TESTIMONIES OF LAST SAYINGS OF MARTYRS

Johannes (John) Huss of Bohemia, Czech reformist burned by the Roman Catholic Church as a "heretic" on July 6th, 1415 in Constance (Courtesy:

The procession crossed the bridge and halted in a meadow, between the gardens of the city and the gate of Gottlieben. Here the execution was to take place. Being come to the spot where he was to die, the martyr kneeled down, and began reciting the psalms. He offered up short and fervent supplications, and oftentimes repeated, as the bystanders bore witness, the words, "Lord Jesus, into thy hands I commend my spirit."

"We know not," said those who were near him, "what his life has been, but verily he prays after a devout and godly fashion." Turning his gaze upward in prayer, the paper crown fell off. One of the soldiers rushed forward and replaced it, saying that "he must be burned with the devils whom he had served." Again the martyr smiled.

The stake was driven deep into the ground. Huss was tied to it with ropes. He stood facing the east. "This," cried some, "is not the right attitude for a heretic." He was again unbound, turned to the west, and made fast to the beam by a chain that passed round his neck. "It is thus," said he, "that you silence the goose, but a hundred years hence there will arise a swan whose singing you shall not be able to silence."

He stood with his feet on the targets, which were mixed with straw that they might the more readily ignite. Wood was piled all round him up to the chin. Before applying the torch, Louis of Bavaria and the Marshal of the Empire approached, and for the last time implored him to have a care for his life, and renounce his errors.

"What errors," asked Huss, "shall I renounce? I know myself guilty of none. I call God to witness that all that I have written and preached has been with the view of rescuing souls from sin and perdition; and, therefore, most joyfully will I confirm with my blood that truth which I have written and preached."

At the hearing of these words they departed from him, and John Huss had now done talking with men. The fire was applied, the flames blazed upward.

"Do not believe," he says to the people, "that I have taught anything but the truth." No trembling of the lips - no whitening of his cheeks. He is going to testify to the truth. Why should he fear? Truth and liberty are eternal, and will live when emperor and pope have passed away. Truth makes men free, and it will be glorious to die for freedom.

The wood is piled around him - bundles of dry sticks. The executioner stands with his torch. "Renounce your error," shouts the Duke of Bavaria.

"I have taught no error. The truths I have I taught will seal with my blood."

"Burn him." The executioner holds his torch to the wood.

"John Huss," says Fox, "began to sing with a loud voice, 'Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me.' And when he began to say the same the third time, the wind so blew the flame in his face that it choked him."

Poggius, who was secretary to the council, and Aeneas Sylvius, who afterwards became Pope, and whose narratives are not liable to the suspicion of being coloured, bear even higher testimony to the heroic demeanour of both Huss and Jerome at their execution. "Both," says the latter historian, "bore themselves with constant mind when their last hour approached. They prepared for the fire as if they were going to a marriage feast. They uttered no cry of pain. When the flames rose they began to sing hymns; and scarce could the vehemency of the fire stop their singing."

What is it that the people hear coming from that sheet of flame? "Glory be to God on high, and on earth peace, good will toward men." It is the song which the angels sung above the pastures of above the pastures of Bethlehem. And this: "We praise thee, we bless thee, we worship thee, we give thanks to thee for thy great glory." It is Gloria in Excelsis. The smoke blinds him, the flames are circling above his head. Yet the voice goes on: "Thou that takest away the sins of the world, have mercy on me." The flames wrap him round, his head falls on his breast.

Huss had given up the ghost. When the flames had subsided, it was found that only the lower parts of his body were consumed, and that the upper parts, held fast by the chain, hung suspended on the stake. The executioners kindled the fire anew, in order to consume what remained of the martyr. When the flames had a second time subsided, the heart was found still entire amid the ashes. A third time had the fire to be kindled. At last all was burned. The ashes were carefully collected, the very soil was dug up, and all was carted away and thrown into the Rhine; so anxious were his persecutors that not the slightest vestige of John Huss--not even a thread of his raiment, for that too was burned along with his body--should be left upon the earth.

ROGERS MARTYRDOM
Mr. Rogers said, "That which I have preached I will seal with my blood!"

"Then," said the sheriff, "thou art a heretic."

"That shall be known," said Rogers, "at the day of judgment."

"Well," quoth the sheriff, "I will never pray for thee."

