Dear
Present Truth Magazine Subscriber:
We
are glad to have you as a subscriber to our Present Truth Magazine. Below
you will find articles from individual authors who have written for our
magazine. Our prayer for all who
receive read these articles is that the Lord "...may give to you the
Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the
knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may
know what is the hope of His calling, and what are the riches of the glory of
His inheritance in the saints” (Ephesians 1:17-18).
Prophetic
Voices in America Today
by A. Wilson Phillips
Recently, while I was in
prayer and communion with Father God, He spoke some startling words to
me. He said, “Beware when all men speak well of you.” I
thought, “Now what’s that all about?” That sounds like something that
Jesus Christ, the Son of Man/God, said to His twelve disciples in His
adult life and ministry.
A short while later, I walked
into the office in my home to check the Scriptures to see if I was correct
about that word from Father God. Sure enough, Luke recorded that statement
in his gospel account of Jesus’ ministry. It read,
Woe to you when
all men speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the false prophets
(Luke 6:26).
During Jesus’ earthly ministry,
He demonstrated and declared the kingdom of God as His twelve disciples
observed. Some scribes and Pharisees also watched Jesus very closely. They
wanted to see if He would heal on the Sabbath so that they could bring an
accusation against Him (Luke 6:7). They did not speak well of Jesus.
I began to realize that in my
present ministry if all the religious leaders and theologians were
speaking well of me, I would be a false prophet, like those written about
in the Old Testament, and would be headed to destruction.
In every generation, God’s true
prophets have never been concerned about being popular. They are God’s
voice of truth. When the church of Jesus Christ ceases to be a prophetic
voice, society begins to become rotten in terms of biblical, moral
standards.
To be prophetic, we must see
into the spirit world as our heavenly Father does. We must be able to
speak the truth with divine wisdom and from a heart of divine love—love
that has been worked into the inner fabric of our own lives. True prophets
of God have a history with Him that is characterized by brokenness and
compassion. To speak prophetically and effectively, we must move from the
immature stages of operating in the gifts of the Holy Spirit and on into
the “more excellent way” the apostle Paul spoke of in the
Corinthian epistles.
The Corinthian Christians were
operating in the spiritual gifts with many signs, wonders, and miracles.
However, they were still very immature and proud. Pride deceives the human
heart (Obad. 3). Paul wanted to speak some deeper spiritual truths into
their lives, but they could not hear because they were carnal babes in
Christ. They were living like mere men. Therefore, Paul fed them with
milk and not solid food (1 Cor. 2:16-3:3).
In the second epistle, Paul’s
writings to the Corinthians emphasized more “life sharing” and building up
the “body of Christ” than the operation of “spiritual gifts.”
Paul’s calling and vision was
to see maturity come to the churches before the return of Jesus
Christ, because he knew they would be judged according to his gospel
(Rom. 2:16). Paul knew that there was about to be 1) the return of Jesus
Christ; 2) the arrival of His kingdom; 3) the resurrection of the dead;
and 4) the eternal judgment (2 Tim. 4:1).
Paul’s passion was to see that
his gospel of grace be firmly established in both the Jewish and Gentile
Christians—the Israel of God (Rom. 2:28-29, 9:6; Gal. 6:16). Knowing by
the Word and Spirit of God who the true Israel of God was and is today is
critical to being a prophetic voice to both the Christian and
non-Christian community. There is a lot of confusion among the Jewish,
Islamic, and Christian people concerning this issue. The question becomes,
“Who are the true sons/daughters of God that He is in covenant with in our
present world?” Prophetic voices are telling us that all who are baptized
into Christ or born again into Christ are His covenant
people today—Father God’s spiritual Israel—and they are scattered
throughout all of planet earth.
Today, prophetic voices will be
recognized by the fruit of the Spirit, which is:
...love, joy,
peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,
self-control…and those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its
passions and desires” (Gal. 5:22-24).
The
spiritual gifts are tools to evangelize by signs, wonders, and miracles.
They are important. However, the fruit of the Spirit builds up the
mystical body of Christ in communities of faith. God’s prophetic voices
are speaking unity and healing to the wounded body of Christ. Their
words are spirit, and they are life (John 6:63).
