On the weekends, I usually pass on something that has been passed to me by a Fresh Manna reader. The following was recently sent to me. I hope it will bless you! In His Love, Pastor TimJames 2:18 "But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do."The Brush of LoveThe story starts out where she, Beth, is sitting at an airport terminal, waiting to board a plane. She was sitting there with several other people who were also waiting, whom she did not know. As she waited, she pulled out her Bible and started reading. All of a sudden she felt as if the people sitting there around her, were looking at her. She looked up, but realized that they were looking just over her head, in the direction right behind her.She turned around to see what everyone was looking at, and when she did, she saw a stewardess pushing a wheelchair, with the ugliest old man sitting in it, that she had ever seen before. She said he had this long white hair that was all tangled and such a mess. His face was really, really winkled, and he didn't look friendly at all.She said she didn't know why, but she felt drawn to the man, and thought at first that God wanted her to witness to him. In her mind she said she was thinking, "Oh God, please, not now, not here." No matter what she did, she couldn't get the man off of her mind, and all of a sudden she knew what God wanted her to do. She was supposed to brush this old man's hair.She went and knelt down in front of the old man, and said," Sir may I have the honor of brushing your hair for you?" He said," What?" She thought, "Oh great, he's hard of hearing. "Again, a little louder, she said," Sir, May I have the honor of brushing your hair for you?" He answered," If you are going to talk to me, you are going to have to speak up, I am practically deaf." So this time, she was almost yelling," Sir may I please have the honor of brushing your hair for you?"Everyone was watching to see what his response would be. The old man just looked at her confused, and said," Well, I guess if you really want to." She said," I don't even have a brush, but I thought I would ask anyway." He said," Look in the bag hanging on the back of my chair, there is a brush in there." So she got the brush out and started brushing his hair. (She has a little girl with long hair, so she has had lots of practice getting tangles out, and knew how to be gentle with him.) She worked for a long time, until every last tangle was out.Just as she was finishing up, she heard the old man crying, and she went and put her hands on his knees, kneeling in front of him again looking directly into his eyes, and said, "Sir, do you know Jesus?" He answered," Yes, of course I know Jesus. You see, my bride told me she couldn't marry me unless I knew Jesus, so I learned all about Jesus, and asked Him to come into my heart many years ago, before I married my bride." He continued," You know, I am on my way home to go and see my wife. I have been in a hospital for a long time, and had to have special surgery in a town far from my home. My wife couldn't come with me, because she is to frail herself." He said. "I was so worried about how terrible my hair looked, and I didn't want her to see me looking so awful, but I couldn't brush my hair, all by myself."Tears were rolling down his cheeks, as he thanked Beth for brushing his hair. He thanked her over and over again. She was crying, people all around witnessing this were crying, and as they were all boarding the plane, the stewardess, who was also crying, stopped her, and asked," Why did you do that?" And right there was the opportunity, the door that had been opened to share with someone else, the love of God. We don't always understand God's ways, but be ready, He may use us to meet the need of someone else, like He met the need of this old man, and in that moment, also calling out to a lost soul who needed to know about His Love.In His Love, Pastor Tim Burt http://www.freshman na.orgPublished by Pastor Tim BurtCopyright© 2007 Tim Burt , All rights reserved.
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Saturday, July 21, 2007
Monday, July 16, 2007
BEHOLD, I MAKE EVERYTHING NEW!
You people who do not yet have this recognition, who have not yet awakened the spirit within you, you do not know what is the meaning of these My Words; for you do not believe in the reshaping of this earth, you do not believe in the last judgment as the conclusion of an evolutionary period and the beginning of a new one.
You do not know anything of My salvation plan since eternities; wherefore, you do not understand My Words:
"Behold, I make everything new!"
Each of My words has a manifold meaning, which even My awakened ones do not know, because this recognition is still too high for the people of this earth. But clear to them is the simple meaning, namely, that I will revive what has left My everlasting Order. I will cause a change to come about, since the people of this earth are no longer striving for it, thereby failing in the purpose of their earth-life. They have failed by not using their lives for eternity.
Nevertheless, I will not let them get lost; I will give them another opportunity to walk once more upon the neglected course of evolvement.
For another course of evolvement means receiving a higher grace, that must be acquired by a raised effort, for which only new creations can offer the possibility. First of all, I will renovate the schoolhouse of the spiritual, My earth, which shall further the upward evolution till man. I shall provide the earth with entirely new creations of manifold kind and form, whereby new possibilities will be given to the most numerous spiritual entities to stand the test.
