Hello all,
There is a really great song that Rebecca St. James and Todd Agnew sing called Our Great God. I just thought I'd post the lyrics because it's so beautiful! The original song is actually by Fernando Ortega and Mac Powell. But, I have only heard this song sung by RSJ and Todd.
Our Great God
Eternal God, unchanging, mysterious and unknown
Your boundless love, unfailing, in grace and mercy shown
Bright seraphim in ceaseless flight around Your glorious throne
They raise their voices day and night in praise to You alone
*Hallelujah! Glory be to our Great God!
Hallelujah! Glory be to our Great God!
Lord, we are weak and frail, helpless in the storm
Surround us with Your angels, hold us in Your arms
Our cold and ruthless enemy, his pleasure is our harm
Rise up, O Lord and he will flee before our Sovereign God
*
Let every creature in the sea and every flying bird
Let every mountain, every field and valley of the earth
Let all the moons and all the stars in all the universe
Sing praises to the Living God who rules them by His Word
*
Friday, June 22, 2007
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Conduct Yourself
Philippians 1:27 "Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel."
I was just studying and reading the Bible, and I came across this verse. I was reminded that whether I am at home, with my family, or whether I am in a store, my conduct should remain the same. When people see you, do they see a Christ-like attitude? "Conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ!"
Until the nets are full,
~Kirsten~
I was just studying and reading the Bible, and I came across this verse. I was reminded that whether I am at home, with my family, or whether I am in a store, my conduct should remain the same. When people see you, do they see a Christ-like attitude? "Conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ!"
Until the nets are full,
~Kirsten~
Saturday, June 09, 2007
Paulo Uchibori and His Children
The following story and picture is taken from the Voice of the Martyrs magazine:
Words on picture below read, "Stained glass windows in Shimabara Catholic Church depict the torture and death of Paulo and his children."
A wave of harsh persecution took place in Japan in the early 1600’s, during which many Christians were martyred.
On February 20, 1627, church leader Paulo Uchibori, his wife and three children were arrested for harboring missionaries. On that day, Paulo and 37 other Christians were beaten, paraded naked through town and imprisoned in the Shimabara Castle.
The following day, the Christians were tortured. The government wanted to avoid making martyrs, but used the cruelest methods to force Christians to deny their faith. One of the soldiers teased Paulo as he held a knife, saying “How many of your children’s fingers should we take?”
Paulo replied, “It’s all up to you.”
The soldiers cut off all of the children’s fingers except their thumbs and little fingers, saying Christians should have fewer fingers than an animal. Paulo’s two oldest children, Antonio and Barutabazaru offered their fingers to the soldiers, without crying or showing any pain. The last child was Paulo’s youngest, Ignatius, age five. He also showed no pain as his fingers were cut off. He raised his bleeding hands to the sky, offering them to God. Those who were watching were surprised by what they saw and were deeply moved by the children’s bravery.
The soldier then bound the hands and feet of 16 people including Paulo’s children and threw them repeatedly into the ice-cold water of Shimabara Bay. Still the Christians would not renounce their faith. Antonio’s last words before he disappeared into the ocean were, “Father, we should thank God for giving us such a great blessing.”
After his children were drowned, Paulo’s face was branded with the three Japanese characters of the word “Christian.” He was thrown out on the streets with a sign on his kimono reading, “Punished for being a Christian. It is forbidden to help this man or give him shelter.”
A week after the martyrdom of his children, Paulo was sent up Mt. Unzen with 15 other Christians to experience “torture in the hells of the Unzen volcano.” Paulo was hung upside down and lowered into the boiling sulfur waters many times. He prayed out loud each time, realizing he was part of the body of Christ, “The Eucharist should be hallowed.” Finally, his body was thrown into the boiling spring.
The faith of Paulo and his children encourage us today. We know that they, along with many other unnamed Japanese Christians, were welcomed into Jesus’ presence and now wear robes of white.
This story should be an encouragement to us not to lose heart. Tears were streaming down my face as I read this. What freedom we have in America to spread the gospel, but in other countries Christian die because they're not even allowed to pray or read His Word. We need to be telling others of the hope that lies within.
In His beautiful love,
~Kirsten~
Words on picture below read, "Stained glass windows in Shimabara Catholic Church depict the torture and death of Paulo and his children."
A wave of harsh persecution took place in Japan in the early 1600’s, during which many Christians were martyred.
On February 20, 1627, church leader Paulo Uchibori, his wife and three children were arrested for harboring missionaries. On that day, Paulo and 37 other Christians were beaten, paraded naked through town and imprisoned in the Shimabara Castle.
