Get to Know Kabbalah Better to Achieve a Successful Life

Man is always on the lookout for the easiest path to greatness. Whether it's for career or business, we tends to go out of our way to take risks just to improve our current social standing. We might not realize it, but we tend to look to spiritual methods to satisfy our cravings for success - and one of the few religions that offer a quick and surefire path to greatness is Kabbalah.

The Inner Truth About Kabbalah

Many would say that Kabbalah is just like any other esoteric religion practiced many in modern society. In truth, Kabbalah offers the truth of the world that dates back since ancient times in the Middle East.

Mostly practiced by the Orthodox Jews, Kabbalistic teachings believe that the world was created by the one true God. This divine being created both heaven and earth using the 10 virtues or commonly called as Sephirots.

According to many of the high priests and patriarchs that supervises this religion, man can easily achieve the path to greatness and success by integrating these virtues into their daily life -- not just on a need-to-know-need-to-do basis, but following its teachings that will serve as the foundation of all their actions and decision.

Kabbalah And Man

Aside from the positive energies that is promoted by Kabbalah to help man achieve the peak of their career, the religion also speaks of possible hindrances that can pull a man down from their individual path to greatness. In most cases, the negative energies that come from both man and their immediate surroundings have the capability to destroy the balance in our life that will hinder us from getting what we want.

It is true that these negative energies pose much of a threat since we usually don't know what form they take or when they will shower you with their unwholesome influence. One such manifestation of these negative vibrations is often depicted as bad luck -- such as the existence of the Evil Eye.

Protection From Negative Forces

Keep in mind, however, that there are protections that will stop the flow of negative energies from affecting your life. Many religions have prayers, meditation, visualization, and other practices that will help you protect you from the effects of negative energies and imbalance. Among all these, the most successful prevention is through the use of magical accessories called Lucky Eyes.

These are accessories or trinkets that have the symbol of an eye in the middle that was said to absorb any negative energy in the immediate surrounding. You can practically see a lot of rich folks and popular Hollywood superstars wear these for protection as most people would often dub them as fashion.

http://www.luckyeyesinc.com/ - Kabbalah - Lucky Eyes

Vanessa A. Doctor from Jump2Top - SEO Company

The Source of Every Good and Precious Gift

"They will gnaw their tongues in anguish but they will not repent."

This quotation from the Book of Revelation describes very accurately what is happening in our society today. The notion that this was once a Christian nation is misguided.

Even so, we once acknowledged the existence of God and respected His moral laws. We did not always keep them but we knew we were wrong when we did not. In Natural Theology that is the glue that binds together a society. Now it is coming apart. Secular atheism has convinced the people as a whole that if there is a God (and most likely there is not), He is wholly other and we do not need to be concerned.

The anti-God, anti-Bible, anti-morality trends have become so pronounced and oppressive that we are now under divine judgment. Fifty years ago we did not believe what is happening to us now could take place. But it is and it is only going to get worse because while many people know that something is very wrong, no one will acknowledge what it is.

We are close to an unprecedented outbreak of natural disasters, plagues of new diseases that we have no medicines to deal with, and moral and economic collapse. Soon our military will be second rate (or worse) and who knows what will happen then.

Repentance is the only solution but no one is talking about that and no one is interested. Thus the God we profess not to believe in has decided it is time for this civilization to go the way of history-and it will.

Dr. D. Earl Cripe

Dreams and Jesus

(Below is a poem that hopefully will inspire you about faith, Jesus, and the walks that we take in life. It enlightens us to have faith, and really believe what is true to our heart. If one believes in Eternal Life and their Lord Jesus, I believe that they can accomplish anything.)

-----------------------------------------------

Into the midst, lies a flame of untold glories....

Just breathe...

Just breathe, and the night will go away.

Into the fog, I hold out my hands.

"Come and touch me, I've been waiting...

See me, for there is a drought throughout the lands."

Just breathe, and he will hold me,

"Just breathe my child, and your faith will awaken."

I am afraid

I am forsaken,

A man tells me the story of a drought in the land...

Who will bring me water?

Who will bring me hope?

"Just breathe, and your questions will be answered."

And the man opens my closed eyes.

"My child, here is your land..."

My heart is restless.

My mind aches of confusion.

Who will bring me faith?

Who has brought on this resurrection?

Who will provide me water to my lands?

Again, I close my eyes,

and a strange man holds ot his hand.