"But I will pray for you," replied Rogers; and so was brought the same day, which was Monday the 4th of February, towards Smithfield, by the way, all the people rejoicing at his constancy, with great praises and thanks to God for the same. And there, in the presence of Rochester, comptroller of the queen's household, sir Richard Southwell, both the sheriffs, and many people, the fire was put unto him; and when it had taken hold both upon his legs and shoulders, he, as one feeling no smart, washed his hands in the flame, as though it had been in cold water. After lifting up his hands unto heaven, not removing the same until such time as the devouring fire had consumed them, most mildly this happy martyr yielded up his spirit into the hands of his heavenly Father.

THOMAS CRANMER, ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY. Martyred 12 September, 1555

Then was an iron chain tied about Cranmer, whom when they perceived to be more steadfast than that he could be moved from his sentence, they commanded the fire to be set unto him. And when the wood was kindled and the fire began to burn near him, stretching out his arm, he put his right hand into the flame, which he held so steadfast and unmovable, (saving that once with the same hand he wiped his face,) that all men might see his hand burned before his body was touched. His body did so abide the burning of the flame with such constancy and steadfastness, that standing always in one place without moving his body, he seemed to move no more than the stake to which he was bound; his eyes were lifted up into heaven, and oftentimes he repeated "his unworthy right hand," so long as his voice would suffer him; and using often the words of Stephen," Lord Jesus, receive my spirit," in the greatness of the flames he gave up the ghost, in the sixty-seventh year of his age.

JOHN HOOPER, BISHOP OF WORCESTER AND GLOUCESTER
Martyred 22nd of January, 1555

Then the hoop of iron prepared for his middle was brought, which being somewhat too short, he shrank and pressed in his body with and, until it fastened: but when they offered to have bound his neck and legs with the other hoops, he refused them, saying, "I am well assured I shall not trouble you."

Being now ready he looked around on all the people, of whom he might be well seen, for he was both tall, and stood also upon a high stool, and beheld that in every corner lifting up nothing to be seen but weeping and sorrowful people. Then lifting up his eyes and hands to heaven he prayed in silence. By and by, he that was appointed to make the fire came to him and asked him forgiveness. He asked why he should forgive him, saying that he never knew any offence he had committed against him.

"O, sir," said the man, "I am appointed to make the fire."

"Therein," said Mr. Hooper, "thou dost nothing to offend me: God forgive thee thy sins, and do thine office, I pray thee."

Then the reeds were cast up, and he receiving two bundles of them in his own hands embraced them, and putting one of them under each arm, showed with his hand how the rest should be bestowed, and pointed to the place where any were wanting. Command was now given that the fire should be kindled. But because there were not fewer green kindling than two horses could carry, it did not kindle speedily, but was some time before it took the reeds upon the wood.

At length it burned about him; but the wind having full strength in that place, and it being a lowering cold morning, it blew the flame from him, so that he was in a manner little more than touched by the fire. Endeavours were then made to increase the flame, and then the bladders of gunpowder exploded; but did him little good, being so placed, and the wind leaving such power.

In this fire he prayed with a loud voice, "Lord Jesus, have mercy upon me! Lord Jesus, have mercy upon me! Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!" And these were the last words he was heard to utter. Yet he struck his breast with his hands, until by the renewing of the fire his strength was gone and his hand stuck fast in striking the iron upon his breast. So immediately, bowing forwards, he yielded up his spirit. Thus lingering were his last sufferings. He was nearly three quarters of an hour or more in the fire, as a lamb, patiently bearing the extremity thereof, neither moving forwards, backwards, nor to any side; but he died as quietly as a child in his bed; and he now reigneth as a blessed martyr in the joys of heaven, prepared for the faithful in Christ before the foundation of the world; for whose constancy all christians are bound to praise God.

William Tyndale Born 1484 ? -- Martyred October 6, 1536

At last, After much reasoning, when no reason would serve, although he deserved no death, he was condemned by virtue of the Emperor Decree , made in the Assembly at Augsburgh and upon the same brought forth to the place of Execution, was there tied to the Stake, and then strangled first by the Hangman, and afterwards with fire consumed in the morning, at the Town of Filford, A.D. 1536; crying thus at the stake with a fervent zeal, and a loud voice, "Lord open the king of England's eyes."

Latimer & Ridley burnt alive at Oxford in the year 1555.

Then they brought a lighted stick, and laid the same down at Ridley’s feet; upon which Latimer said calling out from the fire, “Be of good comfort, Master Ridley, and play the man. We shall this day light such a candle, by God’s grace, in England, as I trust shall never be put out." (from Foxe's Book of Martyrs)

How Polycarp was martyred in about 168 A.D.

