We need to consider the awesomeness of our God. He is a personal God that lives within us, not just far off without concern for our needs. (Colossians 1:27) He is a God of patience, longsuffering, love, and forgiveness. Our God can heal, deliver, and set free of bondage. Restoration is the business of our God. Creator of the universe, our salvation, light of the world, and Prince of peace are just a few of the descriptions of our awesome God!!!

Man comes into this world marred with a sin nature that needs the blood of Jesus Christ to cleanse. What in this world is worth holding onto as a god in our life? Gods that are no gods? Our possessions break down, rust, and deteriorate. Our money can be stolen, lost, or passed to another generation. Relationships can disintegrate and bring heartache. Nothing, absolutely nothing in this world is worth clutching onto in place of Jesus.

Our eyes need to be focused on our eternal destiny. Lay up treasures in heavenly places. Indeed, our God is an awesome God!

ARE WE READY FOR MORE GLORY?

by Ron McGatlin

IRN OpenHeaven.com

http://www.openheaven.com

The manifest glory of God is all consuming. The glory uncovers and consumes our darkness and exposes the spirits behind the motivations of our lives.

The presence of light exposes that which is covered by darkness. Counterfeits and fake facades are revealed. Doctrines of demons carried forward by the traditions of man will be further uncovered as glory increases.

The manifest glory can take us to a much higher place - soaring into heavenly living - filled with Christ. It is time to clean out the basement - time to make room for the new.

ARE YOU IN LOVE?

By Gail Redman, a dentist in East Prairie, MO, who is a regular

contributor to LHF’s Love of the Truth Newsletter.

I am convinced we must be in love with Jesus or we will not be able to stand against the attacks of the enemy. It is easy to know if someone loves the Lord. When we are in love with Jesus, we will keep His commandments (see 1 John 5:2). If God is not number one in our lives, something else will be in the number one position. This something else is idolatry, which is sin.

Lukewarm Christians will be spewed out of the mouth of our Lord (see Revelation 3:16). Revival begins one Christian at a time. The zeal of the Lord should consume our very being. Each day we should arise with our thoughts on God and His plan for our day.

If we are not on fire for the work of God in our church and home, the enemy will devise enticements that will trap us in sin. Sin will destroy us and separate us from God. God cannot bless sin. Are you in love or are you a Christian in appearance only? If you cannot say that you are in love with Jesus, shake yourself and awake from your stupor, before the enemy destroys everything precious to you.

ARE YOU REALLY SAVED?

by Gail Redman, a dentist in East Prairie, MO, who is a regular contributor to LHF’s Love of the Truth Newsletter.

This is the most important question that we can ask ourselves because the answer will determine where we spend eternity. I went through a period in my life when I searched the Scriptures for this answer. Religion can be confusing to people, because most people have a form of religion. There is only one way to heaven, a path that is straight and narrow. That path is through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. (See Acts 4:12, Romans 10:9, 2 Thessalonians 2:10.)

We have to do more than just believe, because the devils believe and tremble. (See James 2:19.) Many people confess that they belong to the kingdom of God, but they do not live according to God’s commandments. Others hear the truth from the Bible, but they leave church Sunday after Sunday never applying the truth to their lives. Obedience to God’s commandments is the proof that an individual has recognized Jesus as Lord of their life. Otherwise, our profession as a Christian is in name only, a verbal confession without becoming a new creature in Christ.

Do you really want to know if you are truly saved? Read Galatians 5:19-21. Are you practicing any of these sins, or do you reason that God understands?

Are you scared yet? Read Revelation 21:8. The part that makes me tremble is that the fearful will have their part in the “lake which burneth with fire”. That doesn’t sound like heaven to me.

Serving God is serious business. God is very merciful and longsuffering with us, but confession of faith in Jesus Christ must follow with good fruit that bears witness to the spiritual change within us. Can you honestly say that you are changed and Jesus is the Lord of your life?

