DISCIPLE! - Please Read the OP

WOW! That was quite an amazing story! BM, why don't you just do like we do when you type a message? Are you just so much more familiar with your program that you prefer it that way . . . like, you can go faster that way or somethin'? It just seems so complicated the way you do it. Ahha! I know . . . you are "stuck in your ways." :eek: I knew it! :rolleyes: lol

No biggie, just wondrin.
 
Haha!! Nar, not 'stuck in my ways'!!

My Messages can be fairly long *grin*, and do take many many hours to write. The program the forum uses has (for different reasons) completely wiped out all that I've written enough times (so that I had to rewrie it all!!), that we realised I HAD to write them somewhere else. I tried various ways and FrontPage was the best. "Best" meaning best of a bad lot, i.e., there's NO perfect place to write without problems.

I'm not the only person who does this BTW. And while it sounds complicated, it's really not too bad - unless the DEVIL gets involved!!!! Clearly if I could find a BETTER SAFE way I would use it. To date I haven't.

So now you know!!! I'm glad you read the message and can see how wonderful and powerful God is (against the pig!)

Love!

- BM
 
Amen to that one.
Your post brings up a very good point about the devil. (pig) as you say.

He comes to kill, steal and destroy.. and just think because of the importance of the message, he really tried to step in.. BUT our Lord prevailed .. as he always does.

We do need to trust and I need to learn to do that more and more.
just as things are a bit overwhelming with some stuff here.. I need to trust in God that it will all get done.

Had a great meeting with my Christian counselor today. Just what I needed.

We have grocery distribution in the morning, then a Fall cookout at the local college tomorrow evening.
Have a great week-end

Faithwoman:)

God is SUPREME. The devil's power is NOTHING compared to God's!! And guess who lives in ME - the Lord God of course!! This is why I have no fear whatsoever of the pig - and get rid of him with James 4:7 without any problem.

Faith and trust in the Lord are our breath of Life. Without these we die!! We must always work on DISCOVERING Who God really is, His power, how He always dwells in us (so we're NEVER alone), and that He is UTTERLY TRUSTWORTHY!!!

Feeling overwhelmed is just that - FEELING overwhelmed. God can take that away if you put INTO HIS HANDS ALL THAT YOU'RE FEELING OVERWHELMED ABOUT. Give it to Him, leave it in His capable hands - and STOP obsessing about all that's to be done (or whatever it is). TOMORROW is another day! Read Matt Ch 6:34.

By our actions and by our attitudes are we REALLY going to be saying to almighty God Who loves us individually with an everlasting love, "Oh, but can I really TRUST You?" Step out and TRUST already!!

Much love! Still praying!!

- BM
 
TUSAMIS

Sadly there are mistakes in Messages, seemingly no matter how hard I try! But this one is actually rather funny I think!

In the very important Message #19 where I was referring to 'other' things that GFA Mishos will do for people when needed, like helping victims of floods... the next word I wrote however, was "tusamis" *hehe!!*

I'm sure you managed to "translate" it! Dunno quite what my fingers thought they were doing instead of typing "tsunamis", but there ya go. Can't win 'em all they reckon!!

- MB, er.... MB!... I mean BM!
 
Feeling overwhelmed is just that - FEELING overwhelmed. God can take that away if you put INTO HIS HANDS ALL THAT YOU'RE FEELING OVERWHELMED ABOUT. Give it to Him, leave it in His capable hands - and STOP obsessing about all that's to be done (or whatever it is). TOMORROW is another day! Read Matt Ch 6:34.

By our actions and by our attitudes are we REALLY going to be saying to almighty God Who loves us individually with an everlasting love, "Oh, but can I really TRUST You?" Step out and TRUST already!!