I shall cause a new kind of humanity to arise composed of human beings blessed by Me, who have consummated their spiritual evolvement in love and faithfulness to Me, who have attained to a degree of maturity, which makes possible a high, spiritual ministration so that the new humanity has all the guaranties for the highest possible perfection and that the spiritual, still bound, can quickly attain to an upward evolution through the most good influence which the people exercise upon all creations surrounding them.
" I make everything new!"
I will also soften the conditions for the release of the spiritual, however, not deviating from My law of the "everlasting order", only in deepest LOVE and COMPASSION caring for what is still living within compulsion.
All that oppresses will fall off from men; they will strive upward in fullest force because I alone am the most desired one for them and because they cannot be drawn into the deep by My opponent who is in fetters for a long time.
I shall make a new heaven and a new earth, that is, I make happy spiritually and materially the people who belong to Me and are expected to clear the way to Me also for their successors.
Who of you can comprehend this? And who of you believes firmly and without doubt that the old ceases to be?
Who believes that there will no longer be people who are still distant from Me, that only the small flock, which faithfully follows Me, their shepherd, will not lose its life, because I have blessed this small flock and destined it for a continued life in the paradise of the new earth? Who believes that a new chapter of release begins according to the salvation plan since eternities, which My LOVE and WISDOM have determined in order to guarantee everlasting life for all that is spiritual?
"Behold, I make everything new!"
You, who believe in Me, be conscious of these words, activate them in your hearts and know that the time has come when this Word will be fulfilled.
Believe in it firmly, be hopeful and bear all hard times which are still your lot until the end, do it with patience and devotion to My Will.
For the day will very soon come when I fetch the ones that are Mine in order to reveal to them of what is written: "I will make a new heaven and a new earth" and "I shall be in the midst of the ones who are Mine and will guide and teach them as I have promised."
Amen
Thursday, July 12, 2007
10 reason to Believe in Christ rather than religion
1. Christ Is Someone To Know And Trust
Christ is more than a system, tradition, or belief. He is a Person who knows our needs, feels our pain, and sympathizes with our weakness. In exchange for our trust, He offers to forgive our sins, to intercede for us, and to bring us to His Father. He cried for us, died for us, and rose from the dead to show that He was all He claimed to be. Conquering death, He showed us that He can save us from our sins, live His life through us on earth, and then bring us safely to heaven. He offers Himself as a gift to anyone who will trust Him ( John 20:24-31).
2. Religion Is Something To Believe And Do
Religion is believing in God, attending religious services, taking catechism, being baptized, and receiving communion. Religion is tradition, ritual, ceremony, and learning the difference between right and wrong. Religion is reading and memorizing Scripture, offering prayers, giving to the poor, and celebrating religious holy days. Religion is singing in the choir, helping the poor, and making amends for past wrongs. Religion is something that was practiced by the Pharisees, those Scripture-loving, conservative, separatistic, spiritual leaders who hated Christ enough to call for His death. They hated Him not only because He broke their traditions in order to help people (Matthew 15:1-9 ) but because He saw through their religion to their hearts
3. Religion Doesn't Change Hearts
Jesus likened the religious Pharisees to a group of dishwashers who clean the outside of a cup while leaving the inside dirty. He said, "Now you Pharisees make the outside of the cup and dish clean, but your inward part is full of greed and wickedness. Foolish ones! Did not He who made the outside make the inside also?" (Luke 11:39-40). Jesus knew that a person can change his image without changing his act ( Matthew 23:1-3). He knew that religious credentials and ceremony cannot change the heart. He told one of the most religious men of His day that unless a person is "born again" by the Spirit, he cannot see the kingdom of God (John 3:3). Yet from that day until now, many of the most religious people in the world continue to forget that while religion can give attention to outward appearance, only Christ can change the heart.
4. Religion Makes Much Of Little
Jesus spoke to religionists who had a passion for detail when He said, "Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue, and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone" ( Luke 11:42). Jesus saw our tendency to make rules and to focus on "morally correct" behavior instead of keeping our eyes on the bigger issue of why we are trying to be so right. While the Pharisees were big on knowledge carried out to its logical conclusions, they forgot that God doesn't care how much we know until He knows how much we care. It was this greater "why" that the apostle Paul had in mind when he wrote, "If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. . . . If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing" ( 1 Corinthians 13:1,3).
