Our Individual Worth

 A copy and paste from the Five Doves site.   I have always had trouble believing that Jesus love me as an individual.  I was taught at one point that God made us and then we were on our own---that salvation was only collective---that individualism is selfish and evil---that an identity could only be found in the collective mass of souls living for one another.  We  were told we must always put the group ahead of ourselves, deny our personal feelings to the extint of being a non-person.  The group is all that mattered.   Reminds me of the Borgs on Star Trek!  Its been hard for me to believe God loves me individually.  There have been times when I doubted my salvation because I knew I didn't "measure up".   I should have stuck with the song I heard over and over in my mind (and sang when no one was around) immediately after my redemption/baptism in the Holy Spirit.   The song was "Jesus Loves Me"---a kid's song for a new kid in the kingdom.  Yes, Jesus loves me---and you, too. He loves us so much that He died on the cross to save us.  He was raised from the grave and is now seated at the right hand of the Father interceeding for each one of us.  We are each one special in His sight!  cs    OUR INDIVIDUAL WORTH

By A. W. Tozer
 

For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every
one that believeth.                        - Romans 10:4

  Our lost race has always been prone to discount and
reject the wonderful fact of the individual factor in the
love of God.  Far, far too many men and women in this
world are convinced that God's love for the world is just
one big lump - and the individual is not involved.

  We have only to look around us with serious
observation to confirm the fact that the devil has been
successful in planting his lie that no one cares for the
individual person.

  Even in nature around us, there appears to be very little
individual concern.  The burden of concern is always for
the species.

  But Jesus did not preach to the multitudes as though
they were a faceless crowd.  He preached to them as
individuals, and with a knowledge of the burdens and the
needs of each one.  Our Savior did not come into the
world to deal with statistics!

  Each of us must come with full confidence that it is a
personal word God has spoken to us in Christ, that
"whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish."
____________________________________________
Yours in Christ,
Paul N. F.
Once you put your entire trust in Jesus and OBEY HIM, you will
find that HE will treat you as if the only ones in the world are just
you and Jesus.  This is WONDERFUL  

Where Are the Men?

     Nahum 3:13  "Behold, the people in the midst of thee are woman; the gates of the land shall be set wide open unto thine enemies; the fires shall devour thy land."  

    
     Nahum was a post-Jonah prophetic book predicting Nineva's destruction because of their great wickedness.  An Assyrian city, Nineva was an example of the Assyrian empire that I understand was exceptionally cruel.  They were bloody, bold in war, and without mercy to their enemies.   Yet, God spared them when Johah's reluctant warnings caused them to repent.  In time, they "backslid", becoming wicked once again.   Catching God's eye,  He used His prophet, Nahum, to tell them the way it was.  Refusing to listen this time around, they were eventually brought to ruin.  
     I see a parallel of Assyria to America.  We, who began as a Christian nation have become morally corrupt, bloody, filled with filth and violence.   If God destroyed the Assyrians who never pretended to honor God, how much more so will He turn His judgement upon a nation who still has "In God Will We Trust" on our coins but, instead of trusting Him, trust in the gods of greed, lust, entertainment, and self?   
     Where are our men?  Where are the Godly men who are not afraid to stand for Biblical principals, who teach their children in the way they should go, who cherish their wives but are the spiritual head of their homes?   Where are the praying men?   Where are the "take a stand and not back down" men?  Where are the overcoming men?   Where are the politically incorrect but Biblical correct men?   Where are the men who can see beyond their own noses?   Where are the men who care?
    I know there are some out there and I thank God for that.   God bless them!    We need those good men multiplied into an army who stands unashamed for Jesus.  Us ladies are accused of being too aggressive.   I'm talking about the Christian ladies---never mind the ones that don't know God.  I'm not talking about them. I am referring to the mothers who take their children to church while the daddies stay home to watch football.  How about the men who never crack a bible or pray?   Some churches are practically run by the ladies because the men take the easy route and back off, letting their wives have the authority God meant for the husbands.   The ladies have to take the spiritual lead if our men won't.  Its that simple.  Its either that or turn our backs on God! I'm sure there are ladies who like to be the boss but I know, too,  that there are women who yearn for their men to take the leadership role as a Christian husband and father.  Many tears have been shed  by women who want their husbands to take the burden from her.    I didn't say tyrant!  Men, love your wives as Christ loves His church!  Ladies, keep praying!
    So, it boils down to this.  If the fierce warriors of Assyria were called "women" and God let their enemies destroy them, where does that leave us in America?   I don't claim to be a Bible scholar but I think I got the facts right.  The point is:  the book of Nahum was a warning to Nineva that could just as well be written to America.  Its still a fearsome thing to fall into the hands of the living God.  God, help us all!  Let the men be men of God!
   