"Just breathe and I will hold you.

Let your steps become mine and I will carry you.

For thou name is Jesus, and it is I who has brought on this resurrection.

I will bring you your water."

http://www.arianacherry.biz

Pride Can Often Create Problems Religion

Have you ever talked to someone about their religious beliefs, only to find out that they are very stubborn, they only want to talk about their beliefs and do not want to listen to your opinion at all. I have met plenty of people that fall into this category and rarely do I run into someone with an open mind about their religious beliefs. These people often try to make you feel stupid and don't realize, that they are the ones who are actually ignorant.

Pride can often create problems in religion and only later when you see the truth can you really understand how stubborn you were. The problem with these people, is that once they find the truth, it's another lie and they seem to push these beliefs on to others. Often these people can be very aggressive and it almost seems like they need to make up for lost time, since they were wrong about their last religion.

Psalm 10:4 In his pride the wicked does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God.

It seems like pride has often got man into trouble and rarely gotten him out of it. Pride can often start wars but only after defeat or education can they be ended. While some people go around town shoving religion down your throat in the name of God, others are ignoring the information completely. The problems in religion resulting from someone's pride have created too many problems throughout history and need to be stopped. Turn your prideful thinking into a compassionate mind.

The next time you meet someone on the street or in a store and they look different or have different beliefs, humble yourself and be kind to them. Show a little compassion instead of pride. Maybe, just maybe you could even make friends with these people and learn something about their beliefs. Often you will find that their religious beliefs are not that much different than yours and this could get you thinking and rethinking about your religion.

You are free to copy this article to your site as long as you include the following resource information with an active link to my site:

Greg Vanden Berge is a published author, internet marketing expert, motivational inspiration to millions of people all over the world and is sharing some of his wisdom with experts in the fields of writing,marketing, and personal development. Check out one of his recommended books, You Can Have It All

Greg is currently working on a self help library filled with great subjects on a wide array of topics, like religion, self help and spiritual changes in the world. His views on religious freedom are slowly changing the way people think about institutional religion.

Help from God

I want to share something from my Bible reading from the One Year Bible.

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. (2 Cor 1:3-4)

As Paul writes to us from his prison cell, he speaks about the help of God, which he calls comfort. Id like to call it Help from God. Let me share a few things about this help.

1. Its supernatural. Clearly it is not earthly, human, physical comfort he is speaking of. Its the comfort of God in spite of our uncomfortable circumstances.

2. Its constant. He comforts us in all our troubles... There is no situation so bad that God cant and wont help us.

3. Its purposeful. so that we can comfort others.

4. Its uplifting. We will be able to give

5. Its from God. the same comfort God has given us.

Be encouraged today, no matter what you are going through. Gods supernatural, constant, purposeful, uplifting help is available for you today. PRAISE HIM!

By the way. the One Year Bible is available online at www.oneyearbibleonline.org. If you like using the computer (and Im sure you do, since youre reading this), it makes Bible reading so easy. You can even choose from several translations. I usually use the NLT. Thats not the New Larrys Translation. Its the New Living Translation. : )

I am the Senior Minister of an interdenominational church. http://www.lwfonline.org

Watch This to see if Jesus is Truely Real - Video

The Woman, The Children, and The Dragon

The Book of Revelation, product of the Spirit working in the apostle called John, is more manageable than you might think, once you get serious about deciphering its codes.

In the midst of all the serial action, the series of seals, the series of trumpets, the series of bowls, there are snapshots of characters and situations that the Spirit wants you to see. One of the most memorable pictures is in the 12th chapter. There one finds a woman, a child, then more children, all of which are threatened by a 7-headed dragon. I'm usually a literalist, but the Spirit Himself tells me not to be in this chapter, and even gives me identities of most characters.

The woman (1-2) at first glance seems to be Mary. Who else could have given birth to a male child that would rule all nations (5)? Hold that question until you read verse 6 and verses 13-17. There, the very same woman is airlifted to a secret destination where she is protected from the dragon's wrath for three and one half years.

The three and a half years in Revelation is the time of tribulation. Sometimes the number is 42 months. Sometimes "a time, times, and half a time." Sometimes 1260 days. But the time period is the same. I personally believe that the entire story of earth's destruction bit by bit , Revelation 4-19, takes place in three and one half years. Seals, trumpets, bowls, everything.

