A glorious testimony,

Josprel

                                                                            My Personal Testimony
                                                                                            by
                                                                                         Josprel
                         
                       
                        Although I was brought up in a Christian home, I  abandoned  the Lord at a very young age -   
                        thirteen-years-old.   My parents struggled to get me to attend  church, but nothing availed. 
                        Though I did not drift into deep sin,(I credit that to my parents teachings)  I did sin. God, 
                        however, does not color sin in shades of black, white or gray. To Him sin is sin, period. Upon
                        completing school at age seventeen, I enlisted in the Air Force.

                        Because of my young age, my parents had to sign for my enlistment. This they refused to do; 
                        however when I threatened to leave home and never return, my dad signed. If he hadn't, In
                         my rebellious state, I  probably would have left home.

                        I served several  years - two and on half of them overseas - in the Air Force, trained as an 
                        engineer-operator, who operated heavy construction equipment, such as  bull-dozers, 
                        road-graders, heavy cranes, heavy engineering vehicles, C2 crash-truck-cranes  (used to
                        lift and haul away crashed aircraft) and most of the  other types of heavy construction
                        equipment. At eighteen years of age I had attained the rank of engineering sergeant.

                        During my time in the Air Force, I attended chapel  service only once, for the funeral of a buddy
                        who committed suicide while on duty. His fiancé had written him a letter, saying she was
                        pregnant and was going to marry the man who had fathered her child. My buddy killed himself by
                        stealing a weapons carrier and - traveling at floorboard speed on the aircraft landing strips, with
                        the Military Police in hot persuit, before he intentionally rolled the vehicle over.

                        He died instantly; Yet even this didn't move me toward the Lord.

                        When my time finally came for discharge, I was offered additional promotion if I would agree to
                        re-enlist. But I had had enough of the military.  I refused.  I  arriving home at twenty-one years
                        of age, still unsaved.  At home, I took employment in my field as an operating-engineer. It was a 
                        very high-paying and well-regarded job in civilian life and I felt I had "the world by the tail." At   
                        night I went out with my buddies, though I did not drink heavily and carouse, as they did.
                        I was flush with money, drove a late-model Chrysler convertible, dated pretty girls, and partied or
                        traveled on weekends.

                        Then, one night about three A. M., I arrived home with a feeling of empty futility to my life. My
                        parents were asleep, as were my two brothers and two sisters. I entered the parlor, closed the 
                        door and fell to my knees. At that point in my life, I had grown dubious regarding the existence
                        of God; nonetheless, I never could honestly deny that the order I saw in the universe suggested
                        an infinite mind behind it all. There in the parlor, with tears flowing down my cheeks, I shook my 
                        fist toward heaven and issued a challenged.

                        "God, if you're really there, prove it to me!"
       
                        Immediately, what felt like a great wind rushed through the room. It seemed to come from the
                        top corner to my left and it knocked me to the floor, holding me there. When I  attempted to 
                        sit up,, it pushed me back down. Terrified,  trembling and in a cold sweat. I literally could feel a
                        presence pinning me to the floor. I pushed again it with both palms, pleading,  "Let me up! Let 
                        me up!"

                        Nevertheless, I was held there.

                        My youngest brother, who served the Lord, and who  now also is a minister, heard the thud
                        when I fell to  the floor. He rushed into the room to see what had happened. Noticing me
                        unable to sit up and seemingly pushing against empty air with both palms, he woke my  parents,
                        who came rushing into the room and began  praying for me.

                        Still  in a cold sweat, I exclaimed, "Mom, what's happening to me?"

                        I'll never forget her answer, "Joe, you mean to say you  have lived in a Christian family all these
                        years, and you don't know what happening to you?"

                        I knew!

                        My parents' prayers were being answered, but not in the  way they expected. Their first-born 
                        son  had foolishly challenged God to prove His existence and God did so in a terrifying manner.
                        Finally, the presence released me, and I staggered to my bed.

                        The next morning, I knelt before God by the side of my bed, and without speaking audibly, I
                        prayed that if He wanted to use me in his service, to have some one call me go to a service to
                        sing [Since I come from a  family of musicians, I loved to sing.  My brothers and I once sang as a
                        trio.  My Dad was a violinist, who also played most of the other  string instruments. Before coming
                        to the Lord, he  organized and conducted his own Italian orchastra.  After his salvation he turnied
                        the orchastra over to his assistant,  dedicated his own  music to God and played only for church
                         services and  Christian events.]   

                        That evening, I  received a phone call from a minister's son I had not seen since I had last
                        attended church.
                             
                        "Joe, I'm speaking at a mission and need someone to sing and lead the music. How about going
                          with me?" he asked.
                         
                        Flabbergasted, I agreed, hung up the phone and accused my  mother of asking him to call me. 
                        Then I realized she couldn't have done so; I had prayed silently in my room, alone                         
                         with the door closed; no one but God could have heard me.

                        Well, that did it for me!

                        Three months later, even though I was born again such a short time, my application to study for                         
                         the ministry under the G.I. Bill of Rights was accepted by the seminary of my   of my choice.  My 
                         parent's pastor had requested the school to  waive its requirement that a ministerial applicant
                         must be born  again at least two years before acceptance. His request was granted. I enrolled at
                         the seminary and eventually graduated.

                                 THE LORD HAS DONE WONDERFUL THINGS FOR ME; THEREFORE I AM GLAD!

                       
                                                                                                                 © Josprel
                                                                                                          josprel@yahoo.com

                                   Josprel welcomes comments from the readers of this personal testimony.
                       





             





 

             

                                                                                                                 Maximum Security: Attica
                                                                                                                                      by
                                                                                                                                  Josprel
                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                Part Two
Continued from Part One

Stalling, I requested a week to consider the administration's proposal. Marie and I made it a matter of prayer. I sought her input and that of trusted friends. Most of Attica's clergy had been through the uprising. Often, at our clergy meetings conversation focused on the counseling problems it had generated. This did not incline me toward the class. Yet, despite my negative feelings, I truly desired God's will. By week's end I understood that rejecting the opportunity would be a neglect of duty.

From the beginning, the inmates were hungry for truth. Invariably, classes began with student prayers, the fervency of which is seldom equaled by "outside" congregations. They prayed for their families, the salvation of other inmates, the courage to witness, the strength to be examples, the correction officers and administrators, personal needs and - often laying hands on me - for my family and congregation, asking God to prosper us.

Afterward, choruses were sung and the study began. The format was totally Bible-centered, the first segment being given over to concentrated Bible study, verse-by-verse, questions permitted. The second segment was discussion oriented, encompassing subjects pertinent to "inside" living. Content was initiated by the students: Bible answers for avoiding temptations; Bible discussions about celibate living; the advantages of possessing the Holy Spirit; a Christian inmate's attitude toward the correctional officers (of extreme concern since the uprising); a Christian inmate's witness to his family; witnessing to Black Moslems, who were numerous at the facility; Biblical teachings on the homosexual lifestyle; and many other topics.

By efforts of the students themselves, the class grew steadily and by year's end, about thirty students were attending. In the second year, the class grew to at least forty-five members. By the end of the third year, the room was packed to overflowing and, according to the students, more wished to attend. But, the Moslems, charging discrimination, threatened to infiltrate the class to cause havoc. Asked if he recognized any in attendance, the class inmate leader responded affirmatively; however no problems occurred.

The administration, however, took the threats seriously, moving to defuse, what it considered, a potentially dangerous situation. Before the threats, all an inmate need do to join the study was to make an advance request of at least two days. Afterward, the screening process required a two-week advance notice. The practical result limited attendance almost only to students already enrolled. Newcomers ebbed to a trickle.

Our church, however, enjoyed continuous growth, requiring a new building program. With all the added demands, after nearly four years, I began to feel the weight of the class. Unless I was traveling, each Friday evening I left for the facility in time to arrive at five and did not return until almost ten. In addition to these hours, each session required preparation. Including prison visits (I recei ved numerous letters and phone calls from families of inmates requesting that I visit their incarcerated relatives) I often gave ten to fifteen hours weekly to the facility.

The security checks required for each visit were time-consuming. After a visitor passed to the waiting room, it required another long wait to locate the inmate and bring him in, especially for an unexpected visit.  To be effective, the visits could not be rushed. The need to lighten the load seemed compelling.

After prayerful consideration, reluctantly, I notified the prison administration of my decision. A minister friend from another town gladly accepted sponsorship and was

 present at my last session with the class, an emotional time. At its conclusion, the students surrounded us and, with laid-on hands, prayed so fervently that a security officer at the far end of the long corridor grew concerned and came running. Informed that the class was in prayer, he left with a smile.