The following day, the Christians were tortured. The government wanted to avoid making martyrs, but used the cruelest methods to force Christians to deny their faith. One of the soldiers teased Paulo as he held a knife, saying “How many of your children’s fingers should we take?”
Paulo replied, “It’s all up to you.”
The soldiers cut off all of the children’s fingers except their thumbs and little fingers, saying Christians should have fewer fingers than an animal. Paulo’s two oldest children, Antonio and Barutabazaru offered their fingers to the soldiers, without crying or showing any pain. The last child was Paulo’s youngest, Ignatius, age five. He also showed no pain as his fingers were cut off. He raised his bleeding hands to the sky, offering them to God. Those who were watching were surprised by what they saw and were deeply moved by the children’s bravery.
The soldier then bound the hands and feet of 16 people including Paulo’s children and threw them repeatedly into the ice-cold water of Shimabara Bay. Still the Christians would not renounce their faith. Antonio’s last words before he disappeared into the ocean were, “Father, we should thank God for giving us such a great blessing.”
After his children were drowned, Paulo’s face was branded with the three Japanese characters of the word “Christian.” He was thrown out on the streets with a sign on his kimono reading, “Punished for being a Christian. It is forbidden to help this man or give him shelter.”
A week after the martyrdom of his children, Paulo was sent up Mt. Unzen with 15 other Christians to experience “torture in the hells of the Unzen volcano.” Paulo was hung upside down and lowered into the boiling sulfur waters many times. He prayed out loud each time, realizing he was part of the body of Christ, “The Eucharist should be hallowed.” Finally, his body was thrown into the boiling spring.
The faith of Paulo and his children encourage us today. We know that they, along with many other unnamed Japanese Christians, were welcomed into Jesus’ presence and now wear robes of white.
This story should be an encouragement to us not to lose heart. Tears were streaming down my face as I read this. What freedom we have in America to spread the gospel, but in other countries Christian die because they're not even allowed to pray or read His Word. We need to be telling others of the hope that lies within.
In His beautiful love,
~Kirsten~
Sunday, June 03, 2007
The Judgment
Oh, wow! I found a really great article on this webpage...and it's called "The Judgment". It was wrote by David S. MacMillan III . It had me in tears. Anyway, here it is:
As I journeyed through the byways of this world, I came to a cave and went in and I fell asleep. And as I slept, I dreamed
Thus begins the classic allegory The Pilgrims Progress by John Bunyan. And thus begins our story now. Except that its not a cave, its my bedroom.
I saw an expanse of human beings so vast, it paralleled the Pacific Ocean. Hundreds of hundreds of millions stretched out across the sky below me. Yet, somehow there was not a single sound as the billions fixed their gaze on the most awesome sight I had ever seen: a gigantic, pure white throne at the head of the multitude, with the Creator of the Universe seated upon it. Jesus stood at the left of the throne, and His eyes reached across the vast expanse to beckon me to His side.
I stood beside my Savior and felt His love wash over me more real than anything I had ever experienced. But there was a note of sadness mingled with His love, that cut me like a knife. Confused, I watched as He called to people from the vast sea of humanity and as they came before the throne one by one.
One man came up, and I realized that he was my project partner from eighth grade, Samuel. A cold sweat seized me as I wondered whether anyone had ever shared the Gospel with him. I could see terror etched across his face as he heard the voice of Jesus Christ saying those awful words, Depart from me, you worker of lawlessness. I never knew you.
A shining angel grabbed Samuel and pulled him toward the other side of the throne. I watched as Samuel was thrown into a lake of fire and heard his screams echo across the sea of people. As he fell, his eyes met mine, and a thousand words flashed between us in that instant. Why didnt you tell me? You had the words of eternal life, but you never let me know.
But my attention was called back to another person being brought before the throne. It was my roommate from summer camp in 2004 – what was his name? Ah, yes: Christopher. My mind flashed back to a time that we had been sitting in our room, and he had mocked a Christian commercial. But I hadn’t said anything to him. Jesus pronounced judgment yet again: I was not sent into the world to condemn the world. You were condemned already because you did not believe in the Name of the Son of Man.
Tears streamed from my eyes as I watched my friends and acquaintances condemned one by one. A man I sat next to on a plane. My girlfriend from college who had freely admitted that she was an atheist. I remembered that I had been more concerned about how “macho” she thought I was than I had been about this Day. She pulled away from the angel and burst out in tears as she bawled, Why didnt you say something, David? I would have listened! Then she screamed as she was cast into Hell. Her screams echoed across my mind over and over again.