Thanks Bondman
We had a great time at the college cookout outreach.
Check out pic of Paul with men's basketball team in the article I wrote

here is the article I wrote for online newspaper about the event.
http://www.thebatavian.com/blogs/robin-walters/hot-press-new-star-player-genesee-cougars/9427

Have a super week all!
Faithwoman
 
hspace1.gif
hspace1.gif
Discipleship Message #21

hspace1.gif
disciple-graphic.bmp


What Should We Actually DO With The Old Testament? - Part A

I fear that I may have confused some in saying so often that we live in the New Testament (which means 'New Covenant'), NOT the Old Testament ('Old Covenant' - the words mean the same thing). This is quite true insofar as DOCTRINE (what we believe) and PRACTICE (how we live out what we believe) are concerned. To me Doctrine and Practice pretty-much cover all of practical Christian living which is what I teach. But a nice lady queried me about the Old Testament - like, was I saying that it's irrelevant? ANSWER: NO WAY!! - but I'm sure sad if I've given anyone such an impression!!

The Word of our GOD, His DEEDS, and His Revelation of Himself and His laws to mankind are in the BIBLE and NOWHERE else - THE WHOLE BIBLE!! How could it be any other way? I mean, we NEED the record of BOTH Covenants God made with men in order to be able to fully understand what He is all about - which includes our Salvation, how to live to please Him, eternity as our ultimate destination, and a lot more.

The Old Covenant was made between God and His Own Special People, the Hebrews or The Children of Israel. NOT with us. At that time THEY were His focus. He was REVEALING Himself to just them, teaching them how He wanted them to live and relate to Him, giving them His laws, and most of all telling them of the coming KING, Christ the Messiah, and what He would do for us all - for that is what it was all leading to!!!

"So if the Old Testament/Covenant was between God and the Jewish people, does that mean I shouldn't read the Old Testament?" In a word: NO! We NEED to understand the Old Testament in order to properly understand the New Testament!! - seeing that the Old was pointing TO the New! For example, what were the myriad of Sacrifices of various animals and so on in the Old Testament all about? They were about Jesus Who was to come to earth to live as one of us, the Perfect Lamb of God, willingly Sacrificing HIMSELF, once for all, so we could learn how to love and please God, and ultimately live with Him for eternity.


A DIFFICULTY WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND

But there's a difficulty. We need to understand the OLD Covenant before we can read and understand the NEW Covenant. That's TRUE! Yet, the reverse is also true!! Without a FULL and COMPLETE understanding of the New Covenant, we are highly likely to mess up (maybe SERIOUSLY!) when reading the Old. MANY HAVE! For example, most sects use OUT OF CONTEXT texts from the Old Testament, and their quotes are WRONG, leading people astray - so that many end up in hell as they simply don't know THE TRUTH!!! I ask: how can we possibly expect to understand what we're reading in the OT, if we don't know a great deal about living as a New Testament Christian Believer who follows the life and teachings of JESUS, the Christ plus those He taught, who then set it all down as our essential LIFE GUIDEBOOK!!! ANSWER: we CAN'T!!!

Yes, I understand this sounds like a conundrum. If you've been with me awhile you'll know how I say that a number of Spiritual things APPEAR to be contradictions - yet they are NOT - simply because both things can be true at the one time! The two Covenants are something like that. I've said to someone who asked about this, that the OLD and NEW COVENANTS are EQUAL (both God's Word) - but are cetainly NOT THE SAME. And being different, we MUST treat them differently!! Make sense?

The LESSONS? Just take some care when reading the OT (that is, unless you know the New Testament backwards!!!!), simply recognising it's differences from the NT. But take considerably MORE care QUOTING verses from the OT out of context. Please take note: Unless a verse/passage is confirmed by, and in COMPLETE HARMONY with the WHOLE of New Testament then quoting it may well be wrong at worst and misleading at best. PLEASE DO TAKE CARE!!

Continued in Part B...

Love you!!

- BM (with his Lady)

hspace1.gif
 
Geeshhhhhh.. yep that was me.. quoting quoting, quoting.. I think I am getting better at understanding things. I just know I now explain that on the streets as well.

I just know I need to be in the word more that is for sure. I am working on balance in my life.
Thanks for the clarification Bondman

Hugs
Robin
 
I'm about to write a Message about this. I'll be looking to the Lord for word as to when to put it up. Until then, be in the Word like you said!!

Much love!