I surrendered the class; but not contact with the facility. Some inmates, learning of the undefeated status of our church softball team, issued a challenge. Two young ladies were our best players and, though women normally were barred from the recreational yard, they received a special dispensation. To our team's amusement, the inmates had their own self-serving interpretation of softball rules, often instantly inventing new ones, but it was all in fun.

At times, the facility requested practical assistance as well. Late one Saturday night, I received a call from the warden asking if we could provide overnight accommodations for approximately thirty visitors from New York City, while prison mechanics repaired their bus. The fellowship area and Sunday school rooms were made available, and the facility brought food, cots and bedding. When the visitors departed early Sunday morning, their quarters were left spotless. On the pulpit, just before service, I found a note signed by each of them. It read, "Thank you for trusting us in your beautiful new church." The children made drawings for us, also with little thank you messages.

Occasionally individual visitors, including the prodigal teen-age daughter of an evangelical pastor in New York City (She had come to Attica to visit her inmate boyfriend) temporarily were stranded and slept at our home. Each received a witness, and some visited our services.

The facility responded to this openness. As its first project, its new woodwork shop presented our church with a rare gift. Using the scarce, expensive wood of a black walnut tree, the shop's inmates fashioned for the inside front of our sanctuary, an exquisitely fashioned, six-foot high cross. They were granted authorization by the facility to travel to the church, in order to mount the cross on the fieldstone wall that decorated the sanctuary, behind the pulpit and platform. When the job was completed, we thanked them for a gift unique in both material and the craftsmen who produced it.

When we first moved to Attica, I was dubious regarding the motives of inmates claiming to be Christians. Confirming this attitude were warnings I received from knowledgeable individuals to not permit the inmates to "con" me for their own purposes. The warnings were appropriate; several times inmates did try conning me; however, a believing inmate never attempted to do so.   And, when we left Attica, almost ten years later, I had learned that true Christians are found in even the most unexpected of environments.  Yes, in fearsome maximum security prisons prone to violence, too!  Even there, the Lord grants His children His own maximum security.

                                                                                                                                              -30-

                                                                                                                                      © Josprel
                                                                                                                                   josprel@verizon.net

                                                                                                            Maximum Security: Attica!
                                                                                                                                 by
                                                                                                                           Josprel

                                                                                                                           Part One

Author's note: When this author first began his many years of ministry in the town of Attica, New York, the location of one of the most horrific prison rebellions in America's history, he possessed an extremely negative mindset regarding prison ministry. It required a work of God in his heart to change that mindset.
                                                                                                                              *****
Alone, I began the long stroll down the main corridor of the Attica Correctional Facility. Intermittently, my progress was blocked by a series of security gates, some controlled by turnkeys, others by officers protected inside barred, bulletproof, glass cages. Heavily, each gate opened to my approach, closing behind me with an ominous metallic clang.

As I turned into adjoining passages, at times, unguarded inmates walked toward me. Invariably, each edged the far wall to put as much distance between us as possible. All passed silently, not regarding my naive salutations.

"Oh, well, the Lord is with me! He'll protect me!" I thought. But, I was unconvinced.

The previous week, for the first time, I made this trek in the company of a watch lieutenant. "Remember the way, Reverend!" he exhorted, "After this, you'll be alone!" Undeniably, I felt alone!

Arriving at my destination, I turned into a spacious room. Waiting expectantly, a small cadre of unguarded inmates formed the nucleus of the only inmate organized Bible study group at the facility - the reason for my being there.

I first heard of the Attica Correctional Facility in September of 1971, during the infamous bloody uprising that claimed forty-three lives. Never - even by the widest stretch of my imagination - would I have encompassed the thought that, one year later, my wife, Maria and I would be asked by our New York District superintendent to minister in Attica township or that, with our two young sons, we would be residing a mile from the facility.

Bitter hurt still permeated the town. And, as our congregation grew, the families of several facility employees began attending services. Other new families lived in very close proximity to the prison, at least three on a street bordering the highly publicized facility recreation yard, where much bloodshed occurred. There, assigned inmate executioners guarded hostages. From a high hill behind their homes, these families observed directly into the yard.  The gruesome scenes described to me strengthened an already unfavorable view of prison ministry.

Despite the negative impact of the uprising, several persons from our congregation began visiting inmates. I never inquired, but perhaps this fact impelled the warden to request that I visit the Protestant chaplain’s office a few weeks previous to that lonely stroll. After a cordial welcome, the chaplain asked, "Reverend, would you be willing to oversee a three-hour Bible study each Friday night, from six till nine? Security will want you here an hour before."

He explained that several inmates had organized and were promoting a Bible study class. But without a qualified civilian sponsor, they could not assemble. "Will you sponsor them?" he asked.

I had never set foot on the grounds of a maximum-security prison before. Nor, had I inclination to do so; much less this one, so recently devastated by one of the nation's bloodiest prison uprisings, during which hostages were taken and many lives lost. Apparently lacking the fortitude of martyrs, I was apprehensive about being alone with inmates, even those claiming salvation. Indeed, it had taken time for the family to become acclimated to living near the prison facility, though we no longer thought anything of it. But our first night's sleep in Attica had been disrupted by the wail of a loud siren. Marie and I jumped from bed fearful that a prison break occurred. Instead we learned the fire department alarm on the next street had sounded. Eventually, though, we accepted living near hundreds of high-risk inmates walled up in a high security facility -- as long as they remained inside the walls, and we were outside

                                                                                                                Continued in Part Two

                                                                                                             © Joseph Perrello (Josprel)
                                                                                                                 josprel@verizon.net

                                                                      The Mind is the Matter
                                                                                      by
                                                                                  Josprel


The older a movement becomes, the further it drifts from its founding principles. Among Evangelicals of our generation, this process appears to be occurring much more rapidly than among those of former generations. One reason for this rapid deterioration is the hypnotic influence of the modern media. Television, films and the much of the paper media are utilized by Satan as weaponry to brainwash spirituality from the minds of the children of God. Most believers are totally unaware of these devices and have therefore become ensnared in this trap; moreover, most Christian leaders are not sounding the alarm. The warning must be sounded; Christians must be awakened to the danger.

Governments - most especially the dictatorial regimes - understand that controlling the minds of their citizenry constitutes control of an entire nation. Hitler's Nazis, Stalin's henchmen, Castro's Cuba, Saddam Hussein all utilized mind control over their people by censoring that which they read and heard. It is for this reason that the Radio Free media was organized by the free nations.

In his frenzy to defeat God's purposes and to establish his own hellish empire, Satan also is following this same propaganda ploy, but on an infinitely enlarged scale. Offering in the comfortable environment of the home, the enticing delights of the flesh, spiced with anti-God and anti-Biblical propaganda, he is efficiently introducing his own subtle doctrines. Which Bible-believer can honestly deny that much dispensed by television executives, movie moguls and the paper media - even internet websites - should be labeled "doctrines of devils?"

It is amazing to this writer that sights that only a few decades past caused Christians to shudder with shame today are joyfully admitted into their homes by a simple flick of the switch. How much easier it is to flick the switch then to open the Bible. How much more comfortable it is to relax before the television, than to bend their knees in prayer. How much less strenuous it is to passively view the "tube" than to actively think on the Lord.

The Bible provides a spiritual formula as an antidote to Satan's brain-washing techniques. Christians are to:

1. Abstain from all appearance of evil. (1 Thess. 5:22).

Who among us will dare say that the vast percentage of the sights and sounds propagated by our modern media do not even appear to be evil?

2. Be aware that our bodies are the temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor.
6:19).

We must ask ourselves, "Would Christ permit the caliber of entertainment we view, read and hear, to be found in the temple of God?"
   
3. Think only on that which is holy [Phil. 4.8].     

"Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy - meditate on these things."

This third rule should be enough to show any sincere Christian believer that what is being piped into the home today via the airwaves and other media, is diametrically opposed to the standard God sets for His people. Satan is waging a campaign for control of the minds of humanity. Utilizing propaganda media unexcelled in human history, he has unleashed an end-time assault that, if Christians do not cooperate fully with God's Word and rely totally on the power of the Holy Spirit, is certain to bring them down. Nevertheless, we are beyond defeat if we abide by God's Word and its standards. We will be aware of Satan's devices if we imbibe God's Word and are controlled by the Holy Spirit, who alone supplies the "Whole armor of God."