BE FRIENDLY

by Sharon Cromwell, newsletter editor

source: The Church Around the World (ISSN 1062-2810), vol.34, no. 9

A nationwide Barna pastor poll has concluded:

U 86% of pastors considered relational or friendship evangelism to be very effective in bringing someone to Christ

U 24% considered event evangelism very effective

U 15% considered door-to-door evangelism very effective

U 14% considered tract evangelism very effective

Does being friendly pay off? YES! I interviewed just a few people at Bible Study and found that many of them were in church because someone had INVITED them! When Judy M. was in the first or second grade a teacher asked her to go to church with her, and a couple of years later she picked her up every Sunday morning. That is where Judy accepted Christ and was baptized! (Example of friendship evangelism) Later she was invited to LHF to a revival and has been here ever since! (Example of event evangelism.) Dianna M. got saved at a young age. Much later she was invited to a church where she rededicated to God. A friend (Gene Myrick) went the extra mile and stayed till she received the baptism of the Holy Ghost. Viola D. had been attending a church, but she said, “When Living Hope Fellowship was started, my husband and I felt we wanted to go there. We were drawn by the Spirit.” At age 25, Mary S.’s mother mailed a Bible to her in Oklahoma, and she began searching for a church. She felt empty in the one she had been attending. A friend invited her to a church where she got saved. Later she was invited to LHF and is still attending. Colleen C. said she was invited to church where she said the Spirit of God “jerked” her to the altar! Charlene invited John and Karen R. to church. John got saved at LHF and Karen has rededicated at LHF. These results of evangelism happened to people I know! Proverbs 11:30 says, “. . . he that winneth souls is wise.” Proverbs 18:24 says, “A man that hath friends must show himself friendly. . . .” Isaiah 43:12 says, “...ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, that I am God.” We will spend all eternity either in heaven or in hell, so a true friend wants others to know God and salvation.

BLAME

by Charles R. Swindoll

Blame never affirms, it assaults.

Blame never restores, it wounds.

Blame never solves, it complicates.

Blame never unites, it separates.

Blame never smiles, it frowns.

Blame never forgives, it rejects.

Blame never forgets, it remembers.

Blame never builds, it destroys.

(Read Ephesians 4:32 )

DEAD TO THE WORLD

by Leonard Ravenhill, a preacher of bygone days

The true message of Christmas is that Jesus was born to die to atone for our sins! Leonard Ravenhill said, “Spirituality that saves men from hell and keeps men from vulgar sins is wonderful, but, I believe, elementary. When Paul went to the Cross, the miracle of conversion and regeneration took place; but later when he got on the Cross, the greater miracle of identification took place.

Ravenhill asks, “Are we dead? - dead to blame or praise? Dead to fashion and human opinion? Dead so that we have no itch for recognition? Dead so that we do not squirm if another gets praised for a thing that we engineered?

Oh sweet, sublime, satisfying experience of the indwelling Christ by the Spirit! We, too, can sing with Wesley:

Dead to the world

and all its toys!

Its idle pomp

and fading joys!

Jesus, my glory be!”

DO YOU STINK?

by Sharon Cromwell, newsletter editor

At a snake display recently, an instructor said that if you handle more than one snake, the second one smells the scent of that other snake on you, and YOU smell like food for him!

If you are handling sin, you smell like sin to the devil. 1 Peter 5:8 says the devil seeks whom he may devour! Revelation 12:9 says the Devil is also called the “old serpent”.

However, you can change your smell by washing in the blood of Jesus and become a sweet aroma (savor) to God. (See 2 Corinthians 2:15.)

DRAW THE LINE

by Sharon Cromwell of LHF newsletter staff

Where do you draw the line between truth and a lie? Does deceit have a place in you? Jesus said in John 14:30 that the prince of this world (Satan), “. . . hath nothing in me.”

1 John 3:20 says, “For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.” Verse 21 goes on to say, “Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.”

If you belong to Jesus, His Spirit will deal with you if you have trouble defining the line between the truth and a lie. Discretion is valuable; Proverbs 2:11 says, “Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee:” However, some have crossed over the “line” and tell fibs, tales, exaggerations, untruths, and misrepresentations of the truth, and whoppers - all lies!

The truth sets us free. FREE is better than the guilt and condemnation from telling lies, even if it means certain consequences of suffering or negative reactions. The love of the truth keeps us from being deceived. (See 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12.)

2 Timothy 3:13 says, “But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.” However, the Bible tells us in James 4:7, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” The enemy is subtle, so watch and pray.

If you search your heart and find deceit or a lie there, seek God for cleansing. 1 John 1:9 says that Jesus’ blood cleanses us from all sin if we will confess it. Then we must forsake it.

Revelation 21:8 says that all liars, “. . . shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”

FOLLOW THE LAMB

by Sharon Cromwell, LHF newsletter editor

quotes from Gottfried A. Waldvogel

In John 1:29, John saw Jesus coming and said, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”

In his article, Following the Lamb, G. A. Waldvogel said, “When you give yourself to the Lord to do what he wants, he will give you the strength to do it.” He continued, “If we make up our minds to rejoice because He told us to, the Lord will come to our aid and help us; the praises will well up from the heart, and the burden will roll away. He will give grace.”