- BM
 
hspace1.gif
hspace1.gif
Discipleship Message #22

hspace1.gif
disciple-graphic.bmp


Then What Should We Actually Do With The NEW Testament? - Part B

...Continued from Part A

If I had five bucks for each time someone's said to me that they must get into the Word more, then I'd be giving a whole lot more to GFA Mishos and to help struggling Dalits! But we must press on... FACT: There's a veritable mountain of really GOOD things from the Old Testament (as well as the New Testament) that we can quote - so long as they harmonise with ALL of the message of the New Testament!! But goodness, HOW can we know that?? Well, think about it for a moment. Obviously you need to really get to KNOW the whole of the New Testament. And I do have to wonder how many can say THAT? (Even many Pastors can't!!) Part of my journey towards coming to see this necessity went like this:

I was earnestly praying for a particular thing - and NOT getting an answer (ever happened to you?) I read this verse: John Ch 16:24 Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full. Very soon I found myself saying to God (and feeling rather bad about it): "I've been asking in Jesus' name. Your Word says that when I do, I WILL receive, and my joy will be full. What's wrong, Lord? I'm NOT receiving!! And I need to be, because this matter is IMPORTANT!!" I'd already checked if there was something wrong in me that would cause a non-response from God, and couldn't find anything - so I was MOST perplexed about this clear promise of Jesus that was NOT WORKING!!!

I think God must have led me to this other verse that kind of shocked me: James Ch 4:3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your sensual pleasures. Erp!!! If I'm not asking CORRECTLY, then I'm going to get... well, NOTHING AT ALL!! And this was my very first wake-up call to the fact that you have to really KNOW all of the New Testament, not just BITS!!! THEN you're in a position to COMPARE Scripture with Scripture with Scripture (both NT and OT), which will enable you to find the WHOLE TRUTH, and thus to be able to correctly UNDERSTAND God's Word!! Great men from the past (from Martin Luther on) all knew this - but we have LOST it!!

Scripture interprets Scripture - interprets itself. So what does this say to us? Yes, we have to read, study, learn, memorise the New Testament. Then do it again!! Because we have to get it's WHOLE message - and I do mean WHOLE! We have to KNOW all that it's saying. Obviously this cannot happen overnight, so meantime you need to rely on trustworthy Christians (emphasis: TRUSTWORTHY!!) to guide you. But can you see the CRUCIAL MESSAGE HERE? If you wish to PLEASE YOUR GOD by living RIGHTEOUSLY (in obedience), then today is the day to GET STARTED reading the New Testament!!!!

Have you read ALL of it at least ONCE? I've said to do this numbers of times - get a Contemporary English Version of the New Testament (easy to read) or read it HERE,** and READ RIGHT THROUGH IT! Then AGAIN!! It's actually just common sense. If you want to truly be a God-person, then you have to know His Word!!! And the reason we read through the whole of the New Covenant (New Testament) IS BECAUSE WE ARE ALL NEW COVENANT PEOPLE!!!! WHEN is the time to start doing this? - NOW!!!

DO this and there's a DOUBLE blessing: a) You'll really get to know how to live by your increasing knowledge of the New Covenant - eventually you could even help and teach others!! b) You'll be in a position to read all of the Old Testament, with all of the extras it can bring into your life, WITHOUT any concern; plus NEVER have the (serious) problem of quoting OT verses to others that could lead THEM astray!! FINAL WORD: I'm not saying to anyone NOT to read the OT. I am saying be especially careful of OT quotes out of context. AND then a gentle query: if you're reading the OT, have you read all the NT more than once?

May He reveal amazing truths to you as you get into His Word!!!

- BM

** I've set it up for you ready to go! (Hit Enter) When reading you'll find small squares at top and bottom to navigate to the next Chapter, etc. EASY!

hspace1.gif
 
Just wanted to let you know how much I am enjoying, and learning, from "Revolution in World Missions." K.P. has really enriched my life and I am making an about-face in my thinking. I no longer see the need to know all I need to know about scripture. But I know I will be sharing his book with lots of Christians I know. This book is truely inspiring. Sweets
 
hspace1.gif
hspace1.gif
Discipleship Message #23 (7th in our "Blood of Jesus" Series. Starts at #14.)

hspace1.gif
blood-of-christ.gif


I Reckon We Can Do This (We Better!!)

woman(sml).jpg

I want her to HEAR about Jesus, so she has a CHANCE to spend eternity with Him (instead of hell)!

inspired-by.gif
... SweetSurrender (in her post HERE). I am thrilled to bits that KP and his book have moved your heart about Gospel For Asia as happened to us some years ago!!
The VISION this man has brought to fruition this past 26 years or so is as mammoth as it's astonishing.