                                                                                      © Josprel
                                                                                  josprel@verizon

                                               Josprel welcomes comments from the readers of this article.



   

                                                                              Audible Classroom Prayer to Whom?
                                                                                                                  by
                                                                                                               Josprel

It would seem that no Christian believer would argue with an effort to amend our constitution to legalize classroom prayers. Many are of the opinion that such prayers would be similar to those offered in public classrooms prior to the Supreme Court's decision to ban them. There would be no difficulty for believers if such were the case and the program assured prayers suitable to Christians. However, since the Court's prohibition, pluralism has made astonishing attachments to the framework of American society. To have a chance for passage, the amendment could offer Christians no guarantees; therefore, the proposal begs the question: Audible classroom prayer to whom?

Some claim that "The Lord's Prayer," is suitable for the classroom. Terming it a, "generic prayer," and noting that it makes no reference to Jesus, they say it is offered to "the God whom we all worship." On its surface, this seems a valid argument - until we consider who authored the prayer. Will Jews, Moslems and those of other creeds agree to have their children recite a prayer ascribed to the Christian's Lord Jesus Christ? Will Hindu, Shinto, mystics, other oriental religions and secularist, permit their children to pray to "Our Father which art in heaven"? Will atheists, who initiated the ban, agree to not challenge the practice, even with a constitutional amendment that legalizes it?

Conversely, should audible classroom prayers suitable to Christians not be assured, will Christian parents condone having their children sit under the prayers and chants offered to the deities of other religions? And what of the cults; will Christians tolerate the rogations of cultists? In our pluralist society, audible school prayer definitely presents such dangers. One long-time proponent of classroom prayer changed his mind upon realizing that, if the program is mandated without guarantees protecting the Christian conscience, even prayers by Satanists (a legally recognized American religion) must be tolerated. Though the possibility seems remote, he does not want his children subjected to such a risk.

It is true that, under ideal conditions, the cosmetic effects of classroom prayer may be favorable. However, our public schools are far from ideal; religious differences will taint any form of audible school prayer. It is imperative that parents must be aware of such ramifications, for it is the children who will suffer the impact of such a program gone awry.

American public schools never will assume a partnership role in the Christian education of their students. God places this responsibility primarily on parents. It is in the home where Christian parents must structure a child's total Christian upbringing. Even the Church can only offer a supportive role in that task. The Bible directive to bring up our children in the way they should go is not addressed to the schools, or to the Church - it is addressed to parents.
                                     
                                                                                                                 -30-
                                                                                                            © Josprel
                                                                                                      Josprel@yahoo.com

                                                         Josprel welcomes comments from the readers of this article.


 

TEV = Today’s English Version
KJV =  King James Version

                                           Jesus Loves the Little Children
                                                             by
                                                          Josprel                                                                                                                                 

In studying the earthly ministry of Jesus, one cannot help but notice that He loved children. He reserves a special place in His heart for them. Contrary even to some parents, the Lord never is too busy for children. During His earthly walk, He expressed a special tenderness towards them.

The Old Testament prophets predicted this. Isaiah wrote, "He shall gather the lambs with his arms, and carry them in his bosom" (Isaiah 40:11 KJV). An anonymous Eastern traveler told of witnessing what the prophet described. "One shepherd led his flock by a zigzag path, up the almost perpendicular bank of the glen. Behind it two young lambs trotted gaily along at the feet of their mother. At first they frisked about and jumped lightly from stone to stone; but soon they began to fall behind. The poor little things cried piteously when the path became steeper and the rocks higher, and the flock more distant. The mother cried too, running back and forth   now lingering behind, now hasting on before, as if to wile them upwards. It was in vain. The ascent was too much for their feeble limbs. They stopped, trembling on the shelving cliff, and cried; the mother stopped and cried by their side. I thought they would certainly be lost; and I saw the great eagles that soared in great circles around the cliff far overhead, swooping lower and lower, as if to pounce upon their prey. But no! The plaintive cries of distress had already reached the ear of the good shepherd. Mounting a rock, he looked down, and saw the helpless little ones. A minute more, and he was standing by them. Then taking them up in his arms, he put them   one on each side   in his bosom, in the ample folds of his coat, which was bound round the waist by a girdle" ('The Pulpit Commentary'; Isaiah; Vol. II; P. 93).

What an appropriate description of our Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ. John Mark recorded that Jesus "took the children in His arms, placed His hands on each of them, and blessed them (The Gospel of Mark 10:16 TEV).”

Today’s public schools are inundated with anti-Biblical propaganda.  Parents often fail to check on what their children are being taught. Christian parents should advantage themselves of whatever input they can give to their children's education.  Visit the schools, become acquainted with school officials and teachers, attend parent/teachers meetings, inspect textbooks and other literature assigned for children’s reading. When a close friend of this writer did so, he discovered that one of his son's teachers often lectured her students on the advantages of the homosexual life-style.  She distributed graphic pictures to the class and collected them before the class ended. The father vehemently protested to the district school superintendent, who did not know this was occurring. An investigation authenticated the situation. The teacher, not yet tenured, was fired.

Be involved with your schools; you owe it to your children.

Wise parents instill the knowledge of Jesus Christ in their children from infancy, doing as much as possible to counteract the anti Christian propaganda so prevalent today. One Sunday, when our services were cancelled because of a sever blizzard, my wife, Maria, and I tuned into the telecast of a popular evangelist. His message was on the topic of the media's systematic endeavor to counter all facets of American family life with humanistic propaganda. Aiming soap operas at women, daytime T.V. dwells on themes of extramarital and premarital sex, the validity of divorce on demand, the women's lib agenda, and the right to abortion on demand. Cable T.V. apparently is the worst offender in broadcasting such trash. Targeting men, evening cable T.V. broadcasts programs showing free sex, nudity and violence, while most of the weekend daytime cable T.V. broadcasts, target children, showing killings, violence, idolatry, cultism, and heathen brainwashing.

This writer had a conversation with a computer specialist regarding the media problem. She informed me that in computer programming one gets out what one puts in. She called it, "garbage in; garbage out." She then mentioned that, since the human brain operates somewhat like an infinite computer, the "garbage in; garbage out" factor remains valid to the human mind. What we feed into our minds is what we extract from them. As I mulled this over, it occurred to me that God warned of this in His word, when He said, "As he [a man] thinks in his heart, so is he" (Proverbs 23:7; KJV). The word 'thinks' in this passage is derived from a Hebrew word meaning 'gatekeeper.'

How appropriate! Parents must serve as the 'gatekeepers' of the minds of their children, since children develop into that which they think upon. For this reason, Satan attempts to capture young minds, with the purpose
of shaping them to his image, while they still are pliable.

Jesus taught that God is so concerned with children that He has assigned a special angel to each one, with a children's ministry portfolio. These angels have priority entrance into the Presence of the Father. The Lord warned, "See that you don't despise any of these little ones. Their angels in heaven, I tell you, are always in the presence of my Father in heaven" (Matthew 18:10; TEV).

A child, by nature, is a believer. Upon its birth, a baby has the potential to believe whatever it is taught. Jesus considers it an offence worthy of execution to stumble a child. So terrible is such an offence, that Jesus said it "were better for him [the offender] that a millstone were tied about his neck, and that he were drowned in the debt of the sea (Matthew 18:6).

An astounding execution! But how can an adult stumble a child?

This is done by the setting of an evil example. It can also be done by deliberately teaching a child to sin. At one of my pastorates, a judge paroled three children to me. The father had taught them to steal, lie and cheat. This they constantly did, until they were captured by the police. The father was imprisoned, and the mothe,r  who was a good woman,  took full custody of the children. and gave me a weekly report on their conduct. Though it required time, prayer and a great deal of patience, the father's influence on the children finally was broken.   

A child also can be stumbled when it hears adults ridicule and sneer at what is pure and holy. Calling sins by softer names in order to not make them seem so evil also accomplishes this. This author would be overjoyed if every teacher, parent, clergyman, textbook publisher, and comic book writer could hear how Jesus feels about the stumbling of a child. According to Jesus, they and every child prostitution panderer and child molester deserves a millstone tied around the neck and being cast into the sea   the special execution reserved for Roman criminals who had committed the worst types of crimes.

Jesus used children as the Christian's role model for entering His Kingdom. He desires for us to become childlike. In a debate His disciples had over who would be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven ". . . Jesus called a child, had him stand in front of them, and said, 'I assure you that unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven. The greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven is the one who humbles himself and becomes like this child. And whoever welcomes in my name one such child as this, welcomes me (Matthew 18:1 5; TEV).