Poo Bear---(just for fun)

     This is a silly poem about a cat I once had.  He was given to us already an adult cat.  Originally he was a throwaway found on the roadside during a rain storm---a little bedraggled kitten, pitiful, hungry and cold.  He was a special kitty who is still my favorite of all time.  I miss him still.  We were gone when he got sick and finally died.  I regret not having him with us at the time.  Since I can't re-do the past, I can only remember him with love.  

Poo to You

My name is Bear---Poo Bear

My early days are a mystery

I was born who knows where

Still, I have an unique history

I remember not, but I was told

I was abandoned---I almost died

Poor me, scruffy, hungry and cold,

forlorn---scared--okay---terrified!

Picked up by the scruff of my neck

taken to a house warm and cozy,

I thought my woes over, by heck

The food was great and all was rosy.

I grew, I played, and I thrived

I'm Siamese so they called me "Chang"

I was content and glad to be alive

I was getting quite handsome, by dang!

Then one day, in a box I was thrown

I was jostled---would it never stop? 

Why, what on earth could be wrong?

Oh woe is me, this is quite a shock!

Then, oh no, what's happening now?

A new house full of strange folk

Help!  I was cat-napped somehow!

Gotta hide fast---is this a cruel joke?

I hid under the bathtub for many days

I came out only when no one could see

These were weird folks with weird ways

But at least they set food out for me

Little by little I decided to try

to be part of this strange new family

I'm really a curious and friendly guy,

But were they good enough for me?

I allowed them to coax me out at last

I sprayed my scent most every place

I meowed in my very Siamese best

I scratched the furniture to save face.

Next, oh boy, what happened then!

I found myself inside a cage

Uh oh, oh no, here we go again! 

Its enough to throw me in a rage!

It was worse than my worst nightmare!

It was a Vet's they left me at!

He changed me forever---you know where!

I was such a miserable kitty cat!

Then, wow, I got to go back home

to be pampered and spoiled a bit

Funny, I no longer cared to roam

Yes---I was loved and I loved it!

Content, fat and cuddly I became

Affectionate and sweet---a real nice guy!

That's when they changed my name

Nowadays,  Bear---Poo Bear am I!

Compromise

     I just read an artical called "A Tsunami of Compromise" that was "right on".   I can't seem to copy and paste it so I'm pointing to where I found it.   It is on the answersingenesis.org site. 

Repent

     This poem was written years ago.  I left it as I wrote it then, though it could use some editing.  Seems to have an ongoing application to living a Christian life.  Stubborn rebellion creeps in, anger lurks and feeds on unforgiven hurts, and the battle is against my own selfish nature.    Father God has a way of reminding me of His Grace and my weakness.   Praise His Holy Name.

REPENT

"Oh, what a pious picture of holiness I must be."

That's what I was thinking, as on bended knee

I knelt praying for a friend's need

I saw myself being very spiritual, indeed!

But then---what's this?  That can't really be me!

A vision I saw of myself on bended knee,

But when I turned my face---I saw clear,

Not the smile of a saint, but a devil's leer.

Why, I don't look like that at all

Christ is within me---He'll answer my call

Oh God!  How can this be true?

Is this vision really from You?

I rebuked it loudly but the vision was clear

I cried out to God, I "cast" out fear

Finally I asked, "God, what does it mean?

What are You saying?  Please make me clean."

I opened my bible and this I did see

Chapter thirteen of Luke---verse three.

The word that burned into my mind and sense

Repent, repent---yes, that's it.  Repentance!

Who, me?  What did I do, Lord?  After all

I'm a child of the King---did I really fall?

But---I thought I was lifted out of the mud

I know that I am covered by Your blood.

I've tried to do all that I could,

You mean I didn't do all that I should?

Then Jesus showed me a thing or two

They weren't very pretty, I'll tell you.

When my filthy rags were revealed

With His conviction I was filled

Trespasses that I had simply shrugged away

Now were brought to His light of day

By now I was ready to repent and cry out,

God gave me forgiveness, I don't doubt

I felt a release as I read in Luke fifteen

Verse ten confirmed it---I am redeemed!