1 Peter 3:10 says, “For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile:”

“The test of holiness is in your words—what you say and what you don't say. For people who follow the Lamb, who are learning the secret of letting Jesus rule, God will put a lock on their lips,” Waldvogel says!

See Proverbs 18:21!

God Didn’t Save Us To Do It Alone

by Charlene Randolph, LHF Sunday School Superintendent

Stop worrying, because our Lord Jesus Christ says so! The hope within us says, “My God will take care of my trouble,” but we take tomorrow’s problems and put them on top of today’s problems. Our Shepherd goes before us and takes care of our cares IF we let Him, IF we don’t get in the way!

Your attitude is a choice. It will be different when you choose to make it different. Is there joy, love, and peace in your home, on your job, in your every day life, or is there anger, hate, and confusion? It’s your choice! As you make your choice, remember that God did not save you to do it alone. You MUST learn to get out of the way. God is in charge of your life.

He says in His Word that we will be put through a fiery trial. This is a test of our faith. If we trust God to take care of our situation no matter what our eyes see and our ears hear, then we have a testimony. But if we get in the way, then that was our choice!

When we make a wrong choice and get in trouble because we did it our way, we feel as though we failed. We are the first to condemn ourselves, but we look for hope by trying to explain it to others. Then we finally come to God after we’ve made a mess of things. We repent, (which means change), and then God forgives us. He says, “I love you, and I’m so proud of you.” What? Yes. God is proud of you, because you are trying. We receive God’s mercy, and grace, and love.

We need the power of God in our lives, and we need to keep our spiritual tanks full. Some ask, “How?” We must stay in prayer and keep a close loving relationship with Jesus Christ. We need the power of the Holy Spirit to guide us and to fight the flesh. We need God’s grace and power to change us. Remember God didn’t save us to do it alone.

Ask from a humbled heart, and God will fill you up with His Holy Ghost power. Don’t try to take care of your troubles yourself, for that is pride. Let God’s power do the work, and trust Him with your whole heart. God is waiting to bless anyone who will follow His instructions.

Remember that you are a Christian. You are at war, and the battle is against your heart. Keep your head up. Be strong and of good courage! When a brother or sister in Christ starts to fall away, we need to pray with them and love them. We need to encourage them.

When I was falling in sin of anger, God loved me so much He would not leave me there. Because the Holy Ghost was in me, He brought me out. I had to make a choice to stay in sin or repent and come out. What if I made the wrong choice? What if I said, “I’m tired. I can’t fight this battle any more!”

The Bible says that my Christian brother should come after me, love me, and encourage me. Be a part of God’s plan to bring me back. Don’t give up on me. Don’t let me live in my sin and go to hell. Don’t be the first one to throw the stone at me. Love me, but if I continually push you away and stay in my sin, then brush the dust off your feet and go on.

Your trials are a test of obedience. Do you trust God enough to keep following Him?

The closer you get to God, the stronger Satan tries to get you to sin and turn back away from God. I’m at war with Satan for my soul, but God says, “I did not save you to do it alone. I tell you to press on.”

God gave us His Word of instruction for any situation and to change us. You will find that we have weapons of warfare. We are to be the light of the world, and we need the Holy Ghost power. I have experienced this power, and there is nothing you can’t do when God is working through you. I pray that the Spirit of the living God will change us to be as our Father in heaven!

Jesus Changes Prison in China

Source: Asia Harvest - Friday Fax, Via IRN: www.openheaven.com

Sister Chang's Obedience

Sister Chang, leader of a house church in China's Henan Province, heard God tell her to preach the Gospel on the steps of the local Police Station. "Even in the West, doing something like that can get you arrested," reports mission agency Asia Harvest, "in Communist China, it's a sure way to be severely punished."

However, the impression remained clear after prayer, so Sister Chang boldly preached the Gospel to astonished passers‑by from the top step in front of the Police Station. Only a few minutes later, she was arrested and thrown into the women's jail without due process, together with thousands of lost people.

There, she could proclaim the Gospel with boldness and love; in 3 months, 800 women decided to follow Jesus. The whole atmosphere in the jail was transformed. The Director wanted to know what had caused the change, and found out that it was Sister Chang's sermons. He called her into his office, telling her "You have made my job easy! The fights between the inmates have stopped, the women have become gentle and obedient. We need more people like you.”