The KJV uses the word 'converted' for the word 'change' employed by Today's English Version. Converted here involves a change of mind regarding priorities. In essence, Jesus told His disciples [and us] that to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, one must surrender worldly ambition.

Some time back, I took my four-year-old grandson, Anthony, to a local fast food restaurant. As we waited in line, a little girl - a total stranger, entered with her mother. Anthony and the girl looked at each other. Then, she embraced and kissed him.  I marveled at the purity of the act and that Anthony seemed not to consider it unusual.   

This is what Jesus meant about our becoming as little children. Their humility and simplicity, their guilelessness and believing hearts, must become ours. During my decades of ministry, I have noticed the above traits so innate in children. Many are the small gifts young children have brought my wife, Maria, and me. One has hung in my office at home for several years, now. It was presented to us by the five-year-old twin daughters of a newly born again young woman. Upon entering the church vestibule, where Maria and I usually stand to greet the people before they enter the sanctuary, the twins always insisted on kissing us on our cheeks. Maria would sit on a chair, and I would descend on my heels and the twins would embrace and kiss us.

Maria and I have two wonderful sons, but no daughters. However, had God  blessed us with daughters, I would want them to be like those twins - innocent, loving, and acquainted with Jesus Christ.                                                                                                    -30-                                                                                              © Josprel
                                                     josprel@verizon.net                   

Resurrection Appearances of Jesus: A Study Chart
                                     by
                                 Josprel


According to 1 Corinthians 15:3-8

1.) Cephas (Peter) -- (V5).

2.) The "twelve" -- (V5). (See * #4, under "According to Acts and the
Epistles" below).

3.) Some five hundred brethren at once -- (V 6).

4.) James -- (V 7).

5.) All the Apostles -- (V 7).

6.) Paul, the Apostle  -- [V 8].

According to the Gospels

Person; Place; Scripture

1.) Mary Magdalene; The sepulcher; John 20:11-18; Mark 16:9

2.) ?The other Mary; The sepulcher; Matthew 28:1-10; Mark 16:1 (The
mother of James: Mark 16:1)

3.) Two disciples; The Emmaus road; Luke 24:13-32

4.) Simon Peter; Not recorded; Luke 24:33-34

5.) 10 Apostles; A room in Jerusalem; John 20:19-23 (Sans Thomas)

6.) 11 Apostles; A room in Jerusalem; John 20:24-29 (Thomas among them)

7.) 7 disciples; Sea of Tiberias (Sea of Galilee); (John 21:1-24)

8.) 11 Apostles; Galilee (In a mountain); Matthew 28:16-17

9.) 11 Apostles; Bethany (Mt. Olivet); Luke 24:50


According to Acts and the Epistles

1.) 11 Apostles; Various; Acts 1:1-3

2.) 11 Apostles; Bethany (Mt. Olivet) Acts 1:4-12

3.) Cephas (Peter); Not recorded; 1 Cor. 15:5

4.) The "twelve"* Various 1 Cor. 15:5

*NOTE: Paul may have had Matthias in mind. He became one of The Twelve
and had also seen the risen Jesus (Acts1:21-26) - or Paul may have been
using the general designation used in Scriptures in referring to the
Apostles (Mat. 26:20, 47; Mark 4:10; 6:7; 9:35; 10:32; 11:11;
14:10-20+43; Luke 8:1; 9:12; John 6:67; Acts 6:2).

5.) Some 500 brethren at once; Not recorded; 1 Cor. 15:6

6.) James; Not recorded; 1Cor 15:7

7.) All the Apostles; Galilee (in a mountain); Bethany (Mt. Olivet) 1
Cor.15:7

8.) Saul (Paul); The Damascus Road; 1 Cor 15:8

According to All the Above (With Times and Locations)

Person; Place; Time; Scripture

1.) Mary Magdalene; The sepulcher; Resurrection Day; John 20:11-18; Mark
16:9

2.) The Other Mary; The sepulcher; Resurrection Day; Matthew 28:1-10;
Mark 16:1; The mother of James Mark 16:1

3.) Simon Peter; Not recorded (Perhaps Jerusalem); Not recorded; Luke
24:33-34;1Cor. 15:5

4.) Two disciples; Emmaus road; Resurrection Day; Luke 24:13-32

5.) 10 Apostles; A room in Jerusalem; Resurrection Day; John 20:19-23
(Sans Thomas)

6.) 11 Apostles; A room in Jerusalem; 1 week after the Resurrection;
John 20:24-29 (Thomas among them)

7.) The "twelve"; Various (but unstated); Various (but unstated); 1
Corinthians 15:5 (See * #4, under "According to Acts and the Epistles")

8.) 7 disciples; Sea of Tiberias; (Sea of Galilee); Unstated; John 21:1-24

9.) 11 Apostles; Various (unstated); Various (unstated); Acts 1:1-3

10.) 11 Apostles; Bethany; Mt. Olivet; The Ascension Acts 1:4-12

11.) 11 Apostles; A mountain in Galilee; Unstated; Matthew 28:16-17

12.) Some five hundred brethren at once; Unstated; Unstated; 1 Cor:15:6

13.) James; Unstated; Unstated; 1 Cor 15:7

14.) Saul (Paul); Damascus road; after Church scattered; Acts 9-9; 1 Cor
15:8;

Author's Comment: As can be noted from the above lists, there were
hundreds of witnesses who saw the resurrected Jesus, although not all
saw Him at the same time. The sightings were at various times and in
different locations. Since this is so, it is preposterous for skeptics
to maintain that all these eyewitnesses to the risen Christ had the
exact same hallucination.

Author's Comment: Thomas certainly was not mentally conditioned to
experience hallucinations; he refused to believe that Jesus had risen
from the dead. Even the witness of trusted associates was not enough to
convince him when they testified to him that they had seen their
resurrected Lord. Thomas remained skeptical, demanding empirical,
experimental, tangible proof. However, when Jesus did appear to Thomas,
so convinced did this skeptic become, that the rest of his life was
dedicated to fulfilling the commission issued by his risen Lord. He and
his associates willingly suffered persecution -- and finally martyrdom
-- for the cause of Christ. These hardly are the actions of those who
merely experienced hallucinations.

Author's Comment: It has been suggested by certain secular legal experts
that, if all the evidence regarding the resurrection of Jesus was
presented to an unbiased court of law, the only verdict that could
validly be rendered is that Jesus indeed did resurrect from the dead.

                                                                                        Wealth and the Believer
                                                                                                      by
                                                                                                    Josprel

                                                                                                  Part Two

     Owning great possessions does not necessarily indicate that one is unrighteous. One is  not unrighteous simply
      because one is wealthy. Conversely, having no possessions does not  indicate that one is righteous. One is not 
      holy simply because one is poor.
     
      Scriptures record that Job was so wealthy that he “was the greatest of all the men of the East” (Job 1:3; KJV).
      Job was an upright man who feared God and avoided evil (3:1). God permitted Satan to test Job, to prove
      that Job did not require wealth to serve God. In Job, we ascertain the characteristics of a once wealthy man
      who, after loosing all his  possessions and his children, remained marvelously spiritual. After the loss of his 
      wealth, Job poetically informes us that he had made a covenant (contract) with his eyes: It was  a  covenant
      to not use his eyes as windows that permitted lustful thoughts to intrude intohis mind.

      “I made a covenant with mine eyes: why than should I [lustfully] think upon a maid?” (Job 31:1).
     
      Do you may recall that little chorus we often sang in Sunday school, “Be Careful  Little Eyes What You See.” 
      Well, Job practiced the spirit of that chorus thousands of years before it was composed. Since the eyes serve
      as the gateways of our souls to the world around us, it does indeed behooves us to be careful what they see!
      As Americans, we may not agree with censorship, but a self censorship of what we permit our eyes to see is
      justifiably spiritual.
     
      After the loss of his wealth, Job testified that God actually saw his ways and counted his steps: “Doth not he
      see my ways, and count all my steps?”

      Such an assurance that God actually sees our ways and counts the steps we take should comfort us in difficult
      times. My Dad’s favorite song was, “His  Eye is on the Sparrow,” in which occurs the phrase, “And I know He
      watches  me.”  To know that God watches us is either comforting or disturbing, depending on one’s conduct.
       It may disturb some that God watches them, but He nevertheless does. Knowing that God watched him
       comforted Job in his afflictions, though he  could not understand the reason for the poverty and ensuing
       sufferings that descended upon him.