Well, Jesus' mother was not whisked away into a wilderness. That picture is reserved for another entity of Scripture. God promises Israel in Hosea 2 that He will "allure her into the wilderness, and speak comfort to her..." I believe that it is at this juncture of history, the Tribulation, that God calls a remnant of Jews, 144,000 to be exact, and personally appears to them and saves and forgives them.

Israel goes to the wilderness, therefore Israel must be the woman who brings forth the child Jesus into the world. Yes, a woman that is sun and moon and 12 stars can only be the same thing Joseph of Genesis saw in his dream: the people of God.

The woman has other children. The nation of Israel, approached by the Son of God in the first century, by and large rejected the message. But the first disciples and the first churches and the Scriptures and the Messiah Himself: all Jewish. All Israel. Truly, "Father Abraham had many sons..."

So a woman has some children. One is caught up to Heaven. The others are chased by the dragon. And the woman herself is protected from further harm. The only unidentified creature now is the dragon himself. But that one is taken care of by the text. He is identified as the old serpent, as in the Garden, the Devil or evil one, and Satan or the enemy.

Yet even here, in dragon form, we know he does his work through humans. That Devil-filled king called Herod is alluded to as the one who sought to devour Jesus as soon as He was born. Later in the text the same dragon will be using, we know from other texts, the antichrist.

The context of the chapter is war in Heaven. This is a war that Satan loses. He is stripped of his heavenly credentials and dumped on Earth, angry as anyone has ever been. At this very juncture, the similarly angry man of sin who has been waiting all these centuries to be released, leaves the pit. The restrainer lets go. The captive rises and is inhabited by the fallen angel himself.

He is especially violent against the woman and any of her seed, as they represent the thwarting of his attempt to gain again world domination. He has lived in anger during the centuries as he was stopped in his quest and humiliated before Heaven. No more of this. He knows his time is short, and he begins conquering immediately. All Christians must go. Jews he pursues first, but the elect are carried away from his reach, as we saw earlier.

One intriguing bit of information is hidden in verses 15 and 16. The enemy will somehow unleash a flood to destroy the hiding Jews. But a natural phenomenon will keep the flood from having any effect.

Some have said this is a flood of lies or a flood of people as in Jeremiah. But there is a sense of factual truth to it.For John is not alone in predicting a flood. Daniel says (9:26) that one of the end marks of the destruction of Israel in the last days shall be a flood. Amos 8:8 and 9:5 predict a time when flooding as in the Nile River will affect God's people. The place of hiding hinted at by one prophet is the Valley of Achor, surely a geographical spot prone to flooding.

So we have the final condition of Israel and the Church. Some of it is no different than today. Israel is hated worldwide. True Christians - the ones who preach sin, and judgment, Christ the only Way, Truth and Life - those kinds of Christians, are also despised. Those who despise them are exposed as Satan-inspired in Revelation 12.

Can you imagine a world where knowing Christ will bring instant death? To see it in your mind's eye, a quick look at places like North Korea today will help bring things into focus. God have mercy on His people. Their greatest trials and their greatest victories are still ahead.

http://chosunhouse.com is a website I put together a few months back to get the word out to believers that they need to pray for North Korea. I have created over 200 blogs and the site features a live news feed, lists of resources, picture essays, and ways to respond to the overwhelming need in North Korea. Let's love Chosun together! Contact me any time at diakonos5@yahoo.com

And who am I? A man found of God over 50 years ago, called to the ministry, serving the Lord as needed in my world. Married, member of a local church in the Chicago area, with full time work in public education. I love to write Scriptural works. Who are you? Would love to fellowship with believers who respond.

God at a Railroad Crossing

This testimony is fresh from the Korean peninsula. God continues to work and move to do His will among those who will seek Him.

Let me tell you about the first time I came to China. It was with my brother-in-law. He has visited for several years and has been helped through his friendship with the church. Often he tried to persuade me to have faith in the God he met. But I ignored his encouragement.

Well, I have many questions about God. Does God really exist, like my brother-in-law always is saying? Hey, if God exists, why does he let North Korean people stay so poor?' If God really loves humans so much, why does He let North Koreans die by starvation? Also, Just how big is this God? Does He even have the power to help humans? I didn't believe God, but I had a lot of questions. On this China visit, I began to get some answers.

You'll never believe what happened as we made our way from NK to China. Around 4 a.m., we tried to cross over a railroad passage into China, but we were just frozen. We somehow went the wrong way, and passed up the train tunnel. Suddenly we saw 2 NK guards. There was just 40 meters between the guards and us. It was light out, we couldn't do anything.