Polycarp was born abound 70 A.D. He was sold as a slave in his childhood to a wealthy woman named Calisto. She reared him as her son. He came to know Christ as his Savior in those early years. As he grew older, he had the opportunity to study under the Apostle John and others who had personally sat under the teaching of Jesus Christ.

Polycarp was actively involved in serving the Lord in the Church of Smyrna. Upon the death of Calisto, he became heir to all of her estate. He used his inheritance to advance the cause of Christ and to help those who were in need. When the pastor of his church, Pastor Bucolos, died the Apostles and particularly the Apostle John appointed Polycarp to be the Pastor of the Church of Smyrna. Polycarp faithfully ministered in that church for many years.

Persecution of Christians was the order of the day when Marcus Aurelius was the Emporer of Rome. For many years Polycarp was spared. But, the full forced of persecution was unleashed on Polycarp in the later years of his ministry. Three days before he was arrested the Lord revealed to him in a dream that he would be burned at the stake. When the soldiers came to get him, his friends insisted on hiding him. Polycarp made it clear that in the future, he would not allow himself to be hidden. Soon the soldiers discovered where he had been taken. When he saw them coming, he went out and greeted them warmly and offered them food. As they were eating, he requested that he be allowed to pray before they took him away. His request was granted. For two hours he prayed fervently out loud and my book says, "inasmuch that many of the soldiers began to repent, that they were come out against so godly an old man."

When he was done praying they set him on a donkey and took him into the city to be tried as one who was an adversary of the authorized pagan religion. When he arrived, they sat him in a chariot and began to urge him to say the Caesar was God and offer a sacrifice to him. They said, there is no harm in that is there? At first he refused to answer. Finally, after they continued to press him Polycarp said, "I shall not do what you would persuade me to."

This made his judges very angry. They had confidently supposed that they would be able to easily persuade him to do what they wanted him to do. They became vicious in their words and actions. They literally threw him out of the chariot he had been sitting in, which caused serious injury to his thigh. This display of force incited the blood thirsty mob to the point that they were so loud in their curses and jeers that no one could hear. As they were dragging Polycarp to the place of execution, a voice rang out from Heaven loud and clear, above the harangue of the crowd which said, "Be strong, Polycarp, and quit thyself like a man." [The phrase "quit you" means, to carry through, or perform to the end. Hence, be strong and stand like a man to the end.]

The record states that while no one saw who it was that spoke to Polycarp, many of the believers who were in the crowd clearly heard the voice also. To be sure, Polycarp stood for the Lord Jesus Christ to the end, despite all the efforts to persuade him to renounce Christ. One of the judges tried to get him to deny his faith by saying, "Reverence thy old age…Swear by Casear's Fortune. Repent, and say; Take away the Wicked."

The historian goes on to say, "Polycarp, looking with a stern countenance upon the whole multitude of wicked Gentiles, that was gathered together in the Lifts, and shaking his hand at them, looked up to Heaven, and groaning said, Take away the Wicked." But the judge was not satisfied with this. He said, "Sware, and I will set thee at liberty; reproach Christ." It is at this point that Polycarp gives his famous response -- "Eighty and six years have I now served Christ, and he has never done me the least wrong: How then can I blaspheme my King and my Savior?"

The judge then angrily urges him to, "swear by the Genius of Caesar." Polycarp refuses, but offered to share his faith in Christ. The judge rejected the offer and threatened, "I have wild beasts ready, to those I will cast thee except thou repent." Polycarp responds calmly, "Call for them then: For we Christians are fixed in our minds not to change from good to evil; But for me it will be good to be changed from Evil, to Good."

The furious judge said, "Seeing that thou dispiseth the Wild Beasts, I will cause thee to be devoured by Fire, unless thou shall repent."

Polycarp answered, "Thou threatenest me with Fire which burns for an hour, and so is extinguished; but knowest not the Fire of the Future Judgment, and of that Eternal Punishment, which is reserved for the Ungodly. But why tarriest thou? Bring forth what thou wilt!"

The judge loudly cried out three times, "Polycarp has confessed himself to be a Christian." The mob responded in fury, "This is the Doctor of Asia; The Father of the Christians; an the overthrower of our Gods. He that has taught so many not to sacrifice, nor pay any worship to the Gods."

At first they cried out that the lions should be loosed on him and then that he should be burned alive. They took Polycarp to the stake and were going to nail him there. He spoke up and said, "Let me alone as I am: For he who has given me strength to endure the Fire, will also enable me, without your securing me by nails, to stand without moving in the pile." They merely tied him to the stake.