      In riches and in poverty, Job remained true to God! 

      In sickness and in health, Job remained true to God!

      In the joys of all his children, Job remained true to God!
     
      In the tragic deaths of all his children, Job remained true to God!

      After the loss of his appalling loss, Job took assurance in fact that he had been  a considerate employer.
     “If I did despise the cause [needs] of my manservant  or of my maidservant, when they contended [reasoned]
      with me; what then shall  I do when God riseth up? And when he visiteth, what shall  I answer him?”  (Job
      31:13 14).
     
      I once attended three day seminar titled, “Living Today in the Light of Eternity.”  Job lived in this manner. He
      lived each day in the light of eternity, asking himself  the question, [If I do not treat others well]  What shall I
      do when God riseth up [calls me to give an account]. What shall I answer Him?”

      Quite a question! One each of us should ask ourselves.  Sadly, we often hear  reports of those with great
      wealth who arrogantly look down on the less fortunate. One pastor told me of a family that once faithfully
      attended his services. “The entire family was faithful to the Lord,” he stated, “Each member of  the family
      helped in the work of the church. Some sang in the choir, some taught classes or worked  with children.”

      Sounding as though his heart was breaking, he continued, “Then a very wealthy  relative passed away and the
      family, who was the only heir, inherited  all the  person’s wealth. For a while, they continued attending
      services. Then they began behaving as though other members of the congregation were not in their
      social standing and, therefore, beneath  their friendship. Their church attendance gradually tapered off until
      now, no amount of persuasion will bring them back. They attend no church, and  have abandoned the Lord.”

      Job did not feel that way about those less prosperous then himself. He did not withhold from the poor, he
      cared about widows and orphans. He was one who shared his wealth with those who had less than he
      possessed. After the loss of his wealth, Job took assurance in the knowledge that he  had not greedily grasped
      for more wealth than he already possessed (Job 31: 24 25). He testified that he had  not made gold his hope.

      Someone once asked an extremely wealthy man who continued amassing huge  sums of money, but was not
       philanthropic, “Why are you still grabbing for more money. You already have more than enough to last several
       life-times.”

      “I do it because I can,” the man answered, “Anyway; one never has more than enough money.”
     
      “But why just horde it away; why not use it to help others who are in  need?” the person asked.
     
     “I worked hard for what I have. No one ever gave me anything. Why should I give away  it away? Let them
     work like I did. I’m not in the charity business.”

      Such tightfistedness degrades a person’s entire being. As portrayed in the time-enduring Christmas classic “A
      Christmas Carol,” greedily grasping for wealth without caring for  those about us creates a miserliness of the soul
      that cripples a person’s  existence.  Though  the tale is fictional, the mournful lament of the deceased,
      tormented, chain-bound Marley, to his  miserly former business partner, Scrooge, carries an aura of enduring
      truth, when he  wailed, “I wear the chains I forged in life!”   

     Wealth can, therefore, be a blessing or a curse, depending on the attitude of our hearts.
     
      As the Apostle Paul exhorted us, having enough to eat and drink, let us therewith be content.  After all, God’s
      Word promises us that “. . . with all his abundant wealth through Jesus Christ   . . . God will supply all your
      needs (Philippians 4:19; TEV).

     Now that’s quite a promise!  No one is wealthier than God!

                                                                                                           -30-
                                                                 
                                                                                                      © Josprel
                                                                                                  josprel@verizon.net







                                                                                               

                                                                                    Wealth and the Believer   
                                                                                                  by
                                                                                               Josprel
     
       KJV = King James Version
       TEV = Today’s English Version
     
       “There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing. There is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches”   
       (Proverbs 13:7 KJV).
     
       “But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown   
       men in destruction and perdition” 1 Timothy 6:9) KJV).
     
      I once heard a dedicated Christian grumble that serving the Lord had made him poor. He said that when he
      was born again he instantly dedicated his three young sons to God for the ministry.
     
      “Lord, I don’t care if I’m poor for the rest of my life, just use my sons in your work,”  he prayed.
     
      When the sons reached young manhood, all three studied for the ministry and   became successful pastors. On
      hearing the father complaint, I said to  him, “Why are you complaining about your lack of wealth? You told the
      Lord  you didn’t care if you were poor the rest of your life, as long as He used  your sons in His work. Now that
      God took you at your word, you grumble about it? ‘

      From the moment I first began preparing for the ministry until now, I have never requested wealth from 
      the Lord; however, I have often requested  wisdom. Only others can witness whether that request has been
      answer; I  hope it has. One brother actually severely rebuked me for not asking the  Lord for riches. Yet     
      God always has been good to my family, abundantly providing for us. The churches we have served, faithfully 
      cared for our  temporal requirements. The church boards generously raised our salaries and allowances without
      my asking them to do so. At board meetings, I would be requested to leave the board room, and when I 
      rejoined  the meetings, the board chairman would inform me that either my salary, expense accounts,
      retirement package and sometimes, more than one of them   had just  been increased. But I never asked for
      these increases.
     
      God does not define wealth by human standards. The writer of Proverbs 16:8  noted that, “Better is a little
      with righteousness, than great revenues  without right” (KJV). It is true, however, that there are obvious
      material  requirements persons possess.  People would rather be wealthy then merely comfortable; but for the
      Christian, material prosperity must be
      subordinate to spiritual prosperity.

      The Apostle John wrote to his friend, Gaius, “Dear friend, I pray that you’re doing well in every way and are 
      also healthy, just as your soul is doing well” (John’s Third Epistle, verse two, TEV). The obvious question to ask
      here is: If we actually were doing as well physically and materially as our soul is prospering, just how healthy and
      wealthy would we be?
     
      It is difficult to possess great wealth and not put our trust in it, though a few believers have miraculously
      accomplished it and put the wealth to paramount use for God. Perhaps that difficulty is the reason God
      in his omniscience and mercy has not made more of us millionaires. Mark 10:17 27 records the account of a
      wealthy young member of the Sanhedrin who came running anxiously to Jesus.

      He asked, “Good teacher, what must I do to receive eternal life?”
     
      Jesus answered, “You know the commandments . . .”

      “Teacher, ever since I was young, I have obeyed all these commandments,” the young man replied.
     
      Jesus gazed lovingly and intently at him and said, “You need only one thing. Sell all that you have and give the
      money to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven; then come, take up the cross and follow me.”
     
      When the man heard this, his went away sad, because he was very rich (Mark 10:17 23).
     
       Jesus said to His disciples, “How hard it is for rich people to enter the Kingdom of God!” (Mark10:17 23; TEV;
       KJV esp. v. 21).
     
      That young man’s problem was not his wealth; rather it was a misdirected faith in his wealth. He trusted in it
      and it robbed him of a relationship with Jesus. This author once wrote an entire article on the Rich Young   
      Ruler, titled, “The Man Who Rejected His Cross.”  Though we fault the young man for rejecting his cross and
      the call of Christ in his life, to a lesser degree, we sometimes do the same thing.
     
      So how should a believer handle prosperity? To answer this question, we should study the Book of Job. James
      5:11 informs us that Job was a man no different than other men. He had passions the same as we all have. It
      always has been difficult for humanity to overcome the passion for  possessions. Moreover, it  is becoming
      increasingly evident that our young  people, because of subliminal (and not so subliminal) media messages with
      a give me what I deserve to own now slant, seek an instant gratification of their desire for possessions. They
      demand to instantly acquire things that past generations labored long and hard to possess.
                                                          CONTINUED IN PART TWO
                                                                 
                                                                           © Josprel
                                                                   josprel@verizon.net


     
     

                                                   Who Is This Child?
                                                              by
                                                          Josprel
   
                                                 (A Christmas Poem)        

                                        Who is this child in manger born?
                                        On straw he lays his head,
                                        Low beasts are his companions,
                                        There is no pillow for his bed,
                                        No crying does this newborn make,
                                        Whose mother is so lowly,
                                        Within his presence all who stand,
                                        Sense that He is holy.

                                        Who is this child in manger born?
                                        Poor shepherds know he came,
                                        God's angels tell about him,
                                        That sin's power he shall tame,
                                        He shall cleanse men from sin's red stain,
                                        His death shall banish Satan's claim,
                                        He is eternally the same,
                                        He is forever pure.

                                        Who is this child in manger born?
                                        High Magi seek his bed,
                                        From East they come to worship,
                                        But in palace seek instead,
                                        Of low abode where he does lay,
                                        A cruel king seeks him to slay,
                                        By dreams are Magi warned away,
                                        The child's life is spared.