He/she who has an ear, let
him/her hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches today.
A. Wilson Phillips is the co-founding and senior
pastor of Abundant Life Covenant
Church.
Brokenness
By Richard K. Clark
King David learned something
about his relationship with God through his sufferings and failures.
The Lord is near to those
who have a broken heart,
And saves such as have a contrite (crushed) spirit...
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit,
A broken and a contrite heart—
These, O God, You will not despise (Ps. 34:18, 51:17).
Because mankind was separated
from God through sin—pride and rebellion must be broken to align us to His
authority and life flow. Jesus told the covenant people of His day who
were resisting Him that they had a choice—either come under His authority
(Word) and be broken, or His authority (Word) would destroy them.
Jesus said to
them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:
‘The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief cornerstone.
This was the Lord’s doing,
And it is marvelous in our eyes’?
“Therefore I
say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a
nation bearing the fruits of it. And whoever falls on this stone will
be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder”
(Matt. 21:42-44).
The context of Jesus’ words
point back to Daniel’s and Isaiah’s prophecies that through God’s King
(Christ), He would set up the eternal kingdom. This was fulfilled in the
first century.
And in the days
of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never
be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall
break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever
(Dan. 2:44).
For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of His government and peace
There will be no end,
Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,
To order it and establish it with judgment and justice
From that time forward, even forever.
The zeal of the Lord of
hosts will perform this (Is. 9:6-7).
Individually, we must embrace
from the heart Jesus’ authority through His Word and Spirit. I have known
experiences in my life where I was fighting with God and was progressively
being ground to powder. But as I humbled myself and allowed Him to
encompass me, I experienced rightness, peace, and joy (Rom. 14:17). Just
as the wild stallion, we all must have our wills broken to serve the
master. The stallion that has come under the yoke of the master has his
strength, ability, and beauty all reserved for his master’s desires.
Even Jesus, the sinless One,
went through the process of humility and brokenness to accomplish the will
of His Father.
Let this mind
be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God,
did not
consider
it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation
(emptied Himself), taking the form of a bondservant, and
coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man,
He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the
death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given
Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every
knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those
under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is
Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Phil. 2:5-11).
Jesus is our pattern for
success in life. We must choose to empty ourselves of our dreams,
desires, talents, and personalities to release the Spirit of Christ
within.
By humility and the fear of the Lord,
Are riches and honor and life (Prov. 22:4).
Richard K. Clark is an associate pastor of Abundant Life Covenant Church.
Where
We Place the Parentheses
By Benjamin Davis
The majority of
conservative evangelicals in America still look to the nation of Israel
for the future fulfillment of Bible prophecy. This thinking greatly
affects our
Middle East policy, where much of our national attention is
currently directed. It also greatly affects how we read the Bible, pray,
and view the future.
The theological
foundation for looking to national Israel for future fulfillment of
prophecy is found in Daniel 9:24-27. The majority of conservative
Christians have not studied this passage. Nevertheless, they build their
thinking about Bible prophecy from presuppositions that come from this
passage. The key presupposition is this: There is a gap between the 69th
and 70th week of Daniel’s prophecy.
To this point, many
might say, “So what?” Here is why it is important to understand the “gap
theory”: According to this doctrine, the gap is known and taught as the
church age that we have lived in since the death, burial, and resurrection
of Jesus Christ!
According to this
line of thinking, Jesus came and offered the kingdom of God to the Jews,
who rejected it. Therefore, at His resurrection, He instituted a
parenthetical gap known as the church age. The church age will end
with the rapture of the saints, and then the nation of
Israel
will receive the kingdom that Jesus originally offered. Thus, Bible
prophecy will be fulfilled through the nation of Israel.
The problem with
this line of thinking is that it goes directly against the teachings of
the New Testament apostles. The apostle
Paul
did teach a parenthetical gap, but that gap is not the church age. It is
the age of the law of Moses. In Galatians, Paul explains,
Now to Abraham and
his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as of
many, but as of one, “And to your Seed,” who is Christ. And this I say,
that the law, which was four hundred and thirty years later, cannot annul
the covenant that was confirmed before by God in Christ, that it should
make the promise of no effect. For if the inheritance is of the law, it is
no longer of promise; but God gave it to Abraham by promise
(Gal. 3:16-18).
