Wealth? Fame? Career? Success? Souls? What drives
you into doing something? God created us to be people with emotions and
passions. Our innermost desire can drive us to do anything, positive or
negative, even to the extent beyond what we ever think or imagine we could
do. We could tell what drives a person by their daily routines and
activities.
As Christians, does our innermost desire line up
with God’s desire or will? It is God’s will that none should perish. Does
your innermost desire line up with this will of God?
Dean Hart once sat at the same table with a Catholic
priest. During the conversation, the Dean said, “Father, if I believed as
you do that I could pray people out of hell and purgatory, I would spend all
my time on my knees getting them out.” The priest answered, “And if I
believed like you do, that once a man is in hell he can never get out, I
would wear out shoe leather urging, constraining, compelling men and women
to get saved now!”
What a powerful thought! This is not just a
statement, it is truth. We hold the key that could rescue people from hell.
Take some time to ponder over what drives you. Do your daily activities
include the mission to accomplish God’s will so that none should perish?
Most of us live very hectic lives. Sometimes we even
wonder how we’re going to get every task accomplished. How about
incorporating God’s mission into every task you have? As a task oriented
person, I have my daily routine and list of things to do that I check off as
they’re accomplished. One of God’s proven principle is always a constant,
when I put God’s desire before mine, God always blesses. When I invest my
time in God’s work, somehow God blesses me with extra time to do the other
things I need to do. God never fails! He said that if we delight ourselves
in Him, He will give us the desires of our hearts. He also said that if we
seek Him first, all the other things will be added unto us. If we just put
God’s desires before ours, somehow, we will also see our needs and desires
met because that’s what He said and we can count on it.
The big question is this… GOD’S MISSION, the eternal
destinies of souls, is that what drives you?
Greetings! Since this is our last newsletter for the
year, we want to take this opportunity to wish all of you a Blessed
Thanksgiving and a Merry Christmas! As children of the King, we have so much
to be thankful for. If you do not feel blessed, we challenge you to start
counting your blessings and you’ll realize how blessed you are in Jesus
Christ!
We hope you take time to read a very special article
on the next page on Courtship or Dating written by our Sister-in-law,
Abigail. Everywhere we look, there are so many broken lives. This is
heart-breaking, especially when we know there is a Biblical way that can
prevent those regrets. As we were praying, God impressed us to ask Abigail
to write this article to share with you God’s principle of courtship or
dating. This is a principle that is possible to live out, and through it,
your lives will be blessed. Karl and Abigail patterned their lives according
to the Biblical principle of courtship and God’s abundant blessings are upon
their lives. We encourage you to share this article with every youth you
know.
Once again, we thank you so much for your prayers,
encouragements and support. Your fervent prayers are touching heaven and
changing destinies, heaven is being enlarged and hell is shrinking for God’s
glory!
Laughter, Good For The Soul: “Men &
Women”
The farm couple was driving through
town one hot summer afternoon. As it got hotter and hotter, the farmer’s
wife appealed to her husband, “John, dear, it must be 200 degrees in here.
Could we please roll down our windows?”
“Are you out of your mind?” he replied.
“And let all the town folks know our car isn’t air-conditioned?”
When Barbara and Jim were dating,
Barbara became concerned over the lavish amount of money Jim was spending on
her. After an expensive dinner date, she asked her mother, “What can I do to
stop Jim from spending so much money on me?”
Her mother simply replied, “Marry him.”
"Courtship or Dating" by Abigail Tan
Dating—a perpetual hot topic. It is the subject of
chat rooms, middle school locker conversations, and television game shows.
Neither is it a stranger to American evangelicalism. Two minutes in any
Christian bookstore will reveal aisles of resources entitled “Singles and
Dating.” I must admit, I have poured through far more of these than I can
count. While many of these books are helpful, we must be exceedingly careful
to remember our priorities.
“Resolved: to live with all my might while I do
live.” This lofty ambition, dug from the journals of Jonathan Edwards,
should be the goal of all of us. Edwards, 18th century theologian
and profound lover of the Word of God, was arguably one of the deepest
thinkers in recent Christian history. His sermons, his writings, and his
very life were testimony to his profound love for our great God. Glorifying
God was his ambition—an ambition every Christian believer should pursue
wholeheartedly.
What does it mean to glorify God? As the Highest
One, he deserves the highest place in our thinking. His standards should be
highest rule of our behavior. Love for Him should be the defining
characteristic of our every relationship. Impossible? Yes. But thanks be to
God, who has given us His Holy Spirit to enable us to do just that.
Labels are helpful, but labels are not the issue.
Whether it is called dating or courtship, “seeing one another” or just plain
flirting, the goal remains the same—God should be the center of the
relationship. His Word should be treasured, His name revered, His commands
obeyed.
In June, the Lord blessed me with a wonderful
husband. In true Joshua-Harris-style, we used the term “courtship.” Our
relationship is full of flaws—we have hurt one another and will hurt one
another. We are selfish and sinful. For me, far too often the only one I
want to love is myself. But praise God, who has lavished upon us His grace!
We have no formula for the perfect relationship, because no such
relationship exists. However, we pray that glorifying God will be our aim.
He teaches us through our failures, gives us joy in our moments of
obedience, and we thank Him for all of the above.
So our aim should be God’s glory—whether we date
happily or “kiss it goodbye.”
A Peek at 2007
Please join us in prayer that
God will continue to open many doors for us to reach souls. We have
invitations to go to the Philippines and India in March. Please pray that
God will open every door that needs opened and close every door that needs
closed. We want to be in His will, winning souls for His kingdom.
Wake Up -- Look Up
Shootings and bombs in Iraq, Korea tested a nuclear bomb, Iran is
threatening Israel and the USA, armies are surrounding Israel. If there has
ever been a time for the church to wake up, it’s now. We are being faced
with all kinds of problems around the world, here at home there is a
rebellion against the church and ultimately God. Jesus said in Luke 21:28,
“Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads,
because your redemption draws near.” What can we do as the body of Christ?
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 I will hear from
heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14)
It’s amazing to me to see how many people in churches have no clue as to
what is going on. We have become so self centered that we hardly notice what
is going on around us. We are more concerned about what color to paint the
walls or what time the service will end. We come to church to “catch up” on
all the latest gossip and people are dying and going to hell all around us.
When 9-11 took place the churches were packed for two weeks. Now if there is
a football game, a favorite program, or something we would like to do, we
stay home.
We have moved God and anything connected to Him to the back burner. Can I
tell you the “other religions” have not put their gods on the back burner?
They are serving their gods even to the point of death. Pearlyn and I have
been privileged to travel to the Philippines and see the dedication of God’s
people there. They will walk, ride or however, to get to a church service
for hours and some, days. They stay all day and part of the night never once
complaining because the ground they are setting on is too hard or the
preacher preached too long or the singing was too loud or not my style.
Their only concern is I need God and I want to worship Him and be in His
presence. WAKE UP-LOOK UP!