Now with 16,500 local, fully-trained native Missionaries taking the Good News of Jesus to their own people, who just in the period of ONE year brought 572,339 into God's Kingdom (that's TRUE Christians, saved, baptised, AND discipled!!!) I take my hat off to every last Christian who's involved with this essential and wonderful work.

What's most special of all is that anyone, anywhere in the world can become part of this work. PRAYER is the greatest essential, as are our DOLLARS that we send. Those are our TWO tasks: the rest is all being done!!! And with another 9,000 in training, this unique work is growing and growing. You may not know that as a brother or sister start training in a local Bible-Schoold, they start evangelism immediately!!! (the whole of the weekend 1st year, and by 3rd year a lot of practical). Some trainees plant a church in their first year of Bible Training!!!!

Let me tell you something that shocked me in the BEST possible way when I first realised it. Background first: Jesus in: Luke Ch 10:2 Then He said to them, “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest." Since modern missons started we've had to do exactly this. But with GFA in India and a total of 10 countries throughout Southern Asia, MY SHOCK WAS THAT:

HERE THIS SORT OF PRAYER IS NOT NECESSARY!!!

For here's a Mission Organisation which ALWAYS has men and women waiting to become Missionaries. Yes I said WAITING!!! Ready, willing, and able!! But waiting for what? - for Western Christians to start their support of just $1,500 a year - 4 people giving $30 a month (a paltry $360 for a whole year), plus all 4 praying for their Misho!! Sure works for ME!!! Read lots more about this on http://gfa.org., including that EVERY CENT given reaches its assigned destination. NOTHING is taken out for admin!

Concluded in next post...
 
... Concluded from prevous post

They are poor beyond our comprehension! But they will labour, pray, evangelise, teach, endure hardships of being misunderstood, wrongly accused, threatened, hated, and things like beatings, jail, and some will even willingly be MARTYRED for Jesus!!! They only need from us: SOME MONETARY SUPPORT and for us to PRAY for them and for the work of SAVING and DISCIPLING souls. Maybe I'm being a total idiot here, but seems to me that it's THE VERY LEAST WE CAN DO....

gfa1.gif

Can you see something of the thrilling DEDICATION to the Lord and His work of these amazing South Asian Christians. Continuing to live with NOTHING and ASKING for nothing - unless we choose to send clothing, a lamp for night-time visiting, and so on (go HERE) - working continually without time off, enduring whatever hardships come to them, we can only stand back and marvel at them and how they live, and love the Lord!!! SO... Beloved and I have chosen to live as simply as possible, with clothing years old (but still presentable), old furniture (ditto), an old car, and so on. We're not really going without, in the sense of starving ourselves or the like - we just try hard to save EVERY POSSIBLE CENT - TO GIVE TO SUPPORT THIS WORK, AND GIVE TO POOR CHRISTIANS THERE.

rabbits.jpg

Our pairs of rabbits (just 11 bucks a pair, go HERE; kids love giving them, or a pair of chickens) that went to poor Christian Dalit families, will have started breeding like only rabbits know how to! The first pair of baby rabbits will have gone to the church for another poor Christian family; meantime, the parents continue to breed, supplying nutritious food, and maybe some young rabbits sold to richer people. We caught this vision, and it's an incredibly easy way to help the needy - seriously necessary for salvation according to Jesus!!! (Click) Matthew 25:44-46. Or better is the full passage (click) Matthew 25:31-46.

You're INVITED, in and by the Precious Blood of our Lord Jesus, to join this wonderful work in South Asia!!

- BM (with his Lady)

hspace1.gif
 
Let me tell you something that shocked me in the BEST possible way when I first realised it. Background first: Jesus in: Luke Ch 10:2 Then He said to them, “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest."