Now, I would like my prayer to be

"Oh, God, thank You for forgiving me

Praise Your Holy Name and let it be

Only Your nature that shines through me.

Luke 13:3  "I tell you, Nay; but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

Luke 15:10  "Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.

1968 Prophecy by 90 year old woman in Norway

---

     I copied and pasted this from the Five Doves site.   I'm really careful about all the prophesies that are out there these days.  We must not believe everything that comes down the pike but judge it by the Word of God.  If this was given in 1968, it is pretty amazing and "right on" so far.   Will we see the rest of this prophesy come to pass in the near future?  Everything but Jesus' return and nuclear war has happened just as this lady predicted.  We need to hide ourselves in Jesus, tell others of His great salvation, and pray for the lost souls who will die in the coming holocast. 

There are many Christians being Blessed by your Website :
http://www.fivedoves.com/

With lots of prophesies of the Coming of Our Holy Lord JESUS. Here is
another from a 90-year old woman in Norway - link :
http://www.inthebeginning.com/articles/norway1968.htm



 1968 Prophecy by 90 Year Old Woman in Norway

HOME

An old woman of 90 from Valdres in Norway had a vision from God in
1968. The evangelist Emanuel Minos had meetings (services) where she
lived. He had the opportunity to meet her, and she told him what she
had seen. He wrote it down, but thought it to be so unintelligible
that he put it in a drawer. Now, almost 30 years later, he understands
he has to share the vision with others.

The woman from Valdres was a very alert, reliable, awake and credible
Christian, with a good reputation among all who knew her. This is what
she saw:

"I saw the time just before the coming of Jesus and the outbreak of
the Third World War. I saw the events with my natural eyes. I saw the
world like a kind of a globe and saw Europe, land by land. I saw
Scandinavia. I saw Norway. I saw certain things that would take place
just before the return of Jesus, and just before the last calamity
happens, a calamity the likes of which we have never before
experienced.

She mentioned four waves:

1. "First before Jesus comes and before the Third World War breaks out
there will be a ‘détente’ like we have never had before. There will be
peace between the super powers in the east and the west, and there
will be a long peace. (Remember, that this was in 1968 when the cold
war was at its highest. E. Minos) In this period of peace there will
be disarmament in many countries, also in Norway and we are not
prepared when it (the war) comes. The Third World War will begin in a
way no one would have anticipated - and from an unexpected place.

2. "A lukewarmness without parallel will take hold of the Christians,
a falling away from true, living Christianity. Christians will not be
open for penetrating preaching. They will not, like in earlier times,
want to hear of sin and grace, law and gospel, repentance and
restoration. There will come a substitute instead: prosperity
(happiness) Christianity.

"The important thing will be to have success, to be something; to have
material things, things that God never promised us in this way.
Churches and prayer houses will be emptier and emptier. Instead of the
preaching we have been used to for generations -like, to take your
cross up and follow Jesus, - entertainment, art and culture will
invade the churches where there should have been gatherings for
repentance and revival. This will increase markedly just before the
return of Jesus.

3. "There will be a moral disintegration that old Norway has never
experienced the likes of. People will live together like married
without being married. (I do not believe the concept ‘co-habitor’?
existed in 1968 - E. Minos.) Much uncleanness before marriage, and
much infidelity in marriage will become the natural (the common), and
it will be justified from every angle. It will even enter Christian
circles and we pet it - even sin against nature. Just before Jesus
return there will be TV- programs like we have never experienced. (TV
had just arrived in Norway in 1968. E. Minos)

"TV will be filled with such horrible violence that it teaches people
to murder and destroy each other, and it will be unsafe in our
streets. People will copy what they see. There will not be only one
‘station’ on TV, it will be filled with ‘stations.’ (She did not know
the word ‘channel’ which we use today. Therefore she called them
stations. E. Minos.) TV will be just like the radio where we have many
‘stations,’ and it will be filled with violence. People will use it
for entertainment. We will see terrible scenes of murder and
destruction one of the other, and this will spread in society. Sex
scenes will also be shown on the screen, the most intimate things that
takes place in a marriage." (I protested and said, we have a paragraph
that forbids this kind of thing. E. Minos.) There the old woman said:
"It will happen, and you will see it. All we have had before will be
broken down, and the most indecent things will pass before our eyes."