Then Paul adds,
But before faith
came, we were kept under guard by the law… Therefore the law was our tutor
to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after
faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor
(the law) (Gal.
3:23-25).
Paul places the
parentheses in time around the law of Moses, which was given to help God’s
covenant people develop a conscience that defines sin. The law “was
added because of transgressions, till the Seed (Jesus)
should come…”
(Gal. 3:19). Now that Christ has come, we are no longer under the tutelage
of the law. The closing parenthesis was placed on that age with the death,
burial, and resurrection of
Christ.
It was finalized with the fall of Jerusalem and final destruction of the
temple in 70 A.D.
Today, we are no
longer under the “guardians and stewards” of the law. We have
received the full adoption as God’s sons: “And because you are sons,
God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out,
‘Abba, Father!’” (Gal. 4:1-7). The parenthetical gap of the law is
closed. With that parenthesis closed, national Israel no longer has any
bearing on Bible prophecy. There is no biblical difference between the
nation of
Israel
and China, Russia, Germany, Iraq, the U.S., Syria, etc. All need to come
into Christ.
We who make up the
church, who have come into Christ and experienced spiritual rebirth by the
person of the Holy Spirit, are the Israel of God today (1 Pet. 2:9). As
Paul exhorts, “Therefore know that only those who are of faith
are sons of
Abraham”
(Gal. 3:7). There are no parentheses around the church age!
... to Him be
glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever
and ever. Amen
(Eph. 3:21).
Benjamin Davis is an associate pastor of Abundant Life Covenant Church
Putting Off the Tent
by Jonathan Clark
Precious in the sight of
the Lord
Is the death of His saints (Ps. 116:15).
The early morning stillness was
pierced by the phone ringing. As I rolled over in bed to answer the phone,
the clock showed 3:00 a.m. It was the funeral home letting me know that my
ninety-five-year-old friend had “passed on.” Her family had been expecting
this for quite some time, but her physical body just continued to hang
on.
It had been quite a day
already. I had received a similar phone call the previous evening
informing me that another friend of mine had also “put off his earthly
tent” (Peter had used this phrase to describe his upcoming physical death
in 2 Peter 1:14). My friend had lived for ninety years, and his heart had
been slowly wearing out for years.
I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made…
My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret…
Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there was none of them (Ps. 139:14-16).
According to Psalm 139, not
only were both of my friends designed by the Lord, but they were also
allotted a specific number of days as they were being created. Both of my
friends were given many, many days, and God had fulfilled the number of
their physical days. They both knew the God of the Bible while in their
unredeemed, physical bodies…now they continued to know Him in their new,
spiritual bodies.
My friends’ transitions were
pre-planned by the Lord. Both went smoothly. And yet, as always, we who
still remain in our earthly bodies must adjust to God’s
foreordained changes.
Blessed be the
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of
all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation… (2 Cor. 1:3-4a).
The God of all comfort had made
this truth a reality to me approximately eighteen years before when I was
experiencing unhealthy torment upon hearing of a buddy’s instant passing
in a car incident. I will never forget my pastor’s words to me in my time
of excessive grief, “Jon, God loved him more than you did…You can trust
God with him…God will do the right thing by him…” As these true words of
life instantly began to calm my soul, I phoned my friend’s mother and was
able to comfort her with these same words.
…that we may be
able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which
we ourselves are comforted by God…(2 Cor. 1:4b).
As I was attending both of my
elderly friends’ memorial services, I pondered on the fact that as
both
of them had advanced in years, they both experienced significant physical
limitations; and yet, their spirits and souls had remained strong in spite
of heart failure and dementia. Physical disease could not diminish or
take away the strength of their inner man! God’s Spirit had
sustained their physical bodies (Rom. 8:11) during
their diseases for many years. And now, they (and we) had come to know the
truth that the Apostle James had learned from Job’s life:
...You have
heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the
Lord—that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful (James 5:11).
Jonathan Clark is an elder of Abundant Life Covenant Church and a physician in
Springfield, Missouri.