5. Religion Offers The Approval Of Men Rather Than God
Jesus reserved His strongest criticism for religious people who used their spiritual reputation to get social attention and honors. To such religionists Jesus said, "Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces" ( Luke 11:43). Then, speaking to His disciples, He said of the Pharisees, "All their works they do to be seen by men" ( Matthew 23:5). Jesus saw clearly into the practice of religion, which holds the opinions and attention of man to be more important and desirable than the approval of God.
6. Religion Makes Hypocrites Of Us
Jesus said, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like graves which are not seen, and the men who walk over them are not aware of them" ( Luke 11:44). What looks better than being dressed right, attending religious services, and doing things that mark us as decent, God-fearing people? Yet how many religious scholars, ministers, and faithful followers withhold honor and encouragement from their wives, attention from their children, and love from their doctrinal enemies? Jesus knew what we often forget: What looks good may have a heart of evil.
7. Religion Makes A Hard Life Harder
Because religion cannot change a heart, it tries to control people with laws and expectations that are not even kept by the religionists who interpret and apply the rules. With this "burden factor" in mind, Jesus said, "Woe to you also, lawyers [experts in religious law]! For you load men with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers" (Luke 11:46). Religion is good at describing high standards of right behavior and relationships, but poor at giving real and merciful help to those who realize they have not lived up to those expectations.
8. Religion Makes It Easy To Deceive Ourselves
It's been jokingly said, "I love humanity. It's people I can't stand." The Pharisees acted out a similar idea, but it wasn't funny. According to Jesus, the Pharisees prided themselves in honoring and building memorials to the prophets. The irony is that when they met a real prophet they wanted to kill Him. Barclay says, "The only prophets they admired were dead prophets; when they met a living one, they tried to kill Him. They honored the dead prophets with tombs and memorials, but they dishonored the living ones with persecution and death." This is the point Jesus made in Luke 11:47-51 and in a parallel passage in Matthew 23:29-32. The Pharisees had fooled themselves. They didn't think of themselves as prophet-killers. Religionists don't see themselves as the God-rejecting people they are.
9. Religion Hides The Key Of Knowledge
One of the greatest dangers of religion is that it causes us to be a danger not only to ourselves but also to others. To the very religious biblical experts of His day Jesus said, "Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter in yourselves, and those who were entering in you hindered" ( Luke 11:52). Religionists take away "the key of knowledge" by distracting people from the Word of God and from a "right attention of heart" by the unnecessary additions of denominationally correct traditions and expectations. Rather than leading people to God, religionists shift the focus to themselves and their own rules. Religionists are those who trust the beliefs and actions of their religion to do what only Christ can do.
10. Religion Leads Its Converts Astray
In Matthew 23:15 Jesus said, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves." Converts of religion are in double jeopardy. They bring a double enthusiasm to their new way of life, and with zeal they blindly defend their blind teachers. They put themselves in the trust of people who have exchanged a system of rules and traditions for the life, forgiveness, and relationship of an infinite Savior. Religion is important in its place (James 1:26-27), but only when it points us to the Christ who died for our sins and who now offers to live His life through those who trust Him (Galatians 2:20; Titus 3:5). cclose_98
Christ is more than a system, tradition, or belief. He is a Person who knows our needs, feels our pain, and sympathizes with our weakness. In exchange for our trust, He offers to forgive our sins, to intercede for us, and to bring us to His Father. He cried for us, died for us, and rose from the dead to show that He was all He claimed to be. Conquering death, He showed us that He can save us from our sins, live His life through us on earth, and then bring us safely to heaven. He offers Himself as a gift to anyone who will trust Him ( John 20:24-31).
2. Religion Is Something To Believe And Do
Religion is believing in God, attending religious services, taking catechism, being baptized, and receiving communion. Religion is tradition, ritual, ceremony, and learning the difference between right and wrong. Religion is reading and memorizing Scripture, offering prayers, giving to the poor, and celebrating religious holy days. Religion is singing in the choir, helping the poor, and making amends for past wrongs. Religion is something that was practiced by the Pharisees, those Scripture-loving, conservative, separatistic, spiritual leaders who hated Christ enough to call for His death. They hated Him not only because He broke their traditions in order to help people (Matthew 15:1-9 ) but because He saw through their religion to their hearts
3. Religion Doesn't Change Hearts
Jesus likened the religious Pharisees to a group of dishwashers who clean the outside of a cup while leaving the inside dirty. He said, "Now you Pharisees make the outside of the cup and dish clean, but your inward part is full of greed and wickedness. Foolish ones! Did not He who made the outside make the inside also?" (Luke 11:39-40). Jesus knew that a person can change his image without changing his act ( Matthew 23:1-3). He knew that religious credentials and ceremony cannot change the heart. He told one of the most religious men of His day that unless a person is "born again" by the Spirit, he cannot see the kingdom of God (John 3:3). Yet from that day until now, many of the most religious people in the world continue to forget that while religion can give attention to outward appearance, only Christ can change the heart.