My brother-in-law prayed to God, "God, please help us!" The prayer was really quiet and very simple, and he prayed it again and again. And then he said "Let's go." I couldn't move. Not even one step. I shook my head, but he began to walk.

I couldn't believe it! We made clearly audible sounds with our steps, but the guards never even looked at us! What was happening?

Brother said God had heard his prayer, and made the guards blind and deaf to us. I couldn't say anything. I couldn't understand such a thing with common sense, but it had happened. I began to believe in God's existence after His amazing help.

With this experience, I decided to believe God. I accepted Jesus as my Savior, and my Lord.

God is my salvation, my shelter. Jesus is my joy, my hope.

Thank you, God. Thank you Jesus.

One at a time He builds His glorious Kingdom. Thanks for praying.

Look for Bob Faulkner's home page on http://sermonaudio.com. There you will find a combination of love for the Scriptures and a desire for North Korean believers to have their needs met. There are nearly 300 blogs, over 200 Bible teaching MP3's, lists of resources, NK picture albums, and ways to respond to the overwhelming need in North Korea. Let's love Chosun together! Contact me any time at diakonos3@gmail.com

And who am I? A man found of God over 50 years ago, called to the ministry, serving the Lord as needed in my world. Married, member of a local church in the Chicago area, with full time work in public education. Would love to fellowship with believers who respond.

Why Husbands' Prayers Are Sometimes Not Answered

Actually there are a number of reasons a man might not receive from God. Perhaps he is not praying in God's will. Perhaps he is harboring some grievous sin. But in the context of this word from I Peter, we must point out that prayers can be hindered by a wrong relationship with his wife.
And Peter (I Peter 3:7) points out exactly what that wrong relationship would be: (1) Not understanding her and therefore treating her according to common understandings, and (2) not honoring a fellow citizen of Heaven.

(1) There are places we should never go when trying to discover facts about a woman. The local bookstore. The local theater. The local magazine rack. The dictionary. The brain of a man. Or even the woman herself, who knows only partially. As with any created item, one must go to the Creator's Manual.

Our Father has told us what women are all about. First, they came out of man and are therefore a part of him. Whether married or single a woman is part of man. She was not created to be independent or lead. She desperately needs to follow her man. [ And man were created to follow his Lord]

Women who are driven to lead are unhappy women. Women without a proper cover in the home are grouchy and irritable. They need to be smothered with attention and affection by their love leader. Men who don't understand their wives make the household a sorry place to dwell and evidently upset Heaven too.

For when woman is treated poorly, trampled on because of her weakness, pushed up to leadership, etc, she eventually cries out to God, and in some cases cries out against her mate. How does the heavenly switchboard respond to two prayers that are diametrically opposed? Perhaps to just ignore both? Thus Peter's comment that prayers can be hindered by an ignorant male.

(2) Perhaps even more significantly, a man needs to remember that it will not always be like today. Today women are told to submit, even to the point of silence in church. She is never encouraged to lead her husband or any man in the assembly. But Jesus said that in that other land, we will be like the angels of heaven in terms of our gender.

Even now there is no male or female in the Spirit of God. God can illumine a woman as well as a man as she reads the Holy Scriptures. Women can have their prayers answered as well as men. Women receive respect for their faith as well as men. And they will be rewarded on the basis of their service, not their gender.

These women we treat so lightly are going to the same Heaven by the same grace that shed the same blood for us. It is not wise to demean them. Though some day we will be equal in gender, they may be far our superior in the Kingdom. Lording it over a wife is no different a sin than a pastor lording it over God's flock. Your domain was not given you so you could be a little emperor, sir, but so you could be a little Christ. A Christ-ian.

Our wives are precious gifts to be honored as such, not just because we are their lord as they are to honor us, but also because they are our most important associate through this life. They are the test we have been given to determine our place in eternity. Oh be careful! Love them. Know them. Protect them at all costs.

And your prayers will have a better chance of "going through."

http://chosunhouse.com is a website I put together a few months back to get the word out to believers that they need to pray for North Korea. I have created over 200 blogs and the site features a live news feed, lists of resources, picture essays, and ways to respond to the overwhelming need in North Korea. Let's love Chosun together! Contact me any time at diakonos5@yahoo.com

And who am I? A man found of God over 50 years ago, called to the ministry, serving the Lord as needed in my world. Married, member of a local church in the Chicago area, with full time work in public education. I love to write Scriptural works. Who are you? Would love to fellowship with believers who respond.

