About Praise and Suffering

Today I wanted to post about something my dad said Sunday. For those of you who didn't know, he had gone to the States for a bit and had got back in Saturday night. He shared some thign that had impressed him while he was at Northland. He had met some missionaries to China, but beacause of tyranny's rule there, they cannot preach the Gospel openly, or even lift up their voices to praise God during their secret services. This made me think of a verse in Acts, telling of the joy the early Christians felt to be counted wotrhy to suffer for Christ. WOW! All I can say is that we should never cease praising and thanking the Lord for allowing us to preach Jesus, and to praise Him aloud.

YESSSS!!!!!!

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The Hidden Path

The Hidden Path
There is a shining path-
Somewhere beyond earthly limits;
Leading to eternal, hea'enly bliss,
And away from hell's terrible swath.

That path of sacred sacrifice,
Marked by the Love of he who reigns all;
Nailed upon the cruellest device-
Spent to save we who are so small.

Yet that lovely way is hidden,
To we who this wicked world have ridden:
Sons, or slaves, of the fallen light,
To whom we gave all our might.

The choice to every man is present,
The Father's Love to embrace or resent;
Live in peace beside golden roads,
Or heavily burdened by unshakeable loads.

So to you falls the choice, dear friend,
Where your soul eternity will spend-
Err not, but believe in God's only Son,
Whose work of love for you was done.
Ethan Sanders

Literary Quiz

This is just a little something I cooked up sittin' around today to prove just how book-savvy you people are. After all, bloggers are writers, aren't they?
1- In what literary work do you find the quote"What's in a name"?
2- Name three Dickens books.
3- Who wrote the Canterbury Tales?
4- In what work do you find the quote"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times"?
5- Who wrote Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde?
6- Who wrote Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea?
7- Name the two most famous works of Homer.
8- Who wrote Paradise Lost?
9- Which author wrote the famous line"A thing of beauty is a joy forever"?
10(trick question)- Who wrote The Confessions of St. Augustine?

Two Prayer Requests

This is Junior Espinoza. He is ten years old and a budding Christian who recieved the Lord in the evangelistic conference we had in La Victoria two months ago. Please pray for him, since his parents are not Christians and it is up to him to want to serve the Lord. Please pray that God will place in his heart a burning desire to serve Him. The other request is for a teenager named Nikolay that recieved the Lord last Monday when I was given the opportunity to share the gospel with him. He(along with 99.9% of Venezuela) was raised a Catholic, which poses an obstruction to his growth. But with a lot of prayer and spending time with him in the Word, he will grow in the Lord. Please pray for these future servants of the Lord.

Where Would You Go If You Died Today?

You've probably arrived here because you read the small section on the side bar. Here, using only what is within the holy Word of God, we will try to answer that question.
So you've stopped for a second and wondered just what will happen to you after you die. It's not a pleasant subject for most people, because death is painful and full of sorrow. The Bible says everyone is included in two groups- those who are going to heaven, and those who are going to hell. In Revelation 20:15 the Bible says this,"And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." This passage is talking about the end of those who have not trusted in Christ as their Savior, and the Book of Life is where God writes down the name of all who have trusted in Him. Hell is a terrible place, my friend, a place you would never, never want to go. In Mark 9:44 the Bible says,"Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.", describing hell. But why, you may ask, should we have to go to hell? Why, if God is Love, should we have to go to such a terrible place? let me answer this by way of a simple illustration. It is like my shirt is Sin, and God,who hates sin, takes hold of my shirt and throws it into hell, carrying me along with it. God does not hate you my friend, no, He loves you so much that He sent His only begotten Son to die on the cross for you! But what is sin? Sin is any errors we make in life, wrongdoing, in other words. It is missing the mark of perfection God has set in His laws that we can never attain because of the sinful seed we have inherited from Adam. Romans 5:12 says,"Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned..." We are all sinners because of that decision taken by the first man. Therefore, we are condemned to an eternity in hell.Romans 6:23a says "For the wages of sin is death..." which is not only talking about physical death, but also about a spiritual death, in hell. So what are we to do? There is only one thing to do. That is, to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, trusting in Him to clean you of your sins, and set you an definite course for heaven.Romans 10:9 says, "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved."
That is all! Many think that in place of, or in addition to, praying to be saved, you must live a good life, and then God might let you go to heaven. My friend, the Bible says in Ephesians 2:8-9 that "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." This means that the only way you can recieve salvation is by grace, which means recieving something you don't deserve, that you cannot earn your way to heaven. Why? So that no mad should boast. God does not want you to get to heaven on your own, and say,"Look at me! I made it!" Salvation cannot be earned, no matter how saintly you may be.
So, in light of what you have just read, are you willing to ask Jesus into your heart, to pardon your sins, and save you from hell/ If you are, please close your eyes, and repeat this prayer in your heart, for real.
"Lord, I know I'm a sinner, and that I'm on my way to hell. I know I cannot earn my way to heaven, but only by trusing in you for salvation. Please cleanse me of my sins, and save me from, putting me on the pathway to heaven. Amen."
If you have prayed this prayer in your heart, the Bible says that you are now saved. You have assurance of heaven, and joy in the Lord! Please comment on this post if you have prayed this prayer, so that I may pray for you, and that we can fellowship together. God bless you.

Time for Tennis

Today was the first day of a tennis tournament we've been waiting a month to start.
The coach had told us then that he would have everything ready(referees, drinks, and trophies)for that Saturday! PAAAAH!!!! Anyway, we started today, and it was great fun. I must admit, though, that if we had played then, we wouldn't have had a chance at all. Watching Nadal vs. Federer still makes me realize I haven't advanced hardly at all, though!

Light and Darkness

Light and Darkness
Some walls taken, some battles won-
Some trophies lost, some races run;
And Darkness creeps in, as a robber thru the shadows,
As slowly fades the finished light.

The heavens are blazing with searing flames
The work of the heavenly smiths;
And though we know not their names-
Their anvil in the skies tells us they are no myths.

But when their glorious display is finished
Darkness falls over the face of the deep,
And it seems to all their joys are vanquished,
As all the earth gives way to sleep.

But why despair? For beyond that ghoulish night,
Past the facade of evil and woe-
There shines, in the distance, a light,
Defeated not, but once again aglow.

So, as in the cycle of Time on Earth,
The sun comes down, yet rises again-
As we should faint not when sin gives birth,
But trust still, in the Eternal Light and Hope of Men.