                                        Who is this child in manger born?
                                        Great prophets did foretell him,
                                        To Earth he condescended,
                                        As God's sacrifice for sin,
                                        The time is full; deep darkness reigns,
                                        His blood saves men whom sin has stained,
                                        Great King of Kings he now is called,
                                        Wondrous, Redeemer, Lord.

                                             © Josprel (Joseph Perrello)
J                                                  josprel@verizon.net

   
   
 

                                 Old Landmarks
                                        by
                                    Josprel

Note: All Bible quotes taken from the Good News Bible; Today’s English Version.

Some time ago, a large parcel of property was donated to our church on which to construct a new worship center. Surveyors were hired to lay out the boundaries of the property. They peered through their instruments, waved their arms at one another and recorded numerous measurements.

Finally, they pounded several long, colored wood stakes into the ground and informed us that the survey was completed. They handed the building chairman a preliminary report, saying that the survey would be recorded and stamped by city, county and state officials, after which several copies would be mailed to the church. They also advised us not to remove the survey stakes, since doing so would require another survey, should we or adjoining property owners again need to assess the exact boundaries of the property.

The Biblical definition of the word "landmark" is that which we generally understand by the word. It is a boundary marker. According to Webster, a landmark is any mark or fixed object used to designate the boundary of land. It could be a marked tree, a stone, a ditch, or a heap of stones. In Israel, for someone to remove them was a violation of the Law of Moses. The term “landmark” is used five times in the Bible, each time attached to statements underscoring that landmarks were not to be moved. They were considered sacrosanct. A curse was pronounced on those who dared move them.

The Old Testament empathically prohibited the removal of a neighbor's landmark. Moses commanded Israel, "Do not move your neighbor’s property line, established long ago in the land that the Lord your God is giving you” (Deuteronomy 19:14). So sacrosanct did Moses consider landmarks that at the crossing of the Jordan River, he issued a directive that the Levites were to loudly proclaim   among other things   "God’s curse on anyone who moves a neighbor’s property line” (Deuteronomy 27:17). Many generations later, the author of Proverbs reinforced this prohibition declaring, "Never move an old property line that your ancestors established” (Proverbs 22:28). The ancient Romans also considered landmarks sacred. Anyone convicted of moving one was executed.

Job’s Lament Over the Removal of Old Landmarks.

Job is the quintessential biblical model of an almost infinite patience in suffering. Though he faithfully endured all the afflictions God permitted Satan to heap on him, some 1,520 years before the birth of Jesus Christ, he lamented that some were removing the old landmarks. In Job chapter 24:2 the removal of old landmarks heads the lists of sins Job attributed to his generation. He charged, "Men move property lines to get more land; they steal sheep and put them with their own flocks.”  He followed this accusation with an inventory of the sins of his generation: violence, robbery, oppression of the poor, murder, and many other heinous crimes. Nonetheless, so sacrosanct did Job consider old landmarks that he headed his list with the sin of their removal.

The Importance of Landmarks.

Though landmarks are important because they define boundaries, they do more than that. In a free definition of the word the term also is used to define locations. As we travel, we use landmarks as points of reference to prevent loosing our way.

For example, "To get to Darnel McStranger's house, drive down Town Line Road to the third crossroad. There's no road sign there, but you can't miss it. Just look for a large, red barn on the left corner. You'll also notice an old, rusty tractor parked in the field next to the barn. On the other side of the road you'll see a boarded up, dilapidated, one room schoolhouse. Make a left turn into that road and go three miles. The McStranger's house will be on your right. It's a beige house with green shutters and right across the road is a convenience store."

We have just set directional landmarks for the traveler who is looking for the McStranger residence.

When I was studying for the ministry, the students often sang a favorite chorus, the first line of which is: "I'm traveling to my home way up in heaven and Jesus travels by my side." God's people indeed are spiritual travelers; therefore, Jesus posted ancient directional landmarks for us to follow to insure we travel the right road. To assist us He also warned that the correct road that leads to eternal life is entered through a narrow gate, while the gate opening into the wrong road that leads to destruction is a wide one (Matthew 7:13 14).

Old Landmarks that Identify the Road Leading to Life.

    1. The road leading to eternal life is entered by a gate, but so is the road leading to destruction. Matthew 7:13 14: "Go through the narrow gate, because the gate to hell is wide and the road that leads to it is easy, and there are many who travel it. But the gate to life is narrow and the way that leads to it is hard, and there are few people who find it."

    2. Jesus directed us to the narrow gate as a directional landmark (Matthew 7:13 14).

    3. Jesus directed us to enter the landmark narrow gate (Matthew 7:13 14).


Some ancient religions employed priests who were called "gate keepers." They supposedly held the keys to the mysteries of those religions. Spiritually, those gates were wide because the rituals were licentious, full of lust and carnality. Even today, there are many gate keepers pointing to the wide gate under the direction of their master, Satan. Jesus stated that many are entering through Satan's wide gate. It's a popular and well used one.

During the Second World War, English speaking Germans soldiers disguised as American military police, switched road signs and then stood at the road junctures directing Allied troop traffic and sending them in the wrong direction. As intended, this caused confusion among the Allied troops until the ploy was discovered and remedied. As stated in Scriptures, Satan sometimes disguises himself as an angel of light with the intent of deceiving God's people into taking the wrong road – the wide one. We must be aware of this ploy.

The pastor of a mega-church once stated, "If we want large churches, we must sacrifice quality. We can't make demands and set requirements on people."

There also has been an increase in ads from churches claiming to conduct "seeker sensitive" worship services. A national, secular magazine published an article vaunting one such "seeker sensitive” church. In some five years, the church mushroomed from an approximate attendance of 200 to over 10,000; however, the church takes no doctrinal stand. It gives people what they're comfortable with hearing and doing.  It calls for no commitment. It attempts to bring no conviction. It demands no change of heart or life. It's the religious version of the computer axiom: "garbage in; garbage out." The idea is to get people to attend church without concern of being uncomfortable; that is, without fear of being convicted of sin,  though conviction of sin is one of the ministries of the Holy Spirit   one of the old abandoned landmarks of some churches.

Jesus, knowing His time on earth was limited, informed his disciples that one of the duties of the coming Holy Spirit was to convict the world of sin. "And when he [the Holy Spirit] comes, he will prove to the people of the world that they are wrong about sin and about what is right and about God’s judgment. And they are wrong about sin, because they do not believe in me . . . and they are wrong about sin because the ruler of this world [Satan] has already been judged" (John 16:8 10). Convicting humanity of sin is among the Holy Spirit's most essential duties here on earth. It is a church's obligation to allow Him to fulfill this task. When we attempt to make sinners spiritually comfortable in our services, we are endeavoring to widen the narrow gate, an impossible accomplishment. In such a scenario, what a church actually is doing is making it easier for sinners to continue down the wide road to destruction.

John Bunyan, the poverty stricken, Puritan tinker, penned his classic, "Pilgrim's Progress," while languishing for twelve years in a squalid, polluted Bedford, England jail for the sake of his faith. In his masterpiece, Bunyan described Pilgrim’s arrival at the gate of the Heavenly City. Not only did Pilgrim find that the gate was narrow, it also was extremely low. Above it was inscribed the word’s, "They who enter here must stoop," exemplifying that humility is a crucial landmark on the road to the Heavenly City. If sinners are unwilling to stoop to enter the narrow gate, no number of seeker sensitive gimmicks will prevent them from severely bruising their pride when vainly attempting to pass through, for the narrow gate is Jesus Christ, himself. He declared, "I am the way, the truth and the life; no one goes to the Father except by me (John 14:6).

They who choose to come to the Father through Jesus must humbly stoop as the Lord Jesus did when He condescended to take the form of a man and endure the cross for our redemption.
                                                             
                                                               -30-
                       
                                                         © Josprel
                                                      josprel@verizon.net





 

                                                          Old Landmarks
                                                                  by
                                                               Josprel

Note: All Bible quotes taken from the Good News Bible; Today’s English Version.

Some time ago, a large parcel of property was donated to our church on which to construct a new worship center. Surveyors were hired to lay out the boundaries of the property. They peered through their instruments, waved their arms at one another and recorded numerous measurements.

Finally, they pounded several long, colored wood stakes into the ground and informed us that the survey was completed. They handed the building chairman a preliminary report, saying that the survey would be recorded and stamped by city, county and state officials, after which several copies would be mailed to the church. They also advised us not to remove the survey stakes, since doing so would require another survey, should we or adjoining property owners again need to assess the exact boundaries of the property.