4. Religion Makes Much Of Little
Jesus spoke to religionists who had a passion for detail when He said, "Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue, and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone" ( Luke 11:42). Jesus saw our tendency to make rules and to focus on "morally correct" behavior instead of keeping our eyes on the bigger issue of why we are trying to be so right. While the Pharisees were big on knowledge carried out to its logical conclusions, they forgot that God doesn't care how much we know until He knows how much we care. It was this greater "why" that the apostle Paul had in mind when he wrote, "If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. . . . If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing" ( 1 Corinthians 13:1,3).
5. Religion Offers The Approval Of Men Rather Than God
Jesus reserved His strongest criticism for religious people who used their spiritual reputation to get social attention and honors. To such religionists Jesus said, "Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces" ( Luke 11:43). Then, speaking to His disciples, He said of the Pharisees, "All their works they do to be seen by men" ( Matthew 23:5). Jesus saw clearly into the practice of religion, which holds the opinions and attention of man to be more important and desirable than the approval of God.
6. Religion Makes Hypocrites Of Us
Jesus said, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like graves which are not seen, and the men who walk over them are not aware of them" ( Luke 11:44). What looks better than being dressed right, attending religious services, and doing things that mark us as decent, God-fearing people? Yet how many religious scholars, ministers, and faithful followers withhold honor and encouragement from their wives, attention from their children, and love from their doctrinal enemies? Jesus knew what we often forget: What looks good may have a heart of evil.
7. Religion Makes A Hard Life Harder
Because religion cannot change a heart, it tries to control people with laws and expectations that are not even kept by the religionists who interpret and apply the rules. With this "burden factor" in mind, Jesus said, "Woe to you also, lawyers [experts in religious law]! For you load men with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers" (Luke 11:46). Religion is good at describing high standards of right behavior and relationships, but poor at giving real and merciful help to those who realize they have not lived up to those expectations.
8. Religion Makes It Easy To Deceive Ourselves
It's been jokingly said, "I love humanity. It's people I can't stand." The Pharisees acted out a similar idea, but it wasn't funny. According to Jesus, the Pharisees prided themselves in honoring and building memorials to the prophets. The irony is that when they met a real prophet they wanted to kill Him. Barclay says, "The only prophets they admired were dead prophets; when they met a living one, they tried to kill Him. They honored the dead prophets with tombs and memorials, but they dishonored the living ones with persecution and death." This is the point Jesus made in Luke 11:47-51 and in a parallel passage in Matthew 23:29-32. The Pharisees had fooled themselves. They didn't think of themselves as prophet-killers. Religionists don't see themselves as the God-rejecting people they are.
9. Religion Hides The Key Of Knowledge
One of the greatest dangers of religion is that it causes us to be a danger not only to ourselves but also to others. To the very religious biblical experts of His day Jesus said, "Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter in yourselves, and those who were entering in you hindered" ( Luke 11:52). Religionists take away "the key of knowledge" by distracting people from the Word of God and from a "right attention of heart" by the unnecessary additions of denominationally correct traditions and expectations. Rather than leading people to God, religionists shift the focus to themselves and their own rules. Religionists are those who trust the beliefs and actions of their religion to do what only Christ can do.
10. Religion Leads Its Converts Astray
In Matthew 23:15 Jesus said, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves." Converts of religion are in double jeopardy. They bring a double enthusiasm to their new way of life, and with zeal they blindly defend their blind teachers. They put themselves in the trust of people who have exchanged a system of rules and traditions for the life, forgiveness, and relationship of an infinite Savior. Religion is important in its place (James 1:26-27), but only when it points us to the Christ who died for our sins and who now offers to live His life through those who trust Him (Galatians 2:20; Titus 3:5). cclose_98
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