Romance Re-visited

Some time ago I posted here an article about the romanticizing of pain. It's a theme that wends its way back every now and then, and is pricking me this morning.

A nasty struggle goes on in this old brain as I contemplate spending a summer in Korea this year. There's a voice of some sort, I won't call it the Lord, as so many rush to do. Perhaps conscience. Perhaps common sense. But maybe the Lord is speaking too...

"So," the voice says, and I loosely translate the impressions I receive, "you really think you have something to offer these Koreans!"

"Yes, sir, I have felt their pain so strongly, that I must do something."

"Felt their pain, you say? Felt their pain? You?! Exactly what pain have you felt?"

"You know, the pain of their suffering and their rejection. I feel it in my gut!"

"Oh you do, do you? I'm wondering just which part of their suffering you feel. Is it the hunger? Do you fast often, or have you been unable to afford food, or have you been on a low-vitamin diet so long that you are developing a sickness of some sort? That kind of pain?"

"Well, uh, actually I eat quite well. I do skip a meal now and then to keep my weight in line. I've even been known to fast and pray, but not too often, really..."

"Then perhaps you have lost your job? The economy even here is sinking, and you've joined the thousands who are now unemployed? That would surely help you feel the pain!"

"Hmmm, no, my job still seems to be intact. The education sector has not been affected as yet. Not so much as missed a paycheck, and there's even a bonus now and then. No, it's not that."

"You've been in jail, then? A political prisoner, arrested because of your involvement with Jesus, locked up away from your family, with a few beatings thrown in?"

"No, the only times I went to jail I was just visiting. Never been seriously persecuted for my faith."

"Then what kind of pain can you possibly be speaking of? You're not talking about the bravado the disciples displayed when they vowed they would die for Jesus? You're not talking about the tears you shed when you saw that NK video? Call it any number of things, but don't call it pain! How dare you compare your sniveling to the North Koreans' prison sentences and say that you now know their pain!"

"Uh, well, I , I guess I..."

And this smothering exchange of comments keeps reminding me of how fully and totally inadequate is any external preparation for such a visit as this. Through the months I have asked God for His preparation, though, and some things that have surfaced are promising. Since my decision to go, I have had to face nights - long nights - of personal fears and doubts. I have had major and minor procedures done on my body, where - in my imagining way - I despaired of life. I have been a victim of ineffective drugs. Attacks have assailed me at my work place. And more...

When we lay our comfortable little lives at the foot of the cross and say, "Show me the rest of the story,let me feel, not just romantic "pain," but the pain You felt on the cross, and what You want me to feel on my own cross, and the real pain of your people, so I can relate..., " things begin to happen. Life unravels, a bit at a time, and our sham hypocrisies are exposed. Even we realize who we are after a while, and cry out with Isaiah our unworthiness, "I am a man of unclean lips..." Only then are we fit for this service.

It may start with tears, but it ends with the real thing. And on the way, there will be constant re-calculating of the cost, many chances to say, "Hey, I just can't afford this. I never knew..."

The apostles, filled later with the Holy Ghost, decided the cost wasn't that high after all, and are in bliss with Jesus as I write. May we be able to see what they saw, and decide what they decided.

Hey, romance is OK at the beginning of a relationship. That's the natural order. We "fall" in love. But eventually there is the rising back up again, to commitment, marriage, hardship. Are we ready to be wedded to His cross? Is He worth it? Is His suffering Body worth it? Is the lost world worth it?

Look for Bob Faulkner's home page on http://sermonaudio.com. There you will find a combination of love for the Scriptures and a desire for North Korean believers to have their needs met. There are nearly 300 blogs , over 200 Bible teaching MP3's, lists of resources, NK picture albums, and ways to respond to the overwhelming need in North Korea. Let's love Chosun together! Contact me any time at diakonos3@gmail.com.
And who am I? A man found of God over 50 years ago, called to the ministry, serving the Lord as needed in my world. Married, member of a local church in the Chicago area, with full time work in public education. Would love to fellowship with believers who respond .

For North Korea - Articles Of War

North Korea may not have heard of the name "A.W. Tozer" ? Christian author, pastor. Man of deep insights. Flesh-bashing. Great man of God who left this life in the same year as JFK and CS Lewis, 1963. But he serves as an example of the kind of man needed to get the job done over there.

