"We see, in many a land, the proudest dynasties and tyrannies still crushing, with their mountain weight, every free motion of the Consciences and hearts of men. We see, on the other hand, the truest heroism for the right and the greatest devotion to the Truth in hearts that God has touched. We have a work to do, as great as our forefathers and, perhaps, far greater. The enemies of Truth are more numerous and subtle than ever and the needs of the Church are greater than at any preceding time. If we are not debtors to the present, then men were never debtors to their age and their time. Brethren, we are debtors to the hour in which we live. Oh, that we might stamp it with Truth and that God might help us to impress upon its wings some proof that it has not flown by neglected and unheeded." -- C.H. Spurgeon . . . "If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." John 8:31, 32 . . . . .

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Sunday, December 25, 2016

The GOSPEL of MATTHEW: Ch. 21 – The MESSIAH and HIS KINGDOM MESSAGE:

By James Fire

Let us remind ourselves of the perspective of the four Gospel accounts, as we laid it out at the very beginning of this study; each expresses a particular view of the Person of Jesus Christ. Mark’s Gospel expresses Christ as the Servant, and represented by the Ox; Luke’s Gospel expresses Christ as the Son of Man, represented by the Man; John’s Gospel expresses Christ as the Son of God, represented by the Eagle, and our Gospel of Matthew expresses Christ as the King of Israel, represented by the Lion (of the tribe of Judah).

Indeed, Jesus or Y’shua is the Messiah, the King of Israel, the “Son of David” as the two blind men who were healed in the previous chapter called Him.
The LORD Jesus manifested the power of the Spirit, under Whose anointing He performed many miracles and healings that were foretold to be accomplished by the Messiah. The LORD pointed to these very works as evidence of His rightful claim and incontestable authority as God the Son and the Messiah-King of Israel (LUKE 7:19-23; JOHN 14:10-11). We will see many examples of His authority in this chapter, and yet for all this, He was still rejected by His people, Israel (this time), just as prophecy indicates (See ISAIAH 53:3)!
And now the saga continues, for in this chapter, Jesus of Nazareth is hailed publicly as “the Son of David” – the Messiah of Israel (His lineage at the beginning of this account proves indeed that He is of the Royal Line of David, both legally through His step-father Joseph and by the Royal blood line through His mother, Mary; and this is a pivotal event in His relationship with the nation. Let us venture to Jerusalem and see this awesome sight . . .
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Friday, December 16, 2016

The DARK NIGHT of The SHACK - By Gregory Reid

According to Wikipeida, "The Shack is [considered] a Christian novel, [written] by Canadian author William P. Young, a former office manager and hotel night clerk, published in 2007.The novel was self-published but became a USA Today bestseller, having sold 1 million copies as of June 8, 2008. It was the No. 1 paperback trade fiction seller on The New York Times Best Seller list from June 2008 to early 2010, in a publishing partnership with Hachette Book Group USA's FaithWords imprint (Hodder & Stoughton in the UK). In 2009 it was awarded the "Diamond Award" for sales of over 10 million copies by the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association."

When TTUF co-writer Anne Kisly and myself heard about this story, having understood it's basic and flawed premise, we didn't pay it much mind, until we were stunned to learn that it was a national best-seller, particularly in Christian book stores.


We immediately looked into it and found excellent critiques in two books, upon which we based our respective book reports

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Monday, December 5, 2016

WE COUNT THEM HAPPY WHICH ENDURE

 ~ By James Fire

For the video presentation of this teaching, check out The ELW Church here!

The LORD is an everlasting LORD – Whose attributes and holy character endures forever and ever: they are unchanging (immutable) and eternal. Let's read these nine references found in the book of Psalms that describe these attributes of God that endure forever:

The Glory of God endures forever – PSALM 104:31
God’s truth endures forever – PSALM 100:5
God’s goodness endures continuously – PSALM 52:1
God’s mercy endures forever – PSALM 106:1
Consider what PSALM 23:6 states: Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me* all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

To “follow” in the Hebrew is radaph and it means to “pursue, to chase down, to overcome with determined intent”! That is the LORD's intent for His children: to pursue, and chase them down and bestow upon them His goodness and mercy - all the days of our lives! . . . 
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