps you still don't understand how our Father wants to mold you to live according to His Kingdom purposes. Please, make sure you don't fall into the common trap of railing against or being embittered by your experiences in Nicolaitanism. Instead, press forward in loving confidence in your LORD, and eagerly receive and put into practice His character changes and spiritual anointing as you take part in extending the Kingdom of God.

"All these [anointings] are the work of one
and the same Spirit, and He gives them to each one,
just as He determines" (1 Corinthians 12:11).

If you, your spouse and those who will press on with you as beloved fellow-slaves (Colossians 4:7) of our Lord Jesus will mutually discern your spiritual anointing(s), you'll collectively discover how Father wants to use you as an expression of His body. Some giftings are like internal organs and work within a particular faith community, for example, shepherding, mercy, wisdom, and knowledge. Others anointings more resemble external body parts, reaching out beyond the faith family to impact others as apostle, prophet and evangelist.

The call of those who venture beyond the local faith community can be very lonely, and often disheartening because the nature of your ministry is so little understood by those comfortable in Nicolaitanism. When you're operating in these "external outreach" giftings, you're not routinely present with your faith community each week. This has been the nature of our ministry for almost 30 years. And if you're part of a Nicolaitan system, these three anointings are often a threat to the clergy and driven away. The apostle John addresses such a situation (3 John 1:5-10).

By His grace our Lord recruits beloved and faithful slaves to work in His Kingdom according to the internal and external anointings His Spirit has given. Both those with external anointings and those with internal ones must understand and appreciate one another in their differences rather than feel threatened or frustrated when their responses and outworking are so disparate. That's why there's only one Head, Jesus, who directs you to cooperate according to His purposes.
NOW is the time for you to see yourself and others close to you through the eyes of the Spirit. Then you'll recognize your anointings and what He has ordained as you mutually do your parts laboring together to extend the Kingdom.

"For you have spent enough time in the past
doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery,
lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry"
(1 Peter 4:3).

If you've ever studied European history prior to World War II, you know that few could really comprehend the underlying evil motives of Adolf Hitler and the rise of Nazism. The foremost voice of warning was Britain's Winston Churchill, who recognized that such evil needed to be forcefully confronted, not appeased. But in an attempt to placate Hitler, Britain ostracized Churchill from government influence until after the war had started, with devastation of cities and citizens alike the tragic aftermath. If you've been earnestly seeking the mind of our Lord about these present chaotic times, you're probably sensing that this nation is on the brink of a thundering catastrophic period. But as with Britain's blindness and deafness to what was happening around them, most who can in this country are scrambling to hold on to a nebulous figment of their imagination—"The American Dream."

Many would define their own "American Dream" as their quest for all the worldly pleasure and earthly security a person can obtain (1John 2:15-17). In the past, the American Dream had a "Christian" veneer: attending services regularly, celebrating religious holidays, and trying to "be a good person" allowed them to also run a parallel track of worldly success and personal prosperity. But that perspective is no longer functional (and certainly wasn't worthy then in the sight of our holy God!).

Throughout this nation Christianity has been disregarded as irrelevant and intolerant, the venue of "far-right extremists." The unabashed greed at all levels of society has been unmasked; the wealthy few strive to protect their opulent way of life, many by disguising themselves as "conservatives." At the lower economic levels are those who demand what they haven't worked for, disguising it behind "social concern." Caught in the crossfire are the manifold victims of both demographics, people who didn't overextend themselves financially but lost their jobs through no fault of their own. At all levels of the financial and economic spectrum, the Word of God so clearly delineates how God would have those with much (or at least more, like 2 coats!) help those with little. But obedience to His Word has been abandoned. And as history has demonstrated time and again:

Whenever our God and His commands are discarded,
chaos (complete disorder and confusion) erupts
and ultimately leads to His judgment—
and at times,
the deliverance of a righteous remnant.

Take a lesson from history
You may be trapped in the false assumption that someone else will lead you out of the spiritual and economic quagmire you find yourself in. In Segments 36 thru 41 of our Way of the Lord series we discussed with you the theological hindrances that keep you from living with Jesus as LORD of who you are, how you live, and what you do. Only you can leave behind these hindrances and begin to experience the life of a beloved and precious slave, sheep, friend, brother, sister of Lord Jesus.

Please, DONT look to the Federal government to get this nation out of its present crisis. IT WILL NEVER HAPPEN!! We've included some information below for you to see how God-dependent leaders of the past led this nation during a time of great crisis. We also thought you'd find interesting a testimony of how a hundred years ago some schools included in report cards an evaluation of each student's home life. What if you were required to fill out a report card on your home, your family interaction and the personal responsibilities of your children?