The Biblical definition of the word "landmark" is that which we generally understand by the word. It is a boundary marker. According to Webster, a landmark is any mark or fixed object used to designate the boundary of land. It could be a marked tree, a stone, a ditch, or a heap of stones. In Israel, for someone to remove them was a violation of the Law of Moses. The term “landmark” is used five times in the Bible, each time attached to statements underscoring that landmarks were not to be moved. They were considered sacrosanct. A curse was pronounced on those who dared move them.

The Old Testament empathically prohibited the removal of a neighbor's landmark. Moses commanded Israel, "Do not move your neighbor’s property line, established long ago in the land that the Lord your God is giving you” (Deuteronomy 19:14). So sacrosanct did Moses consider landmarks that at the crossing of the Jordan River, he issued a directive that the Levites were to loudly proclaim   among other things   "God’s curse on anyone who moves a neighbor’s property line” (Deuteronomy 27:17). Many generations later, the author of Proverbs reinforced this prohibition declaring, "Never move an old property line that your ancestors established” (Proverbs 22:28). The ancient Romans also considered landmarks sacred. Anyone convicted of moving one was executed.

Job’s Lament Over the Removal of Old Landmarks.

Job is the quintessential biblical model of an almost infinite patience in suffering. Though he faithfully endured all the afflictions God permitted Satan to heap on him, some 1,520 years before the birth of Jesus Christ, he lamented that some were removing the old landmarks. In Job chapter 24:2 the removal of old landmarks heads the lists of sins Job attributed to his generation. He charged, "Men move property lines to get more land; they steal sheep and put them with their own flocks.”  He followed this accusation with an inventory of the sins of his generation: violence, robbery, oppression of the poor, murder, and many other heinous crimes. Nonetheless, so sacrosanct did Job consider old landmarks that he headed his list with the sin of their removal.

The Importance of Landmarks.

Though landmarks are important because they define boundaries, they do more than that. In a free definition of the word the term also is used to define locations. As we travel, we use landmarks as points of reference to prevent loosing our way.

For example, "To get to Darnel McStranger's house, drive down Town Line Road to the third crossroad. There's no road sign there, but you can't miss it. Just look for a large, red barn on the left corner. You'll also notice an old, rusty tractor parked in the field next to the barn. On the other side of the road you'll see a boarded up, dilapidated, one room schoolhouse. Make a left turn into that road and go three miles. The McStranger's house will be on your right. It's a beige house with green shutters and right across the road is a convenience store."

We have just set directional landmarks for the traveler who is looking for the McStranger residence.

When I was studying for the ministry, the students often sang a favorite chorus, the first line of which is: "I'm traveling to my home way up in heaven and Jesus travels by my side." God's people indeed are spiritual travelers; therefore, Jesus posted ancient directional landmarks for us to follow to insure we travel the right road. To assist us He also warned that the correct road that leads to eternal life is entered through a narrow gate, while the gate opening into the wrong road that leads to destruction is a wide one (Matthew 7:13 14).

Old Landmarks that Identify the Road Leading to Life.

    1. The road leading to the eternal life is entered by a gate, but so is the road leading to destruction. Matthew 7:13 14: "Go through the narrow gate, because the gate to hell is wide and the road that leads to it is easy, and there are many who travel it. But the gate to life is narrow and the way that leads to it is hard, and there are few people who find it."

    2. Jesus directed us to the narrow gate as a directional landmark (Matthew 7:13 14).

    3. Jesus directed us to enter the landmark narrow gate (Matthew 7:13 14).

Some ancient religions employed priests who were called "gate keepers." They supposedly held the keys to the mysteries of those religions. Spiritually, those gates were wide because the rituals were licentious, full of lust and carnality. Even today, there are many gate keepers pointing to the wide gate under the direction of their master, Satan. Jesus stated that many are entering through Satan's wide gate. It's a popular and well used one.

During the Second World War, English speaking Germans soldiers disguised as American military police, switched road signs and then stood at the road junctures directing Allied troop traffic and sending them in the wrong direction. As intended, this caused confusion among the Allied troops until the ploy was discovered and remedied. As stated in Scriptures, Satan sometimes disguises himself as an angel of light with the intent of deceiving God's people into taking the wrong road – the wide one. We must be aware of this ploy.

The pastor of a mega-church once stated, "If we want large churches, we must sacrifice quality. We can't make demands and set requirements on people."

There also has been an increase in ads from churches claiming to conduct "seeker sensitive" worship services. A national, secular magazine published an article vaunting one such "seeker sensitive” church. In some five years, the church mushroomed from an approximate attendance of 200 to over 10,000; however, the church takes no doctrinal stand. It gives people what they're comfortable with hearing and doing.  It calls for no commitment. It attempts to bring no conviction. It demands no change of heart or life. It's the religious version of the computer axiom: "garbage in; garbage out." The idea is to get people to attend church without concern of being uncomfortable; that is, without fear of being convicted of sin,  though conviction of sin is one of the ministries of the Holy Spirit   one of the old abandoned landmarks of some churches.

Jesus, knowing His time on earth was limited, informed his disciples that one of the duties of the coming Holy Spirit was to convict the world of sin. "And when he [the Holy Spirit] comes, he will prove to the people of the world that they are wrong about sin and about what is right and about God’s judgment. And they are wrong about sin, because they do not believe in me . . . and they are wrong about sin because the ruler of this world [Satan] has already been judged" (John 16:8 10). Convicting humanity of sin is among the Holy Spirit's most essential duties here on earth. It is a church's obligation to allow Him to fulfill this task. When we attempt to make sinners spiritually comfortable in our services, we are endeavoring to widen the narrow gate, an impossible accomplishment. In such a scenario, what a church actually is doing is making it easier for sinners to continue down the wide road to destruction.

John Bunyan, the poverty stricken, Puritan tinker, penned his classic, "Pilgrim's Progress," while languishing for twelve years in a squalid, polluted Bedford, England jail for the sake of his faith. In his masterpiece, Bunyan described Pilgrim’s arrival at the gate of the Heavenly City. Not only did Pilgrim find that the gate was narrow, it also was extremely low. Above it was inscribed the word’s, "They who enter here must stoop," exemplifying that humility is a crucial landmark on the road to the Heavenly City. If sinners are unwilling to stoop to enter the narrow gate, no number of seeker sensitive gimmicks will prevent them from severely bruising their pride when vainly attempting to pass through, for the narrow gate is Jesus Christ, himself. He declared, "I am the way, the truth and the life; no one goes to the Father except by me (John 14:6).

They who choose to come to the Father through Jesus must humbly stoop as the Lord Jesus did when He condescended to take the form of a man and endure the cross for our redemption.
                                                               -30-

                                                        © Josprel 
                                                       josprel@yahoo.com

Josprel welcomes comments from the readers of this article. He may be contacted at: josprel@verizon.net

 

                           The Pastor of the No-Fault Church
                                                by
                                            Josprel

Situated in Asia Minor (modern Turkey), Smyrna was among the most prosperous cities in the Roman province of Asia. Presumably, the city was evangelized through the Apostle Paul's missionary efforts at Ephesus (Acts 19:10). Some forty years later, when Christ critiqued the seven churches in Asia (Rev. 1:11), the Smyrna church was one of the two not faulted by Him.

 The church was situated in an environment of wealth. Smyrna's bay on the Aegean shore, forty miles northeast of Ephesus, provided a natural port of commerce for the trade caravans that passed through the Hermas Valley. An important business center and one of the most beautiful cities in Asia Minor, Smyrna was called "The Lovely Ornament of Asia."

The word Smyrna means myrrh, a bitter tasting, and sweet-smelling gum resin exuded by a genus of thorny shrubs. It has medicinal usages and is distilled into perfumed oils and incense. The Hebrew word denotes “distilling.” In Scriptures myrrh is associated with suffering, death, anointing, and hope. The Song of Solomon uses the word symbolically in describing the hopeful preparations of the Bride Church for the arrival of her Bridegroom. Myrrh also was a major ingredient in the recipe for Israel’s Levitical anointing oil (Ex. 30:23).

In the ancient Greek language, the word, myrrh, connotes perfumed oil. The Magi (commonly referred to as the Wise Men and also the Three Kings) presented myrrh to the child, Jesus. While hanging on the cross, the suffering Savior was offered wine laced with myrrh (Mark 15:23). Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes to embalm the body of Jesus (John 19:39).