I heard a tape of him this morning on the way to work. You can believe me or not, but he said he was not as excited about the coming of Jesus as some of those around him. He wasn't fearing for his salvation but was well aware of his shortcomings and believed that Christians too must be judged before Christ. There, rewards and punishments alike will be handed out as our life is in review before God. He said he had simply wasted too much time in his life and feared to have to give an account of it. Yes, A.W. Tozer. Now, I have had those same thoughts, but with me they are infinitely more true. How about you?

As the battle for souls continues on in the world, to what do we give our time? I talked about the war effort in another article. Now (and this should have come first) the motivation for war, the "articles of war" if I may. Here are some Scriptures that point to Christians fighting. In the context of my ongoing mesages about North Korea, NK workers are called to fight for their own personal holiness and for the life and salvation of a nation. It is an awesome struggle. Yet I do not believe I have even convinced myself of how awesome it really is. I still eat too much and pray too little. I still complain too much and praise too little. I still enjoy this world too much and the next too little. And I forget about my suffering brothers all too often.

You must do your own confessing, but here are some "articles of war", admonitions from God's Word, to help get us back on track if we need it.

Article 1. Go, preach. Mark 16:15. Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. The war is going on until that is accomplished.

Article 2. Fight. I Timothy 6:12. Fight the good fight of faith. Until all believe, the fighting must go on.

Article 3. Stay free. II Timothy 2:4. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life. You simply cannot be a warrior and a couch potato at the same time. Turn the world off! There's a war going on!

Article 4. Stay connected. Ephesians 6:11. Put on the whole armor of God. This isn't your war. He just needs loan of your body for awhile.

The battle is the Lord's, not only to fight but to win. Let's identify with Him and make it ours, too.

http://chosunhouse.com is a website I put together a few months back to get the word out to believers that they need to pray for North Korea. Just about every day I'm writing a blog featuring some news, a book, or a story of North Korea. There's a live news feed on the site, lists of resources, picture essays, and ways to respond to the overwhelming need in North Korea. Let's love Chosun together!

And who am I? A man found of God over 50 years ago, called to the ministry, serving the Lord as needed in my world. Married, member of a local church in the Chicago area, with full time work in public education. Who are you? Would love to fellowship with believers who respond on my site.

Do You Remember?

Remember?

You were terrified. So was your mate to be. But in front of all those witnesses you exchanged your vows and your rings, and even your affection. Remember? You had thought for days, weeks, months, about the plans and just what kind of person this would turn out to be, and the progress of your career and the number of children and the house you would some day buy. You thought regularly about all the ways your combined life would give glory to God and His Kingdom. Remember? And what does your remembering do for you? There are tears of gratitude. Tears of regret. Memories. New resolve. New vision. Remembering is powerful. It leads to action.

I remember the night oh so many years back when I thought I'd try out my neighbor's advice. "Try God" , she said. She knew my dad was an alcoholic and was missing again. She knew my mom had emotional issues that were destroying her and that she was in the hospital. She knew that the family that had moved into my house was abusive... She saw my sad little face often, and simply said, "Try God."

I remember that night on the way home from school when I "tried" Him. I knelt down in a wooded area and prayed as only a child can: "God, if you're really there, I want to hear from my dad tonight!" It had been a long time. Months, I guess, since Dad had called in. Oh how a little boy needs his daddy. But I had no reason to expect that call.

I remember what the clock was saying when I got to the fence around my house: 5:45. I remember that as I was walking in the door, the phone was ringing. I remember my sister handing me the phone and telling me, "Bobby, it's your dad calling." I remember thinking, "This is God! He's really there!"

I remember it so clearly, 50 plus years later. And remembering helps me to get my perspectives in order. Remembering clears out a lot of the junk in my life. Oh yes, it's powerful to remember.

Jesus told us to take some bread and some juice and remember. That's all. No elaborate ritual with specified speeches, uniforms, lights, smoke. Just bread, juice, memory. And into that scene comes Christ, crucified but alive from the dead. Power. Sheer power.

That's why He later told us to remember the prisoners. And with His dear friends in prison He adds this bit of instruction: "Remember them as though you were there with them." (Hebrews 13:3)

First call them to mind. Give them the place they deserve in your thinking apparatus. In your imagination. In your emotions. Let the Christ in His Body fill you full.