After what seemed like hours of this torture, the Lord laid His hand on my shoulder and wiped the tears from my cheeks. I will remember His words forever: Was this the place where I was supposed to say, Well done, good and faithful servant?
Every thirteen seconds, twenty people die that have never repented of their sins and trusted in Christ. Every thirteen seconds, twenty people go to Hell[1].
The Bible teaches that every human being has an eternal soul. Every human being will live forever in one of two places. Your friends will either spend eternity in Heaven with God or eternity in a lake of fire and brimstone that burns for ever and ever. You cannot afford to let someone else do the witnessing. You must obey the Words of Jesus Christ and preach the Gospel to every person that you can.
I am not asking you to sell everything you have and devote your life to screaming, Repent or perish! from street corners. Far from it. But it is your duty to share your faith whenever it is reasonably possible. This might mean that you sit next to some complete stranger during lunch at school and ask him, What do you think is on the other side when we walk out of here? Maybe you can hand a gospel tract to the gas station attendant when you go in to pay for gas. In any situation, ask yourself what is more important: what you want to do, or the salvation of the person that God has placed in your path?
Right about now you are screaming at me, I dont know how to share my faith! So what? Neither did Paul. But he started doing it and learned, didnt he?
In real life I am a paralegal. I have noticed that, in the legal field, when a person is confronted with a bitter opponent, they will try to find some slight point of agreement and work from there. This is our job as well.
Regardless of a persons religious background, they still have a conscience. God had written His law, the Ten Commandments, on the heart of every individual. I have never met a person who said, Lying, stealing, adultery, blasphemy I thought it was the right thing to do! Everyone knows the difference between right and wrong, so if you meet them at that point of agreement the conscience it will make the difference between life and death for that person. If you can, ask a person if they have kept the Ten Commandments. Have they ever lied or stolen? Jesus said that lust is the same as adultery, and hatred is the same as murder. Have they always honored their parents? What about the third commandment: do not take the name of God in vain? Have they ever used Gods holy Name as a curse word to express disgust or anger?
If you get to this point, you can ask a person whether they think God, in His infinite justice, would let a lying, thieving, adulterous, blasphemous, murderer-at-heart into Heaven. When a person realizes their guilt before a Just and Holy God, the message of Christs sacrificial death on the Cross will make sense to them and they will fling themselves at the mercy of Jesus Christ.
If you would like to know more about how you can share your faith easily and effectively, go to LivingWaters and watch the video Hells Best Kept Secret. You can also visit Way Of the Master for more information. Or, you can send me an email and I will try my best to answer your questions. My email address is “d3@regenerateourculture.com”
And it is true that if you actively witness to people they will make fun of you. Jesus said, If they persecuted me, will they not much more persecute you? The question is this:
Which is more important: the judgment of men, or the Judgment of God?
[*Editors note:* sometime after the idea for the dream this article was conceived, a pastor called into Way of the Master radio and told of having one very similar. So if it felt like youd heard it somewhere before, thats your reason.]
fn1. Numbers based on BibleHelp.org article
I just can't tell you how much I needed to read this. Witnessing needs to be my passion ALL my life. I so need more compassion as lost souls are damned to Hell. How can I walk by people and not think about their eternal destiny?
Until the nets are full,
~Kirsten~
As I journeyed through the byways of this world, I came to a cave and went in and I fell asleep. And as I slept, I dreamed
Thus begins the classic allegory The Pilgrims Progress by John Bunyan. And thus begins our story now. Except that its not a cave, its my bedroom.
I saw an expanse of human beings so vast, it paralleled the Pacific Ocean. Hundreds of hundreds of millions stretched out across the sky below me. Yet, somehow there was not a single sound as the billions fixed their gaze on the most awesome sight I had ever seen: a gigantic, pure white throne at the head of the multitude, with the Creator of the Universe seated upon it. Jesus stood at the left of the throne, and His eyes reached across the vast expanse to beckon me to His side.
I stood beside my Savior and felt His love wash over me more real than anything I had ever experienced. But there was a note of sadness mingled with His love, that cut me like a knife. Confused, I watched as He called to people from the vast sea of humanity and as they came before the throne one by one.
One man came up, and I realized that he was my project partner from eighth grade, Samuel. A cold sweat seized me as I wondered whether anyone had ever shared the Gospel with him. I could see terror etched across his face as he heard the voice of Jesus Christ saying those awful words, Depart from me, you worker of lawlessness. I never knew you.