By the Hand of Providence: How Faith Shaped the American Revolution
by Rod Gragg (New York: Howard Books, 2011)

"The Continental Congress would continue to officially issue public calls for national days of prayer, fasting, and thanksgiving throughout the Revolution. The congressional practice followed a tradition established long before by America's colonial legislatures, which had often called on American colonists to confess personal and community sins, fast and pray for forgiveness, and prayerfully observe days of thanksgiving...  "Public days of prayer were based on biblical passages such as 2 Chronicles 7:14: "If My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land." (p. 127)
"Colonial Americans took such biblical admonition seriously. So did the Continental Congress. Even so, while the American people were asked to pray at times by Congress, they were never ordered to do so, following the biblical principle that faith should be modeled rather than forced. (p. 128)
"[Amid] the sinking morale that afflicted the American people in early 1778, the Continental Congress issued a public proclamation setting April 22, 1778, as a day of national fasting and prayer. ...It was the duty of the American people ...'to acknowledge God in all his ways, and more especially to humble themselves before him' and to 'forsake their evil ways, and implore his mercy' on America in its dark time of peril....The Continental Congress showed no reluctance to publicly and officially express a biblical faith, or to recommend that Americans pray in the name of Jesus Christ." (p. 132)

Obviously this isn't describing the leadership of this nation at this time, so don't look to them to get you out of however you're suffering in this sin-caused national mess. It's time for you to make sure that your own relationship with Jesus as your Lord is loving and responsively obedient. Talk this over with those you care about so that they, too, can examine the vitality of their faith walk in Jesus as their LORD and find spiritual shelter under His wings (Psalms 91:4).

You may also find eye-opening this article from the Colorado Springs Gazette, 10/2/11: A Report Card for Today's Parents — A century-old document redefining "education"

"Barbara Unell was sorting through the paperwork and personal items of her beloved Uncle Dan...when she came across a surprising artifact. It was his fifth-grade report card from 1914... The left side was labeled "School Report," with a typical list of elementary school subjects and his grades. But on the right side, carrying equal weight, was the "Home Report," with a list of "Home Activities" and assignments of each. The back cover contained a message from the superintendent: "The worth of a child cannot be measured in terms of 'Per cent' alone. The home life of the child is an important part of the whole life. The teacher's judgment will be a much better one if the home will kindly cooperate. Parents are asked to carefully consider and mark "Home Report" as indicated."...
Parents were asked to numerically log, for instance, "Books Read" and "Money Earned" for their child and grade him or her on such activities as ... "Care of Clothing,"... "Helping Mother, Helping Father,..."Obedience & Promptness" and "Habits of Kindness." Unell said, "It's the basic ingredients that define parenting, about being a mother and a father." Unell showed the report card to school administrators, teachers and parents, and the reactions were similar: "What happened to this? Can we get it back?"...
"The "home report" can be motivational for parents and children, Unell said. Children want to be held accountable for good behavior and love being rewarded for it. Adults appreciate the help in focusing their attention on what really matters in parenting... "It's exciting because it's not about punishing. It's about encouraging and promoting and validating. What would it be like to bring back a 'home report' not only across our community but across the country?"

Again, consider your home life from our Lord's perspective. Would Jesus commend you for what goes on within your walls? If He wouldn't, what do you need to change so that your family's activities and interaction there will be pleasing and honoring to Him?

When God wanted to show Himself powerful to the Israelites before He delivered them out of Egypt, He commanded them to place blood around the door of their homes (Exodus 12). During His judgment against the Egyptians, He wanted to make sure there was a distinction between His own and those He intended to punish. That same need for distinction is true today if we claim to belong to Jesus: every sin we've ever committed needs to be covered, placed under His blood through repentance. This is the ONLY way you can be cleansed from ALL unrighteousness (1 John 1:9), so make sure you've resisted any fleshly impulse to hold onto anything that violates His Word. No "hidden" areas of unrepentance escape His Fatherly eye!

Heed the words of the widow Naomi concerning her much-loved daughter-in-law and the opportunity that lay before Boaz to take her as his bride. Be as eager as that kinsman-redeemer to pursue the LORDship of Jesus in your life: "For the man will not rest until the matter is settled today" (Ruth 3:18). Until you're assured in your heart that Jesus is indeed your Lord and Master and King, set aside all other distractions. Please, prayerfully go through this Teaching E-mail and see if anything is holding you back from this crucial choice in your life. Do whatever is necessary to make it so...

Trusting in His faithfulness no matter what,
Mike & Sue