Then let one more thought in: You are there with them in prison. You are chained. You are doing hard labor in the fields or the mines. You are separated from your family. You are about to be beaten. You have just been beaten. But you will not deny Christ. You are hungry. You are oh so cold. You are roasting from the heat, and there is no ventilation or plumbing in your cell. Go on and on. "Remember" them. Put them in your brain deliberately.

Then rise up to act upon what you have experienced in those moments. For all of our life is nothing more than acting upon that which our mind has absorbed and processed. So process this: There is one body of Christ, and it is in great pain, and you are part of that body. Feel it. Now what do you do?

Remember...

http://chosunhouse.com is a website I put together a few months back to get the word out to believers that they need to pray for North Korea. Just about every day I'm writing a blog featuring some news, a book, or a story of North Korea. There's a live news feed on the site, lists of resources, picture essays, and ways to respond to the overwhelming need in North Korea. Let's love Chosun together!

And who am I? A man found of God over 50 years ago, called to the ministry, serving the Lord as needed in my world. Married, member of a local church in the Chicago area, with full time work in public education. Who are you? Would love to fellowship with believers who respond on my site.

A Wild Night at a Columbus Drive-In

Thirty-some years ago there were Christian drive-ins in Columbus, Ohio. You could take the family to see a Christian movie, but in the drive-in mode, in-car speaker and all. My wife and I decided to check it out one night. The Billy Graham film Shadow of the Boomerang was showing.

In every Billy Graham movie, Billy himself shows up in a filmed crusade. Audiences actually get to hear a Gospel message from the great evangelist. And yes, I still consider him to be a great one, especially because of his early message and early methods. We weep at the later compromises with Rome etc, but we do not take away from how the Gospel has been spread.

At any rate, in those earlier days of my walk, I was not acquainted with all the subtleties of Graham associations. All I knew was that he turned me on to God when I heard him. I memorized his sermons, read his books, listened weekly to his radio program. His star was a guide to a young man with very few stars to follow.

This night was to be a little different though. I had been a seeker for many years by now. I had actually been ordained to the ministry of my denomination and had taken mission trips with them. I was considered a potential leader in that group. But inside I still struggled when it came to that personal knowledge on the experience level. So many of my friends talked glowingly of bona fide conversion moments, and I desired one of my own.

I wasn't looking for one that night. Just wanted something interesting to do with my wife, and a night out watching a Graham film in this unique setting seemed to fill the bill.

The story line was excellent. The acting impressed me. But when Billy started preaching repentance that night, something touched me deep inside. It seems as though I finally got it. I had believed the theology for some time, but it began to take flesh and blood form that night. My own flesh and blood.

I was surprised at the suddenness and depth of the feelings that arose. I truly was sorry for my sin. I really did know that I had offended God, and really regretted it. I began to cry and cry and cry some more. My wife didn't know exactly what to think, but tried to support me the best way she could.

After a long session of tears, another emotion began to surface: pure joy. I was so happy I couldn't stand it! Something inside kept saying, "This is it!" That which I had sought for so long was suddenly here. With each burst of laughter came another one. I seemed totally out of control.

Somewhere in the midst of all this strangeness, God gave me the presence of mind to call a preacher friend of mine, and ask him to meet me at the Scioto River. I wanted a "same hour of the night" experience. And I wasn't being baptized because someone demanded it.I wasn't being baptized to score points with a church or even with God. I greatly desired baptism to express outwardly what was happening inwardly. No theology attached, though I can rattle it off now. Just, "Get me to the water!"

Somehow I managed to drive to the river without an accident. I have never been drunk before, but I imagine this is what it is like. Several friends met me, rejoiced with me, and the preacher put me under the water.

That was my third "baptism". Most people would say it was my first. But who's counting? What matters is the joy unspeakable and full of glory available to His children!

http://chosunhouse.com is a website I put together a few months back to get the word out to believers that they need to pray for North Korea. I have created over 200 blogs and the site features a live news feed, lists of resources, picture essays, and ways to respond to the overwhelming need in North Korea. Let's love Chosun together! Contact me any time at diakonos5@yahoo.com

And who am I? A man found of God over 50 years ago, called to the ministry, serving the Lord as needed in my world. Married, member of a local church in the Chicago area, with full time work in public education. I love to write Scriptural works. Who are you? Would love to fellowship with believers who respond.