He prayed this prayer before the fire was was kindled -- Lord God Almighty, the Father of thy Well-beloved, and Blessed Son, Jesus Christ, by whom we have received Knowledge of thee; the God of Angels and Powers, and of every Creature, and especially the whole Race of Just Men who live in thy presence! I give thee hearty thanks that thou hast vouchsafed (allowed) to bring me to this Day, and to this Hour; that I should have a part in the Number of thy Martyrs, in the Cup of thy Christ, to the Resurrection of Eternal Life, both of Soul and Body, in the Incorruption of the Holy Ghost. Among which may I be accepted this Day before thee, as a fat and acceptable Sacrifice; as thou the true God, with who is no falsehood, has both before ordained, and manifested unto me, and also hath now fulfilled it. For this, and for all things else, I praise thee, I bless thee, I glorify thee by the Eternal, and Heavenly High Priest, Jesus Christ they Beloved Son; whit whom to Thee and the Holy Ghost, be Glory both now, and to all succeeding Ages, AMEN.

Upon the "AMEN" the executioner lighted the fire, but something strange happened. The flames arched around Polycarp like a sail of a ship filled with wind and he would not burn. After some time, the command was given to the executioner to stab him with a sword, so he did. The result was that so much blood flowed from the wound that it extinguished the fire. The fire was rekindled and Polycarps body was burned to ashes. Polycarp was faithful to the Lord unto death.

A Great Saskatchewan Weekend

I was invited to Discovery Baptist Church in Regina to lead a seminar on "Declaring the Gospel". It was on Friday and Saturday and then I preached on the Sunday. It was a great experience.

I flew down on Friday morning. During the flight I had opportunity to go through the napkin evangelism presentation with a passenger on the flight who was sitting beside me. He refused to see himself has dead in sin and believed that the only way to God was to earn his way in, so eventually we agreed to disagree. He later revealed to me he was an actor. He had acted in many movies, never as the main lead but when he named some of his movies they were popular ones. It was interesting to see where his life had been. I sadly know where is life is going, if he does not come to an end of himself.

Anyway, I was so impressed to see what the Lord has been up to in Regina. I had visited the church a few years back and it was almost completely discouraged. People had left, leadership was struggling, and costs were going up. When I went there this week, the place looked fresh and alive. The people were full of joy with a deep seriousness to know God.

I stayed with the pastor and his wife, both were so very godly. Humble in spirit and yet full of the wisdom of God. God surely has blessed His people by providing them with great leadership.

During the meetings we looked together at what the scriptures say is the gospel. After each session people were noticeably moved, some to tears, many visibly impacted by the Spirit of God. Oh, the power of the Gospel!

On Sunday, I again preached on the majesty of God and the fullness of knowing Him. At the end of the service their pastor gave an invitation to do business with the Lord and only six or seven of the congregation remained in their seats! All came forward! We got on our knees together and lifted up our hearts to the Lord asking Him to fill us with His Spirit, so we would be witnesses unto His Name. It was beautiful to see and be apart of!

The pastor called me into his office after to counsel with a young believer. At the end he was going to be baptized the following Sunday! God is good!

I came back home on the flight and went to my Home group. Don & Wanda were the only ones there but we laughed and laughed. The fellowship was sweet. The joy of the Lord is my strength!

This has been a great weekend!

The Fear of God

I received an e-mail yesterday from a friend about the Fear of God. She had a perfect understanding of this complicated consecpt.

"As I reflected on what we talked about yesterday, I again go back to the fear. It is not an awe fear but a genuine fear of God. But what separates this fear from all other fears is this one thing: this fear makes me want to run to God and hide in Him and not run the other way. Our natural tendency is to run the other way or get away when we fear something. But this fear draws you to Him, with reverence which is pretty cool."

When we understand the Fear of the Lord it frees us up in so many other places in our lives, such as the fear of man or not having enough or death and dying.

There is a great illustration in the Chronicles of Narnia, an allegory by CS Lewis, the author. The story has two girls, Susan and Lucy, getting ready to meet Aslan the lion, who represents Christ. Two talking animals, Mr. and Mrs. Beavear, prepare the children for the encounter. "Oooh" said Susan, "I thought he was a man. Is he quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion.

"That you will, dearie." said Mrs. Beaver, "and make no mistake, if there's anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they're either braver than most, or else just silly."