Great message Bondman! We at Care-A-Van pray that same verse above.. we see it here right in our city as well. I just don't understand it sometimes with all the churches and people that are sitting back with unused talents and a love for the Lord, why in the world they could not even give 2 hours of their time on a Saturday for grocery distribution.

Of course, for the longest time as I would sit at my desk and say Lord, take me to the streets.. as I have a heart for street ministry and want to be in ministry full time.. then it hit me today! I am in minsitry full time.. I live for the Lord now and even at my job at the hospital, I can witness and love as Jesus would!

Really busy here with getting ready to move and all! But not too busy to hit the streets with Care-A-Van.. check out the pic of the little one and me last night. Her mother was celebrating her 26th birthday and Jesus walked through that door and loved upon her. She is not yet saved. the mother but she was sooooooooo close to asking Jesus in last night, but said she is not ready.
We go back there on Sunday for street church. Before leaving the neighborhoods at the end of an evening, we always pray. When we said Amen.. Paul said wait a minute.

He then praised the Lord and thanked him for the freedom that we have here in our country to go forth and share the word and love of Jesus. It sure is not like that in many places.. and yes when one stops and thinks of the people that do not even get to hear the message, it really makes one heart ache.

Hugs to you and the Mrs.

Faithwoman
 
Yohannan's Book

I am really excited about this book, and hope everyone will read it. It's free for the asking. I just got it and am half-way through it. It's all very revealing. So, I'm going to share some of the hightlights that really struck me.

"God did not shower such great blessing on this nation for the Christians to live in extravagance, self-indulgence and spiritual weakness." (that goes for the U.S. UK, Canada, Austrailia, and other great countries)

"One-fourth of the world's people lives on an income of less than $1 a day - most of them in Asia. The gross national income per person in South Asian is only $460 a year. Americans earn an average of 77 times more - and Christian Americans, because they tend to live in the upper half of the economy, earn even more. In most countries where Gospel for Asia is serving the native missionary movement, a good wage is $1 to $3 a day."

"While much of the world is concerned mainly about where its next meal is coming from, affluent North Americans spend most of their wages and waking moments planning unnecessary purchases." Throughout scripture, we see only one correct response to abundance: SHARING.

"The apostle Paul wrote to the rich Christians in Corinth, "For I mean not that other men be eased, and ye burdened: But by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may be a supply for your want: that there may be equality." 2 Corinthians 8:13-14

And James 2:14-17, "If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone."

K.P. mentions that Western Christians have not been given this superabundance of blessings so we can gorge ourselves on books, teaching cassettes and deeper-life conferences. He has left us on this earth to be stewards of these spiritual and material blessing, learning how with others and administer our wealth to accomplish the purposes of God.

I heard an illustration once of how Christians should look at their lives, which I have shared before. We should see our life on this earth as a dot, and our lives after Christ's return as a line extending into eternity, without end. To illustrate . ___________________________

What is the bottom line? God is calling us as Christians to alter our lifestyles, to give up the non-essentials of our lives so we can better invest our wealth in the kingdom of God.

I could go on and on, but I'm hoping you will just send for the book, because it will change your thinking around for the greater good. I promise.
 
Faithwoman: You most certainly are effectively working full-time for the Lord, yet supporting yourself at the same time. Rejoice that He's called you to do this and trusts you!

Yes, the book Sweets is talking about is the free one I suggested everyone get and put the link up for. Here it is again for folks who may have missed it. It's blown her out of the water like it did me some years ago. VERY EXCITING!!!

SweetSurrender: FANTABULOUS POST!!! Thankyou for supporting what I've been saying!

I'll soon put up a Message building on your post.

Love and hugs to you both!!!

- BM
 
Hey, Robin! Yes, it is the one BM told us about. It's better than it looks. The title is one I'd never pick up, but then you read all the acknowledge-ments and it sounds like the page-stopper it is. It really changes the way you feel about how you are living your life and what you could do without.

You just have to get it and read it, Robin. You'll see. Hugz, Sweets
 
Shhhh! Bondman simply had some of his many problems putting up complicated Messages! All sorted now - but just consider this post to be BLANK, okay!! *hee!*

- BM
 
Back
Top