“From today, you are not only free, but also have a job here (paid an astonishing 3,000 Yuan ‑US$375‑per month), a car with chauffeur and a spacious apartment.”

Chang turned the offer down. "Jesus has been wonderful to me since I've known him. I don't think the offer of a salary, car and chauffeur match his plans for my life. I belong to Jesus alone, and I want to preach the good news." Despite her refusal, Chang was released and can serve her Lord unhindered!

MESSAGE tongues and interpretation

MESSAGE This message came to us through the spiritual gift of tongues and interpretation 11/30/03. (See 1 Corinthians 12:10)

“I look at my people and I see many burdens. Some burdens that you bear are grievous to bear. I recognize this. But recognize that many things are for a purpose; and if you will but allow Me, I can work this out for you. Instead of seeking a way to escape from it, ask Me how you can go through this. Because when you go through it, you WILL come out stronger. I am strengthening my people; I am strengthening my people. Whether you understand, burdens many times serve to strengthen my people. But I am not leaving you alone. Seek Me. Don’t allow yourselves to be discouraged. Encourage yourselves in me. I plead with you this day. I draw you this day. Encourage yourself in Me and recognize my yoke is easy. Take my yoke upon you and let me help you, and learn. You will grow and learn. Learn.”

NOT FORGOTTEN!

by Sharon Cromwell. Quotes by David Wilkerson are from his sermon, “God Has Not Forgotten You”.

David Wilkerson ministers in Times Square Church in New York.

God’s people should never feel forsaken. Isaiah 49:13 says, “Sing. . . for the LORD hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted.” However, Verse 14 says, “But Zion said, The LORD hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me.”

God says in Verse 15-16 that GOD WON’T FORGET HIS PEOPLE: “Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.”

Hebrews 13:5 says, “. . . for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”

The devil’s job is to rob, kill, and destroy, but Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil, so why do we fret? People who are hurt and confused have trouble believing God’s promises, but Isaiah 51:12-13 reminds us not to forget our Maker!

We fret, and question, and doubt, but God’s children are in the palm of His great hand! Some will take matters into their own hands and depend on other people or themselves instead of trusting God. Many people want RELIEF from their loneliness, fear, or trouble MORE than they want Jesus and His salvation.

We must not become tired of WAITING. David Wilkerson said, “. . . unbelief with God always leads to instability in human relationships.” He also said, “Show me a lonely, hurting child of God who puts character and growth ahead of all other needs, and I’ll show you one who is sure to be fulfilled.”

If not awakened to righteousness, many lonely people will go on wallowing in self-pity and self-condemnation. We have to put God first! David Wilkerson said, “We are so busy praying to change things, we have little time to allow prayer to change us,” and that, “. . . we have had the audacity to think of God as our personal “genie” who fulfills every wish. We think of faith as a way to corner God on His promises.”

Jesus had to pray and believe and wait, but John 8:29 says, “And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.” David Wilkerson said, “We see God only as the giver, we are the receiver. But prayer and faith are the avenues by which we become the givers to God. They are to be used, not as ways to get things from God, but as a way to give Him those things by which we can please Him.”

God cannot forget us, and He has not forsaken us. We must quit relying on our own understanding and stop our worrying. Galatians 6:9 says, “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”!!!

LINCON GRANTS PRESIDENTIAL PARDON TO A TURKEY

by Rebecca Florez Perez

Information found in a booklet named "The President Who Pardoned a Turkey and Other Wacky Tales of American History" produced by Watermill Press

During the holidays, President Lincoln and the First Family were presented with a live turkey as a gift.

Lincoln’s eight-year-old son, Tad, quickly became attached to it. When he learned the turkey was about to become their holiday dinner, he burst into tears, getting his father’s attention to the point that he interrupted a cabinet meeting just to issue a presidential pardon for the bird; which they ended up keeping as a family pet named Jack!

Aren’t you thankful Jesus pleads your case and that His blood pardons you from your death sentence?

PEACEMAKERS

by Sharon Cromwell. Quotes are from George O. Wood’s article “Let me be your friend”

Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. Matthew 5:9

George O. Wood says, “You’ll have little success at peacemaking if the qualities described in the first six beatitudes are absent for they develop the peacemaker’s disposition: the right balance between toughness and tenderness, authority and humility, conviction and compromise.” You can read the beatitudes in Matthew, Chapter five.