"Then isn't he safe?" Said Lucy

"Safe?" said Mr. beaver. "Don't you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? Of course he isn't. But he's good. He's the King, I tell you!"

What a good understanding that CS Lewis makes about the fear of God. God is not safe as in tame. God is incredibly holy, full of praise and presence. No being can stand before Him unless he so agrees. You are wise to fear the Lord. The Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

...But he is good!

Thank You, LORD!

The week is ending and a new one is about to begin. Who would've ever thought that I would see 50 years of these things go by! Time seems to be flying.

My wife, Wanda, is in the kitchen cooking up a storm. My oldest son Richard is over for the weekend and my youngest son Jerry just flew in from Kelowna. My second oldest son, Simon flew to Penticton to visit his daughter, Emma. And my only girl, Sharon, just got off the phone with her mother as she was helping her do her cooking over the phone.

I'm preparing and finishing up my sermon that I'm to preach tomorrow. My sermon series is called, Managing Life, that's something I'm into right now.

Life, what a big subject.

Lord, I just want to say, thank You, thank You, thank You!

Make Disciples

Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

When our Lord was leaving the planet,He left us with clear instructions of what we were to be about. One: Go make disciples, Two: Baptize them, Three: Teach to observe.

I believe the strength of the church is found by obedying this command. We were not told to gather for worship, or Bible studies, we were not told to come together to sing or eat meals together. We were told to make disciples.

Why did the Lord say it was the priority of the church to be about making disciples?

I believe this answer is found in the making of a disciple of Christ. When we make a disciple, you see, we must teach them to pray and study the Bible. We must teach them to gather in worship and praise. But if we focus on gathering for worship service we can have the people do this without becoming disciples of Christ.

Cults gather people to do one thing with them, make them a disciple. This is why cults spread so quickly. They disciple. They disciple with false doctrine but they disciple.

When the church relooks at the task we should be about from the task we are doing, we will find the strength coming back into the Lord's community. It will be then our worship services become ever deeper, our prayers become full, our fellowship becomes sweet.

Church, let's make disciples, it is the Lord's business!

My Mother Taught Me.... Poem

To Value A Job Well Done
"If you're going to kill each other, do it outside. I just finished cleaning."

Time Travel
"If you don't straighten up, I'm going to knock you into the middle of next week!"

Logic
"Because I said so, that's why."

Foresight
"Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you're in an accident."

Irony
"Keep crying and I'll give you something to cry about."

Osmosis
"Shut your mouth and eat your supper."

Stamina
"You'll sit there until all that spinach is gone."

Weather
"This room of yours looks as if a tornado went through it."

Hypocrisy
"If I told you once, I've told you a million times. Don't exaggerate!"

Circle Of Life
"I brought you into this world, and I can take you out."

Behavior Modification
"Stop acting like your father!"

Envy
"There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don't have wonderful parents like you do."

Anticipation
"Just wait until we get home."

Receiving
"You are going to get it when you get home!"

Medical Science
"If you don't stop crossing your eyes, they are going to freeze that way."

How To Become An Adult
"If you don't eat your vegetables, you'll never grow up."

Genetics
"You're just like your father."

Wisdom
"When you get to be my age, you'll understand."

Justice
"One day you'll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you"

Conquering Debt God's Way

People pray for many different reasons, sometimes it's for the well being of others, sometimes it's simply looking for answers. It can be healing, and many times confusing. For Bruce Ammons, it was life changing. God answered his prayers in a way he never expected, giving him the courage to take some big steps financially and the wisdom to teach those steps to others.

Bruce Ammons and his wife Ruthie had always been involved with the church and when they found themselves in financial trouble they knew prayer was where they should turn. "We were in such a bind that we prayed to God for help, we said 'God will you help deliver us we'll do anything You ask us to do just please deliver us' and God led us to a Bible based elimination plan and it didn't all make since to our human minds but we obeyed it anyway and it even included the role of being generous with our money. My thinking was if God would ever help us get out of debt I would start being generous with my money toward His kingdom, but He really changed my perspective and He taught me that if I would start being generous now He would in fact help me to get out of debt. So that's part of the strategy we teach is the role of generosity in the role of debt elimination," Bruce Ammons said.

Bruce has been leading seminars for years now, he's traveled, helping others understand what God has taught him and that you have to give in order to get something back. "The seminar is a Bible based debt elimination seminar that teaches people how to pay off their debt house and cars included in a period of five years. It's a very effective debt elimination plan it's not traditional nor conventional it's different then what you'd typically hear of taught by the world but it's very exciting and really it's life changing."