Total
Surrender to the Holy Spirit
By Angel Lemmods
I grew up in a Pentecostal
church that taught and experienced the presence of the Holy Spirit. I
knew He was God and present, but as I grew older, I developed my own
opinion about Him and did not think that I needed to express my worship
in the way that I witnessed as a child. Unknowingly, I built up a wall
and held the Holy Spirit out of my thoughts, emotions, daily activities,
and even my worship. But God in His mercy and grace would bring me to a
place to completely yield to His Spirit.
When I was 19, I rededicated my
life to the Lord. Shortly after, the Lord put it in my heart to move to
Springfield and attend Abundant Life Covenant Church. For a year, I lived
with the youth pastor and his family and saw how they surrendered to the
Holy Spirit and let Him guide them in their daily decisions. I saw how
real He was and how necessary His presence was to raise children and have
a fulfilling life, successful job, and healthy relationships.
This past fall our church held
a series of services where the pastors commissioned people to minister in
their workplaces. At the conclusion of each service, they would lay hands
on individuals, praying for them to have the Holy Spirit’s anointing in
the workplace. I truly felt that the Lord had called me to my job, and I
wanted to glorify Him in my attitude and work ethic. I didn’t hesitate to
go down and have the leaders pray with me; little did I know that the Lord
would reveal to them that I still had not completely surrendered to the
Holy Spirit.
As the senior pastor described
how I had held back and not let Holy Spirit have complete control, I was
initially offended. I thought I was fine, but I knew there was truth in
his words.
At home, I got quiet and asked
the Lord to show me if what Pastor had said was true—was I holding back
from the Holy Spirit? The Lord took me to the scripture in John where
Jesus confronts Peter about Peter’s love for Jesus. Jesus asked Peter
three times “Do you love Me?” Peter responded every time “Yes, Lord.”
Peter did love the Lord, like I
loved the Lord, but had not completely surrendered at the level Jesus
required. He was challenging Peter to totally yield, like my pastors were
challenging me. Jesus told Peter:
“Most
assuredly, I say to you when you were younger, you girded yourself and
walked where you wished; but when you are old you will stretch out your
hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish.”
This He spoke, signifying by what death he would glorify God. And when he
had spoken this, He said to him, “Follow Me” (John 21:18-19).
I knew the Lord was showing me
I needed to totally surrender to the person of the Holy Spirit. He was a
gift to me.
I now realize the Holy Spirit
wants complete involvement in my life. He is active in my thoughts, my
job, and my relationships, and His presence is in everything I do. Without
Him, I would lack wisdom, peace, joy, and all the emotions of God.
Angel
Lemmonds is an insurance follow-up representative at Cox Medical Center in
Springfield, Missouri.
A
Mother's Heart
by Lisa Kruger
The Passion—how many
people have received something from this Mel Gibson film? The Lord has
used it in my life in several ways. One of those ways is from the
perspective of a mother watching her children grow up and learn
obedience through suffering.
There are two types of
suffering. One is the kind when I make a poor choice and reap the
consequences of that choice. The other is the type when I have not sinned.
I am merely suffering for obedience sake and learning to trust the Father.
Both can be redemptive; it depends upon my attitude while suffering.
This said, as I focused on Mary
watching her Son suffer terribly, I observed that she was experiencing a
lot of pain herself. It hurt her to see someone she loved going through
such an awful circumstance. As I watched the screen, I began to think
about my eldest son who is in his twenties. He has been going through a
season of poor choices. It hurts to see him suffer. I have felt the need
to try and fix everything and make it all better—just as Mary wanted to do
as she remembered an earlier time in Jesus’ life.
Jesus said to her as she went
to Him, “Look, I make all things new.” He then proceeded on to carry out
the predetermined plan for His life. Mary had to stand by and wait. God
has a predetermined life for my son as well.
Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them (Ps. 139:16).
God is in charge and in
control; nothing happens by chance, nor takes Him by surprise. My part is
to wait and watch for His glory to come and for all things to become new.
Therefore, if
anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away;
behold, all things have become new (2 Cor. 5:17).
Lisa
Krueger is a homemaker in Springfield, Missouri.
Mary
- Blessed Among Women
By Byron Hamilton
Growing up in a
Protestant church, there was little focus placed upon Mary the mother of
Jesus. This is because of our historic reaction to the emphasis placed
upon her by the Roman Catholic Church. Even the phrase “The mother of
our Lord” would bring negative feelings of heresy. However, it is a
biblical pronouncement of Mary (Luke 1:43). The Bible also records
Elizabeth’s prophetic declaration, made under the anointing of the Holy
Spirit: “Blessed are you among women” (Luke 1:42).
Mary was blessed not
only because she was sovereignly chosen by God to be the vessel through
whom the Messiah would be brought into the world, but because of her
response to the Word of God. It is critical how we respond to God’s Word,
both His Logos (written Word) and His Rhema (specific
personal utterance from God!
God does not
randomly select individuals to do His bidding by rolling a pair of
celestial dice. He does not leave the return on His investments to chance.
He does, however, look for those whose hearts are open to Him and
committed to do His will (2 Chr. 16:9).
God looked down the
corridors of history and saw that Abraham would train his children in His
ways and chose him to be the father of the family of faith; the great
grandfather of the Messiah, the promised Seed. Speaking of Abraham, the
Lord said:
For I have known
him, that he will command his children and his household after him, that
they keep the way of the Lord,
to do righteousness and justice, that the
Lord may bring to Abraham
what He has spoken to him
(Gen. 18:19).
And the Lord also
knew Mary. Her response to Gabriel’s astounding news that she would
conceive out of wedlock was: “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let
it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38). Mary did inquire how
the pregnancy would take place and was told that the Holy Spirit would
overshadow her and she would conceive the Son of God. As unbelievable as
that would have sounded, Mary later testified to her cousin Elizabeth:
My soul magnifies
the Lord,
And my spirit has
rejoiced in God my Savior.
For He has
regarded the lowly state of His maidservant;
For behold,
henceforth all generations will call me blessed.
For He who is
mighty has done great things for me,
And holy is His
name
(Luke 1:46-49).
Mary responded to
great revelation with great faith and thus co-created with God. The
writers of the Gospels, who knew Mary personally, point out that she was
both reflective in thought and attentive. The night she gave birth to her
first born, Mary was visited by shepherds who told her of their angelic
encounter and then spread the news about her baby all over Bethlehem. The
Bible states that “Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her
heart” (Luke 2:19). She had the same response when as a teenager Jesus
told her she should not have been worried that he was lost for three days.
She was probably offended, but “His mother kept all these things in her
heart” (Luke 2:51).
Mary was present at
Jesus’ first miracle: the turning of water into wine. She was eager to see
Jesus’
ministry launched and gave us the enduring words: “Whatever He says to
you, do it” (John 2:5). Mary was also present to witness her son’s
brutal crucifixion three-and-a-half years later and remained faithful to
continue in the ministry after
Jesus’
resurrection and ascension (Acts 1:14).
My Protestant
heritage has concealed a woman of great faith, sensitivity, and endurance.
However, the Bible is not prejudiced; it reveals that the mother of our
Lord will be blessed by all generations.
Byron
and his wife Leesa own Med-Soft National Training
Institute in Springfield, Missouri
A
Holy Calling
By Angie Gibson
I have been a
stay-at-home mom for 10 years. My mom stayed at home when I was growing
up, and I always believed that was what I would do when we had children.
I believed God wanted it that way for us and so did my husband.
Knowing God had called me to be
a stay-home mom was important. It gave me strength and stability through
tough financial times and other stresses, and I was never ashamed of my
title.
Through the years, I have done
my best to serve my family and have become more diligent and more
efficient with my job of keeping house and managing finances. I have
trusted in the Holy Spirit to show me the things I need to do and remained
open for Him to give me hints and insights that help me with all matters.
As much as I knew, God had always been central in my daily routine.
Most important to me was making
certain that my children were receiving a thorough understanding of the
Lord and His ways. Because my job requires quite a bit of attention
focused on work around the house, there were times I would feel worried
that I was not meeting enough of the spiritual needs of my children—even
though I knew my husband and I were doing everything we believed God
wanted for them (and knew work was a part of it). It seemed like there was
always something else we could do—some other great idea that
someone else was doing or had done that seemed more spiritual.
One night at church, I read the
outline of the message. In it was this quote by A.W. Tozer:
One of the greatest hindrances to the Christian’s
internal peace is the common habit of dividing our lives into two
areas—the sacred and the secular. The sacred-secular antithesis has no
foundation in the New Testament.
Something drew my attention
back to that quote, and the Holy Spirit revealed to me that everything
I do is spiritual and has a spiritual impact on those around me. I
felt a freedom that released my body from an unrealized stress. Doing my
housework as unto the Lord as well as having my quiet time or having a
quiet time with my children was teaching them the ways of the Lord!
As I discussed this new
revelation with my husband, we began reflecting on what Scripture actually
says about this
And these words which I
command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them
diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your
house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise
up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as
frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of
your house and on your gates (Deut. 6:6-9).
The way of the Lord is a way of
life, not any one specific duty in time. As we live, whether we are doing
or speaking, we are transferring valuable assets to our children and
others around us. The Lord is there in everything we do—it’s all sacred.
Angie Gibson is a homemaker in
Springfield, Missouri.
Role
Models
By Patricia Phillips
I am sure you have heard the
expression, “The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.” I believe
very strongly in the importance of a mother’s influence on the lives of
her children, especially in the children’s formative years. King Solomon
described himself as a child in Proverbs 4:3; he said, “I was… tender
and the only one in the sight of my mother.”
As co-founding pastor of
Abundant Life Covenant Church, I have found fulfillment in giving godly
instruction to our young ladies concerning loving their husbands and
training their children in the fear and admonition of the Lord. I have
asked them to follow my example as I follow Christ in being a loving wife,
a good homemaker, and a loving mother. “Older women should be teachers
of good things” (Titus 2:3-5). The career of homemaking and
disciplining children requires godly wisdom, skill, and energy.
It is a true blessing to see
our newlyweds grow in their love for each other and our Lord. It has been
my privilege to teach many of the wives good homemaking skills and
efficient methods of planning daily chores. When questions arise about
meal planning, shopping, and preparation, they are free to come to me for
instruction. Sometimes the responsibilities are pretty overwhelming to a
new bride.
When children appear on the
scene, it has been a great joy for me to teach the parents how to take
care of a newborn baby. Many times a fussing baby is simply too much for a
mother that has had a sleep deficit for several days. The mothers know
that I am willing to pitch in and help them over the rough spots.
Another important ministry I
have is teaching mothers how to love their children enough to discipline
them according to Scripture. In Proverbs 19:18 we read, “Chasten your
son while there is hope, and do not set your heart on his destruction.”
My goal is to see the children fulfill what Scripture teaches us all about
obedience. When God calls the children from darkness to light, they will
already know how to obey if the parents have taught them to obey their
voice. Scripture says:
Now no
chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but grievous; nevertheless,
afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have
been trained by it (Heb. 12:11).
In his best-selling book The
Greatest Generation, Tom Brokaw described these core values and
principles:
They were united
not only by a common purpose, but also by common
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values—duty,
honor, economy, country, and above all, responsibility for oneself.
Today’s culture is out of sync
with Scripture by stressing individual rights without responsibility.
Scripture is consistent throughout in telling us our covenant rights and
responsibilities. Simply put, if we obey, we receive covenant blessings;
if we do not, we receive curses.
I am truly grateful that God
has shown me great mercy and grace to follow the greatest role model of
all time, Jesus Christ. He was tough and tender. All of us are role models
to someone. Some of the greatest ones are not celebrities or political
leaders. They are not on television or any public stage or in the
limelight. Some call me their role model. I tell them to “follow me
as I follow Christ.”
Patricia
Phillips is the co-founding pastor of Abundant
Life Covenant
Church.
A Mother's Day Greeting
By Paul Gabbert
Dear
Spiritual Mother,
What words can I say
As a special greeting on this Mother’s Day?
In my spirit the answer came:
“Sometimes in the past she’s enjoyed your refrains;
However, the truth you seek, so I, the Lord, will speak straight
And tell you what she appreciates more than flowery words or cake.”
“Obey My Spirit, obey My Word, obey your leaders
and the truth you’ve heard;
Obey her voice when she speaks each time;
This speaks louder than your sacrificial lines.
What thrills her heart and Mine too—
When you willingly obey the whole day through.”
Paul Gabbert currently runs R & P Cleaning
Service
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