He says, “When dealing with conflict, don’t let conflict get inside you,” and he urges us to avoid, “. . . the two most destructive traps in human conflict: blaming others and indulging in self-pity.”

Brother Wood offered a sample prayer: “Lord Jesus, help me to keep a balance between avoiding conflict or being a door mat for someone else’s anger. Give me a special grace to make peace; an honesty about conflict; wisdom in controlling my thoughts, words and actions; and faith to believe that argument and upset can lead to growth and great gain.”

PLAGUES

by Sharon Cromwell, Love of the Truth newsletter editor

These facts were found in an article by Anne Applebaum in USA Today newspaper.

20,000 labs now currently exist where just one person can synthesize any virus within the next decade.

Five people with $2 million can create an infectious virus to kill a billion people who have been conventionally immunized.

Add $3 million and these same people can build a lab from scratch using items bought online.

Applebaum said, “The threat, then is not merely from the diseases we know . . . but from the diseases that haven’t been invented yet.”

If things like this tend to make you afraid, I have encouraging information from another source, the Bible. Read all of Psalm 91. Verse 10 says, “There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.” There is a catch, however. Psalm 91:14 says, “Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.”

Do you love God? Do you know Him? Read Ephesians 2:8-9 and Romans 10:9-10. You can contact us by phone, e-mail, or regular mail. Our phone number is (618) 634-2541. Our web site is www.livinghopefellowshipchurch.org, and our e-mail address is livinghope@hughes.net,lhfchurch@hotmail. You can also send prayer requests.

REJECTED BY MAN . . . BUT NEVER REJECTED BY GOD

by Gail Redman. Dr. Redman is a dentist in East Prairie, Missouri who is a regular contributor to LHF’s Love of the Truth Newsletter

A trial that I believe every Christian will experience is that of rejection. Not every individual will experience the rejection caused by an unfaithful spouse or a spouse that comes in one day proclaiming, “I no longer love you and I want a divorce.” This creates an emotional wound that cuts to the very heart of one’s inner being. It is an emotional wound that only God can heal.

Marriage is ordained of God; husband and wife become one flesh. It is impossible to divide this oneness without causing deep inner turmoil in both parties involved. Satan loves to see a home divided. Guilt, depression, and despair can become everyday companions to the rejected party. How do we as a body of believers deal with this issue?

(1) Pray fervently for our own marriage and the marriages of others in the church.

(2) Go out of your way to show love to those who are experiencing abandonment and rejection.

(3) Remember nothing that we say will heal the wound that has been opened. Only God can bring emotional healing. In the same way it takes time to heal from a surgery, it will require time for emotional healing to be completed.

(4) Pray for both individuals involved, salvation and restoration for the individual walking away from a God-ordained institution, and emotional healing for the rejected spouse.

Jesus came to heal the brokenhearted. (See Luke 4:18.)

Religion in Prison

Article reprinted by permission from The Church

Around the World (ISSN 1062-2810), vol.34, no. 10

The United States has the world’s largest per capita prison population - 2 million - and a repeat offender rate of more than 50 percent. But, there is growing evidence that inmates who participate in religious programs while incarcerated are less likely to return once they get out. A 2003 study in Texas found that only 8 percent of inmates involved in faith-based activities returned to prison within two years after release, compared to 20 percent of inmates of similar backgrounds and offenses who had no religious routine. Ken Cooper was paroled in 1987 after a long sentence for a string of armed bank robberies. He then received a new life sentence to minister to inmates, he said, and is now a volunteer at Lawtey Correctional Institute in Jacksonville, Florida. “For the criminal-type-person” said Cooper, “getting them to relate to an authority higher than themselves is often the only way for them to make real changes in their lives.”

LHF currently sends gospel literature to jails and prisons. To support LHF’s Prison Ministry contact Sharon Cromwell or Ann Evans by calling the church: 618-634-2541

TERRORISM IS NOT NEW

by Sharon Cromwell, LHF newsletter editor

Psalm 91:5 says, “Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror. . . .” The Bible speaks in the Old and the New Testaments about troubles, and wars, and fear, and terror.

Matthew 24:6 says, “And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.” Read what He prophesied in the remainder of that chapter!

2 Chronicles 7:14 says, “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

In an article from Front Page Magazine, Phyllis Chesler asked, “What kind of culture produces human bombs, glorifies mass murders, and supports humiliation-based revenge?” She says, “. . . Historically and theologically, Arab and Muslim culture strongly oppose both democracy and equality for women.” She states that these things are why liberating the Middle East is so difficult.