Myrrh is a word aptly associated with a suffering church determined to  not promise. Distilled through bitter persecutions and tribulations, the Smyrna church manifested the sweet fragrance of a steadfast loyalty to Christ. It continued "faithful unto death" (Rev. 2:10).

 Beautiful wealthy Smyrna was the center of a fanatical cult of emperor worshipers. During the reigns of Nero and Domitian (A.D. 37-96), the cult severely persecuted the church. Trade guilds, opened only to those who acknowledged the pagan gods, controlled the city’s employment and commerce. Ostracized, Smyrna Christians were among the city's poor; nonetheless, Christ Jesus considered them rich with everlasting treasures (Rev. 2:9).

Polycarp, a pupil of the Apostle John, was the pastor of the Smyrna church at the writing of the Book of Revelation, and personified the uncompromising steadfastness of the church. He encouraged this stance in his congregation. Polycarp once heard that some Christian young men, discouraged at being boycotted by the trade guilds, were considering compromise.

He questioned them. “Why are you doing this?” he asked.
 
"We must work,” they responded.

“Why must you work?” he further asked.

“We must work in order to eat,” the young men replied.

Polycarp continued his interrogation, “Why must you eat?”

“We must eat to live," they responded.

"Why must you live?" Polycarp asked.

“We must work, so that we may eat and feed our families.”

"There is only one thing we all must do. We all must remain true to Christ Jesus," Polycarp declared.

Polycarp suffered martyrdom at Smyrna. The pagans called Christians “atheists” for refusing to acknowledge the pagan idols as gods. In the amphitheater, the Roman proconsul pressed Polycarp to save himself by chanting with the mob, "Away with the atheists."

Pointing at the pagan mob, Polycarp shouted, "Away with the atheists!"

"Polycarp, have pity on your great age," the proconsul urged him, "Revile your Christ and I will release you."

Polycarp answered, "Eighty and six years have I served Him and He has never done me wrong. How can I blaspheme Him, my King, who has saved me? I am a Christian!"

The enraged mob howled for his burning. And, as Polycarp, the pastor of the no-fault church at Smyrna, loudly praised God, the flames released his spirit to be with Christ Jesus.

"Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life" (Rev. 2:10).
                                             -30-

                              © Josprel (Joseph Perrello)
                                  josprel@verizon.net

                                                                Spiritual Warfare
                                                                          by
                                                                      Josprel

“For we are not fighting against human beings, but against the wicked spiritual forces in the heavenly world, the rulers, authorities, and cosmic powers of this dark age” (Ephesians 6:12; Good News Bible).

“A soldier on active duty wants to please his commanding officer and does not get mixed up in the affairs civilian life” (2nd Timothy 2:4; GNB).

Born again Christians are at war; they are battling spiritual forces!

Ever since Lucifer lost his exalted heavenly position and was cast from heaven due to his pride and rebellion against God, he has been in a fury against the people of God. With lies and deceit he endeavors to frustrate the ultimate plan of God for them.

Lucifer’s sinister subversion of humanity began in the Garden of Eden with the First Couple. The outcome of that subversion we call, “The Fall” (Genesis 2 & 3). A fall it was indeed! The First Couple plummeted from the intimate fellowship they enjoyed with their Creator to that of a spiritual obscurity that even now continues to veil unredeemed humanity from Him. It appeared Lucifer had achieved his purpose to defeat God’s plan for mankind. God, however, predicted the evil one’s defeat at the hands of the very race he subverted. “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heal” (Genesis 3:15 (New King James).

It has been said that God’s time clock never runs slow. That maxim applies to the fulfillment of God’s prediction to Lucifer. “But when the right time finally came, God sent his own Son. He came as the son of a human mother and lived under the Jewish Law, to redeem those who were under the Law, so that we might become God’s sons” (Galatians 4:4; G.N.B.).

Understanding that his subversion of the First Couple did not necessarily indicate the defeat of God’s plan, Lucifer continued his hellish crusade by seeking the destruction the incarnate Savior. The first attempt came at the hands of an envious king named, Herod. This attempt was prevented when Mary’s espoused husband, Joseph, received an angelic warning to escape into Egypt until the danger was over. He obeyed, returning when he was assured that it was safe to do so.

During His earthly ministry, the Lord Jesus received several threats against His life. All failed until the time was right. He was crucified, but not without voluntarily laying down His life. At the trial of Jesus, Pilot said to [the chief priests] “You take him, then, and crucify him. I find no reason to condemn him.” The crowd shouted back, “We have a law that says he ought to die, because he claimed to be the Son of God.”

“When pilot heard this, he was even more afraid. He went back into the palace and asked Jesus, “Where do you come from?”

When Jesus did not answer, Pilot said to him, “You will not speak to me?  Remember I have the authority to set you free and also to have you crucified.”

Jesus answered, “You have authority over me only because it was given to you by God. So the man who handed me to you is guilty of a worse sin . . .”

They crucified him . . . Jesus knew that by now everything had been completed . . . Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit” (John 19: 8-29; G.N.B.).

The cross and the subsequent resurrection of Jesus Christ was Lucifer’s unqualified defeat. In our spiritual battles we should be deeply comforted by this truth, for according to the Apostle Paul, we cannot be defeated. “If God is for us, who can be against us? Certainly not God, who did not even keep back his own Son, but offered him for us all! He gave us his Son, will he not also give us all things? Who will accuse God’s chosen people? God himself declares them not guilty! Who will then condemn them? Not Christ Jesus, who died, or rather who was raised to life and is at the right hand of God, pleading with him for us. Who, then, can separate us from the love of Christ? Can trouble do it, or hardship or persecution or hunger or poverty or danger or death?

“No, in all these things we have complete victory through him who loved us. For I am certain that nothing can separate us from his love: neither death nor life, neither angels nor other heavenly rulers or powers, neither the world above nor the world below - there is nothing in all creation that will ever be able to separate us from the love of God which is ours through Christ Jesus our Lord.”

This author believes that warrior angels, assigned to various nations, battle wicked spirit in the unseen world in answer to the prayers of God’s people. The Prophet Daniel verified this when the angel Gabriel appeared to him with the following message: “Daniel, don’t be afraid. God has heard your prayers ever since the first day you decided to humble yourself in order to gain understanding. I have come in answer to your prayer. The angel of the prince of Persia opposed me for twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief angels, came to help me, because I had been left alone in Persia. I have come to make you understand what will happen to your people in the future . . .” (Daniel 10:12-14; G.N.B.).

This author recalls being told by someone, “I always pray only one time for anything I need.”

“But suppose you don’t receive it that one time?” I inquired.

“Well, that means God doesn’t want me to have it.”

What would the results been had Daniel not prayed until the answer came?

Believers must comprehend that prayer is one of our weapons against Lucifer. Through prayer we assist in preventing him from blocking the answers to our request. When this author presents a request before God, he continues making the request until the answer comes, or until the Holy Spirit definitely tells him the response is no.  We should remember there are three responses to our requests: YES, NO and WAIT. Until we are led otherwise, we should continue to present a particular request to the Lord.

The Apostle, Paul apparently included prayer among the items in the Armor of God. “So put on God’s armor now! Then when the evil day comes, you will be able to resist the enemy’s attacks; and after fighting to the end, you will still hold your ground. Stand ready, with truth as a belt tight around your waist, with righteousness as your breastplate, and as your shoes the readiness to announce the Good News of peace. At all times carry faith as your shield; for with it you will be able to put out all the burning arrows shot by the Evil One. And accept salvation as a helmet, and the word of God as the sword which the Spirit gives you. Do all this in prayer, asking for God’s help. Pray on every occasion as the Spirit leads. For this reason keep alert and never give up; pray always for God’s people” (Ephesians 6:14-18; G.N.B).

True, we are in a spiritual warfare, but NEVER GIVE UP; our victory has been foreordained by God!  NEVER GIVE UP; our victory is certain though that warfare continues until we either receive our promotion to glory or Christ returns to take us where He is! ABSOLUTELY DO NOT SURRENDER OR COMPROMISE; for we are more than conquerors through Jesus Christ who loves us! Be assured that we are not merely conquerors; we are MORE than conquerors and we shall reign with Him, for He is Lord! 

Just one further observation made by this author: There is no mention of armor to protect our backs.  SO ABSOLUTELY DO NOT TURN YOUR BACK TO THE ENEMY; ALWAYS CONFRONT HIM HEAD-ON, WIELDING THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT - GOD'S WORD.
                                                                           
                                                                           -30-

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