Hi Men:

Do you ever contemplate just how important reading the Word of God is?  I asked our brother, Jonathan Koehler a while back if he would consider writing a few messages to our brothers and sister in India.  I have attached what he recently wrote to them.  

They discussed this teaching at their “All Night Prayer” this past Wednesday morning (see photo).  Two statements in Jonathan’s message caught my attention:

• God did not give us the Bible to make us smarter sinners – He gave us the Bible to make us holy.

• But if you are not willing to communicate with and listen to the Lover of our souls now, do not be surprised if you have the same attitude on the Other Side.

When I ask brothers if they believe the Bible is God’s infallible Word, the answer I most always get is “yes”…….  Yet, it’s sad to find that so many spend little time in Word and don’t seem interested in participating in the various bible studies and conferences that are quite available.  If we say we believe God’s Word is in fact “true,”  how do these verses speak to you?

“For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”  (Heb 4:12)  Note:  This is the key verse for our Zion conference!

“All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for rebuke, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
“Who in the world would want “training in righteousness?”  We are all such a “piece of work”  ….  Ugh!

“For the weapons of our warfare are not the weapons of the world.  Instead they have divine power for the destruction of fortresses.  We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.”  (2 Corinthians 10:4-5)

 Ok, I’ll stop here…………..you guys get the point.

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I was reading this morning the horrendous fire raging in Northern California.  This photo of a home completely engulfed in flames caught my attention.  It was reported that the town where this home was located was pretty much destroyed by this wildfire.  The name of this town is:  “PARADISE”  …….  As we pray for the people of this town, let us pause to again reflect on the fact that we are not in control of our circumstances and we are not home yet…………  this is not our home!  

 See you at noon!

Dan
“For who regards you as superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?” (1 Cor 4:7)

What Happened to Peter?  Red Book –  November 9^th – Day 314
Never assume you know the ways of God…….

 “Your path led through the sea, Your way through the mighty waters, but Your footprints were not to be found.”  Psalm 77:19

Our brother Andy Fetsis has been kind enough to send various quotes from George Whitefield, a preacher born in England in 1714.  His preaching sounds similar to Jonathan Edwards as we read one comment:

Oh how did the Word fall like a hammer and like a fire.  What a weeping was there!  One poor creature in particular was ready to sink into the earth… At length he said, “What shall I do to be saved?”  Others were dissolved into tears around him.  George Whitefield – 1739

Whitefield was a man of the Word, so humble, yet spoke with great power from the Lord.  He addressed the preachers of his day and even made this bold comment:

George Whitefield was greatly concerned about these matters and he made these statements almost 280 years ago!!!  Why is there no power in the preaching of the Word these days?  Are most are too distracted and busy with other matters, activities, meetings, worldly and temporal attraction, social justice, spending too much free time on the internet and much more?  Are they spending time in the Word and on their knees pleading with God in prayer to give them a WORD? ……………. Or as David Wilkerson states in this 7 minute YouTube, where is the “anguish?”  Is there any anguish anymore…… or is the church looking more and more like the world?

A Call to Anguish – David Wilkerson
(click here)