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TO OUR CYBER VISITORS: To read about the persecution Razia is referring to in her WRAP AROUND, go to our NOVEMBER-2003 WRAP AROUNDS. RAZIA WROTE: "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as though you were working for the Lord and not for men."(Col.3: 23) RAZIA WROTE AGAIN: "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as though you were working for the Lord and not for men."(Col.3: 23) DON WROTE: Since we were led of the Lord to put Razia's web page up on our site, we have observed that within her web site and in all of her correspondence with us that Razia is not promoting herself, nor some denomination/man-made organization. Rather, we have noticed that she is always trying to bring people face-to-face with the Lord Jesus. In addition, we are satisfied that when people come face to face with Razia, that they do not see her as a "professional" church worker, but someone who has been touched by the Love of God, and someone who wants to share that love with others. We trust that you will seek the mind of the Lord concerning Razia's needs as well as the needs of all missionaries who are faithfully answering their call and doing their part to fulfill the Great Commission.
Many who have wanted to answer this call, but could not go personally, have been led of the Lord to help others who were already on the mission fields. As is the case with many nations that have been in spiritual darkness, Pakistan has not only been in spiritual darkness, but it has also known abject poverty. Church, we all have needs! The needs around Razia are obvious. The ministry to which she is called requires help if she is to fulfill those needs. And just as importantly, those of us who live in affluent societies have needs. We need to learn to "give" in the Lord. I'm satisfied that Jesus wasn't just making talk when He said that it is more blessed to give than to receive. Please seek the mind of the Lord for you in this matter and be faithful in what He gives you to do. I'm satisfied that Christ Jesus wants all believers to give SOMETHING to SOMEONE--be it time, money, a heart-felt prayer, a tear, or just a friendly word and a smile. Let me sum this up with a little poem taught to children in Sunday School: JUST ONE LIFE May the Lord make us ALL to be giving--and forgiving--sons and daughters of God. Maranatha, Don |
| To Our Cyber-Visitors: This WRAP AROUND is a continuation of a discourse that can be found in our March 2003 and December 2003 WRAP AROUNDS. It might make more sense to you if you were to check out the previous WRAPs. Because for us, Karsten's WRAP is confusing, and hard to follow--and lengthy; We've chosen to put our responses up first. Hopefully, after reading our comments, his will be easier to follow. Don Wrote: Dear Karsten, As I read your WRAP AROUND, which vacillates from law to grace to law to grace, it seems to me that you are in one of two positions: either you are the Lord's and you've fallen back under the beggarly elements of the law, or you need to put yourself at the mercy of Christ (which. in truth, is where everyone is) and truly receive Him as your Savior. In other words, I would think that you need to quit trying to save yourself and accept the gift of God which was purchased in full for you by Christ Jesus on the Cross of Calvary. Now, please understand that what I am about to say is not calculated to talk you into my way of believing; for I am convinced that if a man can talk one into believing something, another man can talk him out of it. Therefore, it is our desire to bring all who visit our site "face to face" with Christ Jesus so that they can say like the Apostle Paul: ...I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day (II Tim. 1:12b). However, God made men creatures of thought and He wants each of us to think for ourselves. In fact, He wants us to reason with Him:
THE BELIEVER AND LOGIC However, as with every good thing that God has given man, the devil has no choice but to try to corrupt our ability to reason; and one of his favorite ploys is to try to use logic to come against God's grace. "But what if..." he begins his arguments against the goodness and grace of God--and he surely has a bag full of faulty logic to use against any who will listen. But since the devil can use logic in his attempts to undermine our faith, would you permit me to use a little logic in its favor. SHARING AN EXPERIENCE One day a student came to me with some questions that showed he was having troublesome thoughts about the "saved and lost" doctrines that are always flying around. On my desk was a new calculator that the boy had been eyeing somewhat covetously. I answered him with a question: "Would you like to have this calculator? "Yes," he replied. "Okay, take it. It's yours. It's a gift from me." I said. He picked the calculator up and as he turned to walk back to his desk, I said: "By the way, if you want to keep that calculator, you'll have to pay me ten dollars a month for the rest of your life." He turned and said in exasperation, "Why, that's no gift!" "Exactly," I said, "and neither would God's gift of eternal life be a gift if you or I have to do anything to keep it." THE FAULTY LOGIC OF DO'S AND DON'T'S Looks like you're trying to set for yourself a list of "do's and don't's" that you need to keep so that you might "earn" eternal life. But this presents a problem, for such a list is not presented in the Bible. And even if you could pull some "do's and don't's" from the commands given to those who were under the law of Moses and make yourself a list to live by, how can you know if you've fully satisfied their demands. You speak as though you were trying to achieve "purity." This was one of the errors of the religious leaders who put the world into spiritual darkness during the "Dark Ages." Christ did not come to make the fallen nature of man pure--or even "better"! He came to make us to be new creatures in Christ Jesus, creatures who want to live as Christ lived, and creatures who would have the Holy Spirit to help in that endeavor. However, the Bible and experience teaches that none could ever achieve that purity except Christ Himself. Nonetheless, it is the desire of the born-again believer to always strive to walk in the same love that Christ did--even though we all will fall short at times due to our own particular experiences and habits we established before surrendering our lives to Christ. Surely all born-again believers must agree that when the Spirit came into our lives to take residence in our bodies, He did not kick out the old man. Perhaps, this is so that we can grow in grace to maturity as we see the errors of the old man and overcome its lasciviousness from victory to victory. And perhaps it is so that we will not grow into someone who is "better than thou," but into someone who has understanding and compassion for those who have not yet made Christ their Lord and Savior and who are still driven by the old man's evil lusts. BUT FOR SURE, THE BIBLE DOES NOT TEACH THAT THE OLD MAN IS LEFT IN OUR MEMBERS SO THAT WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO RESIST HIM SO THAT WE MIGHT EARN ETERNAL LIFE. Again, I am not putting this WRAP up to win an argument; for it is not our goal to convince anyone that we are right about anything! It is our purpose to share with others that Christ lives, that He lives in us and leads us daily--as much as we will allow, and that He wants to do the same for anyone who wants to walk with Him. But we want to also point out that to walk in Christ Jesus is not to walk in torment and doubt but in joy and peace: a joy that is "unspeakable and full of glory" and a peace that "is not of this world" and a peace that "passeth understanding." Such peace and joy cannot be the lot of those who follow the devil's logic. B'Ann Wrote: It would seem to me that your philosophy would let you be "very proud of yourself" one day and "feeling the despair of failure" the next. The Bible says that Christ is the "author and finisher" of our faith. Now, if we try to write another man's book; then, we are either guilty of plagiarism or a privileged ghost writer. However, in Revelation we are warned not to add or take away from the Scriptures. Evidently you have assigned yourself the task of daily keeping the 10 Commandments, but these were never given for salvation. They were given as rules for God's Theocratic government on earth. So, what rules do you follow? (Cf. Romans 8:1-4) If it is the commandments of the law, then you are a debtor to keep every one of them (James 2:10; Gal. 3:10). Not only is that impossible, but to try would be utterly exhausting. If you are never sure of your relationship with Christ, and can only hope to attain eternal life when you die, then there has to be a strong element of "doubt or fear." I think I will just claim these Scriptures.