4. "People from poor countries will stream to Europe. (In 1968 there
was no such thing as immigration. E. Minos.) They will also come to
Scandinavia - and Norway. There will be so many of them that people
will begin to dislike them and become hard with them. They will be
treated like the Jews before the Second World War. Then the full
measure of our sins will have been reached (I protested at the issue
of immigration. I did not understand it at the time. E. Minos.)

The tears streamed from the old woman’s eyes down her cheeks. "I will
not see it, but you will. Then suddenly, Jesus will come and the Third
World War breaks out. It will be a short war." (She saw it in the
vision.)

"All that I have seen of war before is only child’s play compared to
this one, and it will be ended with a nuclear atom bomb. The air will
be so polluted that one cannot draw one’s breath. It will cover
several continents, America, Japan, Australia and the wealthy nations.
The water will be ruined (contaminated?). We can no longer till the
soil. The result will be that only a remnant will remain. The remnant
in the wealthy countries will try to flee to the poor countries, but
they will be as hard on us as we were on them.

"I am so glad that I will not see it, but when the time draws near,
you must take courage and tell this. I have received it from God, and
nothing of it goes against what the Bible tells.

"The one who has his sin forgiven and has Jesus as Savior and Lord, is
safe."

Say What?

       I learned a new word today from the "net".    "Chrislam" refers to a mingling of Christianity and Islam.  Father, forgive them, they know not what they do---but they would if they read and believed the Holy Bible.   Jesus is THE WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE.   There is no other way and there can be no compromise.  To compromise is to deny Jesus and that brings destruction.   How sad, how very sad.   I hope folks will wake up before it is too late.   
     I cheer Jack Van Impe for standing up for truth against the powerful TBN  folks.   I do not agree with all that J. Van Impe teaches but I certainly admire his courage in this matter.  I hope that others will follow his lead.   It seems that lines are being drawn in the sand.   Could God be saying, "Choose ye this day whom ye will serve." ?   I would rather every person despise me than to deny my Savior, Jesus Christ.  Come, Lord Jesus!

Yearning for Holiness

       I find myself with such a deep yearning for holiness and purity, its almost agonizing at times.  As this sin cursed world grows darker and filthier, I long for escape to a place called heaven where there is no darkness, no evil, and no hurt.   I can't understand how so called Christians can mix and mingle with the world.   It is painful to my spirit to hear four letter words.   Some things on TV make me want to hide under the bed----the oppression entering the house from the TV is suffocating at times.  If I were free to do so, the TV would be out of here!   I am grateful I don't have to hear it, at least.  Praise the Lord for earphones!
     Years ago I dreamed the house was swarming with demons---horribly ugly little critters chirping and chattering everywhere.   I followed the stream of confusion to where they were entering.   It was a radio in my then teen-aged son's bedroom.  It was blaring heavy metal!   Don't tell me that the airways don't carry demonic activity.   Idol worship doesn't have to be bowing down to a statue of some pagan Deity--it is immersion into evil activities that are anti-God.   Computer games are addictive soul destroyers!   Young folks are nowadays being continuously sucked into the entertainment idol.   Its like the old days when children were sacrificed to  Moloch.  Instead of placing the little kid on the white-hot arms to slide into the fire, now we set them in front of the TV or hand them a game-boy and they happily fry their souls, destroy their consciences, being ignorant of the righteousness of Jesus,they are  innocence sliding into the fire!  
    Father, HELP!     Wake up this generation before it is too late!  
    I pray that You will make sin a sickening thing for the lost ones, that You would give them hearts yearning for Holiness and that You would convict them unto repentance---that You would draw them to Jesus Christ---the Way, the Truth, the Life---and that they would be saved and filled with Your Precious Holy Spirit.   Father I pray that You would deliver Your children from evil and that You would convict us continually of sin---keep us on the straight and narrow way.  Father, purify Your Bride, the Church--make us without spot or wrinkle.  WHATEVER IT TAKES!  Persecution has historically purified Your people.   Let us embrace persecution if that is what we need to cleanse us.  Give us a yearning for the purity of God instead of the "stuff" of this world.  Father, I ask that You would protect us from wolves in sheep's clothing, deceivers, and all temptation.   Give us hearts after You that will not look to the left, right, or behind, but straight forward upon Your face.  Father, make us, Your children,--- lights reflecting You in this dark world.  Father,  I love You. Help me to love You more and to love others with Your love, to be righteous with Your righteousness,  to live and move and have my being in You alone.    I am so thankful to be Your blood-bought child.   amen