Jeff Jacoby, in an article in the Boston Globe spoke of peace only coming if the “poisonous culture of violence, death-worship, and Jew-hatred” is destroyed.

Christians must be knowledgeable about world events! They should also realize that we must pray and deal with spiritual things in order to get the victory (see 2 Corinthians 10:4-5). Let’s get off of milk, eat some meat, and learn how to fight in God’s Army against Satan, the head leader of evil!

Romans 8:35-39 is so powerful! It asks, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” Then it tells us that neither death nor life, nor these other things are able to separate us from God. Only our sins separate us from God, so let’s repent and let God take care of us!

The POWER of LOVE

(by Sharon Cromwell. Quotes by David B. Crabtree are from “The Day That Changed The World”

We have all had something in our lives that changed our focus or our faith. However, JESUS is the most significant good thing that can happen to you!

David Crabtree says, “He changed everything because his power did not flow out of vast holdings, terrible armaments, or political consensus. His power flowed out of pure love. In that alone, the world can offer nothing to compare . . . . Jesus' simple statement, "For God so loved the world" (John 3:16), sets him and his gospel apart from every philosophy, initiative, government, or creed. Love is power unequaled by bombs or bullets.

The Bible says in Philippians 2:9-11, “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Jesus embraced ordinary people, something most kings don’t do. Crabtree says, “Earthly leaders ascend to seize power. Jesus descended to empower the least, the last, the lonely, the losers. Descending power is original with Jesus, and that kind of power changes everything it touches.”

Isaiah 9:7 says there shall be no end of His government! The Bible says in 1 John 4:8, “He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.” Verse 16 says, “. . . God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.” Love is more powerful than hate. Love changes people and situations. Jesus made it possible to change our status with God, one of sinfulness, by His atonement on the cross. Crabtree says, “Jesus changed everything by giving everyone a life-guiding purpose—to know God, to make him known, and to worship and enjoy him forever.” He says, “Prisoners live in a world without a way. They are confined until parole or death. I can only imagine awakening every day to such a closed circle of existence. Such was the case of humankind until Jesus came.” However, when we give Jesus our hearts, He gives us life forever!

THINK IT NOT STRANGE

by Gail Redman

Dr. Redman is a dentist in East Prairie, Missouri who is a regular contributor to LHF’s Love of the Truth Newsletter.

The church is under attack. Believers are facing battles that are raging from all directions. Some are dealing with persecutions and betrayal from family members, friends, or enemies. Other believers are struggling with sins that they truly want to be delivered and set free from. There are warriors on the front line of battle that are growing weary because it seems the heavens are as brass. When it is spiritually dry, someone that is hungry and thirsty after righteousness feels pressed against the wall. This leaves one feeling so empty and alone. Others in the church need physical or mental healings. Praying for loved ones for years without seeing results with the physical eyes can leave believers discouraged. Saints, it is time to look up, lift up your heads, for our redemption is drawing nigh. (See Luke 21:28.) We are warned that the powers of heaven will be shaken.

In 1 Peter 4:12-13 we are told, “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.” As servants of the living God, we will endure suffering, because we are not above our Lord. Christ suffered for us and we will endure suffering and persecution as His disciples.

A day is coming for people of God when there will be exceeding joy - no pain, suffering, sin or persecution. Continue steadfast in the faith. Now is not the time to give up. God is good and has a plan for each of His children. Encourage one another in the Lord and keep on pressing on. Glory be to God!

Yellow Ribbons

by Rebecca Flores-Perez, newsletter staff

Source: Church Around the World (ISSN 1062-2810), vol. 34, no. 9

Have you supported our troops lately? Besides hanging the traditional yellow ribbon on your front door, you can help meet the spiritual needs of our military personnel.

The Military Ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ is distributing Rapid Deployment Kits to our soldiers both here at home and in the field. “As long as there are people in uniform...these kits will be distributed,” says one spokesperson for the company.

Each kit costs $2.50 and contains a camouflage New Testament, a How to Know God Personally booklet, and the 90-day devotional - “Our Daily Bread”, all packaged in a waterproof bag small enough to be put in a soldier’s pocket. If you would like to learn more about this program, please visit their Web site at http://give.ccci.org and type in the Quick-link code BR4-800, or call (714) 568-1023. There is also another Web site that contains similar information:

biblesfortroops.org.

May God bless those who serve to protect our freedoms!

E-mail livinghope@hughes.net

Phone 618-634-2541