A shining angel grabbed Samuel and pulled him toward the other side of the throne. I watched as Samuel was thrown into a lake of fire and heard his screams echo across the sea of people. As he fell, his eyes met mine, and a thousand words flashed between us in that instant. Why didnt you tell me? You had the words of eternal life, but you never let me know.
But my attention was called back to another person being brought before the throne. It was my roommate from summer camp in 2004 – what was his name? Ah, yes: Christopher. My mind flashed back to a time that we had been sitting in our room, and he had mocked a Christian commercial. But I hadn’t said anything to him. Jesus pronounced judgment yet again: I was not sent into the world to condemn the world. You were condemned already because you did not believe in the Name of the Son of Man.
Tears streamed from my eyes as I watched my friends and acquaintances condemned one by one. A man I sat next to on a plane. My girlfriend from college who had freely admitted that she was an atheist. I remembered that I had been more concerned about how “macho” she thought I was than I had been about this Day. She pulled away from the angel and burst out in tears as she bawled, Why didnt you say something, David? I would have listened! Then she screamed as she was cast into Hell. Her screams echoed across my mind over and over again.
After what seemed like hours of this torture, the Lord laid His hand on my shoulder and wiped the tears from my cheeks. I will remember His words forever: Was this the place where I was supposed to say, Well done, good and faithful servant?
Every thirteen seconds, twenty people die that have never repented of their sins and trusted in Christ. Every thirteen seconds, twenty people go to Hell[1].
The Bible teaches that every human being has an eternal soul. Every human being will live forever in one of two places. Your friends will either spend eternity in Heaven with God or eternity in a lake of fire and brimstone that burns for ever and ever. You cannot afford to let someone else do the witnessing. You must obey the Words of Jesus Christ and preach the Gospel to every person that you can.
I am not asking you to sell everything you have and devote your life to screaming, Repent or perish! from street corners. Far from it. But it is your duty to share your faith whenever it is reasonably possible. This might mean that you sit next to some complete stranger during lunch at school and ask him, What do you think is on the other side when we walk out of here? Maybe you can hand a gospel tract to the gas station attendant when you go in to pay for gas. In any situation, ask yourself what is more important: what you want to do, or the salvation of the person that God has placed in your path?
Right about now you are screaming at me, I dont know how to share my faith! So what? Neither did Paul. But he started doing it and learned, didnt he?
In real life I am a paralegal. I have noticed that, in the legal field, when a person is confronted with a bitter opponent, they will try to find some slight point of agreement and work from there. This is our job as well.
Regardless of a persons religious background, they still have a conscience. God had written His law, the Ten Commandments, on the heart of every individual. I have never met a person who said, Lying, stealing, adultery, blasphemy I thought it was the right thing to do! Everyone knows the difference between right and wrong, so if you meet them at that point of agreement the conscience it will make the difference between life and death for that person. If you can, ask a person if they have kept the Ten Commandments. Have they ever lied or stolen? Jesus said that lust is the same as adultery, and hatred is the same as murder. Have they always honored their parents? What about the third commandment: do not take the name of God in vain? Have they ever used Gods holy Name as a curse word to express disgust or anger?
If you get to this point, you can ask a person whether they think God, in His infinite justice, would let a lying, thieving, adulterous, blasphemous, murderer-at-heart into Heaven. When a person realizes their guilt before a Just and Holy God, the message of Christs sacrificial death on the Cross will make sense to them and they will fling themselves at the mercy of Jesus Christ.
If you would like to know more about how you can share your faith easily and effectively, go to LivingWaters and watch the video Hells Best Kept Secret. You can also visit Way Of the Master for more information. Or, you can send me an email and I will try my best to answer your questions. My email address is “d3@regenerateourculture.com”
And it is true that if you actively witness to people they will make fun of you. Jesus said, If they persecuted me, will they not much more persecute you? The question is this:
Which is more important: the judgment of men, or the Judgment of God?
[*Editors note:* sometime after the idea for the dream this article was conceived, a pastor called into Way of the Master radio and told of having one very similar. So if it felt like youd heard it somewhere before, thats your reason.]
fn1. Numbers based on BibleHelp.org article
I just can't tell you how much I needed to read this. Witnessing needs to be my passion ALL my life. I so need more compassion as lost souls are damned to Hell. How can I walk by people and not think about their eternal destiny?
Until the nets are full,
~Kirsten~