Karsten Wrote: Dear Don, Karsten Wrote Again: Question-Comment: I have read some more of your wrap arounds. They are interesting. About mine. We were talking about the kingdom being here. I do not feel that God's kingdom is here. It will not be here until Christ returns. We do now have the promise to enter that kingdom, and the Holy Spirt to help us be prepared for it, dressed as a bride. There are requirements for entering that kingdom. I assume that you believe, "once saved, always saved" no matter what else you do! I feel that you must also do something, not to be saved, but to show your love and appreciation by obeying our Heavenly Father, because He is so loving as to offer this gift. One must give thanks, and use the gift to advantage. He gives this promise to all, however they must accept it graciously. Really, I think we are mostly agreed, we just seem to miss each other in communicating. I Don Wrote Again: You are talking about the kingdoms in the Bible, but I am talking about the salvation of a soul. One might glean an understanding of a Biblical term or topic from the the writings of another, yet not know Christ Jesus as their Lord and Savior. This is my concern. If you will go to our on-line book The Clock of the Ages you will find our understanding of the kingdoms spoken of in the Bible; but to grasp my understanding is not the same as laying hold of the eternal life that is found in the Lord Jesus. As to our ascribing to the "once saved, always saved" dogma, you have assumed incorrectly. The terms "saved and lost" and "once saved, always saved" are not Biblical concepts. There were invented by people who have nothing better to do with their life than to argue religion. If you really want to know how we feel about these two terms, go to our on-line book Mark Them. Also, as to our being "mostly agreed," again, I am not so sure. It is true that God looks upon the heart; but when He looks upon the heart of man, He is looking for those who have the trust of a little child (Mt. 18:3). I know of no little child who is raised in a "normal" family situation that lives in fear that his dad might throw him away. There can be no peace in the heart of a little child who thinks such thoughts. I know that it is normal to want to "be in control." That is a trait of our fallen nature: though one that is often frustrated by circumstances and the "control" of others. The "law" appeals to this trait. But when we are dealing with the God who created us, we should keep in mind that HE is the one who is in control. Tomorrow is not even ours, except as God decides to give it to us.
In fact, we are not even guaranteed the next heart beat--even that belongs to God. True, we are to do the best that we can with each day that God gives us; but like eternal life, each day is a gift. The strongest man, the smartest man, or the richest man can not live one day more than he is allotted. If you have not accepted God's gift of eternal life--purchased at the Cross for you by His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ--then do yourself a favor and stop frustrating the love of God.
On the other hand, if you have truly received God's gift of eternal life, then why not stop frustrating yourself and those in your circle of influence and enter fully into that gift and then share it with others. B'Ann Wrote Again: I think I'm seeing terminology problems. We love Christ because He is our brother; because He died for us; because He promised never to leave us or forsake us. We don't serve Him out of "gratitude" but because it is our "new nature" to do so. Gratitude is such a meager word. How can I give examples? I'll go another route. Animals have "empathy," we have "sympathy," but the Church is to have "compassion." Sadly, it would seem that today's church has virtually no understanding of "compassion" for if it did it would be "moved with compassion" and do great things in His Name.
Also, if we feel that we have to make sacrifices to God, we need to ask ourselves just what sacrifices might we make that would cause God to love us more than He did when He gave His Only Begotten Son. Let's look at a couple of the most widely known sacrifices imposed by the churches and let the Scriptures address them. For example, let's consider the Catholic Church's centuries of "celibate sacrificing" which was supposedly installed by Peter (also known as Cephas)--which never was Scriptural. What miseries they have added to their journey to heaven
Or take the Seventh Day Adventist and their vow not to eat meat; also, the Catholic fallacy of celibacy is addressed by this verse.
What am I saying? We need to relax and let the love of Christ flow through us like a river. We cannot control the flow of a river. If we try, we can only cause a dam which restricts the natural ebbing. Perhaps the things that we feel we "have" to do for God are really a self-sacrificing dam. Do you get my drift? How can we show that we are truly grateful to God??? By accepting His Gift of His Son on the Cross and then learning to share this gift in a meaningful and natural way. Again let me add:
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| You Wrote: Question-Comment: Don Wrote:Hello |
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