Bruce acknowledges prayer doesn't always lead you where you might expect it to. He left a steady job to go out on his own and help others who were going through the same financial struggles he had, relying strictly on love donations to earn a living. But for this husband and father of three, he turned again to his faith and the power of prayer.

"Prayer has changed my life, and I am just amazed to see time and time and time again God proves Himself faithful. God doesn't answer every prayer that I pray in the way that I ask Him too, but I do believe God knows best, and in fact, I've been able to see that God answered my prayer in a different way than I have preferred but months or years later I look back on it and think thank God He didn't answer it the way I prayed it. God knows best. He's always faithful and the neat thing about prayer is that its an open phone line with God."

"The power of prayer has changed my life and I'm committed to it from now on."

Bruce Ammons is going to be our keynote speaker on May 31th at Royal Heights Baptist Church. He will preach the morning service and lead us in Conquering Debt God's Way in the evening. Plan to set this time aside, you won't be disappointed!

Flat Landers

I'm in Edmonton with my daughter, Sharon and her husband, Adam. I look out side and the world is flat! You can see as far as the eye can see. It is beautiful!

I use to be a flat lander when I lived in North Battleford, Saskatchewan which seems like another life time ago. I stayed and worked in the North Battleford area for thirty years. My first job was selling pop and peanuts at the local hockey games. I became a welder and a cement workers for a number of years then finally working my last eight years as a city fire fighter.

I remember moving to Penticton in BC and feeling like we abandoned of province that we loved. We coulod so homesick once that we even considered returning home. But we remained and started to enjoy the clossness to the mountians and rolling hills.

Now Wanda and I enjoy the mountianous area over the flat land but whenever we are back in this area I feel a little like I'm coming home.

I'm here teaching a group of people that Sharon and Adam are relating to spiritually. I am leading them through the Book of Romans to teach the gospel and its impact once understood.

Pray for me. Pray for me because now I miss the mountians and the closenest of the ocean!

Salvations

The worship service was beautiful. You could sense the Lord in the room. Kelyn gave his testimony of his walk with the Lord. Kelyn is three weeks old as a believer! The last worship song was especially moving as it sought us to move into the compassion of Christ.

A family of three have been attending the church. They came through their ties at our Small World Preschool. They listened intently all through the message. After service I invited them out to Boston Pizza for lunch.

During our meal I had the opportunity to ask them about their faith in the Lord. The man and woman listened as I declared to them the gospel of Christ. Taking a simple napkin I drew out the plan of salvation. At the end both, with tears, gave their lives to Christ. We held hands at the table in Boston Pizza and prayed to receive Christ. Both will be baptized this coming Mother's Day!

Two souls in the Kingdom! Salvation freely received! To God be the Glory great things He hath done!

Now it's Sunny

Today, the weather was warm and sunny. Weird! All the snow melted off the grounds and now they are watered and ready for Spring.

Flying home tomorrow, it will be great to be home for one day. I have to fly out again to go to Edmonton and do a Romans' Study at a Home Group.

I must now go finish up my sermon prep for Sunday morning!

Unexpected Weather

I'm sitting in Cochrane,...it's snowing! Wow!! It's the first day of May and it's snowing! I thought we were in global warming!

This is certainity unexpected weather for me. I brought my light coat. I was not prepared for this.

Many times in our lives we expereince unexpected turn of events. We thought something would happen and it has turned out almost the opposite of what we have expected. How do you prepare for these changes?

First - You must trust that it is the LORD God behind every situation working things out to His glory and praise. We must not take things as if they are a personal attack against you.

Second - You must learn to embrace pain. We normally run from pain so this is difficult for us to do. When situations are not working out like we thought go through the situation counting it all joy as you grow in Christ.

Third - You must test your faith in smaller situations to prepare for the more challenging ones. Faith grows by going to faith-needing expereinces. Faith expereinces are events that challenge our situations in life.

Fourth - You must remember that either you are going into a challenge, are in one right now, or about to go into one soon. Life is a series of unxpected events, orchastrated by the Sovereign LORD Almighty, working all things to Himself!

Fifth - You must connect with others so you go through things together. You were never meant to live life by yourself, it was supposed to be a group effort. Call out to friends and family.

The storms of life are coming. Are you ready? Do you have a big coat somewhere? Have you set your life up in faith to go in and through this events without destroying your heart and attitude?

Hey, ...I like snow!!!

James 1:2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.