How's your preparation coming?

Proclaim this among the nations: Prepare for war! Rouse the warriors! Let all the fighting men draw near and attack. Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears.

Let the weakling say, 'I am strong!'
Come quickly, all you nations from every side,
and assemble there. Bring down your warriors, O LORD!

Joel 3:9-11 (NIV)

Marshal your troops, O city of troops, for a siege is laid against us.
Micah 5:1 (NIV)

It's been said, and many believe, the WWII generation to be "the greatest generation." As we consider their character and sacrifice the argument has merit. Yet their "times" had much to do with their lives!

I've been stuck by the statement above advertising the film "The War." It reads, "In extraordinary times there are no ordinary lives."

Do you believe you're living in extraordinary times? I do! Are you doing anything differently? Making any preparations? Training physically, mentally, spiritually? Any quality decisions? Any new habits? Or is it business as usual? Your well being and that of your family really depends on what you're doing today and tomorrow!

The call above came to the men's leadership as they sought the Lord for the CCF Men one year ago. Come be with us Tuesday night to see what the Lord is saying today! -=db=-

"Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe,..." Hebrews 12:28

Alexander Solzhenitsyn - Lessons from Russia #2

In 1983, Alexander I. Solzhenitsyn, winner of the 1970 Nobel Prize for Literature, gave an address in London in which he attempted to explain why so much evil had befallen his people:

Over a half century ago, while I was still a child, I recall hearing a number of old people offer the following explanation for the great disasters that had befallen Russia: "Men have forgotten God; that's why all this has happened."
Since then I have spent well-nigh 50 years working on the history of our revolution; in the process I have read hundreds of books, collected hundreds of personal testimonies, and have already contributed eight volumes of my own toward the effort of clearing away the rubble left by that upheaval. But if I were asked today to formulate as concisely as possible the main cause of the ruinous revolution that swallowed up some 60 million of our people, I could not put it more accurately than to repeat: "Men have forgotten God; that's why all this has happened."

Or as stated in a more humorous way by Craig R. Smith & Jay Leno recently…

"With hurricanes, tornadoes, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, "Are we sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?" -=db=-

"The fool has said in his heart, 'There is no God.' They are corrupt, they have committed abominable deeds; There is no one who does good. The LORD has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men To see if there are any who understand, Who seek after God."
(Psa 14:1-2 NASB)

Mikhail Gorbachev - Lessions from Russia 1

Lessons from Russia…#1

I recently flew Mikhail Gorbachev from DFW to FRA. That sparked a lot of discussion among our crew and led me to do some reading on Wikipedia about his history. I remembered of course that he was one of the world’s most powerful leaders, the President of Russia and leader of the USSR.

As I read I discovered a few other things, and felt the Lord gave me some insight into his life and times.

(1) The value of relationships and trust. Gorbachev had a close relationship with Ronald Regan. While leading their respective superpower nations, they met in Iceland to discuss nuclear disarmament. They looked at each other and with their signatures, much to the dismay of their advisers, made more drastic cuts in the number of nuclear weapons in the world than anticipated.

(2) I believe the Lord used Gorbachev to expose the moral and financial bankruptcy of the USSR and peacefully lead the violent and powerful Soviet Union into a more normal relationship with the family of nations. This certainly wasn’t his intention, but the way it turned out.

Our powerful Lord uses leaders to do his biding among the nations. (Proverbs 21:1)

What will it take to expose your personal spiritual bankruptcy and lead you into a healthy, non destructive walk with your Creator? Warfare or peace in your present situation; and eternal consequences are weighing in the balance.

Revelation 3 describes the Laodicean church 2000 years ago, and the western church in our day. Does it describe you or me? -=db=-

Rev. 3: 17-22 “You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.

Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with them, and they with me. To those who are victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches."